Did You Call For Me?

I scratched my ear, which had suddenly started itching. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. Yi Sun-sin's helmet looked surprisingly imposing on me. It gave off the vibe of a Joseon-era general.

"Ugh." My little sister, Choi Seoyeon, made a face like she couldn't stand the sight. "What the heck is that weird helmet? Oppa, are you into cosplay these days?"

"Do you even know how much this thing is worth?"

"How much?"

"Hmm, about twenty billion?"

An Wi's old ringed saber had gone for five billion, so Yi Sun-sin's helmet should easily fetch four times that, right?

"Oppa, are you okay lately?" Choi Seoyeon looked genuinely worried.

I shook my head. Better not say anything. What would a clueless high schooler understand about the value of relics anyway?

"Dad! Oppa's acting weird!"

"Seoyeon, don't tease your brother about his hobbies. Come over here and watch TV."

My father, Choi Dojun, who was sitting on the living room sofa watching television, scolded her.

On the TV, Kim Hayun was surrounded by reporters, giving an interview.

—This gate raid wasn't accomplished by my power alone. It was only possible thanks to General An Wi's ringed saber.

"Whoa~ She's pretty and humble."

"I really like that lady."

Father and daughter, sitting cozily on the sofa, showered Kim Hayun with praise. Even our ordinary family was expressing favor toward her. The entire nation's attention was focused on Kim Hayun. After all, she was the hero who had prevented the Noryang Gate from going into a rampage.

Community boards were paralyzed with posts about her, and the stock price of the Constellation of Dawn Guild had doubled since before the Noryang Gate raid.

Guess An Wi's ringed saber was more useful than I thought. At this point, selling it for five billion felt like a loss. Of course, it was only able to shine because Kim Hayun was such an outstanding hunter. If the user was subpar, no matter how good the relic, clearing the gate would have been impossible. It would be a different story with a Legendary-grade relic like the Twin Dragon Sword, though.

While Kim Hayun rose as a hero, there was also a hunter who had suffered a complete disgrace.

"Ugh, what kind of idiot does something like that?"

"I really hate him. Why did they even bring Chinese hunters in?"

The hunter the father and daughter were cursing was none other than Yi Taejun, the second team leader of the Constellation of Dawn. He had brought in Chinese Communist Party hunters as supposed reinforcements, but instead of helping Kim Hayun, he had wandered off in the wrong direction. That alone would have earned him criticism for incompetence, but Yi Taejun went even further and dragged out a boss-level monster. An A-class monstrosity called the Burning Black Spirit Bone, no less.

The scene of Yi Taejun tossing the Black Spirit Bone at Kim Hayun and then running away had been captured perfectly on body cam and broadcast live nationwide. Thanks to that, the Constellation of Dawn guild board was in chaos with demands for his expulsion.

The situation had escalated to the point ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠where a national petition had been filed to expel Yi Taejun from the hunter industry.

"He's an A-class hunter. I don't know why he'd sell out his own country just to get a little more."

"It's better to be incompetent like our oppa."

There she goes dragging me into it again.

"Choi Seoyeon, is being E-class that funny to you?"

"Aww, that's why I like it. At least you won't cause any accidents."

"Seoyeon's right. It's better to be completely low-rank. If you're in that awkward middle ground, you go into a gate, do something stupid, and end up in big trouble."

"Exactly, exactly."

"……."

It was a painful truth. Hunters in that awkward rank range died the most inside gates, after all.

Anyway, while Yi Taejun had disgraced himself, China had also suffered tremendous embarrassment from this incident. Wang Wei, the Chinese ambassador who had gained some goodwill by eating fish cakes at the market as a supposed friend of Korea, was now being showered with curses and told to stop his nonsense. The footage of Chinese hunters running away had been uploaded to YouTube and was receiving international mockery.

While the Noryang Gate incident had been wrapped up thanks to Kim Hayun's carry, there was still one event dominating the headlines.

The conqueror of the Myeongnyang Gate. The Connector.

Han Yujin, the S-class hunter famous for being Yi Sun-sin's biggest fan, had made the shocking declaration that he would give up his seat.

The Guild Master of Samdocheon, the Black Witch Baek Seorin, had promised him the vice guild master position. The Heavenly Martial Gate and the Constellation of Dawn had offered similarly attractive terms that were by no means low.

That was the domestic situation, but overseas interest in the Connector was just as intense.

Russia's president had personally sent a love call.

Rachel Bonaparte, the S-class French hunter famous as a descendant of Napoleon, had even mentioned my nickname during an official press conference.

