The Hunter Shopping District
Seona's Restaurant was ordinary, but ironically, it was hard to find ordinary people among those who sought it out.
To begin with, if you weren't a Hunter, it wasn't easy to notice. The restaurant's location itself was already far from ordinary. It was a place where Gates frequently appeared, and it was also home to various Hunter guilds of all sizes nearby.
The appearance of a Gate itself wasn't anything particularly special. However, precisely because of that, when something other than a Gate occurred, it tended to draw people's attention instead.
"They say that thing wasn't a sinkhole?"
"Really? Then what was it?"
"They say a Gate was generated."
"What? If a Gate was generated, why suddenly call it a sinkhole?"
They had tried to suppress the information, but it was nearly impossible. Unless the Hunter Association itself was being controlled, that is.
There were records of a Gate being generated, yet no stories about it circulated. This was partly because they had thoroughly silenced the mouths of those who had subjugated the Gate.
Such rumors began flowing into Seona's Restaurant as well, and they started spreading throughout the surrounding area. Stories like this were usually shared with comfortable Hunters—either before subjugating a Gate, or after.
The common thread before and after was sharing a meal. Before, it meant filling your stomach to make the subjugation more stable. After, it was a celebration following a successful raid.
It wasn't a story big enough to become a major topic, but the fact that it had been on people's lips even briefly was what mattered. And the question of who had called that Gate a sinkhole was spreading along with it.
It was becoming known that the Sajeol Guild had subjugated the Gate, but the important part was that Park Geon-su, the guild leader of Sajeol Guild, frequently appeared at restaurants in the city. Park Geon-su was the kind of man who made sure to finish his meals at a city restaurant at least once every two days.
Yet recently, he hadn't been solving his meals in the city at all. On top of that, he had disguised the Gate as a sinkhole.
"Could something have happened to him?"
Kang Jun-su, the manager of Provan Restaurant, primarily handled the management of the restaurant's major VIP customers. Naturally, that included Park Geon-su, the guild leader of Sajeol Guild.
There was no clear evidence, but the results spoke for themselves: once a VIP stopped visiting, they never returned.
"Tsk, I need to mention this."
It wasn't simply a matter of not showing up for a few days. Park Geon-su had been coming regularly for years. This wasn't mere worry—it was something he had noticed too late.
He would tell his older brother and the restaurant owner, Kang Ji-seok, then begin an investigation. Why had Park Geon-su stopped coming? If a competing restaurant had opened, where was it?
Since no new restaurants had appeared in the city recently, it seemed wiser to investigate near the Sajeol Guild building rather than within the city itself.
"If it's for another reason, fine, but if it's a competing restaurant..."
He would have to do whatever it took. After all, Park Geon-su was a VIP.
Today, Seona's Restaurant was peaceful as always, but a significant worry and goal had emerged for Jungwoo. Until recently, he had been pondering YouTube, but he realized it was a concern rather far from his reach. He knew absolutely nothing about editing.
Uploading as-is might be fine, but he worried it could cause trouble for those around him. Most incidents that harmed others often stemmed from actions taken without full understanding.
That was when a good idea struck him—one that could promote the restaurant moderately while also increasing revenue. A plan to catch two rabbits at once.
It was lunchboxes.
Hunters took meals when entering or exiting Gates, and this was a marketing approach that targeted those very moments. Of course, it wasn't without its drawbacks. Jungwoo didn't know when, where, or how Gates would appear, and with nothing fixed, he couldn't simply go find them.
But there was always a way. In this area was a shopping district that Hunters mainly frequented. It had shops dealing in magic stones, equipment crafted from processed magic stones, various convenience items, and tools for use inside Gates. There were even forges that made such equipment.
Most Hunters solved their meals here. Only if they had time to spare would they head into the city. He planned to prepare lunchboxes and bring them here. With the location and time set, there would be no issues.
"Anyway, it's not something I can start right away."
Instead, setting up a stall in that shopping district would require permission first. Since it was a street primarily used by Hunters, various conditions applied, and both meeting those conditions and obtaining approval would take time.
That was why he was heading to the shopping district early this morning to look into the conditions and permission process.
"Ugh..."
"Haha. Seia, you must be so sleepy."
Not knowing how long it might take, he had woken her early, and she was still heavy with sleep.
I guess we'll need a car.
The market was close to the restaurant by Jungwoo's standards, but for Seia, walking from early morning might be difficult. She could think of it as exercise, but she already walked plenty at the restaurant. If there were days she woke up late, a car might be necessary. The same went for trips into the city, outings to play, or mornings like today when work required an early start.
