Acceptance and the Path to Retribution
Having heard every detail from Kang A-jin, Kim Se-in lowered her head and let out deep, heavy sighs. It went on like that for a while, but there was nothing to be done about it. From a conventional standpoint, this whole setup defied common sense. Polygamy in modern society? Even ten mouths wouldn't be enough to explain it away.
No one else could utter a word until she sorted out her feelings. I wasn't in a position to speak up, Kang A-jin was a woman of reason and patience, and Lisa was just being her usual self. The only surprise was Valentina staying quiet—she was gazing at Kim Se-in with eyes full of affection, as if thrilled that a beauty like her was joining the group. I'd have to subtly clue Kim Se-in in later about Valentina's taste for women, I thought. She might get blindsided otherwise.
Finally, after a long stretch, Kim Se-in spoke up.
"So... not everyone here is the full roster, then. S-rank hunter Kim Seol-bi, her cousin, and Jo A-young, who was Jo Dong-geun's supposed little sister..."
She ticked them off one by one, then sighed again. "Haaa..."
"And there'll be more added in the future. People like me..."
But she seemed to have already made her peace with it. Her face hardened with resolve as she continued.
"The old me might as well be dead already. I've decided my new life will be with you no matter what, Sung-gi. Of course, this isn't easy to accept, but the others must have gone through the same thing. I won't be selfish about it."
Hearing that, I let out a quiet sigh of relief behind her back. "Whew..."
"That's right, that's right. What's good is good. Let other people worry about laws and morals. We just gotta stay true to our lower halves and live it up~~"
Valentina finally spouted her usual philosophy. I didn't agree with her at all, but I couldn't call her out openly. No matter what I thought, the life I was actually living was exactly as she described—faithful to the urges below the belt.
"Then let's pick up where we left off earlier," Kang A-jin said, sounding genuinely intrigued by Valentina's words herself.
"Sung-gi can now inject his mana into women?"
"Yes, definitely."
"Fascinating." She pondered for a moment. "That gives us another goal, then. Collect mana and inject it into the women. We'll all get stronger that way."
"Collect mana?"
In my mind, sealing Park Hyun-jun and Kim Hyun-cheol's mana into talismans had been a fluke born of circumstance. If they hadn't gone off the rails, there'd have been no need for it.
"Opportunities will be more plentiful than you think. Take Kim Se-in's situation, for starters. From what I see, there are plenty of hunters who shouldn't have mana anymore."
"Yeah." I nodded, convinced. I hoped no other issues would crop up, but at minimum, we had to settle things related to her.
"Let's discuss how to handle it."
As Kang A-jin spoke, Valentina chimed in with her take.
"Perfect. We should run a few guilds and clans ourselves. They make money by default, and having organizations to tap into when needed is a huge asset. In Brazil, all the S-ranks make their cash that way. When war breaks out, dozens of guilds and clans clash."
Her words made my head spin. "War" might not even be an overstatement. If every S-rank ran multiple guilds and clans and they started vying for power, it would be war on a grand scale. Listening to her, I felt grateful to have been born in Korea. Brazil sounded like a place where safely managing dungeons wouldn't cut it for keeping the peace.
"That company is Puleaf Tech, right?"
"How did you know?"
Kang A-jin asked, and Kim Se-in shot back in surprise. I was shocked too—no company name had come up in our talks.
"I've heard it's shady for a while now. List all the corrupt companies, and there's no end to it. Hearing your story, Se-in, Puleaf jumped out. They've been muscling in on new guilds to snatch interests for ages. They just couldn't outright steal the guilds themselves—guilds need hunters to function, after all. So they used an awakened nephew... There are probably several guilds like yours in their crosshairs. That nephew will just hop to the next target and repeat the same stunt."
Kang A-jin's breakdown painted Puleaf Tech as a social cancer. A pure-sounding name like "Puleaf" for such ruthless dealings? I was already set on it, but now I wanted to erase them from society completely.
"And one more thing I found out," Kang A-jin added.
"The poison used on you, Se-in—it doesn't seem to be from a domestic poison sorcerer."
"Not commissioned from a Korean?"
"No. That company has tentacles in Southeast Asia too. There's a famous poison sorcerer group in Thailand. They probably sourced it from there."
"Does that tie heavily into this incident?"
"Hard to say. I'd prefer not, but we should prepare just in case. They maintain their reputation in their own way, and their mindset is... different from ours. Either way, we need to investigate them."
"Yeah..."
I hoped things wouldn't balloon out of control, but having Kang A-jin around was reassuring. Without her, grasping the underbelly of the hunter world would have been tough.
"Let's brainstorm methods now. And we can't keep this just among us. We need to inform the other women about the new member joining."
Kang A-jin referred to Kim Se-in as a "member." What to say? It felt awkward, like calling her the latest addition to the Kang Sung-gi harem. I had nothing to say, even with ten mouths.
Mountains beyond mountains. We'd convinced Kim Se-in, but now we had to come clean to the others. The women, scattered after leaving Kang A-jin's house, would feel like they'd been struck by lightning out of the blue.
No words for this, I thought.
Still, I figured this would keep happening. Not every woman had become a "member" because I wanted it that way. All I could do was adapt—no other options.
# In the end, breaking the news of Kim Se-in's arrival to the other women went smoother than expected. Their capacity for acceptance was bigger than I'd imagined—almost like my worries were unfounded. They all seemed to have resigned themselves to this aspect somewhat. At least we could coexist harmoniously without conflicts erupting. Lucky, that. From their perspective, maybe there were no other choices.
They took Kim Se-in's addition in stride, but fumed even more over what she'd endured. Kim Seol-bi, the S-rank; her cousin Kim Eun-bi; and Jo A-young, under Jo Dong-geun's wing—they'd never faced the hunter world's brutality despite being A-rank. Of course, the best outcome is never experiencing it at all.
We'd discussed handling Kim Seyeon's situation—wait, no, Kim Se-in's—with Kang A-jin, Valentina, and Lisa present. And the plan turned out simpler than I'd thought. The other women heard it out and unanimously approved.
"Make those bastards pay."
"Let me know if I can help."
Kim Eun-bi and Jo A-young were the most gung-ho—maybe because they were fellow A-ranks, or just young with a stronger sense of justice.
But I planned to keep the other women out of it as much as possible this time. Back when my abilities were lacking, I'd have needed their help. In the plan we'd devised with Kang A-jin and Valentina, though, no additional women were required. Strictly speaking, Kang A-jin and Valentina were aiding me, but the rest didn't need to get involved. It was necessary, too—better to minimize entanglement in ugly business. Fewer people meant easier maneuvering.
The plan's first step: meet the shop owner who'd rented me S-rank gear and weapons. According to Kang A-jin and Kim Seol-bi, her influence in the industry was even greater than I'd realized. Her shop was small, but the business empire behind it was massive. That's why she hadn't haggled for profit when lending me equipment. Every gear company in Korea was desperate to supply her shop. Especially with S-rank gear or weapons... the revenue scale was on another level. Compared to her clout, Puleaf's president was a pathetic little fish.