Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: The Queen of the Elves!
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"It's been about three days. Mia suddenly stopped coming to work. Thanks to that, I've been on duty for three straight days."
"Huh? Mia's boyfriend? Oh, the hunter? She bragged about him a ton."
"The weather's gotten cold lately, so the magic beasts have thinned out. The mood around here's getting tense because the hunters are running out of work."
"The hunters have been scarcer too. Makes sense with no beasts around. Maybe they're off looking for other jobs?"
The conversations among the nurses in the makeshift ward were all much the same.
With winter coming, the local magic beasts had dwindled, so the hunters had naturally followed suit.
No reason for hunters to stick around a hunting ground short on prey.
"What do we do now?"
Lee Kangho, the hunter, let out a deep sigh.
"There's not even a tiny clue about Mia. She just vanished without a trace, completely out of nowhere."
I listened silently, exhaling cigarette smoke.
The air outside Seoul carried that distinctive dusty tang.
"Hm, you look like you've got some ideas?"
"Experience tells, huh."
Reneah leaned in subtly and whispered.
"Don't mention age in front of a guy who might be your future husband. I'll kill you."
"You don't actually believe that'll happen, do you?"
"C'mon, a man can dream."
Sigh, fine.
At 1,900 years old, she was closer to dead than alive anyway.
Might as well let her chase her dreams before then.
"Ideas? Did you find something, boss?"
"Yumia's mom told me. She clocked in for work, but never made it back to Seoul after her shift."
That meant Yumia had gone missing somewhere outside Seoul.
Explained why the police weren't jumping on it.
Disappearances due to magic beasts outside the city happened all the time every year.
"Magic beasts...!"
Lee Kangho's eyes widened as he urgently gripped his shotgun.
It wasn't a meaningful move. Just something to vent his frustration, probably.
"Let's wipe out every beast around here right now! Then-!"
"That's odd, isn't it?"
Reneah cut him off.
"If that's true, it doesn't add up. The beasts around here have dropped off sharply lately, but someone's gone missing?"
She had a point. Sharp eye from all those years.
She'd zeroed in on the exact doubt I'd been about to raise.
"Huh? Y-Yeah, you're right! Why's that?"
Harsh to say it, but...
Lee Kangho looked a little dim right then.
Good thing aptitude tests didn't grade raw intelligence.
If they did, he'd drop from A-rank.
"I'm not versed in this ecosystem, but you seem to know something?"
"Usually, two big possibilities. One: rotten luck. A beast snuck past the hunters and snatched Yumia."
Unlikely, of course.
The other one...
"Or some psycho beast prepping for hibernation is hoarding them all up."
Both their faces turned grave in an instant.
A beast stockpiling food for winter—and Yumia as one of the prizes—had bubbled to the surface.
"Most beasts around here don't hibernate. It's a spot hunters love year-round."
"Yeah. I hunt riskier zones, but hunters with families or who want safe gigs stick here."
The very existence of this container clinic screamed heavy hunter traffic.
"From what I see, one big guy's crept in from somewhere."
A beast collecting local beasts as winter rations.
Or was it just beasts?
One of the nurses had mentioned hunters thinning out too.
"Probably snagged some people as well."
I stubbed out my cigarette and tucked the butt into my case.
This theory even explained that "tangled human scent" Reneah mentioned earlier.
"What?! P-People!? That's bad news!"
"...A matchmaker who knows his stuff, huh?"
Unlike the panicking Lee Kangho, Reneah crossed her arms and eyed me appraisingly.
"Not the point right now. There could be more kidnap victims. Cops won't bother much outside the city."
"Wh-What do we do? Should I round up some hunter buddies?"
"That takes time. And cash. Better to-"
I dialed the office.
After the ringback tone...
- H-Hello? B-Boss?
"Yeah, Kim Yang. You done dancing?"
- ...I-I didn't dance?
"Followed your account."
- Boss! Gimme the ID! I'm b-blocking you!
"Anyway, check my desk."
- V-Voyeur. P-Pervert peeping on hot secretary. S-Suing!
Where'd she pick up that weird talk?
