Chapter 327

Seeing as even Kwon Taehan did not know, it seemed to be some kind of outside commission, but was there anyone who would go out of their way to find Joo Seowon and entrust them with a request?

‘They were originally someone with a bit of a name, though.’

I racked my brain and thought of people who might need Joo Seowon’s information-gathering ability. Seeing as they had specifically come into the Association Chairman’s room, it meant it was a matter related to the Hunter Association.

‘Who is it?’

Well, even if I thought about it now, no answer would come out.

In the meantime, Joo Seowon must have finished calculating, because they opened their mouth as if about to say something. I covered the bastard’s mouth, then shoved them hard against the wall once.

Thud, came the sound of their head hitting it. Only then did Joo Seowon seem to understand the words telling them to shut up, because they nodded slightly.

I closed the cabinet door again, locked it with the key stuck in it, then pulled the key out and put it in my pocket.

I walked toward Do Yehyun and grabbed the head of the Association Chairman sprawled out on the floor to check whether the back of his head had cracked.

‘Well, he’s fine.’

“What were you looking for?”

“I thought he might have stored some interesting documents, so I looked around a bit, but there’s nothing.”

When I answered calmly, Do Yehyun stared at me. I twitched one eyebrow, then took out the documents I had found earlier and looked at them.

‘Oh, this is more useful information than I thought.’

No, it was not more useful than I thought, it was quite profitable. In any case, records about erased Hunters were personally unfortunate, but they were already past events that could not be revived into anything, and because the scale was far too large, there was a high probability they would be taken as a conspiracy theory.

Even if Sung Uijae’s side added weight to it, regardless of that bastard’s favorability or recognition, simply by the fact that he was a foreign Hunter who had chosen a single nationality, negative public opinion could be generated as much as they wanted, so there was no meaning.

Therefore, the most intuitive matter that could sink the Hunter Association would be something the public would likely be angry about, something they would reasonably understand... and something that could be used as an excuse to replace every person.

‘Money.’

What the Association Chairman had been clutching preciously in his arms was none other than a ledger. It was dotted with abbreviations and keywords, so it would take some effort to recognize it, but well, this much?

Around when I was flipping through the thick documents one by one, there was a knocking sound. I pulled up the Status Window, checked once that it was Im Haekyung, and opened the door.

“You’re here.”

“.......”

Im Haekyung slowly looked around the Association Chairman’s office, which had become a mess, then first calmly came in and locked the door again.

“Where is the Association Chairman?”

“He is lying behind the desk.”

“Did you kill him?”

“No?”

What are they saying? To a person who was perfectly alive.

“When I was in my teens, I briefly had a dog. Because my parents at the time wanted one.”

Im Haekyung, who had bent over and was picking up a few documents that had fallen on the floor, suddenly brought up a random story.

“But one day, when I came back after going out, the house was a mess. The dog had been too active.”

“Yes.”

“I wasn’t particularly angry then. How could I expect a dog to have intelligence on the same level as a human? I would just lock my room door and that would be the end of it.”

“......?”

Im Haekyung calmly picked up the documents and organized them, then suddenly put them on the desk almost as if throwing them and turned to look at me.

“But Jehyun, you are human, and communication clearly works with you, and your intelligence is not low either, so why do things like this keep happening....”

“Ah.”

“Jehyun, I told you to stay still because I would resolve it. Why do you keep ignoring what I say? Should I use Mental Domination and make it so you cannot come out of the house? Wow, Jehyun.... You need to cause accidents within the bounds of common sense. What is this right now, did your intelligence also synchronize with the demonic beast because you really merged with one? Was that why you talked about a werewolf earlier? Because your intelligence is exactly at dog level, so you were asking me to take that into consideration?”

It had been a while since they had spoken this fast. I quickly apologized before Im Haekyung got even more pissed.

“I’m sorry. Would you like to hit me once?”

“I won’t refuse, so come here.”

When I came closer and offered my face, Im Haekyung struck my side jaw down with their fist exactly as it was.

With the sound of bones colliding, my head turned to the side.

‘It doesn’t hurt as much as I thought?’

Since they were S-rank and had the physical class too, I thought it would break, but it was not to that degree.

“You have never hit a person before, have you?”

“I just did, so shall I do it one more time?”

“No.”

Im Haekyung looked at the Association Chairman sleeping on the floor and asked Do Yehyun.

“Did you treat him?”

“...Yes.”

“Does it seem like he will wake up soon?”

“No, I think it will take... a little while.”

Do Yehyun spoke as if mumbling. Im Haekyung thought for a moment, then sat the Association Chairman against the wall and spoke to the bastard who had completely fallen asleep.

“Chairman.”

“.......”

Brainwashing (S) activates.

“You were very tired today, so you closed your eyes for a moment in the Association Chairman’s office. Correct?”

“.......”

“When the event ends, dismiss all the small matters and go home, sleep deeply, and tomorrow... let us see you fine.”

Mental Suppression (S) activates.

Im Haekyung, who had cast two Skills at the same time, checked the Association Chairman’s face and slowly drew their hand back.

“Jehyun.”

“Yes.”

“Lift him and move him to the sofa.”

“Yes.”

I obediently lifted the Association Chairman, put him down on the sofa, and even roughly took off his shoes so it looked as if he had really gone to sleep.

“Is your body all right?”

“It is all right.”

Im Haekyung, who only then asked after me, checked the mana restraint on my wrist.

“You said it showed above your skin?”

“It does not show now.”

“Show me.”

When I undid the button of my shirt cuff and pulled it upward, an arm with no especially conspicuous mark was revealed. Im Haekyung carefully examined my arm, then grabbed the mana restraint.

“If this is removed, does it appear?”

“I’m not sure. Would you like to try removing it?”

