◈ Chapter 73. You’re a Nuisance (2)
It was as if a detector had been set off.
The body’s senses were sharpened.
“……!”
I could feel the demon’s presence.
The moment [Natural Enemy] is triggered.
The position of the guy pictured in my head.
The demon had stepped into Frost.
It’s a new feeling.
Anyway, it’s amazing. Lee Ho-yeol.
‘If this isn’t the development of the clansmen, I don’t know what is.’
Suddenly, the first encounter with the rising demon.
Even the imp possessing Nam Chul-min didn’t recognize me right away.
Comparing then and now, I wonder if this is the same demon hunter.
‘Perhaps the biggest influence is the level.’
Yeah, because I was only level 55 back then.
Now I’m level 295.
That’s a whopping 240 levels.
Plus, I’ve improved my strength and agility stats through class quests. It’s all worth it, all those moonlight gymnastics.
“You’re off topic.”
In that sense, I wondered what the hell he was doing.
On Frost……. No, not just Frost.
Maximum relationship and influence.
Frost, who I have enabled [Authority] on.
How dare the demon step in, let alone a vendor!
Who is the demon?
A creature that is more of an eyesore to Grandfell than a helicopter banner.
“Hence their inferiority.”
As if burning them like banners wasn’t enough.
I immediately manifested a portal.
Portals, a high-level skill that even Ranked players feel burdened to use.
Naturally, I didn’t have such a high-level skill.
So how did I manifest a portal?
I’m not sure.
It’s a different kind of magic than skills.
“The location of the demon.”
Where I felt the aura.
The coordinates are in front of the Frost Gate.
It’s not far away, and [Natural Enemy] must be activated.
Although the portal was manifested with great momentum.
‘…… It’s a hippopotamus that eats mana. This?
My energy is visibly drained.
I realize with a start.
“How do you maintain a portal like this?
Not to mention the tower.
It’s a joke that dwarfs are compared to such a tower.
However, I don’t let it get to me.
Bam.
“……What, what?!”
He’s not one to mess around.
Especially now that there’s a demon on the loose.
A portal opened in the air.
I emerged from it.
A middle-aged man appeared, agitated by the sight.
“Excuse me. I don’t know what misunderstanding there is, but yes, I am this person. Kenji Maeda. I’ve been steadily working in politics for over a decade…….”
No, that’s just a facade.
Of course it is.
It’s not me, Grandfell, who’s going to give that excuse the benefit of the doubt.
I’ve told you many times.
You don’t talk to the prey.
Flowing silence.
He was speaking now, almost begging.
“……Yes, I made a huge mistake, not only with the protesters, but with the helicopter. I’ll never go near Frost again!”
Politics.
I had guessed by the sound of it.
So this guy was right.
“More than I expected.
I felt it when I turned back.
The demon was becoming more cunning by the minute.
The succubus that possessed Baek Yi-seol.
The succubus was the master of the Shinhwa Guild. And just like Baek Yi-seol’s status as a chaebol second generation was utilized. This guy was doing the same.
In that sense, it’s a good thing.
“‘I have developed a sense to sense the presence of demons.’
The more subtle the demons become.
My keen senses will see the light.
While I was thinking.
Suddenly, I heard the players’ conversation.
“Hey, it’s Ho Yeol!”
“……What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. I think it’s a Japanese politician apologizing for the protest and the helicopter. He’s just bowed out.”
“Really? It was already loud and distracting.”
……But wait. This is all good.
What, Ho-yeol, you’re not good enough to be called hardness, now you’re named sir?
What’s with the overwhelming title?
Of course, against my better judgment.
But it’s a title well deserved.
The body has accepted it as nonchalantly as always.
‘Yes, it is not incomprehensible.’
Those players were the working class.
From rebuilding the kingdom of Yusra to restoring Frost. I was the one who unintentionally created working-class jobs, even if I didn’t mean to.
“If he’s going to apologize like that, why did he do it?”
“Because Mr. Ho-yeol is coming, so I just lowered my tail.”
“Oh, shit. I didn’t need to be interrupted.”
Stares.
There are a lot of eyes.
He was relieved.
I could see the devil was relieved.
“An illusion that doesn’t make me laugh. That’s it.”
I don’t know about you, but Grandfell doesn’t hold back.
He doesn’t care what he sees.
I would have burned the demon possessing that man.
But.
“ouch! You got hit in the face!”
“I know. I told you not to mess with your sister!”
