“Thank you… I’ll wash it and return it to you… sniff.”
“Keep it.”
When I was in the military, my military pack was full of survival supplies like combat rations, personal firearms, and gas masks, but now my bag contained spare cotton handkerchiefs, comfortable clothes to wear when going home, and sometimes snacks I’d acquired. The weight had become much lighter, but it was a bundle where I hadn’t yet put down the sense of responsibility.
“Give me one too… sob sob…”
A voice that wasn’t sad at all—rather, even felt like exaggerated acting—came from behind.
“I want Ha Seongho’s handkerchief too… hic.”
It was my employer-nim who’d scouted me for 2 billion won.
“150,000 won.”
I took out another handkerchief from my pocket and handed it over, but he covered his face with both hands as if aggrieved and made even louder crying sounds.
“Waaah, you only hate me~”
Then he slightly lowered his hands, narrowed his eyes filled with mirth, and looked at me. Why on earth does he act like that? A full-grown adult.
“By any chance, Hunter Baek Yejun?”
“Wow! Are you a fan! I heard he comes here often!”
“This is crazy~ Can I take a picture?”
In an instant, the situation reversed and the staff in the office reacted with delight as if they’d met a celebrity. I knew that the profession of Hunter frequently appeared in media and was a popular occupation, but if even the nurses who had almost no personal time due to work knew him, he must really be a famous person. I’d thought he had a suspicious amount of money, and as expected, there was something to it.
“I have something to talk about with Ha Seongho-ssi, so I’ll take pictures with you next time~ Bye~”
Baek Yejun pushed me firmly with somewhat frivolous gestures and led me out of the office.
“Is it work?”
“Yes~ It’s work~”
“2 billion?”
Even while being dragged along, I asked that because I didn’t want to miss the most important thing. At my question, he burst into laughter as if delighted and continued to lead me somewhere with large strides. It really made me want to grab him and beat the shit out of him, as if that bastard had a laugh bell or something in the middle of my forehead that he pressed just by looking at me.
“Have you ever entered a Gate before a raid?”
Baek Yejun, who led me to the emergency stairwell, asked a question similar in nature to the one he’d asked before.
“No.”
I gave the same answer as before.
“You’re immune to mental contamination, right?”
“Not completely immune.”
He seemed to have readily believed my words that I became immune to mental contamination if I paid money. Dungeons before raids where the boss hasn’t died have contamination levels beyond imagination, so ordinary people go crazy and die within 5 minutes. At least when the boss dies, it drops to a level where survival for about a day is possible, but it’s still dangerous all the same.
“If you enter a Gate, you’re confident you can come out alive without going crazy, right?”
“Yes.”
I wasn’t confident, but since I planned to somehow make it so, I answered without hesitation. And that pressed Baek Yejun’s laugh bell again. Should I just really pick a day to beat him? He won’t die no matter how much I beat him anyway.
“Recently, Hunters disappearing inside Gates are increasing. If it were a monster’s doing, they would have at least fished out corpses, but it’s strange that they disappeared without even corpses.”
“That kind of thing should be left to Special Ability Criminal Investigators.”
Special Ability Criminal Investigators were one of the newly created professions after the appearance of Espers and Guides. It wasn’t a popular occupation, but they were specialized investigators created due to society’s need.
“Since there’s only circumstantial evidence, they won’t move easily. They’re also short on Espers who can enter Gates.”
“What’s the reason for entrusting that to an E-rank Guide?”
Baek Yejun slightly tilted his head and lazily stretched his eye corners. I felt a nuance as if daring me to guess.
“You must have suspected individuals in mind.”
“About three people. Can you find out who it is?”
He proposed work that added deduction to investigation. It seemed like there wouldn’t be anything I couldn’t do if asked, but I still hadn’t heard the most important thing yet, so confirmation was needed.
“2 billion?”
Money is the best. I only look at money and go.
“…Pfft, hehe! Hahaha!”
He laughed so hard that tears streamed down and the emergency stairwell rang loudly, so I finally couldn’t hold back and smacked him.
What the hell is the operating principle of that bastard’s laugh bell?
***
In front of Exit 5 of Jangseungbaegi Station on Line 7.
There, an unnatural crack had formed as if the air had twisted and split open.
“Disgusting.”
The split interior only bore black color like the deep sea where not a single point of light reached, and an ominousness that somehow gave the feeling it was wriggling circulated.
In front of it, temporary fences that you’d only see at construction sites were irregularly lined up to prevent ordinary people from approaching.
