This Is the First Time
Anyway, the job was done. The path that had been hopelessly blocked by those incomparably grotesque ogres now lay wide open. And this time, the hunters who had nearly been slaughtered by those same ogres were the ones standing in our way. The silver lining was that they didn’t seem outright hostile.
“Thank you so much!”
“We really would’ve died…! You three are our saviors!”
“How much time did we waste because of these bastards…?”
“If that elf gentleman hadn’t been here, it would’ve been a disaster!”
“We’ll never forget this kindness!”
A torrent of handshakes came pouring in. The same people who had just been human baseball bats and human volleyballs now had stars sparkling in their eyes. Their expressions looked like they’d met Charon on the river Acheron only to be sent back alive—desperate in every sense of the word. They seemed genuinely grateful, yet there was an unmistakable undercurrent of fear, the dread of owing a debt to their benefactors.
“Do you need these ogre corpses by any chance? We’ll give them to you!”
“Or maybe you want the mana stones?”
“We’re sorry for causing trouble with our request…”
I wondered why they were acting like this, but then it clicked—they were Americans. Unlike countries where the government suppressed hunters, America operated on raw power dynamics among hunters. As long as you didn’t defy the government, commit crimes, or bother civilians, the default policy was non-interference. Hunters could do whatever they wanted to each other; true freedom was guaranteed.
Put nicely, it was a structured hierarchy. Put bluntly, it was a world of survival of the fittest. Honestly both descriptions sounded terrible, but that was simply how the American hunter community worked. The strong dominating the weak wasn’t just accepted—it was expected. The weak couldn’t even dare to make a sound against those significantly stronger. It was a place that perfectly illustrated both aristocratic elitism and cutthroat competition.
Naturally, Palaestra Academy had been influenced by this culture to some degree. Still, the gap between students was relatively ambiguous, the freshmen were still bright-eyed and less corrupted, the student body included far more non-Americans, and the academy itself worked to restrain such behavior. It hadn’t devolved into full-blown survival of the fittest. Most importantly, no matter how strong you were, if you bombed the written exams you were nothing but a muscle-brained idiot with bad grades. Combat villains might be useful short-term, but they had no long-term value to guilds. This was a verified truth, personally confirmed by the game’s protagonist.
In any case, judging from the way they’d been getting absolutely wrecked by those ogres earlier, their hunter ranks were probably about as high as the Eagles’ chances of winning a championship. If they were on the same level as the most notoriously cursed team in KBO history, then their overly submissive attitude made perfect sense.
They’d been rescued in Shareltea by people who had casually crushed ogres that had given them so much trouble? In a world where power dynamics ruled, falling out of favor could mean losing their lives. Their groveling was only natural.
Of course, I wasn’t sure what exactly we had done that could be considered life-threatening, but—
“Hey, you okay? If you’re fine, try standing up.”
“Huuueeegh…”
There was someone who, while not threatening lives, could make people feel like they’d lost something far more important. And one hunter who had suffered at her hands was now lying face-down, staring at the blue ground as if he had lost his entire country. The protective shield had saved his pride from shattering, but the experience had still dealt him a devastating blow. A man driven to the edge of hell. Yet a true man rises above despair. Even if the pain feels like it might kill him.
Soon enough, he squeezed out every last drop of strength and staggered to his feet on the bluish ground.
“Huu… huuuu…!”
“Hmm. Looks like you’re fine.”
Indeed, choosing to stand and die rather than grovel and live—that was the true spirit of a hunter. Cheon Mari’s expression shifted as if she were upgrading her evaluation of him. I shook my head at the sight and turned back to the gathered hunters.
They kept expressing gratitude while lowering their pride. I’d lost count of how many times they’d repeated the cycle in that short time. They probably should have been looking at Shannon or Cheon Mari by now, but… Shannon’s mask was intimidating, and Cheon Mari was terrifying thanks to her private brand of justice. So they kept their eyes fixed solely on me.
It was a strangely pleasant yet skin-crawling feeling. When I finally waved them off as if to say they could leave, they parroted the same words as before, just with slightly different phrasing. They looked like they were walking on eggshells.
“Really, truly, thank y—”
“We’d like to thank you properly later. Could I get your number—”
“You’re truly incredible. How do you even swing a sword like that—”
“You seem like a first-year, but how are you so good at fighting—”
“The only request we received this time was dealing with those ogres. Is there anything we can help you with—”
Good grief.
In the end, after exchanging various stories, we reached a decision. Since we had helped them by saving their lives, they would now help us. I wondered if professional hunters even had time for that, but according to them, dealing with the ogres had been their final job of the day. On top of that, the hunters—estimated to be between F-rank and E-rank—were in a position to provide assistance. After all, as students, our goal was to complete requests rather than hunt indefinitely.
The request we had received was also remarkably non-violent. In fact, it was the kind of job where fighting would almost never be necessary.
“Ah… so to summarize…”
“Just go to the location I mentioned and find a single blue-covered thesis paper about the size of a notebook.”
