Chapter 172
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 172
In this narrow world, there are only two things that humans alone can possess.
『One is conviction, the other is malice.』
If you wish to earn my wrath, you must first become human.
How could the barking of a beast, even for a hundred days, ever anger me?
* * *
After Hunter Seo Gio, who had done little more than make an appearance, left the event hall, a member of the Haeryeong guild approached the blonde hunter with a friendly expression.
"Team Leader."
"Why’d you do that just now? To that hunter from the Collector."
"Yeah, I wonder."
"Hmm, you didn’t want to be on the same team with him, right?"
"Did it look that way?"
"You always pull this crap when you don’t want to work with someone, Team Leader."
At that, the man addressed as Team Leader smiled, his eyes curving into crescents.
"I don’t always do that."
"Living up to your alias, Pinocchio?"
"Ah... I hate that name."
"The Association gave it to you, so be grateful."
"I’m telling you, I hate it."
"Anyone could see you were just picking a fight."
The guild member nudged his leader’s side.
"And did you see it?"
"See what? His eyes changing color?"
"You saw everything, so why play dumb?"
"He suddenly pulled his hood up, so of course my eyes were drawn to him..."
Trailing off, the blonde hunter scanned his surroundings. His deep, dark eyes, which seemed to swallow the light, took in the world.
"Looks like a few others noticed besides us."
When he had gone over to provoke Hunter Seo Gio, the other man had met his gaze with a smile, so he had given a light wave in return. Immediately after, the eye color of Hunter Seo Gio, who had his hood pulled low, had changed.
"What color do you think it was?"
"Well, it was strangely dark under that hood..."
"Mmm, you think it’s an item?"
"Looked yellow to me."
"I’d bet on gold."
"Gold it is, then."
The guild member asked with a smile, "Aren’t the Collector’s eyes gold, too?"
"Nah. His are brighter."
"Brighter how? Like, glowing?"
"Something like that, probably."
"Anyway, isn’t there... some kind of possibility?"
"What possibility?"
"Oh, come on, you know what I mean."
"It’s certainly an interesting thought."
The blonde hunter laughed lazily. His lovely guild member was undoubtedly suggesting that Hunter Seo Gio, whom Collector Bisabeol favored so heavily, might be a blood relative.
"I wonder who you take after, having a head that empty."
"Should I shut up...?"
"Yeah. The Collector Guild members still in the hall have ears, so it’d be wise to be careful."
"Then I’ll shut up, Team Leader."
"No idea who you take after to be this cute, though. Must be me, right?"
Slinging an arm around his subordinate’s shoulder with an insincere chuckle, the man grinned.
"Let’s be careful, okay? I don’t want to fight with the Collector..."
"Because the Squad Leader will chew you out?"
"That, and a few other things."
"But for someone who doesn’t want to fight, didn’t you just pick a massive one?"
"Ah, is that so?"
His eyes curved into crescents again.
"How troublesome."
It was the face of a liar.
* * *
"Haeryeong is..."
Curator Garasani continued his explanation.
"...a guild full of hotheads."
Attending to Gio in his assigned room, the Garasani hunter spoke.
"They are people who prefer to live with their brains turned off."
"With their brains turned off?"
"That isn’t to say they literally remove their brains, but rather that they prefer to live without thinking."
"I see."
Gio hadn’t asked because he didn’t understand, but he decided to keep his mouth shut for now. Staying quiet was always a safe bet.
The 5th Floor Manager, watching the Portrait’s attentive posture with a pleased, though smileless, expression, turned to Ju-hyeon, who was helping pack Gio’s things.
"Mr. Ju-hyeon, do you have any data on the Haeryeong Guild?"
"If it’s information on the members participating in this raid, I have it right here."
"Thank you for your hard work."
Taking the transparent tablet from Ju-hyeon, Curator Garasani asked Gio, "May I continue with the explanation?"
"That would be a great help."
"It is my honor. Thank you."
Wearing a gentle smile that befitted his alias, 'The Butler,' Garasani continued.
"The person who approached Hunter Seo Gio in the event hall is named Sa Na-rae, and his alias is 'Pinocchio.' His position within the guild is Team Leader. Haeryeong is structured with general employees, team leaders, squad leaders, managers, and the guild master."
"Are those titles derived from manufacturing ranks?"
"You are well-versed in the class structures of human society. Excellent. The members of Haeryeong view themselves as a sort of sanitation worker. And sanitation is, of course, a blue-collar profession."
"The members of Haeryeong consider themselves sanitation workers?"
"It carries the meaning of 'cleaning up' in various senses. Haeryeong primarily deals not only with monsters but also with 5th-Grade Citizens of the Red Hunter class. In a way, they are cleaning up both dungeons and society."
Garasani brought up the information of the Haeryeong guild members on the room’s screen.
"However, that does not mean you can expect ordinary decency from them."
"Yes, you just described them as people who live with their brains turned off."
"Thank you for remembering. The members of Haeryeong are a workforce that is difficult to control unless it is by their superiors."
At that, Ju-hyeon received a nod of permission from Garasani and chimed in.
