Chapter 82. The Saint Is a Scary Woman
Chapter 82. The Saint Is a Scary Woman
We continued the repair work under the foreman's direction.
"Whew... Still, it looks a lot better than when we started."
The mold-stained wallpaper was now spotless, like new.
The pipes that had suffered from backflow and rust now gleamed like new.
"Foreman, you've worked hard."
"Not at all. It's thanks to all the hard work of the hunters and staff."
The kitchen sink was replaced with stainless steel, and the lower cabinets, soaked from the leak, were completely swapped out.
The house, once gloomy and reeking of mold, was now bright and cozy.
"Is this really our home..."
The elder looked around, as if seeing the space for the first time, and burst into laughter.
Then, after disappearing into the kitchen for a moment, they returned with an armful of fruit.
"Wow, this is delicious..."
Beside the elder who had brought the fruit, Laila was peeling it.
Indeed, all the elders were fond of her as she did that.
"By the way... do those kinds of people come by often?"
"Hmph... They always come around with some useless plaque of appreciation or a certificate you can't even eat, take a few pictures, and then leave right away."
"..."
As they said that, I looked around, and there were several such photos.
Photos of them with arms around each other's shoulders, shaking hands.
If they hadn't been wearing different clothes, you wouldn't know they were different pictures.
'Why were all the pictures exactly the same?'
"Is there anything else you're struggling with?"
"My legs are bad... and the hospital is very far away..."
I listened to the various hardships of the elders.
These were all things that could be sufficiently resolved through welfare from the country if there was just a little interest.
'Should I just build a hospital?'
Building a hospital would probably be impossible with just a penny or two.
'How many gates were declared unclearable?'
---
A politician's office.
Outside the window, it was green, but inside the office, a heavy, sunken atmosphere lingered with thick cigarette smoke.
"That little brat... has no manners at all!"
A thick palm slammed down on the table.
He didn't care that a stack of documents flew off and scattered across the floor.
Anyway, the underlings would take care of cleaning it up.
"Those articles... did you send them out as I ordered?"
"Yes... we sent them, but..."
"Something provocative, like 'A Hunter's Arrogance Over Civilians'!"
His anger-filled gaze turned to his secretary.
The secretary hesitated, looking down at the tablet in their hands.
"...I'm sorry. No one will take it. The media outlets all refused."
"What?! Refused?"
As if dumbfounded, he roughly loosened his tie.
"Don't the media outlets usually line up for this sort of thing these days?"
The secretary quietly bowed their head and stared at the floor.
At a moment like this, meeting his gaze would only send sparks flying their way.
'Ha... was this going to turn into a big mess for no reason?'
But he was still overconfident in his influence.
"A mere hunter... a simple hunter with some strength... you can't stand above the system this country has built!"
He believed that.
No matter how strong a hunter was, they couldn't be above the law, and if you squeezed them with the system, they would all eventually kneel.
Meanwhile, the secretary shut their eyes tight.
'Ha... it's not that the hunters were stupid and compliant...'
In the end, he made a call to an influential assemblyman he had known for a long time.
"Yes, sir. It's about that guy... you know, that young punk everyone's been talking about lately. He's getting way too cocky, and I think it's time he tasted what society can really do..."
In that moment, a short, heavy voice came through the receiver.
- You... have you lost your mind?
Silence.
The words that followed were unexpectedly blunt and cold.
- Do you have any idea what you're trying to do right now? The world has changed. That person isn't just any hunter. He crushed a cartel and used that money to build a foundation. Public opinion is all on his side. The media, the people, all of them.
"Sir, but that bastard to me...!"
- Shut your mouth! That bastard? Do you know who that hunter you're talking about is?
"..."
- The World Hunter Association couldn't even measure him, and China, which had been holding its head up so arrogantly, had its Forbidden City destroyed! Lording over civilians? The real danger isn't him, it's you. Please, get a grip on reality!
As he listened to the call, his lips moved as if he'd lost his words, but nothing came out.
- Have your thoughts hardened with age? A man doing politics needs to know how the world is flowing...!
To him, who couldn't say a word, the assemblyman drove the final nail.
- ...If you want to protect even what you've managed to gorge yourself on so far, don't make a big scene and resign on your own...
— Click.
He stared silently at the receiver after the call ended.
The only thing left echoing in his ear was the word 'resign'.
'I... how I built this up...! Resign!?'
The secretary, who had been quietly watching the situation, quickly organized their thoughts.
'This ship... was sinking...'
---
The sun had set, and everyone was resting at home.
A familiar figure came to our house.
It was a middle-aged man in a high-quality gray suit, the CEO of a media company with whom I had a bad history in the past.
"Good evening... I hope I haven't intruded on your rest at an awkward time..."
"No, it's fine."
I leaned back on the sofa and gave a slight nod.
Laila also sat quietly, waiting to hear what story would come out of his mouth.
"You said you had something to talk about regarding a tip you received...?"
