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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: A New Job and an Old Favor
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After letting out a soft “Hm?” the middle-aged man began to meticulously examine the résumé he’d been handed.
‘Choi Dol-soe?’
It was the name of the elder who had come for a part-time job interview, recommended by a long-time regular customer.
But, how should I put it?
The man sitting across from him looked so incredibly nervous it was making him uncomfortable.
Not only was he constantly dripping with cold sweat, but his eyes were also darting all over the place, unable to focus on any one spot.
“Excuse me, sir?”
“Yessir—!”
“Aren't you hot?”
He had run this convenience store in the same spot for over ten years, and in that time, he’d conducted at least several hundred interviews.
But, well…
This was the first time an applicant had shown up for an interview dressed in a dazzling ‘tailcoat,’ complete with a monocle—something you hardly ever see these days.
“Ah, my goodness! I-It’s quite alright, yessir—!”
The convenience store owner, who had furrowed his brow slightly at the somewhat jarring speech pattern, carefully spoke again.
“Sir, you really don’t have to be so nervous. It’s just a convenience store part-time job, there’s no need to be so…”
“Ah, not at all, yessir.”
“First, I’m very sorry for moving up the interview schedule so suddenly. To be honest, because of ‘what happened yesterday,’ my existing part-timers all quit one after another…”
The convenience store owner nodded once before asking.
“Actually, I heard a little about your situation from Ms. Su-bin. I was told that you’ve been showing symptoms of amnesia since returning from the Gate…”
At those words, ‘Crabslie’ nodded his head vigorously again and answered in a booming voice.
“Yes, that is correct, yessir—!”
After muttering, “Um, sir,” the convenience store owner began to speak in a cautious tone.
“You really don’t have to be so tense…”
It wasn’t that he disliked the desperate-for-a-job attitude, but he wondered why the man insisted on tacking that word onto the end of his sentences.
For instance, saying “It’s quite alright, yessir,” instead of just “It’s alright,” or “Not at all, yessir,” instead of “Not at all…”
He had a way of making him uncomfortable by attaching that word to the end of sentences that would have sounded perfectly fine without it.
‘I mean, why is he going this far…?’
In truth, the reason Crabslie was approaching this part-time job interview with such a rigid attitude was none other than…
‘As this is my first mission in this dimension, Earth, I have a duty to succeed no matter what…’
He firmly believed that this convenience store interview was the first mission bestowed upon him by his Jugun, and the first step toward ‘founding a nation.’
Furthermore, hadn’t his Jugun clearly explained that his status here was that of a ‘slave’?
Therefore, in order not to displease a human living a life as part of the ‘ruling class,’ he was trying his utmost to appear as servile as possible.
He was making every effort to use the most flippant and vulgar tone he could manage.
The convenience store owner let out a low sigh and began to continue in a quiet, calm voice.
“Even if you do start working, the morning shift is quite slow, so it won’t be particularly difficult or strenuous. It’ll mostly just be customer service, inventory management, and cleaning…”
In fact, he had already decided to hire him and was just conducting the interview as a formality.
He was an acquaintance of a young lady who was a long-time regular customer, and he was in desperate need of help right now…
But, at that moment.
Crabslie suddenly shot up from his seat, bowed his waist at nearly a ninety-degree angle, and shouted loudly.
“If you give me this opportunity, I will devote my heart and soul to my work until my bones turn to dust and my body is crushed, yessir—!”
Startled, the convenience store owner muttered, “Whoa, damn. You scared me….” He swallowed hard and replied awkwardly.
“Ah, no. You don’t need to work quite that hard, just be mindful of being late or absent…”
“Please, just give me one chance! It is the wish of a lifetime, a dream I wish to achieve, yessir—!”
At this point, the convenience store owner couldn’t help but let out a short exclamation, “Wow.”
An attitude completely opposite to the countless applicants he’d seen before, who had approached their interviews with an indifferent air, as if they didn’t care whether they got the job or not.
That attitude moved him.
