Chapter 5. The Process of Getting Permission to Stream
Chapter 5. The Process of Getting Permission to Stream
Naturalization.
Acquiring the nationality of another country and becoming a citizen of that country.
Actually, no one had ever sent me a naturalization request.
I was just throwing it out there to see the reaction.
If the Association President bit, great; if not, no loss.
"You're saying you received a naturalization request?"
His expression didn't shift in the slightest.
Wait, did it actually work...?
"Currently, you have no track record at all, Song Hoon. There's no way another country would send you a naturalization offer."
"When I first came to Earth, I took countless attacks without a single injury and rendered every last one of them completely useless. Wouldn't a sufficiently large nation have access to that kind of information?"
The Association President's pulse and breathing shifted very slightly.
But that alone was enough.
Because it meant I had disrupted his pacing.
'Judging by his reaction, though... I thought there really was a country trying to make a naturalization offer...?'
"You got me."
The Association President also realized that this was a gamble I had taken.
He chuckled and leaned back in his chair.
"Association President, but is there really a country making a naturalization offer?"
"There is. In fact, there are countries that have been continuously requesting your information behind the scenes."
"Of course I'm not going to naturalize. I don't even speak any foreign languages, and both my parents are here—where would I go?"
"You had me worried there..."
I'd given him the carrot. Now it was time for the stick.
"But there might be an 'if.'"
"Haah... You really know how to yank people around, Song Hoon."
The Association President chuckled and raised both hands in surrender.
Then, with a serious expression once more, he looked at me.
"To extend that kind of preferential treatment solely to you, Song Hoon, we need an overwhelming track record above all else."
"About the track record, earlier..."
The Association President shook his head and poked upward with his finger several times.
"The higher-ups want visible results. No matter how much you boast about being strong, it means nothing if it's all just talk. In fact..."
"In fact?"
"There are still people who, whenever they see reports of your return, send complaints asking why someone like that still isn't working as a hunter."
Surely those complaints wouldn't have gone only to the Association President.
But I had never once dealt with that kind of nuisance myself.
Probably...
"It wouldn't be easy to approach you recklessly because you're the son of the Hanul Guild Master and Vice-Master. And if they tried to mess with Hanul Guild, well, the guild enjoys fairly strong public support thanks to its long record of good deeds."
I understood why this man was so cautious.
But he was missing the point.
What I wanted wasn't to abandon all duties.
"Do you remember the conditions I mentioned?"
"I do. They're extremely reasonable conditions."
"That's all I'm saying. Don't put a leash on me. Don't boss me around. Just that much."
Only then did the Association President nod as if he finally understood.
I wasn't the kind of person to stand by doing nothing while people died and cities were crushed right beside me.
I was just telling them not to try to control me as they pleased under the pretext of duty.
'And broadcasting on top of that was fun, right?'
"Then why didn't you say that from the start..."
"Was my wording too difficult?"
"..."
Maybe because he'd been a public official for so long, he seemed to have interpreted my words in a very twisted way.
Then he looked directly at Laila, who was sitting beside me.
"Then this person is...?"
"I'm going too. If the Hero is going, of course the Saintess must follow."
"You can speak Korean?"
"I learned."
"But it's only been a month..."
"I studied hard."
"...Yes."
In the end, I worked out the details with the Association President right then and there.
Normally, you have to take an exam at the Association and get an official license.
But I decided to skip that process and head straight into a gate.
'Hmm, cutting out the middleman really was convenient.'
My first hunter debut would be Baekdu Mountain.
It was the gate located at the summit, at Cheonji, designated as uncleared and impossible.
---
"So you're telling me you're going to Baekdu Mountain right now!?"
I told my mother and father about the conversation I had with the Association President.
As expected, my mother was furious, and my father listened in silence.
'Forgiveness was always easier to get than permission.'
"Laila, you just stood there and watched while our Hoon had that kind of conversation with the Association President!?"
"I'm sorry... I was the one who suggested trying a broadcast..."
Laila had never said anything like that.
My mother pressed her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut at Laila's words.
"That can't be. It must have been my son who did it."
