Chapter 100
“No, I’ll go myself.”
Minister Hwang shook his head as he spoke.
The person on the other end of the line probably couldn’t even see him, and yet he was being unfailingly polite, as if they were standing right in front of him.
Watching him, I suddenly felt like I was on the phone with Do-hee.
There was something almost absurdly familiar about it.
“If you go out personally, Your Excellency, the Americans might take offense. Yes, yes. Even if that isn’t what you meant, they could easily see it that way.”
Minister Hwang was right.
Right now, Korea had arranged for a minister to go out and receive the American investigation team.
Even if the president himself met the American team today, the U.S. side might still be annoyed.
After all, the person greeting them had changed depending on China’s move.
Even if there had been no such intention whatsoever.
If people wanted to find fault, they’d find it no matter what.
Which was exactly why the best thing to do was avoid giving them even the smallest excuse in the first place.
“Yes, yes. I’ll contact you immediately if anything comes up.”
Minister Hwang paused with the phone pressed to his ear.
It almost looked like he was waiting for the other end to disconnect completely.
Only when not a trace of human speech remained from the smartphone did he let out a long, exhausted “Huuuaaaah!”
Then he looked at us and spoke slowly.
“You’ve probably guessed what happened… from that call just now, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks to him, yeah.”
Baek Do-woon and I nodded and answered at the same time.
He hadn’t bothered lowering his voice while on the call.
He’d been speaking to the caller, but he’d clearly been relaying it to us as well.
China had sent an investigation team.
And that team included Li Lianzhe and his disciple.
Those two pieces of information.
“Secretary Bae. We’ll need more security personnel, so look into it.”
“Yes. I’ll handle it.”
“And don’t get picky about it. Contact the Mine Guild too.”
“The Mine… Guild?”
“I know you’re worried, but we don’t have a choice. Didn’t Aigion refuse the security request for the area?”
“…Yes. I’ll go check right away.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Secretary Bae stood up from her seat.
She turned to leave, but as she did, a ringing suddenly burst out from her arms.
“Ah, sor—!”
Flustered, she fumbled for her smartphone and pulled it from her pocket.
She must have forgotten to set it to silent.
Come to think of it, she’d come into the minister’s office with us, so she hadn’t had a chance to mess with her phone at all.
“……?”
Huh. Something felt off.
Secretary Bae stood there, staring at her phone screen.
She looked like she’d been struck dumb.
Who was calling her that made her react like that?
“…Secretary Bae?”
She stared at the screen for a few seconds, then slowly turned back toward us.
“What is it?”
“Well, that’s….”
Even in answer to Minister Hwang’s question, she trailed off.
Then, deciding it would be easier to show us than explain, she held out the screen.
On the smartphone display were the six letters:
[Russian Embassy]
Russia.
That was the country where the remaining S-class hunter, Maksim Smirnov, was based.
We looked at the screen, closed our eyes, and let out long, resigned sighs all at once.
Honestly, we’d wondered if it might happen—but to think they really would contact us.
Seriously?
“The Russian Embassy….”
As Han Jin-hwan muttered under his breath, Secretary Bae answered the call.
Russian flowed from her mouth with surprising fluency.
So she could speak Russian too, apparently.
While continuing the conversation, Secretary Bae glanced at Minister Hwang.
She must have wanted to hand the call over.
Minister Hwang nodded, and after saying something else in Russian, Secretary Bae ended the call.
“The minister will be receiving a call shortly.”
“Understood.”
No sooner had he answered than the phone on the desk rang.
Minister Hwang let out a short sigh and picked it up.
Like Secretary Bae, he spoke in Russian.
It seemed that once you reached a certain level of government, you were expected to know your way around other countries’ languages as well.
I stared at Han Jin-hwan.
Could he possibly…?
“Do you understand what they’re saying?”
“…Do I look like I would?”
Han Jin-hwan replied brusquely.
Seeing that, I felt a wash of relief.
And I didn’t bother hiding it.
“Whew, thank God.”
“For what?”
“I thought I was the only one here who couldn’t speak Russian.”
“We’re the normal ones. Those people are the weird ones.”
“Right?”
Han Jin-hwan and I, both unable to speak Russian, turned to Secretary Bae.
We wanted to hear an explanation from someone who could.
When Minister Hwang said a certain word,
“……!”
Secretary Bae’s eyes went wide and her mouth fell open.
Just looking at her face, we could tell what was happening without anyone needing to explain.
The American S-class hunter was on the way, and China had sent an S-class hunter too.
And now Russia, the other country with an S-class hunter, had contacted them?
The answer was almost insultingly obvious.
Russia must have sent an S-class hunter with the dungeon investigation team.
Maksim Smirnov.
“Да, рад встрече.”
Da, rad vstreche…?
Minister Hwang said something I couldn’t even tell whether I’d understood properly, then hung up.
I had no idea what he’d said.
All I could do was guess that it had been some kind of greeting, since he’d ended the call immediately.
Leaning back as if he’d fallen into his chair, Minister Hwang dragged both hands down his face.
His face had gone slightly red, and in the process, he somehow looked like he’d gained a few more wrinkles.
“What the hell is going on here….”
“Why, what did those Russians say?”
When Han Jin-hwan asked, Minister Hwang shrugged.
As if to say, wasn’t it obvious?
I could guess, sure.
But I wanted to hear it clearly from his mouth.
Both Han Jin-hwan and me.
“…What the two of you guessed is right.”
“Then….”
“Yes. Smirnov is coming. Together with the Russian investigation team.”
“Wow….”
The praise slipped out before I could stop it.
So, if I put this situation together in my head…
“That means three of the only four S-class hunters in the entire world are gathering in Korea, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Now that’s interesting.”
