“I can’t recognize you as a Saint…”
Yujin chuckled briefly, nodding his head.
Today, the black coffee he had ordered tasted particularly bitter.
“Fine, let’s say that’s true. But, you’re not a Saint from my world, nor even my Saint. What qualifies you to acknowledge me?”
“Do you think you have to prove you’re a bipedal living being biologically to be considered human? Are you the type that believes a chicken is a human?”
Yujin had no choice but to accept Shia’s sharp criticism.
A Saint is such a being.
One that saves humans regardless of the world. One that despises injustice and malice, no matter the realm.
Yujin understood that what he said was quite rude toward the Saint.
Well, even so, he had no intention of taking back his words.
He and that Mangja Seongnyeo, Isia, were just too fundamentally opposed.
“Well, don’t worry. As you said, I don’t recognize you as a Saint, and I don’t want to be involved with you as one either.”
“…You really are sensitive to lies, huh? This is quite the hassle.”
The coffee in Yujin’s hand was gone, and he leaned deeply back in his chair, looking at Shia.
His gaze seemed to ask what he had done wrong and what was so shameful about this.
“However, everyone lives with lies. I think it’s fine to keep a few secrets, don’t you?”
“What you’re trying to hide isn’t a secret; it’s a deliberate lie. If you think there’s nothing wrong with living a lie from your appearance to everything about you, then it means you have no intention of treating others as equals.”
“That’s quite a delusion.”
“Isn’t it better than trying to justify your lies in front of me, a Saint?”
Shia hates lies.
Some degree of deceit is tolerated, but Yujin had crossed the line of lies to the point where he instilled animosity and discomfort in Shia from their first meeting.
“Lies are the thoughts of forever pushing others and oneself away. Once someone spits out a lie to hide their true self, they’ll never stop doing that. Lies are also addictive.”
Shia said with a smile.
From the outside, at least for the part-timers over at Coffee Myunghwa, Shia and Yujin would seem to be having a pleasant conversation.
“Dare to say. There’s nothing at the end of lies. Just you. Alone in eternity.”
With those words, a calmness spread across Yujin’s face instead.
“I know.”
“No, you will never know what it is like to hold onto nothing forever. You seem pretty certain of that.”
Shia didn’t know what kind of life Yujin had lived.
What’s a lie, and what’s the truth.
What she knew about him was only the information available on Hunter Wiki with a simple internet search.
However, Shia spoke with conviction.
As a Saint, she understood all too well what type of person lives a life defined by lies.
“I said I know.”
“Do you even know what it means to grasp nothingness forever? You seem oddly confident.”
“Even if that’s true, it has nothing to do with you. We’re not related, right?”
“…Yeah. We’re not related at all.”
Understanding easily, Yujin frowned as if he wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.
Hah, I only wanted to talk about work, but… the rising animosity kept veering the conversation off course.
“Sigh, the conversation drifted. In any case, that letter I gave you earlier is a commission.”
“A commission for what?”
“Originally, it was a test to see if you qualify to join the Returnee Group I lead.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“But looking at your current state, it seems like the best we can do is for our parents to be captured by terrorists and for us to happily coexist under those demands.”
“What to do now? Even if my parents passed away, my plan is to rescue them and take down the terrorists.”
With a cold smile, Shia looked at Yujin as if she couldn’t believe what she heard.
“Before we discuss the letter further, Isia, were there any Elves in your ‘previous world’?”
Why was she suddenly bringing up Elves?
Shia looked at Yujin with a skeptical eye and stuffed a piece of strawberry cake into her mouth.
“Yeah, there were.”
“Then the story will be quicker. In 2088, there are about 30,000 Elves on Earth. That’s only the number officially certified by the association or government, while the rest that come out of dungeons aren’t accurately accounted for…”
“Oh, now that I think about it, Elves are also residents of other worlds.”
With the Great Rift came not just monsters into the human world.
Some sentient beings like Elves, Dwarves, and Beastkin that should be treated as humanity came over as well, and in the case of Elves, it was the first instance of a nation crossing dimensions to settle on Earth.
There were cases of individuals or small tribes coming over, but the Elves were the first race to have an entire nation over here, titled as a kingdom. However, just like humans with various races, ethnicities, and roots, Elves also had diverse backgrounds, and not all of them belonged to the kingdom.
However, the Hunter Association generally sought to communicate and cooperate with any sentient being capable of conversation. Elves predominantly formed their own kingdoms within established dungeons, colloquially known as Erosion Dungeons, while also engaging in various exchanges and collaborations with the countries of Earth.
“But that’s just the general story.”
“What, did some chubby rich guy want to acquire a beautiful Elf slave?”
“That’s not entirely wrong.”
As Yujin mentioned, some nations treated Elves and other sentient beings not as ‘humans’ but as monsters, secretly exploiting them as slaves.
