Chapter 424: Chapter 424

“Who’s this?”

“He’s a retired hunter.”

“Oh? He looks strangely familiar...”

Han Seha, who had come in late, cocked her head. She felt like she had seen Bashirov before...

‘Does she think that because many Russians have similar features?’

“In any case, you subdued those hunters right away?”

“They were completely caught off guard by my martial arts. But more importantly, they were out of their minds. They’re A-grade hunters, so I don’t know if they’ll make a fuss about this.”

“They’re truly ungrateful bastards if they protest.”

Han Seha was dumbfounded, but Choi Yeonseung merely shook his head.

“That’s what A-grade hunters are like.”

The higher a hunter’s rank, the more diligently they took care of themselves. Not only did they pay a fortune for health insurance, but they also made sure to condemn and hold responsible anyone who caused them any injuries.

“Protest? I’ll beat them again until they can’t protest!” Han Seha shouted proudly.

“That’s not going to happen. We just have to ignore them. And I have great lawyers in case of anything,” explained Choi Yeonseung.

Ever since he had taken charge of Dragon Industry, Aine had been continuously telling him, “Take care of it in a legal way.”

-I’m paying a lot of money to hire an army of lawyers. So to make the money back, just solve any dispute in court! There’s no need to worry about handling it yourself!

“I don’t think so,” someone added suddenly.

“?”

It was Bashirov who spoke. Choi Yeonseung and Han Seha looked over at him.

“I’m familiar with these hunters. I won’t let them make such a complaint.”

“...”

“...”

Choi Yeonseung and Han Seha were moved by Bashirov’s gesture...

...Not really. Han Seha frowned and asked, “How can you guarantee that? What are you even saying? Will you take responsibility if they still proceed with a lawsuit and we end up in a legal scandal? Hunter Choi Yeonseung! Is this guy trying to trick us so he can slap us with a lawsuit when we’re not prepared? They’re all Russians after all.”

“No way... Wait. Actually, that’s not impossible.”

Choi Yeonseung initially tried to dissuade Han Seha, but he eventually ended up nodding in agreement.

Come to think of it, these Russian hunters knew each other. For all he knew, this retired hunter could just lie to them and stab them in the back later.

“...”

Bashirov was embarrassed but didn’t bother to argue. Given the circumstances, their suspicions were understandable.

However, the fallen Boris kept blinking furiously.

‘Look at me, you idiots!’

***

‘I didn’t expect the nightmare demons to plan something like that...!’

Illaphael, who had been waiting for something unexpected to happen, looked serious when she belatedly heard the news.

She hadn’t been that worried when the nightmare demons had first escaped the dungeon. Those monsters weren’t as strong in the Abyss as people thought. Even if they tried to seduce and manipulate a few mortals, it wouldn’t last long.

However, Earth was nothing like the Abyss. It was a highly complex realm where a single powerful person could wreak havoc.

Luckily, Choi Yeonseung had managed to stop those A-grade hunters at the last second from getting into contact with that king, or president.

[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ calls Illaphael.]

-I’m sorry, Master. I should’ve prevented it...

Illaphael genuinely felt sorry, and she was terribly ashamed of himself.

She couldn’t believe that she had screwed up not only during the dungeon raid, but also in dealing with the aftermath.

The fact that she had been slower than the inexperienced human hunters was doubly shameful...

[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ says he doesn’t care about that. He says it can’t be helped since Earth is such an unfamiliar realm.]

-But I cannot believe I am less skilled in resolving such situations than other humans...

[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ says not to worry about this.]

-Thank you! But I...

[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ tells you to stop talking.]

-...I’m sorry.

The angel constellation firmly urged Illaphael to stop apologizing, likely because he had grown irritated. In response, Illaphael merely bowed her head.

[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ says that the monsters appearing on Earth are getting stronger.]

Illaphael nodded. She also felt that way.

After the Abyssal gate had opened, Earth’s magic power had increased more and more as time went on. Thus, it was only natural that the monsters that emerged from dungeons had also gotten stronger over time.

Dungeons like the one in which the nightmare demons had tried to create a new constellation weren’t common in the Abyss.

If that had happened in the Abyss, a new constellation would’ve been born and it would’ve obliterated the dungeon and everything around it.

[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ says that the humans must be warned.]

-But Master... Please forgive me for my blasphemous words, but humans tend to disregard warnings. Aren’t you aware of this, Master?

Illaphael cautiously tried to argue with her master.

Of course, disregarding warnings wasn’t necessarily unique to the human race. There were many mortal creatures in the Abyss that perished because they ignored the warnings of constellations.

However, the humans on Earth were a different story when it came to that...

Humans were an extremely greedy and aggressive race that refused to work together and took the first chance to slander each other in the event of a crisis!

Warnings didn’t work for such races. Rather, given their nature, it was more likely that humans would hide the warning from their fellow humans and take advantage of it for their own benefit.

[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ says that he knows.]

-?!

[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ says he has learned something about humans while observing Earth.]

[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ says that he will use a method appropriate for humans.]

‘What is he thinking...?’

Illaphael was confused, but she just bowed down instead of asking more questions. She was a faithful household member, and if her constellation gave her an order, she would carry it out unconditionally.

***

Tikhonov, the A-grade hunter known as the Thunder Emperor, came to Choi Yeonseung. He saluted him with the utmost reverence before shouting, “Thank you, Hunter Choi Yeonseung! Thank you so much for beating me up!”

“...I-I see.”

Choi Yeonseung and the hunters around him looked at Tikhonov like he was crazy. Of course, there was nothing wrong with expressing gratitude for receiving help, but thanking Choi Yeonseung for beating him up was rather...