“You can say that again.”
Han Jin-hwan and I grinned.
Minister Hwang and Secretary Bae looked at us and shook their heads.
“Are you two actually enjoying this? I find it horrifying.”
“This is a nightmare. A nightmare….”
“You’re both making it sound a little too dramatic.”
Han Jin-hwan snickered, but I could understand their feelings to some extent.
After all, I was the one who’d dragged all of them into this.
America’s Miller, China’s Li Lianzhe, and Russia’s Smirnov too.
When I’d used Pruning, I never imagined things would blow up like this.
“How did this get so out of hand…?”
The thought escaped my mouth.
Minister Hwang picked it up.
“When Hwayeomsan Dungeon returned to its original state… we did consider the possibility that research teams from around the world might come.”
“I thought so too.”
Secretary Bae nodded immediately.
The restoration of a dungeon was the first of its kind in the world, after all.
It was only natural that research teams from all over the world would want to come to Korea and study it.
But three S-class hunters showing up was not natural.
No one could have predicted things would swell to this extent.
Then, a melody drifted into my ear.
It was the same song I’d heard earlier.
The one that had been coming from Minister Hwang’s smartphone.
“…….”
Minister Hwang glared at his phone without pressing the answer button.
He looked like he really didn’t want to pick up.
And honestly, that made sense.
His phone had been ringing nonstop all day.
Just from what I’d personally seen, this was already the third call.
And it had probably been ringing like that even when I wasn’t looking.
Maybe he was the busiest person in all of Korea right now.
He let out a long, suffering sigh and finally answered.
“What now?”
His voice was rough.
It sounded like he was saying, I’m already at my limit, so get to the point.
At least that was how it sounded to me.
- Ju-st… now… con-tact…!
A frantic voice spilled out from the smartphone.
I couldn’t make out exactly what was being said.
Just that someone had contacted them again.
“What does that mean? Why all of a sudden?”
Minister Hwang sat upright, pushing himself off the backrest.
With his brow drawn so tightly it looked like the eyebrows were touching, he demanded an explanation.
Watching him, I had a feeling whatever the caller was saying wasn’t good news.
The person who’d called must have been someone they didn’t want to hear from.
After a short conversation, Minister Hwang shut his eyes tightly.
“Fine. I get it, so hang up.”
- P-please…!
“…….”
He ended the call.
Secretary Bae, who had been watching silently, asked, “What happened?”
“Huuuuuu.”
What came back wasn’t an answer but another long sigh.
Secretary Bae tilted her head.
“…Minister?”
“We’ve gotten word from the United States.”
“From the U.S.? About what?”
“…….”
He didn’t answer right away.
What on earth had he been holding back like that?
The United States had contacted them.
About what?
Ah.
Could it be this?
“Are they saying they’re going to delay their arrival date?”
I asked it almost as a murmur.
Minister Hwang looked at me.
He just stared, silently, without saying a word.
“…….”
“……Don’t tell me I’m right?”
“Haaah….”
What came back again wasn’t an answer, but a heavy, exhausted sigh.
That was answer enough.
Apparently, what I’d asked was exactly right.
America had changed its arrival date?
Even without thinking hard, I could tell what that meant.
America had probably received the information that China and Russia had both sent investigation teams to Korea, each with an S-class hunter attached.
“…That’s obnoxiously obvious.”
“Hah, I know….”
In other words, it was a battle of pride.
We’ll arrive last, so you all come in first.
That was what they were saying.
The winner of this childish contest of egos would be the United States.
As always.
Because it was the most powerful country in the world.
“At this rate, is Edidat Gwicin going to come too?”
Han Jin-hwan tossed the words out carelessly.
Edidat Gwicin.
The name of America’s other S-class hunter.
Minister Hwang laughed.
“Ha! No way. Do you really think they’d be that stupid?”
It was the first time he’d laughed since hearing that China was coming.
He sounded like there was no chance of that happening.
But….
“…….”
“…….”
Secretary Bae and I couldn’t agree with him.
It seemed entirely plausible.
Given the situation, it wasn’t hard to imagine Edidat Gwicin coming too.
Just as I had that thought, the song rang out again.
From Minister Hwang’s smartphone.
“…Fuck.”
The moment he saw the screen, Minister Hwang cursed.
Then he glared at Han Jin-hwan.
As if blaming him for the call coming in.
Han Jin-hwan looked indignant and started to say something, but—
“What now!”
Minister Hwang answered in an irritable snap, and there went any chance for an excuse.
Han Jin-hwan shut his mouth and scratched at his own neck.
I patted his shoulder.
“The U.S.? What now? If you’ve already changed the date, what else could you possibly have to say….”
- …! …is coming!
I couldn’t hear it clearly, but I did catch that someone was coming.
And who that someone was was painfully obvious.
It had to be the owner of the name Han Jin-hwan had just tossed out as a joke.
After going still for a moment, Minister Hwang lifted a hand and pressed it to his wrinkled forehead.
- …sir? Minister?
“...I’m listening. Yeah. I heard you. I said I heard you, so hang up….”
It hadn’t even been long since we’d entered the minister’s office.
What, thirty minutes at most?
In that short span of time, Minister Hwang had aged by decades.
“Edidat Gwicin is coming….”
“…….”
So, to put it all together…
Korea now had every S-class hunter in the world gathering inside it.
And with Han Jin-hwan added to the mix, that made five of the strongest hunters on Earth assembled in one place.
Something that would go down in history had just happened.
Watching it unfold right in front of me, I could only offer this assessment:
“Damn. They’re really having a nasty little pissing contest.”
The people who heard me seemed to agree, nodding as if they understood.
Was this the bitterness of a small country?
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