The convenience store owner found himself clapping a few times, “Clap, clap, clap,” and then, as if possessed, he spoke in a low voice.
“Oh damn, y-you’re hired…”
Then he added in a voice that was barely a whisper.
“P-please start tomorrow…”
Only then did Crabslie, who had been raising his head and repeatedly shouting “Thank you!” while making a fuss, find himself at a loss for words.
‘Wait, but what am I supposed to call this ruling-class human?’
It was because he was utterly confused about the proper ‘title’ for the convenience store owner who had hired him.
Crabslie took a moment to carefully sort through the jumbled thoughts in his head.
‘My status here is merely that of a slave…’
For a moment, their eyes met in mid-air.
‘That human is of the ruling class that reigns above me…’
In that case, there was only one answer.
“M-Master! Thank you so very much, yessir!”
Silence fell once more.
*
Knock, knock.
At the sudden sound of knocking, Iriel approached the door and asked in a sharp voice.
“Who is it—?”
A familiar voice replied from beyond the door.
“Um, it’s Kim Bong-gu…”
At that, Kang-jun, who was ‘imprisoned,’ replied in a solemn tone.
“Let him in.”
After replying, “Yes, Jugun,” Iriel immediately opened the door, revealing Bong-gu with his hands full of toys.
“Miss, we meet again?”
“Miss?”
“I’m the one you met at the Gate yesterday…”
“Silence.”
Startled by the sudden remark, Kim Bong-gu asked, “Huh?” but Iriel simply headed back to the bathroom without another word.
“Ah, I mean. Why…”
As Kim Bong-gu stood there dumbfounded, Crabslie, dressed in a ‘convenience store vest’ from who knows where, suddenly approached him with a hearty laugh.
“Haha, Sir Iriel does not deign to speak with those weaker than herself, so do not be disheartened.”
Kim Bong-gu replied with a vague, “Ah…” and then, narrowing his eyes slightly, asked with a look of confusion.
“Elder, by the way, where on earth did you get that convenience store vest…”
“Haha, you’re sharp. It is just as you suspect.”
“So you picked it out of a clothing donation box or something?”
At that, Crabslie suddenly shouted, “Insolence—!” then put his hands together, bowed politely, and added.
“Welcome to ‘GU’!”
“Huh?”
“Are you looking for anything in particular?”
After delivering the customer service greeting in a suddenly sweet voice, Crabslie grinned once and added triumphantly.
“As you can see, as of today, I have been appointed to the position of weekday morning part-timer at the nearby ‘GU Convenience Store.’”
“C-congratulations…” Kim Bong-gu replied, then looked around for Kang-jun.
“Huh?”
He stared at Kang-jun, who for some reason was trapped on the balcony in his underwear, and asked.
“B-by the way, Hyung-nim, why are you out there like that?”
“There is a sad legend behind my imprisonment on this balcony.”
“But it’s cold out, you should at least put on some clothes and go inside…”
“Yes, there is also a sad legend behind my imprisonment in my underwear…”
Kim Bong-gu asked, “Yeees?”
“Uncle, Daddy is a ‘thief,’ so he went to jail!”
“Jail?”
“Yees! People who do bad things get caught and go to jail!”
This came from Seol-i, who was comfortably seated in front of the balcony, guarding Kang-jun.
At that, Kim Bong-gu nodded with a smile and asked Seol-i in a friendly tone.
“So you’re playing cops and robbers with your daddy?”
“That’s wight. But Uncle is a thief too, so you have to go to jail.”
Just as Kim Bong-gu was asking, “Me too?”
“What are you doing? Get in here.”
Kang-jun, trapped alone on the balcony, suddenly grinned and gestured for him to come over.
“Welcome, newbie. Looks like this is your first time, huh?”
“It’s not so bad in here, people live here too. Nothing to worry about.”
Unable to shake his confusion, Kim Bong-gu stepped onto the balcony and closed the door behind him.
“Hyung-nim, seeing you so immersed in the game, it seems like you’ve been locked up for quite a while…”
“Yeah, I was locked up right after lunch, so it’s been at least three or four hours…”
As Kim Bong-gu muttered, “Good grief,” Kang-jun shrugged his shoulders and replied.
