Chapter 792: First Day at the Foundation (2)

“Since today is your first time commuting to the Foundation, I figured you might get lost, so I drove this way once. It’s fortunate that we ran into each other ‘coincidentally’ here, Sungchul-ssi.”

“Indeed. Thanks to you, it’s nice that we could meet like this first, just the two of us, and talk.”

The blonde young lady who appeared driving a black Cayenne was like a lifeline to me, who was lost. Thanks to Sihee, whom I met at Foundation Entrance Station, giving me a ride in her work vehicle, I was able to safely continue my first commute to the Ariel Foundation without getting lost.

“Since it’s Foundation Entrance Station, I thought it would be roughly visible if I got off nearby, but there are no buildings that look like the Foundation’s guild around here at all.”

“…Ah, it seems Sungchul-ssi has also been crowned one of the ‘Ariel Foundation’s Top 3 Fools’.”

“Huh?”

“Who walks from Foundation Entrance Station all the way to the Ariel Foundation? Just to the Foundation’s main gate, you have to walk about 1.5 kilometers, right? And then, to get from that main gate to the headquarters building, you’ll have to walk another 2 kilometers.”

“…….”

Shouldn’t they have named the station ‘Ariel Foundation Entrance Station’? Sihee noticed my dumbfounded gaze and said with a slight smile.

“When the station was first built, the only landmark nearby was apparently the Ariel Foundation building. Back then, the Ariel Foundation was the only proper Hunter guild in Korea. Nowadays, there’s Eun & Ok Co., Ltd., which is doing reasonably well, and the Hunters’ Autonomous Union, which is quite large in scale, but back then, the Ariel Foundation was a major corporation on a level where comparison with other guilds in Korea was impossible. So, the story goes that it became like this due to the stubbornness of the then-head of the Songpa District Office, who wanted to include the Ariel Foundation in the station’s name somehow… though it hasn’t been definitively confirmed.”

“I didn’t know there was such a story behind it.”

Well, indeed, if it was back in those old days, the Ariel Foundation itself was such a representative facility for guilds that they might have wanted to put it in the station’s name somehow.

“Even now, the Foundation side consistently requests that the name be changed because it’s confusing, but it doesn’t seem to be happening easily.”

“It seems difficult to change since it’s been used as Foundation Entrance Station for decades already.”

“And in the first place, Foundation Hunters generally all have their own cars or drivers, so they hardly ever use the subway. The cases where they feel inconvenience are usually when an outsider like Sungchul-ssi visits the Foundation.”

If it’s an inconvenience of that degree, it’s somewhat understandable that it hasn’t changed until now. That’s just how civil servants usually handle things.

…Come to think of it, from the conversation I had with Min-ah while commuting earlier, she gave me a strange look when I mentioned walking from near Foundation Entrance Station to the Foundation. I didn’t realize it then, but to think that it was a look teasing me! She really is petty.

“Come to think of it, you mentioned the ‘Ariel Foundation’s Top 3 Fools’ earlier. What are the other two?”

“One is bragging about being a second or third-generation chaebol among the Foundation Hunters, and the other one is….”

While chatting about various things with Sihee, including the secret story about Foundation Entrance Station, the Cayenne carrying Sihee and me had already passed through the Ariel Foundation’s main gate and arrived at our meeting spot, Ariel Foundation Building 3.

“We’ve arrived, Sungchul-ssi.”

“Thank you for the ride, Sihee-ssi.”

I had felt it to some extent even when I rode last time, but a good car definitely has a good ride quality, even in the passenger seat. Sihee’s driving skills being good also contributed, of course. Before that incident happened to Eunbyul, I usually got a ride in Eunbyul’s car when things like this happened. But since Eunbyul could no longer work as Sihee’s maid, I felt like I was riding in Sihee’s car more often.

“I heard today is also a day Lulusia is going out on a mission, is that correct?”

“That’s about right. It’s a bit regrettable that I can’t work with Eunbyul due to family circumstances, but I can’t put Eunbyul in danger out of my personal greed either.”

“That’s true.”

