Chapter 37

37

"What do you think?"

[ Did you murder him? ]

"You mean Kim Tae-Yang?"

[ Yes.]

I certainly laugh a lot. Even now, after what just happened, I laughed out loud. It was an old habit.

"I did. Are you sad now?"

[..........]

"I don't care about your guild. I don't have an interest in you."

The man remained silent. They were aware of my actions.

"I'm a man of my word. If I make a promise, I make sure to keep it."

[...........]

"I promised Kim So-Eun that I'd free her. I just cut off one of the chains that have been weighing her down. If another one appears, what do you think I would do?"

[...Must I know that?]

"You should. I know that your guild could act as another chain. If so, then your entire guild will be eliminated."

[...Excuse me?]

"I'll kill every last one of you just so that she is safe. Even if you run, your death will be inevitable. I'll make it happen."

[ You do know that there are laws for us.]

"And you know that the law does not prevent me from doing what I want."

[............]

The man was silent. My words were efficient enough to be a warning. To make myself even clearer, I added, "I know that what I'm saying might sound absurd. You may think that I'm just being arrogant or acting cockily. But keep in mind that I do anything I wish."

[ Anything? What about laws? ]

"There's a saying, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' I'll follow some of the rules here, but if someone close to me is in danger, I'll do anything to protect them. Even if that violates the law."

It was clear that they now understood my personality. I could understand that from his response.

[ What do you want? ]

"Nothing much. I'll take charge of Kim So-Eun and she will be one of the Hunters in ROKHA. No more, no less. What Tae-Yang said means nothing. If you want to keep your guild safe, then do as I say."

[ Understood. Also...]

His reply was not what I was expecting.

I had to admit. The guy I was talking to on the phone was interesting.

[ I'll make sure we stop all our attempts to scout her. Also, I would like to send some Hunters from our guild to take care of the mess. ]

That was quite the detour from his previous words. He was trying to act nice to me.

[ I heard you were missing for a while. I assume that you are still adjusting to the world that has been changed. We, the Ko-gu-Rea guild, would like to form a good relationship with you. We wanted that in the first place. ]

Interesting.

We hadn't even met yet, but he already knew about me.

"You've heard about me, haven't you?"

[ We were more interested in you, actually. Our priority was you, not Kim So-Eun. ]

"Me?"

[ Indeed. I'm not sure if I can say this, but we thought you were easier to recruit. ]

"Why is that so?"

[ Your brother, Lee Ho, is one of the most successful men in this country. I thought that we'd be able to help you achieve as much as your brother did. But it's a shame that you already decided to work as a supervisor at ROKHA. ]

He then told me that he would be sending a specialized Hunter team to clean up.

"Why are you being nice?"

[ As I said a while ago, we would like to have a good relationship with you. We have a good relationship with your brother's guild, as well. You can ask him that. ]

"But you tried to spend money to snatch So-Eun away."

[ Well, guilds do compete. They fight for common purposes, but such is natural here. To recruit you, we can offer you much more than what we offered for her. ]

I laughed. He was an excellent talker. Now that I thought about it, Gi-Hoon was also an excellent talker. Must all Hunters learn how to speak well?

"I don't need it, but..."

[ Go on. ]

"Tell me your name."

[ My name...? Oh, it's a shame to realize that I still haven't introduced myself. I'm Hyeok Jang, the deputy president of the Ko-gu-Rea guild. ]

That was a familiar name for me. Before going to Valhalla, I was a fan of an actor that had the same name as him.

"Are we done?"

[ Sure. Take care. ]

That was the end of our conversation.

Deputy president of Ko-gu-Rea guild, huh? He is quite interesting.

After a while, Kim So-Eun came back outside. Her steps were heavy, which was understandable. She had just witnessed a murder, and it was of a family member too. She hated her uncle, but she had been living with him for more than ten years now. That must have been a huge shock to her.

"Mixed emotions, huh?"

"Yes..."

"And afraid?"

"Yes."

