episode_0016

A question that suddenly comes to mind.

Maybe the [Black Book] is an artifact?

I thought about that as I left the cafe.

Artifact. To put it simply, ‘an object with skills’.

When I swung my hiking stick, orange fire spewed out. When I opened the frog umbrella, rain fell in a 10m radius. When you touch a chameleon statue, the color of its body hair changes… things like that.

Depending on how you use it, it can be a fun toy or a ‘second skill’ that will last a lifetime.

Or, if you touch it incorrectly, it becomes a bomb that kills several people.

“Are we going to this bus hunter association?”

“I’m going~.”

As Eunha got on the bus, she glanced down at the heavy suitcase.

So what about [The Black Book]?

Is this also an artifact?

It is an item that allows you to teleport from a cafe to Eunha’s house, reminds you of letters written in blood, and is visited by scary people like [Red Woman] and [Bug Princess].

‘If you think about it with common sense, it’s probably an artifact…’

But something feels uncomfortable.

Are there other possibilities?

In my life, the only artifact I had seen was the galaxy through the Internet or TV, so I couldn’t be sure.

“Ha… Yes, I’m Kim Song-ah from Team 3 of the ‘Artifact Management Department’. How can I help you?”

So I came.

Hunter Association.

What can I do with my brain alone?

You should seek professional help.

It will be a hundred and a thousand times safer than having a cafe employee who knows nothing try to solve the problem.

“Ah, someone said it was ‘Mr. Ji Bakryeong’? I heard you failed to get promoted this time too.”

“Haha… Nice to meet you.”

“I almost said I wasn’t happy~.”

When we arrived at the office marked ‘Artifact Management Department’ on the second floor of the Association, a friendly-looking employee recognized Eunha and pretended to know her.

yes. This is me.

Ji Bak-ryeong at the promotion test site.

Euncheon-gu’s soft fist.

Is there another F-class hunter more famous than me?

Eunha came into the office dragging a suitcase.

I don’t know where the other people have gone, but there is only one employee, Kim Song-ah.

“Huh?… What. Was Ji Park-ryeong a woman? Wow, she’s so fucking pretty?”

“haha…”

“If it were a girl, I would tell you in advance. I know a lot about things like promotion test know-how.”

The receptionist, who realized that the other person was Eunha, a 10,000-year F-class hunter, made a sly joke.

His gaze was directed to Eunha’s bulging breasts.

Eunha, with her usual languid smile, secretly covered her chest with one arm.

“Isn’t it hard to move up to Class E? Who said that, but there’s nothing more unsightly than holding on to a goal that can’t be achieved… That’s just the way it is! Why don’t you try a different career path? If you show up on personal broadcasts with that face, you’ll be popular. I think there are a lot~.”

“…I’m here to get a thorough inspection of the artifact.”

For some reason, an employee of the ‘Artifact Management Department’ only picks out unpleasant things.

Eunha didn’t pay any attention and sat down on the guest chair in front of the desk.

It’s annoying to deal with.

What Eunha needs now is to reveal the identity of the [Black Book] and a way to manage the book more safely. Or a means to defeat or seal ‘them’.

And an [Artifact Ownership Permit] to prevent problems later.

That’s enough for now.

However, in order to ‘examine the artifact’, the [Black Book] must be left at the association for a few days…

I’ve already memorized the existing ‘guide’, so it should be fine.

Eunha lightly ignored the employee’s sarcasm and got straight to the point.

“I picked up a strange object two days ago. It seemed like an artifact, so I came to get a thorough examination. And if possible, a possession permit…”

“Yes, yes. See the application form over there? Fill out only the parts marked with a highlighter and bring it in.”

Because my life was at stake, I chose my words carefully.

However, employee Kim Song-a interrupted Eunha’s words with a formal answer, pointed to the ‘application form for detailed examination’ piled next to her, and then turned around and started doing her job.

There was a hint of annoyance in his toneless voice that could not be hidden.

… … Yes, where in the world these days is there time to consult with each and every customer?

If you call the customer service center of any company right now, the answering machine always comes up and says, ‘If it’s related to something, call number 1, if it’s related to something else, call number 2,’ and the counselor won’t change it until the end.

It’s a pity that reality has become as hard as the voice on the answering machine.

“Can I show you the artifact right away?”

“We will check that on our own, so Ji Park-ryeong, just fill out the application form.”

“I want to do that too. But it’s a lot more dangerous than you think, so you’ll need to be prepared. If you do it wrong, you could die…”

“Haha. Hey, Mr. Ji Bak-ryeong. I guess you don’t know because you’re F-class, but accidents happen because you mess with the artifact without any specialized knowledge.”

