Should I Flip the Country Upside Down?
Should I just overthrow the country?
"Master, I have successfully completed your orders."
"Greetings, my lord!!"
The two of them had used teleportation magic to return to Ha Yuna's living room in the blink of an eye, and as if they'd rehearsed it, they dropped to their knees before the girl lying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Mordane… your knees can't be in great shape. Why do you keep putting yourself through this? From now on, you don't have to kneel."
"But…"
"That's an order."
"Understood."
At her word, Mordane rose at once and composed himself. Beside him, Kim Gunwoo—who was still on his knees—glanced carefully between the two of them and started to straighten up as naturally as he could.
Of course.
"Not you, though. If you don't want to get in trouble, just stay on your knees, yeah?"
"Understood!! I am truly grateful for the honor of being permitted to kneel!!!"
Ha Yuna's firm cutoff stopped him cold.
"Nnngh… let's see. Right."
I sat up, stretched, and perched myself on the edge of the bed, looking down at Kim Gunwoo. From this angle, all I could see was the crown of his head.
The guy… had a full head of hair. Didn't look like he needed to worry about going bald.
Shame. If I'd caught even a hint of a receding hairline, I could've dumped Alkerniman's special hair-loss potion on him.
I licked my lips, swallowed the disappointment, and slowly opened my mouth.
"The reason I called you over in a hurry is simple. I've got something I need to ask you, fast."
"Yes, ma'am! Ask me anything! I shall answer with the utmost sincerity!"
"Good. The question's simple. Everyone here, including me, is an Awakened, right? That's how this works. So—would it be a good idea to officially register with the Hunter Association? Oh, and is there somewhere that makes identities and stuff?"
"…Excuse me?"
Kim Gunwoo looked up at me with an expression that said he wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. I just nodded, without offering anything further.
"You heard me right. I'm asking whether it's a good idea to officially register as a hunter with the Association. I was digging through the forums earlier, and not registering seemed to be the meta."
"Ah. So that's what you were asking about."
"…? I have no idea which part of that struck you as weird, but anyway. Explain it to me. Everything you know."
"Understood. I shall explain it all. But would you happen to have paper and a pen?"
At his question, I looked over at Mordane, who'd been listening in beside us.
"You got any of those magic pens? Pull one out and give it to him."
"Understood."
Mordane reached into empty air, drew a fountain-pen-like magic pen from his spatial storage, and handed it to Kim Gunwoo. Naturally, the man who received it just stared at me with a look that said, And I'm supposed to do what with this, exactly?
"You can handle mana, right? Channel some into it and scribble in the air like you're drawing. Words'll appear. Use that instead of paper and pen."
"Oh… items like this exist?"
Looking genuinely fascinated, Kim Gunwoo immediately fed mana into the magic pen and sketched a few pictures in the air. His eyes lit up like a kid who'd just unwrapped a present. Then he caught himself, cleared his throat, and launched into the explanation.
"Ahem. Then I shall now begin my explanation regarding whether it would be advisable for my lord to officially register with the Hunter Association."
"Go on."
"I shall start with the advantages. The first, of course, is that it's legal. You won't get reported as a villain, and you can raid gates and the Tower openly, through official channels."
"The Tower? What's that?"
As if he'd been waiting for the question, Kim Gunwoo used the magic pen to draw something that looked a bit like Gyeongju's Cheomseongdae—an old stone observatory tower.
"The Tower appeared ten years ago, during the era of the Great Cataclysm, alongside the gates and the Awakened, in a handful of countries. Think of it as a leveling ground for Awakened, with fifty floors in total."
"Huh. Okay. So do the same kinds of monsters show up in there? Are they strong?"
"Nothing's been confirmed exactly, but according to analysis from hunter superpowers like the United States and China, the estimates look like this."
"Ohh. That actually sounds pretty interesting."
I had no real sense of how strong an SS-Rank or an S-Rank was supposed to be, but the novelty of a structure that had never existed in Barzena at all was enough to get me a little excited. If I got the chance later, I figured I'd have to go in and take a look.
"Okay, I got the first one—you can do hunter work legally. What's the second?"
"The second is that you can receive various benefits from the country, but…"
"But? Why'd you trail off?"
At my question, he made a face like he was wrestling with whether he should even say this, and if so, how. Then he let out a long sigh and pressed on.
"…When you actually think about it, it's hard to call them advantages. Japan and the United States take decent care of their hunters through the Association and the government. South Korea just treats hunters as tools."
"So what are the benefits, then?"
"Slightly lower taxes, lodging for state-affiliated hunters like they're in the military, and letting them use the PX. That's about the whole list. Though honestly, the taxes… anyway. That's it."
"…Wow."
Classic Hell Joseon. Classic shithole Korea. They treated soldiers like garbage even before the Cataclysm, and apparently that particular instinct never went anywhere. Or was it just that every last person at the top was the problem?
"Tsk. Maybe I really should just tear the whole thing down."
"…Excuse me?"
"Nothing. The state of this country is such a mess I was briefly wondering if it'd be better if I just ruled it myself."
"……"
Kim Gunwoo was, for a moment, struck speechless by Ha Yuna's completely unhinged remark. But after thinking about it for a second, it didn't actually sound impossible.
