Chapter 451: Chapter 451

“What are you looking at? You want me to rip your eyes out?!”

The household members yelled fiercely at the reporters after spotting them and kicked them away. The reporters were stunned by the vicious response. Even though many hunters were bullies, very few of them would actually hit reporters.

That was especially the case in Japan, where hunters had to be especially wary of the government and public opinion.

“We... We’re reporters.”

“And I’m a gray elf. Now that we’ve introduced ourselves, let’s...”

However, the household members from the Abyss didn’t care about such rules. Barbagi tried to rush in, but Choi Yeonseung reached out with his hand and stopped him.

“Calm down. These people aren’t with those hunters.”

“Choi Yeonseung, I respect your orders, but you’re too lenient with these humans because you’re from the same race. Those hunters and these guys are from the same kingdom, and they also look similar. It’s likely that they’re from the same gang.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Yes!”

Uranta seemed impressed by Barbagi’s rationale. Indeed, to the gray elf and the giant, humans were bound to look quite alike.

Of course, the reporters were dumbfounded by such nonsense.

“We have nothing to do with the hunters over there! We’re just here to find out what’s going on!”

“That’s right!”

The reporters protested, their voices shaky. Hearing them, Choi Yeonseung stepped in to put an end to this nonsense.

“Yes, it’s just like they’ve said. Don’t touch them.”

“Fine... If that’s what you want...”

“Ca-can you tell us what the situation is?” one of the reporters asked in a surprisingly confident manner.

Choi Yeonseung was genuinely impressed with their attitude.

‘Are they risking their lives to be reporters?’

He found it hard to believe that they were still asking for information when just a second ago the household members had been about to kill them.

Fortunately, the household members didn’t punch them, most likely because of Choi Yeonseung’s request.

“Those guys barged in as we were about to finish off the raid and tried to steal the credit,” explained Choi Yeonseung.

“!!!”

“Did they want to intervene?! Uh... What clan are they from?”

“They’ve been beaten so hard that I can’t recognize their faces.”

The reporters were shocked. Trying to interfere in someone else’s raid was a certain way to destroy any trust between hunters.

They had always thought that such things only happened in backward countries, but it was actually happening right in front of their eyes!

As fellow Japanese citizens, the reporters were deeply ashamed.

The Namahage hunters were kind enough to provide more information.

“They’re from the Onmoraki and Futachi clans.”

“Onmoraki and Futachi?!”

“Th-this is ridiculous...! How dare these no-name third-rate hunters tarnish the reputation of Japanese clans like this! Unacceptable!”

The reporters were shocked and furious, and they quickly started recording.

These particular reporters came from media outlets that weren’t on good terms with the Japanese government. Those who supported the government would never come to a battlefield in the first place.

Thus, these reporters thought the household members had done well to beat those hunters up and proceeded to ask them some more questions.

“How were they trying to intervene? Did they make any threats?”

“The constellations are helping us, but those hunters ignored them?”

“Is that guy who’s unconscious on the ground also part of one of those clans?”

“I think I’ve seen him somewhere... Oh, isn’t he Assemblyman Onishi?”

“What kind of nonsense is that? What would Assemblyman Onishi be doing here?”

The reporters didn’t believe that the man who was roughed up just like the hunters was a prominent politician.

***

-‘Troubling’ the guests who came to help... The government reacted in the worst way possible. An international disgrace...

-Numerous clans from abroad publicly rebuke the response of the Japanese government.

-Will Japan feel the wrath of the good god constellations? They came to help but ended up getting betrayed.

-The prime minister owes the people an explanation and a public apology! Come out!

The livestream of the raid had managed to add fuel to the fire in a situation where the entire country was being invaded by the evil god constellations.

The black magician constellation was incredibly powerful, but Choi Yeonseung and the other household members had managed to defeat his army. The Japanese government envied their impressive achievements, so they tried to take away their glory, but ended up embarrassing themselves.

Worst of all, they had ignited a direct conflict with the good god constellations.

