A Much Better Person Than Expected
Screeeech!
Just like always, the vehicle came to a halt in the parking lot with a rather boisterous racket. From inside, Are, Gwon-sun, Glass, and I stepped straight out.
What began to fill our view was the vast, sprawling expanse of Incheon International Airport.
Taking it in, Are spoke in a voice carrying a touch of genuine relief.
"We drove quite a distance for the first time in a while, but it didn't take nearly as long as I expected. Navigation really isn't something you can trust."
She said this while locking the car door, dressed in her usual suit and wearing sunglasses. Listening to her, I had to forcibly swallow the remark that rose in my throat.
Of course we'd arrive faster than the navigation when you're flooring it at a hundred and forty kilometers an hour... And with a car worth five billion won, who would dare cut in front of us?
Are's driving skill was so exceptional that such a thing would almost never happen, but from the perspective of other drivers, a monster that would force you to sell your own car over a single scratch was currently power-sliding down the road. Naturally, people made way of their own accord.
She herself seemed almost completely oblivious to that side of things, of course.
"Anyway, let's hurry, Aide! My homeland is calling us!"
"We've got a bit of time to spare, but let's move quickly so we don't end up late."
Glass was running on unusually high tension, while Gwon-sun, by contrast, seemed to be putting every effort into looking exactly as she always did. Glass was one thing, but with Gwon-sun I felt I would need to have a proper talk with her as her adjutant at some point. With that thought, I started toward the prearranged meeting spot together with the hunters.
"Welcome. We've been waiting for you."
Bones had arrived ahead of us and was already waiting. Just as when we first met, she wore a full suit, a single glaive strapped across her back. Seeing it, I gave a small nod.
As expected... this woman is a hunter too. I don't know how strong she is, but...
As the chief of staff to the chairman of a major conglomerate, she had to be at least A-class. That was my guess.
In any case, though I wasn't particularly fond of her, we were the hired help and she was effectively our superior for the duration. We offered a light greeting, and Bones spoke to us in a calm voice.
"Well then, please follow me at once. Once we finish the departure procedures, we'll leave immediately."
"Just a moment—do we simply move like this? As the security detail, isn't there any receiving the chairman or something of the sort?"
I asked, picturing the scenes from movies and dramas where bodyguards lined up in formation to salute. Bones slowly shook her head.
"No, nothing of the kind. The chairman dislikes that sort of fuss. You may simply depart quietly with us as you are."
"Ah... understood."
Thinking it was far more understated than I had expected, I set off with the hunters to complete the procedures.
Once inside the airport for departure formalities, the process that had felt almost ordinary until now began to diverge sharply from a simple overseas trip.
From check-in all the way through boarding, ordinary travelers had to stand in line behind others at every counter. We experienced none of that. The entire departure process moved at a near freepass pace, everything handled in one smooth flow.
As a result, roughly twenty minutes after arriving at the airport we stood before the aircraft that would carry us.
Laie's private jet. It was a little larger than a standard passenger plane, yet the total number of people boarding—including us—was only about fifty. Even counting the essential crew required to operate the aircraft, the whole complement came to fewer than a hundred. Considering that a typical large airliner could hold two to three hundred, the number was strikingly small.
Which means there's a great deal of leftover space. Being a private aircraft to begin with, comparison with a commercial flight is a bit awkward, but still...
With that thought, and feeling a distinctly fresh sensation I had never experienced before, I boarded the plane with the hunters.
And the moment I stepped inside, the interior that met my eyes was exactly as comfortable as I had anticipated. Every seat was at least business-class spacious, and a variety of amenities were clearly prepared at a glance.
I had plenty of money sitting in my account, yet after earning it I had been bound by the constraints of military life and that ridiculous wartime regulation forbidding more than three consecutive days of leave. Long-distance overseas travel of this sort had been all but impossible. In that sense, heading to the Western world—especially Europe—was a first for me.
So the overseas trip I'd always wanted to take someday ends up happening like this... Well, it's not a bad way to go, I suppose.
Feeling a faint holiday mood even while on the job, I settled comfortably into a seat. Are and the others began claiming places of their own as well.
That aside... this chairman still hasn't shown himself once. I figured he'd at least appear once, no matter how reclusive...
There was no real need for the protectee to show his face to hired help like us, yet I couldn't help wondering just how important a person he must be to stay so thoroughly hidden. Separately from that, I still held no particularly warm feelings toward the man who had started everything off with such an irritating stunt.
While I was thinking that, the aircraft finished confirming passenger boarding and lifted into the sky, bound for our destination—Paris, France.
She stared blankly out the window.
Dreamouth hunter Yu Gwon-sun sat quietly in her seat, taking occasional sips from the cola resting beside her. Behind her, Are was asleep, worn out from the long drive. Glass was watching a movie, the occasional soft giggle drifting over.
Yet unlike her resting companions, Gwon-sun's face still carried a clear reluctance toward the situation at hand.
Pointing a gun at people, huh...
She had steeled herself for it the moment she became a Black Hunter, and she had already done it more than once. Even so, she still disliked it. Carrying something out from a sense of duty and doing it because you wanted to were two entirely different things.
With that thought, she took another sip of cola—
"Still not feeling great?"
"..."
A familiar voice reached her ear. Gwon-sun slowly turned her head and looked at the man standing beside her.
Adjutant Lee Jinhyun. A man whose ordinary appearance belied a terrifying talent for observing situations, analyzing them, and drawing conclusions.
At his pointed remark, Gwon-sun offered a light smile.
"What... you already knew?"
"Yes, well... the atmosphere was quite different from usual."
He sat down as he spoke. Watching him, Gwon-sun gave a small, defeated wry smile and looked at him.
"Yeah. Honestly, I'm not in a great mood right now. When you get right down to it, we're going to shoot people, aren't we? Not monsters like Abysses—people just like us."
Her voice carried a cold edge. Jinhyun's expression grew serious. He took a sip of the cider he was holding, then spoke in a calm tone.
"You... are a much better person than I thought."
"...What?"
The unexpected words left a flicker of bewilderment on Gwon-sun's face. Looking at her, Jinhyun quietly continued.