Chapter 44 : Throwing Money, You Have Some Too (2)

Choi Hanseong froze.

Was the person smiling so innocently in front of him really the Gumiho?

No, she had always been beautiful, but this was…‘…I’m enchanted.’

Now he understood why the ancestors had said people got bewitched just by looking at foxes.

Her beauty was so unreal, so out of this world, that Hanseong completely forgot he had come to negotiate and simply stared at Yubin in a daze.

“Hunter-nim?”

“…Ah! I-It’s been a long time.”

“…We saw each other the day before yesterday.”

“…R-Right?”

Hanseong nervously looked back at the companions who had come with him, wondering why he was acting this way.

“…Unnie’s crazy today.”

“…She really is stunning.”

Hanyul and Chanseok, who already knew Yubin, just admired her in awe.

The committee staff, along with Yuna and Jeonghan behind them, were practically out of their minds, staring blankly at Yubin.

Even further back, the Skeletons and the Death Knight had their arms crossed, snickering to themselves.

Seeing them look slightly proud, Hanseong let out a small chuckle.

‘I mean, they have every right to be proud.’

Honestly, if he were Yubin’s subordinate, he probably would’ve acted the same.

‘…But even Yuna, who has PTSD, is reacting like this?’

Yubin really was beautiful.

And this was just from introducing herself.

But there was one person who didn’t waver.

“…Nice to meet you.”

That person stepped forward between the two dazed subordinates and walked from the back to the front.

“I’m Kang Seohan, Section Chief of the National Hunter Management Committee’s Monitoring Department.”

A young man in his early 30s took off his sunglasses and tucked them into his suit pocket, handing Yubin his business card.

‘…Why is Section Chief Kang giving that to a monster? What’s she gonna do with it?’

Hanseong thought, but when Yubin smiled and accepted the card, he was so captivated by her smile that his thoughts stopped again.

Even with the top-ranked hunter acting like this, Kang Seohan didn’t flinch.

“You’re beautiful. Are you wearing makeup?”

“…!!”

“I brought an artifact to resist charm, just in case, but I guess it was pointless.”

“…Excuse me?”

“After all, you can’t block charm that isn’t a skill. Look at my pitiful subordinates.”

“……”

With that, he tossed the artifact, which showed no reaction, to one of his men, then reached out his hand to shake Yubin’s, whose face had turned red.

“I look forward to working with you today. I hope we can find a mutual agreement.”

“…Y-Yes, likewise.”

For some reason, Yubin was extremely flustered and covered her face with her tail as she accepted the handshake.

‘I forgot I was wearing makeup…!!’

‘…Guess she really is pretty.’

Yubin thought maybe the makeup had turned out better than she expected and flushed even deeper.

She felt like she could die from embarrassment.

‘…I’m never wearing makeup again.’

She firmly decided that there would never be a second time for makeup in her life.

***

“P-Please have a seat, everyone.”

“Yes, we should talk sitting down.”

I had completely forgotten I was wearing makeup.

Now I understood why people were reacting to me like that, and I was so shocked, my face turned bright red.

Thankfully, everyone seemed to have somewhat adjusted to my face by now.

They only glanced at me from time to time instead of staring in a daze like earlier.

We sat around the table that had been set up under the gazebo.

I sat alone on one side, and in front of me were the Hunters and members from the Committee.

Among them, Chief Kang, who sat in the middle, looked at me and began speaking with a gentle smile.

“So, you want to make a donation.”

He had never smiled like that when asking me to hand over information or give testimony before.

I thought it was a bit discriminatory, but still, I nodded in response to Chief Kang’s question.

“Yes, I want to donate.”

“Then couldn’t you just proceed on your own?”

Saying that, Chief Kang took a sip of the tea that had been prepared in front of him.

“You have the internet broadcasting skills for promotion and such.”

“And for the money—well, you could just toss it out of the tower. I’m curious why you came to us for help.”

Chief Kang crossed his legs and waited for my answer.

The way he talked still carried that familiar attitude from the past.

Tossing money out of the tower, seriously.

I smiled softly and answered his question.

“People are afraid of me, after all.”

“Even if I say I’m giving them money, I can’t give them trust.”

“If a rumor spreads that someone got hurt after taking my money…”

That would cause serious image damage to our tower.

It had taken so much effort to build up this public perception—I had to protect it at all costs.

And because I was a monster, public opinion could crumble easily, so I had to be even more careful.

“…That’s why I’m asking for help. The Committee is an organization with public credibility, isn’t it?”

“I see, I understand your intention.”