Of course, if discovered, it wouldn’t just be swept under the rug, but the important point was that the position of Elves on Earth wasn’t particularly stable.
Elves are fundamentally a race from another dimension.
Even though they speak and are beautiful in appearance, they are still close to being temporary inhabitants who have come here with the permission of human nations on Earth.
And sometimes ‘undocumented’ Elves face unfortunate incidents, being caught by malicious humans on rare occasions.
“But that’s strange… The Elves I know have lived for thousands of years and would be much stronger than your average Hunter, yet their positions are low?”
Of course, the Elves on Earth might not be the same as the Elves Shia knew.
Considering the diversity among the returnees, the information about the world of Elves was likely even messier.
“I put in a direct commission from an Elf to an S-grade Hunter in Korea.”
S-grade direct commission, huh? That must have cost quite a bit.
“Then you can go.”
“I can’t go.”
“Why? Do you have a dungeon broadcast to do? It seems the title of ‘popular star’ isn’t just for show? You sure are diligent about your broadcasts.”
Both Shia and Yujin knew each other as Hunter streamers, so they were somewhat aware of each other’s schedules.
While Shia was still a shining new Hunter streamer, Yujin was an S-grade Hunter with over a decade of broadcasting experience.
Unless something extraordinary happened, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that any citizen even slightly interested in TV or Hunters would know that Yujin broadcasts without fail on all dates except weekends.
Indeed, Yujin wouldn’t really decline an Elf’s commission just because of broadcasting, but Shia twisted her words to provoke him.
“S-grade Hunters can’t move around easily.”
“Is that an excuse?”
“It’s both an excuse and the truth. Sadly, it’s a fact. S-grade Hunters are treated as asymmetrical strategic weapons just by their existence. In Korea, especially, there are relatively many S-grade Hunters compared to the population density, causing quite a bit of attention from other countries.”
“And so?”
“The Elf who commissioned us isn’t from our country but is based in another country’s Erosion Dungeon. Even if an S-grade Hunter just travels, countless eyes will automatically follow them, but do you think any country would look kindly on an armed S-grade Hunter setting foot on their soil?”
Wow…
What a hot mess.
Honestly, it seemed reasonable for political issues to occur over matters so trivial with the presence of an S-grade Hunter.
For instance, let’s assume an S-grade Hunter goes to a Southeast Asian resort country with no S-grade Hunters at all.
While a simple vacation might seem okay, it would be a nightmare for that resort country.
If that Hunter suddenly had a weird idea and went on a rampage in the city, harming people, what would happen?
If they protested that “your Hunter is wreaking havoc in our country!” the response would be something like, “Oh, that’s an individual issue. We can’t comment on it…” with a lot of room for excuses.
If an S-grade Hunter was given orders from their nation to secretly conduct a terror operation in another country, it would truly create an unsolvable situation.
An ordinary weapon or military squad would be nothing compared to an S-grade Hunter, capable of cutting through them with ease, and possibly even being able to survive a direct nuke hit; it was believed that an S-grade Hunter could single-handedly overthrow a nation.
It’s fortunate if a living strategic weapon happens to be a well-meaning good person, but sometimes, humans can be the most cruel to their own kind.
What could the Hunter Association or any oddly-named international agency do about such a Hunter?
To S-grade Hunters, even simple sanctions or fines would feel like nothing at all.
For S-grade Hunters, money flows in abundantly, and almost any administrative order could be disregarded.
Of course, no one would openly go on a rampage.
But only those who possess the same power as an S-grade Hunter could hold them accountable, so it’s no wonder that all nations are on high alert regarding the very existence of S-grade Hunters.
“At least if a few months were spent negotiating and making prior reservations between countries, it might be alright. However, this Elf’s commission is quite urgent and sudden.”
“That’s why they probably filed a commission in the first place.”
“In any case, since it was filed with an S-grade Hunter, it’s assumed to be a considerable difficulty. However, you can’t just shove an S-grade Hunter into another country without any consultation, so finding a suitable candidate is tough. It seems like the Association is also quite troubled by this. Yeonseo-nim has formally retired, so she’s out of the question. Not that we could use any other S-grade Hunters either.”
“So that leaves me?”
“Exactly.”
“That’s funny. So it’s subcontracting to the Nth degree for me, huh? What will you do if I refuse?”
“The Association will probably just gather a few A-grade or B-grade Hunters to send them off. But if the proud Elves specifically commissioned an S-grade Hunter, it wouldn’t be plausible to believe that A-grade Hunters could solve this.”
S-grade Hunters can’t be sent carelessly.
Those below them risk their lives.
Declining the commission would mean the Elves could perish in an unknown emergency.
