After giving her answer, Castorice waited for the other party to continue questioning.
Who would have thought that 'Go Gunhee' would simply flash an 'I understand' smile, showing no intention of pressing further.
Castorice, who had painstakingly prepared her response: ...
"I can see that Hunter Castorice possesses a peaceful and gentle nature."
Go Gunhee, who had prevented Castorice from showing off, turned his back to her, gazing at the scenery outside the building.
This wasn't an act of dismissal—offering one's back to another was a gesture of voluntarily placing trust in them.
Watching the bustling city with its streams of people and vehicles, this prosperous and peaceful scene softened his gaze even more.
Seeing him like this, Castorice couldn't help but feel her own heart soften a little.
It wasn't because she was swayed by a few kind words, but because she could sense the sincerity in his demeanor at that moment.
"Do you hold a great fondness for this world?" Castorice asked.
"Yes," the old man covered in scars nodded. "If I came here initially out of a sense of duty, now I find myself contemplating how to coexist with this place."
"It isn't all that perfect, even filled with sin, yet it remains utterly captivating."
Castorice nodded thoughtfully. She could somewhat understand his meaning.
In his own world, they hadn't wanted to fight but were forced into battle. Yet, when they finally won, the very purpose of their existence became a profound question for their own sense of self.
Without evil, justice loses its reason for being.
"I see. Well then... I wish you may find the home you seek here."
Castorice nodded again.
At first glance, these words seemed harmless enough, but neither of the two present were ordinary individuals.
Go Gunhee turned back, a hint of contemplation in his eyes.
Castorice's words were indeed a blessing, yet they carried a subtle air of... a host's demeanor. It didn't sound like the blessing of a fellow 'wayfarer.'
However, seeing that Castorice didn't seem inclined to elaborate, Go Gunhee didn't press further, merely smiling and saying, "I appreciate your well-wishes."
Their conversation wasn't extensive. One side was disappointed the other didn't ask more; the other was disappointed the first didn't say more.
But at the very least, both sides had confirmed the other wasn't an enemy, which counted as the greatest gain.
Knowing that Castorice, like himself, didn't wish to reveal too much about her identity, Go Gunhee didn't show any further signs of special treatment.
Or rather, he had already reverted to being simply 'Go Gunhee' again. After hearing another version of the report from Castorice's perspective, he bid her farewell and returned to his office.
As for whether Go Gunhee was aware of their earlier conversation, Castorice wasn't sure.
But she suspected he probably knew.
After stepping out of the Hunter Association's main entrance, Castorice was about to head home when she saw a man in a red overcoat and neat glasses walking towards her.
"It's been a while, Hunter Castorice."
It was Choi Jong-in.
"It has been some time," Castorice replied with a slight nod and a smile.
"Thank you for helping our Vice Guild Master this time."
The smile on Choi Jong-in's face still seemed somewhat artificial, but the sentiment behind his words was genuine. Both professionally and personally, he didn't wish for any harm to come to Cha Hae-in.
But his next sentence immediately revealed his agenda:
"Who would have thought such an incident would occur today—a magical beast suddenly appearing in the city district. It seemed almost like a premeditated attack. Though, targeting Hunter Cha was clearly a miscalculation on their part."
It sounded like rambling nonsense, as if he were guessing blindly without knowing the facts. But if he guessed 90% correctly, it would naturally lead others to believe he was also in the know.
Cha Hae-in wouldn't casually break protocol, so it must mean the Association had granted him the right to be informed.
Unfortunately, his guesses were almost completely off the mark. Naturally, this left Castorice with no way to play along and feed him information.
"..."
Seeing Castorice remain silent, merely smiling, Choi Jong-in realized he hadn't hit the mark.
The intelligence he had was too scant, forcing him to lean toward less plausible angles. After all, this was an incident the Association was covering up—it couldn't be too reasonable.
Reasonable conjectures were easy; unreasonable ones were as difficult as scaling the heavens.
So, Choi Jong-in wasn't too disheartened and smoothly transitioned to the next topic:
"After all, Hunter Cha isn't alone; she has reliable friends like you, Hunter Castorice... Speaking of which, counting this time, you've already helped Hunters twice. One could call it a kind of fate."
"My apologies, but I currently have no plans to join a guild."
"Don't misunderstand, Hunter Castorice. While I truly wish you would join us, I'm not the type to be insensitive or overly persistent."
Choi Jong-in smiled. "Still, I hope you'll allow me a chance to thank you—in a personal capacity."
Castorice felt a bit exasperated. His words said he wouldn't be persistent, but his actions told a different story.
Though, thanks to him fending off advances from other guilds, she only had to deal with Hunters' 'enthusiasm.'
"There's no need for thanks. Helping a friend was my own choice," Castorice said.
Unexpectedly, Choi Jong-in didn't insist this time. Instead, he nodded with a hint of regret. "Very well. Then I'll keep this debt of gratitude in mind for now."
"..."
If she didn't know he was acting, Castorice might have actually felt somewhat embarrassed.
Knowing he wouldn't extract any more information, Choi Jong-in didn't linger. But since they'd met today, he casually asked, "By the way, Hunter Castorice, are you familiar with Jeju Island?"
"That would be the island that fell years ago due to an out-of-control S-rank Gate."
Castorice naturally knew of it. It was Korea's greatest scar of the past decade, where countless mid-tier Hunters, many high-rank Hunters, and even an S-rank Hunter had lost their lives.
Yet, despite such immense sacrifice, the Gate on that island remained unclosed. To this day, it was still a forbidden zone for humanity.
That battle remained an unhealed wound for Korea's S-ranks.
"Recently, we've decided to restart the suppression operation on Jeju Island. For that, we need as much strength as possible."
Bringing up this topic, the ever-present smile on Choi Jong-in's face faded noticeably, a flicker of fire seeming to ignite in his eyes.
"Not just to reclaim the S-ranks' honor and our territory, but more importantly... time waits for no one."
Choi Jong-in continued, "Not long ago, we captured an insect that had evolved the ability to fly across oceans. It killed seven civilians and two D-rank Hunters before being taken down by three B-rank and A-rank Hunters working together."
His tone carried hatred, fury, and a deeply buried apprehension.
"Currently, it's only this one instance, but we must consider whether such individuals have become the norm. And... if this growth ability isn't limited to flight alone..."
Then continuing to ignore it would allow them to grow stronger, unnoticed.
"I'll go."
Castorice had no reason to refuse.
"Thank you."
Choi Jong-in was still somewhat immersed in his anger, but Castorice's agreement improved his mood considerably.
After all, Castorice wasn't a native Korean Hunter, nor did she share Korea's particular pain and hatred regarding Jeju Island.
Even among Korea's own S-rank Hunters, some had no intention of participating in the subjugation. It would be normal if Castorice didn't want to get involved.
Yet she agreed. Choi Jong-in couldn't help but feel moved.
No wonder she got along so well with Cha Hae-in. Compared to people like himself, perhaps only these two women could truly be called heroes.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.