Interview (4): Monsters or Familiars?
“It will proceed in this manner.”
After that, a tedious meeting dragged on. They set the filming date, explained how the interview would unfold, and asked whether Hunter Park Jihun needed anything specific. Since none of it concerned her, Sira simply sat there, staring blankly at them.
Then Representative Shin Soo-heon offered an idea.
“Oh, since Hunter Park Jihun is a Tamer, how about featuring your familiars in the video as well?”
“Excuse me?”
The suggestion was to film the familiars alongside him and have them participate in the interview.
“Oh, that’s good! It sets you apart from other hunters… and the familiars are all quite beautiful. People are very interested in them.”
Joo Ye-jin nodded vigorously in agreement.
“Hmm…”
Park Jihun’s reaction was understandably skeptical. It wasn’t that he minded exposing his familiars to the public.
‘Is there even one of them who can handle a normal interview?’
It was a very fundamental question.
First, Briana. Calm, competent secretary, cleanup duty, works hard.
‘Yeah, Briana should be totally doable.’
Kar. Scatterbrained, idiot, typical beast instincts.
‘Disqualified…’
Shin Jiyeon was human, so she was out. Chen Mei was also human and currently in China anyway.
Serina. Timid. Speech doesn’t come easily. Tsundere.
‘She’s fine just being there, but actually talking in an interview… I’m not so sure.’
Ruze. Extreme masochistic pervert.
‘No. Just no.’
Sira. Straight-up pervert.
‘You’re out too.’
Trene. Queen-like speech, but unexpectedly clumsy in a cute way. When he thought about it, she was actually one of the more normal ones among his group. Still, because she was directly tied to the massive gate outbreaks, the topic was sensitive.
‘Trene is disqualified too.’
So, to summarize: Briana was possible. Serina was on hold. Everyone else was out.
“Jihun…”
Sira was radiating an obvious ‘I want to be on camera’ aura, but she had already been disqualified. Park Jihun therefore settled on Briana, the closest thing he had to a normal option.
“Yeah, sure. Let’s go with that.”
“Okay! Then we’ll prepare questions for the familiars as well…”
Representative Shin Soo-heon was beaming, delighted at having secured such a strong concept.
It made perfect sense. Park Jihun was currently the biggest topic in the world. His familiars were shrouded in mystery, but their names and appearances were already well-known, to the point that they had dedicated fan clubs. Kar, the beastwoman with animal ears and a tail, and the succubus Sira in particular had massive followings. They simply possessed traits the public found irresistibly appealing.
“Regarding the questions, I’ll send the list for the familiars later… I’ve organized the ones for you here, Hunter Park Jihun. If there are any parts that are difficult to answer or that you’d rather avoid…”
Joo Ye-jin handed over the question list as she spoke.
It ranged from trivial things like his favorite food to slightly sensitive topics, such as how much profit he earned from clearing gates with only Shin Jiyeon. A wide variety of questions were prepared.
In any case, aside from the fact that he could tame humans into familiars, there wasn’t much Park Jihun was hiding. He had already revealed his stat-multiplication ability, even if he hadn’t disclosed the exact numbers. He had no intention of concealing his subspace, either. If he had, he never would have used his ultimate subspace attack in front of all the other hunters during the vampire gate.
But one section made his expression twitch.
There were questions about the recent hot issue.
Recent Issue Questions
Is it true that you recently cleared Vietnam’s near S-rank gate and took the Vampire Queen as your familiar?
After taming that Vampire Queen, the massive gate outbreaks in Vietnam reportedly subsided. Is there any connection?
“Hmm.”
This information had already been conveyed to the International Hunter Association, as well as the governments and hunter associations of each country, through the Vietnam Hunter Association. It appeared the details had not yet reached the general public.
‘Or are they worried it would cause panic if it became widely known?’
Regardless, it was something Park Jihun felt reluctant about. This part involved Trene having directly expressed her intent to attack Earth. Modern civilians, already sensitive to monsters and gates, would inevitably have strong opinions.
‘They might have kept it quiet because of me and my familiars.’
There had been some friction in the middle—such as the association not informing him about the illegal monster export issue—but it was true he had received significant help from them. Perhaps they had assisted him behind the scenes this time as well.
