Episode 043
About thirty minutes later, a voice finally came from the side that had been fighting me.
"Stop! I'm done! What the hell is this guy?!"
One of them shouted that, put his weapon away, and raised both hands.
"A wise choice."
I gave his shoulder a light pat. In that brief opening, a pitiful hunter rushed at me—and his jawbone was smashed to pieces as a result.
Once things reached that point, the remaining hunters also put away their weapons and raised both hands in surrender.
"What are you doing?! Fulfill the contract!"
Despite Daniel Royce's shout, the hunters who had already raised their hands did not resist me again.
"Damn it, open fire!"
At last, Daniel Royce yelled that and drew his pistol, aiming it at me.
With his shot as the signal, bullets and grenades poured down like a storm toward where I was standing.
"Hey, I said let's talk for a bit. Is that really so hard, you bastard?"
There was no way I'd been hit. Even hunters who used magic would miss and then mistake it for a hit. Ordinary people firing guns couldn't possibly hit me.
There was nothing left where the grenades and bullets had fallen, and I had been standing right beside Daniel Royce from the moment he pulled the trigger.
Slipping an arm around his shoulders, I grinned as I brought the blade of my spear to his neck.
"Even if you want to get on someone's nerves, there's a limit to how far you should go."
As the spear blade slid against his neck, his skin split along its path and blood began to flow.
"Do you really want to die today?"
I could feel his body stiffen. The guys who had just been enthusiastically unloading bullets and grenades at me on Daniel's orders couldn't attack me in this situation.
"I could just quit everything right now, slice your neck clean off like picking an autumn apple, and go home."
"And how are you going to deal with what comes after?"
"You think I came here worrying about that?"
In this situation, honestly, it wasn't like I couldn't do it.
"…Let's talk. Let's settle this through dialogue."
"Dialogue sounds great. I've been politely asking for that this whole time."
The fact that I had to put a blade to his neck just to have a conversation was so sad it almost brought tears to my eyes.
I calmly withdrew the spear from his neck and handed him a handkerchief.
"Why are you refusing to cooperate with the train operation?"
I was genuinely curious—might as well hear him out.
Daniel took the handkerchief I offered and wiped the blood running down his neck as he answered.
"The shield generator is something we need more urgently than Britain does."
"Because of Ristorante?"
At my words, Daniel immediately nodded.
"Of course. The encroachment zones Britain is facing right now are nothing special. Meanwhile, Ristorante is pushing up from Italy toward us!"
I put on a sympathetic expression.
"The shield generator is still in the experimental stage. We need a safe location where we can collect data."
There was no way we could suddenly take it into the encroachment zone of Ristorante, one of the Great Eight. Even if we gathered data, recovering it would be difficult in more ways than one.
And on top of that…
"I told you over the radio, but the Korean government doesn't see you as some kind of new German government."
They see you as little more than a bunch of punks illegally occupying German territory. And honestly, it's not like that view is completely wrong. How are these guys supposed to count as a government?
There's a reason the European branch of the Hunters' Association is based in Britain.
To put it simply, it's like lending an aircraft carrier to Somali pirates just because they promise to use it cleanly and return it neatly. As if anyone would believe that.
"And besides, you wouldn't even give it back if we asked, would you?"
At my words, Daniel fell silent for a moment before replying.
"If an appropriate price is paid, it's not impossible."
"What are you guys, gangsters?"
They didn't even make the thing, snatched it on their own, and now they wanted compensation just for returning it. It was like the British Museum all over again, acting generous with stolen goods.
"Get me a drink or something."
At my words, Daniel jerked his chin. A moment later, a glass filled with a drink was handed to me. I took a sip, then immediately twisted my face and wiped my mouth as I glared at Daniel.
"What is this, some kind of revenge?"
I thought it was something like cola, but what the hell is this?
"I don't know. It's been months since I last had real cola. That's just something with a similar color, and it's relatively easy to get."
On the bottle one of them was holding were the words Carbonated Cocoa Sweet Drink. Was this a North Korean beverage? How on earth had it ended up here?
There was no way something this unbelievably awful would be consumed in Korea. It must've been dumped off on some other country in the end.
"I said we'd talk, but this doesn't look like it's going to become a negotiation table."
I set down the glass after just one sip and stated flatly.
"Cooperate."
"You say that as if there's some other option."
Instead of answering, I lightly tapped my spear.
"There is another option. I don't really recommend it, though."
If you'd rather die than cooperate, then you die—can't be helped. I won't argue about that.
"I won't ignore even the last wish of someone who says, 'Just kill me.'"
"Damn bastard. I can't tell who's calling whom a gangster anymore."
There wasn't really a rebuttal for that. After all, I'm doing this for money, and he just judged that not cooperating with the shield generator transport was more beneficial for him.
If you really had to put it into words, this result only came about because one thug was stronger than the other thug. Honestly, it's not a method I'm particularly fond of.
"So what kind of cooperation are you talking about, specifically?"
"It's not something you need to discuss with me."
I casually reached out and tapped the radio hanging from his belt.
"I'm more like a matchmaker, you see."
I'm just brokering the introduction. The person who actually needs to talk isn't me, but Lee Se-eun, who's currently busy distributing relief supplies in Warsaw.
"Did Candy Lady ask you to do this?"
"No. I just got frustrated with how slowly things were moving and decided to step in myself."
