Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 95
Five, you say.
Are you saying massive gates will appear in five locations?
If all five of those gates are Unknown Gates—.
Gulp.
His Adam's apple moved greatly up and down.
Yoo Hwan spoke heavily.
"Have you relayed this story to the Association?"
"Not yet. This is just my 'conjecture'. As you know, the Korean Association doesn't move on 'conjectures'."
Smiling bitterly, Roje untied her loosened hair tie.
Her violet hair cascaded down her shoulder line.
Holding the hair tie in her mouth, she gathered her hair with her fingers.
"Ko Daeyoon. A very cautious man."
Finally, after tying her hair up high, Roje placed her hands on her knees.
A moment of silence.
Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she slowly parted her lips again.
"I plan to prepare separately from the Association."
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"I knew you'd say that, Yoo Hwan."
Roje smiled faintly.
Her wine-colored eyes curved gently beyond her rimless glasses.
That was one of Yoo Hwan's weaknesses.
"You must have heard that the Association is looking for dark and fire attribute hunters, right? According to GIA's prophecy, the massive gate on the South Coast will supposedly be vulnerable to dark and fire attributes. But as you know, among the S-Classes, only Phantom Thief has dark attribute skills."
Phantom Thief Kang Ayeon.
She would undoubtedly ignore the Association's summoning order and everything else.
She might show up if it's something profitable, but she would have no interest whatsoever in honor or duty like protecting the nation and its people.
"And fire attribute is..."
"The kid, huh."
At Junhwan's mutter, Roje nodded.
Explosives, and firearms (火器).
Trickster's traits and skills were mainly related to such things.
Typically, his main weapon, the bazooka, or the 'Pew Pew Missile' he set off for fireworks, were fire attribute.
However, Trickster hadn't yet recovered from his injuries from the Pohang Unknown Gate incident last time.
Though he was said to be improving greatly, it was uncertain if he would be able to fight in the upcoming South Coast gate.
Excluding Phantom Thief and Trickster, there were no fire or dark attribute hunters among the S-Classes.
Even Roje here was Wood (木), and Yoo Hwan was Earth (土).
'...Wait.'
Yoo Hwan, who had been lost in thought, suddenly snapped his head up.
Dark attribute and fire attribute.
Black flame.
Dark Flare.
'Won't you join Immortal?'
'...Contract period.'
The F-Class concept hunter hired by Wolf.
'Princess of Dark Flare.'
Yoo Hwan shot up from his seat.
The rebound was so strong that the chair he had been sitting on clattered and fell to the ground.
"Looks like you thought of someone."
Roje, looking up at Yoo Hwan, smiled faintly.
"Princess of Dark Flare. I'm not certain, but if she uses black flames, she'll likely have fire attribute as well as dark attribute."
The problem is that she's F-Class...
Yoo Hwan glanced at Roje.
During the Pohang Unknown Gate incident last time, Yoo Hwan had recommended the Princess of Dark Flare instead of Trickster as a deployed member.
He remembered Roje had a lukewarm reaction at that time.
He thought she would give him a sharp remark, asking if he was talking about that concept hunter again.
However.
"We thought of the same person."
The reaction from Roje was unexpected.
Yoo Hwan blinked, then muttered as if to himself.
"...Looks like you've changed your mind."
"It was bound to happen."
Roje picked up a pen that was carelessly rolling on her desk.
Twirling it with her fingers, she whispered lowly.
"Pixie Powder. She's the one who got it."
"...What?"
Yoo Hwan froze stiffly.
His jaw, agape in a daze, looked like it would hit the floor.
Princess of Dark Flare got Pixie Powder?
Then, was she the owner of the 400,000 coins that had been talked about in the news for a while?
"Are you certain?"
"I received it directly from her. When I asked, she said she didn't steal it."
Smirking, Roje looked at Yoo Hwan.
"...Can I expect good news?"
"Of course."
Yoo Hwan grabbed the doorknob.
"It won't take long."
Click.
Yoo Hwan, closing the workshop door, strode down the corridor and took out his phone.
"Yeah, it's me."
First, there were things to prepare.
"I'll be away for a bit, so train the kids on your own. And rummage through the HQ warehouse and grab some expensive booze."
Yoo Hwan, holding the phone between his shoulder and ear, pressed the elevator button firmly.
"That wine with the weird name, Chateau Cheval Blanc or X-val Blanc, whatever. You know it, right? Yeah, the 1947 vintage. No, I'm not planning to drink it..."
Ding.
[1st floor.]
"Well, it's an investment."
Association President Daeyoon smiled at the welcome face before him and offered a fragrant teacup from which steam was rising.
"Drink up."
"Thank you."
A young man with dark blue hair and clear blue eyes.
Korea's sixth S-Class hunter, Baekrang.
A precious individual whose face was hard to see even once.
Honestly, though he had issued a summoning order, he hadn't expected him to visit the Association so readily.
Even after calling him, Daeyoon felt dazed and pondered for a while what to talk about first.
"Your father... How is Baekya doing?"
"..."
It seemed there was a problem with his choice of topic.
The atmosphere instantly froze.
Clink.
The sound of the cup hitting the saucer was particularly loud.
Siwoo, putting down the teacup, slowly lifted his gaze.
"Well, I don't know either."
The curve of his smiling lips wasn't exactly elegant.
Gwanghyun, who was watching the situation from a few steps away in an attention stance, broke out in a cold sweat.
'President, please...'
What a hard-won opportunity; he was anxiously worried that Siwoo might change his mind and leave right now.
