Chapter 75
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: The Scramble, Part 4
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A man bowed his head respectfully toward me.
“Chairman Park is asking for you.”
See? I was right.
I looked toward the condo.
“Is Park Si-woo at the condo?”
“Hey, hey, even so, you shouldn't speak so informally...”
Kang Hyun-seung, who had been eavesdropping from the side, spoke up anxiously.
In contrast, the man didn't seem to mind my tone.
From his reaction, I could guess the man's identity.
It seemed like both Kang Hyun-seung and Min Sung-taek were seeing him for the first time.
‘He's from the protocol office. No, wait. Why does this guy have so many people around him? Is he just blessed with good company?’
Judging by the way he carries himself, it doesn't seem likely, which is strange.
Min Sung-taek nudged Kang Hyun-seung in the ribs, telling him to stop talking nonsense.
“Well then, we'll head back to the condo. Thanks for your help this time.”
“Let's meet up again! You have my number, right? Huh?”
“Let's go.”
Min Sung-taek practically dragged Kang Hyun-seung away from the scene.
‘Well, they're not bad guys.’
They're friendly toward me, so it should be fine to leave them be.
Now, all that's left is this matter.
As if on cue, a Mercedes-Benz pulled up in front of me.
“Please get in.”
It seemed our destination wasn't the condo.
Sitting in the back seat, I quietly fiddled with my phone.
—The number you have dialed is unavailable due to the customer's circumstances...
“Well, it is pretty late.”
The time was past 4 AM.
As soon as I left the dungeon, drowsiness washed over me.
Whether it was because the tension had faded, I fell asleep quickly.
We arrived at the guild headquarters just as the morning sun began to pierce through the heavily tinted car windows.
The guild lobby was bustling with Hunters arriving for work or visiting for their own reasons.
Thanks to the secretary's consideration, I was able to go straight to Park Si-woo's office.
“Where's Park Si-woo?”
“Ah, well... It seems he has stepped out for a personal matter. I'll call him right...”
“He'll be back soon, just leave it.”
A voice came from under the long sofa on one side of the office.
Choi Soo-hyun, scratching his messy hair, peeked his head out.
I knew he was here, but still.
Choi Soo-hyun waved his hand, gesturing for the secretary to leave.
As the man left, Choi Soo-hyun sat up comfortably and yawned.
I sat down quietly in front of Choi Soo-hyun.
With a chick-patterned blanket, a chick eye mask, earmuffs, and a chick doll pillow, it looked like he had been fully committed to sleeping.
But why so many chicks?
And why was he crashing on someone else's guild office sofa instead of his own perfectly good home?
Choi Soo-hyun took off the eye mask resting on his forehead and sat up straight.
Despite having just woken up, his expression looked quite serious.
I could let everything else slide, but...
“Where's the ring?”
The red ring that was always on Choi Soo-hyun's finger, Ishtar's Ring, was gone.
From what I'd seen, Choi Soo-hyun had never taken off that ring, except for the time he lent it to me.
Choi Soo-hyun lightly touched his finger.
“I lent it to someone.”
Can you just lend it out like that?
Is it actually not that important?
“Anyway, that's not what's important right now.”
Even for someone who had just woken up, Choi Soo-hyun wasn't acting like his usual self.
I sensed that something was seriously wrong with the atmosphere.
“Did something happen?”
“I'm sorry.”
As Choi Soo-hyun bowed his head, I realized something had gone wrong.
Park Si-woo came in through the inner door.
“I'll explain.”
Unlike Choi Soo-hyun, Park Si-woo looked like he hadn't slept a wink, with dark circles under his eyes.
Sitting on the sofa, Park Si-woo told me what had happened while I was in the dungeon.
To sum it up, leaving out the details...
“Yoo Ji-han attacked Eun-young noona after she left the dungeon, and during that, some god's unique barrier activated, trapping the two of them along with an unaffiliated trainee. Is that right?”
“It's my responsibility.”
“Hey, what are you talking about? I haven't quit yet, you know? This is Association business. And Song Eun-young is Soter's...”
“I get it, so both of you, calm down.”
These guys and their ridiculously high sense of responsibility.
The important thing right now wasn't whose fault it was.
Choi Soo-hyun drank his coffee, crossed his legs, and leaned back against the sofa.
“You knew Yoo Ji-han would try to kill Song Eun-young, didn't you?”
“I expected it. But I didn't think things would turn out like this.”
