Chapter 161

Chapter 161

At exactly 12 o’clock, when most citizens had collapsed from exhaustion, a corridor in an apartment in Seoul.

“Is this really the right way to do this?”

At a form of meeting truly rare to find in modern society, Juhyeon felt doubtful.

“Setting out two folding chairs in an apartment corridor, and facing a portrait hanging on the opposite wall?”

“What’s wrong? We even have a table, it’s nice. This is a table our guild made in-house.”

“It’s certainly nice that it’s a semicircular table, so it feels like Mr. Gio is also here with us.”

“It’s not that it feels like he’s here—he actually is, isn’t he?”

“He didn’t come out of the frame directly.”

Juhyeon smiled bitterly.

“It’s weird because it happens to be in a frame, so it feels like we’re having a conversation with a memorial portrait.”

At that, the portrait itself answered.

“In a sense, I am a memorial portrait.”

At that, Yoo Seong-woon objected.

“No, Gio isn’t a photograph—he’s a portrait.”

“On that point, Mr. Yoo Seong-woon’s opinion is correct.”

“Of course, it could be that ‘Gio’s Portrait’ isn’t an ordinary portrait, but a different ‘first mourning.’ You know, that ‘first mourning’ as in holding a funeral.”

“That is a witty conjecture.”

“We’re discussing your identity—do you have anything else to add?”

“I would like to say that I respect all diversity.”

And Juhyeon thought.

‘What kind of conversation is this.’

It was a high-quality conversation that naturally brought a workplace smile to her face.

“Is there truly no risk that this conversation of ours will leak outside?”

“As I told you in advance, Ms. Juhyeon.”

Yoo Seong-woon wore a reliable, steady smile.

“This is an expensive apartment.”

“Yes.”

“It’s also an apartment that would easily break your back unless you’re a hunter with a very full granary.”

“That would be so.”

“If it were a place where information leaked while taking that money, it would’ve already burned down and disappeared.”

“I suppose so.”

Juhyeon, who agreed readily, pointed to the CCTV located in the apartment corridor.

“That will have been taken care of as well, right?”

“For someone who agreed readily, you’re still very suspicious.”

Yoo Seong-woon nodded.

“That part, too, was cleanly handled a long time ago, so you don’t have to worry.”

“What, exactly, was cleanly handled is what makes me worry.”

“There are many ominous rumors about the Collector, but as you know, most of them are ghost stories created by our works, aren’t they?”

“Yes, and that part is what I’m continuing to worry about.”

“The Collector does not see innocent blood. It wasn’t the kind of handling that harms the management staff, so you truly may set your mind at ease.”

He added,

“We simply reached a normal settlement with money.”

“Of the countless stories that come to mind, what should I say first for our conversation to proceed smoothly?”

“You don’t have to bring up the stories in your head.”

Yoo Seong-woon preemptively cut off Juhyeon’s worry.

“Isn’t it far better to receive a pile of money and close your own mouth than to be silenced without receiving money? I can confidently testify that it was by no means a coercive atmosphere.”

“A world where everything is solved with money really does leave a bitter corner in the heart.”

“I can’t help but sympathize with that as well. But there’s no one in the world who dislikes money, and in the end, isn’t it important not to cross the line? We resolved it within a line both sides could accept.”

“I wasn’t planning to nitpick the Collector’s way of handling things, either...”

“And more than anything, you might wonder whether money could really seal a mouth, but regarding that part, we used a soul contract. Unless they want to be wrung out for various prices, the silencing will be certain.”

“So could you please stop calling it ‘silencing’ like an illegal guild?”

It makes a regular listener feel really strange.

“I was a bit flustered at this unfamiliar form of meeting I’ve never seen in my life, but still, if it’s a soul contract, I can trust it.”

“What, exactly, is a soul contract?”

“Ah, that is...”

At the portrait’s question, Juhyeon organized her thoughts. It was such an obvious piece of common knowledge that, for a moment, she couldn’t think of how to explain it.

“...Literally, it is a contract targeting the soul. Recently, they use quite a variety of methods, but the commonality is that they use the awakened one’s system.”