“Mr. Lee. From now on, you won’t look at me as an older sister!”
Pride was telling.
The residents of Frost trying to get back on their feet from their wounds.
Burning demons in front of them?
Reopening a wound that was healing?
That’s not pride, that’s stubbornness.
Clumps of snow coming and going.
I turned my head away from the kids in the middle of a snowball fight.
And I said to the boy.
“Say that again.”
“Again? Oh, I apologize, there aren’t enough protesters…….”
“No, again.”
“What? Yes, I apologize again…….”
“Again.”
“?”
I said coldly.
“Look at who you’re apologizing to.”
The demon’s apology.
The resident of Frost, not me.
Realizing my meaning, he bowed his head in apology.
“I apologize. Children.”
My brother and sister winced in unison.
The older sister hid her brother behind her back.
I stared at the scene and worked my magic.
Yes, an apple is an apple, and demons are to be hunted.
There are a few spells I can manifest.
A demon like that, hunting in silence.
Why, like a succubus.
And yet you want to help me.
“Get away from me!”
Flick.
My sister threw a snowball at the man’s face.
Puck.
A strike in the middle of the face.
Magic manifesting at the same time.
[Levels up].
Somehow the timing was perfect, and this…
*.
Kenji Maeda.
“Mmm.”
He woke up in a hospital bedroom.
As soon as he opened his eyes, the men beside him spoke.
“Maeda-san, are you awake?”
“I feel like I’ve been asleep for a very long time.”
“……Yes!”
“?”
The men made subtle expressions at Maeda’s words.
Maeda was puzzled.
It literally felt like she’d been asleep for a very long time and just woke up.
If I may use an analogy, yes, it was like waking up from a deep subconscious sleep.
Maeda smiles sheepishly.
“Working in such a deep dream, I’m impressed.”
Fragments of the dream came back to me.
Joining the protesters in the field.
Helicopters hovering overhead.
Being interviewed by reporters.
……And at the end, did you feel like you met someone higher up?
Maeda’s words stunned the men.
“What really happened to your head?
A moment of tension.
Maeda frowned and said.
“Turn on the TV.”
“……?”
“You count from one to ten. Will you explain what happened while I was asleep? I mean everyone Don’t be conceited as a player, open your eyes and ears. You have to watch the news to know how the world is going.”
Maeda nervously picked up the remote.
“Keep that in mind if you want to work with me.”
Yes, the men were all players.
Government dogs to replace Inazuma, to be exact.
Maeda clicked her tongue.
“They can’t even understand a word I say, so how can I serve them?”
Inazuma’s level of intelligence was far below her.
But Maeda was mistaken.
It wasn’t that the men didn’t understand, they just pretended not to.
For Maeda’s sake.
Beep─
The anchor’s voice came from the TV.
-This is a screen of material obtained from the Internet.
Frost floats on the screen.
A middle-aged man slouching ugly.
Maeda clicked her tongue harder than before.
“I don’t know who he is, but he’s cringing like that……?!”
Then it hit him.
Maeda’s eyes widened.
That wasn’t him, was it?
“What the hell is that?”
“Calm down. You must be absolutely calm.”
“I’m asking you what happened!!!”
Surely it wasn’t a dream?
The protesters, the helicopter, and the man on high.
It was all real?
No, that’s too weird to be true.
My memory shouldn’t be this fuzzy.
I was in agony.
One after another, the subtitle popped into my head.
-Kenji Maeda, the ultimate humiliation of Japanese politics!
“My, my, my body is the humiliation of the political world?”
Bam!
Yes, that broadcaster has always been biased.
I recognized it when it started praising Hanryu.
Furious, Maeda changed the channel.
On another channel, there was definitely a proper…….
“!”
A timely resource screen popped up.
Puck-!
There he was, getting hit with a snowball.
Could it be the grandson to be precise?
He was knocked out by a snowball thrown by a boy!
Maeda was at a loss for words.
The other men spoke up.
“There’s nothing wrong with your brain, but we suspect memory loss…….”
“That’s why you must take absolute rest.”
“Maeda-san, even if you keep looking, you won’t find any good stories……!”
Beep─
Beep─
It was true.
No matter how many channels he turned, all he could see was his own humiliation and disgrace.
Or praise for Lee Ho-yeol.
-The scene of receiving an apology for the residents of Frost was really not a common scene. Shouldn’t we Japanese politicians follow the attitude of player Lee Ho-yeol… … .
“Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
Maeda screamed.
Was this really a memory loss?
