Instant Death (2)

SJ Group Headquarters.

A middle-aged man speaking with a grave expression came faintly into view.

"Still haven't found him?"

"I'm truly sorry. There wasn't a single trace of the battle left behind, so we've been having a hard time of it."

"You know that's not the answer I wanted."

His name was Yoo Tae-sung — the owner who held every last scrap of real power in the conglomerate SJ Group, and the man who bore the title of Korea's first S-rank Hunter.

He fixed his chief secretary with a glare from that mountain-like frame of his. Under an aura no ordinary person could withstand, the secretary's shoulders drew in tighter and tighter.

"I'm… sorry."

"What about the other guilds' movements?"

"We've blocked those for certain. The only ones who've gotten their hands on more information than SJ are the government."

The sole subject of their discussion was one thing: the unidentified hunter who had appeared recently. They were tracking his footsteps.

The hunter had shown up as if he'd dropped out of the sky, soloed a raid that should have taken a team of twenty or more high-rank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hunters, and vanished as suddenly as he'd come. They had been searching for his whereabouts ever since — and now he had appeared once more.

The Roulette Gate. That catastrophe that had nearly manifested in the densely populated capital region. By the time they noticed, they had thought it was already too late — but when they arrived, the dungeon had already been cleared.

The method of disposing of the monsters was unlike anything they had seen. Every last one of them had died instantly, without a single wound. The National Science Research Institute had issued a classification of Disaster-class. Someone had appeared out of nowhere and, in a single stroke, dispatched a monster that even every S-rank hunter working together might not have been able to handle — and without leaving so much as a scratch.

When they pieced the traces together, the likelihood that the "mysterious hunter" from a week ago had done it was overwhelming. For a hunter, the way one killed monsters was as distinctive as a fingerprint, and that was how they had deduced it.

Naturally, it was not only Korea. Major guilds from every corner of the world had begun to move at once. Their purpose was solely one thing: the recruitment of the "mysterious hunter."

"Strange, isn't it. Something that happened in this little country, and we can't find even the smallest trace. And that's with SJ putting its full weight behind the search, no less."

"…I'm sorry. I have nothing to say for myself."

"Enough. What's done is done. You've worked hard. Starting tomorrow, you don't need to come in. I'd prefer we never cross paths again."

"C-Chairman! Please, just this once, show mercy. I have a daughter to feed…!"

Yoo Tae-sung delivered his verdict with chilling finality.

The man half-sobbed and prostrated himself, begging for clemency, but guards appeared a moment later and dragged him out.

A girl who had watched the entire proceeding opened her mouth.

"Did you really need to do that? Besides us, there's America, Russia, Japan, China. None of them have found so much as a lead."

Tae-sung looked at Sia in her neat school uniform and thought, When did she grow this much?

The little child who used to come up to his solar plexus had, before he knew it, grown to about chest height. Time waited for no one. The man who had always seemed as though he would remain a youth with a burning heart had become a father with a fully grown daughter.

…There's no time. He had to fulfill his long-held wish, and he had to do it soon.

Tae-sung gazed at his grown daughter with a wistful look, then spoke with a softened expression.

"This is a position that bears responsibility for a great many people. Hesitate in your decisions, and you will lose something even greater. If you are incompetent, you cannot walk with us."

"Sounds like you'd abandon me too if I became incompetent."

Yoo Sia threw the barb without flinching. Tae-sung let out a small sigh before he answered. He didn't know where things had started to sour, but lately his relationship with his daughter had only gotten worse.

"How could I abandon my only blood?"

"I think you could, Father. You judge everything in this world by its value alone."

Tae-sung spoke as if the words had genuinely hurt him.

"You don't even call me Papa anymore."

"……"

Yoo Sia's cheeks flushed — but only for a moment.

"I'm not a child. I've grown up. Do you even know how old I am?"

"You're fourteen. You think Dad wouldn't know that?"

"……"

Even after the words had left his mouth, Tae-sung flinched. A hunter's keen instinct was telling him, quite clearly: I made a mistake.

"I'm leaving."

She turned on her heel with a snap and walked away. Tae-sung called after her with trembling hands.

"S-Sia. Are you leaving already? Since you're here, why don't we at least have a meal together…"

"Dad."

Before opening the door, she looked back and answered with a voice like ice.

"I'm sixteen. Seventeen in Korean age."

"!"

The door slammed shut. Sia left the chairman's office behind, and even after she had gone, Tae-sung remained frozen like stone, his awkward hand still outstretched from calling her name.

When did she…

Yoo Tae-sung, chairman of SJ, who had stood unflinching before any trial imaginable, broke into a waterfall of cold sweat on this freezing winter day — all from a single mistake with his daughter.

Sia walked with angry strides.

"Miss. The car is ready. This way, please."

"No. I don't need…"

She was about to refuse as a matter of course when she realized she had only thirty minutes left until her social gathering, and the rest of the sentence died in her throat.

"Then please take me near the school."

"Yes, Miss."

As she walked to the car, she thought, Dad being Dad. What was I expecting?

She had never thought of it as a bad thing. Sia was not some childish little girl. She knew perfectly well how hard the chairman's seat was — how heavy the burden of a position that led so many people. But she couldn't help feeling hurt. A father who didn't even know his own daughter's age. For a girl who had just turned seventeen, it cut quite deep.