After hearing my words, Chief Kang nodded, and the two subordinates beside him began diligently writing things down.

One seemed to be recording the meeting itself, and the other seemed to be noting key points from it.

After a short discussion with his subordinates, Chief Kang spoke again.

“It’s not a bad proposal.”

“Currently, we’re also lacking funds, so there’s only so much we can do with the reconstruction projects and such.”

“A significant portion of it goes toward compensating the victims.”

Saying that, he handed me a document, gesturing for me to read it.

I gave a slight bow and looked over the document.

“…You’re really short on money.”

Many parts were redacted, but everything related to the budget allocation was made public.

The Committee’s budget was severely lacking—even the projected donations wouldn’t cover everything.

I smiled.

‘…At this rate, I have more than enough to help.’

Truthfully, I wanted to help with everything.

“Gumi… I mean, Miss Yubin, we just need your help with compensating the victims.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. If we rely too much on a monster’s help, it could seriously damage the Committee’s reputation.”

Fair enough—if the organization that’s supposed to hunt monsters relies on a monster to handle all compensation and reconstruction, it would definitely stir controversy.

Even if I was classified as a friendly monster, people would still talk.

“It’s a little disappointing, but alright. Let’s do it that way.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Chief Kang smiled and said that their proposal ended there, then took the document back.

“Now, let’s hear your thoughts, Miss Yubin.”

“You’re going to listen to my opinion too?”

“Of course. A partnership is based on mutual respect.”

Hearing that made my chest feel warm for some reason, and I smiled softly.

“Then, I’d like to make a suggestion.”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

To be honest, I hesitated because telling them I wanted to leave the tower outright might cause some trouble.

But seeing that the Hunters and Committee members here didn’t seem like they’d react too harshly, I decided to gather some courage.

“…Um, I’d like to personally give the money to the victims.”

When I said that, Chief Kang tilted his head and asked again.

“…Personally? You mean, physically meet them and hand it over yourself?”

His tone turned a bit forceful.

It reminded me of the old days, and I flinched slightly.

“Ah, is that not allowed? N-not that I thought it was going to be okay…”

“……”

Instead of responding, the three Committee staff started whispering among themselves.

Wondering how the Hunters would react, I glanced over to them.

“…Oppa, stop staring at the Gumiho unnie.”

“So that’s your type, huh?”

“…N-no, that’s not it.”

Hanyul and Yuna were scolding Hanseong, telling him not to stare at me so intently.

“…Jeonghan.”

“…Yeah, Chanseok?”

“…I did something awful to that beauty.”

“…Uh, I think it’d be best for you to get lost and die right now.”

The two of them muttered nonsense as they stared blankly at me.

Why is everyone looking only at me?

It’s not like I’m a woman, and getting looks like that from guys doesn’t make me happy at all.

I hurriedly covered my face with my tail.

It was to hide my blushing face, red from embarrassment.

‘…I shouldn’t have checked…!!’

[So those men are staring because they know how pretty my daughter is.]

‘…Shut up!’

[Isn’t it true that you’re pretty?]

Even Mom started teasing me.

‘…I’m never putting on makeup again.’

I bit my lip as I made that vow.

While I was doing that, it seemed the discussion had ended, and Section Chief Kang called out to me.

“…For now, we can’t give you a definite answer.”

As expected—they’re not giving me permission right away.

Well, I had kind of predicted that.

It would be ridiculous to let an SSS-rank boss monster just casually leave the Tower.

‘…Too bad.’

I just wanted to get some fresh air for once.

Feeling a little disappointed, my tail drooped.

“We’ll get back to you after the Chairman has reviewed it.”

“…Alright.”

So it ends a bit disappointingly.

Thinking that, I looked at the committee members as they stood to leave.

‘…Ah, right. I need to apologize.’

Come to think of it, I still hadn’t apologized to Hunter Yuna and Hunter Jeonghan.

I stopped them just as they were about to leave.

“Wa, wait a moment!”

“…Wh-Why…?!”

“Is there something wrong?”

Yuna started trembling the moment she saw me, while Jeonghan gave me a smarmy smile.

Such contrasting reactions from the two of them.

I ignored that and bowed my head to apologize.

“…I’m really sorry!”

The two Hunters were silent for a moment, then reached out and held my hands.

“…I-It’s okay.”

“We’re fine now.”

They accepted my apology.

Easier than dealing with Yang Chanseok, I thought.

From the side, I heard Yang Chanseok muttering, “I-I mean, what does that make me then…?”

‘What do you mean, what does that make you?’

‘Just a piece of trash, obviously.’

A small smile crept onto my face.