Chapter 88
─Our Germ has really grown up, huh? Firing something like that off without even talking it over with me?
It hadn't been long since I made my declaration to the British government when Zephyros's message came through the Ansible Earring.
I said with an awkward smile.
“Was that a mistake?”
─No, you did well. It was about time you showed your weight class. If anything, you've been holding back way too much until now.
“How are people in Korea reacting?”
─I'm deeply moved.
“... What?”
What was that supposed to mean?
─They're moved that Korea finally has a Hunter who can throw their weight around against a developed country.
“... Throw my weight around?”
He wasn't wrong, though.
─Oh, apparently the British government did send a complaint to our government.
“Really?”
─Yeah, but what are they gonna do? The government told them to quit talking nonsense.
“Did they really say that?”
─Would they? That's diplomatic language, diplomatic language, you brat.
“Ah.”
I'd been worried a war might break out because of me.
─They said the government can't control the activities of individual Hunters. The Republic of Korea is a liberal democracy, after all.
“... That sounds even more like they're taking a shot at them.”
─Yeah, that's exactly what they're doing. Heh-heh.
Korea was saying it didn't manipulate Hunters to suit its whims like the British government did...
Could anything be more satisfying?
─So, when are you coming back to Korea? Lots of places have put their projects on hold because you're not here.
“Ah, right. I'll be back soon.”
I'd been away an unusually long time.
“How are things in Korea? Nothing going on, right?”
─Same as ever here.
“No news is good news, I guess.”
─Don't cause any more trouble. Come back safely.
“It's not like I cause trouble on purpose.”
I was the one being wronged here.
Who could've known a plague would suddenly break out in London and a massive earthquake hit Italy?
After ending the call, I sensed someone behind me.
“Mr. Frost.”
He'd been hovering awkwardly behind me. He flinched and bowed his head slightly.
“... Hunter Germ.”
“Did you want to say something...?”
“... Thank you.”
“You don't have to thank me.”
I chuckled.
What I'd done to repay him was a drop in the bucket compared to the item he'd given me.
“How's the government reacting?”
“The stock market is already half in panic... They're probably in a frenzy.”
Ever since my announcement, the British stock market had kept plunging until trading was halted.
The British government spokesperson tried to contain things, saying it was a misunderstanding...
But there was no way they could contain it.
The global dungeon market had already priced me in to some extent.
People figured Kim Segyun would eventually clear and pacify them.
But considering how far the market had already risen on those expectations, as well as the potential for future growth, the plunge in the British stock market was practically inevitable.
“They actually told me to clean up the mess. They want me to somehow convince Hunter Germ to retract his statement.”
“Heh-heh, I guess they think I'm a pushover. They must think I'll just take back something I said.”
They still hadn't learned their lesson.
While I was thinking about how to respond...
Frost spoke with an embarrassed smile.
“To be honest... I suppose I've just been going along with things. Putting up with it wouldn't change my life much. Even without that land, even without the company... I have enough wealth to live well, so... it's true I'd fallen into a rut.”
“That's true.”
Honestly, even if my company disappeared right now, would I have to worry about eating well? Not at all.
The money coming into my accounts alone was enormous...
I could make a fortune just brewing liquor without running dungeons.
Running the company practically felt like a service to the nation.
“But hearing what you said, Hunter Germ, made me realize a lot. I came to think that accepting things was ultimately the same as going along with them.”
... He came to that conclusion after hearing me?
I wondered what part of what I'd said had led him to that, but...
“In a way, that's true.”
“So I've decided not to go along with those people. I'm going to step up and fight.”
“Fight?”
He didn't mean he was really going to freeze all the politicians to death, did he?
“Haha, not literally fight, of course... I'm going to enter politics, too.”
“... Y-You're going into politics?”
“My growth as a Hunter has stagnated, if not started to regress... and there are plenty of promising Hunters in Britain who can succeed me. I've managed to grow well enough until now, despite the circumstances. It's time to set aside my life as a Hunter for a while and try running in the general election.”
“Which party...?”
Frost smiled broadly and said,
“I've experienced governments led by both the Conservative and Labour parties. There wasn't much difference between them.”
“... A third party.”
“Yes. There ought to be at least one voice in Britain representing Hunters' rights.”
“I'll be rooting for you.”
In the early days of the Awakening, it was highly taboo for Awakened people, especially Hunters, to enter politics.
Awakened people were superhumans with abilities incomparable to ordinary people, and people feared that this might usher in an elitist society run by a small number of superhumans.
But as the Age of Awakening continued, the proportion of Awakened people rose, harmony with ordinary people developed, and people increasingly recognized that even the unawakened could awaken at any time...
In recent years, more and more Awakened people had been entering politics.
One result was President Kang Min-guk, who was revitalizing the entire country's industry by boosting the dungeon economy.