‘I should contact the branch manager and decide on this.’
While he was thinking that and reviewing the questions,
‘…Ah, that question really was too direct.’
Joo Ye-jin began to feel anxious as she watched Park Jihun’s serious expression while he read the list. The question about the connection between the Vampire Queen and the gate outbreaks could sound like doubting his own familiar, and by extension, like holding Park Jihun responsible.
In truth, it was the part she had hesitated over the most when compiling the questions. But as a Huntuber, she couldn’t ignore such juicy bait. The staff had added it with the mindset of “write it down first and ask for permission later.”
She had expected it might upset him, but now she worried it had upset him more than anticipated.
“I’ll think about this part a little more and get back to you with my decision.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
He didn’t seem terribly offended, since he didn’t say anything further. He simply stated he would think it over. It was a sensitive issue, and it would have been natural for him to dislike questions that could endanger his familiars. Still, he understood that people would be curious. Rather, he felt he needed to prepare proper countermeasures moving forward, so he didn’t show any overt displeasure.
“Ah, and for this question, let’s make it a bit more specific…”
In that manner, the meeting between Park Jihun and the Huntube team ran a little longer.
“Phew~ It’s finally over. I didn’t realize when I was just watching, but Huntube videos require paying attention to way more things than I thought.”
“That’s true.”
Answering Sira, Park Jihun dialed Lee Hyeondong, the Seoul Branch Manager of the Hunter Association.
“Aigoo, Hunter Park Jihun. What can I do for you?”
Park Jihun explained at length: that he was currently filming a Huntube interview, the connection between the massive gate outbreaks and the Vampire Queen that had been brought to his attention, and the questions regarding both his own stance and the Hunter Association’s position on the matter.
“(…Hmm, that part…)”
“As you said, we kept it hidden because we were worried it might cause harm to you and your familiars, Hunter Park Jihun. Well, in any case… it’s already spreading overseas, so it will eventually become known here as well. We were planning to announce it eventually…)”
According to him, they had informed certain upper-tier hunter guilds that high-ranking monsters could trigger massive gate outbreaks. However, they had not disclosed it to the public at large. They had anticipated fierce criticism toward the Vampire Queen, who had opened the gates, induced them, and caused enormous damage to Vietnam.
Of course, that was also why President Chien Bao had only informed the International Hunter Association and the leadership of each country, without telling the civilian population. If the truth rose to the surface, public opinion could easily turn to the idea that monsters were ultimately humanity’s enemies—citing how the succubus Sira had once tried to invade through a special gate—and that could lead to attacks on Park Jihun and his familiars.
Park Jihun had been worried about exactly that.
But they couldn’t keep hiding it forever. As Branch Manager Lee Hyeondong said, it was an issue that would eventually have to be revealed, and secrets always leaked. Wasn’t it already circulating like a rumor? Enough for a Huntuber to turn it into a question.
“……”
Park Jihun’s expression grew slightly grave.
He didn’t care if he himself got flamed. But he could not tolerate his precious familiars—essentially his own women—being denounced as humanity’s enemies and attacked.
It was true they had once been humanity’s enemies. Trene really had caused countless deaths.
However.
‘So what?’
Honestly, Park Jihun didn’t give a damn about public opinion. These were women he had tamed because he liked them. If his women were cursed or attacked for any reason, it was obviously a man’s job to stop it and protect them.
‘If they’re mine, I have to protect them myself.’
The current situation was good. His familiars had fans. There were even plans for them to appear on Huntube together. Park Jihun liked that his women were being acknowledged and treated favorably.
But clearly, the time had come to take action to maintain that status.
“Okay, understood. So it’s fine if I disclose it myself?”
“(Pardon? Ah, yes… If you’re comfortable with it, Hunter Park Jihun…)”
After hearing the answer, Park Jihun nodded, said he understood, and ended the call.
Meanwhile, the online community dedicated to Park Jihun’s familiars was as active as ever. A separate “Tamer’s Familiars Bulletin Board” had even been created because of how passionate the fans were. They spent every day excitedly posting stories and photos of his girls.
Then someone posted a new thread that shifted the entire mood.
In the chaotic online community, news of Hunter Park Jihun’s upcoming Huntube interview spread like wildfire, causing the topic to burn even hotter.