The Nonsan Assignment (1)

The doors of the village hall, shut all through the night, swung open, and in the morning sun the elders and the other evacuees drifted out one by one. Hana and Poppy were mixed in among them.

None of them — not the officers who had kept watch over the village until dawn, nor the people who had sat through an anxious, sleepless night — showed any relief or joy that the disaster had passed. They simply scattered in silence, as though another ordinary day had begun and nothing at all had happened, each heading back to home and work.

Hana and Poppy came over to me, but unfortunately I couldn't take them home myself. County environmental officials were due any minute on account of the alpha water deer I had taken down the day before. In the end the two of them hitched a ride with another officer who was about to start his patrol and headed home ahead of me.

Their figures waving from the car window receded quickly into the distance.

Once everyone had scattered, a single car came toward us from far off. An old used sedan of the sort the county office would issue — the kind that would suit someone like me. No mistake. Our county environmental officials were arriving.

The two officials who stepped out of the car took one look at the alpha water deer's carcass laid out in front of the substation and, rather than marvel, let out a deep sigh. The exhaustion written across their faces said it plainly. Ah. Another mess to deal with.

"Well? Quite the trophy, isn't it?"

When I tossed the line at them playfully, the officials could only manage hollow laughs. They immediately pulled out a measuring tape to take the water deer's body length, then used calipers to measure the thickness of the Magic Stone, working up an appraisal. The longer they appraised, the more their shoulders sagged. When they measured the Magic Stone's length in particular, they both sighed in unison, neither waiting for the other.

Presently the older-looking official stared straight at me and asked,

"You did receive official authorization to use a firearm, I assume? And you filled out the weapons log, or...?"

Having realized this was too big a catch for them to handle, they were sounding me out first — had I taken it illegally, without a permit? If it was poaching, they could seize this troublesome Magic Stone on any excuse they liked and wash their hands of it. That was the convenient little calculation they seemed to be making.

I'd been knocking around this trade for years. As if I'd fall for something that thin.

Just then Inspector Park, who had been smoking at the substation entrance, ambled over with a sly grin and needled them.

"Aigoo, you two sure do worry. We got the whole hunt on bodycam, start to finish. And our Huntsman Jang — wouldn't you know it — filled out that firearms log so meticulously I was genuinely moved."

The officials glared at him, but Inspector Park just kept grinning and shrugged as if it were nothing.

One of the younger officials finally pulled out his smartphone and hurriedly placed a call. No prize for guessing — he was sending an S.O.S. to his boss.

Not long after, the young official handed me the phone with a desperate look on his face. Figure it out with my supervisor yourself, basically.

I took the smartphone, wearing the same sly smile as Inspector Park.

A familiar voice came through.

It was the officer from the Environmental Ministry. A D-Rank Hunter, but with a belly already starting to bulge and three kids at home, he came across less as a Hunter of any stature and more like the friendly uncle next door.

"Well, I suppose I did. At this rate I might just wrap up country life and go live respectably in the city. What do you think?"

He must have realized I had no intention of giving an inch. A deep sigh came down the line, and then the officer launched into a lengthy explanation.

"That's something you should take up with the provincial office."

"So?"

Just as I thought. The compensation was so far over budget they simply couldn't pay it. If they paid any more, their own heads would roll — so even a D-Rank Hunter had no choice but to come crawling like this.

"So how much is the alpha water deer worth?"

So he wants to settle the price of that expensive Magic Stone in goods — and with a few sacks of rice, no less? Not a chance.

"Hmm. The kids at home are at that age where they're growing like weeds. Meat would do them more good than rice."

Gangwon Province. The mutations there ran severe, but it was famous for turning out quality regional specialties you couldn't taste anywhere else. Even so, it was nowhere near enough compared to what that Magic Stone was worth.

"You do know the kids have aptitude tests coming up, right?"

That was as far as the push and pull needed to go. The environmental department did me favors of one kind or another on a regular basis, so it was only right that I cut them some slack at times like this. If I were living alone I could have taken a fat bounty and skipped town, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had two mouths to feed now.

"All right. But that alpha water deer is bigger than you'd think, so bring a truck to haul it."

The call ended, and I handed the smartphone back to the official.

"The negotiation's over. You can take it now."

I said it with a bright smile, and at last a look of relief bloomed on their faces as well.

Well. That's how the world works. You help each other out.

Before I headed back to my truck, I tossed one last remark at the officials, who were still letting out sighs of relief.

I turned on my heel, and Inspector Park's muffled snickering followed me from behind. Listening to it, I climbed into the truck with a light step.

The village was safe, and I had carved myself a fat extra share on top. I had been up all night, but my head was clear and my mood could not have been better.

And a few days later, a large styrofoam box sent by the Environmental Ministry officer was delivered right to our front yard. I opened it to find it packed, as promised, with a premium Hoengseong Hanwoo beef set.

