The Tyrant's Hunting Method (6)
News broadcasts had spent the entire day blathering about Go Pil-hun.
That was right. Dio Guild's new owner was me.
"Here you go."
I took the bag Lee Yu-seol handed me, set it on the table, and opened the zipper.
It was stuffed full of hundred-dollar bills.
Lee Yu-seol went on, "I took a little cut for the captain."
"Good work."
"The rest is all there."
I stared at the overflowing stack of bills and fell into thought.
Go Pil-hun had walked straight into the trap I had laid for him.
Money had gone around in a circle and come back to my hands.
Go Pil-hun had been fed to the giant anglerfish and died with nothing in his hands.
No one had actually made a profit.
Only I had.
I got Dio Guild.
I closed the bag.
"Don't bother checking? What if I skimmed some off the top in the middle?"
"Like I wouldn't notice if the rice carrier got some rice bran on his hands. Why didn't you pocket more?"
"Seriously."
Lee Yu-seol laughed under her breath and rolled her shoulders.
It was a joke, but I knew she meant it.
I didn't really mind paying her a cut for her trouble.
She had more than earned her share in this whole mess.
She had planted herself in Dio Guild's core and helped me as an inside ally, then used her position as a mole to track down Go Pil-hun's movements.
I remembered the Lee Yu-seol of the past, gritting her teeth in rage.
"Let's push Go Pil-hun out."
Thanks to my work at the forefront, Lee Yu-seol had achieved her goal.
My hand reached for the bag as I said casually, "Manager Lee. Need money? How much should I give you?"
"I'm fine. More importantly..."
Lee Yu-seol twisted her body with the sly grace of a black cat.
"You'll keep your promise, right?"
I had already made a kind of deal with Lee Yu-seol.
Back then, she had said this:
"If you put me in the representative's seat, I'll make you the power behind the curtain. I'll be the figurehead, and you'll be the one pulling my strings."
I was a liar, but I was a liar with principles.
A promise was a promise.
"Manager Lee. No, wait."
I turned away and said, "Representative Lee. Get ready for the inauguration."
From behind me, I heard her practically jump with joy.
* * *
Dio Guild's board of directors was summoned.
After Go Ju-hun died, it was the second emergency gathering held.
The directors exchanged glances and murmured among themselves.
"What's this? Did Representative Go really die?"
"Come on. He probably just fled overseas."
"No, I heard he was dead?"
"Isn't all that just gossip?"
"Anyway, it's certain the representative changed."
The hottest topic was the newly reorganized leadership.
"They're here."
At the employee's words, the door opened.
The sharp click of high heels rang out.
A tall woman with jet-black bobbed hair, her appearance reminiscent of a black cat, walked in.
To the directors, she was a familiar face.
"...Manager Lee?"
"Hey. When's Representative Lee coming?"
Right after Go Ju-hun died, the directors had banded together and pressed Lee Yu-seol hard.
"No way."
Anyone quick on the uptake could tell immediately.
The tables had turned.
Lee Yu-seol took a seat in the center of the U-shaped table.
"Good day. My name is Lee Yu-seol, and as of today, I will be serving as representative of Dio Guild."
The directors stirred.
"You all look like you can't quite make sense of this. Heh. I'm not the real representative, though. Think of me as the figurehead. The chairman..."
Lee Yu-seol smiled, but no one smiled back.
"Hmm. Well, he isn't really old enough to call chairman, is he? Maybe I should call him the chairman instead?"
In any case, my chairman has specifically ordered me to rebuild Dio Guild. I will do everything in my power toward that end. As you all know, thanks to the former representative's atrocities, Dio Guild's image has been absolutely ruined lately."
In this public setting, Lee Yu-seol tore into Go Pil-hun with sharp, official condemnation.
A few of the directors bristled.
"Now hold on, atrocities? That's going too far, Miss Lee... no, Representative Lee."
"However you slice it, he was the former representative. Show some respect. Ahem."
Lee Yu-seol curled her red lips.
"Oh dear. Did I make a mistake? My apologies."
But her real thoughts were entirely different.
You old, slimy raccoons. You really think I'll let Dio Guild fall into your hands?
Before selling Dio Guild off, Go Pil-hun had obtained the directors' consent.
The directors had intended to use the opportunity to sell Dio to foreign buyers and pocket a huge payoff for themselves.
They had been sitting quietly behind Go Pil-hun, hoping scraps would fall to them.
Even after Lee Yu-seol's apology, the directors still looked sour.
"A combat team leader becoming guild representative..."
