Chapter 50 └ That's our Glory Guild.
You can count on their performance. └ How much money do they get from the countryㅡㅡ Of course they should be this good. └ A Gate appearing and being cleared in 10 minutes... that's faster than a delivery app? └ They might complain about their jurisdiction being too large, but if they solve things this quickly, it's a thank you from me. └ Why is there only a picture of ugly Gu Geon-yi!
We want a picture of Maria!!
“Hmm…”
Checking public opinion by reading the news every morning. It was a long-standing habit of Gu Geon-yi, the Representative of the Glory Guild. He would never have reached this position if he had focused solely on increasing the guild's power.
Gu Geon-yi paid special attention to shaping public opinion, as well as making secret backroom deals with the Hunter Association. He paid massive advertising fees to newspapers and broadcasting companies, and if a critical article ever appeared, he immediately took legal action. Winning or losing the lawsuit didn't matter.
To the Glory Guild, with its vast funds, lawyer fees were child's play. His only goal was to make a point. That ‘messing with the Glory Guild will always be exhausting.’
Perhaps thanks to that. Recently, critical articles about the Glory Guild had all but dried up.
‘This is good enough.’
Gu Geon-yi silently pressed the dislike button on a mocking comment about his face, then stroked his chin. His chief secretary had said he leaked some material to the Central Daily News beforehand, and some pretty good photos had come out of it. There was no more perfect shot than a picture taken while fighting Monsters on site.
The combat stances of the Hunters and the blood of Monsters splattering everywhere. Was there any scene that provided a more dynamic and primal stimulus? He had boasted about bringing in state-of-the-art drones from the United States, and indeed, the quality of the photos was top-notch.
Click.
After erasing the name of the Glory Guild from the search bar, Gu Geon-yi typed in a person's name.
Cheon Hae-seon.
A man who had made a flashy debut as an S-rank Hunter but was, in fact, not active at all. Gu Geon-yi had used reporters to float the ‘responsibility theory’ about Cheon Hae-seon in the media. The main point was that a talented individual shouldn't be cooped up in a corner of his room.
And if Cheon Hae-seon finally decided to act, his first destination would, with high probability, be the Glory Guild. It was true that there was an unpleasant experience, but he could just pay for that ‘unpleasantness’ with money. Gu Geon-yi had watched countless times as human emotions were resolved with money.
It wasn't just money. The Glory Guild could provide ‘growth’ that couldn't be found elsewhere. Here, there was Maria, another S-rank Healer, as well as other S-rankers who could pass on their know-how to him.
Even if he prioritized his own growth over money, the only choice in the end was the Glory Guild. Of course, the story would be different if he started his own guild, but it was absurd for a new Hunter who hadn't even come of age to establish a guild.
“At this point, he should be getting antsy…”
Even an S-ranker was still a greenhorn. When people left and right started throwing a word in, his mentality was bound to be shaken. Living in Gaebang District, he surely didn't have much financial leeway either.
Cheon Hae-seon would take action. No, he had no choice but to take action. Gu Geon-yi held that conviction.
That was, until he saw the articles related to Cheon Hae-seon that had suddenly become hot news.
“What is this?”
As if they had been waiting for this day, articles poured out one after another. The headlines were different, but the content was all the same. That Cheon Hae-seon was going around clearing Poison-type dungeons with the Cleanup Clan.
The face of Gu Geon-yi, who had been leisurely browsing articles, crumpled like a piece of wastepaper. And as he read the comments below, the wrinkles on his forehead deepened. └ Wow. I wondered what Cheon Hae-seon was doing, and he was volunteering? └ To pick only Poison-type dungeons to clear.
Isn't this on the level of donating his talent? └ Right, right. Poison-type dungeons are like time bombs. It just feels unsettling to be near one. └ He was doing such good deeds in secret, Cheon Hae-seon! └ ‘That guild’ just dithers around even if it's within their jurisdiction.
Is this what you call class? └ Hey, does anyone know about the Cleanup Clan? └ Probably nobody. Disclosing the clan member list isn't mandatory. └ He could have gotten a contract worth billions, maybe even tens of billions.
To join a clan and do the dirty work... isn't this what a hero is? └ The Cleanup Clan's members must be pretty solid. Then again, any Knight would feel secure with Cheon Hae-seon backing them up.
‘These rats…’
Watching the people spouting whatever came to mind, Gu Geon-yi felt his blood boil. The current public opinion was completely shattering the ‘plan’ Gu Geon-yi had laid out. The ‘responsibility theory’ that he must fulfill his duty since he was born with the greatest talent.
Unfortunately, Cheon Hae-seon was already perfectly fulfilling that duty. An S-rank Hunter entering dangerous and unprofitable dungeons to clear them secretly. As written in the comments, wasn't that truly a ‘hero’?
It was a development that would make one nod even if someone had set the stage to create a star Hunter.
‘Strange.’
Once he reined in his chaotic emotions, a doubt surged in Gu Geon-yi's chest. It wasn't some vague denial of reality. The fact that all the articles broke at once overnight meant that some kind of ‘embargo’ had been in place.
It was something impossible to do without maintaining close relationships with various media outlets, like the Glory Guild did. A Hunter who had just finished his probationary period manipulating public opinion at will? An absolutely impossible story.