"Well... I can't even remember when I last contacted my son. That's how it is between fathers and sons these days. Isn't that right, Team Leader Kim?"
"Yes?! Ah, yes. That's right."
Hahaha.
Gwanghyun and Daeyoon laughed good-naturedly.
Both, while pretending not to, furtively checked Siwoo's complexion.
Siwoo just smiled faintly and then picked up his teacup again.
"Let's drop that subject... and get straight to the point."
Bringing the teacup close to his lips, but without drinking, he spoke.
"President, you're planning a preparatory team led by S-Classes for the upcoming massive gate, aren't you?"
The smile vanished from Daeyoon's lips.
Baekrang Shin Siwoo had accurately predicted the reason and purpose for which he had summoned him to the Association.
While pretending to have no interest whatsoever in the hunter industry, he had actually grasped everything.
It didn't matter whether his hunter career was long or short, or whether he had much or little practical experience.
Baekrang was in a position where that was possible.
He could probably obtain all information without lifting a finger.
Just as Baekya, currently on his sickbed, was doing.
"...I don't know how the situation will unfold, but I plan to do everything possible to minimize any potential damage."
Daeyoon spoke heavily, stirring his teacup with a teaspoon.
"I'll also speak directly. This plan requires the assistance of S-Class hunters."
No matter how S-Class he was, a Korean with strong Confucian values, and a man who was also the Association President, readily took a subservient posture towards someone much younger than himself.
Gwanghyun wasn't surprised even seeing that scene.
Times had changed.
The conscription system for Awakened had disappeared, and it was an era where rights were prioritized over duties.
Moreover, even the Blue House avoided recklessly exercising public authority over individuals of S-Class level.
Because in the Great Hunter Era, the mere existence of an S-Class hunter lent power to the nation.
Korea already had a history of losing a precious national treasure named Maestro.
It was perhaps a natural course and karma for the Association to be so cautious in front of S-Class hunters.
'It's an era where even nationally renowned sports stars change their nationality if they set their minds to it.'
Would an S-Class be any different?
He knew that China was keeping an eye on Monkey King Yoo Hwan, and that the Vatican had secretly sent an envoy to Doctor Plant four years ago.
Lest they be caught off guard, not only the upper echelons of the Korean hunter community but even the government had no choice but to watch their moods.
Furthermore, now that GIA might be hiding somewhere in Korea, they had to be particularly more careful.
He had heard plenty of rumors that they selectively recruited precious talents from various countries.
As it was, S-Classes were precious and rare.
It was a trend, if you could call it that, for the nation to choose to be their shield rather than stand above them.
Pride? Dignity?
Such things didn't matter.
Please, I'll do better.
"I know you have no interest in the path of a hunter. And that you don't want to reveal yourself to the public. Don't worry about that."
Ripples formed on the surface of the black tea in the teacup.
Daeyoon, taking out the teaspoon, placed it on the saucer and spoke as gently as possible.
"Announcing something uncertain to the public right now would rather be counterproductive. The Blue House thinks so too. Everything will proceed in strict secrecy."
Baekrang.
A vessel that might even surpass Baekya, who was regarded as the strongest hunter in Korean history.
Daeyoon, as the Association President, could willingly bow his head before this young and competent S-Class hunter.
"Will you help?"
"..."
Siwoo, who had been silently listening to his story, leaned back loosely in his chair.
"Two hundred."
And answered monotonously.
"Wolf will send 200 hunters."
Two, two hundred...?!
Daeyoon's eyes widened at the unexpected proposal.
Even Gwanghyun, who had been silently standing by, whipped his head around so fast it made a whooshing sound.
'Did I mishear? Did he just say 200?'
Even if all the combat personnel belonging to the Korean Hunter Association were gathered from all over the country, it would be around 400.
Considering that, what Siwoo proposed was quite an enormous number.
Furthermore, hunters from Wolf, not just any other guild, came with a guarantee.
For the Association, it was nothing short of an extraordinary offer.
Unbelievably, Siwoo's proposal didn't end there.
"I heard you're looking for hunters with dark and fire attributes. President, you'll have more important things to do than forming a preparatory team, so how about leaving this matter to me?"
"W-would you do that?"
"It's not a difficult task."
Siwoo smiled faintly.
Daeyoon glanced towards Gwanghyun.
Their eyes met.
A surge, an unidentifiable emotion welled up.
They felt so moved they wanted to jump up from their seats and dance.
However.
"However, there are three conditions."
...As expected.
Things were going too smoothly.
The restless bottoms became as quiet as if it were a lie.
Daeyoon spoke calmly.
"Tell me anything."
Pleased with Daeyoon's reaction, Siwoo smiled faintly.
Straightening his back, which had been leaning against the chair, he rested his chin on the desk.
"First, I will personally select the members of the preparatory team. Second, from this moment until the very end of the plan, I will move separately from the other S-Classes. And finally, third..."
His blue eyes narrowed faintly.
"You must understand that this is my whim."
Meaning, even if such a situation arose again in the future, it could by no means be guaranteed that Baekrang would step up.
Siwoo was saying that.
A confident voice, and those arrogant eyes.
In them, Daeyoon discovered the Baekya of his youth.
"...Understood."
When he came to his senses, Daeyoon was answering so.
The young wolf before him smiled satisfactorily.
"Thank you."
Korea's sixth S-Class hunter, Baekrang.
Participation in the South Coast Massive Gate Secret Operation, confirmed.