It was quite awkward to talk about this. In Valhalla, stuff like this happened all the time, but I am now on Earth. Even if the laws between ordinary humans and Hunters are different, they are fundamentally similar.

I guess that's my fault. I sighed and then asked for her opinion.

"So, how shall we deal with these properties?"

"Will you help me with that?"

"If you wish so."

She was smart enough to know that what I meant by helping really meant help from my brother's guild.

She closed her eyes and thought of something. Then, she sighed.

"I suppose all of these cost a lot."

"Your uncle had quite a lot of properties, and these are yours now."

"But... my goal is to start again. Start from zero."

As I nodded, she decided to decline the offer I just made.

"These properties can be a big help, but I won't feel comfortable using them."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. They remind me of my uncle, not my parents. Even if it's from my parent's heritage, that's what I feel."

It was understandable, and I knew what she was going to say next.

"I'll donate everything so that I can start from zero. I don't want to get help from my uncle's heritage."

I nodded. Some might say that her decision is weird and impractical, but I knew that it's her personality. That's how she has grown up. I picked up the dead body of Kim Tae-Yang and threw it toward the house. It collided with the door, making a loud racket. Then, with my aura, I exploded the body.

I clenched my fists as the loud noise resonated around us, sounding like a bomb had just exploded. Smoke came out from the house, and I turned my face toward So-Eun.

"I've experienced a lot of warfare, so I can sense who will grow strong or fall back. You'll be a strong one."

"...Are you sure?"

"You may think that as a bluff, but according to what I know, the ones with eyes like you always succeed in the end."

I patted her head.

I know that I'm like a ticking time bomb. If someone were to cross the line, I would do anything I want. As I mentioned before, being strong allowed me to be comfortable.

Besides, as long as they didn't cross the line, I could deal with people peacefully.

"... You're a hiding monster."

That was from Kim So-Eun. Actually, I kind of liked it. It was quite an accurate description.

"You look like a hiding monster. And now you've just revealed yourself."

"Is that so?"

"You told me to be like you. Do you mean you as a hiding monster or you as a person who unleashes power unhampered?"

Yeo-Hwa had asked me a similar question before. My answer was always the same.

"As long as you are confident, do as you wish. But..."

"But?"

"Don't be a psycho like me. That's all."

That was all I wanted to say.

"Welcome to the job."

"...I'll do my best."

Everyone said that, but I cared more about the actual progress. I hoped she could show her strength.

"Let's go."

"To where?"

"Let's find a place for you to stay."

***

- It's your phone ringing. Get up and get your phone. -

This weird sound was from Yoo Ee-Na's phone. She picked it up and answered the call.

"Hello?"

[ Hey, it's me. ]

It was a familiar voice, and she knew who it was right away.

"Lee Hwan... No, I suppose I should call you Mr. Supervisor now. How's everything going?"

She could hear Lee Hwan laughing. He surely was a man who laughed a lot.

[ I had to do a mission, and it went well. But I would like to ask you something. Does the place where you are staying have enough space? ]

It was quite odd timing, but Yoo Ee-Na understood what he meant. She looked around. Because of her personality, she keeps her house clean and tidy; that was why there were a lot of unused spaces in her home.

"I have plenty of space. Without any inconveniences, two people can live here comfortably."

[ You just read my mind, Ee-Na. ]

"...I guess I should thank you for that."

Again, he laughed.

[ Can you let Kim So-Eun stay in your place for a while? ]

"Sure. No problem."

After her answer, her smartwatch immediately rang, notifying her that about $20,000 had been sent to her bank account. It was from Lee Hwan. Ee-Na, with surprise on her face, asked.

"What is all this?"

[ It's money. Don't you know what money is? ]

"But it's too much."

Lee Hwan shook his head through the hologram.

[ It's your private place, and you are offering it at my request. If I don't give you any compensation, then I would feel guilty. ]

"But still... It's too much just for a few days of service."

Lee Hwan knew then that Ee-Na didn't exactly understand what his proposal meant. He smiled and decided to make the offer clear enough for her to understand.

[ I meant for at least a few months. ]

"...That long?"