"If I may add to that, the members of Haeryeong hand over all control of themselves to their superiors. They even entrust their very lives entirely to them."
"Mr. Ju-hyeon has pointed out a crucial detail. Yes, Haeryeong is mostly a gathering of people who are practically itching to die. Thus, the members of Haeryeong can be categorized into three types."
Garasani explained them one by one.
"The first type consists of those who purely enjoy combat. The second are those with a terminal disregard for their own safety, living with their lives on the line. And the third are those addicted to the sensation of dying."
He pointed to the information for 'Haeryeong: Sa Na-rae' displayed on the screen.
"Hunter Sa Na-rae belongs to that last category."
"I don’t quite understand what you mean by 'addicted to the sensation of dying.'"
"He is, quite literally, an addict who can’t escape the thrill of dying."
Feeling his explanation was somewhat lacking, Garasani pondered for a moment before continuing.
"Hunter Seo Gio, do you know how a drug addict behaves? Or even if not drugs, someone heavily intoxicated by addictive substances like cigarettes or alcohol?"
"Yes, I do."
"It would be best to keep those cases in mind. Humans sometimes fail to control themselves, preparing for their own deaths or finding themselves unable to escape from helplessness. Though Hunter Sa Na-rae is a far more hedonistic individual..."
"A hedonistic individual?"
"He can be classified as a pleasure-seeker. He often behaves like an addict heavily intoxicated by various kinds of stimulation. Even if he appears to think and act normally, he is fundamentally insane. In many ways, he is a difficult person to form a personal relationship with."
Garasani returned to the screen listing the Haeryeong guild members.
"To return to my explanation, that is how much the members of Haeryeong obey their superiors."
"Their hierarchy didn’t seem that strict. Are there no mutinies?"
"The probability of that is extremely low. To them, insubordination is practically meaningless."
At those words, Ju-hyeon smiled and added, "It’s a guild of people who hate thinking about troublesome things."
"Ah, I understand perfectly."
In short, they wanted pleasure without responsibility.
"Then they certainly wouldn’t want to rise to a high position."
They wouldn’t want to. They hated using their brains so much that they were described as 'living with their brains turned off,' yet they clearly understood that a higher rank meant more responsibility.
"So their thinking isn’t shallow. In a way, that’s admirable."
"Is that so? You find them admirable. You are truly merciful, Hunter Seo Gio."
Smiling gently, like a grandfather watching his beloved grandson get accepted into a prestigious university, Garasani continued.
"To return to our previous topic, there must have been a purpose behind Hunter Sa Na-rae’s insolent behavior toward you. He is at least smart enough to hold the position of Team Leader."
Garasani stroked his chin.
"Haeryeong strongly dislikes so-called 'young masters' and 'young ladies.' Because it is a guild of people from obscure origins, they harbor a lot of ill will regarding social grades. It is a prime example of grade conflict."
"Of obscure origins?"
"Yes. Hunter Sa Na-rae himself is from the slums. In particular, Hunter Sa Na-rae... and this might offend you, but he is famous for despising hunters who are like hothouse flowers."
Unlike his appearance, which resembled an innocent knight or a fairy-tale prince, Sa Na-rae’s behavior was closer to that of a thug. He was an expert at getting on people’s nerves with a lazy smile. He wouldn’t listen unless a stronger person crushed him with pure authority. Even if he knelt as easily as breathing, he would be plotting something else behind your back. He spouted false oaths as naturally as he breathed and smiled with practiced ease, so no one could ever expect true submission or obedience from him.
"He has eyes that are clearly insane, yet he maintains an attitude that makes him appear perfectly normal. Rumors abound that if the Haeryeong Guild hadn’t taken him in, he would have ended up as a 5th-Grade Citizen."
Ju-hyeon nodded in agreement with Garasani’s words.
"He has a reputation for being impossible to read. They say he often betrays others or does bizarre things without a second thought."
"They do, however, have a strong sense of camaraderie. The Haeryeong members get along very well with each other. Conversely, they refuse to properly interact with anyone outside their circle."
Garasani nodded.
"I believe the grade conflict I mentioned earlier stems from a similar context."
"Are you referring to their hostile attitude toward 'young masters' and 'young ladies'?"
"Yes. While not true for everyone, on average, they maintain that bizarre attitude toward 'hothouse flowers.'"
"Unfortunately, I am indeed a hothouse flower."
Gio spoke with confidence, but Garasani merely smiled warmly, as if watching a kitten do a forward roll. Seeing him find this nonsense endearing, Gio shut his mouth once again.
At that, Garasani continued.
"From an outsider’s perspective, Hunter Seo Gio, you almost certainly look like one of those 'young masters.' You receive immense favoritism from our Guild Master, and it must have been glaringly obvious that the personnel assigned this time were meant solely to assist you."
"It must have been glaringly obvious."
"Sadly, yes. They are also highly likely to look down on your sudden rise to fame, dismissing it as a trick of the Collector. While that is not entirely far from the truth, it gave Hunter Sa Na-rae plenty of justification to pick a fight with a 'young master' like you."
Ju-hyeon smiled awkwardly and said, "The Collector certainly sent an excessive amount of manpower."
"What do you mean by that?"
