Chapter 39

The Hunters belonging to the company Esprit were murmuring among themselves.

"Partner Hunter, it is not just anyone, it is the Candy Lady."

It was a request from Lee Se-eun. If one was in their right mind, they would not refuse this. It was not fear born from her skill.

It was respect.

"She has taken the lead in resolving more than five first-class Erosion Zones. Refusing her request without a just reason is..."

"So what, you bastards."

Robert Digne, a Partner Hunter from Esprit, replied in a tone that sounded rather irritated.

"At the end of the day, she is just a Hunter. If that woman makes a request, will you hand over your liver too?"

"If Hunter Lee Se-eun needed my liver... I am prepared for that."

Upon hearing the answer, Robert’s expression twisted.

"Stupid bastard."

A Hunter whose face turned red at Robert’s words responded.

"I can’t just not listen to her request. I would rather pay the penalty and leave Esprit."

Robert looked at him with an expression of disbelief.

"Idiot. That bitch is just another Partner Hunter making money by taking on requests. She’s just a hungry animal."

After Robert’s words, the atmosphere shifted instantly. Two things had provoked the Hunters.

The word “bitch” and the word “animal.” Robert was startled by the sudden change in atmosphere among the Hunters.

"You bastards, do you all have a death wish?!"

Robert quickly learned the answer to that question, because the Hunters gathered here all drew their weapons without hesitation.

“...”

It was not simply because she was strong. Strictly speaking, there were nine Hunters stronger than her. But the name Lee Se-eun, the Candy Lady, had value beyond that.

"If it were not for the support of the foundation Candy Lady established, I would never have become a Hunter."

"My mother, she received surgery thanks to her."

"When I was injured in an Erosion Zone, if she had not spoken up, I would have been abandoned there."

Robert had only thought of Lee Se-eun as a strong Hunter, but he was wrong.

There might be nine people stronger than her, but no one cared for other Hunters the way she did.

He had made those remarks without knowing that. A person’s value did not only correspond to the strength they held.

The power to split mountains and part seas could inspire awe, but it could not make people follow you. Lee Se-eun possessed not only the power to split mountains and part seas, but also the power to make people follow her.

"It would be best if you apologized to her for your earlier remarks and agreed to her request."

Lee Se-eun had not even heard what Robert said earlier. Robert wanted to argue that point, but in the face of the murderous intent of the Hunters standing before him, he could not speak it aloud.

"Just you wait... I will make you all regret this, bastards."

"That is the price for sparing your life. Either I leave Esprit, or you, Partner Hunter, leave Esprit. I will also make my intentions known to the leader of Team 1."

"I agree with him."

More than fifty Hunters expressed the same intention. If that many Hunters left Esprit, the company would collapse.

Robert felt dizzy. He made one crucial mistake, which was provoking the wrong Hunter. She might not be the strongest, but excluding the veteran who had never been displaced from the top spot, she was the most respected Hunter in the world.

The price for provoking such a Hunter came to Robert in the form of losing his job.

It was not as if he had been completely unaware of Lee Se-eun’s influence, but he had been deluded into thinking that someone like him could find a way to match her.

* * *

The train crossing Siberia moved steadily toward Europe under Lee Se-eun’s command, fending off the attacks of monsters along the way.

Our destination was the capital of Poland, Warsaw.

We would be stopping in Warsaw for three days. We planned to treat the Hunters whose injuries could not be attended to on the train, and unload the relief supplies allocated to this area.

"The Mazurka warlord and the Hunter companies contracted with them have promised their cooperation."

"That is one less worry."

Lee Se-eun nodded slightly with a relieved expression. People did not look particularly surprised, as if they had expected this outcome.

"What about cooperation regarding transport? Any words from other warlords aside from Mazurka?"

"No... the warlords are still avoiding giving a clear answer."

Lee Se-eun clicked her tongue and brushed her hair back from her forehead. She did not seem pleased, but for now, she did not appear to be taking further action.

"There is no helping it. Keep trying to contact them. We will be in Warsaw for a few days anyway."

After the meeting, not long passed before the train gradually slowed down. For the first time in days, we were able to step off the train.

The sight that greeted us was far from pleasant.

"This is no place for people to live."

Poland, at least among Eastern European countries, was second only to Russia in prosperity. The land was fertile, and there were abundant natural resources underground. Until the collapse of the Soviet Union, it had a fairly developed industry.

It was famous for its grand old cathedrals and as the birthplace of Chopin.

Now, however, the only words that came to mind were that it was a place shrouded in despair.

"Damn."

I saw a child sucking milk from the corpse of his mother. Then someone approached furtively, looked around, took the child from the dead woman, and led him away.

Grass, trees, any kind of plant life was entirely gone. What could be eaten had been eaten, and what could not be eaten had been burned for heating.

"Are you Hunter Yoo Chan-seok?"

After stepping off the train, a man approached and greeted me.

"I am Warrant Officer Jozef Polanski of Mazurka."

He was a man in uniform. Mazurka was the warlord that occupied Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania.

