Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: FHA, Tonic
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As long as the world doesn't come to an end, the morning sun rises.
Today was no exception.
I too had been strictly sticking to my routine of rising at the crack of dawn—
...
But today, for some reason, I had zero desire to crawl out from under the covers.
Bap-bap-bap-bap-bam!
It was all because of the new alarm tone I'd set.
Bap-bap-ra-bap-bap bap-bap-bam!
They called it the military reveille trumpet.
It ranked at the top of the "sounds Korean guys hate" list.
"Aw, crap..."
I'd boldly changed the alarm tone to toughen up my willpower for the first time in ages.
'This is totally backfiring.'
If anything, it had killed my motivation dead.
It even made me crave a breakfast of doenjang stew, soybean sprouts, kimchi, and rice out of nowhere.
No wonder South Korea's national defense was going downhill.
Tap.
I flopped around vaguely to shut off the alarm, then kicked the blankets off with my feet.
That's when I felt a strange tightness around my abdomen.
"Changed again, huh..."
What caught my eye was another me.
Hugging my belly tight.
It was Seolbaek.
The little guy sometimes transformed into my likeness while sleeping, maybe dreaming or something.
"Seolbaek, mind letting go?"
...!
Seolbaek buried his head into the small of my back and threw a tantrum.
Meaning he didn't want to let go.
I tried prying him off and getting out of bed to walk on my own two feet.
...
But he just dangled from me like a pendant, swinging along.
At least he was lightweight.
No matter what form he took, Seolbaek's actual weight never changed.
Creak!
I headed out to the living room, and there was a guest.
"Smack smack..."
A woman smacking her lips like she'd been eating something delicious in her dream.
Jina was crashed out on the sofa.
I'd thought she'd gone home ages ago.
"Everything's... cleaned up."
The place looked spotless as usual.
No trace left of the modest little party we'd thrown last night.
The reason for the party was simple.
We had to celebrate the birthday of a great S-rank hunter.
Of course, the star of the show had bolted to her room right away.
She couldn't fight off the overwhelming sleepiness.
Plus, who knew?
Maybe she'd grow taller.
To grasp at even the slimmest vine, I was still clocking at least eight hours of sleep a night.
"Ughhh..."
But sleeping like that was gonna mess up her mouth.
Should I cover her with a blanket?
Just then, Jina sensed my presence and slowly lifted her eyelids.
"Mmm... Dawn? Two of you? Oh... it's Seolbaek. Thought I was dreaming."
"You slept here?"
"Yawwwn... Yeah, pretty much. Got too lazy to head home."
"There's a bed in Unnie Ha-young's room."
The room we'd set up on the second floor of the factory for Ha-young's stay.
I'd bought a pretty big bed, right? Plenty of room for two.
"She said it felt cramped even sleeping alone. Such a picky one."
She stretched vigorously with a big "unghhhyaa" groan.
Then smacked her lips again.
...She's hungry.
"Want some breakfast? I'm eating anyway."
"Nice."
Life returned to Jina's bleary eyes.
She really loved her food. The type to grab breakfast even on her deathbed.
That reminded me of a fun little old wives' tale.
One that said a woman's appetite was as strong as a man's sex drive.
No idea if it was true.
But at least the girls around me fit the bill.
They snacked constantly.
Awakeners had stronger urges in general, according to research, so that might explain it.
Even I was the same.
Me, who'd violated the laws of nature by bedding both of them, could feel my own appetite ramping up.
I'd been the guy who used to skip breakfast because it was a hassle...
Now here I was, cooking it myself.
...Or maybe it was just a growth spurt.
Tata-tat-tat!
I fired up the gas stove.
Today's breakfast menu: leftover braised dragon tail from yesterday.
A recipe I'd gotten straight from Ryu Seo-hyun, no less.
'Something they sell at Sinwol Pavilion, I think.'
Wonder if it was okay for her to share that secret with me.
Eh, probably fine.
It wasn't like I was selling it—just home-cooking in my rooftop shack.
Bubble bubble!
The tail stew came to a quick boil, filling the kitchen with a sweet aroma.
Perfect. Mornings were made for meat.
A breakfast that satisfied sight, smell, and taste.
To round out hearing, ding!
I flicked on the TV.
[Breaking news: FHA has declared war on crime. Under the principle of strictly punishing illegal trafficking...]
Perfect timing.
"FHA, huh... Scary bunch."
Jina stuck out her tongue, like she'd been burned by them before.
"Yeah?"
"Terrifying. They're like the kings of public authority."
Made sense.
FHA.
Federal Hunter Administration.
