Chapter 4. Flight and Service (10)
Chapter 4. Flight and Service (10)
"Then let's do this."
I picked up a strawberry, popped it into my mouth, chewed, swallowed, and spoke.
"You don't need to attach conditions like that."
"Pardon?"
Glaria's eyes blinked at my words.
"Conditions like establishing a church on the other side—none of that is necessary."
Well, even if I didn't think about it, this country's government certainly would.
Even when it came to treaties, they could exert limited influence within them. There was no need to project military influence, either. Sending troops inside wouldn't exactly bring this side any great benefit.
Instead, they were probably thinking about things like buying the rights to develop the vast noble domains on the other side, or opening up new markets to sell all sorts of things, or developing new territories.
Since a princess had even crossed over, that plan would gain even more momentum.
Naturally, I would stay out of it. I had no intention of becoming a Saintess in the first place, so as long as I made a point of not getting involved, I could keep a step removed from it all.
"I'll help arrange a job for you. I don't know how the government will view the matter, but that part isn't something I can do anything about."
"Oh......."
Glaria, looking a bit flustered, glanced at Ria.
Ria shrugged, then likewise popped a strawberry into her mouth.
"Wait a moment. So you mean you'll help me without any particular conditions?"
"That's right."
"That...... You do know what kind of position you're in, don't you? I looked into you myself before I said all this, you know......."
The fact that my reputation among Hunters was good was something she could have heard from anyone. On top of that, I was in a position to rise very high within the Church right now, so that must have made me even more appealing.
Who wouldn't know that?
"I know. Whatever the people in the government or the Church think, if I say a word to the Association, they'll at least give you a job. It's not exactly forbidden, after all."
She was a princess, but for now Glaria was using the title of "noble" here. The title of princess was a secret.
They probably intended to assign her some kind of escort, but in the original story there was no such presence around Glaria. And honestly, once the Gate had completely closed, the "value" this country's people saw in her was very likely not that high. Every assumption only mattered if there was a way to cross beyond the Gate.
So, in short, the odds were far greater that there would be "no major problems."
Besides—
"Putting in a good word isn't exactly hard."
Right. To take Glaria out, I would ultimately have to go outside myself.
The right to move around outside relatively freely was rolling right into my lap, so why would I kick it away?
"......."
Glaria stared at me quietly with a slightly dazed expression.
Enough that she even forgot she was in the middle of a meal.
*
I actually quite like walking.
It was the same in my Past Life. Of course, that didn't mean I did crazy things like walking all the way to a far-off workplace, but on days that weren't too hot, when I had time to spare, I liked going outside and wandering around here and there as a sort of stroll.
In this world too, if I could have walked to the Association headquarters, I would have. The headquarters was a little under an hour away on foot.
"Hey, no matter what, that's rough."
When I voiced my thoughts, Ria waved her hand as she answered.
"Well, I figured as much."
I shrugged too.
I still officially held the title of "Candidate," but for now I was a person in a fairly important position within this religious order.
No matter how many escorts they put beside me, walking all the way to a distant place was far too dangerous.
More than anything, wasn't I someone whose importance lay not in that position?
Anyone in the world would obviously want to have someone who could add one more life to their own in a dangerous moment. In that sense, anyone could come after me.
......It's a story that doesn't appear in the novel, but in this world there are actual cases.
Back when the religious order was not yet properly established, when stories spread that Gates were opening wildly and this world's survival was in danger.
There were people who thought the flesh, bones, and blood of a person who could wield Holy Power could be used for a kind of ritual purpose.
Nowadays "that sort of thing" almost never happens, but there is still a reason the government allows the religious order to directly lead the Knight Order.
We boarded the minibus the Church used for group travel and headed to the Association.
The Association where Lee Si-yoon and his childhood friend Han Yu-ri belonged.
The Hunter Association "Horizon."
It was among the top in this country, but its scale was not the "largest."
Of course, even if it wasn't the largest, it was still big enough to be called "large," but the most important thing about this Association was that the Hunters belonging to it were exceptionally skilled.
Then how had a Low-Rank Hunter like Lee Si-yoon gotten in? It was because Lee Si-yoon's parents had been Hunters who achieved great success.
That was also why he was treated as even more of a "weakest." Because he hadn't fully inherited his parents' strength.
There was still considerable debate in this world about whether Hunter abilities were truly passed down through genetics. There were cases like Ria's where talent was inherited, and cases where it wasn't. If anything, calling the current second generation a second generation felt a bit premature.
......Well, anyway.
And so, at the place we arrived, there stood a reasonably large building.