Choi Yeonseung was an A-grade hunter who led a large company, but he was mainly active outside of Japan. Thus, the Japanese government could recover from this scandal by shamelessly deporting him and heavily manipulating the media. Even if the entire world would rebuke them, such a strategy would still be efficient.

However, the constellations who had been involved in this raid were quite powerful, and there were many Japanese hunters that worshiped them.

The government couldn’t disregard the constellations’ anger.

-What do you think will happen?

“They’ll probably come to apologize soon,” said Choi Yeonseung as he was resting with the household members. Being stubborn in this situation would be quite foolish.

If the officials apologized for their disrespectful behavior and offered large compensation, he and the constellations would pass over this matter.

The most important thing at the moment was the evil god constellations.

[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ hesitantly says that she has predicted an ominous future.]

‘???’

The goddess’ foreboding vision turned out to be true.

-The Japanese government officially criticizes the good god constellations... ‘The Warrior With a Hammer is no better than an evil god constellation,’ an official claimed. ‘Those constellations are just thugs who came here to bully our hunters!’

-The Minister of Foreign Affairs excommunicated for his outrageous remark: ‘The Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons is shamelessly collecting faith from our Japanese hunters even though he hasn’t done jack!’ He later communicated that it was a misunderstanding...

“...No. No way.”

-The good god constellations are furious and announced that they would take control of their household members.

-The Japanese clans are struggling to mediate the conflict.

@Namahage_Nakao

-The hunters who’ve done absolutely nothing in this raid are disturbing the ones running around the field! What is this? Clans across the country are outraged!

?By the way, it this really Hunter Kohei Nakao?

?Nah, he doesn’t normally say stuff like this.

@Hunter_Koyama

-Hunter Choi Yeonseung has helped me before. He’s a kind-hearted individual who wouldn’t even hurt a fly, and yet our government has shamelessly refused him entry in the country! They treated him so poorly! I’m so ashamed of this country!

The clan hunters usually put up with their government, but this incident had properly infuriated them. They were now forced to fight for their lives in the field because of someone else’s bad decisions. Who would take responsibility if their constellations took away their skills?

Leaders of clans were on edge because of this scandal, and they went up to the politicians and protested vehemently.

Clans took to the streets, especially those who didn’t work directly with the government, and caused chaos. Many hunters called for the members of the Cabinet to resign.

Seeing the riots, Choi Yeonseung shook his head.

‘It’s the same in every country...’

“Have you finished organizing them?”

“Yes!”

Choi Yeonseung nodded as he looked at the mountain of cores and items. He had come to Japan for two main reasons: one was to nip the bud of the evil god constellations, just like the good god constellations had suggested, and the other was obviously to collect rewards from the raid.

‘It’s amazing.’

The black magician constellation had personally descended and commanded his household members in battle, so the rewards were obviously incredible. In addition, Choi Yeonseung and his allies had managed to sweep up those rewards without any casualties along the way.

Overall, obtaining such a large number of cores and artifacts from a single raid was unbelievable. Not many hunters had managed that throughout Earth’s history.

“No matter what, it’d be bad for you guys to not take anything,” Choi Yeonseung told Nakao.

“No, we’re just thankful that you came and helped us,” Nakao said sincerely.

However, if their positions had been reversed, would Nakao have acted the same way?

Absolutely not...

Even though the Japanese government had denied Choi Yeonseung entry, he had still come under the pretext of being invited by a clan. Then, instead of welcoming him, the government had tried to sabotage Choi Yeonseung in various ways. Nevertheless, Choi Yeonseung had put up with that and even made the raid a success.

Thus, for other hunters to take part of his rewards...

‘It’s honestly incredible that he’s still here.’

If Nakao had been in his shoes, he would’ve exploded in anger and left.

“No, you guys have helped me so much,” replied Choi Yeonseung. “I can’t in good conscience send you back empty-handed.”

“No, your help is already a big enough reward!”