“The awakened one’s system.”

“It’s a higher-dimensional existence different from a human’s, which easily dulls and loses meaning. If you don’t add related clauses, it’s also impossible to change the contract contents midway.”

“Are the management staff here awakened?”

“There are awakened people and non-awakened people. But in the case of a soul contract, it can be concluded as long as there is even a single awakened person involved in the ritual. It’s possible even as the supervising party rather than a contracting party.”

At Juhyeon’s explanation, Yoo Seong-woon added,

“The manager I contracted with was awakened.”

“That is sufficient explanation.”

The portrait nodded.

“Shall we begin the meeting now?”

“Let’s.”

When Yoo Seong-woon nodded as well, Juhyeon opened her mouth.

“Fortunately, in this summoning-spirits commotion, the main interest of the hunter industry has turned toward Miss Dana. It seems it helped a lot that we previously said Hunter Seo Gio was a tamer. The claim that it was largely the monster’s help rather than the hunter’s own ability is being accepted most convincingly by the public.”

If, without Dana, Gio alone had caused such a thing, it could not have been smoothed over as merely an ‘astonishing commotion.’ For an individual to summon intact souls with a single gesture was something beyond the human realm, even if there were skills related to souls.

However, the number of tamers was extremely small, and among them, there had been no tamer who succeeded in taming an anti-cat. With it said that the unknown monster called an anti-cat had such an astonishing ability related to souls, people must have accepted it somehow, Juhyeon thought.

“I do think, in practical terms, Mr. Gio’s help was great, but the public wouldn’t know that far into it.”

In the first place, if ‘Gio’s Portrait’ had not permitted it, an anti-cat the size of a kitten could not have grown that far, nor could it have possessed the ability to summon souls.

It wouldn’t be that just anyone who tamed a normal anti-cat could commit eccentric acts like ‘Hunter Seo Gio,’ but for the sake of Gio blending among humans without a sense of incongruity, it was better to let things pass like this for now.

“So, perhaps because of that...”

With his characteristic smile, Juhyeon continued her explanation.

“It seems the religious world is taking even more interest in this commotion. In particular, the Sun Church and the Moon Church reacted.”

“I have visited the Sun Church before.”

“You must have seen it briefly at the previous initiation ceremony event. But that was a case of widely opening the prayer space that anyone could come and go in, not only related persons, so if you go deeper inside, your impression will be different.”

Juhyeon took out a sheet of paper.

“In that context, I’ll say this.”

He continued to the portrait.

“The Sun Church has sent a collaboration request.”

“Do they wish to verify my abilities?”

“It may sound unpleasant, but that is the situation.”

At Juhyeon’s calm agreement, Yoo Seong-woon, who had been watching the two’s conversation, admired inwardly.

‘To be able to answer that so nonchalantly—what an incredible strong heart.’

It wasn’t that Juhyeon knew nothing about ‘Gio’s Portrait.’ With the help of Yoo Seong-woon and the other Collector guild members, he had learned information about it, and because he had been an Association researcher, he also knew well its danger and the vastness of its level.

‘And yet, that reaction.’

If they were ordinary people, it would be hard to answer a vast mystery—one that would surely question humans daring to measure its abilities—with, ‘It might feel bad, but that’s how it is.’

‘He’s bold in such strange places...’

While Yoo Seong-woon held that peculiar impression, the two’s conversation continued.

“Because, right now, people don’t know anything about ‘Hunter Seo Gio.’”

“I understand that I provided as many clues as possible regarding my information.”

“Thanks to you performing a small miracle for the Gita Orphanage, Mr. Gio, awareness has grown.”

“It was not to the extent of being called a miracle.”

“Right, it would have been a kind of performance rather than a miracle. Thanks to that performance and your collaboration with Curator Yoo Seong-woon, you are building recognition at an unusually rapid pace.”

However.

“That does not mean people have resolved every question about ‘Hunter Seo Gio.’”

“It means their questions have grown larger.”

“Yes. Exactly what specialty does this hunter have? What position does he 담당? What has he been doing until now... the elements people will be curious about are more than enough.”

