The Hunter's Office
Mina mulled over his words. When it was just the alphabet, she hadn't understood, but now that she knew the person, the meaning seemed clear. "Then what about Gu Gang-woo?" "It was a request, same as the others."
Only then did she understand how Seok-jun had been released after just an hour or two at the police station. But that didn't clear up all her questions. "But that's strange. Shouldn't the police be handling something like that?" If his job really was catching hunters who committed crimes, wasn't that something the police should be taking care of?
"You're right, but right now that's a difficult situation." "Difficult?" What could possibly make it so awkward for the police to catch criminals?
"Mina, how many awakened do you think there are in Korea alone?" "I'm... not really sure."
Now that she thought about it, she realized she'd never really given it much thought. She'd been too busy focusing on her studies and her magic power. "By rough estimate, around ten million regardless of rank. That's about a quarter of the current population."
"Wow, that's way more than I thought." She'd seen awakened people often enough while walking down the street to assume there were a lot, but seeing the actual number felt different.
"The problem is that the conditions for awakening are far too random." "Yeah, they really are, aren't they?" After all, even Mina had no idea why she'd awakened her magic power. If it was fair, it was fair; if it was unfair, it was unfair. Comments like "Why did that kind of person awaken when I can't?" floated around the internet all the time. That was why posts about awakening conditions or methods were still so popular. In the end, though, it was all meaningless.
"It's true that hunters contribute to taking down monsters from the gates, but at the same time, the crime rate has risen too." She thought of Gu Gang-woo again. She'd never thought highly of him, but she hadn't imagined he was secretly committing so many crimes. The delinquents she'd seen at school yesterday, and even that child with a disability she never would have guessed was an awakened. She knew awakened crime was a recurring social issue, but even Mina hadn't expected to feel it this viscerally.
"And because the means of committing crimes have increased along with it, the police are still struggling with unsolved cases." "It's because of magic power..." The types of magic power were endlessly diverse. To exaggerate a little, you could say there was one kind per awakened person. Since things like this hadn't existed fifteen years ago, it was only natural that investigations had become harder.
"Some people say we should just hire more officers, but would we call it a manpower shortage for no reason?" "Right. That's why hunter guilds take on government requests and operate." Most awakened were B-rank, while A-rank and above hunters who could clear deep into gates were extremely rare. Korea originally had almost no PMCs, but since the conscription system had clear limits, the government had entrusted hunter operations to corporations. That's how PMCs that handled gate clearing and monster disposal were created.
"You can think of me and my office the same way." "Ah!" Mina finally understood what Seok-jun was trying to say. His office might have a different target, but in the big picture, it wasn't so different from a hunter guild.
"The easiest way to understand it would be the old term 'bounty hunter.'" "Aha, so that's why you were a cowboy?" "That wasn't the intention, but..." The more she heard, the more the cowboy image seemed to fit him. Maybe it was just because of that hat.
Watching Seok-jun leisurely drink his coffee, she picked up the cup she'd set aside earlier. The black coffee had gone lukewarm during their conversation. "Ugh, it's bitter!" The sharp bitterness stabbed at her mouth as she barely swallowed it. When she stuck out her tongue, still tingling from the aftertaste, he looked at her.
"You didn't add sugar or syrup?" "Ugh, you were drinking it so casually, Mr. Seok-jun, that I thought it must be fine." She knew coffee was supposed to be bitter, but this place's coffee had an especially strong bitterness. Or maybe it was because the coffee she usually drank was instant mix or iced Americano loaded with ice and syrup that she sipped slowly.
Seeing her make a face like she'd been wronged, Seok-jun stood up from his seat. "I'll bring some sugar and syrup." "Just a moment." When Mina stopped him, he looked at her curiously. She took a tiny sip, swallowed, and spoke again. "Syrup is fine. Just one packet of sugar, please."
Seok-jun brought back exactly one packet of sugar as she'd asked. She tore it open and stirred it into the black coffee with the thin straw whose purpose was still a mystery, dissolving it completely. Then she took another sip. "Haa, now I feel like I can live."
Coffee without any sugar was far too bitter for Mina. It was still quite strong, but at least drinkable now. For a while, the cafe was filled with the quiet sound of them drinking coffee and its rich aroma.
-Gurgle.
