The Hunter System (2)
The day of the Hunter Festival.
I went out into the streets with Yeriel.
The festival streets were packed with people in all sorts of costumes.
Hunter combat suits, but also witches, zombies, cheongsams, bunny girls, even police uniforms... There were plenty of outfits that seemed to have nothing to do with the Hunter Festival at all.
I finally understood the festival's true nature a little late.
"Ah, so this is one of those days..."
"What kind of day do you mean?"
Yeriel, looking subtly excited, asked quietly, and I answered with my voice pitched low.
"You know, those days where people dress up in weird outfits and have sex."
"Pfft..."
People had no trouble recognizing Yeriel, but no one dared approach her rashly.
Even reporters who seemed to be covering the event kept their distance like satellites.
Yeriel was radiating an aura that refused any approach.
Anyone disturbing her now might get beaten to death by the crowd around her.
There was still some time left before the contest, so we decided to stroll around the festival at a leisurely pace.
Alice and Tia were preparing at the venue, and Seo Ji-yu was there too, so it was just Yeriel and me right now.
First, we ducked into a pop-up store to avoid the crowd for a bit.
It was a collaboration café for a Winter Kingdom Guild entertainer, and it looked normal enough from the outside, which was a relief.
"The sun hasn't even set yet and it's already this packed... The contest starts in the evening, right?"
"Yes. I wonder if we can actually win."
"Yeah..."
We brainstormed a lot after that but couldn't come up with a surefire winning strategy.
The one somewhat seriously discussed idea was vote rigging, but that was just too dirty, even for us, so we passed on it.
"We just have to hope Alice and Tia do well."
"Should I just write a post on social media?"
"...You have a social media account?"
"No. I can just make one."
I wrestled with Yeriel's suggestion but ultimately decided against it after careful deliberation.
"Let's just not. If you write a post, it's no different from rigging the vote."
"Aah, that's so mean."
"Yeriel! Oh my god, when did you get here?"
Just then, as the café's owner joined in and we started bickering...
The reporters in the distance began inching closer.
Yeriel looked at them, as if they were forming a hunting formation, and smirked.
"It might be better to just single out one and call them over, don't you think?"
"Blanche, recommend someone suitable."
[The reporter from Hunter Daily looks fine. They write very balanced articles. No excessively exaggerated parts either.]
Blanche instantly searched the reporters' past articles and recommended the most suitable candidate.
The reporter Yeriel had summoned greeted us cautiously and took a seat.
"Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview on a rare day off."
"Let's finish this as quickly as possible."
"Ah, yes. Then first, a question for your wife..."
The reporter brought out what seemed like pre-prepared questions without hesitation.
It was a relief that he had come prepared.
The questions for Yeriel were on the level of 'are you doing well after retirement?', but his real target was none other than me.
It was as if he had been keeping a close eye on the Special Unit. From the very start, he threw a deep question at me.
"First, I would like to ask your husband about the recently controversial overwork death case of the Black Horse Guild. Is that all right?"
"Ah, yes. That's fine."
"Thank you. In this case, almost all of the Black Horse Guild's affiliated hunters have been punished, and some are voicing the opinion that the punishment is excessive or unjust. Could you give a statement regarding this..."
"Unjust, is it..."
I swallowed a bitter smile and shook my head slightly.
"I assume this sentiment stems from the fact that some of the female hunters in the Black Horse Guild were stripped of their hunter qualifications. Is that correct?"
"That is exactly the case."
"That procedure is not unjust at all. The employees whose hunter qualifications were revoked this time were all punished for insufficient dungeon raid completions."
"Insufficient dungeon raid completions?"
The reporter was visibly startled, as if he had never imagined that.
That reaction was only natural.
I gave a soft snort and nodded.
"Correct. Active hunters, depending on their rank, must clear a certain number of dungeons each year. Hunters from a subcontractor guild who made a living from dungeon raids were punished for insufficient dungeon raid completions. You understand how absurd that is, right?"
Originally, they filled their quotas by claiming the dungeons Ha Min-seong, the victim, had cleared as their own...
That fact was exposed during the investigation, leading to the revocation of their qualifications.
That's not the end of it.
"Beyond that, there's violation of the duty of good faith, fraudulent receipt of Hunter Association subsidies, embezzlement of hunting loot... Do you know how many other charges remain? The real punishment starts now."
"I-I see. However, there is also the opinion that the Special Unit's investigative resources are being overly consumed for minor crimes."
A waste of investigative resources, huh...
You sure have a lot to say while not lifting a single finger to help with the investigation.
I clicked my tongue internally and answered honestly.
"Reporter, do you think it's acceptable to commit a minor crime once in a while in your life?"
"Pardon? No... That's not what I meant."
