Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Scout (1)
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The day the Gate Live Broadcast Ban Law was enshrined in an international treaty.
A single black limousine was crawling slowly down Camden Street in England.
"When you're old, you ought to die. Being alive means seeing all sorts of ugly sights."
The elderly man with snow-white hair scratched his head with a fountain pen.
Sitting in the back seat of the limousine, his shoulders were remarkably broad and square, making it easy to imagine what he must have looked like in his youth.
The blonde female driver sighed.
"Please don't say that. I don't want to be unemployed."
"Oh dear, that was short-sighted of me."
The old man chuckled heartily and tapped his tablet with the back of his hand.
"Be grateful to Hunter Yeoto. Without him, I'd probably be hospitalized with high blood pressure by now."
"It would've been easier to protect you if you'd just stayed put in one place, like a hospital or somewhere... But grateful? For what?"
The bodyguard woman glanced at the old man through the rearview mirror.
She felt a sense of unease in his words.
"Did Yeoto predict this would happen?"
The old man shook his head.
"I don't believe in human predictions. Unless you're the Lord himself, how could anyone know the future?"
"My ears are ringing. Especially given the current situation."
"Hm. Even I'm starting to feel self-conscious saying it. But still."
He grinned.
The chairman of the British Hunter Association smiled.
"I really like spirited young people. Brave hunters who stand up to crises, that sort of thing."
"Like Charlotte Guild?"
"...Are you really trying to get fired?"
"There are plenty of people who want to stab or shoot you, Chairman. Normal protectees stay home at times like this. They don't make life harder for their bodyguards."
"Damn, that mouth of yours."
The light turned red.
Rosaria stopped the limousine and said,
"Word is, you got a call from that woman at Natu Guild."
"She made a proposal. What a lioness she still is. I just told her I'd sign the contract on those terms."
Recalling what she'd overheard while guarding him, she asked,
"Are you sure about this? It'll come out of your personal funds."
"Ugh."
The thrifty chairman groaned.
But he soon sighed and nodded.
"What can I do? Time to start managing my investments properly."
"...Shall I chip in a bit too?"
"I'll appreciate the sentiment. But investments aren't something you do lightly. Especially when someone's sweet-talking you into it."
Of course, it was rich coming from a chairman who'd been sweet-talked by a Korean lioness.
But what could he do?
Without investments like this, there was no hope of reviving the utterly collapsed British Hunter Association.
"I hope you're a blue-chip stock, Hunter Yeoto."
The British chairman let out a sigh laced with expectation.
Just like any ordinary investor poking around the stock market.
Natu Guild, 16th floor. Guild Master's office.
"Hee hee. An excellent choice, Chairman."
Jeong So-won beamed with a smile after ending the call.
Shin Seung-ah, who happened to be lounging in the guild master's office that day—ostensibly to help with work, but really slacking off—tilted her head curiously.
"Who were you talking to so happily?"
"The British Hunter Association chairman. He says he'll invest in us."
"What? Invest? From the British Association?"
Shin Seung-ah's face lit up.
She was a member of Natu Guild, after all.
"So? How much is he investing?"
"Equipment. Mandao of the Sand Dunes and a robe."
"...Mandao of the Sand Dunes?"
Her bright expression twisted into one of outrage.
"That's E-rank gear! Are they joking? Who are they telling us to shove that on?!"
"Yeah? On Yeoto's summon."
"...Who? Yeoto?"
Shin Seung-ah, who had been fuming about them tossing E-rank gear used by assassins at her guild, now looked strangely contorted.
Of course, Jeong So-won didn't pay it much mind.
"Summons can equip gear too. If you send it back unsummoned with the item, it'll come back equipped when resummoned."
"That's not the point... Huh? Gear on a summon? Wouldn't it be better to equip another raid member?"
"Named-grade summons are different. El Ayla, was it? That summon will level up as it fights, just like regular hunters. No real difference. Might even be stronger."
"Ah, yeah, that makes sense... No, wait! Why is the British chairman giving gear to Hunter Yeoto?!"
It was a cry from Shin Seung-ah, who had nearly bought the explanation wholesale.