The Myeongnyang Gate was a notoriously difficult gate known not just in Korea but worldwide. It was only natural that the whole world was paying attention to the Connector who had cleared that same gate with an SSS rating.

The only problem was that the Connector was me….

"Wow, look at those offers. They're no joke."

Choi Seoyeon stuck her tongue out in awe at the nonstop coverage of the Connector on TV.

"Seoyeon, what would you think if someone like that was family?"

"He's impressive, but… I don't know about family."

"Why not?"

Isn't it good to have a famous person in the family?

"It'd be dangerous."

As expected from my sister. We thought the same way. Becoming famous is dangerous. Mad god of the frozen sea, my ass. A D-class gate would have been way better.

*

Yi Sun-sin's helmet was an Ancient-grade relic. One rank below Legendary, its value was immeasurable. Even just wearing it gave me a subtle but undeniable sense of security. It felt like even if a meteor fell from the sky, I'd survive as long as I had the helmet on. That alone was enough to fulfill its role as headgear.

But then—

This is unexpected. Was this a relic set effect? When relics from the same historical figure met, the Twin Dragon Sword's attack power had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gone up. The helmet's defense had increased as well.

CLANG!

"Krrk?!"

The hobgoblin that had swung a baseball bat at my head was now clutching its own hand in pain.

"The performance is solid, I'll give it that."

Unlike other relics, however, Yi Sun-sin's helmet had a very distinct feature. The Chinese characters for "Marshal", meaning naval commander, were prominently engraved on it. Anyone would recognize it immediately. If I wanted to wear it around, I'd have to decorate the outside somehow.

After finishing the gate clear and stepping out, the hunters gathered around were buzzing with excitement.

"Again! Another SSS rank!"

"Insane! It's real. Who is that guy?"

Clearing every D-class gate with SSS rank seemed to be turning me into a local topic of conversation.

Should I hold back a little? Nah. They were still just D-class gates. Holding back would actually be harder.

*

After finishing my helmet performance test, I returned to the General Store. Someone was standing in front of the shop door.

Who is that?

It was a woman with long hair flowing down to her waist and a striking, slender figure.

"We meet again."

"Ah, hello."

It was Kim Hayun.

"What brings you here?"

"What else? I came to express my gratitude, of course."

Kim Hayun smiled brightly as she held up a set of mana potions.

She really is beautiful. Her smile could captivate anyone. No wonder she had so many fans.

"Please, come in."

"Excuse me."

Once inside the store, Kim Hayun looked around at the items and asked casually, "The Myeongnyang Gate clear this time was truly astonishing."

"I was surprised watching it on TV too."

"It wasn't broadcast on TV though…"

"I must have confused it with YouTube. I watch everything through the TV connection."

"I see."

"Yes."

Kim Hayun smiled again. "By the way, where did you obtain General An Wi's relic?"

"I got it by chance at my previous job. Since I handled relics, one ended up in my hands."

"You mean Samdocheon."

"Yes."

"Samdocheon is a good guild, I'll admit." Kim Hayun brushed her hair behind her ear. "But the Constellation of Dawn offers better welfare. If you want, we can guarantee your anonymity and even handle all the management."

Anonymity guarantee. That was a mouth-watering condition. Anonymity was exactly what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I needed most.

"Among our guild's anonymous hunters, some earn up to a billion won per month."

"…A billion?"

"Yes. The higher the gate rank, the more the payment increases." Kim Hayun tilted her head slightly. "If you cleared a gate like Myeongnyang, you'd probably receive around ten billion."

T-ten billion…! The turmoil in my heart grew.

"We don't force raid activities either. Freedom is guaranteed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for anonymous hunters."

As if speaking directly to me, Kim Hayun continued listing the guild's benefits. Then she gave me the mana potion set as a gift and left.

"I'll visit again."

She left those parting words behind.

"Whew, I almost fell for it."

Once Kim Hayun was gone, I let out the breath I'd been holding. Every single condition had been so tempting that if I'd listened any longer, I might have accidentally revealed that I was the Connector.

That can't happen. My goal was to reveal it as late as possible, even if it eventually came out.

After calming my shaken heart, I stood up to get a drink of water.

Ding-

The shop door opened again. Thinking Kim Hayun had returned, I looked up—only to see an unfamiliar blonde girl standing there. She was so doll-like in appearance that it took my breath away.

"Did you call for me?"

Her purple eyes stared directly at me. At the same time, a message appeared.

The girl was the third customer to visit my General Store.