WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Arsène

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ How an A-Rank Hunter Lives ◈

Chapter 48: A-Rank Hunter Nguyen - [6]

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The next morning, I got a call from an unknown number.

When I answered, it was Nguyen, just as I'd expected.

“Kim Geuk? Do you have time?”

“Yes, Mr. Nguyen? Go ahead.”

Nguyen sounded different from usual over the phone. In a subdued voice completely lacking his usual heartiness, he cautiously asked,

“I got really drunk yesterday, right? So I think I might've said all kinds of things carelessly, and maybe...”

“You should cut back on drinking from now on. You were so drunk you couldn't keep your mouth shut. You said a whole lot of things you shouldn't have.”

There was a moment of silence.

Only after a long pause did Nguyen speak.

“If you're hoping I'll pay you to keep your mouth shut...”

“No need. I've got plenty of money too.”

My quick reply brightened Nguyen's voice.

“Right? Still...”

“Even if someone beat me to death, I wouldn't say anything, so you don't need to worry.”

“Really? You promise! But if there's anything you want me to do, tell me in advance, okay? Put my mind at ease!”

“I'm telling you, you can relax... If you're still worried, work as hard as you did last time whenever you hunt with me. I won't expose what you said about not putting much effort into hunting, but there's no downside to getting along with me, right?”

Only then did Nguyen finally seem relieved. Over the phone, he spoke in the same boisterous voice as usual.

“I knew I was a good judge of character! A man like Kim Geuk wouldn't threaten to expose someone's secrets and act so sneaky!”

“So, will you work hard whenever you hunt with me?”

“Of course I will! I'll work really hard, so look forward to it, Kim Geuk!”

Just hearing his voice made it easy to picture how excited he was. Nguyen was probably smiling over there, showing off that distinctive set of white teeth.

I'd been fooled by that good-natured smile when we first met. Damn it.

After ending the call, I sighed. Then I cursed the person I'd just spoken to in my head.

That fucking bastard. A worthless worm with no dignity.

I couldn't report his past to Incheon City. It wouldn't benefit Incheon City in any way.

After getting him drunk yesterday and digging information out of him, I'd learned that more than half of Nguyen's signing bonus from Incheon City had already been converted into Bitcoin. A considerable amount had also long since disappeared as hush money. Even if they terminated his contract, there didn't seem to be any way to recover the signing bonus in full.

Besides, hadn't Korea changed its laws long ago to issue Hunter licenses even to people with criminal records? From what I'd looked into, it was now difficult to cancel a contract because of someone's past.

So there was no helping it. The best option was to soothe his feelings and make sure he properly participated in hunts, at least when I was there. I had no choice but to make him earn the money he'd already received that way.

Anyway, I had complicated feelings about it all.

I personally liked Kang Jun-chi, but I couldn't stand his small-time behavior. Nguyen was exactly the opposite.

Any personal fondness I had for Nguyen disappeared yesterday when he proudly rambled on about how he'd raped all the women he wanted, but I liked his actions themselves very much.

I meant his time as a rebel soldier.

Vietnam, as was common for countries that weren't wealthy enough, didn't recognize the Hunter system. Vietnam conscripted awakened people as soldiers while paying them several times more than ordinary soldiers, but it was still far below the international market rate for awakened people, so there was considerable dissatisfaction among them.

Then the awakened soldiers dispatched to suppress the Gate incident in Cà Mau Province broke free from military control and occupied Cà Mau Province.

In a way, it was an uprising by awakened people who hadn't been treated properly. And because of that uprising, the awakened people were able to go abroad and make a great deal of money, so there was room to see it as a partially successful uprising.

As an awakened person myself, I felt that rebellion had been necessary. If I ignored the ugly things that happened along the way, like extorting people's property, it was something awakened people who hadn't been treated properly had naturally needed to do to reclaim their rights.

And my new way of thinking, which seemed warped from repeatedly experiencing hallucinations, was telling me that I should start getting close to that Vietnamese awakened person so I could make him a future comrade.

Crazy bastard.

Of course, it was out of the question. It wasn't even something I should fantasize about.

I'd already seen the end of an idiot who seemed to have put that kind of fantasy into action.

The me in the hallucination. That idiot terrorist...

I wouldn't become like him.

I had too much to do to meet the same end as him. I had to protect Incheon, help Park Mihyeong's election campaign, and buy my little sister a Porsche and an apartment when she got out of prison. And if possible, I had to make my ring girl end every sentence with nya.

Those were things I couldn't do if I committed a bombing or something.

After sorting out my thoughts, I contacted the civil servant I'd met last time.

I told the civil servant a suitably edited version of the story.

“That's right, I had a long talk with Nguyen... I think the problem is that they've been treating him like some foreign laborer. He was full of dissatisfaction, but he does seem to like me. After I calmed him down, Nguyen promised that from now on, he'll work hard whenever he hunts with me.”

“Ah... It's a relief that he'll at least work hard when he's with Mr. Kim Geuk. We can focus the dispatch requests on when Mr. Kim Geuk is deployed...”

“That's right. Don't hold back on the praise.”

“I mean it, I'd like to bow deeply to you! You didn't have to listen to my request, but you did. Thank you so much!”

After the civil servant repeatedly thanked me, I said,

“By the way, since I granted your request, could I ask you for a favor too?”

The civil servant told me to name it, so I gave my demand. The civil servant immediately agreed.

“Ah, something like that? I'm almost sorry it's less than I expected. Then I'll get right on it. Thank you again, Mr. Kim Geuk!”

* * *

So the next afternoon, I sat beside Park Mihyeong.

