Chapter 102
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 102
“Curator Yoo Seong-un.”
Just Yoo Seong-un is fine, he thought.
“I am terribly sorry to have to say this, but…”
“Overtime?”
“…”
“It’s overtime.”
He’d known this was coming.
Bisabeol quietly studied Yoo Seong-un’s expression, which had moved beyond mere resignation into a state of enlightened acceptance. He gave him a thumbs-up, followed by a wink so crisp it was hard to believe it came from a man his age.
“How long will it take?”
“What a rotten capitalist society.”
In this day and age, legally mandated work hours were utterly meaningless. Those laws were for civilians, anyway. For a public Hunter, let alone a regular Awakened, being worked to death wouldn’t have been surprising.
“Sigh…”
And Yoo Seong-un was a professional who knew all too well that he was just a cog in the machine.
“Fine. Alright.”
He nodded.
“I’ll be looking forward to this month’s salary.”
“Incredible! You’re so cool, Hunter Yoo Seong-un! Absolutely reliable!”
“Please don’t make this any harder on me. Just get to the point.”
“Shall we, then?”
Wearing his signature lazy smile, Bisabeol continued.
“Gio caused some trouble.”
“…”
Sip.
Yoo Seong-un took a drink of his sweet fruit tea and asked, “On a scale of ‘cute’ to ‘catastrophic,’ where does this fall?”
“I thought it was quite cute.”
“If it were catastrophic by your standards, Guild Master, I’d have heard about it by now.”
“Then why even ask? Mr. Yoo Seong-un, what exactly do you take me for? Some kind of harbinger of the apocalypse?”
“I’m just amazed at how you manage to enjoy life so thoroughly.”
“Enjoying life is what lasts. You’re welcome to respect me.”
“Ah, yes…”
Yoo Seong-un massaged his stiff neck and asked again, “So, what exactly happened?”
“I heard a 1st-Grade Citizen was dragged into one of Gio’s frames.”
“A 1st-Grade Citizen… A few rank-elitists are going to throw a fit.”
“Well, what can they do? It wasn’t a human, but a monster. They’ll pay a little more attention, but they’ll have to let it go.”
“That’s true.”
It was true that 1st-Grade Citizens received immense privileges in the human world.
But for that very reason, almost no one felt sympathy when a 1st-Grade Citizen fell victim to a monster. After all, most of them had earned their power and honor by fighting those same monsters to protect everyone else.
“Well, not that Gio is a monster, of course.”
“In any case, isn’t it better for it to be known that way?”
“You’re right, Guild Master.”
There was no need to reveal the Existence of the Origin to those who couldn’t even perceive it.
It would only cause unnecessary chaos.
If the truth about the Origin were ever to be officially revealed, it should be at least a hundred years from now. Only thirty-one years had passed since the Great Catastrophe; public understanding was still far too limited.
Anyway, that wasn’t the important part.
“Who is the person Gio dragged away?”
At Yoo Seong-un’s question, Bisabeol stroked his chin.
“A B-Rank Hunter named Park Eun-gyeom, they say.”
“…Never heard of him.”
“You should learn some Hunter names. He’s actually ranked quite high.”
“In the overall rankings?”
“Nationally.”
“How would I know that?”
Although he was an A-Rank Hunter, Yoo Seong-un’s primary roles were as Curator for the Collector and manager of a secret Garden. Unless a Hunter was widely known or someone he specifically needed to track, his attention was focused entirely on the Origin.
“What use do I have for knowing the national Hunter rankings?”
In short, unless it was related to the Origin or was basic knowledge for an A-Rank Hunter, he had no reason to know.
“It’s useful for pretending you’re well-informed, isn’t it?”
“I remember most of the important A-Ranks.”
“Pay some attention to the rank right below them, too. Even if you’re an unofficial Hunter, you’ll get flak for that.”
“I get along just fine in society. It’s not like I broadcast my ignorance to their faces.”
“I suppose that’s a relief…”
It was likely because Hunters were treated like celebrities in this world. Unless they had a very distinct public persona, people expected the Hunters they saw in the media to be humble and flawless. Knowing and respecting every other Hunter’s name was part of that “perfect” image.
