A Reputation Money Can't Buy

"He—he's out!"

"Get the cameras rolling!"

Dozens of cameras swung toward Lee Taepyeong simultaneously.

Click-click-click-click-click!

Flashes exploded from every direction.

"Hunter Lee Taepyeong!"

"Welcome back safely!"

"Is it true that you defeated the Devourer?"

"Could you give us a statement regarding France's 'Cannibalism Project'?"

A deluge of questions poured out frantically.

Step.

Choi Muryeong stepped in front of him, blocking the crowd.

"Please submit all interview requests in writing."

"It—it's Choi Muryeong!"

"Hunter Choi Muryeong! Why did you return to the country together?"

"There are rumors that you were actually the one who defeated the Devourer! Is that true?"

Choi Muryeong was famous for maintaining a perfect poker face, no matter how trashy the reporters he faced were.

But this time, a crack appeared in his composure.

"The one who defeated the Devourer was Hunter Lee Taepyeong."

"But the local reports say...!"

"I merely accompanied him to act as his escort."

"The... the world's number three hunter acted as an escort...?"

"In hindsight, it was the right decision."

"What makes you say that...?"

"Because it was true that France was targeting Hunter Lee Taepyeong."

"..."

Leaving them with those final words, Choi Muryeong turned away.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Taepyeong slipped out of the airport under the guidance of the Hunter Administration employees.

They arrived at the Hunter Administration headquarters.

To his surprise, the Director of the Administration himself was waiting for him.

"Welcome back safe and sound, Hunter Lee Taepyeong."

"Thanks to you."

"And I must apologize."

"Pardon?"

"If we had caught on sooner, you wouldn't have been dragged into such a mess in the first place."

"Oh, come on."

"It's entirely our fault. You have my sincerest apologies."

"Don't worry about it. How could anyone predict what those crazy sons of bitches were planning unless they were one themselves?"

"Hahaha!"

The Director burst into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠laughter at Taepyeong's blunt remark.

"Anyway, I survived thanks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to you sending Hunter Choi along."

"I'm glad he was of help."

"If it weren't for Hunter Choi, I might have ended up slaughtering every single person from the French Hunter Bureau who was there."

"...Uh, excuse me?"

"I was a bit out of my mind back then. You know, from the shock..."

Taepyeong twirled a finger near his temple.

"W-was it madness?"

"Not quite. Anyway, thanks to Hunter Choi holding me back, lives were saved. Ah, their lives, of course."

"T-thank goodness..."

"Otherwise, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one making headlines as an international serial killer might have been me, not Lucien Moreau."

"We certainly couldn't have that."

"Right? Even if I have the Heavenly Slaughter Star trait, I'd rather pass on becoming a mass murderer."

"Y-yes, of course..."

"Anyway, it all worked out. We got the Devourer, and France's Cannibalism Project was exposed to the world."

"You truly accomplished something monumental. The World Hunter Association even wants to present you with a commendation of gratitude."

La Conclusion, and now a commendation?

Taepyeong beamed, looking at the Director.

"You can just send it to the Typhoon Guild."

"I'll make sure of it."

"By the way, I heard there might be a lot of legal issues arising from this..."

"Do not worry about that. We will handle everything on our end."

The Director's voice was firm. His attitude made it clear he would never let any harm come to Taepyeong.

"You don't have to worry about a single thing!"

"Thank you."

"You must be exhausted. Go home and get some rest."

Taepyeong nodded at the Director's words.

Indeed, now that he was back, a wave of fatigue he hadn't noticed before was washing over him.

So this is what jet lag feels like.

Scratching the back of his head, Taepyeong said,

"Yeah. I should get some rest. But..."

"Is there a problem?"

"I'm worried reporters will swarm my place."

Realizing what Taepyeong was getting at, the Director nodded.

"Don't worry about that either. I'll personally have a word with them."

"Thank you."

"If anything else comes up, feel free to contact me anytime."

"Will do."

Taepyeong nodded with a smile.

"Ah..."

For the first few days after returning, he rolled around at home, doing absolutely nothing.

Crunch!

Right now, he was watching TV while munching on Korean pancakes made by Do Sangjin.

One was a seafood scallion pancake loaded with shrimp and squid.

Another was a kimchi pancake packed with pork.

And the last one was a potato pancake topped with melted cheese.

Chew, chew.

This is the life.

Who needs Michelin-starred restaurants?

It was raining outside, making the atmosphere absolutely perfect.

Bzzzz.

Just then, his phone vibrated.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only person who would call at this hour was...

Go Juhee?

Bingo.

"Are you resting well, Guild Leader?"

"Yep, thanks to you. What's up?"

"Straight to business?"

"Is there anything else for us to talk about besides work?"

"My, how cold."

Letting out a soft chuckle, Go Juhee got straight to the point.

"We've received the rest of the potion recipes from France."

"Oh, so they're complete?"

"Yes. The lab produced a prototype, and it matches the finished product perfectly."

"Then..."

"As long as we have your approval, Guild Leader, we can begin production immediately."

Oh. Was the potion factory finally going to start running?

"Sounds good. Let's get right to it."

"Understood."

"Ah, but wait."

"Yes?"

"About the price..."

"We were planning to price it as a premium line, referencing the existing market rates..."

"Come on. There's no point in doing that."

"...Pardon?"

Go Juhee's voice carried a hint of confusion.

As expected of someone from her background, she still had the mindset of a merchant.

The price of French potions was usually five to ten times higher than domestic ones.

For the ultra-premium lines, fifteen times was a common baseline.

If a domestic potion cost 100,000 won, a French potion would typically go for 1,000,000 won.

If he sold it for the exact same 1,000,000 won, what would be the point? None.

"Let's sell it at half price."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

It wasn't like he was doing this to make money anyway. He already had more than enough of that.

"And for hunters who agree to sell us the dungeon byproducts needed to make the potions, we'll give them an even bigger discount."

"Guild Leader, if we do that, our profit margins..."

"Oh, please. We'll still make a profit even like this. Am I wrong?"

"..."

"Honestly, potion prices are heavily inflated right now. Especially in our country, where we have a damage-dealer-centric meta with very few healers."

"..."

"Think about how many hunters go into dungeons without a healer, relying solely on potions."

"That is true, but..."

Go Juhee's voice trembled with confusion.

"If we take the tower byproducts and go for high-volume sales with low margins, it'll actually be harder for us to lose money."

"..."

It was true. Because his logic was sound, Go Juhee had no counterargument.

"Understood. If that is your wish, Guild Leader..."

"Yep. I'll leave it in your hands."

"Leave it to me."

Money would roll in regardless. In that case, what was truly important? Not money, but reputation. A reputation that money couldn't buy.

When the Typhoon Guild began producing the new potion based on the French recipe, the response was nothing short of explosive.

The price was half of the existing rate.

Yet the performance was even better?

Not only the domestic potion market but the global market was thrown into an uproar.

Even as international inquiries flooded in, Taepyeong's stance remained firm.

Domestic sales first.

Hunters first.

It wasn't something you could buy just because you had money.

You had to be a registered 'Hunter' to purchase it.

It was a condition completely opposite to the current reality, where items meant for hunters were instead being hoarded by the wealthy.

Naturally, the hunter community went wild.

"...Hmm, I didn't expect it to go this far."

He hadn't anticipated such an explosive reaction.

Taepyeong grinned as he scrolled through the flood of praise.

"Well, not bad."