Chapter 159

There were a few people who recognized "Hunter Seo Jio."

They were civilians who had received his help during the S-class dungeon, the "Temple of the Deep Sea."

And soon after,

the personal information of "Hunter Seo Jio" was officially posted on the Collector website.

The people who read the post immediately rushed to the Collector website, and they could see that the poster's words were true. A photo just as clear as the one previously posted by Choi Raon, the verified witness, had been uploaded.

And some people were dumbfounded.

That was because the only information provided was his name, height, and age, but since Korean Hunters traditionally did not reveal much personal information by default, most people understood and moved on.

Still, there were people who grew excited.

It was good manners not to bother unofficial Hunters or underground-affiliated Hunters if possible, but once official activities became more frequent, that line was bound to collapse quickly. Those who had been keeping an eye on Seo Jio since the previous "Temple of the Deep Sea" incident rejoiced.

Among them was Choi Raon, who had been teased all day at work as the "flop-down woman."

'I'll never see a face like this again in my life.'

After getting off work and returning home, she twitched her restless fingers.

"A fan forum... If I make a fan forum... I could get photos and schedules shared with me..."

Displayed on Choi Raon's ancient computer screen was the two-shot she had taken with Hunter Seo Jio. At this late hour, the scene looked rather creepy, but in her own way, she was desperate.

'... A face like this is rare enough, but a personality like this with a face like this is even rarer.'

The reason Korea had at least some public order was not because Koreans were kind, but because all kinds of strict laws and creative punishments forced them to be kind, so it was an era when the average sense of morality was quite low, to the point that using people as tools was taken for granted.

That meant the personalities of public figures who could become the objects of someone's fandom were not the same as before the Great Calamity, either. Especially when it came to Hunters, this was a world where if a Hunter was popular enough, they could kill someone in broad daylight and people would brush it off with, "That can happen."

Of course, there were many Hunters who endured their rotten personalities and continued acting kind and sweet for the sake of that popularity, but Choi Raon was confident.

'I know a thing or two about reading faces, and this well is the real thing... It's real pure spring water, barely drawn up from deep underground.'

Her instincts, honed from stanning countless celebrities and Hunters, were telling her so. That this was a scoop she could not miss. A living natural monument. There was even a kind of sense of mission that came from it.

'Maybe the day I ran into Hunter Seo Jio really was fate.'

It was fate that Jio had personally crafted with his own hands at one hundred percent purity, but Choi Raon could not realize that much.

Perhaps because the platinum blond had been photographed beneath a yellow streetlight, it looked almost silver. His wavy hair seemed as soft as silk, and the smile that gave off warmth just from looking at it truly resembled sunlight.

"Seriously, what an insanely fucking gorgeous face..."

Choi Raon, who had seen him up close, recalled that moment. That cool atmosphere, as if he carried the scent of a forest, and the cheerful, manly smile he had shown when seeing her off at the end.

'Yes, this is the key.'

What had been hidden inside Hunter Seo Jio, whom she had thought was a quiet priest, was none other than the fresh citrus scent of a sports team captain.

"Ha."

Life was hard enough as it was, and a person needed light and salt that let them endure it.

'My last light and salt fell straight into the abyss over a huge personality scandal.'

Since Hunters had to live such harsh lives, quite a few of them found it hard to avoid personality scandals. Most of them were often exaggerated, but even so, once they became the subject of gossip, there was no helping the way it wore down the heart.

'I know I'm fussier than other people... But what am I supposed to do when my feelings cool the moment I'm disappointed in my fave's personality?'

Choi Raon was the type whose feelings cooled rapidly when she saw a flaw in the personality of a "fave" she had trusted. Things like tormenting other people, or killing someone for a worthless reason.

Before the Great Calamity, it had been unthinkable for even ordinary people, let alone public figures, to do such things in the first place, but this was the era after the Great Calamity. The moral standards Choi Raon expected were on the rather strict side.

"... No, it's not like I've committed a sin. Right? A person can be a little picky."

Because of that, Choi Raon naturally had a large number of people she had once stanned. Her feelings left the moment she saw a flaw in their character.

On top of that, the previous light and salt had been taken away by none other than Black Cloak. There were still plenty of fans who kept liking and waiting for that guy, but no matter what, Choi Raon had no desire to stan a certified piece of shit whom a monster that liked good people and hated bad people had acknowledged as a bastard.

"..."

Choi Raon, who had been staring so intently at the computer screen that it seemed her eyes might bore into it, muttered softly.

"... But with a face like this..."

Even if his personality had a few flaws, she felt like she would just find it thrilling and leave it at that.

"... Right, living as a Hunter must be so hard for him. Things like that can happen in life."

Most fans whose main focus was stanning Hunters did not lose interest just because a few controversies broke out. In truth, Choi Raon was the unusual case. Given the nature of the Hunter profession, a person could not always speak prettily and behave prettily.

But Choi Raon's limit for tolerating flaws in "her fave" lay in the target's face and behavior. To be precise, it lay mostly in the face.

'In that sense...'

She felt like she might not be able to let go of this light and salt even if he had sixty-six personality scandals in a row. If he had that kind of personality with this face, even God would be fair.

'But what if his personality is excellent, too?'

Then he was a natural monument that would never come again.

"I hope some new content drops soon."

In front of her monitor, Choi Raon smiled happily.

Meanwhile, Ju-hyeon, who had received the handover, was feeling a little flustered.

"You're handing the work over to me at this particular time?"

"I am busy enough just being in charge of Black Cloak. And as you know, Mr. Seo Jio is under your responsibility, Ju-hyeon."

"Collector caused all this work, so why are you doing this to me?"

