Way Too Expensive
The busy stretch of time finally passed. First thing I did, together with Brother Yeonghak, was declare the founding of a new rift-hunting specialist PMC in America — the Stray Dog Guild.
"From this day forward, our Stray Dog will keep America and America's allies a little safer!"
The response was electric. Countless investors and corporations came looking for us, asking what plans we had going forward. We told them that, leveraging the overwhelming mobility of our wyverns, we intended to explore uncharted zones and hunt down more diverse resources and materials with real development potential.
The Americans loved that kind of ambition.
A flood of businessmen offered to invest, and a whirlwind of handshakes blurred past.
"Rift-clearing fees from the Korean government, the Russian government, the Indian government, Japan, and the EU. After taxes and everything else, one percent of the remaining net profit. Deposited it for you. Chairman Volkov — looking forward to working with you."
"Heh heh heh. Looking forward to it, Mr. Kim. No — Guild Master Kim."
Chairman Volkov's mouth stretched from ear to ear. Between taking care of the people who needed taking care of, hashing out the organization and roles of the guild members who'd operate inside the gates with all sorts of people, greeting key figures from every walk of life, and posing for photos, a full week flew by.
"Stray Dog Guild's headquarters will be established in front of the main gate in Nevada, USA, and in Daejeon City, Republic of Korea. We will begin operations based on these two strongholds."
After wrapping up our business in America, we were finally able to return to Korea. We'd gone to the States through Eldorado inside the gate, but on the way back we took a plane from the airport.
The people who entered Korea were the absolute elite — Parties 41, 42, and 43, Brother Yeonghak, myself, and Chairman Volkov — thirty-three in total. Countries like Japan, Europe, Russia, and India had no major problems because their strongholds were intact. South Korea was different. Its stronghold had been wiped out by none other than Brother Yeonghak himself.
It was an urgent problem that needed handling, so we entered the country in person.
And the moment we got off the plane and stepped into the airport terminal—
"Hunter Kim Seongho!! A word, please!"
"Why did you abandon the stronghold and run? What the hell happened?"
"They say mutant wyverns burned the Daejeon military base to the ground — where did those things even come from? Wyverns from unexplored zones?"
"We want to know why you went to America! Tell us!!"
We walked straight into an absolute barrage of questions from a swarm of reporters.
I'd never imagined I'd live through a scene like this, so while we stood frozen for a second in surprise—
"Ah. The most important point is that Stray Dog Guild and the United States government are deeply invested in the security of the Republic of Korea. Right now, our top priority is securing a new stronghold. We simply don't have the leisure to stand here answering questions at our ease. Later! Once the problems inside the gate are somewhat resolved, you'll be able to hear the details."
Chairman Volkov put his usual Korean-American interpreter out front, cleanly shut the reporters down, loaded us onto a bus that had been called ahead, and got us moving. As a bonus, vehicles that looked like they'd rolled straight out of a US military base fell in around our bus and began providing heavy escort.
"Thank you. Without you, Chairman, that would have gotten ugly."
Chairman Volkov laughed at my thanks.
"Reporters sometimes feel like piranhas, don't they? Perfectly natural to freeze up the first time you face them. Starting from zero, there's going to be plenty of hard work ahead."
"We'll have to thank President Komoloff for sending you. Without you, Chairman, this would have been much harder."
"Well. I'm in a position where I only rake in juicy dividends if you people do well. For mutual benefit, sometimes you've got to get out and run around yourself."
While we talked about this and that, the bus glided along the highway toward Daejeon. And the closer we got to the city — the closer we got to the main gate — the quieter the bus became.
A place that might as well have been trauma itself.
Daejeon.
A pile of external factors had eventually dragged us back here, but the feelings we held toward this place could never be good ones.
Hatred and rage.
Those were the emotions settling into the bus.
Chairman Volkov and the interpreter, who'd started out smiling and tossing out a few jokes, soon realized the atmosphere was extraordinary and shut their mouths.
In heavy silence, the bus finally arrived at Daejeon's main gate.
The four-meter square gate stood quietly in its place, no different from the day it first appeared ten years ago. The thirty-two hunters who stepped off the bus stared at it with a great many emotions packed behind their eyes.
"Hmm...... I'll go inspect the surrounding area first. Major Hagan! Hahaha! How's Korean food treating you?"
"It's been a while, Chairman Volkov."
After giving us space, Chairman Volkov hurriedly took the US Forces Korea officers and soldiers who'd been escorting us and left to inspect the condition of the military base that had been guarding the Daejeon Gate.
"So we came back after all. Fuck. A place I never wanted to see again."
Brother Yeonghak smoked like he was attacking the cigarette.
The military base he'd burned down with his own hands was still hideously melted. Looking at that sight, his feelings couldn't possibly have been good.
"What should we do? Set up the stronghold first?"
"We've got to. Build it clean, big, and new. We'll need a lot of stuff. Cement, rebar — all kinds of things."
Substances like oil, electronics, and gunpowder exploded the instant they touched the gate's mana, but materials like metal and cement weren't greatly affected. Hauling in construction materials for the stronghold, reorganizing the burned military base—
There was a lot of work to do.
"First, let's go inside the gate and clear out the burned stronghold. Clean up the debris. Throw out what needs throwing out. You know the drill. Let's get started."
We entered the stronghold. As mana filled us and our status windows came back online, we began cleaning the place using transcendent physical abilities and various magics.
