Chapter 77. An Innocent Young Man's Korean Dream
Chapter 77. An Innocent Young Man's Korean Dream
Golden light gathered in her hand.
As if it had always been there, the golden mana shaped itself into a brilliant spear.
"Laila... did I do something wrong?"
"No~"
With Laila's spear leveled at me, I found myself hesitating.
Wondering whether I really needed to draw the 'Holy Sword'.
"Hero, are you planning to use even the Holy Sword against me?"
"..."
Her taunt stung a little.
It would be a hassle, but I decided not to use the Holy Sword.
"Fufu..."
Laila twirled her spear.
The movement was as graceful as a dancer's.
"Hap!"
As if she had shed a heavy weight, her body moved even faster.
A sharpness on a completely different level now came at me.
"Truly... I don't know why your body is so durable, Hero."
─ Claang...!
I caught the stabbing spearhead with my palm.
The weight behind this attack was in another league compared to her previous ones.
'Was there something I did wrong...?'
While gripping the spearhead, I racked my memories.
Like that wizard with the green gem from some movie...
I sifted through tens, hundreds of memories.
'I didn't do anything wrong though?'
I did everything Laila asked of me.
No matter how I thought about it, I did nothing wrong.
─ Shwaaak!
Laila poured in slightly more mana and thrust her spear.
I launched my fist in time with her swing.
─ Kwaaaaaang!!!
Our mana collided and burst.
Fortunately, the other hunters contained the backlash.
─ Crash!!
Even so, the residual shockwave shattered every window in the sparring hall.
"..."
"..."
I supposed I'd have to pay for that.
"Fufu, that felt good, stretching my body after so long."
Laila returned the spear to Emir.
"It served me well."
"Ah, yes..."
Emir took the spear back, looking dazed.
Then he glanced back and forth between Laila and his own spear.
"This is definitely my spear... how did she draw out that kind of power...?"
[Wait wtf is this lol]
[The Saintess is a healer you dipshit]
[Isn't it cheating if the healer is this strong too?]
[Balance patch is so screwed lmaoooo]
"Well, that's how it went."
I wrapped up the situation and ended the stream.
Then, with the friendly match scheduled for tomorrow in mind, we returned to the lodging provided by the Association.
Back at the lodging, Laila immediately peeled off her sweat-drenched outer garment and tied up her hair.
"Hero, do you have something to say to me?"
"Ah, no... just..."
Laila, her cheeks flushed and still damp with sweat, met my eyes.
'How lewd...'
Once she'd finished tying up her hair, Laila approached me and spoke.
"Hero, look."
When she removed my shirt, bruises were scattered across my forearms and shoulders—the areas that had taken Laila's attacks.
And my fist was black and blue.
"Really...! It's because you keep recklessly taking hits head-on instead of dodging, just like before!"
'Says the one who hit me...'
─ Smack!
She slapped my back, puffing her cheeks out like a balloon.
But even as she grumbled, the sight of Laila placing her hands on my wounds to heal them was simply adorable.
Once all the wounds were healed, Laila looked at me with captivating eyes.
"But still, Hero... you were looking at me with naughty eyes earlier♥"
"...?"
"Shall we hold off on washing up for a bit?"
Was all of this a setup for that?
---
"Haha, I heard many things happened yesterday."
'Too many things happened...'
Before the friendly match began, the Association President climbed onto the platform and joked.
Most people glanced at us and chuckled.
After the introductions of the participating hunters finished, the match began in earnest.
Honestly, I had planned to join the friendly match just for the fun of the event.
But since I'd already gotten a thorough workout, that desire vanished.
"Oh... that person summons monsters?"
There were many unique hunters, like one who summoned monsters and another who used sorcery like Reina.
There was even a hunter who used abilities like psychokinesis.
"The world is indeed vast."
My interest cooled faster than expected.
Because from an adult's perspective, watching kids fight wasn't exactly fun.
Meanwhile, I was looking up information on Emir Kaya on my phone.
The contents displayed on the screen were a little different from what I expected.
"Is this guy nice... or a pushover..."
Emir Kaya, an S-rank Hunter of Turkish nationality.
He donated most of the money he earned as a hunter, or spent it on charity work.
A genuinely kind person.
"He didn't respond...?"
But even when that money was embezzled, he showed no reaction whatsoever.
That fact caught my eye.
He took no action at all throughout the entire process.
