Chapter 131
“What the hell is this....”
Main Building of the Korean Hunter Management Association.
Open-Type Gate Participation Investigation Status Reporting and Response Office.
“You’re saying all the C+ and higher gates were cleared by one team? Across the Gyeonggi area, all in a single day?”
“Ah... well, that’s the thing. It’s true that it was one team, but all the same person...? Or maybe I should say...? I don’t think that’s exactly right...”
“What do you mean?”
A department specializing in calculating compensation for civilians who participated in open-type gates, or for professional hunters registered with the Hunter Management Association.
“A B-rank gate broke out in Dongcheon-dong, Yongin, and a C+ gate in Dapsimni 2-dong, Dongdaemun District, fifteen minutes apart, and it was witnessed that a total of twenty people were active simultaneously—twelve on one side and eight on the other.”
“So you’re saying it wasn’t one team, but twenty people who looked exactly the same, each clearing open-type gates simultaneously in far-apart areas?”
“Y-yes... Apparently they looked like some kind of machine, and even when people talked to them or got close, they didn’t react at all—just handled the job and then all climbed into a box truck and disappeared...”
“Huh.”
The response office staff were completely shell-shocked.
The world had advanced a great deal, and AI had started replacing people’s jobs. Unfortunately, inanimate objects were still inanimate objects. Machines that couldn’t hold mana could never replace the work of hunters who did possess mana.
Even the United States’ Seven Big Tech companies, about whom sinister rumors circulated that they were so advanced they were torturing aliens, still hadn’t completely replaced hunters’ work with machines.
Of course, Korea’s Oseong Group, with its world-class technology, had also begun researching the matter, but it was still only a transitional phase.
ㅡflip....
In the department head’s hands were several photos that had been printed out. They showed swordsmen in gleaming white armor that looked almost human, rummaging through the corpses of monsters that had been helplessly cut down.
Flipping through them, he found the swordsmen standing in a line with chilling precision, then climbing into the cargo bed of a pitch-black truck.
“The Eve Project... did you find out what this place is?”
“Ah, well—”
Just as he was about to hear the report, the Open-Type Gate Participation Investigation Response Office received a phone call. Since they were dealing with an extremely serious matter, the team’s youngest member hurriedly got up and quietly answered it.
“Association Gate Participation Response O-.... Hup, yes!!! This is employee Hwang Joohee speaking!!!”
“Hey, hey, hey, answer quietly.”
Because of the bleak atmosphere in the team, the youngest employee’s overexcited response rang out thunderously. Another employee nearby held a finger to their lips, while the section chief frowned and pressed a finger to the throbbing spot between the brows.
ㅡWhy has your voice gotten so quiet?
“Ah, well... I was told to answer quietly from the side...”
ㅡReally? Hand the phone to the person next to you.
“Um... Mr. Kim says he’d like to take the call...”
“Give it here.”
From the flustered youngest employee beside them, Kim Young-hoon took the phone.
“This is Kim Young-hoon, section lead at the Open-Type Gate Participation Investigation Response Office.”
ㅡYou’ve been working hard.
A chilly voice came through the landline receiver.
“This is Kim Young-hoon, section lead at the Open-Type Gate Participation Investigation Response Office!!!”
* * * * *
ㅡclick....
After hanging up the receiver that had carried that booming voice to the end, Association President Cheon Tae-seong gathered the reports scattered across the wide table and set them neatly in order.
“I’ve informed them. It seems they haven’t finalized the compensation amount yet because they don’t know where to send it, so I’m sorry, but it looks like it will take a little time.”
“It’s fine. Thank you for the swift handling.”
Swallowing a sip of reddish rooibos tea with a slurp, Ophelia turned her head on the association president’s office sofa and looked at Cheon Tae-seong.
“That aside, it’s truly impressive. I heard this was only a pilot run, yet you achieved this much.”
“There are still many shortcomings, so in the future we may be able to respond even faster.”
“I see.... Was Miss Eve at school just now?”
“Yes.”
“The future looks bright.”
Han Baek-ryeong, the president of Seoul Aegis Academy, is one of the comrades who fought alongside Cheon Tae-seong on the same battlefield in the early days of the gate incidents.
Given his position as head of the Hunter Management Association, it was only natural that news from Aegis Academy, the largest academy in Korea, would reach his ears.
“Aegis is planning to bring in an overseas exchange student soon. Are you aware of that?”
“The princess mentioned it in passing, so I’ve gathered some information. You’re talking about the exchange student from Kannagi High School in Kyoto, Japan.”
“Yes, that’s right. I hear they’re sending an S-rank student who’s drawing public attention over there...”
“I see.”
Cheon Tae-seong rested his chin on interlaced fingers and gave Ophelia a sidelong glance.
“Recently, complaints about Aegis’s dormitory buildings have risen slightly, so this time it seems they’re having the exchange students stay in the homes of some enrolled students.”
“I’m aware.”
“Hmm... so, if it’s all right with you, I’d like you to host her at Eve’s home.”
Ophelia lifted the teacup, slowly swallowed another sip of tea, then turned her head and shifted her gaze to Cheon Tae-seong.
“Regrettably, the home we’re currently living in isn’t very spacious. We compromised and settled for a place with a good location. From what I hear, many other students have settled in places with even better facilities.”
“Hmm...”
Of course, Cheon Tae-seong knew about the place where Ophelia and Eve were living. It was a fairly ordinary residence, yes, but in such a prime location it must be quite expensive.
“If there’s something you want...”
“I don’t know how far the association president’s influence reaches, so unfortunately I have nothing to offer.”
“Umm... let me hear it first.”
Ophelia pulled a sheet of paper from the inner side of her forearm and handed it to Association President Cheon Tae-seong.