She wanted to say something, but Lee Hwan's offer was something that she could not refuse. The reward for the task was very sweet. She needed the money he was offering.

"...Well, I did have a dream of living with my younger sister."

[ Good to hear that you just accomplished your dream. ]

She smiled awkwardly.

[ Also, buy her some clothes and make sure she gains weight. Make her healthy. I heard that there's a type of medicine for that. ]

"I will."

[ Great. And don't hesitate to use that money, it's not mine anyway. ]

Not his money? It was odd to hear that, but she didn't say anything about it.

She had received help from Lee Hwan several times. In addition, she was just given a huge amount of money. Ee-Na accepted his offer.

"Should I go outside now?"

[ Yes. We just arrived. ]

She went down immediately and greeted them at the door.

"What exactly was your mission?"

"Do you want to know?"

Lee Hwan smiled quietly. Ee-Na, knowing Hwan for quite a long time now, immediately knew what he meant. She asked quietly.

"...Did you kill him?"

Hwan shrugged.

"You know that I don't leave any potential threats."

".........."

There was a moment of silence before Yoo Ee-Na, with a sigh, asked, "What did you mean by the money stuff? It's not yours?"

Lee Hwan turned his head toward So-Eun. She was smiling awkwardly.

"I lent the money to her at a compound interest of 10% monthly.

"...What's the deadline?"

"I haven't decided yet. As long as she can afford to pay me back, I'm fine with that."

"But you said it's a compound interest of 10% monthly."

"I did."

Yoo Ee-Na, with a dumbfounded face, asked, "Are you some sort of loan shark?"

* * *

I shrugged. The story behind it was quite simple.

I had $50,000 in a bank account my brother Lee Ho had given me. He told me to use the money for myself, but I didn't really need it. I slept at his house and wore the clothes he used to wear. Food and supplies were paid for by his card.

The only stuff I bought with that money was underwear. I mean, it would be awkward to wear underwear that someone else had worn; even if Lee Ho was my brother, that still applied.

I only spent a few hundred, and most of the money still remained intact.

And so, I lent $20,000 to Kim So-Eun. It was her suggestion to place a compound interest on her loan. She said that was her way of thanking me. When I heard that, I was surprised.

She was clever. I knew she did that to be able to make a tie between her and me. That way, until she paid her money back, my relationship with her would continue. She knew that I could help her, so she decided to make a bold offer to form a relationship with me.

This girl would be successful. I even considered getting her as my tutor for my GED.

Anyway, what I was trying to say was that the money Yoo Ee-Na received was Kim So-Eun's. All I did was let So-Eun make a deal with Ee-Na. Meanwhile, I could begin training So-Eun.

After hearing the backstory, Yoo Ee-Na's jaw dropped.

"...I thought you lived in a different world. You've adjusted so quickly."

"Do you think so?"

"Yes."

I laughed. It was odd to hear that. I considered myself to be very different from my past self, so it was unexpected.

"Anyway, go back to your place. It's already late."

As she was about to enter the house, a shrill bell suddenly rang.

- Irregular gate appeared. -

After seeing that message, Ee-Na froze.

"Gosh! Why is this happening so much recently?"

She prepared to go.

"Where did it appear?"

"You mean the gate? Look at your watch... Oh, you never got one."

"We went straight to the registration center. Didn't have time to get one."

"It's near. Nearby Goo-Ryong mountain."

I nodded and said, "It will just take a minute for me to get there."

"A minute? But it takes ten minutes by car... Oh, maybe you can."

For me, yes. I could get there in a minute or less. I asked her.

"You can contact the others, right?"

"Yes. Do you want to tell them something?"

"Yes. Tell them to rest."

"...I beg your pardon?"

"It'll be just like a walk in the park for me. I'll do it by myself."

I prepared to go, but I could see that So-Eun was worried about me. I smiled and turned to her.

"Got anything to say?"

"...Are you sure about that?"

"Let me tell you something. Unless I allow it, I won't lose and die."

With this, I headed for the gate.