‘I’ve heard a lot about Russia’s A-grade hunter, but I never thought he was like this.’ n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Isn’t he a bit strange?”

“Why? Can’t he just express his gratitude?”

“No matter how grateful you are, there’s no need to go this far...”

Like the other whispering hunters, Choi Yeonseung also felt strange.

‘Did someone threaten him?’

-It seems like he’s just saying thank you...?

‘You still don’t understand what is considered common sense on Earth, Goddess. Generally speaking, humans express their gratitude less and less as they rise in ranks. They just become brazen.’

-...

The goddess of sloth was speechless at Choi Yeonseung’s words.

‘If you hate humans so much, you should stop taking care of them...!’

“I’m sorry I subdued you too harshly,” Choi Yeonseung said jokingly. “I’m glad you’re okay. Nobody threatened you to come and thank me like this, right? Haha.”

“...No!! I was never threatened!”

“?”

-?

[?]

Choi Yeonseung and the constellations really found it strange now.

...Had someone actually really threatened him?

Perhaps he felt Choi Yeonseung’s gaze, but Tikhonov looked embarrassed. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly replied, “I...! I have an appointment, so I have to go! Once again, thank you for beating me up!”

“...”

“...”

This was supposed to be a pleasant ceremony where medals were awarded and the overseas hunters were thanked, but the atmosphere had quickly become strange.

Nakao, the Japanese A-grade hunter, said to Choi Yeonseung, “Hunter Choi Yeonseung, that guy... Wasn’t that weird? I think he’s being threatened... If he’s being manipulated again by the nightmare demons...”

“I don’t think so. And also, you think an A-grade hunter can be threatened like that? It’s unlikely.”

Nakao was eventually forced to agree with Choi Yeonseung. Even in Russia, there were few people who could threaten an A-grade hunter.

It was more likely that Choi Yeonseung’s righteous gesture had moved Tikhonov, urging him to ardently express his sincere gratitude!

‘Indeed, just like with the other Russian clans... Hunter Choi Yeonseung’s sincerity is working.’

Nakao was impressed by how the Russian clans treated Hunter Choi Yeonseung after the dungeon explosion. They had been harsh and unwelcoming at first, but they had made a complete one-eighty after Choi Yeonseung had defended the nearby city, as if to repay him for his goodwill.

Seeing this, Nakao seemed convinced that the world wasn’t entirely rotten. Indeed, people were still rewarded for their altruism.

That was the power of Hunter Choi Yeonseung.

He was the chairman of a huge company, and he had everything he wanted. Moreover, he was also an A-grade hunter, but he had still gone out of his way to save others!

Hunter Tikhonov had clearly been moved by Choi Yeonseung’s righteousness. That had to be the reason he had expressed his gratitude despite taking a beating.

“Thank you, Hunter Choi Yeonseung! Thank you so much for beating me up!”

The other A-grade hunter that had barged into Boris’ office, Bronze Doll Alentova, also came in and vigorously expressed her gratitude.

It definitely seemed strange for a hunter like Alentova, who had a glamorous appearance and looked like a model, to salute Choi Yeonseung like a soldier and thank him for slamming her head against the floor.

However, this only confirmed Nakao’s theory.

‘Yes, she’s being honest.’

Nakao nodded and said, “Hunter Choi Yeonseung, I think she’s being sincere.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. All these people are hunters whom you’ve helped. Take a look around.”

“Well... You might see it that way.”

“I’m glad to see these A-grade hunters thanking you instead of complaining and acting offended. There are people who insist that righteousness doesn’t get you anywhere these days, but they’ll all shut up after I tell them about this. Yes, these are the benefits of being sincere!”

Choi Yeonseung paused as he listened to Nakao’s animated speech. He then said reluctantly, “I’m sorry, but I think they were threatened.”

Choi Yeonseung pointed forward.

The retired hunter, who had been by Boris’ side the other day, was coming up to the stage with his bodyguards.

In the current situation, there was only one person who could come up like this.

“It was an act...?”

Nakao was very disappointed. He couldn’t believe that the miracle was all a lie...

***

Choi Yeonseung and Han Seha were surprised to find out that the retired hunter was actually the president of Russia, but their overall attitude didn’t change.

‘No matter who he is, there’s no reason to panic.’

‘Well, he should’ve just told us he’s the president if he wants us to treat him well.’

That was true confidence.

However, Bashirov didn’t really mind their attitude.

“...With utmost gratitude, I bestow this medal on you.”

The hunters clapped and cheered.

Of course, some hunters preferred a large bundle of money to a medal, but nobody would refuse such an honorable gesture.

In addition, the hunters present were either working under Choi Yeonseung or they had received help from him, so everybody was naturally happy to see him get what he deserved.

“Hunter Choi Yeonseung, congratulations on receiving the medal!”

“Y-yes, thank you.”

Choi Yeonseung was taken aback when someone whom he hadn’t expected to see here congratulated him.

That someone was none other than Illaphael.

‘Does this angel even know what a medal represents for humans?’

“I came here because I have something to tell you. Is this a good time?”

“Sure. I’m listening.”

“It’s about a dungeon...”

“...Wait, hold on. I think another raid would be too much right now. My hunters are exhausted, and....”

Choi Yeonseung quickly refused before Illaphael could even finish her words.

To be honest, it was a bit...

-I can’t trust him.

-Rather than not being reliable, isn’t he just very unlucky?

-He isn’t reliable, Goddess.

...The suggestions of the Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons were more often than not strange and twisted.

‘Uh, I shouldn’t be mean for no reason.’

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ agrees!]