“She let me use the bathroom, at least.”
“Thankfully, she’s somewhat flexible.”
Silence fell for a moment.
“Actually, I’ve been hospitalized in the Awakener hospital since last night. I rushed through the discharge process as soon as the sun came up, but everyone tried to keep me there, so I only just managed to get out.”
“You looked fine. Were you injured somewhere?”
“No, it wasn’t that, but there were some circumstances. Anyway, I have something to report, and also something I’d like to ask of you…”
Bong-gu trailed off vaguely, then glanced at Kang-jun and got to the point.
“Hyung-nim, it seems this incident has also been wrapped up without any major issues.”
“Good work. By the way, what’s the favor you wanted to ask?”
Kim Bong-gu began to explain the whole story, and Kang-jun listened intently, arms crossed, still in his underwear.
“So you have to take a ‘Rank Promotion Evaluation’ at the end of the year, and you’re worried you’ll make a poor showing, right?”
Just as Kim Bong-gu was replying, “Yes, Hyung-nim,” and nodding his head vigorously.
“So what?”
“Want me to cheer for you?”
Unable to hide his flustered expression, Kim Bong-gu began to ramble.
“No, that’s not it. I was just thinking that if you could ‘train’ me in the meantime, I might be able to achieve something…”
At that, Kang-jun shook his head and cut him off.
“Listen, Bong-gu. Think about it logically.”
“Yessir.”
“Can you cram for a test and turn a zero into a hundred?”
As if struck by a great realization, Kim Bong-gu muttered, “Ah…” and nodded with a thoroughly dejected expression.
“But you could probably raise it by about ten points.”
“T-ten points?”
“I’d say ‘that guy’ back then was worth about ten points.”
“That guy?”
Kim Bong-gu muttered, “D-don’t tell me…” and his eyes widened as he asked.
“Are you talking about the Necromancer from the Anti-Bureau Alliance that you defeated last time…?”
Kang-jun replied with a casual “Yeah,” as if it were no big deal, before asking again.
“Well, the question is whether that’ll be enough.”
“It will be! It’s more than enough. No, it’ll be overkill!”
After asking, “Really?” Kang-jun nodded a few times and replied nonchalantly.
“Then come to my place by eight in the morning, starting tomorrow.”
“Hyung-nim, thank you! Thank you so, so, so much!”
Then, as if remembering something he had forgotten, he let out a soft “Ah!” and added.
“And they said there’s going to be a large-scale memorial and award ceremony before the promotion exam.”
“A memorial and award ceremony?”
“It’s an event to commemorate the Hunters who died in the line of duty during the recent Gate subjugation and to award medals to the surviving Hunters who contributed to the effort.”
Just then, Crabslie, who had been eavesdropping while ‘practicing his greetings’ right in front of the balcony window, suddenly interjected in a cheerful tone.
“Well now, young Bong-gu! It seems you’re finally on the path to success. I truly and sincerely congratulate you!”
“Huh?”
“Receiving a medal of honor in front of all the people—if that’s not success, what is?”
At that, Kang-jun also nodded and added a word.
“Yeah, you should take a lot of commemorative photos with your sister while you’re at it.”
“Photos?”
“You’ll have to show them all to your mother when she recovers, right?”
Kim Bong-gu muttered, “Well…”
“I think I’ll probably have to go alone.”
“Why?”
“My sister is a senior in high school this year, and the college entrance exams are coming up soon, you know?”
After speaking, Kim Bong-gu smiled awkwardly and added.
“She was making a huge fuss about wanting to go with me, but I talked her out of it. A senior with exams right around the corner doesn’t have enough time to study as it is…”
“So you’re planning to go alone?”
“My mother would also want that kid Ju-hui to get into a good university more than she’d want us to take pictures together.”
Kang-jun asked, “Is that so?”
Before he knew it, he found himself lost in deep thought.
It was because a memory submerged deep beneath the surface had risen.