Of course, since Yoo Seong-un was part of Bisabeol’s collection and a Gardener who needed plenty of private time to work, he chose not to appear in the media often. As long as he was handling himself well, Bisabeol didn’t really need to worry.
“Then again, he wasn’t a particularly well-known Hunter.”
“You mean that Hunter, Park Eun-gyeom?”
“He seemed eager to climb the ranks, but… people these days don’t really like arrogant and self-righteous Hunters.”
For Hunters today, image management was crucial. To reach a level where such an image wasn’t necessary, one had to be an S-Rank, but even in this generation where Hunters were produced with relative ease, Hunters of that caliber were hard to find.
And naturally, the Hunter kidnapped by Gio this time wasn’t nearly that capable.
“He’s a typical B-Rank. Born with a decent Aptitude Skill that got him a respectable rank, but he has no particular charisma or social graces.”
“…You memorized all of that? He couldn’t have been a Hunter you were paying special attention to.”
“I remember every single Hunter in South Korea. I might look like a loafer, but I am the head of the third-ranked guild in the country, you know. If you want to win with your brain instead of your brawn, this is the bare minimum.”
“Hmm.”
Yoo Seong-un nodded.
“What exactly is the situation?”
“An official document came down from the Hunter Association today…”
Bisabeol then explained what had happened: the Hunter Association’s reaction to Gio’s incident, the passive nature of their request for help, and the exact details of the trouble Gio had caused.
“…And so, they say Hunter Park Eun-gyeom still hasn’t been found.”
“That makes sense if he was dragged into one of Gio’s frames. Even I don’t know what things are like in there.”
Yoo Seong-un rested his chin in his hand and let out a groan.
“I suppose the silver lining is that it wasn’t a loud enough commotion to cause a massive uproar.”
First of all, it helped immensely that Gio had caused the incident so quietly.
“More than anything, the Hunter Association’s attitude is impressive.”
“I thought so too,” Bisabeol agreed.
“They have no intention of making a scene, nor do they want to upset our Portrait. Yet, this decision shows just how seriously they are treating this incident involving the ‘Black Cloak’.”
They didn’t point fingers directly, choosing instead to vaguely ‘request’ an ‘investigation.’ If the Association President, who knew Gio was part of Bisabeol’s collection, had wanted to, she could have taken a much stronger stance. But she hadn’t.
Was she simply being passive, then? Not at all.
“To request help from all of the Top 3 Guilds, of all places.”
There were three guilds that represented South Korea, and Bisabeol’s ‘Collector Guild’ was ranked third among them.
“In that case…”
“Including the Association President, that means all the ‘Symbols of Eternity’ are gathering.”
“Exactly.”
The Symbols of Eternity.
It was the collective name for Dan Hae-ra, the President of the Korea Hunter Association, and the masters of the nation’s top two guilds. The name was literal: three individuals who were recorded as figures symbolizing eternity itself.
While Bisabeol was responsible for South Korea’s capital, the second-ranked guild master managed public sentiment, the first-ranked guild master handled safety, and the Hunter Association President oversaw general administration and management. With them as its pillars, present-day South Korea boasted a high level of stability on a global scale.
“Of course, I’m not one of the ‘Symbols of Eternity’ myself,” Bisabeol added.
Though some people occasionally mistook him for one, his aging had merely been slowed by the high mastery of his skills. He had never made an Eternal Promise like they had—and wouldn’t have accepted even if offered.
“Still, I play quite a significant role in this capitalist society. Since she seems to have contacted all of South Korea’s Top 3 Guild Masters, including myself, this alone shows how highly the Association President values ‘Gio’s Portrait’.”
At Bisabeol’s words, Yoo Seong-un spoke with a slightly dubious expression.
“…I’ve been curious about this for a while.”
“Why ask now?”
“I didn’t want to get dragged into it, but since I already have, I’m asking now.”
“Wise. As expected of Curator Yoo Seong-un, whom I personally recruited.”
“You say that about everyone you recruited… Anyway,” Yoo Seong-un continued. “Why did the Association President covet ‘Gio’s Portrait’ so much in the first place?”