I looked at the people gathered in front of us.

Nearby merchants and homeowners... Park Mihyeong spoke before those people, who had gathered with hopeful faces, and the reporters.

“Here and now... I declare the resumption of the Incheon Recovery Project!”

The reason they'd gathered so many people for an announcement like this was obvious. It was policy promotion meant to restore Incheon's land values, as well as an opportunity for politicians to make their voices heard.

And Park Mihyeong no longer seemed to need to make her voice heard at events like this.

“Long live Park Mihyeong, the brainwashing ability user!”

“Please keep Hunter Kim Geuk thoroughly brainwashed from now on too!”

Thunderous applause rang out, and I rose from my seat. I raised one arm toward the sky.

I'd held that pose for five full minutes in the video, so it had become my signature pose. The moment I struck my victory pose, people responded.

“Kim Geuk! Kim Geuk! Kim Geuk!”

I closed my eyes and opened them amid the cheers I heard every time I defeated a Monster. Then I confirmed something I already knew.

I liked Hunter work.

I felt tremendous pride in protecting Incheon and its citizens as a Hunter. It felt like a sacred duty that only awakened people could perform.

That was why seeing Naito-san, a non-awakened piece of trash who had accomplished more than most awakened people, made me angry because he seemed so presumptuous. It was also one reason I didn't personally like Nguyen.

Despite being an awakened person optimized for combat, Nguyen avoided Hunter work, calling it dangerous and difficult. Compared to the days when he ruled as a lord, being a Hunter now was nothing more than exhausting, lowly foreign labor.

An awakened person who wished to rule as a lord shouldn't think that way.

It was the same even if, like the Soweol people, they viewed non-awakened people as nothing more than livestock. A shepherd had the duty to protect sheep from bears and wolves. Whether they viewed non-awakened people as sheep or people, anyone with no intention of protecting them wasn't qualified to rule.

Nguyen's mindset was rotten because he wanted to rule while throwing away that sacred duty. If the opportunity arose someday, I'd have to take him to Soweol and fix that rotten mindset...

After the press conference ended, they sold Incheon City Hunters' character merchandise, just like they had at the award ceremony last time.

There were two new products this time. One was a T-shirt I'd ordered with BabyMushroom printed on it, a black T-shirt showing a red-haired girl wearing a colorful mushroom. I planned to wear it often from now on...

Baek Dambi couldn't take her eyes off the other product.

It was only natural. How could anyone ignore an acrylic stand with their own image on it?

“What is this?”

When Baek Dambi asked, I answered,

“What do you mean, what is it? It's your character merchandise, Dambi. Are your sunglasses making it hard to see?”

“No, I can see it. But they weren't selling this after the award ceremony the day before yesterday...?”

“Maybe the merchandise wasn't ready the day before yesterday?”

More accurately, it was merchandise I'd demanded that they prepare yesterday.

Yesterday, I'd demanded that the civil servant sell character merchandise for my ring girl too. It was payment for getting Nguyen to promise that he'd work, at least under certain conditions.

It made no sense to sell character merchandise for that non-awakened piece of trash Naito-san while there was nothing for my ring girl. Besides, Baek Dambi had seemed very envious when she saw my character merchandise selling last time.

That was why I'd gone out of my way to request it, and judging by her reaction, I'd made the right choice.

To get a proper look at her merchandise, Baek Dambi even took off the sunglasses she wore almost all the time unless she was hunting.

With a faintly trembling hand, she picked up the acrylic stand depicting her.

“Ah...”

She stared at it for a long time, then hurriedly put her sunglasses back on. It was obvious she was trying to hide the slight moisture gathering in her eyes.

I barely held myself back from demanding that she shout, “Long live Incheon.”

* * *

After returning home, I weighed myself. When I saw that my weight had roughly doubled since the last time I weighed myself, my eyes widened.

Why had I gained so much weight? Had I gained a huge amount of muscle? No, my muscles had already grown as much as they could, to the point where my joints would have trouble moving. Structurally, there was no way for them to get any bigger.

It must have been the result of advancing as a Body Enhancement user.

Even if my arms were the same size, the bones inside them had become far thicker and harder. My muscle density had increased tremendously too, and the composition of my muscles had changed as well.

If that was the case, my physical strength as a Body Enhancement user had surely increased by far more than my increased weight.

When I went to the academy gym to check, that was exactly what had happened.

When I lifted a barbell five times as heavy as what I usually lifted (though I had to strain quite a bit), every academy student's eyes turned to me. Yang Taeja, who was helping me work out, was stunned.

“Bullets probably won't penetrate those muscles very well anymore. What the...”

“You think I've gotten incredibly strong too, Coach Yang?”

“I do. I heard that every awakened person differs in how much their abilities improve and where their limits are, even when they kill the same Monsters. But Kim Geuk seems incredible in both respects. Your ability keeps improving so quickly...”

“Isn't it because I only go around killing especially strong Monsters?”

“That's probably an important factor too, but I think you're just talented from the start. As far as I know, most Body Enhancement users can't improve beyond the level you were at last time, no matter how many more Monsters they kill. At this rate, aren't you really going to get an S-rank badge, Kim Geuk? That'd be fucking awesome...”

Hearing that pure admiration made me feel good.

For a moment, the thought of building my strength like this until I had a body that could survive missiles, then killing the president and every member of the National Assembly, crossed my mind. I immediately shook my head and drove it away.

Even if I overthrew the country, who would I join hands with? Nguyen? Don't be ridiculous.

How could I trust that bastard who got drunk and spilled secrets nonstop to overthrow a country?

Footnotes:

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