KEG 16

“Good job~ Is this the culprit?”

Baek Yejun who had arrived after getting the message, asked as he approached.

“Hunter Park Suheon will explain the details.”

“Ah, hello….”

Park Suheon, who had been hiding behind my back, greeted Baek Yejun listlessly.

When I gave him a hint, Park Suheon explained how his skill worked and what had happened to Baek Yejun.

“Honestly, it’s surprising. I didn’t know you could pull it off this well….”

“2 billion.”

The conversation was about to follow the same tone as when I received the 1 billion, so I cut him off. He really loved trivial conversation.

“I can’t pay you right now, so I’ll give it to you outside.”

Baek Yejun raised both palms in a gesture of surrender while putting on an exaggerated[Read on]ly pitiful expression.

I fiddled with the camera before speaking.

“Gil Sangwook said something strange.”

Park Suheon and Baek Yejun focused on the words coming out of my mouth.

I organized what he had told me and my own thoughts and conveyed them to the two of them.

“If that is the case, we should help. I will cooperate.”

Park Suheon nodded.

“I’m curious too. I wonder what would happen if that were to happen.”

And Baek Yejun’s permission was granted as well.

Now, all that remained was to execute the plan.

***

“We’ll confirm the deceased. Please compile the roster after going through the procedures.”

After the gate raid was finished, the Hunters and filming staff submitted the loot obtained following guidelines after a simple inspection and equipment cleaning, and paid the fees.

Once we submitted the simplified raid report, verified the casualties, reported any unusual occurrences, all that remained was post-care from healers and Guides before disbanding.

“It’s a shame to part ways like this. Shall we go for a celebratory dinner?”

I suggested the dinner first.

Most of the hunters participating in the raid agreed.

“Ah, I… I need to go first…”

Park Suheon sweated profusely and awkwardly pretended to have something to do.

It seemed he intended to slip away and turn himself in at the police station. He was unnecessarily upright for a dark mage.

“Hunter Baek Yejun said he would provide the venue for the get-together.”

“Yes~ Everyone, how about a bar exclusively for Espers?”

When Baek Yejun mentioned a bar for Espers, the raid team members’ eyes widened.

“Uh… R-really? Can we go too?”

“I can bring in a party with my membership~”

Choi Gukhwa let out a small squeal, seemingly moved by Baek Yejun’s answer. The others reacted similarly.

Is it really such a great place?

“Then, shall we go?”

Baek Yejun led the raid members to a private room bar in Gangnam. The bar I entered was built with high-end materials mixed with marble and shock absorbers, a structure designed not to collapse easily even if Espers accidentally used their abilities while under the influence of alcohol. Artifacts crafted from processed byproducts collected from hates were on display, sparkling under soft, dim lighting like a museum.

There was even a ridiculous convenience service where, in emergencies, you could simply pick up the room phone and receive emergency radiation guiding support.

“They sell alcohol made specifically for Espers here, so you can actually get drunk.”

“It’s insanely expensive, though.”

“I’ll pay, so drink to your heart content~”

Baek Yejun generously opened his wallet.

Even Choi Gukhwa screamed with delight once again. From that reaction, I could roughly guess just how expensive this bar was and how precious the sensation of getting drunk was to Espers.

“You worked hard today. Would you like a drink?”

“Ah, I don’t drink. My body can’t handle it.”

Kim Haeseon, sitting next to me, asked gently, and I answered honestly. In reality, I had a constitution where hives would break out whenever I drank alcohol.

“Aren’t you taking off your coat?”

“Yeah, it’s a bit cold. I wonder if I caught a cold in the gate.”

“Well, I suppose it was actually quite cold in there~”

Even the Hunters, who had slept soundly on the bare ground without a proper campfire, pretended to shiver with exaggerated movements.

“But you’ll still do a toast with us, right?”

Hunter Kim Haeseon smiled gently and raised her glass, and I raised a can of cola to clink glasses with her.

“Hey, let’s all do it together. Raise your glasses~”

“How can just the two of you do it?”

“Raise your glasses! The toast goes to the cameraman who worked so hard!”

In an instant, all eyes were fixed on me. Not knowing what modern people say for toasts, I blurted out the one I had been using ever since my days as a loan shark.