“Huh... hmm.”
After a long silence, Association President Cheon Tae-seong pulled out his personal phone and began making calls here and there. Rising from his seat and pacing back and forth across the roughly five-meter space for quite some time, he set his phone on the table and said,
“The amount...”
“The funds are ready. There’s no property on the market, so we’re just keeping them ready.”
“In one lump sum..?”
“Yes.”
* * * * *
“Boing-boing.”
Inside the main auditorium, Daengdaeng is showing off a balancing trick on a dodgeball reserved for mana-awakened students.
“Wow, Daengdaeng’s the real deal.”
“You could join the circus.”
“Heehee.”
Class had ended, and for some reason another problem had come up, so Teacher Baek Sangjun wrapped things up roughly and went off somewhere. There were about twenty minutes left in class, and with a natural break to sit and talk, the conversation turned to what had happened over the past few days.
“Oh right, bro. Is that really yours?”
“Huh? That?”
“You know, that thing. What was it, that thing.”
“Byung-ho, you’ve really turned into an idiot. You can’t even talk without saying ‘that thing.’”
“No, the. Ah, uh... right. The open-type gate! I heard some kind of machines came out and went around slicing things up.”
“Ah, that’s right. They’re our golems.”
“Damn, it was seriously wild. I watched the video too.”
“R-really...? Hehe...”
The E-class that shares the auditorium with us was also on break after the teacher left, and they’d gradually drifted over here to chat with us.
“How did you do it? It was seriously amazing. I heard you went around and cleared every open-type gate in all of Gyeonggi-do?”
“Were all of those machines? People?”
“Ah, um... they’re golems. I made them with my ability...”
“No way.”
“At this point, aren’t you S-rank?”
Compliments were flying at me from all directions, so honestly I was pretty happy. I picked up Daengdaeng, who had been bouncing around on the dodgeball, and sat down in the middle of about fifty students.
“Aren’t you going to go get evaluated for S-rank?”
“Not yet...? I’m not sure.”
“How many golems are there? Could you make more?”
“I could make more... but it’s a little hard to say how many there are right now.”
It was an absolute barrage of questions. When I looked a little troubled, Yeonwoo unnie, who was sitting behind me, gave me a tight hug and waved her hand as she said,
“Hey, Eve is getting uncomfortable. From now on, only close friends get to ask questions.”
“Bruh, you’re close with this oppa, right? Hm?”
“Huh? Who are you?”
“You heard her, Byung-ho. You’re not allowed.”
“You’re the same, Gyeongwon.”
“Ha, seriously?”
The two seniors suddenly grabbed their heads and started wailing. Choa, who had been lying with her head on my thigh, tapped at her phone and shoved the screen into my line of sight.
“Eve, are you free the day after tomorrow?”
“Huh? What is it?”
On the screen was the group chat Choa had once invited me into. Of course, its members were all part of the Yoo Choa cartel.
“The others want to hang out together.”
“Bruh!! This oppa wants to hang out too!!”
“Choa! Take this oppa with you too.”
“Nope. It’s a hangout for close friends.”
“Hey, what do elementary schoolers like these days? You have to know what they like if you want to get close to them.”
Gyeongwon senior pondered Byung-ho senior’s question with great seriousness. He pushed his glasses up with a sweep, as if he were solving some impossible problem, and then said,
“Tralalero tralala.”
“Yeah, Bombardiro Crocodilo.”
“Whoa... that’s seriously ancient.”
“Ha, isn’t this it?”
“Elementary school kids are hard these days.”
Senior Byung-ho and Senior Gyeongwon were bringing out memes from some grandpa era and making a fuss beside me. This was practically like bringing in something straight out of a Suhbakdo illustration.
ㅡbeep!
“Huh? What is it?”
ㅡbeep-beep
Daengdaeng, who had been quietly nestled in my arms, suddenly displayed an envelope emoji on the screen. This is what shows up when Ophelia texts me and I don’t check it. Thinking maybe a message had come in, I pulled out my phone, and sure enough, there was really a text from Ophelia.
“Eh..?”
“What is it?”
“Ophi, ah, no... a text from Mom.”
“What did she say?”
There were a bunch of links and photos and other things attached, but in short, it was this.
“We’re moving again..?”
I clearly remembered moving into the house I’m living in now in mid-December last year. It’s April now, so we haven’t even lived there for half a year. Sure, compared to then, we’ve gotten insanely rich, but weren’t we still a little early to be moving? The house we’re living in now already has amazing facilities.
“Eve, moving? Are you transferring schools?”
“Ah, no, no. Nothing like that. It’s just a move within Seoul.”
“Hmm. So? Are you free the day after tomorrow?”
“I-I’ll ask when I get home.”
“Okay, got it.”
Choa started fiddling with her phone screen again. Actually, I’m in the same chat room too, but I’ve got notifications turned off, so I don’t really know what they’re talking about. These people keep chatting until midnight.
“Eve, by the way, where are you moving to?”
“J-just a second..?”
I scrolled all the way to the end of the long message Ophelia had sent and read a few of the words. My eyesight was definitely better than before, but the content was so complicated that it didn’t really sink in.
It was something like UltimateIncredibleOmegaCycloneProMaxHouse. I had no idea what it meant, so I briefly showed the phone screen to Choa.
“Why do you keep your screen so dark?”
“I-I’ll brighten it...”
Squinting with her eyes half-closed, Choa kept pressing her index finger against the phone screen, rapidly scrolling through the message, then glanced at me.
“There shouldn’t be any listings here, should there?”
“Huh? Really..?”
“It’s Signiel Duplex. A 200-pyeong penthouse. We live there too.”
“Wah.”
Is 200 pyeong even a house?
Isn’t that a field?