Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Not Particularly Sad
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I'm not particularly sad.
The late-night showdown between Director Kim Deokja and Clan Head Lee Yul—who would hit menopause first—had dragged on forever.
Of course, both of them were superhumans who wouldn't suffer any permanent damage from something as trivial as gut punches.
Which was exactly why...
"You look about ready to drop. Shall we step in and stop them?"
"Yes!"
We couldn't just let one of them drop dead of old age while they kept going like that.
It was one of South Korea's tourist attractions now.
These two had been trading belly shots for over ten years already.
...We had to prevent this bizarre landmark from becoming permanent. So, timing it perfectly with their waning strength, Lee Miran the Princess and I leaped into the fray.
"Director, that's enough already!"
"Hah... hah...! Menopause...!"
"Mother, you're making a vulgar spectacle of yourself!"
"Hah... huff...! You... get menopause...!"
Thankfully, since we'd matched them up as equals, they were both utterly exhausted.
Even as the Princess and I grabbed them from behind, they offered no resistance and let us drag them away like ragdolls.
Soon enough, the two exhausted ladies—not hags—collapsed into a deep sleep.
"Yongchan, I'm sorry you had to see such an unseemly sight."
"No, Princess! If anything, this whole mess started because of me. I should be the one apologizing."
I scooped Seolgi into my arms and hoisted Director Kim Deokja onto my back.
Even as the Princess—the very cause of this incident—apologized to me, I was just trying to get us all out of there as quickly as possible.
That was when...
"Yongchan."
"Yes, Princess?"
"Head straight to the Hunter Association right now."
"!!"
Her smile faded in an instant.
With sharp eyes, the Princess delivered a stern warning.
"And you'll have to stay holed up there... for at least ten years."
"Yeah... I figured as much."
"Indeed. After this fiasco, you've made enemies of Korea's most powerful Hunter clan."
Hunter clans with over a thousand years of history were rare even on a global scale—you could count them on one hand.
But I'd crashed one of their major events, trashed part of their territory (albeit helpfully), and even "assassinated" their Clan Head (?).
This wasn't just a national scandal; it was the kind of incident that would shock the entire world.
They say ten years can change mountains and rivers for a reason.
In other words, it'd take at least that long for the dust to settle.
"Sorry. As just a princess, I can't offer much real help yet."
"No, Princess. Your kind words alone mean the world."
"Of course... Given Mother's age, the Clan Head selection will happen within ten years anyway. If I become Clan Head then, I'll declare you innocent myself."
"Thank you."
The Supreme Lee Clan dominated nearly every sector in South Korea.
The one place they couldn't touch, however, was the Korean branch of the Hunter Association.
Because at its helm sat Im Eonnyeon, the Branch Chief—an S-rank hunter on par with Clan Head Lee Yul.
And luckily for me, I had her personal favor.
'Director Kim Deokja only came looking for me because Branch Chief Im Eonnyeon turned a blind eye despite knowing everything.'
I bowed to Princess Lee Miran, finally turning to leave the Supreme Lee Clan's territory for good.
But then...
Grab.
"...Princess?"
Lee Miran gently tugged at the collar of my shirt on my back.
Did she have more to say?
I turned around, wondering what it was.
"Snow?"
The first fat snowflakes of the season began drifting down from the sky right on cue.
The Princess, who always wore her beret like a distinguished funeral guest, carefully removed it.
"Yongchan, regretfully, the only ones I can let leave with you are you and the Medical Director on your back."
"......Pardon?"
"If we hide Seolgi away at the Association too, it really could spark a 'war'."
She looked genuinely apologetic.
After a brief pause, she gently lifted Seolgi from my arms and explained.
"So leave Seolgi here for now."
"...And that's everything that's happened up to now."
This was a space where not a single ray of light from the outside world could penetrate.
The Velvet Room.
In the center of this dark blue-tinged library, about three days had passed already, hadn't they?
I hadn't noticed on the way to the Hunter Association, but once the tension wore off, the side effects of Bullet Time knocked me out. I slept for a full three days before finally waking up.
For the record, Director Kim Deokja apparently sprang awake after just a few hours, stretching like nothing happened.
Anyway, I'd been summoned by Branch Chief Im Eonnyeon the moment I regained consciousness and entered the Velvet Room.
