Chapter 448. Caution (2)

The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood

Chapter 448. Caution (2)

I skimmed through the reply from the Japanese side and nodded. Then, I slipped the phone I had been holding back in to my pocket.

Even if the two of them show up, they're hardly a threat. Those primitive beings are leaving their own home ground and coming openly to this prime land of South Korea, asking to have a conversation—so is there really any reason to refuse?

I quietly rolled my eyes, recalling the series of thoughts that had passed through my mind. For reference, it had been 18 hours since Iori's last message—and now, I was actually about to meet the very people in question.

"What on earth is this?"

A rented office in the middle of the city. In the small space where the wallpaper was peeling off, an awkward silence lingered for a while. The hunters from Japan I was meeting again looked quite different from how I remembered them.

"Hmm."

Blood trickled down the corner of one eye. Gauze barely held back the bleeding on the left side of his face. Or a medical eye patch, almost flesh-colored, etc.

Who would have thought that a fire-element awakened hunter, representing Japan, would show up looking utterly "battered"? Honestly, with injuries that severe, he should probably be lying in a Japanese hospital rather than sightseeing in another country. Yet, what reason could this foreigner with such a badly damaged eye have for coming here?

First, I asked the most important question—how they were doing. The guest, sitting on the red secondhand sofa, immediately opened their mouth and responded without hesitation.

"Oh, I'm fine!"

For reference, the one speaking just now was the second S-rank hunter sitting next to Japan's top-ranked hunter. It wasn't Moritake Ito, who looked like a severely injured emergency patient, but the awakened hunter who had called our guild. As Iori cheerfully started speaking, I was able to naturally take in his appearance as well.

"That person, on the other hand, doesn't have a single scratch."

In other words, considering that they were injured while clearing the dungeon together doesn't make sense, since only one side was strangely unharmed.

"It's really okay. I know it looks bad, but actually, the wound is healing, so that's why there's a lot of blood."

"Is that what the medical staff said?"

"Anyway, I'm completely fine. Nowadays, dungeon potions are so effective that my eyesight will recover in no time. So don't worry too much! Haha."

Could it be that this person's real purpose is sightseeing? The answer that came out was surprisingly cheerful enough to make me wonder. Iori wore a calm-toned Hawaiian shirt and, aside from that, showed no peculiarities at all. It was also a bit strange that the unscathed one was stepping forward to explain that Ito was fine.

"I still can't quite make sense of it."

I observed the situation in silence for a moment. Then Iori smiled again and spoke.

"Um, before we get started with the main discussion... could I have a glass of water first?"

Well, it's a reasonable request in this hot weather.

"Yes."

Since the topic came up, I might as well mention it. In fact, this space called the [Kim Giryeo Guild] had been steadily improving. Ever since the veteran Choi Jin joined under my command, I was able to get all sorts of valuable advice. Recently, for instance, she suggested, "Shouldn't we at least have a water purifier indoors?"

"I was wondering when I'd get to use it, and now here's the perfect chance to serve water to a guest."

I've heard that some people on Earth feel uneasy drinking magically created water. So, restraining my urge to use magic, I drew water from the purifier and handed it to them.

"After all, it's a machine bought with Choi Jin's earnings."

Thud.

"Ah! Thank you."

When the cup of water was handed to him, the hunter from another country bowed his head without hesitation.

"Actually, I got lost around here because I misread the map app. Maybe it's from walking so much in this hot weather... I'm a bit thirsty."

True, renting a corner on the fourth floor of a building with cheap rent might have made it even harder for them to visit...

Even from the alien's perspective, the hunter gave off a youthful vibe. In other words, Iori naturally began steering the conversation.

"Anyway, then we'll go ahead and explain the reason we came."

But what happened immediately afterward was quite unexpected. Iori, wearing an awkward expression and glancing a round nervously, suddenly stood up from his seat. At the same time, he kept sneaking glances at me—

"First of all, I'd like to apologize!"

The other person suddenly leaned forward, exposing the top of their head.

"Apology?"

"That was really unavoidable. I heard that Kim Giryeo helped us Japanese hunters at the artifact auction event in Switzerland, didn't you?"

"That thing?"

"I wasn't there in person, but I roughly heard about the incident from others."

For now, I sat quietly and listened to the story.

"But the way Kim Giryeo-ssi generously shared the artifact details with such a boundless heart..."

"Uhm?"

"You fool! They actually tried to use it and ended up causing an accident!"

For reference, the "fool" mentioned here refers to him.

"Moritake Ito, that person!"

The Japanese guest suddenly lost his temper, pointing a finger at the hunter, whose frame was even slimmer than my own.

"What exactly do you mean by 'took advantage'?"

But after hearing the full story, from Iori's perspective, it really was enough to drive someone mad and make them jump up in frustration.

"As soon as they realized that the [Legendary] greatsword resonated with other items, a few hunters returned to Japan and carried out the experiments."

Oh my god...

"First, they tried to figure out which item triggered the light explosion. Then, they wondered if using a third item might produce an even more useful ability, so they..."

"Oh no."

"Anyway, it seems those hunters were fooling around in some back room, putting various artifacts next to it and doing the obvious stupid things."

"Then that injury must've been caused by the equipment."

"Yeah, yeah, exactly. That's the one."

Iori snapped irritably.

"Hunter Moritake Ito here suffered serious damage to his ocular tissue while researching the [Legendary] equipment."

The person whose face turned into a complete mess, on the other hand, stayed silent as if he had nothing to say.

"On top of that, there were injuries to the skin on his arm, his ribs, and so on. If I listed every wound he had before taking the potion, my mouth would get sore."

"Hmm."

"Honestly, I still feel like going to each of the hunters who agreed to that experiment and giving them a lecture. But I'll let it go for now—only because I'm busy as an S-rank."