"Yes, I'll get straight to the point. Some time ago, a certain politician contacted our side."
The CEO immediately opened his laptop.
A proposal email from someone unknown, documents, and part of a voice recording.
'For public awareness', 'The potential rampage of hunters', 'Stirring public opinion through the press'.
The wording was refined, but the intent was clear.
"This old man... he's amusing, isn't he?"
The CEO carefully continued.
"I don't intend to ever make the same mistake I made before. I felt my responsibility was significant back then as well."
I looked at him without a word.
He had a history of going to prison in the past.
During the military dictatorship era, for the crime of speaking out for what was right.
"I wanted to let you know what someone was trying to do behind the scenes."
"Hmm... Is it okay for the media to come directly to me and give a heads-up?"
"Even so, I believe I know enough to distinguish right from wrong. If you listen to the recording, you'll understand... he even brazenly threatened that it would be boring for him if it wasn't published."
"?"
"Information provided by such a person... it's bound to be questionable without even looking."
While saying that, he took out another document.
It was material prepared in the name of the politician's secretary.
"His secretary, wanting to repent for their own failings, organized the full details of all the events and sent it over..."
Specific instructions were written in those documents.
Instructions on when, how, and what content to send, and how to sway public opinion.
"Well then, I'll take my leave before it gets any later..."
"Yes, thank you."
Laila saw him out to the front door and came back.
"Hmm... Laila, what should we do about this person?"
"..."
'Well... it's not like anything actually blew up...'
I didn't want to get tangled up with politicians, either.
Laila also said nothing.
It seemed she didn't want to get deeply involved in this.
---
A certain assemblyman's luxurious office.
"So I'll take care of this matter very well..."
— Knock, knock...
"Just a moment, I'll call you right back."
He had strictly instructed his aide not to enter as he had an important call.
Yet the fact that they knocked meant it was an equally important matter.
"Come in."
The door opened and a suited aide entered.
"Assemblyman, I apologize. It's an urgent matter that couldn't wait..."
"?"
"An S-rank... no, the Unknown Hunter has come to see you..."
"I-is that so? Wh-which one...?"
There were two Unknown Hunters.
Among them...
"It's Laila Hunter."
"I-I'll go out to greet her...!"
A woman young enough to be his child.
Yet the social gap was such that he couldn't dare meet her eyes.
The moment the word 'emigration' came out of the mouths of S-ranks, the entire nation's stock market would tremble.
Let alone an Unknown Hunter who had surpassed S-rank...
'Ahem...'
He prided himself on having the foresight to read the times.
Unlike the old politicians who were still rigid and stubborn, he thought flexibly.
"Haha, please, have a seat over here."
The assemblyman composedly welcomed her.
But inwardly, he was constantly thinking.
Just why on earth had this young woman come to see him?
"I was worried I might be bothering you while you're working so hard."
"Not at all. It is our proper role to listen to the voices of the people."
"Fufu, it's reassuring to have someone like you, Assemblyman."
— Sip...
He stole glances at Laila as she quietly drank her tea.
This woman was not like any twenty-something-year-old he knew.
Something... an indescribable sense of authority and experience was felt from her.
"You're quite different from the person who tried to spread nasty rumors not long ago."
Unable to bring himself to ask a question, he slowly swallowed.
Although she didn't mention a name, he could immediately recall who it was.
'So that crazy bastard was trying to pull something even after being warned...'
"That such a person is in politics... that's what worries me."
At Laila's words, he quickly smiled brightly and nodded.
Her words carried a lot of meaning.
"Understood. Is it not our job to accommodate the demands of the people?"
"I'm glad you understand."
"May I ask... is there a reason you specifically sought me out like this...?"
The assemblyman was curious.
It was purely genuine curiosity.
Was there a reason she had sought him out specifically to push for that man's resignation?
But Laila, who had grasped the crux of the question, was no ordinary woman herself.
"Fufu, is it so strange... for a citizen to visit a politician who represents the people and share their opinion?"
At those words, the assemblyman was at a loss for words.
She bowed her head in greeting, then left the room quietly with measured steps.
"Whew... really..."
She hadn't directly pushed that politician out or laid a hand on him.
Instead, quietly, respectfully, and yet clearly...
She handled it so that there would be no political gossip, leaving no room for anything.
"A scary woman..."
And he called his aide, ordering them to erase all records of this meeting.
---
[ The party assemblyman who embezzled donations... ]
[ With evidence of tax evasion revealed, the assemblyman has... ]
[ Statement: "I apologize to the citizens for causing concern... I will resign." ]
"Isn't that person, that guy from the other day?"
"I think so."
Laila showed no sign of surprise.
She simply put a slice of tangerine into her mouth and smiled nonchalantly.
"Geez... what's with him, doing that now?"
"He must have done too many bad things and his conscience finally pricked him~"
"You think so?"
I chewed on the piece of tangerine Laila fed me and murmured casually.
"Still, turning himself in and resigning... I guess he was a person with at least a shred of conscience left."