A specific location—someone’s house. The item to find—a thesis paper. Its appearance—standard notebook size with a blue cover. I had no idea what it was for, but it didn’t seem particularly difficult to locate. Given the clear size and distinctive appearance, the chances of finding it were high. Of course, there was a possibility these hunters might try to steal it, but they had no reason to do so, and attempting it would be suicidal.
Just to be clear, when I say “suicidal,” I don’t mean I would kill them. I mean the woman standing next to me would.
“Hmmm…”
Cheon Mari continued sending suspicious glances their way. I wondered what had happened to make her refuse to drop that look. It seemed like something I’d have to ask about once we got home. For now, with the people in question right here, I couldn’t exactly ask—
“Hmm?”
Wait. Did these people have translation buds? I slowed my steps and checked behind their ears. Not a single one was wearing anything. Also, the only East Asians here were me and Cheon Mari. It was safe to ask. As long as it wasn’t a mainstream American language like English or Spanish.
I approached Cheon Mari and quietly borrowed her ear.
“Hey, Cheon Mari.”
But I didn’t use Korean, the language of the Korean Peninsula. In this global era, someone might understand it, so I avoided it. Instead, I used the language I had learned from the elf household and studied at school under their so-called racial equality policy—the language of the Far North Elves. In other words, the incredibly niche “Far North tongue.”
The moment Cheon Mari heard me, she turned her head. After I gave her a meaningful look, she cleared her throat.
“Why are you suddenly speaking Far North?”
“There’s something I want to ask.”
“Something you want to ask? What is it?”
I gestured toward the hunters with my eyes. Cheon Mari seemed to catch on and opened her mouth.
“Are they the ones who messed with you in a previous round?”
“Not the immediately previous one, but yes, they’ve caused me harm. Well, not these guys specifically—their superiors.”
“What kind of harm?”
“They just… ran a few scams on me. The guy we met during the placement test was in on it too.”
“Against the great Cheon Mari? Impressive.”
The underlings didn’t matter. But their superiors did. The problem was that Cheon Mari had no reason to distinguish between them. That was probably one of the reasons for her overreaction earlier.
“Yeah. I never imagined I’d lose hundreds of billions because of it.”
“Oh dear.”
“And it wasn’t just once or twice. It happened five times.”
“They shook you down good, huh.”
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, and we’re accomplices. But five times? At that point, wasn’t the victim the worse person?
“So every time I regress, I thoroughly crush the organization they belong to.”
“Every time?”
“Without fail. And I plan to do the same this time.”
She really was the worse one, huh? No, more importantly, what kind of scam was it? What kind of billion-dollar fraud would make her grind her teeth like this?
“Um… how?”
“…I mean.”
Startled, I accidentally spoke in Korean instead of Far North. I quickly corrected myself and continued in the elf language.
“Exactly what are you planning to do?”
“Last time I used some police officers I’d bought off. This time, since it’s early, I was thinking of using armed gang members.”
Now that was some serious scale. I openly showed my discomfort.
“Have you done this a lot?”
“No, this is the first time.”
What a thoroughly trustworthy statement. I immediately decided I had to stop her.
“Don’t.”
“Huh?”
“I said don’t. If you’re going to do it, at least wait a few more years and use the safe, established method.”
I spoke firmly. My hardened expression and cold tone made the people around us glance our way. Since they couldn’t understand the words, some even asked what we were talking about, but I brushed them off by saying it was a private conversation.
“You need to understand this. I will never accept that plan.”
“But—”
“It hasn’t been tested at all. Besides, even if you ruin the plan, you can just kill yourself and reset. I’m not that kind of person.”
“……”
“Please choose the safe route. Don’t go down the dangerous path.”
I placed my hand on her shoulder as I spoke in Korean and gently pulled her closer, staring directly into her eyes. Her red eyes had been blazing, but as I drew near, they softened somewhat. Cheon Mari bit her red lips as if struggling with conflict.
“This is a request from your housemate.”
It was practically an order, but it was still a request. Cheon Mari clenched her fists tightly, then glanced around at the surrounding hunters. The thought that something terrible might happen kept repeating in my mind. To prevent that, I pulled her into a firm embrace. The soft sensation against my chest made her gaze turn toward me.
“Damn it…”
The words came out bitterly. In the end, she nodded.
“…Fine. I’ll do as you say.”
She had abandoned the plan she had been considering. Her expression was full of regret, but I was immensely relieved. Only then did I relax my stiff face. Naturally, I also slowly released her from the embrace.
With that sigh of relief, it seemed we could now head to our destination in silence. However, Cheon Mari kept staring at me. She looked at me as if she had no idea what to do.
“Um… Sian…?”
A different way of addressing me than usual. Her words carried a hint of caution. But what was she being so careful about? Why was she acting like this? The question had just risen in my mind when she spoke again, her voice trembling faintly.
“Are you… mad at me because of what I did?”
“No.”
“Really… you’re not mad?”
“I’m not.”
“For real? You promise…?”
“Yes.”
Unfortunately, such answers did nothing to reassure her. The awkward, fumbling reality simply continued. Until we finally reached our destination, her anxious, cautious questions never stopped.