“Listen, you’re an A-grade hunter, so money doesn’t matter to you. But I don’t think you could say the same thing about the hunters below you,” said Choi Yeonseung in a somewhat sharp tone.

Nakao was taken aback by his comment. He was definitely right.

“At the moment, hunters are facing harsh conditions. Some of them must’ve lost a fortune due to the damage, so please don’t refuse for no reason. Give them the rewards.”

“Th-thank you. I apologize. I was short-sighted.”

“It’s fine. It’s hard to notice a problem if it doesn’t affect you directly.”

Choi Yeonseung was nonchalant about this, but Nakao made a vow to himself. He was going to tell the clan hunters where the rewards had come from!

‘Alright, I should get back now,’ thought Choi Yeonseung as he looked at the organized rewards.

Initially, he had expected to receive various privileges, items, and lots of money from the Japanese government as an apology for how they had treated him.

However, looking at how things were, he knew he wouldn’t get an apology. If he stayed in Japan for longer, he would only get to hear what had happened behind the scenes and nothing else.

Japan was a mess, and there was no reason for him to get involved any more than he already had.

‘Ugh, it’s going to be a pain in the ass if the constellations ask me to help fight the Japanese government.’

He still had a lot of work to do, and he certainly didn’t want to fight the Japanese government when it was the good god constellations who had suffered the most damage.

He would get very little out of that.

“Choi Yeonseung!”

“!”

He flinched when someone suddenly called out to him. Gray Elf Barbagi had arrived.

-He didn’t come here to ask me for a favor, right?

-Constellations aren’t good at handling the affairs of Earth.

[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ agrees.]

The goddess of balance could certainly attest to that, given that she herself had entrusted most of the work to Adaquaniel.

Even though the good god constellations were furious, it wasn’t like they could instantly become cruel and unleash their fury. They couldn’t abandon so many worshipers just because of some vicious humans.

-Adaquaniel is doing so well because you’ve skillfully assigned her the correct tasks. In the end, it’s you who’s doing a great job.

[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ blushes.]

-Just ask the elf already.

“What’s going on?”

“My master...”

“I’m sorry, Barbagi. My master told me to quickly return. ”

Choi Yeonseung struck first. It wasn’t a lie, given that he was his own master.

Hearing that, Barbagi frowned in confusion and asked, “Really? In this situation? Without a commander like you, it will be hard to decide whether to do the raid or not... Then it can’t be helped.”

“?”

Now it was Choi Yeonseung’s turn to be confused. They had already defeated the black magician constellation and forced him to flee, so what raid was the elf talking about?

Were they trying to fight the other evil god constellations in Japan?

‘They wouldn’t do that unless they’re pushovers, right?’

“What raid are you talking about?”

“The prime minister of Japan has secretly contacted us. There’s an S-grade monster, an amabie, that’s heading to Tokyo Bay as we speak. He asked me to cooperate with the hunters and said that he’ll offer all the necessary support. However, those humans can’t be trusted. My master wants you to come forward and negotiate.”

Barbagi’s long ears sank as he spoke, and judging from his tone, he seemed dejected.

“However, it can't be helped if you’re busy. After all, it’s only natural for a household member as capable as you to be busy. It’s not like I’m not disappointed with the decision of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training, but I ultimately respect his decision, given that he’s your master. Alright, I’ll go and inform my master.”

“Hey, wait. Even though we only fought together for a short time, you guys are my comrades. How could I leave you behind? I’ll talk to my master and stay to help you!” Choi Yeonseung said resolutely, his expression stern.

Barbagi was moved and exclaimed, “Choi Yeonseung! You really...!”

“You don’t have to say anything. It’s understandable.”

“Oh, you already knew what I was going to say, didn’t you? You’re welcome to join our tribe of gray elves. I’ll introduce you to a gray elf who wants to get married. It wouldn’t hurt for you to get married if you’re going to join our tribe.”

“Wha...? No, forget it.”

[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ glares at Barbagi.]