In response to her subordinate's bleating, Jeong So-won replied,
"I acted as middleman and sweet-talked him into investing. Figured we should sponsor Yeoto regularly too."
"...What? Sponsor? With someone else's money?!"
Someone else's money, no less—from a heavyweight foreign association chairman.
The absurd news made Shin Seung-ah's vision go dark.
"Why not use your own?! You have plenty!"
"Don't you remember? I said I'd never touch stocks again."
She did remember. She'd said it. Definitely.
But to think that whole "urgent business" frenzy before was about setting up deals like this?
Too deflated to argue, she flopped onto the sofa.
"...So you're squeezing the British chairman to sponsor your favorite streamer?"
"Not squeezing. Just borrowing for a bit."
Her boss was a total thug.
A purebred thug among thugs.
Tap-tap-tap.
Jeong So-won hammered the keyboard and said,
"Why so surprised? That guy's a former A-rank hunter anyway. No way he'd balk at investing over a little money."
"...Yeah, he could afford it, sure."
"Exactly. I didn't ask him to cough up billions in gear from his active days."
Jeong So-won's eyes flicked up over her monitor.
"You're overreacting too. Your gear alone is worth several buildings."
"I'd rather not hear that from someone draped in ten years' worth of municipal budget."
"Makes perfect sense. Safety is the most valuable thing money can buy."
It was a ridiculous answer, but also true.
For hunters, gear was their greatest asset.
Just as landlords bought land and chairmen invested in businesses, hunters poured over half their wealth into gear.
'Hunting monsters is how hunters make their money.'
It was no different from investing in a business.
Shin Seung-ah invested heavily in gear herself.
Losing it all would hit harder economically than a cosmetics company's stock halving.
Top-tier hunters wore companies on their backs.
"When parvenus with hundreds of thousands of followers drop hundreds of billions on yachts, you think the twenty-odd association chairmen worldwide are gonna cry over a few billion?"
Tap-tap. Jeong So-won kept typing.
Shin Seung-ah gave an awkward smile and rubbed her cheek.
"I did hear the French chairman blew 10 billion in one night in Vegas..."
"Rumor. It was actually 20 billion."
"Wow, what a baller. Burning 20 billion on a hobby."
Still, an amount they could easily handle.
The British and French chairmen were retired A-rank hunters.
Living normally, they'd never want for money.
Shin Seung-ah roughly estimated their assets.
It wasn't hard. She was A-rank too.
'Top hunters' wealth management is like oil tycoons.'
Just without oil as the base commodity.
Their capital was monster magic stones.
Magic stones were 100% liquid assets.
Used as alternative energy sources.
In modern society, magic stones were as good as gold.
Some were pricier than the same weight in actual gold.
Especially S-rank boss stones—worth more than nuclear power plants.
And several ended up in private hands.
No upstart nouveau riche could compete.
'Drop items too, but demand's low, so not great as capital.'
Monster drops were only for hunter gear.
Limited buyers.
To make big money, target the 8 billion civilians.
'That's why they do broadcasts and businesses.'
Boost fame via streams first.
Then launch their own companies.
Use business profits to buy more gear.
Grow stronger, harvest more capital (=magic stones).
That was the standard wealth strategy for top hunters.
Regular hunters lived like workers or salarymen—same as any office job.
'If it's too much hassle, get a sponsor.'
Not bad if business felt burdensome.
Most solo ventures flopped anyway.
Money alone didn't guarantee success.
Even chaebol heirs failed startups often.
'...Now I get what the guild master is thinking.'
After all that contemplation.
Shin Seung-ah finally grasped Jeong So-won's goal.
"You're trying to be Yeoto's sponsor?"
"He'd turn it down if I proposed now. Timing's off."
...Sigh, wrong again.
"Lots of people expect Yeoto to succeed. Other guilds are probably sponsoring gear too."
"Huh? Then what do we do? To not get buried, shouldn't we give at least B-rank gear?"
"Play the sucker? He'd never use gear mismatched for his level. Viewers would just say he won on item carry."
Jeong So-won said, staring at her laptop screen.
"The hardest part is the first breakout. Just support enough to avoid a slump now."