Showing the papers sent from the Sun Church, Juhyeon said,

“In that case, this contact from the Sun Church can be a great help.”

It was a request to visit the Sun Church.

“When a group wants to test a famous hunter, this is generally the most commonly used method. If it were a guild—the most public group managing hunters—they would have sent an email or a business card.”

“Right, you could call it a request for friendship. Clueless hunters who decide it can’t hurt to get friendly get a lot of requests like this. They’re taking your measure.”

The approach differs by guild.

“Depending on whether the hunter belongs to some guild or is a freelance hunter, the method changes, too. Even if they’re freelance, if they have a manager, contact would come to that side first.”

At that, Juhyeon nodded.

“That was my case as well. To directly contact a hunter you’re meeting for the first time is a rude act. So if you’re keeping formality, you usually make various requests and expressions of intent to that hunter’s manager or their affiliated guild.”

Juhyeon added,

“Ah, ‘clueless hunter’ is slang referring to hunters who haven’t been active for long.”

“It was slang?”

“Usually it refers to a hunter with short experience, but in rare cases, it’s also used to belittle the other party’s skill. Naturally, this too is an extremely rude act.”

“That is sufficient explanation.”

“In the future, if there are words or actions you don’t understand well, I would appreciate it if you asked me.”

Sliding the papers toward Gio’s side, Juhyeon continued.

“This request, simply put, is a light greeting like, ‘Shall we get along?’ But for a church of the Sun Church’s scale to reach out directly like this is an unusual matter.”

Everyone who would know already knew.

“I will prepare as you wish.”

“The Sun Church.”

Gio asked Yoo Seong-woon,

“Isn’t that where Priest Kang Seodam and Student Cha Isol are?”

“That’s right. This request also came in through Priest Kang Seodam.”

“It seems he did not contact me personally.”

“He’s not the type to make a private request, Priest Kang Seodam.”

“That was also my impression when I saw him before.”

The portrait made a decision.

“I will visit soon.”

“The church?”

“Priest Kang Seodam.”

At that, Juhyeon nodded.

“I’ll prepare, understanding it that way.”

And inwardly, she thought,

‘So the church itself still isn’t passing.’

In the first place, Giovanni having good feelings toward the Sun Church would rather be a strange case. Even so, thanks to Giovanni’s personality itself being strange, he didn’t seem to have ill feelings, but that didn’t mean he seemed particularly fond of it, either.

‘Just a bit of curiosity.’

He’d said he’d stopped by once before; it seemed he wasn’t completely uninterested. From Juhyeon’s standpoint, it was the easiest reaction to handle.

“Besides that, a few other requests and contacts have come in. The importance isn’t very high, and most are from mass media, so I only organized them lightly. Shall I explain?”

“I do not wish to proceed with two events together.”

“Ah, I understand. Certainly, proceeding with two matters at the same time would be a burden to Hunter Seo Gio. I’ll prepare it so you can handle only one task cleanly.”

Juhyeon and Yoo Seong-woon thought,

‘Is this Mr. Gio’s rule?’

‘Seems like he has limits when he’s active.’

One was a gardener, and the other a former Association researcher. Both failed to think simply, ‘Gio is an introvert, so he doesn’t have the energy to handle many things at once.’

In truth, it wasn’t only because of their careers. Even to a total stranger, or to someone who had known him for a long time, Seo Gio’s impression never seemed like an introvert who would wilt the moment he stepped outside the house.

‘Well, it must be hard to stay outside the frame for a long time while lowering his level.’

Thinking that, Yoo Seong-woon wore an even smile.

“Then what date would be good?”

“I will follow whatever you recommend.”

“Good, then Ms. Juhyeon will check that.”

In a warm atmosphere, the first corridor meeting came to a close.

* * *

And here, there was someone who was neither warm nor finished.

“Haaah...”

Priest of the sun Kang Seodam, who had been dumped with the leftovers, thought,

‘A vermin-like religious world.’

The younger and lower your rank, the more naturally you became a slave.

Thinking that if not for the merciful sun he would have left long ago, he steadied his heart.

It was time to see divinity.

(To be continued in the next episode)