As far as he knew, the primary skill of Association President Dan Hae-ra, one of the country’s few S-Ranks, was nothing like ‘Appraisal.’ She shouldn’t have been able to perceive the essence of that strange portrait as deeply as Bisabeol could. So why had she competed so fiercely for it, even against the man who controlled South Korea’s capital?
“I know the Association President frequently visits the auction house. She buys plenty of items, too. But she has almost never shown this level of passion and dedication as she did for this portrait, right?”
“Never.”
“Exactly my point.”
“But I don’t know much about that either.”
The only thing Bisabeol had been able to discern, however, was…
“…”
…that a rare trace of emotion had flickered in her eyes.
…I can’t be entirely sure, though.
Association President Dan Hae-ra, the very pillar of modern South Korea, was a woman who had sacrificed much to maintain that balance.
For someone like her to show even a faint glimmer of emotion over a single auction item…
To be honest, Bisabeol had doubted his own judgment.
“Well, who knows.”
“You don’t know?”
“I don’t know everything.”
“You certainly live as if you do.”
“It helps with marketing my image.”
“Ah, my head hurts.”
“These things happen in life.”
In any case, why the Association President targeted ‘Gio’s Portrait’ wasn’t all that important. At least, not to Bisabeol.
“I might not know, but perhaps there was something only visible to her eyes.”
“…”
“We’ve drifted off-topic.”
Wasn’t ‘Gio’s Portrait’ the most important thing right now?
“As you expected, the Hunter Association has recognized the importance of the ‘Black Cloak’ and is approaching with extreme caution. They will likely maintain a cooperative stance as much as possible until they are certain he is an enemy.”
“…At least there’s less risk of Gio getting angry due to an aggressive approach. I was worried about the tricks people might try in the future, especially since the ‘Black Cloak’s’ image has become excessively friendly lately. It’s a relief the Association is aware.”
“Moreover, all of South Korea’s Top 3 Guild Masters received that official document. Since it’s a request from none other than the Association President, the other two Symbols will surely clarify their stance on the ‘Black Cloak’ and make an effort to convey that to others.”
“Since one of the Symbols is particularly specialized in that area, I won’t worry about that part anymore. Now, the only thing left is how cooperative our Collector Guild will be.”
Having once been the research team leader of the Association, Yoo Seong-un wasn’t entirely indifferent to how the country was run. He had the knack to understand even if someone spoke in thirty layers of riddles, and with hints being dropped this heavily, Yoo Seong-un had no choice but to get to work.
“…”
And, in any case…
“…Gio is my responsibility.”
There was no one else but Yoo Seong-un to take on this task anyway.
“For now, I’ll look into it indirectly.”
“Without asking Gio directly?”
“…It’s true that Gio is unusually friendly toward humans for an Existence of the Origin, but the situation is a bit different this time.”
“Indeed. This is the first incident where he has shown hostility rather than goodwill. According to the document, he didn’t show himself, so he might be in a foul mood.”
“If we try to rescue a human Gio has deemed ‘evil,’ he might become even more hostile. So, rather than confronting him directly, I’ll start by searching for the frame the victim was dragged into.”
Massaging his stiff neck once more, Yoo Seong-un asked, “Are there any clues about that frame? A photo, a sketch… anything that describes its appearance?”
“It was first discovered in a dungeon called the ‘Vein of Jewels,’ and…”
Bisabeol showed him the Association’s official document.
“They say it’s a work depicting a Gray City.”
“…”
The document stated that witnesses described it as a frame that made them feel empty just by looking at it.
Yoo Seong-un stared intently at the document, pursing his lips.
“…Even now, a frame called the ‘Breathing Sea’ is occasionally spotted in the ‘Deep Sea Kingdom.’ It was verified by a Hunter with an Appraisal Skill, so there’s no mistake.”
“That must be one of Gio’s creations too, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Still, a Painter who can create dungeons at will…”
The thought was overwhelming.
“It’s terrifying.”
And yet, he was curious.
It was a thought perfectly characteristic of Yoo Seong-un.