A case of trying all sorts of methods to analyze a legendary weapon... only to get caught up in an accident.

"Honestly, if this great mage had been in the Stone Age, I probably wouldn't have been able to resist poking at a [Legendary] artifact either. But getting into a near-death accident while experimenting with it is a bit..."

I brought a hand to my mouth in sympathy. Seeing that, the Earthling across from me bowed his head again, showing the top of his head.

"Anyway, as you've heard so far, Japan has suffered far too much damage because of this item."

That was his introduction.

"They say this item's activation failure was such a serious incident that it caused the hunters to develop a phobia."

"Phobia?"

"An S-rank almost got their head blown off... That greatsword, once it starts rampaging, is something an ordinary person can't possibly control!"

And the lines that followed were surely their main point.

"But there is exactly one person in this world for whom things are different... Ranker Kim Giryeo."

It was at that moment. The man named Ito, who had been sitting on the sofa, suddenly began rummaging through his [Item Box].

Taking out an artifact storage tool right in front of me, and laying the groundwork by saying I'm someone special unlike everyone else...

"Perhaps?"

It didn't take long for the 'no way' to become reality. Before long, the Japanese hunters seated there revealed a shocking proposal.

"...So, in conclusion, our S-rank Alliance wants to transfer the ownership of this Legendary item to you."

"What did you say?"

A Legendary-grade artifact. And to think that the Ego Sword, the key material for the golem that the Binary Star System's mages had been desperately seeking, would be handed over so easily!

"This item is now nothing more than a ticking time bomb for Japan... we never know when it might cause another accident."

"Uhm."

"Incidentally, after making such mistakes during the Black Dragon raid, it would be absurd for us to expect to learn equipment-handling know-how from you in return."

"Sorry, but even if you learn the method, you still won't be able to control it perfectly. Structurally speaking."

"That's right. Actually, I had a feeling it would be like that, so I came here already mentally prepared."

The Japanese nodded as they reflected on what had happened at the previous Swiss event.

"Excuse me."

But as the conversation flowed in this manner, I couldn't help but voice a certain question.

"But back then, didn't all kinds of chaos break out because you didn't want to hand that greatsword over to another country?"

Ouch.

The patient, with gauze covering parts of his face, turned pale and remained silent. Consequently, the relatively healthy Iori responded belatedly.

"Ah, of course. We didn't come to hand over the greatsword lightly, as if discarding junk at a thrift shop."

"Uhm."

"By the way, I'm the only one who can say this, since I won't involved in that incident at the time."

"Please, go on."

"I, I hope you won't take offense, but... anyway, the [Black Dragon] gate itself belonged to Japan... and, well, the item drop was actually due to a chance successfully triggered by the hunters here... right?"

I was just quietly staring with my sambaegan eyes, but suddenly the guest's voice started trembling.

"So in the end, we can't really say that the Legendary weapon has no stake held by Japan, can we?"

I refrained from making threatening actions as much as possible. If the other person gets too scared and runs away, I don't know what will happen to [Legendary].

"That's right. It does belong entirely to Japan, and you actually chose the green longsword back then because of the contract terms, remember?"

"Ah, as expected. Thank you for your generous understanding."

But Iori continued the conversation cautiously, still keeping an eye on the atmosphere.

"Then, based on your understanding, we would like to make a request. If Hunter Ito hands over the [Legendary] to you..."

"Yes, yes."

"Could you promise just two things in return? Think of this as a kind of deal."

"Two things?"

"The first is that we hope you will truly and completely forgive the sins our rankers committed during the last Black Dragon hunt. Honestly, we just want to make sure that this item is never used to harm us."

"And the second?"

"This is really an apologetic request, but since the awakened supporter we promised on broadcast has become unexpectedly common with the passage of time and the prevalence of S-rank gates, we'd like to include a small exception clause."

"What exactly do you mean by 'exception'?"

"I, if, in our homeland, an equally top-tier gate occurs, then only one of the four members from the Imabari Guild would be sent to Korea as support..."

Mumbling.

The person named Iori trailed off at the end of the sentence, then hastily corrected their pronunciation.

"If this deal goes through, Hunter Moritake Ito will probably be the one providing the labor. Of course, no matter how hard he tries in his lifetime, he still won't match Haseong-kun."

"..."

"But still, why do you think the four from Imabari underwent all that training just to match the abilities of that one person in the first place?"

"Oh."

"Even if he lives like that! Ito is strangely twice as strong a hunter as I am. I really guarantee it. So, how about negotiating on the condition of using him as a fully reliable backup?"

The gist of their argument was basically: "The country is sending out top-tier hunter Ito, so at the very least, let our nation have a chance to handle disasters on its own..."

"Settling past grudges. Additionally, a slight adjustment to the deployment promise."

However, it's a bit embarrassing to think of such a serious idea in front of an Earthling.

"Free!"

This is why there were so many folktales on Earth.

"If I receive the [Legendary] under these conditions, it's no joke—it's literally just free trade."

The scoundrel who had attacked the alien unexpectedly turned out to be a stroke of luck.

"But just so you know, we're not giving this to anyone else; there's one more reason why we want to hand the weapon over specifically to you—"

"First, could you take out the [Legendary] item you brought?"

"Uh-huh. Sure!"

In fact, at that time I was just an F-rank, so I didn't have the strength to retaliate. Besides, I was drooling over the [Legendary], so I might have accidentally interrupted the important point the other party was about to make.

"Here it is! For now, on our side, we've been calling it the 'Greatsword of the Sun God', based on its property of generating light."

Thud.

Analysis comes first. I silently examined the item that had been placed on the negotiation table.

~

As if sensing the chilly atmosphere, the Ego Sword began to emit subtle vibration waves—but just like before, I decided to naturally ignore it.