Take Mordane alone, sitting off to the side, sipping tea and listening in with a vacant look on his face. Even at a conservative estimate, he had the strength of five or more S-Rank hunters. And then there was the knight who'd beaten Kim Gunwoo himself—who was presumably even stronger—plus another knight who looked just like that one. One staggeringly beautiful woman. An alchemist. And from the way they talked, there were still a whole lot of undead she hadn't even summoned yet.
In which case… conquering Earth might be a stretch, but conquering Korea? That seemed well within reach.
"That's… actually not a bad option, my lord."
"…? You think so too? Why? Did they do something to you?"
"Well… I'm a formally registered hunter myself, so I've had my share of fucked-up experiences at the hands of those government bastards."
"Yeah? Did Min Jaehyuk, the former Association president, do something to you too?"
"Min Jaehyuk, that son of a bitch? Hell yes, a lot. Even the master of our Baekdusan Guild said he'd wring that bastard's neck—dozens of times, I swear."
Oh. If even a shithead like Kim Gunwoo was reacting like this, then killing that bastard really had been the right call. Any lingering unease had already evaporated, but this felt like I'd wrapped up even the final confirmation, nice and clean.
I threw up a V-sign with zero shame and called out to him.
"Hey! That's why I killed him for you. Cheers."
"…Excuse me?"
"I said I killed him. Min Jaehyuk, that son of a bitch. Technically I sent Mark Two to torture him and then kill him, but same difference."
"…Is that true?"
He clearly didn't believe a word of it. I figured showing him would be faster than telling him, so I sent over the PT gymnastics video Mark Two had recorded of Min Jaehyuk.
"I just sent you a video in a private message. Check it."
"……"
Kim Gunwoo watched the five-minute time-lapse of Min Jaehyuk's PT gymnastics, ending with the man's head being chopped clean off. A mixture of terror, fear, and awe washed over him, and he bowed deeply toward Ha Yuna, who was wearing a mischievous little smile.
"…I will never, ever act up again, my lord."
"Do you finally understand my greatness?"
"Of course. Lady Ha Yuna is the strongest in the world."
"Heheh. I am pretty badass, huh?"
Still with his head down, Kim Gunwoo spoke in a trembling voice.
"My lord… I truly revere you. You are a genuine hero. You who have purified the tribulations of this world…"
"Hey, stop. That's enough. You're making me nauseous. Do you not have an off switch?"
"I'm sorry!! I shall reflect upon myself for inducing nausea!!!"
Kim Gunwoo started slapping himself across the face, over and over, right where he stood.
Slap! Slap! Whack!
"Hey, you lunatic, stop it!! You're going to smash your own face in!!!!"
"Yes!!" Slap. "I'm!!!" Slap. "sorry!!!!!" Sla—
I grabbed his arm and forced it down.
"Take it easy, yeah? If your face gets marked up, what do you think Kim Siyeon is going to think of me?"
"……I see. I didn't think that through."
"Whatever."
I pushed my hair back and settled comfortably into my seat again.
"So. Why is registering with the Hunter Association such a shit deal?"
"Yes, ma'am! Beginning the explanation!"
Kim Gunwoo floated the magic pen in the air again, his face going grim, as if he'd bitten down on the expression itself.
"This is the most important drawback."
Three words bloomed large in the air.
NATION / ASSOCIATION / GUILD
"The moment you officially register with the Hunter Association, my lord, you become a national combat asset. Put simply, you stop being 'one of us' and start being 'state property.'"
"State property, huh… Yeah, that actually makes it click. Hearing it put that way, I get it immediately."
Kim Gunwoo nodded and continued.
"If the government gives an order, you have to follow it. No exceptions. And if a disaster-class gate appears, you don't even have the right to refuse."
"…Hah?"
"Yes. It's real. The revised wartime mobilization law includes the Awakened."
"Wow… so they just want to slap a leash on you and drag you around, is that it?"
"Yes."
"Humans never change, do they."
Kim Gunwoo gave a bitter little smile and pressed on.
"And the second. Excessive taxes and surveillance."
More words wrote themselves in the air.
SURVEILLANCE
REPORTS
TAX 40–60%
I muttered it under my breath, just like that. "Fuck."
"Through C-Rank it's still tolerable, but from B-Rank up, the government manages a hunter's income, their equipment—even their disposition. A-Rank and above is even worse…"
"So if I registered with the Association as NecroEmpress and made a guild, what happens then?"
"Officially, you become a national weapon, and a wartime-commander-class hunter."
I rested both hands under my chin.
"So, to sum it up—"
Register, and I can operate legally—but the government holds the leash. Taxes get gouged to hell. Surveillance comes free with the package. War breaks out, and I'm auto-conscripted. Worst case, I get to hear "die for your country."
I let out a single quiet line.
"…So what, did our country just become China?"
Kim Gunwoo nodded so hard it looked like he might hurt himself.
"Yes!! That's exactly what I'm saying!! My lord!!! It's true!!! The Hunter Association and the government see hunters as nothing but living war materiel!! But ordinary people have no idea, and they fall for the politicians' games and drive poor hunters straight into death traps!"
I propped my chin on my hand and smiled—a bright, beaming smile straight out of my Elder Lich days.
"Then the conclusion's simple. Depending on how it goes, I might just have to overthrow the country."