Alpha and Pecia
"Well then, do your best."
"Yes, sir…"
The employees stood there, bewildered by the cheerful news of overtime. The Director turned away, quietly pleased with himself.
Well, a hunter ought to have that kind of mindset.
He'd assumed they would just want to collect their paychecks and rest. As the long peace stretched on, the younger generation's edge had gradually dulled.
But to think they loved the Hunter Administration so much they didn't even want to go home.
A moment of genuine pride as Director. He wasn't a stick-in-the-mud after all.
With the additional budget allocated for the Valhalla incident, he could hand out generous performance bonuses. He could already picture the employees' faces lighting up at next month's paystubs.
But why did that guy smash his keyboard?
The Director read the past actions of an employee huffing past him. Hands clasped behind his back, he called the man over.
"You there."
"Yes?"
"No matter how angry you get, don't resort to violence. Even objects take on good energy depending on how you treat them."
"…What do you mean, sir? Did I do something wrong?"
"Your keyboard. Don't slam it."
The employee's face froze as if he'd seen a ghost.
Beep beep.
The Director returned to his office in high spirits — only to sigh the moment he saw the pink lump occupying his desk.
What am I going to do about this one?
Party Bear was a monster. Neither outwardly nor in any practical sense much of a threat — but it still wouldn't do for the thing to keep camping out at the Hunter Administration.
If it showed even a hint of malice, he'd drive it out on the spot…
During the parking lot incident the day before, this teddy bear had drawn its weapon to protect the Director himself. The way it blocked the door and stubbornly held its ground was thoroughly human — as if gesturing that it would go out first to check for danger. A sight he couldn't forget.
Like a child trying to shield parents far larger than itself with tiny hands?
Truthfully, a B-class monster wasn't that weak. But the idea of one stepping up to protect an S-class was still absurd enough to laugh at.
"Care for a cup?"
Curious whether it could eat and drink, he offered tea. Party Bear boldly claimed a seat on the sofa.
Lifting a teacup elegantly with those chubby hands proved impossible, of course. Tea kept dribbling from the corners of its mouth. After several failed attempts, Party Bear lost its temper, opened its jaws wide, and tossed the entire teacup in.
Crunch—
…
Watching Party Bear chew the teacup, the Director nodded.
It really was a monster.
He sighed and sank back into his chair.
"Why exactly do you want to stay here?"
"Pyu?"
"To protect me?"
"Pyu?"
"…Is that a question or an answer?"
"Pyu?"
"…"
He sensed no malice. If anything, it seemed a bit dim-witted. Given that its master Pecia was the same way, it wasn't strange… but that only made things more confusing.
Even granting that she was truly on humanity's side, was there any need for such conspicuous behavior? Not only boldly revealing her identity, but trapping her own followers on top of it. It was practically a declaration of war against the cult.
What on earth was their goal, that they would cooperate this far? To wipe out every other monster and monopolize everything themselves?
He simply couldn't figure it out. It would almost be more comfortable to just decide she was a real human girl and leave it at that.
"…Pyu."
"Honestly. I need to be able to communicate before I can ask anything."
He gave a wry laugh at those black eyes blinking so shamelessly. It answered every question — he just couldn't understand a word of it.
"Director. Everything is ready."
Team Leader Han entered with a tablet. The Director had already issued an investigation order to dig thoroughly into Pecia's identity.
"Report."
"Yes, sir."
Team Leader Han glanced once at Party Bear, then put data up on the office television.
"These are the cooperative entities you asked about. This section is primarily based on Hunter Kim Seojun's investigation materials, but I'll also share my own opinion."
"Mm."
Team Leader Han only voiced opinions when he had some certainty — meaning there were elements that contradicted Kim Seojun's findings. The Director began listening intently.
The types of moderate entities, and how they interacted with humans, formed the core of the report. A Gold Goblin selling out its tribe's location to hunters to protect its treasure, for instance. Dozens more examples flashed across the screen — cases of brainwashing weak entities with mental skills, cases of forcing fellow monsters to attack through threats, and so on.
"But among all these many cases, there is not a single instance of cooperation born from emotional empathy. Except for Alpha."
Fundamentally, every creature of the gates was hostile to humans. There was even a legend of someone claiming to be a saint who approached a monster peacefully — only to be captured and tortured for a hundred and eighty days.
The first to nearly shatter that fixed idea was Alpha.
During the Cold War era after the Second World War, when every nation was scrambling to contain the gate breaks that had erupted within their own borders, a Russian girl named Olga had once treated an injured monster.
Scarlet Nightmare.