At my words, Daniel muttered a quiet, "I figured."
"It wouldn't make sense for Hunter Lee Se-eun of all people to act this recklessly."
So Lee Se-eun already had a firmly established image. And these guys knew it—and were trying to exploit it.
"Do you really think Candy Lady will just let your unilateral actions slide?"
"I'm not affiliated with Janabi, and the contract I signed is with Embargo Tower. Whatever Hunter Lee Se-eun thinks about my actions is none of my concern."
At that, Daniel's eyes darted back and forth.
"I think the name Candy Lady carries immense respect and authority among hunters."
"If I cared about that kind of thing, do you think I'd have flown all the way here in a helicopter, cursing the whole way?"
I spun my spear once and then tapped the ground with it.
"Well… fair enough."
After finishing my thought, I grinned and continued.
"If I just took your word and casually left, you might start saying something different later. I'm staying here."
At my declaration, Daniel looked utterly dumbfounded.
"In Korea, they'd say someone like you has guts spilling out of their belly."
"I do happen to hold my liquor pretty well. So provide me with a place to sleep and something to eat."
Since they'd already decided to cooperate, it wasn't like they'd refuse now. After staring at me for a while, Daniel finally sighed and replied.
"Yoo Chanseok, I fully understand that you're the type who goes completely off the rails."
With that, he issued various orders to his subordinates. Shortly after, I was given lodging.
"What's that?"
On the way to the quarters, I pointed at people lining up bottles along the street and asked Daniel. Inside the bottles, some kind of solid chunks were suspended in liquid.
"Canned mixed meat."
Curious, I bought one with my own money. As soon as I opened the bottle, a rancid stench burst out. The price was 350 won per jar.
I grimaced slightly and looked at Daniel.
"That smell is brutal."
Daniel seemed never to have smelled the contents of one of those jars himself. Covering his mouth with a handkerchief, he replied coldly.
"Damn it, just throw it away. We'll provide dinner, so don't even think about taking that with you."
"You really shouldn't try to eat it. Some of those aren't properly sterilized or sealed—you could die."
One of the soldiers escorting Daniel gave me that warning. Apparently, you could get botulism. Without treatment, the fatality rate exceeded fifty percent, and in Europe right now, getting proper treatment was basically impossible.
"Still, they look like they can't get enough of it."
I said that, recalling the gaunt people lingering near the seller. Their expressions weren't those of people looking at foul-smelling scraps of meat that might kill them.
What's more, the seller had a shotgun propped up right next to him, as if preparing for theft. If you've got a shotgun ready, that means you expect to use it.
"Not my problem."
"Is that so?"
Daniel glanced my way and answered.
"We spend our own money to hire hunters, operate weapons, and deploy troops to protect this land. That alone is more than enough."
While we talked, we arrived at the lodging—a barracks made from a large tent. Inside, a kerosene heater was burning, and food had been prepared.
It was stir-fried cod, bacon, and potatoes. Alongside it were rye bread and beer, a stew with turnips and beef, and fruit pudding for dessert.
"Quite a contrast compared to the canned meat you told me to throw away earlier."
"You've been picking fights since earlier."
Daniel looked openly uncomfortable as he stared at me.
"Not at all. Thanks for the meal. I'll enjoy it."
I'm the one being fed, after all, and just because others are starving doesn't mean I have to starve too. I pursue big changes, not small sympathies.
I finished speaking and sat down at the table.
"So, how many of the hunters fighting Ristorante are you planning to bring here?"
At my question, Daniel froze mid-motion with his fork and stared at me.
"At this point, stop treating me like an idiot."
For now, they were treating me well because eighty hunters had just been beaten senseless—but that didn't mean they welcomed me.
Most likely, they were trying to pull a few capable hunters away from the southern front, where they were fighting Ristorante, and call them here.
I put a piece of cod into my mouth and chewed.
"Knowing that and still staying put… you really are insane."
"I can't leave. And honestly, why would I?"
As I said that, I suddenly reached out and placed my hand on his body. The Paradox Flame clung to him, thin as a candle flame.
"…?!"
Daniel flinched and hurriedly tried to brush the flame off his shoulder with his hand. But it wasn't something that would disappear so easily.
"That flame isn't harmful at all, so you don't need to worry."
What the Paradox Flame was burning on his shoulder was scent.
Things like sound and smell regenerate quickly even if you burn them away. It's different from burning away someone's sense of smell or hearing.
"But if things don't go well, that flame will burn you alive."
After saying that, I crossed my legs and continued eating.
"Hey, this stew's pretty good."
Daniel didn't reply. He clearly wasn't in the mood to talk.
"You can't keep this up forever."
I smiled and answered.
"Try asking the other hunters for some advice. Ask them whether I can keep that flame going indefinitely or not."
They'd already experienced it once—they'd know. I gulped down my beer, slammed the empty glass onto the table, and said:
"If I want to, I can keep a flame like that going for a lifetime."
Having finished my threat, I quickly cleared the food on the table, then stood up with a single burp.
"Anyway, good luck with the negotiations. If you try anything funny, the bomb collar around your neck will go off."
"You bastard…"
I waved casually and spoke as I got up.
"I'll be watching too, so call me when the negotiations start. Until then, I'll be resting. Preferably, I'd like talks to begin by tomorrow afternoon."
Dragging things out on purpose would just ruin the fun.