“If you need an endorsement or a speech, just let me know anytime. Though I doubt support from someone like me means much.”
“N-Not at all! It would help tremendously!”
Someone I'm close to becoming a British MP...
No, would that be enough?
He might become Prime Minister someday, right?
I really hoped that day would come.
**
When I boarded a flight to Korea without offering any explanation, the British media went into an uproar, but a huge news story soon hit every British outlet and buried the commotion in an instant.
[Edward Frost Announces Shocking Retirement as a Hunter!]
[His Next Move After Retirement: Politics!]
[Plans to Found a Third Party to Represent Hunters' Rights!]
That was shocking enough, but...
[Frost Dungeon Development Company Promises to Donate It to the Nation After the General Election.]
“Wow, this guy... went all in.”
He was just giving away Britain's largest dungeon development company.
I had to give him credit for his guts.
He really was a man with no material desires.
And on top of that, it was a masterstroke.
No matter how strong his justification was, some people might look unfavorably on him entering politics while embroiled in a dispute with the government over land.
They might think he was entering politics to protect his own wealth.
But he flipped the whole situation on its head by declaring he would donate the entire company to the nation.
And at the same time, he seized the spotlight.
The unpopular Conservative Party, whose approval rating had plunged below 13% and was heading for the depths.
The Labour Party, dismissed as more of the same.
The public already felt a third party was needed, and now a politician had appeared right when they needed someone to scratch that itch.
And Frost even had a great public image and was popular.
Looks like this guy's going to make something happen.
Oh, and the skill I got from the skillbook after clearing the Gate was...
[Thoughts of Authority]
Description: (Skill exclusive to Pride individuals) Emits thoughts that can control all microorganisms of a lower rank than Pride. (Control power increased by 250%; each individual can control 250 microorganisms.)
As expected, it was a skill that let me control living microorganisms, not the ones I'd raised as undead.
It was a skill exclusive to Pride individuals, but this guy was one of my main forces now, too.
That wasn't all.
There was a rather long-winded story, as befitted a memoir...
It was probably the story of my ‘Constellation’ back when the Constellation was as ordinary(?) as I was.
If there was one clue I got from it...
“I'm going to the Greed Hell Mine to find a new individual... Hmm.”
I wasn't an idiot.
Gluttony (appetite), then Pride (arrogance).
Then at the Greed Hell Mine, where the Constellation had gone to find a new individual...
“Greed?”
Each of these bacteria had incredible capabilities...
I had no idea what sort of abilities the others might have.
“Of course I'm going to get it.”
The problem was that there was no such thing as a Greed Mine in the Hunter database.
... Were there undiscovered Gates in the world?
Well, sure, there probably were.
But most Gates should be in the database.
Maybe it wasn't a Gate at all.
Maybe it wasn't called that.
“This is exhausting. Now even finding dungeons is turning into a hassle?”
I'll think about it more after I get back to Korea.
That's what I was thinking when...
I saw someone in the cockpit urgently beckoning me.
Ah, my noise-canceling earbuds were so good I hadn't heard them.
“Yes, Captain?”
“Sir, I don't think we can make it to Korea.”
“... Why not?”
“It looks like there's a huge commotion over the West Sea and the Military Demarcation Line. Seems like fighters have been scrambled.”
“... What?”
“A bunch of North Korean fighters are up, and ours have taken off in response. The airspace is closed.”
What the hell was this now?
“What, are you saying a war's about to break out?”
“At least a local skirmish...”
“This is driving me crazy.”
What am I, Detective Conan?
Why does something like this happen everywhere I go?
Everything was fine, and now a war was going to break out just as I was returning home?
As I sat there dumbfounded, my phone rang loudly.
It was the National Hunter Information Management System app, which all Korean Hunters had installed.
[All Hunters residing in the Seoul, northern Gyeonggi, and northern Gangwon regions are ordered to assemble.]
“... Fuck, is it really a war?”
Have those North Korean bastards lost their minds?
While I was dumbfounded, the phone rang.
It was Director Jo Hyeong-bin.
“Yes, Director Jo.”
─You got the mobilization order, right?
“Yes. What exactly is going on?”
─A Hunter defecting to the South!
“... What?”
─Defection. Someone's defecting.
“... A Hunter defected from North Korea?”
─Yes. The defector is heading south from north of the Military Demarcation Line.
It happened from time to time.
It wasn't easy to stop a valuable resource like a Hunter from defecting, either.
“Is that a problem or something...?”
─Apparently, they're the commander of the ‘Revolutionary Guard,’ North Korea's strongest Hunter group. In other words... the strongest Hunter in North Korea.
... North Korea's number-one Hunter was defecting?
Even I would try to stop that with everything I had.
─Our fighters will escort you, so don't take a detour. Come straight to Gimpo.
“... It isn't dangerous, is it?”
─If anything happens, our fighters will stop them, even if they have to use their own bodies.