Until her stomach loudly complained that coffee alone wasn't enough to fill it, chasing away the pleasant scent.
"Uwaaa." Mina's face turned bright red. Why did her stomach have to make such a racket specifically when she was with Seok-jun? Her stomach, which had been demanding regular meals ever since she'd become an A-rank hunter not long ago, was still hard to get used to. Back then one plate of spaghetti had been plenty, but now she felt like she could eat several more bowls. That said everything.
"Haven't you had breakfast yet?" "No..." While she worried she was starting to look like a total glutton, Seok-jun checked his wristwatch. The small hand pointed at eight.
"It's fine. I usually just grab something from the convenience store." "Convenience store, huh." He frowned slightly, then stood up. "Let's go have a meal together before you leave." "Huh? But—" "Follow me."
She followed him as he left the cafe, and saw him heading up to the floor above. "Um, where are we going?" "My office." As he climbed the stairs right beside them, she looked up and noticed a sign she hadn't seen before.
"HHH Hunter Office?" It was the name of the office he'd mentioned earlier. When she followed him up and he stopped in front of the office door to press the doorbell, she heard the sound of someone checking the intercom from inside before footsteps came running.
"Grizzly! You're back already?" "Huh? A kid?" The one who opened the door and poked her head out was a young girl. With hair as red as flames and eyes of the same vivid color, she greeted him with an innocent smile. Then she seemed to notice Mina, tilting her head with wide, pure eyes. "But who's this?"
"Ah, hello?" When Mina greeted her awkwardly, the girl stared at her for a moment before suddenly clapping her fist into her palm as if she'd figured something out, then darted back inside.
"Ice Bear!! Grizzly brought his girlfriend!" "W-wait a second!" Flustered, Mina opened the door and stepped inside, where a man in armor was slowly emerging from another room.
"Did you have a dream or something?" He was wearing proper, albeit crude, full plate armor, yet for some reason it made her think of a jobless guy in sweats. She couldn't explain it.
"No! Look, she's right there!" "Hm?" He looked at the two of them who had just entered the entryway, scratching at his helmet. "The client?" "Just a guest."
They seemed to know each other, chatting casually. While Mina was wondering who they were, the man spoke. "Come in for now." "Ah, yes."
It felt awkward to keep standing there, so she accepted his invitation and stepped inside. The interior really did feel like an office. There were desks with green non-slip mats under the glass, three plush black sofas of varying sizes, a work table and chairs that looked like they were for paperwork, and a nicely placed television. It was the picture-perfect office. If not for the pure white skeleton wearing a hot pink apron and cleaning.
The polka-dot wallpaper and children's safety flooring were one thing, but that skeleton was impossible to dismiss as mere decoration.
Clack.
"I'm back." Watching Seok-jun naturally converse with the skeleton, Mina grew even more curious about his identity, but she could at least guess that he was definitely not ordinary.
"Th-thank you?" At Seok-jun's suggestion, she sat on the sofa and dazedly accepted a cup of tea from the skeleton doing housework. The crisp-looking white bones paired with that hot pink apron kept forcibly drawing her gaze. She stared at it intently while drinking the tea.
"Barley tea? No, it has a slightly refreshing taste." She'd assumed it was just instant green tea, but the unexpected flavor surprised her and she peered into the cup. The liquid was dyed a reddish or brownish color. It had a savory yet slightly bitter taste similar to barley tea, but milder somehow.
"It's not barley tea. It's pu-erh tea." When she tilted her head at the unfamiliar flavor, the man sitting across from her accepted his own cup from the skeleton and spoke up. "Pu-erh? I've never heard of that before." Seeing it came in a teabag, it looked like instant tea. Was it some kind of barley? Either way, it suited her taste better than coffee or green tea.
"I don't know much about it either, but it's this guy's preference." "Preference?" Yeah, if it was about preference, she could understand. This tea suited her tastes too. But she really wanted to believe she'd misunderstood. Because the skeleton's gaze was directed right at—
Clack clack!
The skeleton that had brought the tea was puffing out its chest proudly. Thanks to that, its ribs stood out prominently above the hot pink apron, making it even more grotesque.
"It's a skeleton, right?" "It is a skeleton." "...."
Can you even drink with that? She wanted to ask, but seeing the skeleton busily cleaning after bringing the tea, she felt it would be rude and kept her mouth shut.