The Price of Fame
After the presidential spokesperson's announcement, the area around my studio apartment turned into a human sea.
I cracked the window open a sliver and was met with a raucous chorus of "Park Minho Hunter!!"
Yeah.
This was… probably not good.
"Is fame truly something that should trouble you, my lord?"
"Having to fight through that crowd every single day is a bit much, don't you think?"
"Hmph."
All that noise would be a nuisance for the landlord's family, too. I needed a solution. Some brilliant way out of this mess!
Baek-raemon! Help me!
—This would be a good opportunity to move, Hunter Park.
"Excuse me?"
—How about Yuno Palace?
What kind of suggestion is that?
I tell him I'm worried about a few gray hairs, and he recommends shaving my entire head. And for the record, even the cheapest unit at Yuno Palace goes for over five billion won.
"Where am I supposed to get that kind of mon—"
Ah.
I do have it.
Still. Wasn't this a little too reckless with the spending?
—I did suggest it once before.
"I thought you were joking."
—Moving into Yuno Palace would spare you a great deal of hassle.
"That's not the only reason, is it?"
—No. Security is another concern.
Right now plenty of people were cheering the Korean government's firm stance. But once China started imposing real trade sanctions, voices blaming me would start to surface.
"That would be… inconvenient."
—From ordinary people whose livelihoods depend on it all the way up to major corporations—there's nothing to be done about it.
For media exposure and my own safety alike, moving was non-negotiable, he said.
Hmm.
The scale of all this had suddenly gotten a lot bigger.
"I'm not exactly thrilled about it."
—I understand. This is not something you sought out, Hunter Park.
The Chinese Superhuman Bureau, or whatever they called themselves. Those bastards had forced me into preparing a move I never even wanted.
"This is just great."
—Look on the bright side. I was planning to recommend a move soon anyway.
"Huh?"
—Once a hunter becomes famous, this is the inevitable next step.
Famous hunters suffered celebrity-level invasions of privacy. Relocating to a residence with rock-solid security was simply the natural course of things.
But Yuno Palace was way too far from Guui-dong, where my workshop was.
—Of course you'll have to move the workshop as well.
"Whaaat? I only signed the lease a month ago."
—Leave it vacant or find a tenant. Your choice.
It wasn't as if I'd grown attached to the place. I just hated wasting the rent money.
—You make ten million won a day without breaking a sweat, don't you?
"Spending it that freely still feels wrong."
—Money is a tool.
President Baek's voice carried a hard edge.
—If you shave even one hour off your daily commute, that adds up to more than a full day every month.
"Well, yes."
—Is your time worth less than a million won?
"You've convinced me."
An example that actually hit home.
—Then I'll look into availability at Yuno Palace and find a suitable space for a workshop.
"Yes, sir. Please do."
I hung up and collapsed onto the bed.
The studio apartment I'd lived in for five years. The thought of leaving it left me with a complicated tangle of feelings.
What was I even supposed to say to the landlady…?
Sigh.
I downed a glass of cold water and headed downstairs.
"Are you feeling any better?"
The landlady asked after me first thing.
"As you can see, I'm fine."
"I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the news. My husband was so worried about you, Minho."
"Thank you."
After my parents, the landlady and her husband had left the most missed calls. I was endlessly grateful for how much they always looked out for me.
Which was exactly why I couldn't keep causing them trouble.
I summarized only the relevant parts of my conversation with President Baek and explained the situation.
"If I keep living here, I think I'll just be a burden."
The landlady's expression turned complicated. She started to say something, then closed her mouth.
Silence filled the room.
Ugh. I hadn't done anything wrong, yet my chest still ached with guilt.
"I'll return the deposit when I move out."
"There's still time left on the lease."
"Hohoho. If I tell people it's the room Minho lived in for so long, it'll go in a flash."
The deposit was about three million won. Not a large sum for me anymore.
Even so, the care she showed me was deeply touching.
"You don't have to leave right away. Let's talk again once things settle down."
"Thank you."
Bang!
"Ahjussi!!! Are you really leaving?!"
Yeondo threw the door open and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Honestly, this girl. I told you to stay quiet."
"How am I supposed to stay quiet when Ahjussi is leaving?!"
Oh.
I was a little moved, Yeondo.
If she just dropped the "Ahjussi," it would have been perfect.
"Well, that's how it turned out."
"Don't go, Ahjussi."
"Hoho. Could it be that the imperial princess has developed feelings for my lord?"
No nonsense allowed. That joke would make a passing dog laugh.
"How many people in the world are as charming as Master?"
"The two of you speak truly, young master!"
Hey. Stop egging me on.
Then why did my shoulders feel like they were swelling with pride?
Heh.
If Yeondo felt that way, she should have said so sooner. Now that she might never see me again, she could finally speak her true feeli—
"I wanted to learn swordsmanship from Ahjussi's underling!"
Aigoo.
Of course. I should have known.
Feelings, my ass.
"Swordsmanship? Why?"
"During that sparring match, you completely wrecked Hunter Jang Minseok like it was nothing."
Yeondo's eyes sparkled.
Look at this kid. That was ages ago and she's still bringing it up.
"Learn from the instructors at your guild."
"None of them swing a sword like that undead."
