Relocating the Association
"We've lost contact…"
"Haa…"
At Roseina's report, Association President Kim Hee-jae pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a long sigh.
Already, six Association staff members had gone missing. Counting the other guilds, the total had climbed to twenty-three.
"Where was the last place we heard from So-han?"
"His final report came from Yangyang, Gangwon Province. He messaged that he would dig further, and then… silence. It's been twenty-four hours with no contact."
"And the earlier disappearances were in Uljin, correct?"
"Yes. The other guilds also reported their members vanishing along the East Sea coast. That's why Jeong So-han went to look into it."
"Are the guilds searching?"
"They are. Three guilds have dispatched their own people, but they don't seem to be turning up any real leads."
Three guilds had suffered losses: Glory Guild, Muffin Guild, and Taebaek Mountains Guild. Of those, Taebaek Mountains was a mid-sized outfit with over a hundred members. Even so, their search efforts had produced nothing—not so much as a scrap of evidence.
"There's more."
"…'More'? What kind of terrifying news are you about to drop on me?"
Roseina held out her phone.
"The reporters have caught the scent. They're flooding the feeds with articles."
"Aigoo. My head."
Faced with hundreds of missing-persons stories, the Association President dug his fingers into his temples. If it had only been Association staff, they might have managed to keep a lid on things. But with guilds taking hits as well, burying the disappearances was no longer realistic. They could hardly control how the guilds chose to act.
"Send severance and condolence payments to the families of the missing staff."
"Anyone missing for more than a week has already been processed as deceased, and the payments went out."
"Good work."
"So… what do you intend to do now?"
She looked at him with worried eyes. Even a mid-sized guild had come up empty. Give it a little more time, and the public would start turning their anger on the Association.
"If it comes to that, I'll go myself."
Truthfully, he had wanted to move from the very beginning. But the staff inside the Association had held him back. If the President himself took the field, it would do more than look bad—it would signal that the incident was a major crisis.
"It's already grown large enough that my personal involvement won't make things worse."
"Shall I go instead?"
"No. Let's hold off for a few days. The guilds can't keep bleeding members either—they'll be in a lull of their own."
"Understood."
"By the way, don't you need to visit Belhart? You've been eating and sleeping at the Association for days."
"What am I supposed to do with this much work? You think I'm staying here because I don't want to clock out…"
"…"
At her words, the Association President cleared his throat awkwardly.
Once Belhart had been linked to Earth, every otherworldly race living here had crossed over. Those who held jobs on Earth still commuted back and forth, but Roseina—an elf—had only made the trip from Alfheim in the early days. Now she was back to room and board at the Association, just like before.
"I've never been, so humor me—what's Alfheim like? Is it really the way the comics and novels describe it?"
"I don't know which descriptions you mean, but looking at me should give you a rough idea, shouldn't it?"
Understanding her point, the Association President nodded.
When the other races had first appeared on Earth, the dwarves and elves had matched the common knowledge almost perfectly. Dwarves were short, heavily muscled, and genuinely gifted with their hands in every craft imaginable. Elves—men and women alike—possessed striking beauty, formidable combat power, and keen intellect.
"Then Alfheim must be a place full of trees and beauty."
"Trees stretching high into the sky, fireflies drifting between them, beautiful lakes scattered everywhere. It smelled sweet, and it felt warm—like being held in your mother's arms, I suppose."
"Lakes everywhere, you say… Must be crawling with mosquitoes."
"…Mr. President."
"I'm joking. Once this disappearance case is wrapped up, I'll give you a few days off. Go rest."
"You should take a vacation before I do."
To date, the Association President had never once taken leave. Three years ago the staff had forced him out on vacation—and a few hours later he had walked right back into the office. Workaholic was one thing. This was something else entirely.
"With this much work piled up, how am I supposed to take a vacation? Ugh…"
Just then—
Knock. Knock.
Someone rapped on the door of the President's office.
"Yes, come in."
The door creaked open.
"Do-ha!"
The moment Baek Do-ha stepped into the office, the Association President shot up from his seat.
"Hm. You look busy. Should I come back later?"
"Not at all. Please, this way."
The President shook his head and guided Do-ha to the sofa. A Cheon-oe-cheon had arrived—how could he possibly turn the man away?
"I came about the Paju branch of the Association we discussed before…"
Do-ha's gaze slid to Roseina, standing off to the side.
"…Just how much work does the Association pile on people?"
Dark circles hung beneath her eyes. He had never in his life seen dark circles on an elf's face. Even in Belhart, elves who went days without sleep only looked a little tired—never like this. Yet Roseina had them.
"The President isn't keeping you from going home, is he?"
"Do-ha, this place is a black company."
"Ah—what kind of nonsense is this girl spouting…"
Roseina's joke sent the Association President into a visible panic. Anyone overhearing that would get entirely the wrong idea!
