The next day, Shia visited the Returnee Management Bureau, holding a cabbage harvested from the dungeon.
When asked what brought her to the Bureau after the third ethical audit was completed, she’d reply it was to revive the Hunter AI support drone camera that got smashed to bits by Menelapie’s rock throwing yesterday.
Hing, that was nice…
Modern Hunter support drones are seriously pricey. It’s no joke to say they cost a fortune, even for Hunters with astronomical incomes, because the AI drones are laced with mysterious technology from returnees, making mass production impossible.
What’s out there in the market is just imitation drones made by returnees. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the quality of Hunter streaming broadcasts is determined by the drone cameras.
Connecting to the Switch channel, setting up Hunter streaming, creating, managing an ID, recognition filters, and AI’s learning capabilities that could be adjusted with a single gesture, plus automatic solar charging—Shia had barely tapped into even 20% of her AI drone’s abilities before it broke. Still, its convenience was so outstanding that she wanted to obtain the same one from the Returnee Management Bureau.
Excuse me?
“Is anyone here?”
“Who is it… Hah! I-Isia Hunter-nim?!”
“Yes. Is Director Choi Bomi here?”
“P-Please wait a moment! I’ll bring her right away! Hey, you! Bring coffee to Isia Hunter-nim!”
“It’s fine. I can’t drink coffee.”
Actually, she preferred sweet drinks like chocolate lattes, but that’s besides the point.
Anyway, Shia’s unexpected visit, being a total VIP to the Bureau, had them in a bit of a frenzy.
Crash, bang!
Even though sounds could be heard from the waiting room outside, Shia didn’t think much of it. It couldn’t possibly be that big of a deal for her to visit; maybe they just assumed today was a busy day.
Three minutes later, Director Choi Bomi, taking quick breaths, walked into the waiting room where Shia was seated.
“Phew, hello, Shia! It’s been a while since you visited the Returnee Management Bureau. What brings you here today?”
Choi Bomi, seeing Shia again after quite some time, greeted her warmly.
From Choi Bomi’s perspective, the sudden visit from Shia, who had been given authorization for streaming by the Hunter Association after three ethical audits, raised red flags.
Did something challenging happen all of a sudden?
Choi Bomi thought Shia, in a short span of less than half a year, had been a remarkable returnee who had pulled off numerous significant achievements, like successfully completing a commission in the Elf Great Forest and receiving a quarterly top hunter award with Yeonhwa Hunter. And right after, news came that she had conquered the S-grade Erosion Dungeon that spread across the Mapo District.
Didn’t even the Hero Emperor from her previous world come to see her? She heard that even her biological mother had been found.
Reports from government sources indicated that the new recruits of the Elves from the Great Forest had been handed over to Shia Hunter.
Choi Bomi wondered, considering all that Shia had accomplished in under six months, if it was a mental burden for her.
Nonetheless, whether it was welcomed or not, Shia was a top-grade returnee in the eyes of the Bureau.
Unbeknownst to Shia, just being registered as a returnee had led to an unprecedented achievement in the history of the Bureau.
Though she held combat strength comparable to Yeonseo, having PTSD from her previous world and being somewhat mentally unstable, just her belonging to the Bureau as a hunter was beneficial to the nation.
Additionally, even if Shia just went out for a stroll or wanted to eat something delicious while doing monster mukbang broadcasts, the moniker “Damn Saint” had stuck unto her, her hunted monster counts were too numerous to tally.
While they promoted the idea that gates harboring monsters were generally safe for civilians, if the population within the dungeons reached saturation or peculiar circumstances arose, some monsters inevitably slipped out.
Of course, they would be hunted down swiftly by hunters, but incidents still occurred.
Especially, the Goblin Ranger from the Goblin Empire continued to raid regions, villages, and military bases, killing people or raiding supplies. It was in this context that Shia once lost her pork belly to orcs in the mountainous areas of Gangwon Province, incidents resulting from monsters crawling out of dungeons and gates.
However, since Shia’s return, cases of monsters leaking from gates or inflicting harm on civilians in Korea had notably decreased.
Treating her like a simple civilian could lead to disaster if Shia ever proclaimed, “I don’t like the Bureau! I’m quitting being a hunter!”
“Well… it’s not a big deal…”
“Whatever it is, just say it! We’re here to solve any issues that the returnee might face!”
“Is that so?”
“Absolutely! Especially since you’re our pride here at the Returnee Management Bureau, we’ll promise to assist you in all possible ways!”