The Federal Hunter Agency, or more simply, the American Hunter Association.
The organization run by the United States, hegemon of Earth.
I'd heard that the US president—Earth's top dog—was pretty aggressive, so the FHA embraced power politics hard.
"But why would the FHA contact me of all people?"
"...Cough! Hack! What...?"
Jina choked in total shock.
Come to think of it, I'd forgotten to mention it.
The contact from FHA three days ago.
I'd been too busy verifying if it was legit or a fake to bring it up.
"No, like, I got this message from FHA."
[FHA: Hello. WantToRaiseADragon. We're reaching out from FHA with a confidential request.]
"Wh-what? What'd you reply?"
"Just read it. Honestly, seemed like a scam."
Of all ways, they messaged me on Hunter Gallery.
Sure, if it were one of the top five guilds or a company tied to the gallery...
But FHA? Zero connection.
Had to be suspicious.
"Let's talk over food."
"Y-yeah. Okay."
I grabbed a bone onto a plate and started stripping the meat with my chopsticks.
Normally, you'd eat this stuff by hand.
Zing!
Like Seolbaek next to me, gnawing away properly.
...But could you undo the transformation a bit?
Watching you eat like that in my form feels super weird.
Not content with sauce all over his mouth, Seolbaek started face-planting into the plate.
Couldn't help but feel dazed watching it.
"Mmm! Even reheated, it's delicious."
"Told you."
"Anyway, you didn't check with Kami? He can dig into anything."
"I was gonna, but..."
I gave up clean.
They were up against America.
Did I really need to poke the bear?
What if it was the real FHA, and Kami No.2 got caught hacking their servers?
Yikes.
Just imagining it made my tongue tingle.
"Yeah, they're nuts. Hwayeon got royally screwed this time too."
"Hwayeon?"
"They make and sell all sorts of random stuff."
"Yeah?"
"Something about visas at the factory they built in the US? Anyway, some issue came up, so FHA seized the place."
Hwayeon was such a pain.
But FHA seizing it over visa issues? Not to be trifled with.
"Wonder what FHA wants with you, Dawn."
"Could be fake."
"Nah, looks real to me. Who'd be crazy enough to impersonate FHA?"
Huh, good point.
This won't do.
Time to cut straight to it.
Tadak.
[WantToRaiseADragon: Are you impersonating them?]
Ding!
They must've been thirsty for a response—it came right away.
[FHA: No. We'll send official documents.]
[FHA: (Secure document link)]
Should I trust this?
What if opening it installs some shady app?
Nyaaang!
Good thing it wasn't.
Kami No.2 guaranteed it was safe.
Click.
I tapped the link, and what popped up was—
"...A contract?"
I skimmed the contents.
Nothing too complicated—could sum it up in three lines.
1. Request for humanitarian aid of 200,000 Molrangtori.
2. Request for exclusive future dealings on Molrang Mall products (US sales exclusively through FHA).
3. In exchange for acceptance, lowest tariffs on Molrang Mall products.
Hmm... They wanna do business with me.
Honestly, 2 and 3 weren't a big deal.
If anything, they appealed to me.
But what the hell was 1?
Humanitarian aid request?
They wanted me to just hand over 200,000 Molrangtori?
Specifically the new model doubling as a mana battery.
I'd planned to sell them at 800,000 won each.
200,000 would be...
'They're asking me for 160 billion right now.'
And the reason? Utterly absurd.
[Due to smuggling damages from Molrangtori, we seek to hold accountable...]
So, bad guys were smuggling with Molrangtori, and they wanted me to compensate?
Total nonsense.
Like blaming a gun maker for a shooting.
On the surface, accountability—but really, just shake me down for "friendship fees."
Not like they were demanding protection money.
"See? Told you FHA's a scary bunch."
Didn't expect them to go this far off the rails.
Even for Earth's boss, there were limits.
"Yeah. Time to knock them down a peg."
Tadak.
I hammered the keys without hesitation.
I'd wanted to play nice with America if possible...
But time to etch the pecking order properly.
[WantToRaiseADragon: I'll pass.]
[FHA: Hmm.]
[FHA: Pretend you didn't see that.]
Tadak.
[WantToRaiseADragon: No. Not really interested in dealing with America. Thanks for your time.]
Even if this killed US deals, no big loss.
100 billion Earthlings worldwide.
Minus America's 400 million, still 96 billion left.
And in this era where 'hunters = national power,' who cared?
I was planning to trade with China anyway—would America pass because they couldn't buy?
Perfect timing too.
Right when I was eyeing overseas expansion, they came knocking.
Time to squeeze them proper and bulk up for real.