If I let my guard down on a day like today and had Eunbyul do external official activities, and the other sisters of Geumhyang smelled it and came rushing in, all the efforts my and Sihee’s had made so far to hide her would be in vain. Of course, if I used the ‘Summon’ function I have, rescuing Eunbyul would be possible anytime even if she were kidnapped again. But in reality, it’s better if this function also remained hidden from those women. If it became known that I could retrieve and protect Eunbyul like this, there was a sufficient possibility they would do something drastic to prevent me from summoning her.

‘It’s a problem that needs to be dealt with someday, but I’m not ready yet.’

To finish those sisters off decisively, I needed to set a trap they would surely fall into, so it was still in the preparation stage. Naturally, I couldn’t bring her along on this kind of official mission schedule. Today was simply scheduled with the feeling of a light date with Sihee and Lulusia, even without Eunbyul. We’ll discuss the Three-Headed Basilisk material and the new guild I’ll establish, but basically, since the main point is the date with them after a long time, I decided not to put too much emphasis on it. And besides, in Sihee’s case, she had already made arrangements to meet Eunbyul separately today.

“Eunbyul… is she doing well?”

“She’s doing so well that she’d feel sorry if she knew you were worried, Sihee-ssi.”

“I’m glad to hear that. We talk sometimes through KakaoTalk or video calls, but still, since I can’t see her face-to-face, I get quite anxious.”

“Besides, we’re scheduled to see each other’s faces later anyway.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

If there was a place to install a warp gate, creating a reunion spot for the two of them wouldn’t have been that difficult. In addition to that, creating a special space to satisfy their peculiar tastes wouldn’t have been difficult either. If I told them about that matter now, their excitement would likely decrease, so I kept it a secret for now.

“I’m excited to be going into a dungeon with Sungchul-ssi again after so long. The last time we hunted together was during that battle with the Basilisk, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right. Actually, I didn’t know we’d end up in such a dangerous battle in the abandoned village.”

“Still, we gained a lot. You mentioned that the abandoned village area held many meanings for you, Sungchul-ssi, right? To that extent, I think it’s fortunate that you were able to resolve the dungeonization in the end.”

“Thank you, Sihee-ssi.”

While having such a conversation and walking towards the Foundation building after passing through the company parking lot, I felt strange gazes watching me and Sihee around us. Sensing something odd from that discomfort, I briefly turned my gaze, and my eyes met those of a few other female hunters nearby for a moment before they looked away.

“…….” -Flick!

“…….” -Whoosh! Whoosh!

People on benches or in lounges, as well as passersby, and even those looking down from the 2nd or 3rd-floor railings all hastily averted their gazes. If they hadn’t averted their heads at all, I would have thought I was mistaken, but this reaction now clearly showed they’d been caught staring at me.

“Sihee-ssi.”

“Yes, Sungchul-ssi.”

“This strange feeling of being stared at that I’ve had since a while ago, is it just because I’m being overly sensitive?”

“You only just noticed that, Sungchul-ssi? I’ve been feeling it for a long time now.”

“…Is that so.”

It seems the Foundation isn’t entirely free from the influence of male Hunters either. Still, considering it’s a guild where ladies like Sihee gather, I thought they’d somewhat ignore male Hunters, but instead, more attention was being poured on me than when I was at my company. I wasn’t specifically here to meet any other women from the Foundation besides Sihee or Lulusia, so this attention was truly unnecessary, but…

“Thinking back to when I first met Sihee-ssi, I thought she wouldn’t care much whether I was a male Hunter or not, but unexpectedly, the Hunters at the Foundation seem quite interested in the fact that I’m a male Hunter.”

“W-well, back then, Sungchul-ssi was still a C-class Hunter, wasn’t he? Of course, I know I was wrong, but aren’t you holding onto it for too long, Sungchul-ssi?”

“I didn’t mean it that way. Since they are all ladies of status at the Foundation, I thought they wouldn’t get overly excited or upset over just being a male Hunter.”

“If you were a typical male Hunter, that might be the case, but the current Sungchul-ssi is the world’s only male Awakened and the first male S-class Hunter, right? Naturally, the basic level of attention must be different from an ordinary male Hunter, wouldn’t you say?”

That might be true, but I didn’t expect them to openly stare to this extent.