A Trip to the Hunter Association
“Ahaha, Uncle. She’s so cute.”
Eunha stroked Hatchery’s head as if she had suddenly gained an adorable little sister.
“It’s nice to see you smile.”
“How could I not smile?”
Only then did the killing intent that had frosted over Hanul’s eyes finally lift, and the heavy air lightened at last.
“Haaah… whew…”
Hatchery let out a long sigh of pure relief at having survived.
“And this little one is…?”
“Her name is Hatchery. She was one of my subordinates in the Demon Realm.”
“Annyeonghaseyo! Let me introduce myself properly again. I’m Hatchery-yong!”
“Hello there. Nice to meet you too.”
Just as the conversation was about to continue—
Knock knock.
“This is Secretary Min.”
“Come in.”
Secretary Min Sehee entered with polite formality, a document envelope in her hands.
“Minister! And Hanul-nim! The documents you were waiting for have been issued.”
Kang Hanul
The object that legally proved his existence for the first time in thirty years.
“All procedures for restoring Kang Hanul-nim’s identity and re-registering his resident record have been completed. You may now exercise every legal right as a citizen of the Republic of Korea.”
The resident registration card was settled. Yet something still seemed missing. Eunha asked,
“And the Hunter ID?”
Secretary Min Sehee bit her lip with a troubled expression.
“About that… we requested cooperation from the Hunter Association President, but the situation is not good.”
It had only been a short while since his return, yet from everything he had observed of the current climate, Hanul already understood.
“So the Hunter Association and its president are also on China’s payroll, are they?”
“That’s part of it, but there’s personal feeling mixed in as well. I previously rejected a budget cooperation request from the Association. This is essentially retaliation.”
“Petty.”
Min Sehee clenched the stack of documents tighter, looking wronged.
“It’s not as if we’re asking for something impossible! Kang Hanul Hunter-nim is who he is, and his past Hunter records are still clearly on file! With his resident registration restored, refusing to issue a Hunter ID is just too much from the Association President!”
In short, the Association’s answer was crystal clear: the thirty-year-old records had already expired, so he would have to undergo a new rank evaluation and complete the full new-registration process.
The real reason? A deliberate scheme to humiliate Kang Eunha.
Hanul’s eyes flickered violet for a brief moment. Then he rose to his feet.
“While we’re on the subject, let’s go. To the Hunter Association.”
“Right now?”
“They said the person himself should come. I’m going. What’s the problem?”
Simple logic. Before stepping out the door, Hanul paused and looked back at his niece. The mountain of documents piled on her desk caught his eye once more.
Looking at it again, she’s really something. Trying so hard to make things work.
And Eunha, for her part—
Having Uncle here… it’s this reassuring?
More reassuring than anything else in the world. The anxiety that had been crushing her chest seemed to wash away. She unclenched the fist she had been holding tight.
“…Come back safely, Uncle.”
Hunter Association President’s Office.
A middle-aged man was sunk deep into a gold-leaf sofa.
Association President Go Changsik.
He smoked a cigar while staring out the window. His secretary approached carefully and spoke.
“Mr. President, I have a report.”
“Speak.”
“You remember the matter Minister Kang Eunha asked about through her secretary last time.”
Go Changsik’s brow furrowed.
“That uncle or whatever who supposedly came back after thirty years?”
“Yes. The man named Kang Hanul is currently in the Association lobby.”
“He actually came?”
What curved across Go Changsik’s lips was a sneer—the look of a man thinking, You really walked right into this? Perfect.
“Yes. He is formally requesting restoration of his Hunter registration and says he will take the tests.”
“Heh. Is that so.”
“How shall we handle it? The internal network still has the old data.”
The secretary held out a tablet.
“Shall we quietly restore the records under the excuse of a thirty-year-old system error? I hear he was an S-class mental-type. It might be cleaner to just let it slide gracefully…”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
He crushed the cigar into the ashtray.
“Have you forgotten how that little bitch crushed my budget proposal last time? Those eyes that dared lecture me about integrity right to my face!”
“…”
He still ground his teeth as if the grudge had never cooled.
“Her uncle? Just because she wears a minister’s title she thinks she can play above the law?”
“Strictly speaking, what their side requested is within regulations, and what we’re doing is not…”
“What? Are you taking that bitch’s side right now?”
“N-no, sir! Everything you say is correct, Mr. President!”
“If someone went missing for thirty years, the data evaporating completely is just common sense, isn’t it? Tell him to start from scratch.”
Go Changsik spun his chair to face the secretary squarely.
“Run him through the lowest-grade measurement devices first. And make him stand in the lobby for about three hours claiming the schedule is full.”
“Make him wait three hours? Even so, he was formerly S-class…”
“S-class my ass. Do you have any idea how much the meta in this industry has changed over thirty years? An S-class from thirty years ago is scrap metal now.”
He twirled a pen and snickered.
“We need to give him a proper taste of hell. Until that niece of his comes crawling on her knees to beg me.”
Petty desire glittered in Go Changsik’s eyes. Just as the secretary was about to leave the office, a better idea seemed to strike the president. He called the man back.
“Hey! Wait a second!”
“Is there further instruction?”
“Would I call you back just to chat? You said that bastard is a mental-type, right?”
“According to the records, yes.”
“Even better. Make that one specially take every single aptitude test.”
The secretary flinched again.
“Every test, sir? Normally an awakened hunter declares their type in writing and only takes the matching tests. That’s the custom…”
“Ah, custom? Sure. But there are regulations allowing full testing because some people try to cheat on the written declaration, aren’t there?”
“There are, but…”
The clause existed, yet it had almost never been enforced. After all, if someone submitted a fake awakening trait on paper, the actual examination would expose the lie immediately.