Thinking didn’t catch up with him.
Maeda’s eyes flashed as he screamed.
“So, what were you guys doing while I was being a d*ck?”
“We were waiting, just like you said…….”
“Wait? Was it really your job to wait until I was dead, socially, and do you think I brought in the likes of you to do this? Think proactively!”
It was an unnecessary spark.
His own ugliness flickering in front of his eyes.
Maeda could hardly hold back his anger.
“Stupid bastards! I was an idiot for trying to raise them!”
So He didn’t notice.
Druk─
“You should be quiet in a hospital, it’s proper etiquette and formality.”
“……?”
“Don’t move. It’ll only take a few seconds to make skewers out of you.”
“Hisagi! Now, what brings you here……?”
Kazuma Hisagi.
Until the moment he opened the door to the hospital room and walked in.
Hisagi’s tongue flicked out like a snake.
“Don’t ask, you know.”
There were six players from Maeda’s side in the hospital room.
By comparison, Hisagi was alone.
Still, the six players were frozen in place.
“……How intimidating!
I wonder if this is what venomous snakes emit.
I could feel that Hisagi’s words were not empty words.
Shuffle.
Hisagi sat down next to Maeda’s bed.
“I’m here to ask the higher-ups. Oh, I’ll spare you the honorifics. You know I cut ties with the government.”
“…… So be it.”
“Are you crazy, by the way?”
“Well, what?”
“This thing you said you did alone.”
For a moment, Hisagi’s spirits soared.
Hisagi spoke up.
“I made it clear to you, if you didn’t want me to go after you, don’t touch Frost and Lee Ho-Yeol. You knew that.”
“I don’t know what happened this time either. I don’t remember……!!”
“Oh, you don’t remember? That’s a really good excuse.”
Lighthearted lines.
But there wasn’t the slightest hint of a smile on Hisagi’s face.
“Don’t bother trying to convince a bribed judge. I’m here to tell you that the doctor told me that you have a head injury, and that the photographs show no abnormalities, so why can’t you remember?”
“Uh, really. I don’t remember. Please believe me!”
“Well, I don’t know. I’m taking your advice and actively thinking about it.”
“……!”
The players froze for a moment.
Hisagi spoke up.
“But I can’t either.”
“Ughhhhh. I’m frustrated too. I really don’t remember……! No, I apologize if I don’t remember. I’ll go back to Frost and apologize to him again……!”
“That’s not it. It wasn’t the target this time, it was wrong from the start.”
Hisagi said, trying to be nice.
“You should just stay away and cower in the corner, that’s how you apologize, Maeda. Keeping a low profile is the best way to apologize.”
“I’ll do that, but please don’t kill me……!”
“Well. Think proactively again.”
“Ugh!”
Maeda is furious.
That was enough.
Hisagi stood up from her seat.
Yuck.
He whispered to the dry-swallowing players.
“You’d better stop holding on to that broken string.”
“……!”
“That’s the end of the line.”
Hisagi added.
“A word of advice from a senior: the longer you dangle, the more it breaks.”
“…… I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good.”
Hisagi said finally.
“I’ll keep thinking proactively, and you’d better keep a low profile, Maeda. I’m not as benevolent as Mr. Ho-Yeol. In that sense, you should be grateful to Mr. Ho-Yeol.”
Maeda was too frightened to reply.
He would always live his life from now on, haunted by the fear that Hisagi was watching him.
No wonder he couldn’t do anything stupid.
Druk─
The hospital room Hisagi had left.
The men sighed, finally relaxing.
“That’s Kazuma Hisagi.”
The imposing presence of a top ranker.
It was more than I could have imagined.
I couldn’t help but feel dazed.
‘More than that Hisagi-san… … .’
Not to mention his performance so far.
Hisagi’s mention of him and the respect he showed for him.
The players barely swallowed dryly.
Gulp─
……How strong is Lee Ho-yeol, anyway?
* https://pindangscans.com
I checked the status window.
[Name: Grandfell Claudie Arpheus Romeo]
[Class: Demon Hunter]
[Level: 296]
[Stats]
Strength: 45 / Agility: 46 / HP: 243 / Luck: 5 / Aesthetics: 下]
[Points held: 1]
Only level 296.
That’s not even close to being a mature level.
However, I’m good at grasping topics.
“Whoa.”
Such weak physical training.
I can only be serious about class quests.
At least I have some good news today, which makes me feel less lonely.
I wiped off the sweat and checked my messages.