Still. I got the information I wanted.

The truth was, Sia had gone to see her father with a purpose. She had declared she wouldn't accept anyone's help and left home — but this time, she had been too curious to hold back.

Who on earth is that person?

An S-rank hunter. She had heard the news, but the Roulette Gate incident had only made her more curious. Even the company, however, claimed to know nothing — to the point that an innocent man had been fired over it.

…I heard the government might know something, though.

That was why she had first suspected Han Seonghun, the older brother of her only friend, Chaewon. The two who had suddenly shown up claiming to be part-timers had been suspicious from the start. Using her Authority — the Eye of Genesis — she had looked into them and found that both were government agents. It didn't sit right no matter how she looked at it, them being attached to Tae-sung, a private citizen.

So at first she had suspected Seonghun of being the "mysterious hunter." There was no other reason for the National Intelligence Service to get involved.

Sia had gone to those women directly and grilled them about their intentions, but they had deflected and revealed nothing. She had even tried threats, with the same result. If anything, she had only confirmed their resolute will to die rather than talk.

She had considered telling her father, then given up. She knew his methods of handling things were never peaceful. Even so, I can't hand over this information when I'm not even sure. Torture would have been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠getting off easy. He would kill their acquaintances if that was what it took to extract what he wanted.

Sia couldn't bring herself to let that happen, so she had decided to keep those agents under her own watch. There was the goal of finding information, yes — but honestly, the bigger purpose was making sure they didn't do anything stupid. She knew Chaewon would be devastated if anything happened to Seonghun.

Her thoughts were still turning when she arrived at school.

"Oh — you too?"

She ran into a welcome face at just the right moment. It was Han Seonghun.

…But why am I happy to see him?

Questioning her own feelings, Sia bowed her head.

"Oppa. Hello."

"On your way to school?"

"Yes. What about you, Oppa?"

Seonghun waved the bags in both hands.

"Buying groceries. We're having a party today. Want to come?"

"I'm fine. I have things I need to do."

"Yeah? See you later, then."

"Yes. Take care."

And just like that, Seonghun walked away. Yoo Sia hesitated for a long while. Then she made her decision.

She used her Authority on Seonghun once more.

Of course. There's no way. Seonghun-oppa is a powerless civilian. I have to protect him.

Sia steeled her resolve and headed for the social club.

Huh.

Still suspicious of me? Her instincts are scarily sharp.

I dismissed the transparent hologram and turned it over in my mind. Looks like she'd grown curious after the recent Roulette Gate. Couldn't blame her. The Roulette Gate had appeared near the noodle shop, after all.

But if anything, she should have been even less able to suspect me. Would she ever guess that I'd used a special artifact that perfectly countered her ability to feed her false information? If she figured that out, Yoo Sia would be a god. A literal god.

"Chaewon's gonna love this."

Humming some random tune, I headed home. Every time I glanced at the rustling bags, I felt a swell of satisfaction. I'd originally been planning to eat out, but Chaewon had refused like some kind of independence fighter, so I'd gone and bought meat. If she dug her heels in about not eating again, I was fully prepared to grill it right in front of her face.

No matter how I look at it, I'm a really good older brother. They say you only get one shot at life — but regression is a different story.

I was walking along, singing my own ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠praises, when a face I would have preferred not to look at before a meal was standing in the alley in front of my house.

"Whoa, speak of the devil — look who showed up, the face I wanted to see! Hey, pal! C'mere. Aigoo, we're good people. We ain't gonna shake you down!"

A pack of swine was calling me over.

"You know me, right? You son of a bitch."

I'd never seen this guy before in my life, but I was certain of one thing. That tacky even center-part. Plus, anyone wearing a sleeveless undershirt in this freezing winter weather couldn't possibly be in their right mind. This guy was definitely insane.

"And you are?"

"Aigoo, runnin' into you here, what are the odds. Don't you remember from the noodle shop last time?"

The man pointed at his own neck. The marks from being grabbed by the collar were still clearly visible.

Ah. I remember now.

The problem customer from the noodle shop last time? I'd been planning to go find them anyway, so I bowed my head and apologized politely.

"I'm sorry about that. I have a bit of a temper."

Even if they'd been in the wrong, slamming a customer was a hundred times my fault. A real man knew when to bow his head.

"I wasn't in good shape back then, so I never got my settlement money, yeah? I'd like it now."

"…Settlement money?"

They were telling me to hand over money. Right now. My brow furrowed.

"See this hyung-nim next to me? This hyung-nim here's a Hunter, I'm tellin' you. If you don't wanna die…"

I cut him off.

"Aigoo, of course I should give you the settlement money."

"Haha! Now here's a guy who gets it! We're not that bad of people. Just this, just this much and we'll let it slide nice and clean, yeah? Long as you show some proper sincerity…"

WHAM!

I repaid these thugs shaking people down in broad daylight with a heart full of justice. I took the so-called Hunter, or whatever he was, and planted him in the wall.

Come to think of it, they're not customers right now, are they?

That's right. They weren't customers. I couldn't find a single reason I needed to show them any consideration.

…It's definitely not because of the money.

"…!"

The man's mouth fell wide open. I spoke quietly.

Could there be a finer settlement than this?

I couldn't help but marvel at my own wise handling of the situation.