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Chapter 1:
I like money.
And orphans are money.
Therefore, I like orphans.
Especially orphans who lost their parents to monsters—there's nothing better. Tell them you'll give them the power to take revenge, and they all come crawling.
"Dying like this only hurts you. You should at least avenge your parents. Don't you think?"
"……But who are you, mister?"
"Mis……"
Ahem, let's not jump to any strange conclusions.
This is a perfectly legitimate business, after all.
Specifically, the business of raising orphans into the greatest hunters and selling them to the Association—or rather, brokering contracts and receiving payment.
< Skill >
[ Guide ]
Rank: S+
Can see the potential of a designated target. Also amplifies the growth rate of a designated target.
No matter how elite an instructor, raising an S-rank hunter in a single year is next to impossible. But for me, it's possible.
I can identify promising seedlings with the potential to grow, and on top of that, amplify an already rapid growth rate even further?
I realized it immediately. If I used this skill well, earning enough money to coast through life without difficulty would be well within reach.
"Do you have any idea how much revenue a single S-rank hunter brings in per year? Honestly, even a billion a year is selling it cheap."
"At the very least, put a restriction on them so they can't leave the Association. Otherwise……"
"You think a restriction would work on an S-rank hunter? Even if it did, what about the blowback?"
"At the very least, a contract extension……"
"Ahem, if you treat them with proper respect from the start, they'll naturally renew their contracts on their own."
One billion per S-rank hunter. It's an absurd figure when you consider what an S-rank hunter is actually worth, but……there's nothing to be done.
The fact that a lone individual can even negotiate with the Association at all is already tantamount to a massive concession on their part.
Get greedy beyond that, and you lose everything. What I want is to earn as much money as possible, as safely as possible.
"Of course, after a year the product becomes a free agent, but……from that point on, the relevant Association will have to handle things on their own."
Human trafficking, you say?
How hurtful, to reduce my blood-soaked efforts to something like that.
I say without a shred of doubt—I spared no means or methods available to me and did my absolute best to develop my products.
There was no abuse or discrimination, I fed and clothed them with only the finest things, and I even spent money to care for their mental health.
No matter how conservatively you look at it, it was a mutual exchange. They gained the power to take revenge, and I earned money.
Truly a two-birds-one-stone, kill-two-birds-with-one-stone, sweep-the-yard-and-find-a-coin kind of arrangement. You could say it was a relationship where both parties benefited from each other.
"Phew, it really has been a long road. But from now on, it's time to truly wash my hands of it."
Eight years. After grinding away like a dog for a full eight years, I had finally been able to move into a luxury apartment.
Gazing out at the panoramic view of the Han River flowing beyond the window, I pulled out a cigar. Going without smoking for eight years had been absolute agony.
Lighting a cigar that cost over a million won a piece, I drank whiskey that cost over ten million won a bottle. Ah! The sweet taste of success.
"Honestly, it's just okay."
It's clearly not a bad business, yet the reason I want to wash my hands of it—it's because of the blowback that would follow.
If my products ever happened to catch on to the secrets of my business, that would be a serious problem, but……I'm not all that worried about it.
Since the whole thing is a dirty affair, the Association keeps the secret thoroughly under wraps, and I burned every last piece of evidence on my end long ago.
But no matter how cleanly you tidy up, if a tail is long enough, it will eventually get caught. I've done more than enough—it's time to slowly wash my hands of this……
Ding-dong.
"What? A delivery?"
It seems I went and ordered something again without realizing it. Browsing casually and buying whatever catches my eye has become a habit.
At first, I ignored it. The delivery would be left at the door anyway, so I figured I'd get it whenever I remembered.
But the doorbell rang on and on without stopping. I had no choice but to get up. What kind of delivery person is this?
"Quite the impressively dedicated professional. I should give them a can of coffee to take on their way……"
Clunk.
The sound of my heart dropping.
The figure clearly reflected on the screen made me almost let out a scream, as if I had laid eyes on a ghost.
'Why the hell is that crazy woman here of all places……?'
Black bob-cut hair that just barely grazed her shoulders. Red eyes harboring a chilling bloodlust gleamed more ominously than ever today.
Seol Eun-ha. The S-rank hunter I had sold to the Central Association—or rather, brokered a contract for. There's been plenty of talk about her being the youngest S-rank hunter ever.
But what matters most is that she carries the epithet Thousand-Kill Star—a moniker that is anything but ordinary. Damn it all.
However, she seemed to have no idea whatsoever that I was horrified. She waved cheerfully and kept on talking.
[Helloooo~ Teacher. Can you hear me??]