"Heh. The world's gone to hell. It's the end times."
"Whose line is she on? Just how powerful is her backer, and whose side did she take...?"
They grumbled and complained, but none of them could openly resist.
"Then let's end the inauguration here."
Lee Yu-seol continued, "I'd like to introduce our chairman."
The room went silent at once.
"Right now?"
"He's coming here?"
The directors had only one question.
Who was behind Lee Yu-seol?
"Then, the introduction..."
With a loud crash, someone kicked the door as if trying to break it down.
All eyes turned at once.
Lee Yu-seol, too, twisted her head toward the doorway and froze when she saw who was standing there.
...W-why is that person here?
It was Na Sang-min, the mad dog of Dio Guild, the one who had turned the recent press conference into a disaster.
"Hey, Manager Lee."
Na Sang-min lifted his chin.
"Good morning. Hunter Na, sir. Ah, right, I was just promoted, so now I'm the representative."
Lee Yu-seol spoke as gently as she could.
She fought to keep her composure, but cold sweat was already trickling down her back.
Why is he radiating that much killing intent?
Lee Yu-seol was a hunter before she was a guild manager.
And since she possessed a talent called Sense, she understood Na Sang-min's capabilities better than most.
"Oh, is that so? My mistake. Sorry about that, Representative Lee."
"It's fine."
"Anyway."
Na Sang-min strode forward.
A few bodyguards flinched, but none of them dared block his path.
Lee Yu-seol swallowed dryly.
At least he didn't bring a spear.
Then she shook her head.
What did that matter?
An S-class hunter didn't need a spear to kill people.
If he wanted to, he could turn everyone in here into minced meat.
Na Sang-min stopped in front of Lee Yu-seol.
Up close, he was holding an A4 sheet of paper, its edges torn as if he'd ripped it from a bulletin board.
"I heard the hunter internal regulations changed this time."
"Which part are you referring to?"
"Don't play dumb."
The Hunter Internal Regulations Bill.
It was a set of rules created for implementation inside the guild.
Those internal regulations became the guild's operating policy, and each guild had its own unique character.
Any hunter belonging to the guild was required to follow them.
Na Sang-min said, "You mean the part where if you fail the year-end hunter evaluation, they cut your salary?"
"That's correct."
"Fuck. And it includes S-ranks, too?"
"Yes. Dio Guild stands for meritocracy, doesn't it? It's not right for someone to get a fat paycheck just because they've been in the guild a long time."
Lee Yu-seol turned her gaze.
"Wouldn't you agree?"
The directors seated here had enjoyed the guild's benefits for years without any effort or results to speak of.
It was an internal regulation clearly aimed at them.
A vein bulged on Na Sang-min's forehead.
"You're saying that for me, aren't you?"
"Of course not. Hunter Na is more than qualified. For you, the evaluation is merely a formality, so please take it in stride."
"Fuck that! You want me rolling around with a bunch of brats?"
The reason Na Sang-min was angry had nothing to do with confidence in the year-end evaluation.
He was just pissed off at having to wear the guild-issued workout uniform and sit the exam alongside low-rank hunters.
"How fucking embarrassing! No way! Absolutely not!"
Lee Yu-seol clamped her mouth shut and smiled awkwardly.
At this rate, they'd just keep drawing the same line in the sand.
Na Sang-min looked like he intended to stand his ground until the internal regulations were changed.
How am I supposed to calm this mad dog down?
Lee Yu-seol forced her trembling lips apart.
"Hunter Na, I didn't change the guild regulations myself."
"Then who did?"
"That would be..."
Lee Yu-seol checked her wristwatch.
"He should be here any moment now."
At that exact moment, the sound of several pairs of dress shoes echoed from the hallway at the perfect time.
The door opened, and an aide in a suit entered first.
More aides followed and lined up to the left and right.
And finally.
The man in the black suit stepped into the center.
A jet-black tie, and polished shoes gleaming in the light.
His hair had been slicked back with pomade.
He was not the sharp-eyed man with a fierce, slit-like face one might expect...
He had dark skin and innocent eyes.
He clearly wasn't Korean.
Some South Asian type...
Na Sang-min tilted his head.
"And what the hell is that?"
Lee Yu-seol naturally stood from her seat and stepped back.
"Right this way."
The man sat down in the seat of honor without a word.
Na Sang-min and the others stared at him dumbly.
Lee Yu-seol pointed to the man with proper deference.
"Let me formally introduce him. This is the chairman who has become Dio Guild's new owner."
She paused briefly, then continued.