“Even if we bleed, we survive in this world! Desperately! Relentlessly! Cheers!”

After I blurted it out, I looked even more like a low-class thug than I had imagined, and the atmosphere turned chilly for a moment. However, perhaps they thought I was mimicking a movie scene, because everyone laughed and shouted “Cheers!” It occurred to me that I should learn a toast in advance to use in occasions like this.

“Anyway, I thought we’d get out without any casualties today…”

“Well, it’s not like we haven’t seen people die in gates once or twice. It’s a relief that we at least managed to retrieve the body.”

The Hunters at the dinner party tried their best to comfort me. They praised Gil Sangwook’s diligent work in filming with his drones and tried to say as many good things as possible.

“But that guy did look a bit creepy sometimes.”

When Hunter Choi Gukhwa shared hid honest impression of Gil Sangwook, a slightly sympathetic atmosphere began to spread.

“Don’t say that.”

The atmosphere quickly turned solemn as Hunter Kim Haeseon spoke with a serious expression, implying that she would not forgive any disrespect shown to the deceased.

However, the mood quickly returned as a different topic came up. Judging by the fact that no one except Kim Haeseon defended Gil Sangwook, it seemed the other hunters had noticed his strangeness quite some time ago.

“Were you close with Gil Sangwook-ssi, Hunter Kim Haeseon?”

“We were close. We talked a lot together.”

Hunter Kim Haeseon, who operated in Dongjak-gu and Gangnam-gu, said she frequently ran into Gil Sangwook and was close enough to exchange personal contact information.

“He was a bit… even though he had a lot of bad thoughts, he was a fun guy. Simple and foolish.”

“I liked that we had a lot in common.”

As if intrigued by my answer, Hunter Kim Haeseon rolled her gaze from her glass to look at me.

“What did you have in common?”

“Just this and that.”

“What kind of things?”

“Just the things we talk about among losers.”

I intentionally stopped talking to Hunter Kim Haeseon and spoke with the others.

Glasses were passed back and forth. The alcohol specifically for Espers really did get them tipsy, the faces of the Espers – who were immune to most poisons – turned red and their eyes began to glaze over.

I thought they looked just like ordinary people, but then I realized that not everyone here had been an Esper since birth, so this was probably a more natural look.

“Hey, Seongho! Where are you going!”

“For a smoke.”

They say there was nothing better than a drinking session for getting close to people.

Before I knew it, I had introduced myself to the Hunters and even agreed to speak informally with them. But since I found it difficult to use informal speech, I maintained my usual tone and said I would do it slowly.

Click, click–

I stepped out onto the private terrace connected to the room and was lighting a cigarette when the terrace door opened and Hunter Kim Haeseon approached with a glass of alcohol in one hand.

“Hunter Kim Haeseon, aren’t you a non-smoker?”

“I just came out because I wanted some fresh air.”

Without concerning myself with those words, I gazed at the night view, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled the smoke toward the sky. It was cold and the sky was cloudy; it felt as though it might snow, just as the weather forecast had predicted.

“This was your first time meeting Sangwook, but you’ve gotten pretty close to him.”

“That’s right. He introduced me to such an interesting group.”

I lowered my head slightly, and the night view of the city came into full view. It felt unfamiliar today, contrasting starkly with the hellish scene of flickering blue flames I had seen inside the gate.

“What kind of group?”

“It’s not really a group worth talking about in front of you, Hunter.”

Kim Haeseon grabbed my chin as I gazed at the night view and turned me to face her.

“‘A Wakener’?”

The moment I saw her glowing pupils, my mind went blank and my mouth opened on its own before I could react.

“Yes.”

“Do you hate Hunters too?”

“Yes.”

At my affirmative answer, Kim Haeseon bent down and burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, you pathetic losers.”

She said, “Your minds are weak, that’s why you crawl around places like that~” and snatched the cigarette from my mouth. She extinguished it by rubbing it against my chest over my jacket.

“Gil Sangwook used to be fun to toy with because he would tremble just from being shown a few tormenting hallucinations.”

Just before he died, Gil Sangwook said that Hunters would attack him whenever he entered a gate, but if he stepped outside, everyone would pretend not to know him and treat him like a madman.

Someone had intentionally driven him insane by showing him hallucinations.