"Daddyyy."
"Yes?"
"Where are we going, yo?"
"Seia, do you know what a Hunter is?"
"Hunter?"
Hunter. It wasn't a word she had never heard, but it wasn't one she heard often either. The TV mentioned Hunters every day, but lately Seia had been completely absorbed in animal documentaries.
"Remember the magic stone? Last time when we went to the city with Daddy, we bought that sparkly one."
"Thas wight. Twinkle twinkle."
"Those sparkly things are what those people go to get."
"Whoa... so cool!"
"Haha. Right? We're going to a place with lots of those people."
Fortunately, nothing seemed scary in Seia's eyes. Some children were afraid of Hunters, after all. He should have told her before they left, but it was a little late, so he was explaining now.
"Then can we see magic too, yo?"
"Magic?"
The magic Seia spoke of wasn't the kind where you made coins disappear or guessed hidden cards. She meant real magic—creating fireballs in your palm, freezing everything around you, or suddenly summoning fierce winds.
"Hmm, if we're lucky, maybe we can see some?"
If you were really lucky, you could. They said old circuses moved like acrobats, but modern circuses mostly featured these kinds of things. There were even street performers who did it.
"Does Seia like fire or ice?"
Whether by some unspoken agreement, one circus troupe would only handle fire while another only handled ice. Seeing different troupes begin their shows as one ended in similar spots, they had probably arranged it that way.
"Seia..."
After a moment of thought, Seia beamed brightly and answered.
"I like Daddy the best!"
"Wow..."
The exclamation slipped out on its own. How could she say such sweet words? She couldn't have learned it from anyone.
"Daddy likes Seia too!"
He couldn't hold back. When he hugged her with all his might, Seia hugged him back even harder, as if she liked it too.
The tightly embracing father and daughter soon climbed into the arriving taxi and headed toward the Hunters' shopping district.
Before entering the shopping district, there was one thing they had to do: sign the visitor log. It was to leave a record of their visit in case any problems arose.
"May I have your names?"
"Jungwoo Lee..."
"Seia is here yo!"
Seia cut off Jungwoo's last words. The staff member let out a soft chuckle and wrote down both names in the log.
"All set. Since you're not Hunters, if any issue occurs, please use this equipment."
"Ah, thank you."
"Don't forget to return it when you leave. Even if you take it with you, we'll come retrieve it."
"Yes, don't worry."
Surprisingly, the preparations for ordinary non-Hunters were quite thorough. Even though it was early morning, the scene wasn't much different from midday. Countless people strolled the streets, and every one of them was a Hunter.
"Wow... Daddyyy. There are so many people!"
"Right? It's because they're all such diligent folks. Though that doesn't mean people who aren't here are lazy."
"Okay! Then is Seia a diligent person too?"
"Hmm... only half?"
"Why, whyyy...?"
Had she expected an obvious yes? Seia looked up at Jungwoo with a shocked expression.
"Because Daddy woke you up. If Seia had woken by herself, then you'd be diligent, right?"
"Ah...!"
Seia wore an expression of realization. However...
"Then Seia will only be half diligent from now on too, yo."
She was firmly declaring that she had no intention of waking up at this hour by her own will.
"Pfft."
At that moment, laughter came from right beside them. Both Jungwoo and Seia turned their gazes at the same time.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I overheard your conversation and it was so amusing that I couldn't help but laugh."
"Not at all. If we gave you a laugh, I'm rather glad."
"Seia likes it too!"
The man carrying a single sword on his back appeared to be around Jungwoo's age. What stood out was his pure white hair and golden eyes. He also wore an enormous cloak that covered his chin. At a glance, he was clearly a Hunter. If not, there would be no reason to carry a sword on his back. Above all, those eyes held a sense of enlightenment, as if he had transcended worldly concerns.
"From the look of it... you're not a Hunter, are you?"
Jungwoo froze for a moment at the words. He couldn't tell the intent behind them, so he found it hard to answer easily.
"Ah, I don't mean anything by it. It's just unusual to bring a child here. So probably..."
The man's gaze swept over their surroundings. A street full of people, nearly all Hunters.
"...Yes. That's right. That's why I'm deliberately sticking to the main roads."
"Main roads. It doesn't mean much... but it's still better than alleys."
"Pardon?"
"Never mind. Just that there's no harm in being careful."
"...Thank you."
He was somehow an unknowable person. Not that Jungwoo particularly wanted to know him better. Not all Hunters were like this, but the man gave off a sense of distance.