Chapter 56. An Unexpected Proposal
Chapter 56. An Unexpected Proposal
After exhausting Laila several times, morning came.
Of course, I used the unfair trick of recovering all on my own again.
"That's so cheap."
"Nngh...! Hero picked me up and wouldn't put me down...!"
We exchanged lover-like banter in the hotel lobby while waiting for Max and Emilia.
Even so, the afterglow of the previous night must have lingered, because Laila gently stroked her lower belly.
"Hero filled me to overflowing... when do you think our baby will come?"
"..."
She used to be such an innocent child...
How did she end up with this kind of intense sensuality...?
"But what's taking Max so..."
"Hoon! Sorry we're late!!!"
A voice boomed through the hotel lobby.
I looked over and saw Max and Emilia approaching together.
"What were you doing that made you so late?"
"Haha, I got in touch with the place we're going today in advance."
"A reservation?"
"Mm... it's the kind of place uninvited people can't enter."
"Where are we going that you need an invitation?"
He laughed heartily, clapping me on the back and saying I'd find out when we got there.
"Let's go! To Miami!"
Once again, we boarded Max's private jet.
While eating a light snack on the plane, I caught a glimpse of Max's face.
The usually relaxed man was hesitating, as if he had something to say.
"What, do you have something to tell me?"
"Ahem... well... I've been getting nonstop calls from my staff about you."
"Calls?"
Apparently, U.S. Representatives and Senators wanted to meet me.
But I'd always been cautious about political matters, so it was a rather off-putting proposal.
Max, on the other hand, had a face that said it was no big deal.
"It doesn't matter at all in the U.S. Artists can make political statements completely freely here."
"..."
I had heard that.
There were even entertainers who openly reveal their leanings at concerts.
But if you did that in Korea...
"All your advertisements get pulled, and you can't even appear on broadcasts."
"Keuheu... We actually had a singer who got criticized for *not* speaking out."
I shook my head back and forth.
I wanted to keep streaming and connecting with people until I was old and gray.
To do that, I had to avoid getting tangled up in political controversies.
'I wouldn't have started streaming if I just wanted to make a lot of money and get rich in the first place.'
"Hmm... then what about an independent?"
"Huh?"
A congressman not affiliated with any party.
Someone with enough connections, funds, and prestige that they don't need party support.
"No. I feel like things would get weird if just the two of us met."
"So it's fine if you meet naturally, right?"
"...?"
Max grinned as he looked at my face.
Soon after, the plane landed at Miami Airport.
We got into another car and headed for the port.
At the port, our identities were verified, and we boarded a small boat headed somewhere.
"Do you see that cruise ship?"
"Are we going there?"
"Yes. We're going to meet the 1% who lead America."
I was excited.
Weren't we going to meet the secretive people who pull the strings of the world?
'Ah, was that too much of a delusion?'
But it wasn't just a delusion, because the viewers were excited too.
[goosebumps goosebumps goosebumps]
[Wow, I'm so damn curious who'll be there]
[Are organizations like the Freemasons coming too?]
However, the viewers' expectations were shattered.
"Mm... once we go inside, you probably won't be able to broadcast separately."
"Huh?"
"Security is extremely important there."
Sadly, that's how it was.
I told the viewers who were furiously typing in chat that I'd come back with a recap stream and ended the broadcast.
When we arrived at the cruise ship, a security agent holding a rifle checked our identities once more.
"Let's go in."
The moment we stepped inside, the first thing I saw was a huge signboard.
It had facilities that could rival a hotel: a main restaurant hosting a high-end gala dinner, a spa, a sauna, a performance hall, and more.
When we entered the main hall, every eye turned to us.
It was a look mixed with curiosity, as if asking, 'Who was this Asian man?'
Not a discriminatory gaze, but pure curiosity.
"Oh my, Max. It's been a long time."
"Wahaha! How many years has it been!"
The person who spoke to Max was an elderly woman with an air of experience and dignity.
Max also seemed to be acquainted with her, greeting her warmly.
"And this is...?"
"My friend Song Hoon. He said he was visiting the U.S., so I'm acting as his guide!"
Because his voice was so loud, everyone heard, and the curious looked grew more intense.