"……"
[It's been a while, Teacher. I know it's late, but I have something urgent to tell you……if it's alright, could you open the door for me?]
I had moved in secret, without giving my address to a single soul. How on earth had she found this place.
But I forced myself to pull it together. This was no ordinary apartment—it was a luxury apartment worth hundreds of millions.
The structure was such that if a resident didn't open the door, no outsider could get inside—built with security and safety in mind.
Of course, a mere glass door wouldn't be enough to stop an S-rank hunter, but surely she wouldn't smash through the door to get in.
Even after she kept talking without pause, she got no response, and she narrowed her eyes into crescents and tilted her head.
[Hmm? Don't tell me you're not home.]
"Right, I'm not here. So get lost, quickly!"
[Can't be helped. Then I'll head up and wait.]
"What? She's coming up? How would she even……ah."
In that brief moment, a flurry of calculations ran through my head. What floor of the apartment am I on right now? The thirtieth floor, no less.
But the person in question is no ordinary individual—she's an S-rank hunter. Scaling a thirty-story apartment building is easier than a neighborhood hiking trail for her.
Make a run for it through the front door? No good. She'd track the trail immediately and catch me. Then only one option remains.
The moment I reached my conclusion, I threw myself toward the bed with all my might. Three seconds. That was how long it took to get there.
Knock knock. The sound of tapping on the window reached my ears. Even though this was the thirtieth floor. But I ignored it for now.
The tapping on the window came twice, then three times. Only then did I rub my eyes and pull myself upright.
"What in the world could that noise be……huh?!"
[Aha~ So you were sleeping♥]
Those red eyes, clinging to the thirtieth-floor window as casually as a bug on a wall, began to swirl with an eerie light.
Had she seen through me? No, that couldn't be it. If she had, she would have smashed the window and come for my throat long ago.
There's a reason she carries the epithet Thousand-Kill Star. I swallowed a dry lump and carefully opened the window.
"R-right, come on inside first."
Forcing a clumsy smile to my lips.
I let the disaster into my home.
◇
Thousand-Kill Star.
It was both her symbol and a trait she possessed. The power to kill anything that breathes.
The problem is that controlling the murderous impulse is next to impossible. At least, that was how people judged it at the time.
[So you'd kill her? This poor child who hasn't committed a single sin yet?]
[Every single person born with the Thousand-Kill Star has, without exception, gone down in history as a butcher. There have been no exceptions.]
[Maybe there will be one from now on.]
Yet among everyone, I was nearly the only one who had taken Eun-ha's side. Not particularly out of ethical concern.
It was a waste. Either way, this wasn't some common trait that any Tom, Dick, or Harry could obtain—it was a unique trait that only a single person in the world could be born with.
Considering the potential of a unique trait, Seol Eun-ha was premium stock more than capable of growing into an S-rank hunter.
And yet, someone wanted to personally dispose of a resource that could turn into money with the right nurturing? There was no way I could just stand by and watch.
On top of that, if word got around that I had successfully raised someone with the Thousand-Kill Star, my reputation would only rise. That was the calculation I had made, and so I stepped forward.
And as a result, Seol Eun-ha became the S-rank hunter representing the central region……and I have been regretting that decision ever since.
'I should have just left her alone if I'd known it would come to this.'
"Teacher."
"What is it?"
Even an S-rank hunter can't read someone's inner thoughts. I told myself that, struggling to keep my composure, and served her coffee.
Stay calm—they say even if a tiger has you in its jaws, you can survive if you keep your wits about you. Though she's far more terrifying than any tiger……
Either way, nothing is certain yet. She could have been in the area for work and stopped by for a brief visit.
Eun-ha took a sip of the coffee. Perhaps the sweetness was quite to her liking. She broke into a wide smile and spoke.
"The coffee's good."
"Isn't it? You've always liked sweet coffee since way back. That's why I went out of my way to use expensive syrup."
"Ah, so how much did you get for it back then?"
"That would be……wait, what did you just say?"
"You sold me to the Central Association for money."
Crash!
My instincts were a step faster than my thoughts. Fleeing through the front door was impossible. Then the only remaining escape route.
I willingly threw myself out through the thirtieth-floor window. Because at least that had a far higher chance of survival!
"Ahah! Teacher, did you really think you could escape from me?"
"……Huh?"
But my desperate struggle was suppressed in an instant. Honestly, I couldn't even tell what had happened.
I simply closed my eyes and opened them again, and somehow I was already lying on the floor with Eun-ha straddling me.
A flushed face, ragged breath spilling from her lips. Then her red eyes, brimming with obsession, drew close.
"Since Teacher sold me first."
I suppose it's only fair if I devour Teacher in return.