And the Mangja Seongnyeo Shia isn’t even an S-grade Hunter, but a temporary Hunter without an official rank.
Even though Shia possessed power equivalent to or surpassing S-grade locally, from the perspective of another country, they likely wouldn’t pay much attention to the entry of someone with just a temporary Hunter ID.
Ultimately, the most optimal choice would be Shia.
Shia looked at Yujin incredulously.
“You brought this commission knowing I can’t refuse, didn’t you?”
“Do you hate lies? If so, you’re right. I thought that the image you displayed during the ethical review was your truth, irrespective of your feelings. Therefore, I expected you to accept this commission without hesitation.”
Shia loves people.
She is a Mangja Seongnyeo who wishes to be human, and even after enduring every malicious entity and hunger, she hasn’t lost her humanity.
If it’s someone far away and she doesn’t know who is dying where, there’s nothing she can do.
However, if someone genuinely asks her for help in a predicament, the essence of the Mangja Seongnyeo Shia would be to extend her hand of salvation.
If I don’t go, someone might die? What if the Elf kingdom faces total annihilation?
What might happen if I refuse this commission?
Thinking of this made the word ‘refusal’ never exist for Shia from the moment she first heard about it.
During the ethical review, she had said that the reason she sought an S-grade was to prove she is human.
No matter how much Yujin disliked it, Shia simply had no intention of turning down a plea for help.
“The detailed information would be in the letter the Elf sent.”
“One more thing.”
“What is it?”
“I just can’t understand why you would give me such a ridiculous commission.”
“……”
With that, Yujin paused for a moment.
“I did some research on you, Isia.”
“What? There’s nothing special about me.”
“You returned for the first time about four months ago, right?”
“Exactly.”
“I think you must have some connection to the fragments of the Demon King.”
“What?”
“Good things don’t just happen in this world. Every event has a cause. The fragment of the Demon King appeared on this Earth, and you were the one who brought it.”
“………..”
“It could be a coincidence, or maybe when you returned, the fragments of the Demon King flowed in alongside you. But doesn’t it seem natural that the Demon King of your world followed you into this world?”
At that word, Shia smiled brightly.
“Oh, so simply put, you’re telling me to prove my innocence regarding the humanity I talked about during the ethical review, right?”
“To summarize, it sounds that way.”
“Hehehe…”
Thud!
“…Oh, it seems I’m too volatile.”
“Be quiet.”
At that moment, Shia’s murderous intent began to pour out onto Yujin.
Her divine power turned into an invisible pressure and physical force, pushing down on Yujin, causing the chair he sat in to creak.
However, perhaps that’s the mark of an S-grade person too; aside from his hands slightly shaking, he seemed completely unfazed.
“This is the first time I’ve been treated like a lackey of the Demon King in my life.”
“It’s just a reasonable suspicion. Didn’t you say? You’re an ambiguous being straddling the line of a Mangja Seongnyeo and consistently need to prove your humanity.”
“I don’t understand why you’d come with a pre-decided conclusion and ask me to prove my innocence.”
“It’s simple. With your skills almost akin to S-grade, the commission from the Elf shouldn’t be that difficult, and you could also dispel my suspicions. Perhaps the reason the Elves are in trouble is due to the fragments of the Demon King, right? Then it would be fully possible for the Mangja Seongnyeo to intervene directly.”
Seeing the blatant provocation in his words, Shia let out a sigh.
“Fine, I’ll accept.”
As she lowered her murderous intent, Shia soon wore her usual bright smile.
[Miracle – Purification]
“What!?”
And the next moment, Yujin’s face was ripped apart.
This is not a figurative expression.
The handsome face of a man in his late twenties seemed to tear like paper, exposing the form of something inside.
Though not all of the ‘girl’ inside was fully exposed, Shia confirmed she had black long hair and deep red eyes.
And… she was quite small.
Not Shia’s type.
“……..!!!”
“Pfft.”
However, in less than a second, Yujin’s appearance returned to that of a handsome man.
“Was it a mask or a skin suit…? Or perhaps it was a transformation? But it seems not; maybe it’s an illusion?”
“…………….Get lost.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get lost. You don’t have more to say, do you?”
“…….Get lost, immediately.”
The murderous intent pouring from Yujin’s eyes suggested that if she teased him any further, a real fight would break out.
I’m sure that’s a man’s voice, yet it sounds pretty fierce.
Shia chuckled, stuffing the letter from the Elf into her chest pocket.
“I think I need to eat something substantial.”
“………”
“Is it really that small?”
“Just—”
Ignoring the response, Shia stood up.
She hadn’t paid for the strawberry cake, but… that girl Yujin would probably handle it anyway.
○○○○
“Elves are traditional vegans!”
“….Damn it.”
And a few days later, Shia found herself hating the Elves of this world from the very first meeting.