"I'm kidding. It's probably just the sleepless nights from the disappearance case."
"I was going to ask—there have been a lot of articles lately. Is the situation that serious?"
"Yes. We're already at twenty-one missing."
"That many?"
Do-ha's eyes widened slightly. The articles had put the number of missing hunters around ten. Twenty-three was something else entirely.
"Shall I look into it for you?"
"What? Really?!"
The Association President's eyes lit up. If a Cheon-oe-cheon was willing to investigate, the disappearance case was as good as solved.
"There is a condition, though."
"Name it! Anything—I'll make it happen! An S-rank mana stone… no, an SS-rank mana stone!"
He was ready to hand over a ten-billion-won SS-rank mana stone on the spot. That was how badly he wanted this resolved. It wasn't the bad press that fretted him—it was the hunters vanishing one after another.
"No. I don't need mana stones."
"Then… what condition…?"
Refusing a sum that large left the Association President trailing off. Then again… a Cheon-oe-cheon could probably acquire SS-rank mana stones without much trouble.
"Would… two be enough?"
"No. I'm not after money."
The President tilted his head. Then what did he want? The Association had nothing that outvalued an SS-rank mana stone. Surely he wasn't angling for a trillion-won SSS-rank stone?
"How about relocating the Association building?"
"Excuse me???"
The completely unexpected proposal left the Association President's face blank with confusion. Relocate the Association building—just like that?
"You know how entertainment agencies move their headquarters sometimes."
"We're not an agency…"
And the scale was entirely different. The Association building was a fifty-story tower. How were they supposed to move that? Even if they could, empty fifty-story buildings didn't just sit around waiting. More precisely, high-rises built to withstand hunter-level force were vanishingly rare. From the outside the Association tower looked like any other skyscraper, but the interior was a different world. With more awakened than ordinary people on staff, the structure had been specially engineered to endure their power. Nationwide, only Viper Guild and Meteor Guild had buildings of comparable grade.
"I'll construct the building myself. You only need to move the people and the furniture."
"…Don't tell me you mean to Paju."
"Yes. I intend to turn Paju into a city greater than it ever was—far greater."
In truth, building a large city was secondary. What he wanted was a concentrated hub of awakened. And to make that work, he needed a systematic framework—something capable of controlling and managing the strong.
Which is why I need the Association.
With the Association's systems in place, control and management of the awakened became possible. And if war with the Demon God Cult ever came, he would be able to mobilize them at speed.
"I'll make it far better than the current building. So—relocate the Association."
"Do-ha."
"Yes."
"Forgive the impertinence, but I have a few questions."
"Go ahead."
"As the Association, we hear and see a great deal. Word is that several guilds are currently relocating to Paju. I've also heard that the entire commercial district around Anyang Station is moving. Is that true?"
"It is."
A few smaller guilds had already agreed to the move—guilds Old Man Song knew, guilds connected to Han Jeong-soo, and others. Contact had already been made.
"And in that situation, you want not a branch office but a full headquarters relocation… Don't tell me you intend to make Paju the capital?"
If guilds and the Association both settled in Paju, commercial districts would spring up all around them. And if the Anyang Station merchants were staking claims as well, everyone else would follow.
"Not a capital. But I do intend to build a systematic framework."
"What kind of system…?"
"I'll tell you once I'm certain the Association President is firmly on my side."
"…"
At that, the Association President fell silent.
Once he's certain I'm on his side…
Until now the man had always said he would explain later. This was the first time he had spoken so bluntly. Just what was he planning?
"Isn't that a little too honest? There's always the chance I might not end up on your side."
"Well. From what I've seen of you, Mr. President, the odds of you becoming an enemy are low."
He couldn't be certain yet, so he was still watching—but the Association President was unlikely to side with the Demon God Cult or New Age. Those two groups were the only ones that stood opposite him.
"Truly, every time I see you, I can't quite figure out what kind of person you are."
"So… what's your decision?"
"…Are you genuinely prepared to construct the building?"
"If we reach an agreement, expansion can begin today."
"Even starting today, a fifty-story building would take considerable time…"
"Don't worry about that. I have ten dwarves on my side."
With just ten dwarves, a ten-story building could go up in a matter of days. A specialized fifty-story tower was no real obstacle.
"Haa… All right. I'll consider it the commission fee for hiring a Cheon-oe-cheon."
Looked at another way, it was a bargain. Hiring a Cheon-oe-cheon normally required an absurd sum of money.
"Send a notice to the staff. Tell them the Association is relocating to Paju. Exact timing to follow."
"There will be employees who push back…"
"Ah, don't worry about that."
Do-ha shook his head at Roseina's concern. He had expected this conversation to come up eventually, so for some time now he had been using Han Jeong-soo to shape opinion inside the Association.
Han Jeong-soo has been quietly seeding the idea that they need to move to Paju.
Thanks to that, there would be no major resistance from within.