“So that's why you asked Park Si-woo to keep an eye on her? Fine, I can accept that much. But he's a Transcendent!”
“Yeah, well, it seems so?”
“You crazy bastard! A Transcendent is after Song Eun-young, and you think just asking for a favor is enough? Who the hell is that guy anyway? Why is he targeting Song Eun-young and you?”
“I don't know.”
“What?”
“I really don't. All I know is that he fucking hates the god Soter.”
There's no need to go into a long-winded explanation about the Tower.
Even with the story of the Tower, there was nothing that could explain why the Transcendent Yoo Ji-han hated me so much.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Do I look like I'm kidding?”
“If you don't know the reason, then, uh... haa, go grab your god by the collar and ask!”
My dear man, how am I supposed to grab the collar of a formless god?
Besides, I *am* that god.
“In any case, Eun-young noona isn't dead.”
“How would you know that?”
“Because the number of followers hasn't changed.”
The god Soter has two followers.
If Eun-young noona had died, the number of followers should have decreased.
Having so few followers, huh?
Sometimes it comes in handy. But why am I tearing up?
I looked at Choi Soo-hyun's finger again.
“So? I have a question too. Where in the world did Ishtar's Ring go?”
“I gave it to Song Eun-young! She needs something to protect herself, doesn't she! Well, some other guy ended up taking it instead, but.”
“Yoo Ji-han? Hyung, are you... are you crazy? No, I mean, you could have given it to someone else! This is like entrusting a cat with the nuclear launch button!”
Is this ring really that important?
The way it's being treated is just too much!
Yoo Ji-han would surely be able to use Ishtar's Ring better than anyone.
Choi Soo-hyun scoffed at my dumbfounded reaction.
“I'll chase the bastard who took my stuff to the ends of hell. And what's so great about some stupid ring? You think I can't take that punk down without it?”
Choi Soo-hyun clenched his fist, looking quite serious.
‘He's so cunning, this one.’
They said Yoo Ji-han got caught up in it while trying to kill Eun-young noona.
There's a high chance the two of them are together.
It was Choi Soo-hyun's own way of giving a warning in that situation.
If Eun-young noona were to die, Choi Soo-hyun would use the ring as an excuse to hunt down Yoo Ji-han.
I don't know how much Yoo Ji-han knows, but making an enemy of Choi Soo-hyun wouldn't be good for him...
‘I hope he realizes that. But would he even care about something like that?’
Somehow, I doubt it.
He's the type to say, "Bring it on," and fight if challenged.
Haa, I have no idea where someone like that came from.
Park Si-woo, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
“Are you sure Song Eun-young is safe?”
“Yes. I think we should stop discussing responsibility here. Blaming each other won't bring noona back, right? So let's talk about the ones who kidnapped her. They're the ones I'm really curious about.”
The possibility of Yoo Ji-han attacking Eun-young noona was well within my expectations.
Park Si-woo, Jeong Cho-ah, and Choi Soo-hyun were at the scene.
If the one who kidnapped the three of them hadn't interfered, it would have ended on a reasonable note.
Even for Yoo Ji-han, fighting a one-sided battle against three Transcendents would have been difficult.
Even if a fight had broken out, there's no way those three couldn't have protected Eun-young noona.
So, strictly speaking, the uninvited guest was that guy.
“Why were they after Eun-young noona? No, were they even after her in the first place?”
I crossed my arms and kept asking questions.
Looking around, it seemed like I was the only one talking.
When I looked up, Choi Soo-hyun and Park Si-woo were silent, as if they'd made a pact.
After a silent battle of glances, Choi Soo-hyun finally spoke.
“We don't know what their purpose was.”
“That's why we need to find out. To be honest, I'm more curious about *who* than *why*.”
“I have a rough idea of who it is.”
“Huh? Really?”
Park Si-woo gave a slight nod.
“It was likely a follower of the god Veritas. I'm not exactly sure what they did, but the magical energy was definitely from Veritas.”
Park Si-woo didn't seem very confident as he spoke.
In fact, it seemed like he was second-guessing himself.
Well, let's just assume it was a follower of Veritas.
“Who is this Veritas?”
“A god who was expanding their influence, centered on followers in Korea and Japan, until a few years ago. You could say they're almost wiped out now.”
“Really? Then why did this person suddenly target Eun-young noona? No, I'm not even sure if she was the target...”
Once again, Choi Soo-hyun and Park Si-woo fell silent.