Besides, hadn't Cheon Hae-seon been actively avoiding reporters? Looking at the wording of the articles, they were perfectly countering the public opinion Gu Geon-yi had created. The minor Cheon Hae-seon placing an embargo on the press and waging a media war?
Gu Geon-yi shook his head. He then came to the following conclusion.
‘There's someone else.’
This wasn't Cheon Hae-seon's work. Someone skilled in machinations like himself (...) had stepped up to help him. Looking at the actual content of the articles, there was nothing that Cheon Hae-seon had directly stated.
It was possible to speculate that someone who knew of Cheon Hae-seon's activities had intentionally spread the information.
‘Could it be…’
A certain group came to Gu Geon-yi's mind. An organization that, like themselves, was friendly with the press and could sway public opinion.
‘The Hunter Association.’
But Gu Geon-yi shook his head vehemently again. Because there was no way the Hunter Association would carry out such a ploy for Cheon Hae-seon. He could tell just from the look on the kid's face during the qualification test that he didn't trust the Hunter Association.
The Association, too, was inwardly displeased with the rebellious Cheon Hae-seon. Above all, wasn't the Vice Chairman's son, who should have been receiving all the spotlight, now half-crippled? Of course, it wasn't Cheon Hae-seon's fault, but there was no way the Vice Chairman would look favorably upon Cheon Hae-seon.
‘It's not Cheon Hae-seon himself… and it's not an Association official, so who could it be…?’
Gu Geon-yi roughly ran a hand through his spiky hair. It was a habit of his when his frustration reached its peak. He had thought that in just a little while, he would be able to embrace the greenhorn who was being pushed by public opinion.
Faced with an unexpected ambush from an unknown source, Gu Geon-yi let out a deep groan.
[Hunter-nim, Hunter-nim!!]
As soon as I answered the phone, Iron Arm exclaimed excitedly.
[You're full of energy this morning.]
[Did you see the news???]
[No. I was asleep until just now. I'm on the KTX right now.]
[Ah, I see. Hunter-nim. The whole world is in an uproar about you right now!]
[Huh? Why?]
[Rumors have spread that we've been clearing Poison-type dungeons, and people are praising you!]
[…Hold on a moment.]
What is he talking about? I switched my phone screen and accessed a portal site. And I realized that what Iron Arm said was true.
When I went to the news home screen, every media outlet had my story on their front page.
[…It's real.]
[Hahahaha! Hunter Cheon Hae-seon. People are finally recognizing your true worth! It's so refreshing!]
Iron Arm burst out laughing, as happy as if it were his own affair. He had always gotten fiery mad whenever he saw articles about me. He would say that people were criticizing me without knowing anything.
Every time, I told him it was okay, but Iron Arm would get worked up, certain that there was a slander campaign behind it. Basically, I don't really care what people say. It's not like accurate information would be conveyed anyway, and it's ridiculous to tell people, ‘Please think of me this way.’
In any case, it seems the tide has turned quite a bit because of these articles. Looking at the comments, there are tons of favorable reactions to me. There were even people apologizing, saying they had thought wrongly of me all this time.
[I thought you were only skilled on the battlefield. You are truly profound. To be able to use the media so well at such a young age. I feel ashamed for getting swept up in the moment.]
[Huh?]
Wait a minute. Does he really think I did this?
[What do you mean, huh…? Wasn't it you, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon, who leaked it to the press?]
[No. I don't even read the articles about me. Wasn't it you, Clan Leader?]
[It wasn't me either?]
[Huh?]
There are a total of two people who went with me to the Poison-type dungeons. Iron Arm and Bi-soo. Bi-soo is out of the question, so that leaves Iron Arm.
It seems Iron Arm, on the contrary, thought it was my doing. If it wasn't any of the three of us, then who on earth was it?
[Well, what on earth is this….]
I could hear Iron Arm's bewildered voice over the phone. In the first place, not many people would know about us clearing Poison-type dungeons. A few people in the black market might know, but they are figures of the underworld.
Then who on earth orchestrated this?
[Ah.]
[…!! Hunter Cheon Hae-seon. Do you have something in mind?]
[I do. Someone who would do that.]
There was.
Someone in a group adept at handling the media like this. Someone who not only knew about the dungeon clearings but had also ‘commissioned’ the job. The image of a man in horn-rimmed glasses giving a thumbs-up floated outside the window.
Haha.
Was this what he meant by providing support in every way possible? I didn't particularly ask for it, but I'll gratefully accept it for now.
‘Supervisor’-nim.
Chiiiiiiik.
Receiving the welcoming greetings (?) pouring in from all sides, a smile naturally formed on my face. Back then, I even pretended to be dead. But now, there's no need for that.
Because ‘he’ must also know that I'm a human who can survive even in this noxious gas. So many things have changed. The man who didn't know how to properly utilize the poison in his body has now become an S-rank Hunter and is appearing in newspapers.
Dr. Jin.
Thanks to your device, I've grown this much.
Creeak…
Dr. Jin was the same as ever. His plump and cute build, and that timid motion of opening the door, were no different from before. Ah, one thing had changed.
The eyes, once full of suspicion behind the gas mask, had changed to ‘gladness.’
“Hae-seon!!”
Approaching me as I was smiling broadly, Dr. Jin spread his arms and gave me a tight hug.
“It's good to see you, Doctor.”