"He is Asis Karki, speaking here as the chairman's proxy."
Karki rested his elbows on the table and intertwined his fingers with an air of charisma.
They said the chair made the man, and perhaps that was true, because even such a small gesture seemed to overflow with dignity and aura today.
"I am Asis Karki."
The pronunciation was a little awkward.
Anyone could tell he was a foreigner.
Unlike when Lee Yu-seol had appeared, the directors swallowed hard over and over in silence.
The chairman wasn't just a figurehead in name only.
Guilds were structured much like corporations.
Even if you added up all the directors' shares present here, they didn't come close to the chairman's holdings.
The difference between a guild and a corporation was this: under the Hunter Law, the guild's majority shareholder did not have to be publicly disclosed and could remain confidential.
In other words, the dark-skinned man sitting there was the true power at the top of Dio Guild.
Na Sang-min said, "What the hell is this...?"
Karki lifted his head.
"Ah, Hunter Na? I've heard a lot about you. I'll explain briefly. Our great, honorable, and beloved... ahem. The chairman bought the guild outright."
He bought the guild.
Was there any explanation more accurate, more concise than that?
"Oh, really? Then why didn't this so-called amazing chairman show up himself and send a proxy?"
"The chairman is so very busy he can't even spare time to blink, you see. Please understand."
Of course, that was a lie.
If it became known that Choi Yongki was the one who now stood atop Dio Guild, the media and the public would swarm him.
There was no reason to make noise over it, so Choi Yongki had sent a loyal companion in his place.
"Fine."
Na Sang-min slammed the A4 paper down onto the table.
"Then this was done by your precious chairman too?"
Karki read the contents for a moment and nodded.
"That's right."
"You messing with me? I've got pride, you know—"
"The chairman says!"
Karki raised one finger.
How many people in Dio Guild could possibly interrupt Na Sang-min so casually like that?
Na Sang-min narrowed his brow in irritation.
In the suffocating tension, Karki's voice rang out.
"If your evaluation results are good, your salary will be raised dramatically."
"..."
"E-ranks get five percent, D-ranks ten, C-ranks fifteen... something like that."
If Karki was right, the salary increases would go up by five percent according to rank.
Na Sang-min paused and did the math in his head.
For S-ranks, that meant a full...
Forty percent?!
His expression shifted subtly.
Na Sang-min had transferred to Dio Guild in the first place because of the high salary.
For a man obsessed with money, it was a very tempting offer.
Still seated, Karki lifted his head and met Na Sang-min's eyes.
"At your level, Hunter Na, your salary would jump to double or triple in no time, you know."
"..."
"If you really hate it that much, I can have the year-end hunter evaluation completely abol—? Should I make that happen?"
"T-tha's..."
The man who would not back down even in front of a catastrophe-level monster.
Na Sang-min hesitated.
His pupils shook, and for a moment he sank into thought.
Then he scratched his head hard.
"Tch. Fine. Just do it. It's guild regulations, so I can't help it."
"Anything else you want to say?"
"Nothing."
"Then if you'll excuse me for a moment, you bastards... may I speak with the directors? I've got things to discuss about future guild operations."
"Sure, sure. Sorry for the interruption!"
Na Sang-min hummed to himself and turned away with a light step.
He looked oddly pleased.
Lee Yu-seol let out a dry laugh.
Hah. He's practically a Na Sang-min tamer. Damn, what an outrageous man.
She wasn't talking about Karki.
The man behind Karki.
Dio Guild's chairman.
Choi Yongki had predicted Na Sang-min's reaction and given instructions in advance.
"Don't poke his temper for no reason. Just coax him with money. He'll back off on his own."
The prediction came true.
Just before Na Sang-min left the room, he said, "Come to think of it, I didn't greet you properly."
Na Sang-min smiled faintly and bowed his head.
"Congratulations, Chairman Karki's proxy. I'll be in your care from now on."
Even when a gate opened and monsters appeared, capitalism did not break.
An S-class hunter happily put his pride aside for someone who held vast capital in his hands.
Na Sang-min lifted his head slightly and glared around the room with sharp eyes.
"You old bastards sure are slow to move. A guild runs on lines. Don't you know that?"
At Na Sang-min's jab, the directors all rose at once as if they had rehearsed it.
"Congratulations, Chairman's proxy!"
"W-we'll be counting on you too."
The black-hearted old raccoons all bowed their heads.
Karki glanced up at the CCTV camera on the ceiling and secretly flashed a peace sign.
Under the table, he sent a message to someone.
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