Did you two plan this? What's going on?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.
“You're not suspecting the god Soter, are you?”
What? Why are you looking at me like that? Were you really suspecting him?
I've lived such an upright and good life.
If you were, I'm starting to feel a little wronged.
“It's not that we didn't consider it... Do you know anything?”
“Nothing! Soter is such a clean god, not a speck of dust on him! Why would he make enemies with other gods!”
“Have you no conscience?”
“What conscience! Compared to you, hyung, I'm still clean!”
“According to Cho-ah and Choi Soo-hyun, Jeong Hyun-sung was injured at the end.”
“Who's Jeong Hyun-sung?”
“The name of the unaffiliated Hunter. It seems Song Eun-young got caught up while trying to protect him. Since they were both unaffiliated, she might have felt a stronger connection.”
“Ah, so the target wasn't Eun-young noona, but this Jeong Hyun-sung guy. And just at that moment, Yoo Ji-han was trying to kill her, and in the middle of it all, she tried to protect Jeong Hyun-sung, and the three of them got happily swept up together?”
“Probably?”
“What do you mean, 'probably'?! What was that whole mess about?!”
“That's what I'm saying! What! Shit! What's yelling going to do!”
Choi Soo-hyun's voice rose, clearly frustrated as well.
Unable to watch any longer, Park Si-woo calmed Choi Soo-hyun and me down.
Choi Soo-hyun gulped down the coffee in front of him.
If everything we'd discussed so far was true, then the goal of this Veritas follower was definitely Jeong Hyun-sung, not Eun-young noona.
I looked at Park Si-woo and asked.
“This Jeong Hyun-sung kid, is there something about him?”
“Nothing. That's the problem.”
Seeing how decisively he said it, he must have already investigated thoroughly.
If even Park Si-woo, who has access to a lot of information, and Choi Soo-hyun from the Association investigated and found nothing, it meant the kid was one of those rare, clean individuals you hardly find in South Korea.
See? Living too righteously can cause problems sometimes.
Humans really need to commit a few crimes now and then...
“Okay, let's say there's nothing about him other than being an unaffiliated Hunter. If the goal was an unaffiliated Hunter, then why Jeong Hyun-sung?”
“They probably targeted him because he's an unaffiliated Hunter.”
“What I mean is, why him specifically? That's not like you, hyung. He's not the only unaffiliated Hunter in the world.”
“That's true.”
How frustrating! You old man. So why Jeong Hyun-sung!
There has to be a reason!
“Unaffiliated Hunters are rare, but there's always been about one a year... If the reason for targeting Jeong Hyun-sung is because he's unaffiliated, then the other Hunters... oh.”
“What? What is it?”
Let me in on it too, you frustrating people.
Park Si-woo and Choi Soo-hyun stared at each other, their mouths agape.
I'm curious too!
Let's find out together!
Choi Soo-hyun shot up from his seat and sat down at Park Si-woo's computer without permission.
“What's with him, really?”
“I can't remember.”
“What did you say?”
“As you said, if they targeted Jeong Hyun-sung for being unaffiliated, there should be other Hunters besides him.”
“Right?”
“Putting aside Choi Soo-hyun, who's from the Education Division, I've also seen unaffiliated Hunters since my awakening. But I can't remember a single one. Song Eun-young, who was unaffiliated, Jeong Hyun-sung, Choi Soo-hyun...”
And then there was me, who was unaffiliated before meeting Soter. That makes four.
Eun-young noona and I have a god, so we can't be called unaffiliated anymore.
Strictly speaking, Choi Soo-hyun isn't purely an unaffiliated Hunter either.
He's just voluntarily keeping his distance, even though he could serve a god.
“Hey, maybe you just didn't know some of the unaffiliated Hunters?”
“I wish that were the case.”
Implying that the possibility was extremely low, Park Si-woo stared at Choi Soo-hyun, who was sitting at the computer.
On Choi Soo-hyun's computer screen was the HN admin page.
Hey, is it okay to just run a company program from an outside location like that?
“There's nothing. Other than Jeong Hyun-sung. That can't be right...”
Choi Soo-hyun searched again several times, but there were no records of any unaffiliated Hunters anywhere.
To summarize, both of them had definitely met unaffiliated Hunters throughout their careers and knew they existed.
And yet, not only could they not remember them, but there were also no records of past unaffiliated Hunters anywhere in the HN database where they should have been.
“This is a cognitive error.”