“Please step back! Citizens showing vomiting and hallucination symptoms, please purchase and take purification potions at the nearest public health center or pharmacy!”
“Raid members and staff entering today, please fill out the list here and receive your bracelets!”
Low-rank Esper security guards wearing fluorescent vests were controlling the scene while waving light sticks emitting red light. Low-rank Espers had low combat power so they weren’t helpful in monster subjugation, but they were immune to contamination energy, so demand was good as they were deployed to administrative guidance work like this.
“Hunter-nims, we’re starting radiant Guiding!”
“The Healer-nim will cast a blessing! Hunter-nims with dark attributes, please step back two steps!”
Before deployment, rather than Guides attaching to Espers one-on-one and marking them exclusively, they gathered together and combined their strength for radiant Guiding, and that Guiding also focused on condition recovery rather than healing to raise morale.
“I’ll pass on this buff~”
“I’ll receive it.”
Healers and buffers also participated in the radiant Guiding scene to cast skills, but since each Esper had their own attributes and preferences, this was becoming a choice rather than mandatory.
“Esper-nims over there, Hunter-nims gather over here~!”
Civilian association Espers who fought inside Gates were called ‘Hunters’, and non-combat Espers were just called ‘Espers’.
Guides were just called Guides whether they fought or not.
“Terms keep being created. How annoying.”
Whether unfortunate or fortunate, Esper and ability-related terms sprouted up like bamboo shoots after rain, but Guide-related terms hadn’t changed much. While Esper-related fields developed rapidly, Guides weren’t different from ordinary people except for wavelength stabilization, so related studies and awareness had been stagnant for several years.
Flick, flick—
I lit a cigarette and thought the treatment of Guides was fucking terrible. Because if the current situation where no development was being made continued, it wasn’t difficult to imagine a dystopian future where Guides would be treated as just high-performance batteries for Espers, instrumentalized, and their human rights would plummet.
“You’re here?”
As I was looking around the distractingly chaotic Gate surroundings, Baek Yejun appeared. He’d looked busy being caught by reporters gathered outside a certain range of the Gate, and it seemed all the interviews had finally ended.
“Phew… You look uncomfortable.”
I exhaled cigarette smoke while looking Baek Yejun up and down. Despite my rude gaze, he didn’t care at all and instead spread his arms as if telling me to look closely.
“I have to look pretty on screen~”
The appearance of the bastard who showed up wearing a sword at his waist, dressed in a three-piece suit, and with his hair styled was that of a peacock who should be attending an awards ceremony rather than combat, no matter who looked at him. Appearing in such a state, I felt the already chaotic surroundings becoming even more bustling.
“How will you find the culprit if you stand out that much?”
Since I was getting attention along with him, I pressed down the cap I was wearing deeply and asked.
“If I dress inconspicuously, that’s conspicuous in its own way.”
So he came out dressed as usual.
At the remark that a Blue Dragon Film Awards ceremony was held every time a Gate opened, I felt that making a living really wasn’t easy.
“Kids will be watching, so put out your cigarette.”
“…Ha.”
At Baek Yejun’s words, I felt dizzy realizing that a world had come where kids watched live broadcasts of monsters being killed and people being sliced up at home, so I squeezed my eyes shut. Of course, the editing team would blur bloody or graphic scenes, but no matter how much processing they did, it seemed more harmful than cigarettes.
Still, I should put it out. Since kids are watching.
I took out my portable ashtray and stubbed out the cigarette.
“Who are the three people you suspect?”
At my question, suddenly the surroundings became quiet for a moment and only Baek Yejun and I remained in the world.
Turn on your blinker before using your unique barrier skill, employer-nim.
“They’re Hunters who can use hallucination abilities, and they all have characteristics.”
A. Kim Haeseon (Confusion) Sensory
Stimulation – Hallucinations that disturb vision among the five senses
B. Park Suheon (Black Magic)
Curse Application – Hallucinations that stimulate and reflect trauma
C. Choi Gukhwa (Fiction Summoning)
Reality Erosion – Materialized hallucinations that twist the physical laws of space
“Hunter Choi Gukhwa is the most dangerous. The others are illusions, but that one is real.”
I listened to the explanation and left a brief impression.
“Actually, that’s why I think he’s least likely to be the culprit. If Hunter Choi Gukhwa used his ability, all the raid members would have noticed.”
Baek Yejun floated 9 dolls lined up in a row in the air as if giving an example. And he only gently shook the last 9th doll up and down.