There was plenty to organize, but the work speed was so fast that the stronghold started getting cleared at a rapid clip. With physical-type awakeners who could casually hoist objects weighing hundreds of kilograms, mages, and wyverns on the job, it was only natural.
"Pretty much cleaned up!! Once the materials come in, we can start the real construction!"
"Good work!"
And so, in just a single day, the stronghold was cleaned spotlessly. Covered in ash, we brushed the dust off our bodies and stepped back outside the gate.
Chairman Volkov was waiting for us.
"All cleaned up?"
"It's organized. Now we just need to build it new."
"Excellent. I've lined up companies that specialized in constructing strongholds inside gates back in America. They'll arrive tomorrow or the day after. You can rebuild the stronghold with those people."
"Thank you."
"Major Hagan's assessment is that surprisingly few buildings at the military base actually burned, so cleanup won't take long. Until Stray Dog Guild has its own independent forces ready, Major Hagan's battalion will escort you from this base. The remaining battalion members are scheduled to deploy here soon."
"Excellent. Thank you, Chairman Volkov."
"Don't mention it. Quite a few companies want to come into Daejeon and do business with Stray Dog. I'll filter out the ones that need filtering and pick out the ones that look useful, so we can discuss it soon."
Chairman Volkov was good at his job. Extremely good.
Seeing our atmosphere loosen a little, he tossed out a joke.
"I don't know what the Korean military used to feed its hunters, but once you taste American food service companies, your thinking will change. Taco Bell, Five Guys — specialized buffet outfits, too. Plenty of good ones. I've got a lot of experience on this front, so I'll bring in some decent companies and fill your bellies."
At those words, our expressions turned bitter.
The food the Korean military provided to hunters.
Nothing but disgusting mess-hall slop and the shameless garbage from the restricted-area merchants who charged ten thousand won a bottle for soju.
"Looking forward to it. Thank you again, Chairman Volkov."
"It's nothing. Haha! Let's set this place up properly and make sure the Republic of Korea doesn't go under."
I had more than a few thoughts that I'd rather it just collapse — but either way, we still had to fix up the place we were going to live. I nodded.
Time had passed. When Major Hagan's American soldiers said dinner was ready, we were about to head over to eat.
"Chairman Volkov."
That is, until Major Hagan approached us.
"There are people who want to meet the person in charge here."
"Guild Master Kim?"
"They said they have something to discuss. Looked like merchants. I've blocked them from coming in for now."
Merchants?
Something clicked.
"I'd like to meet them."
"Understood."
While Major Hagan was gone, I told the guild members to go eat first, then went with Brother Yeonghak to meet the people who wanted to see us.
Brother Yeonghak seemed to have a sense of who they were too. He followed me with a strangely excited look on his face.
And then—
"These are the people. Go ahead and talk."
The moment I faced the three people standing in front of us, I couldn't hold back a smile.
Awkwardly manufactured, fake smiles.
Eyeballs rolling around with a strangely anxious energy.
"Aigoo! Hunter Kim Seongho! It's been a while, hasn't it? We've had a lot going on lately, but it's good to see you back like this."
The restricted-area merchants.
The fucking bastards who'd fleeced us like dogs were walking up and holding out their hands.
Brother Yeonghak and I didn't take them. We just stood there looking at them.
When we didn't accept the handshake, one of the merchants tried to forcibly grab my hand and shake it. I had no intention of playing along.
"Let go. I'm not in the mood for handshakes."
I threw a cold line at them with a thoroughly sarcastic smile, and the three merchant representatives coughed awkwardly and stepped back.
"What do you want?"
"Well..... Hunter Kim Seongho. We've known each other a long time, right? Just a bit ago the American soldiers came and said some weird things."
At the middle-aged man's words, the slightly plump middle-aged woman next to him picked up the thread.
"They said from now on this is American territory. That it's classified as a military facility where we can't do business anymore, so get out. When Base Leader Cho Geunseong was here, they never did that."
"And?"
Last was the skinny man with the prominent cheekbones.
"This is a bit awkward to say, but....... We've invested a lot over the years to do business here."
"That's right, that's right. We've invested quite a lot."
"If we suddenly have to leave now, we're in a real bind. Base Leader Cho Geunseong was at least a bit flexible, and we believe our young friend will be the same."
"We're just trying to make a living together, aren't we? We asked the American soldiers and they said the final person in charge here is Hunter Kim Seongho. There'll be company dinners, and after tough raids you'll want a drink, right? We'll treat you well — so it'd be great if you let us stay here going forward."
At those words, I laughed.
Brother Yeonghak laughed too.
Apparently when a person gets too angry, laughter just comes out.
"Sure, sure. Plenty of company dinners. After raids, you want a drink."
At my words, the three merchants' faces brightened.
Why were their faces brightening?
Were these people stupid, or did they seriously think we'd accept their proposal?
"But if we have to pay ten thousand won a bottle for soju, even with our pockets, it's way too expensive. Two company dinners and we'd go bankrupt."
"Haha. What a joke. Hunters make a lot of money, don't they? We saw the news too. In America you developed Elixir or whatever...."
I lit a cigarette. Then I blew the smoke straight into the face of the merchant who was still talking. The acrid smoke made him cough.
I smiled at them.
"It's expensive, you bastards."
At the cold voice, the three merchants stopped talking and their expressions hardened.
Yeah.
Now they seemed to grasp the atmosphere a little.
Sorry — but you won't be doing business here.
"Your shit is so fucking expensive I don't want to eat it."