"I feel the same way. Whether minor or not, investigating fairly is the role of an investigative agency."
The proverb 'he who steals a needle will later steal a cow' exists for a reason.
That way of thinking is the most dangerous.
Especially for hunters with abilities that transcend humanity.
We wrapped up the interview there and sipped our coffee.
I had been worried because it was a collaboration café, but the taste was decent enough.
The lack of investigative resources is an undeniable reality, so overcoming that through Oracle's upgrade is even more crucial.
Yeriel, who had been staring intently at my face from the side, gave a thin smile as if teasing me.
I grumbled at her for no real reason.
"It turned into my interview halfway through. What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing... I was just thinking that, despite everything, you really do believe in people, my husband."
"I believe in people?"
"Yes. You couldn't do this job unless you believed that hunters, too, can eventually be reformed by their environment."
Hearing her say it, I suppose that might be true.
I was feeling slightly embarrassed and couldn't continue speaking, when Yeriel added in a barely audible whisper.
"It's like injecting a corpse and looking for signs of life."
"Hmm?"
"Never mind. Don't you think it's about time we head to the venue?"
Had time really passed that quickly?
We hurriedly got up from our seats and headed to the stage where the contest would be held.
The area in front of the stage was already so packed with people that it was hard to even find a gap to squeeze into.
Guided by the staff, we managed to enter the waiting room where Tia and Alice were.
"You're here?"
"The appeal time is soon, right?"
Alice, who was getting her makeup done by Seo Ji-yu, couldn't even frown.
Already feeling as if I were praying, I checked the situation.
"It's true we don't really need to worry about the male hunters, right?"
"The male vote is very split. Most are the idol type. Plus, female hunters are traditionally strong in this contest."
"That's a relief."
But on the female hunter side, there was a very strong favorite to win.
Shin So-yi, the top contender for this contest, had become even more popular since the Big Sea Incident.
Since she was a top-tier actress to begin with, her recognition was overwhelming, with an expected vote share of over 30%.
Alice was popular in her own right, but she was the type that mainly appealed to voters with specific tastes.
The advantage here was that the vote consolidation on our side was quite solid.
There were hardly any other candidates with an image similar to Alice's.
"Hey, if it comes down to it, we can just steal it or something..."
"Easy for you to say."
"Master. There's no need for that!"
Tia, whose turn it was to get her makeup done next, scampered up to me and said.
"Please, can't you trust me just this once?"
"Me trusting you is why I'm sending you up on stage."
Right. Tia was also going up on stage this time as Alice's Hunter Pet.
The fact that she's a Tiamat fragment was a little concerning, but I judged it would still be better than nothing.
Tia seemed dissatisfied with just that, and pointed at her own leash.
"No, I mean please take this off!"
"What. Do you want to be disposed of now, after all this?"
"Master. My current appearance is due to a lack of mana. If I'm supplied with enough mana, I can take on a different form."
"Hm?"
Ah, come to think of it, Tia was the only one among her sisters with a somewhat odd body type.
Black Hair and Blue Lightning were both tall, stunning beauties, but she alone had a round, cute appearance.
After hearing her out, I fell into a new dilemma.
'If Tia transforms into an image similar to those girls, maybe she could steal a fair number of votes from Shin So-yi...'
Yeriel and I would be watching hawk-eyed from behind the stage. What could she possibly do just because I took her leash off?
Yeriel also had a surprisingly positive reaction.
"We don't have any other methods anyway. Let's give it a try."
"Shall we? Who'll provide the mana?"
"It would be best to receive mana from you, Master. There's a kind of compatibility to it."
"Ah, is that so..."
With a notice saying 30 minutes remained until the appeal stage began, I made my decision.
I took off the leash restraining Tia and held out one arm, and the creature promptly sucked on my finger.
"Slurp, shluurp..."
A considerable sense of exhaustion washed over me. Then, Tia's body began to rapidly transform.
In an instant, she grew past Alice's height to match Yeriel and Seo Ji-yu.
It wasn't just her height that grew.
Shwuuuup...
Her tail, which had been short and cute, grew long in a flash, and her horns, once too small to even notice, curved with considerable elegance.
Her outfit changed to match the growth of her body.
I stood there blankly watching the transformation and could only ask in a daze.
Her body, now curved in all the right places, didn't look like the same person at all.
"...Who are you?"
"Hmph! How is it, Master? Completely different, right?"
"Just keep your mouth shut when you're on stage."
While Alice and Seo Ji-yu were stunned speechless, only Yeriel spoke calmly.
The moment she opened her mouth, the usual Tia came to mind, ruining the effect quite a bit.
The creature laughed loudly and placed her hands confidently on her hips.