Chapter 31. The Bait Left by an S-Class Hunter
Chapter 31. The Bait Left by an S-Class Hunter
"Ugh..."
Max opened his eyes, still lying in the hospital bed.
When he turned his head, only his secretary, Emilia, was nearby.
"B-Boss! You're awake."
"Where am I?"
"The Korean Association lent us a hospital room for the time being."
"Heh heh, I expected to lose, but I never thought I'd lose consciousness and end up in a hospital bed..."
"..."
Even so, he smiled.
He smiled so deeply it was hard to believe he had been defeated.
"It's been a long time since I've felt this way..."
His laughter actually took Emilia by surprise.
She had assumed he would be despondent and sullen, but Max looked refreshed.
"With that short piece of advice he gave at the end, I took another step in my growth. Yes... just that one word..."
Max laughed, as if growing more excited by the second.
He was filled with anticipation for the possibility of further growth.
"But... it's strange. My body feels perfectly fine."
"The hunter named Laila who was with him used healing magic on you, Boss."
"Impressive... Right before I blacked out, I was sure I'd be bedridden for a month..."
He had never seen Laila use healing magic on Song Hoon before.
But now he understood.
There was simply no need for healing magic, because he never got hurt.
"Keuh-heh-heh... Emilia, I'll have to come to Korea often from now on."
Saying that, he instructed her to find a suitable villa on the market for his stays in Korea.
"Just give me a cigar. A Cuban one."
"No. This is a no-smoking area, and we are in a hospital room, boss."
"..."
─ Knock, knock!
The door opened, and Song Hoon and Laila came in, their arms full of gifts.
"Oh? You're up already?"
"I'm up."
Song Hoon averted his gaze awkwardly as he spoke.
"Sorry, things got a bit too heated..."
"It's fine. I've grown stronger thanks to you."
Song Hoon looked back and forth between Emilia and Max with a troubled expression.
"Hmm... I feel a bit bad about beating up a guy senseless right in front of his wife..."
At Song Hoon's words, the two's expressions diverged dramatically.
Max looked dumbfounded, then burst into a hearty laugh.
"Wa-ha-ha-ha!!! Me and Emilia? Keuh-heh-heh... I get that misunderstanding sometimes, but we're not a married couple!"
At Max's reaction, the light in Emilia's eyes, which had been expecting something (?), grew cold.
"Married couple... we are not..."
"Ah, sorry for the misunderstanding..."
"Keuh-heh-heh... Anyway, Hoon, are you doing the broadcast today?"
Song Hoon gave Max a quick summary of the broadcast plan, then left his contact info and address, telling him to come to his house that evening, and left the hospital room.
---
"So... you're saying Max Hunter is coming to our house right now?"
At the sudden announcement of Max's visit, my mother's and father's faces filled with shock.
My mother's expression, especially, was the same disapproving look she'd worn when I brought friends home as a child...
"Hmm... Should I cancel?"
"Son... Do you think Max Hunter is just some neighborhood buddy?"
At my words, my mother shut her eyes tight and pressed her fingers to her forehead as if she had a headache.
At that, Laila sighed and scolded me.
"See, Hero sir... I told you we should have let your mother know in advance..."
"So when is Max Hunter arriving?"
"Um... Soon?"
"What!?"
My mother immediately started cleaning the house.
Since she had people come by regularly for a deep cleaning, the house was always well-kept.
And thanks to my mother, who was always tidying up, it wasn't messy at all.
"Son, this is just a matter of feeling."
"Is it?"
"Goodness... Hurry inside and prepare for the broadcast with Laila..."
My mother waved her hand and shooed us off to my room.
I pulled my neck in like a turtle at my mother's flustered reaction.
[ World's Strongest Hero : The ultimate special guest you've never seen anywhere ]
[I will worship the Saintess]
[Whew, she's here, my dopamine]
[Title's clickbait for sure lol]
"Nice to see everyone. As written in the title, today we have the ultimate special guest."
[Now I'm curious, since it's this guy calling it ultimate]
[Not those other clickbaiters using 'unprecedented', 'first-ever', 'never-before-seen'—it's more hype when he says it lol]
[What, did the president come or something?]
[As if, you idiot lololol]
"I plan to do a collaborative stream with this guest today and attend the year-end party with them tomorrow."
Donations poured in from everywhere, asking who the guest was.
But the guest hadn't arrived yet...
─ Ding-dong...!
The doorbell rang, and I could hear murmured conversation outside.
I asked the viewers to hold on a moment, then went out.
"Wa-ha-ha! Pleased to meet you. Ah, and this is a housewarming gift."
The huge man, already large, had brought two boxes of toilet paper rolls.
"...?"