"To keep Yeoto's momentum going?"
"Yeah. The British chairman wants to rehab his rep damaged by Charlotte Guild's screw-up through Yeoto, so he'll keep showering him indefinitely."
"We got played?"
"Played."
Of course, if Yeoto kept winning, it'd change.
Far from sucker, he'd be a national hero—buy low at his feet, sell high over his head.
Jeong So-won didn't bother explaining that far.
"Phew..."
Meanwhile, Shin Seung-ah, who'd been anxious, relaxed.
Was she the type to sprawl without checking her footing?
She'd known, but Jeong So-won was Jeong So-won.
"Huh? Then why not have the chairman sponsor directly?"
Why route through our guild?
She wouldn't skim fees, but thanks to the chairman, Natu Guild gained favor with Yeoto.
For free.
But what did the British chairman gain?
Shin Seung-ah couldn't wrap her head around it.
Jeong So-won blinked slowly at her subordinate.
"Why? Optics."
"Optics?"
"He's openly investing big in a hot rising star."
"Right."
"Articles will pop up everywhere. Everyone will know. If Yeoto flops then, how do you think the chairman's rep tanks?"
"...Oh no."
Smack!
As Shin Seung-ah slapped her forehead, Jeong So-won continued,
"String of investment failures, and his prestige is toast. Labeled incompetent, loses his title and public support forever."
"So you're proxying the investment?"
"Yep."
Open sponsorship guarantees headlines.
If every stock buy got blasted like "Shin Seung-ah bought X shares of Samson Electronics at Y price!", how embarrassing.
'Everyone knowing my stocks' ups and downs? Horrifying just to think.'
For Shin Seung-ah, just embarrassment. For the chairman, worse.
Investment flop after Charlotte Guild disaster.
His already rock-bottom rep plunges to the mantle.
A trivial sum becomes his final all-in bet on honor and future!
'No way he'd sponsor Yeoto directly.'
Not that he wouldn't.
He couldn't if he wanted to.
Like pulling a gacha at the corner store on a whim, then pros show up and clean you out the second you dud. Infuriating.
But funnel through Natu Guild discreetly?
No rep damage.
Fail, lose only the investment.
"If Yeoto succeeds, he'll approach later: 'That sponsorship you got? That was from me.' Builds rapport. Great first impression."
"...Smart investing."
Shin Seung-ah chewed her lip.
She said it like it was someone else's business, but Jeong So-won herself had maneuvered the chairman into it.
'My god.'
Enlightened, Shin Seung-ah smacked her forehead again.
'She foresaw all this from his first stream?'
With thought, analysis, explanation—it clicked.
Shin Seung-ah got it once told.
But spotting it instantly on stream, securing the optimal position?
Shin Seung-ah shook her head in dismay.
Awe mixed with respect and fear.
'Our guild master really isn't ordinary. Sometimes I want to peek inside her head.'
Lost for words gazing at Jeong So-won, Shin Seung-ah then got flustered.
...Tap-tap.
...Tap-tap-tap!
Her revered guild master was glaring at her keyboard, mashing keys.
Come to think of it, she'd been at it since earlier.
The tapping started right after the British chairman call.
"...Um, Guild Master? What've you been clicking so furiously?"
"Refresh."
Jeong So-won said, eyes glued to her laptop.
"She said Yeoto's broadcast announcement goes up today. Nothing yet."
"...I see."
It's 9 a.m. now.
"No idea. Why so late? Yeoto knows this is a crucial time..."
"Who knows. Maybe he's with a girl?"
...Snap! Jeong So-won whipped her head up.
Wow, eyes alone can interrogate.
Put on the spot, Shin Seung-ah shrank back.
"I mean, he looks like a total playboy, right? Hunter Yeoto."
"...Slander isn't nice, Seung-ah."
"Look, that sly eye shape..."
"Enough. I don't buy into physiognomy."
"I do. I joined Natu after reading your face, didn't I tell you?"
"Who cares?"
"It works."
"Get to work."
Tap-tap-tap.
Jeong So-won propped her chin, furiously refreshing.
Her seemingly nonchalant clicks were busier than before.