Chapter 107

“It seems we’ll have to postpone the press conference. Making any kind of statement under the circumstances would be difficult.”

After watching Jung Haseong’s interview, Esther immediately appeared to be devising a new plan. I, on the other hand, had no time to think of one. The situation had unfolded far too suddenly for a mere F-class Hunter to handle.

“You’re right.”

And so, we abandoned our original plan to assemble a group of sympathetic reporters and sway public opinion in our favor.

Still, the cancellation of the press conference apparently didn’t mean the clothes had to be returned. Without a word, the guild master of the Magic Tower signed the card reader and completed the payment.

“Kiryeo-ssi, could you give me your address?”

“My address?”

Esther proceeded to ask me several questions I didn’t understand, but when she explained that the information was required to process the payment, I answered without hesitation.

“Can I use your street address?”

Now that the matter of my wardrobe had been settled, I needed to find a way out of this situation...

But could I really come up with a clever solution in so little time?

“Haa.”

A little while later, I stepped out of the taxi dressed in a crisp new outfit.

Oh, and what had happened to my old clothes? Why was I empty-handed?

—Hunter Kim Kiryeo, let me ask you something. How much did that sweatshirt cost?

—I think someone gave it to me for free.

—Then one more question. Does it hold any special memories for you?

—Not particularly?

Incidentally, the curse wizard had disposed of those old clothes.

After asking once more whether the garment was important to me, Esther promptly tore the gifted sweatshirt to shreds.

—Oh my, what a mistake! I’m so sorry. Perhaps I’ve been so tired lately that I can’t control my ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) own strength.

Of course, it wasn’t anything worth worrying about. At the moment, I was someone who simply needed clothes to wear.

‘It’s thinner than my old one, but surprisingly warm. I suppose I traded up.’

I buttoned the coat I had received as a gift and strode briskly down the street.

“Hmm?”

But as I approached Kim Kiryeo’s studio apartment, I sensed something unsettling coming from the alley ahead.

—Murmur, murmur...

‘Is there a fire somewhere?’

Tilting my head, I continued forward. Yet the mysterious commotion only grew louder the closer I came to Kim Kiryeo’s home.

Tap.

Before I knew it, I had reached the alley in front of the building.

—Click!

The moment I rounded the corner, an unidentified flash of light struck me squarely in the face.

—Click! Click!

—Flash!

So this was where all the noise had been coming from.

“He’s here!”

“Hunter Kim Kiryeo!”

“Hey! Point the camera over there!”

“Take the picture! Take it!”

Damn it. What in the world had happened here...?

‘How many of them are there?’

Startled by the crowd before me, I instinctively took a step back. I had never expected so many people to gather in such a narrow alley.

There had to be at least twenty of them, most carrying enormous cameras on their shoulders. They were obviously from television stations.

“Hunter! Could you spare us a moment for an interview?”

“Get the microphone over here!”

But how had the reporters found this place?

Even in an information-driven society, could locating someone’s home truly be this easy?

‘Information spreads far too quickly here!’

Now that I thought about it, things had been strange since lunchtime. Barely a day had passed since the rumors began circulating, yet most of my personal information had already been exposed.

‘Something isn’t right...!’

The sheer speed of the leak was enough to make me suspect that someone had deliberately handed the information over.

In that case, who was the informant?

Esther, who had suddenly asked for my address at the clothing store?

No. It couldn’t have been her. We had only just parted ways, so the timing didn’t fit.

Then what other lead was there? What source could have revealed not only my address, but also my name and Hunter rank...?

‘Ah.’

Several possibilities immediately came to mind.

After all, this was hardly the first time I had encountered such a problem.

‘Come to think of it, whenever something happened to me inside a gate, the news somehow reached Kang Changho almost immediately.’

The Korean Hunter Association.

That was it.

That government agency had already demonstrated its inability to keep its mouth shut. There was no reason to trust it now, either.

‘Surely it couldn’t be them again?’

Various theories about the information leak flashed through my mind, but I had no time to examine any of them.

“Hunter!”

“Hunter Kim Kiryeo!”

Within moments, the pack of ravenous reporters had surrounded me.

“Ugh.”

Click, click, click.

The relentless crowd drove me to the far end of the alley. The icy wall pressed against my back, its coldness sharply at odds with the feverish urgency around me.

The reporters paid no attention to my alarm. They simply thrust their microphones into my face.

And thus, with the red wall of an ordinary residential building as its backdrop, an impromptu press conference began.

It was an absurdly sudden turn of events, but what could I do?

“Please say something!”

“I’m Lee Jiyoung from YTV! Is it true that you once cleared an A-class gate entirely on your own?”