The surrounding buildings were uniformly not that tall. The largest building in this area was the affiliated hospital run by the national university, and the rest were usually eight stories at most. Even the apartments around here weren't that tall.
Several universities were located nearby, and there were various good restaurants around too, but—after the Gate incident, the atmosphere of this place had changed somewhat from the Daehak-ro I knew.
"Honestly, shouldn't we be calling this the Association District by now?"
Ria said with a fairly serious expression.
She was right. There were quite a lot of Association offices around here. Besides Horizon and the Associations that had given me their business cards, there were plenty of Associations renting just a single floor of a building or a single office.
If this world were a medieval fantasy world and this area were packed with adventurer guilds, there would probably be a red-light district nearby that wasn't great for public safety, but in this world, Hunters were clearly professionals.
In a sense, precisely because it was that kind of place, the crime rate was actually far lower than elsewhere.
"But I heard there are a lot of college students around here too?"
"If anything, maybe the Associations moved in because there are so many college students. Or no, is it because there are so many research institutes?"
The ones who most eagerly bought up items obtained from beyond the Gate were, after all, the natural science universities, graduate schools, and research institutes.
It was comparatively easy to secure smart personnel, and at the same time easy to sell the acquired materials, so the formation of this kind of area was inevitable—or so it said in the novel.
......Well, the biggest reason was probably that a massive Gate had appeared near here and caused the greatest loss of life in this country.
Even now, there was a memorial monument in the middle of the park.
After getting out of the car, we bowed our heads toward the monument. The Church people who had accompanied us did the same.
Whether sincere or not, this was something people always did at least once when passing through this area. Well, I had hardly ever been here, though.
"......."
Glaria awkwardly mimicked the gesture.
The building was right next to the park. When people thought of an Association building, they usually imagined a well-built glass palace, but this building was made of red brick. That didn't mean it was a house, though.
The interior was quite pleasant.
"Chae-eun!"
As soon as we entered, someone came toward us, raising a hand in our direction.
Kim Hyeon-gang. The friend of Ria's father whom I had seen last time.
"Uncle!"
Ria waved cheerfully in greeting.
Mr. Kim Hyeon-gang, having come up close to us, gave me a slight nod of his head.
"Sister."
"Brother."
We exchanged light greetings, and Mr. Kim Hyeon-gang raised his head again.
His gaze turned to Glaria. Seeing the glint of interest in his eyes, he had apparently heard the story. Well, the Hunters of this Association had participated in the operation last time too.
After exchanging a light greeting with Glaria as well, Mr. Kim Hyeon-gang turned back to Ria and me.
"You said you wanted to recommend someone, Sister?"
"Yes, Brother."
I answered lightly.
"Then shall we hear the details?"
Mr. Kim Hyeon-gang said with a light smile.
"I'll show you right in."
Had he already been preparing for this?
Well, of course he had. There was no way the Church hadn't said anything when I announced I was going to move.
......Somehow, I had the feeling it was getting harder and harder to pull my foot out of this, and that bothered me a little.
I swallowed a sigh and followed behind him.
*
Well, the conversation didn't take that long.
It seemed he had already heard about it from various sources. And it seemed he had received some kind of compensation, too.
From the Association’s perspective, Glaria was someone they had no reason to turn away.
"Then shall we leave it here for now? We'll need to discuss the specific amounts separately. Miss Glaria, you still don't know exactly how this world's currency units work, right?"
"I see, so that's how it is."
Glaria nodded.
"Yes, if it's about that...... I'm ashamed to say I still don't know anything."
"In that case, how about staying with us for a while and experiencing daily life here? Money is hard to get a feel for until you actually spend it yourself."
Up to that point, it was all quite reasonable.
Even just traveling abroad could throw off your sense of money.
But when I heard the next part, I nearly spat out the green tea I had been holding in my mouth.
"We'll assign some young people around Miss Glaria's age to stay by her side. One is a girl named Han Yu-ri, and the other is a boy named Lee Si-yoon—"
Ah, damn.
Was this how the story was supposed to go?
Come to think of it, it wasn't all that strange. The novel did need events that would entangle the heroine and the protagonist.
"Ah, um......!"
When I abruptly cut into the conversation, Mr. Kim Hyeon-gang paused for a moment.
"Uh, well."
Having brought it up, I hesitated for a second.
"She’s a guest of the Church, so I thought it might be better if I stayed involved too......."
And having failed to think of a reason in time, I ended up blurting out something that didn't even make sense.
......Hm.
If only I could turn back time.
Seeing Ria let out a baffled little laugh, I thought exactly that.