"Tch..."
I pondered for a moment.
If he were simply a pushover, the whole thing would have felt laughable, but his pure heart couldn't be reduced to such a simplistic label.
"He just doesn't care."
It wasn't that Emir was a complete idiot and couldn't respond.
It was simply that the value of money didn't matter much to him.
"What an interesting guy..."
I looked at Emir, who was sitting a short distance away.
He was concentrating, as if trying to learn something from the friendly match.
"He's such a good person."
"Emir?"
"Yes, it feels like seeing the abbess again, back when I was at the convent."
"Is that so...?"
The abbess I met before taking Laila away was, quite literally, a 'saint'.
She sold her own handmade crafts and used the donated money solely and purely for the children.
'She even pressed that much money into my hands when I came to take Laila, after all.'
The friendly match ended, and the official closing was declared.
I quietly watched Emir as he left at the very end.
'If the chance ever arises... we'll meet again sometime.'
---
After our short trip to the United States ended, we were on a plane heading back to Korea.
"How was this gathering?"
"It was just... nothing special?"
At my answer, my parents smiled slightly, saying they'd also had high expectations the first time they went.
"Are you two going to stream again right after you return?"
"Yeah, we need to announce the orientation for the foundation employees too."
"Alright, come by the house more often."
The plane arrived in Korea, and my parents and I parted ways.
Reporters were probably waiting with their eyes blazing, but thanks to the airport's consideration, we slipped out through a different exit.
[ World's Strongest Hero : I have returned ]
[The national prestige Hero has returned]
[Lol good to see you back]
I turned on the stream as soon as we got home.
Since most of it had already been covered in the news, we just briefly chatted about what we'd been up to.
"Actually, we wanted to make an announcement regarding our foundation's orientation."
[Huh?]
[Company MT lmaoooo]
[Can't you just send a personal text?]
It's nothing too grand to be called an orientation.
It's just a meal to meet and get familiar with each other's faces.
"It's not some kind of new employee training thing."
And the most important thing, that bastard.
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 50,000 Watts! ]
- Of course you'll treat me to something delicious, right?
I'll catch him no matter what.
"I will definitely catch you."
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 30,000 Watts! ]
- You moron lmaoooooo he said he'd give you 1 million won if you catch him?
[This bastard's really donating with his life on the line lolol]
[Ah fuck I really wanna see him get caught]
"You, I'm just waiting for the chance..."
─ Ding-dong!
"?"
My head tilted at the suddenly ringing intercom.
There was no one who would visit at this hour.
'I didn't even order any delivery...'
There was no reason for my mother or father to visit, and even if they did, they'd always call beforehand.
"Yes."
- Someone has come to see you.
"Who would come looking for me...?"
---
"Emir... are you really going to go?"
"I saw hope. With those two, I'll be able to grow...!"
They had that kind of strength, yet they were never arrogant.
They were even hunters who saved citizens, overthrew cartels, and did charity work.
He felt they were the right people to emulate.
"..."
"I'm a hunter who isn't affiliated anywhere anyway, so it doesn't matter, right?"
Emir was stuffing clothes into a large backpack, just like a typical backpacker.
"You have no place to live... and you don't even have money!"
"I'll do whatever it takes to earn money!"
The woman talking with Emir pressed her hand to her forehead at his hopelessly naive words.
Yet, accustomed to this behavior from Emir, the woman let out a sigh.
"Do you even have money for a plane ticket?"
"I can just pop into a suitable gate along the way!"
"Haah... you're driving me crazy... Do you even know where those people live?"
"I don't! But I know that hunter's parents are in the Hanul Guild. I'll go to the Hanul Guild first."
She wasn't a hunter, so she didn't know much, but she knew that her boyfriend was talking about a hunter whose parents were S-rank.
And she was well aware that S-rank was the highest rank.
"Wait a moment."
The woman pulled out an envelope from deep within a wardrobe and handed it to Emir.
Inside were thick wads of bills.
"What's this?"
"It's 100,000 Lira. It should be enough for two plane tickets."
"Two?"
"Huh, really... were you going to leave me behind?"
"Then what about the shop..."
"I already put the shop up for sale because I figured this would happen!"
Emir gave his girlfriend, who had handed him the money, a short kiss on the lips.
Then, with a happy smile, he hugged her tightly.
"Let's go! For the Korean Dream!"