"It's a shame. If you belonged to Collector, you would have been much busier than this."

"No, Mr. Yu Seongun."

"It can't be helped."

Yu Seongun expressed his regret as he handed over documents compiling reactions from various communities.

"I stepped in because this operation needed a large-scale overhaul, but going forward, when 'Hunter Seo Jio' has public activities, you need to be by his side, Ju-hyeon."

"A Hunter and a manager need to be treated as a set. I do know that, but..."

"It seems you learned well from the secretarial office. And as you know, this is when the commotion will be at its loudest and when attention will be focused on him the most. And I am an unofficial underground Hunter."

An unofficial Hunter referred to a Hunter who did not publicly reveal their personal information, and an underground-affiliated Hunter referred to a Hunter who did not operate publicly.

"Someone like me cannot be marked as 'Hunter Seo Jio's official manager."

I already have no idea how much work I have.

"If that really happens, I will have no choice but to become a person who never sleeps at all."

"... Just how much work do you do?"

"Please be sure to remember that the more capable a Hunter is, the more they get ground down."

"I'm Unawakened, though."

"Hunter Seo Jio won't be."

"Ah."

"The religious orders seem very interested, too... Collaboration requests will probably start pouring in soon."

A well-known Hunter received work even if he stayed still.

"As you know, Ju-hyeon."

"Yes, I did learn that."

Since his looks worked, broadcasters might contact him, and since a new trainer, one of the few in the country, had appeared, raid collaboration requests might come in from those who wanted to confirm his abilities.

Yu Seongun smiled awkwardly.

"The secretarial office will cut off the minor inquiries on their own. They will handle things that aren't even worth passing on to Hunter Seo Jio, but for the rest, Ju-hyeon, you will have to deliver them yourself."

At that, Ju-hyeon asked,

"I've been wondering this the whole time, but how am I supposed to go find 'Hunter Seo Jio'...?"

"I have already finished discussing that part with Jio."

"May I hear exactly what kind of discussion you finished?"

"We arranged for Jio to stop by the hallway of our apartment at exactly midnight..."

"..."

Ju-hyeon smiled in resignation.

"Guild Master Bi Sabeol has finally made up his mind to dispose of me."

"N-No, that's not it. Calm down. There are reasons it turned out that way."

"I would very much like to hear those reasons."

"To begin with, humans have no way to contact Jio."

It would be ridiculous for a mere human to contact a god whenever they wished, after all.

"To explain it a little more simply, we can't install a phone in Jio's house."

"That is true. It must be an entirely different dimension."

"So I also tended to meet Jio after setting a specific time."

Around four in the morning, that was.

"Other than that, if Jio wanted to call me, I would receive a letter and move over."

"I do receive letters too, but I can't interpret them, and above all, I don't think I can go to Collector's gallery..."

"It would be difficult for you, an Unawakened person, to withstand the energy of the gallery on the fifth basement floor."

"So you arranged things so that Mr. Jio could come this way instead?"

Ju-hyeon asked with his distinctive amiable smile.

"Not because the Guild Master hasn't given up on his dream of roommates?"

"I truly have no excuse for that part."

Yu Seongun smiled bitterly.

"I'll be in Unit 1, Ju-hyeon will be in Unit 2, and Jio will be in the hallway between us... Perfect."

"Is it all right for Collector to occupy the forty-sixth floor like this?"

"Collector has already purchased every residence on the forty-sixth floor, so there is no legal problem."

"An evil god or monster is going to be placed among those apartment units, though."

"Jio originally went just about anywhere he pleased. The law can't do anything about that."

"Ah, you're not wrong, but ah."

Ju-hyeon felt a little stifled.

"I feel as though I've been made responsible for part of the world's overthrow..."

"It could be an overthrow in a good sense."

"You aren't denying that it will be overthrown."

"It's only at the level of possibility, and it may not actually happen, so please don't worry too much."

"I'm getting more unsettled."

"It will be fine."

Yu Seongun showed him a calm smile.

"Most of the time, no one will stop by the hallway on the forty-sixth floor at exactly midnight."

It was an apartment with only two households on each floor. If someone visited a place that was not their own home at midnight, of all times, one could assume their purpose was impure.

"So even if an accident happens, we can pass it off as self-defense."

"What exactly are you trying to pass off?"

"This is the power a major corporation possesses."

Yu Seongun let out a laugh.

"And to begin with, even through the stairs, someone who is not a resident of the relevant units cannot visit that floor."

"Ah, so it's the same as the elevator. I didn't know the stairs worked that way, too."

"Most people who have never used the stairs themselves don't know that fact. But you need the card key for the relevant household to enter through the stairs as well."

"Then there won't be any victims who accidentally run into Black Cloak and faint."

"We should treat that as a trick disguised as an accident. Unless they are doing it on purpose, it is impossible for an innocent person to enter this floor."

Of course, apartment managers or regular inspection technicians could enter as much as they liked, but even then, such visits would not happen at exactly midnight. Since it was a strictly managed apartment, they would not leave even the slightest possibility of disturbing the residents' rest.

"So that was what I meant when I told you not to worry too much."

"Hmm, I understand."

"Thanks to that, my meeting time with Jio has been moved up, too."

"Ah, you too, Mr. Yu Seongun, at midnight...?"

"The Guild Master said it would be convenient to handle everything at once."

"... That..."

"It is a scheme, yes."

Bi Sabeol was a superior Yu Seongun respected, but some things had to be said.

"I think he wants the three of us to have a closer relationship."

"May I resist with all my might?"

"I think you will still be fine. Let us work hard together."

And so, in a place where the person himself was not even present, Seo Jio's life as a Hunter was settled.