"I know it's customary to give toilet paper as a housewarming gift in Korea."
"Well, that's true..."
I waved my hand as I watched Max talking with my parents.
After asking him to wait in front of the door for a moment, I sat back down.
I had told the viewers the guest had arrived, so they were looking forward to it.
"Alright, alright, the guest for our stream has finally arrived!"
[So who is it?]
[Isn't it the Nova Group chairman?]
[That Chinese S-rank hunter and Japanese S-rank hunter from last time?]
[As if an S-rank hunter would come on a damn internet stream]
"Come in!"
The sound of the door opening was broadcast the moment I shouted.
And a man so huge he barely fit on screen walked in—still holding a whiskey in one hand.
"Wa-ha-ha-ha!!! Nice to meet you! I'm Max Morgan!"
[??????]
[What?????]
[Holy shit, I need to put my glasses on now]
[I swear I just got LASIK not long ago]
The viewers didn't know what to do with themselves at the ultimate special guest.
I didn’t know who originally came up with it, but I'd planned some genuinely solid content.
Since Max was so huge, I had brought out a single-person sofa instead of a gaming chair.
And next to him, his secretary, Emilia, sat with poise.
"Hm? Are these tiny letters the viewers' chat?"
"Right. They're a bit weird, but there's a rough translation feature, so it shouldn't be too hard to understand."
[Such a huge figure in this humble place;;]
[Not just a huge figure, a giant lol]
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[Wow, I've only seen this guy on TV, he looks even bigger]
[Who's that next to him? His wife?]
"Haha, no. She's a proud talent of our guild. Also, my secretary."
Max, who had experience appearing on various broadcasts, skillfully communicated with the viewers from the get-go.
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 10,000 Watts! ]
- But why did you appear? You probably couldn't afford Max's appearance fee...
[Dumbass lololol look at how polite the donation got]
[Friendliness you'd never expect from the usual malicious troll lol]
[Disgusting bastard lolol pretending to be all nice in the world with a donation]
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[Now they're on a power trip too lol]
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"Hmm... Hoon simply asked me. To come on his stream."
[What is this, are you guys neighborhood buddies or something lolol]
[Him showing up just because he was asked is even funnier lolol]
"To be exact, I asked him for a spar, but Hoon instead asked me to come on the stream."
The viewers flared up again.
S-rank Hunter Max Morgan, the survivor of the 'Grand Canyon', no less.
Everyone was shocked by the fact that he himself had requested a spar.
"Haha! Of course, I didn't land a single solid hit and was knocked out cold after being slammed into a wall!"
[????]
[???]
[What the;;]
[I knew the streamer was freaking strong, but he's THAT strong???]
He stated the fact of his defeat without any sugarcoating.
Emilia shook her head at Max's behavior, pressing her fingers to her forehead at the sight of her guild master personally ruining his own image.
[ Resignation Letter Always in My Pocket has donated 10,000 Watts! ]
- In your opinion, Max, just how strong is our streamer?
"Streamer? Ah, you mean Hoon? Hm... Even if all the S-ranks in the world ganged up on him, they probably couldn't beat him?"
Yeah, that was about how strong I was.
And you guys were comfortably watching someone like that from your rooms.
[Lololol Max is really hyping up our streamer since he's on the show]
[Instantly becoming favorable lolololol]
[No matter how few S-ranks there are, each one is a nuclear weapon lolololol]
[Fact) Even that weak-ass Yang Tenjin can butcher dozens of A-ranks]
Max continued to recount the story of the spar.
And he also let slip a bit about Laila's abilities.
[That's originally the Saintess's exclusive domain...]
[Ah, that's true but damn;;]
[But why hasn't she ever used healing magic on Hero?]
[Hero doesn't get hurt so she doesn't need to use it lololol]
"Communicating with people like this casually is quite fun, too."
Seeing Max, the viewers asked him to occasionally join the stream as a guest.
Max grew a bit more tipsy at those chat messages.
"I'd like to enter a Gate with Hoon sometime!"
[They'd smash the gate to pieces lol]
[Wouldn't any ordinary place be out of the question?]
We continued the stream quite late that day.
From what I heard, he had booked a room at a hotel near our house.
"Heh heh, I had a great time today, everyone!"
[Bye bye]
[See you again, Max]
Max and Emilia finished getting ready to leave and said their final goodbyes.
"Ah, and if you two ever get married, make sure to invite me!"
"???"
"What, you two aren't a couple? Wa-ha-ha!!! Sorry for the misunderstanding!"
At Max's sudden remark, the chat window exploded.
But Max left the room with Emilia after saying that.
A donation came in belatedly after Max's comment.
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 50,000 Watts! ]
- Take it back... What you just said!