“It is a little too dangerous right now. First... Jehyun, go home. I will say something happened at Haeseong.”

“Yes. Do I come tomorrow too?”

At that, Im Haekyung, whose expression disappeared, spoke in a firm voice.

“No.”

“Aha.”

“Do not come to work either, just stay quietly shut inside your house.”

“Is it disciplinary action?”

“Then would it be vacation?”

Im Haekyung, who let go of my arm, spoke as if warning me.

“Jehyun, I... brought in a person, not a demonic beast bastard. No matter how irreplaceable a manpower you are, if you act like this....”

“Yes.”

“It is difficult.”

Im Haekyung’s index finger tapped the middle of my forehead. As if they would put a scratch somewhere in my mind.

I nodded and answered obediently.

“I know.”

“No, Jehyun, you do not know.”

What?

I handed the documents to Im Haekyung and lowered my voice.

“There was this in the safe too. Have you seen it?”

“...What is this?”

“Source of funds.”

“.......”

At my words, Im Haekyung glanced at me and flipped through the documents. As Im Haekyung calmly skimmed the contents one sheet at a time, the look in their eyes gradually turned strange.

“Interesting, isn’t it?”

“First, put it back.”

Im Haekyung handed the documents back and spoke firmly.

“Even though it is the most useful information?”

“It is useless right now. It would be useful to hold onto it, though.”

“Isn’t it a waste to just leave it?”

“You know the location now.”

Having said that, Im Haekyung pointed at the Association Chairman and added.

“If he cannot remember anyway... there is no reason he would bother changing the location.”

“I do not think I can find out the safe password again.”

“Haha....”

At my words, Im Haekyung’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Jehyun, what kind of effect do you think a password... would have on me?”

“.......”

At Im Haekyung’s words, I briefly admired them inwardly.

True, there was no way a bastard who could even manipulate a person’s mind would be unable to make someone cough up one password.

“Leave what cannot be helped alone, and restore everything else to how it was before you come.”

“Would brainwashing him into thinking he did that without knowing it not work?”

Im Haekyung ignored my words and looked through the documents that had fallen on the floor.

“Pick all of those up, close the safe, and the vase....”

“Yes.”

“Why did you break the vase?”

There was no particular reason?

I fiddled with the ring and asked.

“Would you like to take the ring? I am going off work now.”

“.......”

“You need to collect the couple ring.”

When I tapped Im Haekyung’s index finger, the bastard frowned and answered.

Wear it quietly, and once the situation ends, come return it.”

“Ends?”

“I’m telling you to clean everything up and come.”

“Where should I go?”

“I will tell you then, so do not wander off somewhere else and just contact me. I will find a way to return the restraint later, so wear it for now.”

“Yes.”

Im Haekyung left the place with a face that still looked displeased. I looked at the closed door, then passed the Association Chairman and calmly began picking up the documents scattered under the desk.

“...Bro, does it not hurt?”

“What?”

“.......”

Ah, here?

When I put my hand to the place Im Haekyung had hit, Do Yehyun nodded one beat late.

“It hurts.”

“.......”

“Why are you the one looking wronged?”

Do Yehyun literally looked a little wronged.

‘Does that mean he wanted to hit me himself?’

At that, Do Yehyun, without answering, focused on cleaning the floor.

“Yehyun, you’re not answering?”

“Quit Haeseong and just go somewhere else.”

“Did you get a business card?”

“That is not... what I mean.”

I chuckled while looking at Do Yehyun, who seemed somehow dissatisfied, and finished cleaning.

For a room that had become a complete mess, the cleanup was fast. It was possible because I had not done it properly in the first place.

‘How am I supposed to clean all this up in the first place?’

Without any intention of sorting them, I gathered the documents into one place and shoved them all into the drawer, then politely returned the ledger classified as confidential to the safe. As for the broken vase, well....

‘I can just leave it roughly in one place.’

After gathering the shards and shoving them behind the curtain as if crushing them in there, the sight that came into view was almost clean, as if it had been restored to its original state.

“All done.”

I looked around in a cheerful mood and said to Do Yehyun.

“Go upstairs.”

“What about you, bro?”

“I’ll follow. Go to Team Leader Seok and roughly pass along a message. Since two people suddenly disappeared, they might be thinking something strange.”

“Ah.... Yes. I’ll try.”

Do Yehyun, who nodded meekly, had the air of someone who had something he wanted to ask, but still obediently left the Association Chairman’s office.

I stared blankly at the Association Chairman’s office, which had become quiet in an instant, then took the key back out of my pocket and opened the cabinet.

This time too, I covered their mouth once to mean for them to be quiet, then searched Joo Seowon’s chest.

‘If they received a commission, they would at least be recording.’

I slammed the bastard, who was twisting their body as if resisting, into the wall and made them quiet, then found the device they had hidden in their pocket.

After slowly looking over the device, I took out my phone and asked through the notepad.

Recorder?

At that, Joo Seowon shook their head.

‘It must be a recorder.’

Bluffing from where. I nodded as if I understood and took the recorder. When they tried to pull some trick to take it back, I closed the cabinet door again, and naturally they became quiet.

I opened the door only slightly and turned on the notepad again.

Commission?

At that, Joo Seowon shut their eyes tight and nodded.

Without this, failure?

The bastard, who had stubbornly kept their mouth closed for a while, nodded once more in dissatisfaction.

Hmm, there was more I had wanted to ask....

Who commissioned you?

This time, I handed over the phone. At that, Joo Seowon hesitated, then typed on the keyboard.

Why do I have to tell you?

Mm, that was true.

When I snatched the phone away and made a show of closing the cabinet again, a hand urgently stretched out and grabbed the door.

‘Now they finally feel like talking.’