Those words were a relief to Shia, letting out a sigh of relief.
“My drone camera broke…”
“Uh…”
Upon hearing “drone camera,” Choi Bomi momentarily stared blankly.
Well, at least that’s a relief.
It’s better this than some serious incident or a case that would end up shooting awful clips.
“Oh my, I see. How did that happen?”
“It melted while I was streaming.”
“Excuse me?”
Now what was that supposed to mean?
Being in charge of various tasks, Choi Bomi hadn’t been able to catch Shia’s stream, but the management bureau always had around five staff members monitoring her broadcasts.
She’d have to ask what had happened later.
“Ahem. So, you’re saying the drone is broken?”
“Yes. It was so good; can you get me the same one?”
“That AI drone was provided by the Hunter Association. That model is still prohibited from sale on the market. It’s not suitable for commercialization or mass production.”
Well, it’d be weird if anyone could just buy an AI drone with all those functions attached.
“Um, so you can’t get me the same one? Should I just buy it separately?”
“Normally, that would be the case.”
Usually, she’d have to pay a rental fee or complete a certain number of monster hunting tasks as proposed by the Hunter Association each month, but Shia already took down insane numbers of monsters while streaming.
All those records were saved in the Switch channel’s Shia Hunter archive, so the association figured she would meet her quota independently.
But beyond that, granting her the streaming permit also gave the government an excuse to legally monitor Shia.
Considering her PTSD and mental health issues from her previous world, saying there was no need for monitoring would be naive.
“However, I will look into it. While I can’t guarantee I can find an identical drone, if I request cooperation from the Hunter Association, they’ll likely understand.”
“That’s a relief. Will there be any extra charges?”
“Of course not. The reason we gave you the drone in a rental format is solely because the Returnee Management Bureau wishes for you to adapt quickly to modern times.”
Shia exited the Returnee Management Bureau with a light heart, glad to hear she might receive a new drone.
Once outside, she spotted Menelapie leaning against a wall, elegantly holding a takeout coffee.
I keep thinking, Menelapie seems to be adapting to modern times way better than I am…
She looked like a cool city girl, sipping coffee and crossing her arms, pure model material.
Look at that.
All the passersby steal glances at her.
Used to be they looked at me more, but now it’s clear Menelapie’s the one catching all the attention.
“Menelapie! Are you done with work?”
“Yeah. I’ve been waiting.”
Menelapie said she had attended the National Assembly instead of Shia and adjusted some documents and reviews concerning the Elves.
Currently, 512 Elves from the Great Forest were in Korea.
All had been transported to Yeonseo’s personal dungeon via her large-scale spatial movement ability.
The government deemed accepting the Elves equivalent to gaining 30,000 A-grade hunters, thus issuing orders to accept them at all costs; however, accommodating all those Elves in Korea at once was a daunting task.
It seemed challenging to just house 30,000 Elves in areas where humans resided, but fortunately, the Elves had natural terraforming abilities unrelated to Spirit Nukes.
As a result, the Elves’ vanguard had begun creating areas where they could settle. After that, under Shia’s guarantee, they planned to conduct their hunter activities and economic activities in Korea.
“So, they’re all in Yeonseo Unnie’s highland dungeon for now?”
“That’s right. We need to check the progress as we’re required to file a report.”
“Ugh… when will I stream then…”
“Once you get the drone, you can stream the process of terraforming with the Elves, right?”
“Oh!”
“And the Elves won’t just work without eating. It might be pretty fun to prepare meals for them like you did for Small Olga.”
“Oooh! That’s so like you, Menelapie! Your ideas keep flowing!”
“By the way, when do you think you’ll be receiving that drone?”
“Drone? It might take a bit; why do you ask?”
At Shia’s words, Menelapie took a sip of her coffee and continued speaking.
“If there’s any spare drone lying around, I’d like to receive one too. Of course, I didn’t think I could get my hands on something that looked obvious to be extraordinary…”
“No, no! I’ll ask Director Choi Bomi for another later.”
“Is that alright?”
“Of course! You know I’m treated well, right?”
“Heh, Shia deserves to be treated like royalty, no matter where.”
“But why do you want a drone? Are you going to stream too?”
“Well, it’s not something I haven’t considered.”
“If Menelapie streamed, it would be a massive hit! Ahem, as a broadcasting senior, I’ll guide you if you end up doing it.”
“Heh, that sounds good.”
After that, Shia headed with Menelapie to check on Lirisia’s condition, which she had completely forgotten about over the past few days, heading to Yeonseo’s dungeon.