“Everyone, please stop pushing! This is dangerous!”

They clearly had no intention of retreating until they received an answer.

I drew a deep breath and looked over the shouting crowd.

At last, the creature wearing a dead man’s skin opened its mouth and spoke.

***

At last...

The long, exceedingly long...

Recollection came to an end.

‘Haa.’

Fine snow drifted through the winter air.

Standing with my back against the wall, I squeezed my eyes shut and reflected on everything that had happened. I wanted to understand which of my mistakes had brought me to this point.

I had to identify the cause myself.

‘Looking back, an awful lot has happened since my reincarnation.’

Slowly, I opened my eyes.

And then I reached my conclusion.

‘Had I known this would happen, I would never have been reborn on Earth.’

Indeed.

What was the point of identifying every individual mistake?

From the very beginning—

This reincarnation—

Had been—

Doomed!

Entering this wretched body had been the first and greatest mistake. And now I was standing here, wondering which particular decision had gone wrong?

Get a grip, you fool!

“N-no comment?”

“Are you denying the allegations that you manipulated your rank?”

The reporters appeared thoroughly bewildered by what they had just heard, but I made no attempt to correct myself.

‘Whether I claim to be S-class or remain F-class, I’m likely to die either way...!’

I hadn’t even decided what position to take. Under such circumstances, what could I possibly say to them?

I responded to every question with silence.

Strangely enough, once I began openly defying them, the situation became easier to endure. The realization that every person before me was unawakened made me somewhat bolder.

Apparently, even the mere possibility that one’s opponent might be an S-class Hunter carried considerable weight.

“Eek.”

I slipped my hands into my pockets and stared silently down at the reporter blocking my path.

The reporter slowly moved aside.

‘Pretending to be S-class certainly has its advantages when it comes to frightening people.’

In that case, there was no reason for me to remain in this noisy place.

I headed straight home. Once I was safely behind the barrier with the door locked, there should at least be no danger of anyone forcing their way inside.

—Click, click, click.

Still, judging by the camera shutters snapping behind me, the situation was unlikely to end so easily.

.

.

.

Thirty minutes later.

—Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang clearly from the other side of the front door.

How incredibly irritating.

I had assumed things would settle down once I entered the apartment, but those lunatics had begun ringing the bell incessantly.

—Kim Kiryeo-ssi, are you in there?

In the old days, I would have strung every last one of them up in the street for daring to trespass upon the Archmage’s residence...

Unfortunately, I no longer possessed the power to punish them.

And even if I called the police, would they truly arrest anyone merely for ringing a doorbell?

“Haa.”

Unable to endure the reporters’ harassment any longer, I decided to go into hiding for a while.

Choosing a refuge, however, proved difficult.

I was unfamiliar with Earth’s housing systems and had no idea which accommodations offered adequate security.

‘Another handicap of being an alien.’

That left me with only the simplest of solutions.

I picked up the phone from the desk. I had already decided whom to call.

[Ahn Yoonseung]

That’s right.

He owed me a favor, and if I didn’t use it now, when would I?

The home of an A-class Hunter should at least be more secure than the cheap lodgings lining the streets.

“Hello?”

The call connected almost immediately.

Impressed by Ahn Yoonseung’s quick response, I explained the entire situation. I told him that something urgent had come up and asked whether I could stay at his home for a few days.

“Yoonseung, please.”

Naturally, I already knew what his answer would be.

A tenderhearted Earthling like Yoonseung would never ignore my plight after learning that I was being tormented by all this noise.

—I understand.

As expected, Yoonseung agreed immediately.

‘Huh?’

Wait.

Now that I listened more carefully, “agreed” might not have been the right way to describe his response.

—I just need to prepare a room for Hyung-nim... right?

His voice sagged.

His tone was utterly devoid of energy.

‘What’s wrong with this kid now?’

For a moment, I found myself questioning the voice coming through the speaker.

And that sense of unease persisted even after I changed locations.

“Um... welcome.”

Several hours later, having taken every precaution to avoid being followed, I finally reached the A-class Hunter’s residence.

Yet from the moment he opened the front door, the host seemed to be deliberately avoiding my gaze.

“This is the guest room Hyung-nim will be using. The bathroom is down this hallway.”

“...”

“Oh, and my parents are staying with relatives for a little while. They’ll be back in two days, so you don’t need to worry about them. I’ve already explained the situation.”

His face was stiff, and his voice remained low.

Still clutching my bag, I stared at him blankly.

‘Earth-style expressions of emotion are still so difficult to interpret.’

Of course, there was no way to understand another person’s feelings merely by studying their face.

That left only one solution.

Conversation.