So it was dangerous!
“Maybe I should just go on my own. You need me at the front, right?”
─That's true, but... Ah!
“Yes, I'm Flying Germ Man.”
It was time for Icarus's Wings to earn their keep.
I ended the call and spoke to the captain.
“Would it be a problem if I opened the door and stepped outside for a bit?”
“Y-You're really going to go out?”
“Yes, I think that's for the best. Drop me off, and you take a safe route back.”
“But...”
“It's all right.”
“A-All right. Then keep your mask on. Once we equalize the air pressure inside and outside, opening the door won't suck you out.”
With that, the captain, first officer, and flight attendants buckled their seat belts and put on the oxygen masks that dropped down.
A little while later.
“The pressure's equalized. Shall I open the door?”
“Yes, please.”
Since the pressure inside and outside was the same, I really wasn't sucked out.
The only inconvenience was the wind from the plane flying at tremendous speed.
“Here I go.”
I used Athena to load up on methanogens as boosters, too.
Then... I blasted off toward the Military Demarcation Line.
**
Zephyros, Choi Kang...
Along with several other top-ranked Hunters, had gathered in one place, an unusual occurrence.
“Are North Korean Hunters strong, too?”
At Choi Kang's question, Zephyros shrugged.
“Party loyalty, I think... I heard they only promote people with strong party loyalty. I've never interacted with them, but I've heard about them.”
“What a bunch of fools.”
They had power and still kept living in a society like that?
When Choi Kang muttered as if he couldn't understand...
“They're the smart ones.”
“Huh?”
“They became the force that controls the North Korean regime. The North Korean pig purged all the military leadership and overhauled the internal power structure to put Hunters in charge.”
“... Huh.”
“They'd make a living if they came to South Korea, too. But that absolute power they enjoy in North Korea? Do you think they'd get to enjoy it here?”
“Then why listen to the pig? They should just take over and live off the country themselves.”
“He divided up the power structure brilliantly.”
He put himself at the top and made the powerful Hunters keep one another in check.
“The Hunters could overthrow him if they worked together, but he's made sure they can't cooperate.”
“So the guy coming down now is...”
“One of the pillars of that power structure, and effectively the dictator's most loyal right-hand man.”
“Why would someone like that come down here?”
“How would I know? Maybe he missed the taste of ramen?”
While they were talking...
An old-fashioned vehicle could be seen speeding toward them from a distance.
Bang! Boom!
Countless land mines in the minefield along the Military Demarcation Line exploded in succession, but the vehicle remained unscathed.
A transparent barrier was shielding it from the explosions.
“That's him.”
They could tell just from that distinctive barrier.
“North Korea's strongest Hunter... ‘Shield of Juche,’ Ri Seong-hyeok...”
Zephyros, who had been admiring the skill of North Korea's strongest Hunter...
“Huh?”
Tilted his head.
“... Has he gotten old, too? That can't be.”
“What are you talking about now?”
“His barrier is way too weak.”
“How would you know? You said you'd never seen him before.”
“We get security briefings from the NIS every year. Top-ranked Hunters do. What, you don't?”
“... You actually watched those? Without falling asleep?”
“You idiot.”
While the two were talking, the barrier had already lost its resilience and was shaking violently after blocking several mines.
Just then.
An old-fashioned tank appeared from the North Korean side, rattling along.
“This is bad, isn't it?”
No matter how old the tank was, stopping a tank shell wouldn't be easy.
“Has the government given us the order?”
“Not yet.”
“It'd be a problem if he crossed over, right?”
“Probably.”
While they were hesitating...
KABOOM!
A tank shell was fired from the North Korean side.
The vehicle's barrier suddenly strengthened...
And the shell ricocheted off it.
The ricocheting shell whistled toward Zephyros, but nobody seemed concerned about the danger.
He sliced the shell in two with a sword that no one had seen him draw, and the halves buried themselves neatly in the ground on either side of him.
He sheathed the sword, looked toward the vehicle with an indifferent expression, and said,
“He blocked it.”
“The problem is...”
The barrier had weakened to the point of almost breaking.
And through the vehicle's window, Zephyros's keen eyes could see Ri Seong-hyeok.
“He's spitting blood. He won't be able to block the next one.”
“You can see that?”
Choi Kang clicked his tongue in admiration.
He and Zephyros... thought for a moment, then...
“Hey, soldier.”
“Y-Yes!”
“... About that tank shell just now, I almost got killed by it, you know?”
“Pardon?”
Who's getting killed?
To the dumbfounded soldier...
“They provoked us first, right?”
“W-What? No! We don't have orders yet...!”
“Didn't our great President Kang Min-guk himself say we should make our own judgment when provoked?”
With a grin,
The two crossed the Military Demarcation Line and vanished in an instant.
The soldier, a colonel, could only stare blankly at the two Hunters who'd vanished in an instant.