"Geum Yeosa, your trust in your son is absolutely rock-bottom..."
"Be quiet!"
"Yes, ma'am."
She believed Laila's words without a second thought, but her trust in her own son was in the gutter. That was too much.
As I grumbled to myself, my mother shot me a fierce glare.
I happened to meet my father's eyes. He seemed accustomed to her behavior; he gently closed his eyes and nodded.
"Sigh... Absolutely not."
"Mom, as you know, when I came back to Earth, I didn't get a single scratch from the attacks hunters mistakenly threw at me, right?"
"I know, I know...! But that's a completely different dimension. The reason North Korea fell was because of a single monster inside that gate."
"..."
"Yeah, I know our son is a Hero and a strong person, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes, have I?"
Ah, damn...
I couldn't very well ask my parents to fight me, so what was I supposed to do?
Just as I was thinking that, my father spoke up.
"Honey, if you're that worried, how about testing him directly in the sparring arena?"
'Father... I respect you.'
"Test...?"
"Yeah, since neither of you seems willing to budge. How about this: if you win, he doesn't go; if Hoon wins, he goes?"
He had very politely rephrased the sentiment, 'Just duke it out and do whatever the winner wanted.'
My mother let out a deep sigh.
"Laila, are you going too?"
"Of course. When the Hero goes, the Saintess accompanying him is..."
"Common sense?"
My mother shot Laila a piercing glare, and Laila ducked her head, avoiding her gaze.
Worried that Laila might get caught in the crossfire, I redirected my mother's attention.
"Uh, Mom! Then let's put this on hold and first, how about I prove I have the skills you're looking for?"
My mother thought it over.
Then she nodded and said:
"Get dressed and follow me. We're going to the guild sparring arena right now."
---
But no matter how you looked at it, was it really okay to fight my parents, even as a spar?
Contrary to my thoughts, my mother was brimming with the exact opposite mindset.
'Am I being too conservative? Maybe a spar between parent and child was actually normal?'
Father served as the referee, and the audience was Laila and the Association President.
The reason the Association President was here was to confirm whether I really had the ability to clear the Baekdu Mountain gate.
"Are you both ready?"
"Yeah."
"Yes."
"Then... begin!"
The moment the word "begin" was called, an immense magic power surged from my mother's body.
At the same time, a large spear made of ice materialized and flew fiercely toward me.
"Hmph..."
─ Smash! Smash! Smash!
I shattered every incoming ice spear with my fists.
Cleverly concealing her body behind the barrage of ice spears, she closed the distance and appeared right in front of me at the same moment.
"Son, you'll never become a strong hunter if you rely only on magic."
I knew that well.
Even Kyle, the continent's greatest mage, didn't rely solely on magic.
I caught my mother's wrist as she thrust sharply aiming for my throat, and redirected her momentum to throw her in the opposite direction.
"Our son really is strong."
"...?"
"He's on a completely different level from mediocre hunters."
My mother seemed to decide that close combat was no longer viable, and she stopped in place.
"Hoo... I've never used this against a person before."
Then she stamped her foot on the ground a few times, and a wave of cold air surged outward.
─ Crackle!!!
Starting from my mother, ice blanketed the entire area.
And my body, too, was frozen solid by her attack.
"S-Stop...!"
Father and the Association President hurriedly ran toward my mother.
"H-Honey... no matter what, this is too much..."
"Hmph, he's a son who doesn't listen to his mother, so let him cool his heels inside for a bit."
Indeed, my mother's ice magic was incredible.
At least in terms of raw destructive power, it was on par with Kyle's.
Of course, Kyle was superior in efficiency and application, and above all, he could handle all elements.
"Laila, we'll go ahead, so bring Hoon later."
"Mother, I don't think the Hero has any such intention."
"Huh? What do you..."
─ Crack...
Hearing the sound of ice cracking, my mother turned around.
Cracks began to spread across the surface of the enormous ice, and the massive ice block trembled.
"That's impossible..."
─ Clang!
"Ah, my clothes are all wet."
I casually brushed the ice fragments off my shoulder.
My nonchalant reaction surprised not only my mother but also my father and the Association President.
"Was that still not enough?"