Ch.105Revenge Plays Are Dangerous (14)

Joshua, the Vice President of the American Hunter Association, had been unable to collect his thoughts due to the flood of news pouring in for the past seven hours.

‘What on earth is happening…’

Thankfully, the S-rank large dungeon that had appeared in America after 7 years had been cleared.

Contrary to concerns, hunters had completed the raid faster than expected and emerged from the dungeon. Until then, Joshua had been relieved, thinking everything had been resolved well.

He had no idea what would happen next.

Bang!

A subordinate who had delivered urgent news several times today burst through the office door once again.

“Vice President! Something terrible has happened!”

“…What is it this time?”

“W-we’re being flooded with inquiries from hunter associations around the world. They’re questioning not just the current situation and the incident from 7 years ago, but other matters as well…”

“What does that even mean? Are you saying there’s even more?”

Although Joshua held the position of Vice President, he had only been in the role for just over two years. Naturally, he wasn’t fully informed about all past events.

“I-I don’t know. I can’t tell if there were actual problems or if they’re just raising questions because of the current atmosphere.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!”

“…I apologize. We’re severely understaffed and having difficulty assessing the situation. For now, we should quickly address what we can handle.”

That was sound logic, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Even now, criticism against America was boiling over everywhere, and rather than subsiding, it was only getting worse.

“Damn it, why did they do something so stupid…”

All of this was the fault of former Association President Hudson and Michael’s group.

He wasn’t sure exactly what had happened, but hunters who cleared the dungeon had started raising questions about the truth behind the Chae Hwain incident, and to make matters worse, almost everything they said appeared to be true.

American S-rank hunters had indeed attacked Chae Hwain inside the dungeon back then.

“This is maddening. How are we supposed to clean up this mess?”

It was unfair for Joshua. The current Association President had been hospitalized for about a month, making it difficult to seek help, and Joshua truly had no connection to the incident at the time.

But that was no excuse to the public.

Now that all these sins had been exposed, they would all be blamed on America.

When he had his subordinate check the global situation, public opinion was indeed at its worst.

Everyone was throwing stones at America for the atrocities committed by a nation that should have been leading other countries as a hunter powerhouse.

‘…Excuses won’t work anymore.’

Of course, there was no clear evidence. However, most hunters who had entered the dungeon together were speaking with one voice, claiming they had confirmed the facts through Michael’s group.

From that point on, their words became the evidence. The public would certainly accept it as truth.

In the current era, the title of S-rank hunter carried that much influence.

‘Moreover, what’s really problematic is…’

None other than the background.

The mysterious figure who had unified the opinions of S-rank hunters—essentially uncontrollable weapons of war.

That person appeared to be Baek Eunha, whom the American side had designated as a wanted criminal.

The information relayed by American hunters who had entered the dungeon together was still difficult to believe.

[What are you saying? She defeated the dungeon boss alone?]

[…L-literally. Her power was truly terrifying. Perhaps she could have cleared the dungeon alone from the beginning.]

While there was a possibility they were mistaken, there were no signs they had been affected by mental magic or hallucinations.

If so, it was fair to assume that this Baek Eunha possessed remarkable power even among S-rank hunters.

‘And we’ve completely turned such a person into an enemy…’

Indeed, this was a truly troublesome situation. Resolving the matter through simple force was now nearly impossible.

In the end, Joshua had no choice but to convince the upper echelons.

Acknowledge what needed to be acknowledged, and cleanly cut off those who needed to be cut off.

That was all America could do now.

#

“So, they’ve admitted their guilt?”

“More precisely, they’ve just backed down. They’ve merely pointed to the already dead S-rank hunters as the main culprits and cast out a few others like cutting off a tail.”

“Even that much is remarkable. They must have been under considerable pressure.”

Samuel, an Italian S-rank hunter and guild master of Florence, the top guild in his country.

He was currently receiving various updates from Beatrice, the vice guild master who had returned straight to Italy after completing the raid.

“Well, they must have been in disarray. Competing countries would have pounced at the opportunity to tear them apart.”

Of course, Italy, where Samuel’s guild was based, had also contributed to this effort. When such a tempting opportunity presents itself, how could one not take advantage?

However, it was still unusual for all countries to come together and voice their opinions like this.

And the reason could be easily guessed from what Beatrice had told him earlier.

“So that Korean hunter was concerning enough to warrant this.”

Hunter Baek Eunha, who had reportedly displayed overwhelming power in this S-rank large dungeon.

Since Chae Hwain, the victim of the incident, was also said to be aligned with her, there was no need to risk offending them by expressing a different opinion from others.

Rather, it was obviously beneficial to create a positive impression by simply speaking up a few times.

“But it’s hard to accept. Is she really that impressive?”

“Yes. Honestly, it’s astonishing. You’d be surprised if you saw her yourself, Guild Master.”

It was rare for Beatrice, known as the Empress of Italy, to evaluate someone so highly. Samuel changed his expression to a serious one and asked again.

“Even compared to you?”

While rising stars like the Slaughterer Fabio and Lance Knight Godwin were noteworthy, Samuel believed Beatrice was still Italy’s top hunter.

Hearing this, Beatrice gave a meaningful smile and answered.

“Well. If I focused solely on defense from the start, I might be able to hold out, but I have absolutely no desire to fight her.”

“Hmm, so she’s essentially above your level.”

Excluding the seven hunters considered exceptional even among S-ranks, there weren’t really any hunters who could definitively surpass Beatrice.

Moreover, five of those seven were always elusive. Essentially, Baek Eunha must be counted among the top active hunters.

“It would be troublesome to make her an enemy.”

A necromancer particularly strong in large-scale battles, reportedly quite temperamental. And judging by how she handled this situation, she wasn’t lacking in intelligence either.

Though she had appeared suddenly, it seemed better to cultivate a favorable relationship with her if possible.

“It’s best to move quickly on such matters. By the way, did you interact with her at all?”

“I only looked after that intoxicated girl at the banquet.”

“Did you notice any preferences? Even building a simple personal connection could have positive effects someday.”

Beatrice thought for a moment, then replied with a somewhat uncertain expression.

“She seemed to… really like games.”

“…”

That was quite an unexpected response. Samuel’s expression shifted subtly as he asked Beatrice hopefully.

“Do you happen to play games?”

“Of course not.”

“…Right.”

As the two continued their somewhat trivial conversation, someone on the floor below was eavesdropping with interest, tilting their head curiously.

“…Interesting. She didn’t seem that skilled to me.”

He was Fabio, an S-rank hunter from the same guild, who had encountered Baek Eunha during the Brenner terrorist incident at Parbosa’s request.

After contemplating something briefly, he smiled meaningfully and secretly contacted someone.

On the inside of Fabio’s wrist, the same strange mark as before emitted an ominous light.