Eunha, who returned with the detailed inspection application form, was about to warn her about the [Black Book] when Kim Song-ah interrupted Eunha again and spoke arrogantly.

“Do you remember the mass death of people in Daegu the year before last? Someone left their luggage at a restaurant, and the store owner touched it without realizing it was an artifact, and boom! It exploded.”

“I’m saying that because it’s not that kind of problem. Did I really almost die?”

“That’s the problem~. Let’s touch the artifact once or twice. Don’t make a fuss when you don’t know much… It’s okay, Eunha, just worry about your future.”

What do you believe and why do you have such confidence?

Do you have to die at least once to come to your senses? If you cut off a limb with a jigsaw, you wouldn’t say something like that.

I was anxious, but decided to move on.

An elite who works at the Hunter Association’s ‘Headquarters’… He is also someone who can be called an expert in the field of artifacts.

He must have an idea.

For example, there is a skill to block ‘those’ attacks.

And since there are a lot of B- and C-class hunters in the Hunter Association, they might be able to take down the fearsome [Red Woman] by force.

If that confidence comes from skill, there would be no need for Eunha to warn her.

… … Still, I still feel bad.

I guess you’re not afraid of complaints from F-class hunters?

Eunha, who was slightly offended, calmly filled out the application form with the intention of leaving it aside for now.

At the same time, he did not forget to talk to and annoy employee Kim Song-ah from time to time.

How dare you not look at me?

“Can I use a sharpie?”

“Please fill it out with a ballpoint pen. It’s there next to the application form, so take it and write it down.”

“This doesn’t come out well. Do you have another ballpoint pen?”

“Ha… Here, use this.”

“I wrote my home address wrong. Can I cross it out and write it on the side?”

“The box is sticking out. Write a new one. And… haha… and write with a black ballpoint pen, not blue, please.”

“I’m sorry, it’s my first time using an application like this.”

There is an old saying like that. The customer is king.

A king must know how to look down on all his people, and he must keep an eye on the people’s bullshit and talk shit together with them.

If there is such a thing as a king’s physiognomy, the galaxy is it.

After that, it was all smooth sailing.

I wrote down a statement of when and where I acquired the artifact, and signed the part marked with a highlighter.

It didn’t look good to be so rude, so I calmly finished filling out the application with a black ballpoint pen.

Then, he brought the application form to employee Kim Song-a, who was sitting at the desk and filing her nails. He crumpled up the documents handed to him and put them in the desk drawer, then issued an order to congratulate the guests.

“You wrote everything down, right? Just put the artifact in the box over there and go. The detailed examination will take a few days, so I’ll come and get the text later.”

“I will leave it up to you.”

“It looks like you’ll hit the jackpot by catching the artifact well, but it’s not that easy~. Even if you don’t like the results of the detailed examination, don’t make a fuss at the association, just live your life with the understanding that this is an F-class life, okay? Let’s go.”

This is also the Hunter Association headquarters.

I like the confident attitude of not caring about complaints from F-class hunters.

I don’t know anymore.

You have to get hit directly to come to your senses.

Eunha left the carrier containing the [Black Book] next to the artifact submission box and left the office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Tsk… AC, you’re out of luck.”

After Eunha left the office,

After Kim Song-ah finished cleaning her nails, a low curse flowed from her mouth.

It was just the right time for the damn manager to go out to work with other employees.

I was taking a long nap in an empty office, but some tactless F-class hunter came into the office without permission.

It was enough reason to offend Kim Song-ah, an elite and B-class hunter in the ‘Artifact Management Department’.

A puffy hoodie that covers the body, a black suitcase that makes a rattling sound.

I know who it is. On the first day of every month, he comes to take the promotion exam.

It was called ‘Jibakryeong’ because it came to you like a ghost on exam day.

I heard that he is quite well known because of his useless face, and that there are people who support him knowingly or unknowingly.

‘Even so, he’s just a scum that isn’t even E-level.’

Kim Song-ah snorted and took out Eunha’s application form that had been crumpled in a drawer.

The application was a sight to behold.

When I wrote the accountant, it was full of strange ‘rules’, especially the part about never telling others, which made me laugh.

You obtained an artifact two days ago and came to inspect it closely?

It’s obvious even if you don’t look at it. If an F-class bug that couldn’t even enter the [Crack Field] obtained an artifact, it would most likely have been picked up or stolen.

In other words, it means that it is an artifact that has no problem even if someone swallows it in the middle.

‘I didn’t like that bastard Ji Bakryeong ever since I trusted his face and came forward. what? It’s a very dangerous artifact?… How dare an F-class scold me, a B-class hunter?’

For these people, true education is the answer. We need to let them know that life is real.

Kim Song-ah licked her lips and approached the suitcase that Eunha had left behind.