Chapter 2
Chapter 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Hunter Management Bureau
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Hunter Management Bureau
Kim Seung-ah irritably set down her phone and looked up through the glass window at the girl on the other side.
Beyond the interrogation room was a girl who, despite being confined, wore a constant bright smile on her face.
A girl whose eyes sparkled dazzlingly.
The strongest gate boss in history.
And a returnee from a thousand years.
She was clearly someone to be wary of. Even with the guarantees from Seong Hyun-woo and the White Wolf Guild, she was still the unidentified boss of that gate.
She had to be cautious...
'Do I really have to?'
An inexplicable, instinctive fondness kept bubbling up.
It wasn't disdain, but more like the faint affection one feels seeing an ordinary cute little kid.
Was the girl using some kind of trick? Multiple checks had turned up no anomalies.
Her suspicions faded as she watched the girl curiously turning her head this way and that, peering around the interrogation room.
"I'm heading in. Make sure the recording's good."
Park Seung-cheol, the section chief who had been quietly observing the girl, slowly walked into the interrogation room.
"Hello, I'm Park Seung-cheol. I'm going to ask you a few questions now. Is that okay?"
"Mm! Of course. Ask away, anything at all."
Was she really okay with it?
She didn't seem hostile, but the thing facing her boss was the monster that hadn't even been scratched by Seong Hyun-woo's attacks.
"Alright, first, could you give us a brief introduction about yourself?"
"Mm, sure. My name is Arshirientra. I'm roughly over a thousand years old. I stopped counting after that, so I don't know exactly."
Seung-cheol jotted down the girl's response in his notebook and continued with the questions.
"Got it. Arshi... ri... entra, you said you lived in Korea, right? Do you remember your name or family from back then?"
"Call me Ar. I don't really remember my original name. And I never had a family to begin with."
A thousand years had apparently washed away even the name she once used.
Seung-cheol nodded slightly at Ar's answer and pressed on with more questions.
"Understood. So, how did you end up living in another world for a thousand years?"
The girl beyond the glass, Ar, began detailing her story after the transfer.
The truck accident. Her contract with Elantara's goddess.
From the tale of the Demon King fleeing and hiding, to the world's eventual downfall without ever finding him.
It all matched what Hyun-woo had told them beforehand, without a single discrepancy.
The lie detector was running constantly, and every answer so far had been pure truth.
More questions followed, but they were all truthful as well.
"Alright, I understand. Thanks for answering."
"No problem. It was a pretty fresh experience. By the way, when can I leave here...?"
"We'll let you go soon. Just a few more checks first."
After a brief farewell, Seung-cheol exited the interrogation room and asked me,
"What do you think?"
"All true. No signs of discomfort either."
Seung-cheol hummed thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
***
'Hmm... This is interesting.'
Ever since returning to Earth, everything had been so exciting. It had been ages since I'd had a proper conversation with someone.
The last time was after I'd been scouring Elantara high and low, hunting for the escaped Demon King.
Back then, I was pretty on edge, and people treated me like a tiger that had wandered into their village.
Lost in thought, I noticed the door Seung-cheol had just left through opening again. Two people in white lab coats entered.
"Hi, Ar! I'm Joo Hye-jin, and this is my assistant, Hwang Seung-beom!"
"Mm, nice to meet you."
Hye-jin smiled warmly as she greeted me, while her assistant Seung-beom gave a small bow.
"We'll start with a simple check. Could you place your hand on this crystal orb?"
I nodded and moved my hand toward the crystal orb. Before I even touched it, it let out a loud noise and turned pitch black.
Hye-jin muttered in confusion.
"Huh? Wha... what's this...?"
"Did I do something wrong...? Sorry...?"
"No, no need to apologize. Just a moment..."
Had I messed up again?
How many buildings had I accidentally destroyed while chasing the Demon King?
Emotions running high made it hard to control my power, but I had no idea what happened this time.
As I worried, Hye-jin, who had been talking with her assistant, turned back to me with a bright expression.
"It's because the mana you released momentarily exceeded the orb's limit. This thing's supposed to withstand even S-Rank Awakeners... Anyway! It's not your fault, Ar, so no worries."
"I... Is that so...? That's a relief...?"
I nearly broke out in a cold sweat.
"You were alone inside the gate, right? Not precise, but that means your mana output is... the total from the Gwanghwamun Gate..."
I nodded, and Hye-jin scribbled something on her paper.
"Perfect. Now, could you stand up for a sec? Yeah, right there is fine."
As I stood and looked up at her blankly, Hye-jin giggled.
"Aww, so cute. Height: 139.2 cm... Weight: 24.7 kg..."
She seemed to be measuring my body.
Hye-jin's eyes glowed blue as she scanned me.
After following a few more instructions for additional checks, it looked like the examinations were finally done.
"All done! Everything's normal, but your weight's too low. No picky eating—make sure you eat well."
"Mm, got it."