A knight-type monster who wielded a spear glowing like lava, clad in blood-red armor. Having claimed the lives of countless high-ranking hunters while roaming freely across Siberia, he was one day rescued by a human girl at the brink of death.
There was no record of how she treated a soul-type monster with an empty interior. But what was certain was that this monster knelt before the girl and swore chivalry. He became her shield and sword, and protected her village from monsters.
The Director spoke heavily.
"But he turned on them."
"That's right."
Decades later, the girl — now middle-aged — died of illness. Before she passed, she asked Alpha to continue protecting humans as he always had. But that earnest plea seemed never to have reached the monster.
"The Chernobyl A-class Gate. Forty high-ranking hunters, including one S-class hunter dispatched for the raid, were massacred. He attacked suddenly, without any warning."
"Forty is quite a lot dead. You managed to dig up the Soviet records."
"Even this isn't exact. We only obtained a list of the deceased."
"Meaning there could have been more deaths?"
"Yes."
"…Continue."
Why Alpha didn't turn immediately upon Olga's death, but cleared several gates before betraying. Why he specifically terrorized a nuclear plant. And where he went after disappearing.
Nothing was precisely known. But what was clear was that Alpha had never been particularly cooperative with humans other than Olga from the start. Whatever he did, he only moved through her requests — and staying by her side was always his top priority.
"You're saying Pecia will be the same?"
"I'm saying people will think that."
Monsters were ultimately eternal enemies. Untrustworthy beings. Public opinion that humans must band together spread like wildfire. That shocking incident had, in the end, rapidly brought the Cold War to a close.
The Director sighed.
"No room for monsters to insert themselves. No matter how cooperative they are."
"That's right."
Kim Seojun's report concluded that they should keep watching Pecia. But Team Leader Han was saying that was dangerous.
The Director asked as if confirming.
"Do you think it would be better if I eliminated her?"
"Yes."
An unreadable smile bloomed at Team Leader Han's brief reply.
"How cold. Even though she cleaned up the mess in your head."
She had eliminated the side effects of his Unique Skill, White Wing Silence. Cases of sudden death from overusing skills were sometimes reported — so in a way, Pecia could be called his lifesaver.
But Team Leader Han replied without expression.
"What matters to me is your safety, Director. If something threatens that, I simply eliminate it."
"…I see."
Team Leader Han Jaesu.
About thirty years ago, the Director had rescued his family from a gate break. At the time, the Director had been covered in dozens of stab wounds, his left arm and both ankles severed — and elementary school student Han Jaesu, seeing this, had said, "Next time, I'll protect you."
And after that, he really had clawed his way up, eventually seizing the position of escort team leader. When they reunited in that capacity, he said he was grateful not for being saved himself, but for the protection of his parents.
Bonds truly are mysterious things.
Perhaps Kang Jiye's desire to protect Pecia was something like this as well. Yena was the final fruit born of her late husband. Naturally she would feel deep gratitude toward the one who had protected her.
"Team Leader Han."
"Yes."
"Sorry to say this, but I'd already half made up my mind."
"Sir?"
"If I decide to take a gamble, what would you do? Even if it causes friction with the WPO."
He simply couldn't eliminate his benefactor Pecia for purely political reasons. That was a politician's job — not the attitude a Hunter Administration Director should show.
Team Leader Han stared at him for a moment, then bowed with restrained precision.
"…I will simply follow whatever you command."
"Haha. Thank you."
The Director smiled bitterly and lowered his gaze.
Ironically, Team Leader Han's loyalty became the very catalyst for solidifying cooperation with Pecia. Just as Team Leader Han regarded the Director like a father, he too cherished Team Leader Han and the hunters of Korea.
If he made an enemy of Pecia, he would have to make an enemy of Kang Jiye as well. As Director, he simply couldn't make that decision. Considering his personal connection with her, even less so.
"Pyu."
More than anything, killing that golden retriever of a teddy bear would leave a bad taste.
The way it behaved, it wasn't a monster at all — it was a complete golden retriever. Was it because he was getting old? Watching it made him feel his sensibilities growing richer.
After Team Leader Han left, the Director smiled at Party Bear and tried responding.
"Pyu."
"Director, actually I wanted to consult about Pecia… never mind. I'll come back later."
"…"
Thud!
Team Leader Han shut the door he'd just opened and vanished. The Director's face immediately flushed red, then pale.
…Honestly. Things had been quite eventful lately.
Back at his desk, Team Leader Han let out a heavy sigh, his expression grave.
…Have I gone mad? Even if she's a benefactor — against a monster…
It wasn't that he felt no gratitude toward Pecia. It was just that other emotions mixed in as well, leaving him conflicted.