"I hear you will be staying for about three days. You are quite the famous freelance Hunter from Korea right now."

From his expression alone, he looked like a man in a club with a private room. Why was he looking at me, a man, like that, practically drooling?

The reason was obvious. Since I belonged to no organization, he was hoping to make a good impression and perhaps secure a contract.

"Of course, Poland’s overall conditions from infrastructure to buildings cannot compare to Korea... but it does have power."

"Power, huh."

At my words, Jozef nodded.

"In this land, it is as good as being a king. In Korea, I hear Hunters have many restrictions on their behavior for the sake of their public image... but here, there is no such thing."

"You mean no one cares what you do?"

At my words, he nodded and stroked his beard.

"As long as you work diligently during the contracted time. Mazurka’s welfare may not be as good as Korea’s... but that is only within the realm of legality."

Illegal welfare, that was quite the strange phrase.

We continued talking as Jozef guided me to my lodging by car. Not just any car either. It was a limousine.

There was even champagne inside. The contrast was staggering, considering the streets outside were full of people starving to death.

"What is that?"

"Oh, a newspaper. I picked it up on the street."

I said no more and read the newspaper. I could already tell it had been heavily censored by Mazurka.

But what about the job listings? I looked over them and sighed inwardly.

For men, working on a farm or in a mine offered room and board plus a daily wage of 760 won. That’s only 55 cents. The quality of the provided meals was likely poor too.

For women, there was an additional requirement of neat appearance and an age limit of under 29, but the daily wage for those jobs was more than triple.

The nature of the work was not stated, but it was easy enough to guess.

"Done reading?"

I crumpled the newspaper and tossed it aside, and Jozef asked me.

"Yeah, more or less."

It seemed we had arrived. I stepped out of the car and looked at the building before me.

It was decently built, but judging from my experience, it was about on par with the motels you could easily find clustered together in certain districts.

"It may be modest, but it is still one of the best places available."

As Jozef had already said, Poland’s infrastructure was in no shape to offer better.

"As long as I can sleep, I have no complaints."

Having a roof over my head was enough. Besides, I had spent 35 years sleeping in places far removed from the comforts of civilization. It was not pleasant, but it was familiar.

"My freedom of activity is guaranteed, right?"

At my words, Jozef made a sound of realization, took something from his inside pocket, and handed it to me.

"Here is your certificate. Show this, and Mazurka’s people will not interfere with you."

"And if trouble starts?"

He answered simply.

"Likewise, Mazurka will not get involved."

Which meant if I got into a bind, I would have to get myself out.

"That’s good enough."

After our conversation, Warrant Officer Jozef said his farewell and left. Inside the room, there was a large bed, a desk, and a bathroom with a shower and bathtub.

There was also enough food to last comfortably for about three days.

"Are you in there?"

It was Ja Sujeong. I opened the door for her.

"Wow, as expected, Hunter Yoo Chan-seok’s treatment is different huh."

She spoke with admiration.

"Is it that different?"

She laughed and replied.

"The toilets and showers are communal. As for the showers..."

It looked like they had set up a black screen outdoors, with water pipes connected overhead.

"Cold water is whatever, but unless you run it for two minutes first, you have to shower in rusty water."

That was something to hear. At least it seemed they were not limiting water usage.

"Hunter Lee Se-eun must be staying somewhere even better."

Ja Sujeong responded to my comment.

"She is staying in a remodeled Warsaw Royal Castle in Zamkowy Square. It is not far from here."

Ja Sujeong glanced at me and asked cautiously.

"Would it be okay if I washed up here?"

"Go ahead. That is what is nice about knowing other people after all."

The quality of a shower could differ greatly depending on the water temperature. Maybe that had been her plan all along, as she smiled and unpacked the things she had brought.

"Thank you. I do not know if it counts as repayment, but... if you have any questions, ask me anything."

I pointed to the food in the room.

"It is all from Korea."

Ja Sujeong let out a small “Aha” at my comment.

"That is because of the Korean government’s policy."

She gave a simple explanation. The Korean government imported goods produced in other countries as a priority.

"Rare earths, fossil fuels, grains, meat, fruits, vegetables... almost everything."

After consuming as much as possible domestically, they would sell the surplus abroad.

"It is surprising that other countries cooperate so willingly."

"Being on the Korean government’s bad side means you cannot count on the cooperation of Hunters."

Most Hunter companies in the world had their headquarters in Korea.

"Aside from a few top companies like Jannabi or Taebaek, the rest have no choice but to be mindful of the Korean government."

Otherwise, they would have to leave Korea. And the gap between companies headquartered in Korea and those that were not only grew wider over time, leading to the latter’s decline.

"The difference in both quantity and quality between support from other countries and from Korea is so vast... and Hunters do not like companies headquartered outside of Korea."

With less support and lower-quality Hunters available for hire, some Hunters would even quit on the spot if their company was expelled from Korea.

"In today’s world, you cannot farm or mine without Hunter protection after all."

If you wanted to survive, you had no choice but to comply with Korea’s unreasonable demands. In short, they were complete thugs.

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