“Tell the staff clearly. Be as picky as possible.”
“…”
“Start with basic physical fitness, then strength, agility, durability—everything.”
“Physical tests for a mental-type hunter would be harsh…”
“That’s the point. And that’s not all. Measure telekinesis, long-range mana discharge—the whole package.”
Go Changsik’s lips curled into a crooked smile.
“How much strength could a mental-type hunter even have? Make him sweat buckets in the measurement room and thoroughly embarrass himself.”
He even propped his feet up on the desk.
“The thought of a former S-class waiting around and doing every single test is just delightful, isn’t it?”
Association President Go Changsik cackled.
“Understood. I will issue the instructions immediately.”
“Assign the pickiest, sharpest-tongued examiners. Make the humiliation nice and thorough.”
The secretary swallowed a sigh inside. When ordered to do something, you simply did it.
“Until that bitch Kang Eunha sees her uncle’s sorry state and comes crawling on her knees to beg me.”
Drunk on the taste of victory, Go Changsik exhaled a long stream of smoke.
The Hunter Association lobby was packed.
Hanul waited. Beside him stood Hatchery with a lollipop in her mouth.
“Kang Hanul-nim? There is no record in the system. You will need to complete new registration.”
“How long will it take?”
“There’s quite a backlog. You’ll need to wait at least three hours.”
The staffer’s eyes were full of open annoyance—Association President Go Changsik’s childish scheme. Record deletion, deliberate delay.
“Master, should I just kill all those bastards-yong?”
Hatchery crunched the candy between her teeth as she asked. Violet demonic energy flickered in her eyes.
“Leave them.”
Hanul, by contrast, answered with perfect calm.
“What crime have the staff here committed? They’re only doing as they’re told.”
“But they’re being so rude-yong!”
“Finishing everything in one stroke has its charm, but slowly rolling them around and savoring the flavor is also quite enjoyable.”
Hatchery’s eyes sparkled. She rolled the crushed candy pieces around her mouth.
“Aha! I get what you mean-yong!”
“That’s right. Exactly that.”
Just then the lobby entrance suddenly grew noisy. Every gaze swung toward the glass doors. Three top-class sedans had pulled up right in front of the entrance.
“Huh? Aren’t those Veteran Guild cars?”
“Hey, look who’s getting out!”
The murmurs turned into outright shock. The car door opened and a woman stepped out—cold beauty, S-class Hunter Baek Hayan.
“It’s Baek Hayan! Why is she here?”
“Isn’t that Office Manager Seo Jihun next to her? Why is the entire leadership moving?”
Baek Hayan’s stride never faltered. The crowd parted. The place Baek Hayan and Seo Jihun headed for was—
the man sitting on a secluded sofa. Straight to Hanul.
Moreover, they bowed at the waist in formal greeting. Extreme deference.
“Forgive us for being late. Preparations took a little longer than expected.”
“Escort preparations are complete, Acting Guild Leader.”
Seo Jihun, following behind, also lowered his head deeply.
The lobby flipped upside down. The vice guild leader and office manager of a top-ten guild were attending to some unknown man.
“Why are the Veteran executives acting like that?”
“…This can’t be real.”
While the crowd buzzed, Office Manager Seo Jihun walked to the counter. He was an expert who understood this ecosystem better than anyone. Seo Jihun looked down at the staffer with cold eyes.
“This gentleman is affiliated with the Veteran Guild.”
“E-even so, the waiting order…”
“Are we not a top-ten guild registered as a Hunter Association sponsor? There should be a dedicated express counter. We already submitted the official document.”
Baek Hayan, standing beside him, added lightly,
“Is there a problem with the procedure?”
At Baek Hayan’s icy question the staffer could barely breathe. The presence of an S-class Hunter was not something an ordinary person could withstand.
“N-no, sir! We’ll guide you right away!”
Association President Go Changsik’s orders be damned—they looked ready to die on the spot. The flustered staff scrambled to clear a path.
“This way, please!”
Normally he would have entered alone, but top-ten guild privileges applied. Hatchery, Baek Hayan, and Seo Jihun flanked Hanul like an escort.
And as if the real fun was only just beginning, the corner of Hanul’s mouth curled upward.
They arrived at the testing room. Ordinarily a mana measurement device should have been waiting, yet—
“Um… Kang Hanul-nim has been selected as a full-test subject.”
“Full test? That’s almost never implemented. Aren’t you just being deliberately obstructive?”
“W-we’re sorry. It’s orders from above, so we…”
When Seo Jihun looked ready to push further, Hanul raised a hand casually.
“Settle down, Manager Seo. Something like this is fine.”
“Yes! If that is the Acting Guild Leader’s will, I understand.”
“Thank you for coming with us. This way, then. We’ll begin with physical ability measurements first. After that, telekinesis and…”
The list of items kept growing. There were a lot of them. Officially Hanul was a mental-type ability user, yet they wanted physical ability, telekinesis, elemental aptitude, summoning aptitude—and even various weapon technique tests on top of that.
“No, this is going too far…”
“I’m starting to get pissed off too-yong!”
“Listen! I need to meet Hunter Association President Go Changsik in person!”
Seo Jihun, Hatchery, and Baek Hayan all moved to step forward, but once again Hanul stopped them.
“I said it’s fine. That Go Changsik or whatever the Association President is called will be coming to stand in front of me soon enough anyway.”
A faint smile. Yet even though the words were spoken calmly, a faint killing intent lingered underneath. Hatchery, who knew Hanul better than anyone, reacted at once.
“Huk! Hic! Hic—hic—”
She even started hiccupping. That smile had dragged up the old trauma of the time she herself had been on the receiving end of it long ago.