- H-Here. Boss.
"Second drawer. Letter with a number on it?"
- Love letter? On heart paper?
"Yeah. Call it, say I'm in danger. GPS is on—they'll find us."
- Got it, boss.
"Any clients?"
- Nope.
Good. Gotta nail this job then.
One holy matrimony fee would cover groceries for months.
No more ramen.
They both asked as I hung up.
"You know a hunter?"
"Who'd you call?"
"Friend."
I enabled phone GPS and rapped on the car.
"Let's head deeper first. Verify the hunch. If it's right, she won't be hard to find."
We piled into the SUV.
It roared forward with a fierce engine growl.
Finding it was easy as pie.
Hibernating beasts seek warm spots.
Seoul's outskirts were littered with abandoned buildings—one had to be it.
Right on cue...
"Human scent's thick that way."
Reneah stuck her head out the window, pointing at a half-built high-rise site.
Spider swarms the size of large dogs skittered around.
"Ugh, gross."
I didn't hate spiders, but that big? Creepy as hell.
They carried web cocoons in their mouths.
A hunter rifle poked from one.
Human.
"Those bastards-!"
Lee Kangho was fired up.
I glanced over and suggested casually.
"Wanna ram through? Looks like a slog otherwise."
"Huh? This car's still on payments."
Back to reality quick.
"Yumia's been missing three days. Time's critical."
The engine answered.
VROOOOM!
The SUV charged with a savage exhaust roar.
"Oppa, drive!"
Reneah leaned out the window, cheering brightly.
1,900 years old, calling me oppa without a care.
BAM! CRASH! CRUNCH!
Spiders smashed by the SUV—some flung off the windows, others crushed under tires.
Hyundai SUVs might look dated, but damn were they tough.
SCREEECH!
The SUV halted dead center in the site.
The spider beasts huddled back, wary.
"Stay in the car, boss."
With a ka-chunk of racking, Lee Kangho grabbed his shotgun and stepped out.
'Lee Kangho's a solid hunter.'
We graded hunters extra harshly.
No skill meant death.
Yet he'd earned our agency's top 'S' rating.
Proved his chops—but...
'Bad matchup.'
Atop the site's highest point.
A queen spider glaring down.
Spider lower body, humanoid upper.
Humanoid form meant high intelligence.
Vast webs stretched behind her, dotted with numerous cocoons.
Weapons and clothes protruding—definitely humans.
BANG! BANG!
Shotgun blasts echoed.
Overwhelming firepower shredding spiders.
The spider queen didn't flinch.
'Culling the excess young while stocking up for winter.'
She seemed to relish her offspring dying.
Reneah tapped my back as I watched.
"Not fighting, boss?"
"Best I've got is a folding knife. Can't legally carry gear to kill beasts."
Seoul banned weapons unless you were hunter or cop.
No way for a businessman like me.
"Hm? I've got a bow."
"Ignored. 3rd and 6th floors always diss bows."
"..."
Especially Cyber City on the 6th—called bow users monkeys.
"As I recall, that's the 'Net Queen,' a named beast. Wanted elsewhere, but cold drove her to cozy Seoul."
"You know everything? Spill more."
"Ten Lee Kanghos couldn't take her?"
"And you're chill?"
BANG! BANG!
"Called backup. Should be here soon."
"Friend?"
"Yeah. Relax."
I popped gum from the car's dispenser and chewed.
"Wanted means bounty, right?"
"Yeah. Two hundred mil, I think?"
She popped the sunroof and leaned out at that.
Drew her bow and nocked an arrow instantly.
"Perfect for wedding funds."
A halo of light enveloped her, bursting forth.
Holy, ecstatic aura like spring breeze, laced with faint maple scent, gently embraced everything.
It coalesced in her grip, forming an arrow.
"...!"
The Net Queen panicked for the first time.
Gathered cocoons from her webs, forming a shield.
Just a tiny eye-slit for vision.
Perfect meat shield.
"At this range-"
Twang!
Reneah released without hesitation.
"I could hit blindfolded."
The radiant arrow pierced the Net Queen's head dead center.