It probably wouldn't make a difference anyway. I knew my body, infused with mana in bones and muscles, was lighter than average.
I swallowed the afterthought and nodded.
"Alright, we'll head out now~! See you next time!"
Hye-jin and Seung-beom waved goodbye and left through the door.
Right on their heels came the first Korean I'd met in a thousand years: Hyun-woo.
"Mm, Hyun-woo. Good to see you again."
"You'll be seeing a lot more of me from now on. I heard you don't have a place to stay?"
He must have been listening to the whole conversation.
"Yeah. I saw a mountain on the way here, so I figured I'd live there."
"That... would be illegal. Come with me for now."
I'd planned to live in the mountains like I did in Elantara, but apparently that didn't fly on Earth.
So where was I supposed to stay? Did I need to get a house?
I didn't have any money, though...
Worrying, I hurried after Hyun-woo with quick steps.
"Can I just leave like this?"
"Yeah, all the necessary checks are done. I've already talked to the Director."
As we walked, we passed a sign reading 'Authorized Personnel Only' and emerged into a parking lot.
"Hey! Seong Hyun-woo!"
"What? Where?!"
The moment we stepped out, a crowd of camera-wielding reporters surrounded us, bombarding us with questions.
Hyun-woo seemed to be quite famous.
"Hyun-woo-ssi! What happened with the Gwanghwamun Gate—"
"Just one look here—"
"What's your relationship with the kid behind you—"
Flashes exploding from all sides, eyes converging on us.
It was chaotic.
How long had it been since something like this?
I recalled the gazes fixed on me when I returned from Elantara, having failed to catch the Demon King.
My heart raced, my vision spun.
Unknowingly, my fists clenched tight.
"I'll address everything officially later."
Hyun-woo said that, then as if sensing something, urgently scooped me up and covered my eyes with his hand.
My vision went dark.
The tension eased a little.
"Get lost already!! No reporters allowed here!!"
"Oppa! Over here!"
Familiar voices. It was the hunters from the gate: Cha Seo-yoon and Kang Jeong-woo.
The wind brushed my hair.
Hyun-woo was apparently running while carrying me.
"Hyun-woo-ssi? Hyun-woo-ssi! Just one answer—!"
The voices gradually faded.
Along with the voices, my tension melted away.
"Phew... That was close."
Hyun-woo muttered, glancing at my hand before placing me in the back seat of the car.
Looking forward from the back, I saw Jeong-woo in the driver's seat and Seo-yoon peering worriedly at me from the front passenger seat.
"You okay? Here, have some water."
Seo-yoon handed me a water bottle as I caught my breath.
"Mm... Thanks."
I unscrewed the cap and gulped it down.
Amid that, Hyun-woo's irritated voice rang out.
"Didn't we request information protection? How did the reporters find out?"
"Well... Take a look at this."
Jeong-woo quickly turned the wheel, pulling out of the parking lot, while Seo-yoon handed her phone to Hyun-woo.
Hyun-woo silently scrolled through the post.
As I sipped my water and peeked at the screen, it seemed we'd been photographed by someone.
"The guy who posted that is apparently an Awakener with stealth skills. We tried looking for him, but no trace anywhere."
"That bastard got nothing better to do? Awakens stealth and uses it for forum trolling?!"
Jeong-woo exploded in anger.
"Just saw a pic of Ar coming out of the gate too... What do we do?"
"We couldn't hide it forever anyway. We'll coordinate our stories when we get back."
I'd been photographed too.
Once enough time passed and the lingering tension left my body, a deferred curiosity arose.
"By the way... where are we headed?"
"Huh? Oppa didn't tell you?"
I asked Seo-yoon in the front seat, who glanced at Hyun-woo.
"Slipped my mind."
"It's not something you forget... We're going to our guild building."
Seo-yoon eyed Hyun-woo, who stated it matter-of-factly, then turned to me and explained the plan.
Hunters gathered to take on jobs together in a guild, and I could live there.
They had dorms built for busy hunters.
"I see. Thanks. I keep owing you all."
"Nah, we're the grateful ones. If it'd been some other monster from that gate instead of you... Ugh, don't wanna think about it."
Seo-yoon waved her hands vigorously, shuddering.
*
After driving for a while, Jeong-woo finally pulled the car to a stop. We'd arrived at the guild.
As I moved to open the door and get out, Seo-yoon hopped out first and blocked my path.
"Hold on, try this on?"
She went to the trunk, pulled something out, and handed it to me.
A shiny robe that looked expensive at a glance.
"It's a magic tool that hides your presence to some extent. Should've given it sooner..."
"Mm, thank you. I'll repay you someday."
"No incidents like before inside the guild, but just in case."
How long had it been since I'd worn something this fancy?
After letting the Demon King slip away in Elantara, I'd always worn simple white cloth garb.
I draped the robe over myself and got out, following the hunters into the building with a large sign reading 'White Wolf'.