There was enough to fill nearly an entire refrigerator, and sorting it all away was a bit of a chore, but at this rate we could have meat with every meal until at least autumn.

That officer was not remotely the sort of bold operator who would skim a Magic Stone off the top, so had I really just pulled a drowning man to shore? I couldn't say. Either way, the fridge was full, and a few days later the bank account filled up to match. All's well that ends well.

For some time after that, Dohwang-ri passed its days in untroubled peace. The monsters they ranted about on television were still a story from another world, and Variants like the mudskippers and water deer made no further appearances.

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠peaceful village also meant less work for me. But the village is small and the world is wide. If there is no work, work has a way of inventing itself — that was as true now, with monsters teeming, as it had been in the quiet old days.

One day, after lunch, while Hana and Poppy were out for a walk around the neighborhood, the Environmental Ministry officer showed up at our house without warning.

Whatever trace of the D-Rank Hunter he had once been was long gone. His belly had swollen to the size of a watermelon and his hairline had begun its northward march — at a glance, he was every inch the middle-aged neighborhood uncle. The awakened power hidden in that body, however, was said to be unchanged. Meaning this potbellied uncle could still beat a wild boar to death with his bare hands without breaking a sweat.

I boiled him some instant coffee and struck up a conversation.

"Did you come to thank me for the Magic Stone business? I suppose I did save a man's neck."

"That saved five people in our department. I'm here on business today."

If he was coming in person, it was almost certainly a field assignment. I could only hope it wasn't somewhere far away.

I handed him the coffee, steam still curling off the surface, and he looked down into the cup as he went on.

"Doesn't look like the Variants have been fully cleaned up. So we're recruiting huntsmen, and a few Hunters who want to stretch their legs, to deal with what's left — but nobody's showing up."

"Then why not just raise the bounty?"

"You know that's not happening. The bounty budget's almost wiped out from this Dimensional Anomaly. At this rate we'll genuinely have to start paying in goods next time."

"Then why not just pay in goods?"

"You think that'd work? Most of the people you can actually talk to, like you, have already retired. The ones still around are picky as hell about contracts and guilds and all that."

He blew on the hot coffee, took a sip, and launched into a proper complaint. Stripped down, it came to this: he couldn't get the people, he didn't have the money, and he wanted me to step up and put in some work.

This was a considerably more expensive favor than the Hanwoo beef I'd received last time.

"So where would I be going, exactly?"

At my question he set down his coffee and gave an awkward little laugh.

"Well... Boryeong, Nonsan, Gyeryong... there's a few. Around Chungnam, basically."

"Absolutely not."

My answer was firm. Boryeong I could maybe manage. But Nonsan? Just thinking about how I'd move the firearms that far, and how I'd even get the permits, made my head hurt.

"And how am I supposed to move the firearms? How do I get the permits? What, are the soldiers and Hunters in that area just sitting on their hands?"

When I refused with open disgust, he pulled three tickets from his coat as if he'd expected it and held them out. I took them and looked them over. Admission passes to various facilities for the Hunters in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that area — discount coupons for weapons shops and equipment vendors, and lodging passes for Hunter-only shelters. He had clearly pulled some strings.

"This is... fairly substantial."

"Right? The other Hunters all bailed because there's no money in it, and the soldiers are busy defending the country. In the end it's veterans like you who have to step up. I'll register Hana and Poppy as accompanying family, so just think of it as a trip."

"And if monsters show up around our village in the meantime?"

"I'll handle that somehow. The wife's been on my case to exercise because of the gut, anyway."

If that's the case, why don't you go to Nonsan yourself? I wanted to say it, but I held my tongue. He must have been truly desperate to come to me. He was the type who'd ordinarily just go and do a thing himself rather than sit there frustrated, and I could roughly imagine how it ate at him to be stuck in his own jurisdiction, unable to move.

I tucked the tickets into my pocket and drank the coffee, which had gone cold.

"When would I need to leave?"

His face lit up at my answer.

"Sooner the better. Starting next week those mountains are being opened as authorized hunting grounds, so if you head over early and get set up, it'll be easier on you too."

"Then... I'll plan to arrive at least a day ahead. I have to get permission from the kids, after all."

"All right. I'm counting on you. Really, thank you."

The officer knocked back what was left of his coffee and headed out, thanking me over and over as he went.

I listened to the rattle of his car fading into the distance and slowly looked over the tickets in my hand again. A Hunter-exclusive weapons shop. An equipment vendor. A shelter pass. They were single-use, but they were places an unaffiliated Semi-Awakened like me could barely even approach.

This assignment was going to be a hassle, but I might just come back with something bigger. I folded the tickets quietly and slipped them deep into my pocket, telling myself I would have to make the most of this chance.

Now the problem was how to explain all this to Hana and Poppy.