And at that moment, Lirisia sighed deeply, glaring at Yeonseo.
“…Are these the Elves from the Great Forest?”
“Indeed.”
Although the ecology and history of Elves differ from world to world, if it’s called the Great Forest, it usually implies Elves that directly serve the Mother World Tree venerated by Elves.
As they serve the Mother World Tree directly, the sense of pride and arrogance of these Elves could pierce the heavens, and it’s a given they’d look down upon other races. Even among their own kind, even noble beings known as Spirit Beings, entry is strictly forbidden for unauthorized individuals in the Great Forest.
Thanks to that truth, Elves had always been exalted and feared in Lirisia’s world, creating a saying: “Those who pluck the flowers of the Great Forest shall lose their lives.”
But those Great Forest Elves are wallowing in internet culture and subculture in this world?
Perhaps it might be the case for ordinary Elves or those who have lived outside for a long time; however, based on what Yeonseo said, it didn’t sound like that was the case.
I mean, okay, let’s consider their obsession with subculture.
It’s something that can be overlooked after witnessing once and moving on.
Yet according to Yeonseo, Lirisia would have to live in this dungeon… Specifically, she would have to stick around with the subcultured Yagada Elves who were currently terraforming greenery for a long time.
She couldn’t even begin to understand how she’d deal with that. The very thought of being around those subcultured Yagada Elves already made her head throb.
Of course, if it were someone else’s story, it would be intriguing to listen to.
But now that she was the main character? Damn.
“Ugh… But why are there only this few Elves? And what’s wrong with their condition?”
Currently, the number of obvious subcultured Elves and Elanar was just two; however, the actual number of Elves attempting to terraform greenery in Yeonseo’s dungeon was around 500.
While they weren’t apparent, some Elves were working on creating waterways even underground, while many others were expanding the highland farming area into the desert.
“We’re establishing new infrastructure here.”
Elves creating infrastructure…?
Aren’t they supposed to be the ones just chillin’ in the woods?
“But how is this related to them being subcultured?”
“Twelve-hour days of work without break, and the only entertainment they have are YouTube videos received from Korea via their smartwatches. Then, while peeping at some dated videos, it seems they got stuck in an algorithm.”
…What even is this?
Yeonseo shrugged her shoulders as she patted Lirisia’s shoulder.
“They’re just curiosity-driven and empathetic. Among Elves, they’re outstanding in technical fields, including construction. That girl with red hair seems young, but she’s actually over a thousand years old.”
Wait, over a thousand years and they’re doing this?
Never did she imagine that the Witch of the Dark Star would declare unconditional defeat to some Elves.
Yeah, you won. Fck!*
“Ugh, does that mean we’re handing over our precious ace Yagada to them for just a couple of days?”
Upon that statement, Yeonseo’s eyes subtly averted from Lirisia, glancing off towards the desert where the recording was in process.
Look at her trying to dodge that glance. She must feel guilty.
“It’s your responsibility, dear.”
…Can I say something bad?
“Aren’t you already doing it with your face?”
“Sh*t!”
Thus, Lirisia found herself in a situation akin to being the leader of the Yagada Cadre from High-Performance Cabbage Picker.
Having no choice, she squatted back in the field, gently pushing aside the earth with a hoe to start pulling out cabbages.
Pak, pak, phew!
“Gah! The fallen saint is reaping me! I’m being plucked! The shame of cabbage!”
“No way, I’ve got my pride. Being harvested by an Elf is far better than by a fallen saint!”
What the…?
Is this my life now? Hallucinations?
No, it felt like the cabbages looked at her with weepy expressions.
What is this?
Am I going insane?
I mean, I did go mad as the Witch of the Dark Star, but never to this extent…
“Pfft… phew…
In the end, Shia and Menelapie couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the sight of the Once-Fallen Saint’s miserable downfall.
All sorts of dark imagings and worst-case scenarios that ran through their heads were far outdone by the reality.
The Witch of the Dark Star had… become a skilled worker.
“Ugh… ah… ha… ha!!!”
“Ptaf! I’m so sorry, but… pfft…!”
Listening to Shia and Menelapie’s laughter, Lirisia recalled her arrival in this world.
Ah, how she wished to return to those days!
Or is being human now better?
Who knows?
She just wanted everything to go away.
“Please, just… go away… please…”
Thus, Lirisia, once known as the Witch of the Dark Star, was repaying her debts in the most unexpected place and in the most unexpected way.