Everyone had an expression that said, 'Who was this guy that Max himself was guiding?'
"Song Hoon...? Ah, could it be the gates at Baekdu Mountain and Mt. Fuji!"
The woman, who had been lost in thought, nodded and looked at me.
Then she politely extended her hand for a handshake.
"Then this woman beside you must be... the hunter called the Saintess."
Laila also accepted the handshake and greeted her gracefully.
I didn't know whose girlfriend she was, but she was really pretty.
"I apologize. I was late to introduce myself. I'm Helen Ashford, just an old scientist who does research."
A scientist?
It was the complete opposite of the huge business moguls, celebrities, and politicians I had expected.
Max chuckled, as if sensing my thoughts.
"She's the one who created the equipment that measures mana."
"...???"
The scientist who created the mana meter used in every field ever since mana was discovered.
She was said to be able to buy an entire country with the royalties she receives every year.
And she gave back to society as much as she earned.
The more I listened to Max's explanation, the more I felt she was a remarkable person.
"You're no ordinary scientist, I see..."
"I just rode the wave of the times well."
After chatting with Max, Helen handed me her business card.
"Let's see each other again sometime."
"Ah, yes... but I don't have a business card..."
"Fufu, we can see each other every day, can't we?"
Saying we could see each other every day, Helen tapped on her cell phone.
Right.
If I turn on the stream, no matter how far away they were, anyone with a cell phone could see me.
After Helen departed and the atmosphere seemed to have loosened up a bit, several people approached.
'Ah, I was already tired...'
Various people approached: someone from a corporation, celebrities, politicians.
It definitely would have been boring if I had broadcast it.
Just as I was starting to feel the tedium, the sound of a helicopter came from outside.
"What's that?"
"Hmm... it seems someone else has arrived."
After a moment, a Western man with a stern impression walked in.
Instantly, everyone's gaze shifted to that man.
'Who was that...?'
The moment he entered, the man scanned his surroundings and his eyes met mine.
And he immediately walked straight toward me.
"A pleasure."
"?"
"I am Colton Grave, undeservedly serving as the Association President of the World Hunter Association."
The Association President of the World Hunter Association.
Since the appearance of gates, he was known in some circles to rank higher than the President of the United States.
With a squared-away posture, he extended a thick hand for a handshake.
"A pleasure. I'm Song Hoon."
I had heard stories about him.
In the early days of awakening, public safety was extremely unstable.
Because awakenings happened randomly, regardless of the person.
'But this man...'
He was the figure who moved swiftly and built a system through close cooperation with various countries.
So much so that most of the current Hunter Law was established through him.
"As soon as I heard you were coming here, I moved quickly. Solely to see you."
"I'm honored that the World Hunter Association President would do that."
"I'd like to have a conversation in private. If it's alright, could you spare me some time?"
He wasn't a politician, but the Association President of the World Hunter Association.
He was more than worth talking to.
"I hope it'll be a productive conversation."
When I nodded, I headed to a private room with him.
Along with Max, Emilia, and Laila.
---
As soon as we entered the private room, he clasped his hands together and looked at me.
"Do you know Superman?"
"...?"
I tilted my head at the sudden, random question.
Asking if I knew Superman right off the bat...
Isn't he a famous enough character that there's no one who doesn't know him?
"You are an existence like Superman."
"What do you..."
"I would like you to stand above hunters as their hunter."
What a strange man.
Who said something like that to a complete stranger?
What if my heart suddenly changed and I agreed?
"But what if that Superman suddenly turned to the dark side?"
"No. There is absolutely no chance of that happening."
He said the World Hunter Association had been watching me for a long time.
They had comprehensively considered and judged my family history, my actions, my manner of speech, everything.
And now that their judgment was complete, they had come to meet me.
"You may harbor hostility toward someone out of anger, but you are not someone who would, at the very least, endanger humanity."
'How could he trust a total stranger this much...?'
He was a bolder man than I thought.
No, should I say reckless?
"Because, like Superman, you too have a Lois Lane."
The Association President looked back and forth between Laila and me and smiled contentedly.
Once the atmosphere had relaxed a bit, he brought up the main point.
"I intend to establish a new rank that surpasses S-rank."