"From what I know, the Collector usually..."
As Ju-hyeon trailed off, unable to speak clearly, Garasani nodded in agreement, confirming his thoughts.
"Indeed. Normally, the Collector does not deploy this much manpower for a single hunter."
"I heard that the Collector’s rookies are usually experienced veterans. They are already skilled enough that the risk is low no matter where they are dispatched."
"Of course, if a situation is deemed dangerous, we provide unstinting support, but it usually stops at material aid. Otherwise, we send general field staff hunters as support."
At that, Gio asked, "But the people who came with me aren’t just field staff, are they?"
"Correct. I myself am a curator, and we even have two trainees from the Gallery’s trainee team."
Garasani continued, acknowledging the good point.
"The Collector’s uniforms vary slightly depending on one’s position. This allows outsiders to recognize our guild members' roles at a glance."
Field staff wear sleeveless cloaks, the trainee team wears capes for mobility, and curators wear neat overcoats. If one wears only a suit with the Collector’s emblem without a specific uniform, they are classified as general office staff.
Many guild members don’t bother wearing them outside of official events, but this time was different. Garasani pointed to the black cloak wrapped around Seo Gio.
"As it happens, Hunter Seo Gio’s cloak is also a type of sleeveless cloak."
"Yes, it has no sleeves."
"So most people will perceive Hunter Seo Gio as a field staff guild member."
"Would they think that even though it isn’t the Collector’s uniform?"
"Hunters are creatures of habit who only use equipment they’re familiar with."
They tend to avoid clothing that feels unfamiliar or restrictive. A single minor discomfort can often mean the difference between life and death for a hunter.
"In particular, the Collector is a guild that values its uniform enough to wear it even outside of official schedules, so members tend to match their personal equipment to look similar. Hunter Seo Gio will be judged in that light as well."
Garasani smiled warmly.
"When the departure ceremony takes place the day after tomorrow, would you also wear the Collector’s uniform, Hunter Seo Gio?"
"Yes, I look forward to it."
"Thank you for your tolerance. I know you might have found the suggestion unpleasant."
Expressing his gratitude lightly, Garasani continued.
"In these various contexts, Hunter Sa Na-rae likely also intended to test you. After all, while rumors about Hunter Seo Gio are rampant, you have rarely shown any actual activity."
Gio nodded, his face characteristically expressionless.
"I felt the same way about what you just mentioned, Mr. Garasani."
"Yes. And if not that... perhaps..."
Garasani stroked his chin as if weighing something.
"He might simply have not wanted to be on the same team."
"Is that so?"
"Hunter Sa Na-rae is famous for pulling stunts like this at pre-dungeon events."
"Ah, so he’s famous for it."
"He’s the type who, even if forced to swallow something bitter, will always find a way to spit it back out."
Ju-hyeon smiled faintly, understanding the situation.
"...As I mentioned before, events like this provide major clues for planning team compositions after entry. This means there is a high probability he intentionally caused a public conflict so he would be placed in a different team."
At that, Garasani wore a polished smile.
"Though, ironically, they often end up on the same team anyway."
"Why is that?"
"Because Hunter Sa Na-rae actually performs quite well when paired with those 'hothouse flowers.'"
"He must hate that."
"Perhaps he works harder precisely because he hates it."
"Because he wants to get it over with quickly?"
"Spot on, Hunter Seo Gio."
Garasani nodded.
"Even putting that aside, the combat styles of those 'hothouse flowers' and Hunter Sa Na-rae are known to complement each other quite well. Since Hunter Sa Na-rae is excessively free-spirited, the rigid 'young masters' and 'young ladies' actually serve to temper that."
The two types of hunters often showed surprisingly good synergy.
"Still, they are usually separated into different teams if possible. Especially when there is an abundance of excellent talent like now, there is no reason to let the seeds of friction grow."
"I see."
"Yes. Then..."
Garasani asked politely, "So, what would you like to do about him, Hunter Seo Gio?"
Now that he had finished the explanation the Portrait desired, all that remained was to ask for his intentions.
"The reason I have come here is to offer you whatever you desire. If it does not displease you, please let me know your will. I have both the will and the power to carry it out."
"..."
"Hunter Seo Gio, you may use me as you see fit. Will you share your intentions with me? Whether you desire intervention, simple observation, or even just a conversation, I will abide by your command."
"...Well."
Gio continued, his blue eyes and expressionless face unchanged.
"There was no malice."
* * *
"There was no malice," the straight-haired blonde hunter, Sa Na-rae, said with a crescent-moon smile.
"Just... he looked interesting."
"...Is that all?"
"You could say I just wanted to poke him."
"What kind of bizarre..."
"I was just curious."
He possessed senses more like a beast’s than a human’s.
That man… he doesn’t smell human.
That was why he had to know. He had to know just what kind of being was among them.
* * *
Gio said, "It seemed he was simply curious about me."
"Ah, is that so?"
"So it was a bit of a shame."
Arjio stared at Hunter Sa Na-rae on the screen, his eyes now golden.
"...I prefer clarity..."
Is he a beast, or a human?
"..."
It doesn’t matter.
Either is a worthy qualification.