‘Come to think of it, I was always alone, too.’
Kang-jun was suddenly reminded of the elementary, middle, and high school entrance and graduation ceremonies he’d had to attend alone so long ago.
Memories from long ago, of feeling envious and upset as a child, watching his friends who came with their families…
His sister, who was like the head of the household, was always busy and looked so tired that he could never bring himself to ask her to come.
“I’ll go with you.”
“What?”
“It’s a good day, isn’t it?”
After speaking, Kang-jun added in a low, calm voice.
“When you’re alone on a good day, you just end up feeling restless for no reason.”
“Hyung-nim, you don’t have to, but thank you so much…”
“If you’re so grateful, don’t just say it with words. Repay me with goods.”
Just then, Seol-i, who was on the other side of the balcony window, finally noticed the toys in Bong-gu’s hands and began to mutter in an excited tone.
“Ooh, that’s Princess Sophie, Seol-i’s favorite in the whole world…”
At that, Kim Bong-gu nodded and replied.
“Yep, Uncle bought it for Seol-i.”
After shouting, “Wowww!” Seol-i immediately opened the balcony door again and said.
“Uncle, Seol-i wants to play with Princess Sophie!”
As Kim Bong-gu was finally able to step off the balcony, Kang-jun also watched Seol-i’s reaction and carefully ventured a question.
“Um, what about me…?”
Seol-i thought for a moment, then replied in a firm tone.
“No way, the thief has to stay in jail!”
At that, Kang-jun muttered, “But I didn’t steal anything…” and started glaring at Bong-gu with eyes full of resentment.
“You petty bastard…”
“Huh? What is?”
“Bribing the prison guard…”
“A bribe?”
Kim Bong-gu put on a serious face for a moment, then grinned and corrected the term to his liking.
“Could you please refer to it as ‘bail money,’ if you don’t mind?”
“What?”
“Well then, I’ll see you again on your release date, whenever that may be.”
“Hey!”
Just as Kang-jun, left alone on the balcony once more, was making a dumbfounded face.
Buzzzzzzz—.
A flying bug suddenly came into Kang-jun’s view…
“Huh?”
With a serious expression, Kang-jun snatched the bug out of the air and crushed it with all his might.
“What’s this?”
Kang-jun’s sharp gaze pierced through the window, staring into the distance.
It was because he had detected ‘mana’ from the bug he had just caught and killed.
*
Somewhere in a large park not too far from Kang-jun’s residence…
“Damn, the connection was lost.”
said a handsome man in a serious tone, his eyes fixed on the open newspaper in his hands.
“What? But why—?”
asked a girl sitting on a bench, who had been eating ice cream while kicking her feet, startled.
“The ‘reconnaissance bug’ I sent was neutralized.”
“Then, does that mean…?”
“It seems the target noticed he was being watched.”
At that, the girl bit her lower lip and asked.
“Th-then what about the information the recon bug collected on the target?”
“It couldn’t return to me, so it was all lost.”
“The Filial Son, Kim Bong-gu… so he’s definitely not an ordinary person.”
The man nodded once and fell into deep thought.
‘Damn it, I underestimated the target.’
Even S-rank Hunters, who are sensitive to mana, usually failed to notice the ‘reconnaissance bugs’ he controlled.
This was because they moved using such a minuscule amount of mana that it was impossible to detect unless one had what was called a very high ‘Mana Sensitivity.’
However…
That didn’t mean there were no gains at all.
‘First, the target’s Mana Sensitivity is at least S-rank or higher.’
Furthermore, the fact that he caught my ‘reconnaissance bug’ with his bare hands in an instant and snuffed it out means…
‘It’s highly likely his athletic and combat abilities are also at least that of an A-rank Hunter.’
It seemed he would need to revise the plan for the upcoming ‘grand undertaking’ and significantly increase the quality and quantity of the forces to be deployed.
The man neatly folded the newspaper he was holding, then rose from the bench first and said softly.
“Let’s go back.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the two figures vanished without a single trace.
As if they had never been there at all…