"Naturally."
Pride dripped from every word of Sir Isra's thought-transmission.
"There are two problems."
"Two of them?"
"First is your affiliation."
Yeondo belonged to Mir Guild. Our sour relations with them weren't the issue—I wasn't about to refuse to teach her just because of that.
"If word gets out that I'm teaching you swordsmanship, your entire guild will flip upside down."
"Then we just don't get caught."
Sure. Secrets never stayed secret forever. No matter how carefully you hid something, it always came out eventually.
But that argument alone wouldn't change Yeondo's mind.
"What's the second reason?"
"I have to ask my retainer whether she's willing to teach you."
"Hmph. Just order her to do it, Ahjussi."
"You don't understand. If she decides you lack talent, she'll refuse to teach you at all."
Was Sir Isra some ordinary undead? I could force her if I really wanted to, but I had no desire to do that.
"I do not mind."
You can't just say that.
"When I watched her train last time, she showed decent sense."
She'd said the same thing when we visited Mir Guild.
"These people have shown my lord kindness. I shall instruct her specially."
No. You really don't have to.
"What'd she say? Your underling said it's fine, right?"
Tsk.
I couldn't keep a straight face. I was supposed to pretend it was impossible, but Sir Isra had already agreed, leaving me in an awkward spot.
"Minho, does our Yeondo have talent?"
Ugh.
With the landlady piling on, I could no longer play dumb.
"Sir Isra—my retainer—says she has talent."
"My. To receive recognition from the Necromancer of Guui-dong… how flattering."
Even the landlady was using that title now?
"Tell them I will administer a test first, and decide afterward whether to teach her."
I relayed Sir Isra's words exactly as spoken.
"Yahoo! Let's go take the test right now!"
Beagle—no, Miss Kim Yeondo—bounced around with pure delight.
Ugh.
I'd come downstairs to announce I was moving out, and somehow ended up with an enormous new headache instead.
Breaking through the cordon of reporters was incredibly difficult.
"Coming through. Excuse me, coming through."
"Hunter Park Minho! A word about the Turang attack incident, please!"
These people.
Weren't they non-Awakened? Why were they all so strong?!
At this rate I was going to get torn into Park / Min / Ho pieces.
"Please direct all interview requests through Ascension Agency."
Ugh.
By the time I forced my way past the reporters dug in along the alley, I was a wreck.
Maybe it was because I'd already endured this a few times—my resolve to move, which I'd been putting off until moments ago, suddenly grew much stronger.
I headed to the nearby training center and waited a while.
"Been waiting long?"
Kim Yeondo walked up with a hood pulled low, looking every bit the delinquent.
"You look awfully relaxed."
"They all scattered the second you left, Ahjussi."
For crying out loud.
I never expected them to pull out that fast. Life was so unfair.
"I came here to see you, so what's there to feel wronged about?"
"Fine. It's my fault."
"I'll forgive you if you give me that test."
Tch.
She never let anyone get the last word.
"We'll use a sparring-only ring."
"What is your rank, sir?"
"C-class."
"If impacts exceeding the permitted rank occur, a penalty fee will be charged."
Sparring fields ran protective barriers that shielded the users. When a shock beyond the allowed threshold hit, the barrier went pop!
Plenty of hunters who tried to save a little money ended up paying for repairs instead.
"I am confident in my ability to control my strength."
"It's not that I don't trust you, Sir."
It was simply a safety measure for the unexpected. Yeondo might unleash force beyond her rank, after all.
"Oh? You're rating me that highly?"
"I said it's just in case."
Yeondo and I stepped onto the sparring field.
Sir Isra rose smoothly from my shadow and flicked her fingers in a beckoning gesture.
"Come forth, princess of the old empire."
"Princess?"
Five question marks floated above Yeondo's head.
Hey!
Somebody needs to shut that mouth of hers!
"Alright, here I go."
Acceleration
Wrapped in blue mana, Yeondo charged in at a speed far beyond her base ability.
Fast.
Even seeing it a second time, the same impression hit me. Without the Heavenly Martial Body, I would have been struck down without even realizing she was coming.
Put another way—my enhanced senses read the exact trajectory of her attack with perfect clarity.
Clang!
The blade aimed at Sir Isra never reached her; it bounced away.
This time Yeondo moved in a zigzag. Blue afterimages trailing behind her tried to dazzle the eye.
"Yah!"
Clang-clang!
Her strike was blocked again. The third attack. The fourth. None of them so much as grazed Sir Isra.
"Hmm."
It was a curious sensation. In pure speed, Yeondo surpassed Sir Isra. Isra's specs were only on the level of a C-class monster; without Mana Release, she could never match Yeondo in raw velocity.
And yet—
Clang!
"Haaap!"
Clang!
Not a single one of Yeondo's attacks ever touched Sir Isra. High-speed movement, blinding feints, relentless pressure—the result never changed.
After who knows how many more exchanges—
"Hah… huff…"
Drenched in sweat, Yeondo gasped for air. She had worn herself out completely.
"I have seen enough of your skill, prin— ahem. Your skill, young sir."
"How was I?"
"So dull I nearly died of boredom."
This time, at least, I had to agree with Sir Isra completely.