And I'd just finished recounting every detail of the events.
"Princess Lee Seolgi... no, Seolgi. So you didn't bring her after all."
"Yes..."
"It doesn't matter."
"...Huh?"
"The war."
"!!"
Branch Chief Im Eonnyeon, seated across the desk, had listened to my entire story.
The moment I finished, she dropped an unexpected bombshell.
"Hyunjun... or should I say Yongchan now?"
"...Yes."
"Yongchan, they say hunters who reach the pinnacle transcend humanity and live eternally."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. It's more legend than fact. But even if I haven't lived that long, any hunter who's seen a few centuries like me probably thinks the same."
Your acquaintances, your family, everyone you knew...
Even the children you bore—they all vanish before you, along with the era you lived in.
As time marches on and everything changes while you're stuck the same as ever, eventually you lose attachment to life.
You realize that aging with time is the happy punctuation at the end of a fulfilled life.
But at that level, even ending your own life becomes impossible.
"Most S-rank hunters like me are searching for a 'place to die'."
"!!"
"And I've decided mine will be with the first male hunter born in this southern land of the Korean Peninsula—right by your side, Yongchan."
A woman over two hundred years old, whose lingering ties to life had vanished with her homeland Joseon.
Branch Chief Im Eonnyeon declared that her final resting place would be at my side.
"You'd die... for me?"
"Yes."
"...Why?"
I had to ask, naturally.
No matter how rare male hunters were, we were practically strangers who'd just met.
Plus, the current Kim Yongchan wasn't some famous future celebrity—he was a wanted criminal, openly hunted by the Supreme Lee Clan.
Why would a Hunter Association Branch Chief stake her life on helping a 'villain' like that?
"Why do you value me so much?"
"...!"
To that question...
"To atone for past mistakes—for now, let's leave it at that."
Branch Chief Im Eonnyeon didn't give a straight answer.
Instead, as if to affirm she was still on my side, she placed a warm hand on my head—which I'd been barely holding back tears over losing my one true friend.
"That must have been tough, huh?"
"!"
"You did well."
Crack. Drip.
"Ugh... sob...!"
"Cry if you need to. It's just you and me here."
"Thank you, Branch Chief. Truly, thank you so much!"
When I first opened my eyes to the VIP hospital room ceiling.
When I realized that even with help from someone on Clan Head Lee Yul's level, my own weakness had forced me to leave Seolgi behind.
A despair I'd never felt even in my regret-filled previous life crushed me entirely.
Yet in that moment when my mind teetered on collapse, I still had allies left.
And not just Branch Chief Im Eonnyeon standing before me.
'Director, Lime, Director Kim Deokja, Lee Gok, Princess Lee Miran—they all helped me. They're on my side.'
I won't kneel here.
Despairing over one mistake would insult everyone who's had my back.
The Director always told me:
Don't live groveling.
If you're going down, stand tall and die.
That was my resolve now.
Seolgi isn't dead.
She's just stripped of her princess status and left in the Supreme Lee Clan.
At the very least, before leaving the territory, I'd gotten a firm promise from Princess Lee Miran—a trustworthy person—to look after her baby sister.
So, let's trust the two reliable princesses and Clan Head Lee Yul, who's probably coming back to her senses by now.
Seolgi's safe.
No—she'll definitely be safe.
The fool I risked my life to save wouldn't try dying again anytime soon.
With that settled, all that's left is to extract the princess from that castle with my own power.
"Branch Chief Im Eonnyeon."
"Yes, Yongchan?"
"I want to get stronger."
"...How strong?"
The Supreme Lee Clan was one of the world's top ten Hunter clans.
And I'd turned them into enemies.
This incident gave them the perfect excuse to challenge me: ambushes by both monsters and hunters in dungeons were now a foregone conclusion.
The other top ten clans on their level might target me too.
I wanted power to face those foes alone—no help needed—and even protect them in turn.
To do that, at minimum...
"S-rank hunter."
"!!"
"Branch Chief Im Eonnyeon... no, stronger than even you."
"Stronger... than me?"
"Yes. To keep everyone around me from worrying, I need at least that much."
Until now, I'd only been protected.
Now, it's my turn to protect.
That conviction drove my answer.
The 250 points now in my possession.
Before diving back into dungeons with these points, I decided to first uncover the true nature of my power.