Chapter 44

Lee Se-eun was extremely tired at the moment. An enormous crowd had gathered for the relief goods that had to be distributed.

There were people who had already received supplies but tried to get them again, people who cut in line, and fights breaking out as if they were ready to kill each other because of it.

In the midst of this, the Korean military in charge of guarding the supplies had even fired salt rounds at the gathered poor.

These were originally non-lethal suppression rounds, but for people whose bodies were already severely weakened, that alone could put them in critical condition, and in severe cases, kill them.

“There have been thirty-seven confirmed injured and eight confirmed dead.”

People were being injured and killed either while fighting each other or being suppressed.

“Twenty-four cases of forged distribution tickets have already been found.”

The poor were pitiful, but pity and goodness were two separate matters.

“It seems the distribution staff are under a great deal of stress.”

Of course. People came with dying children and begged them to make an exception just once, and if the child died, they poured out resentment, saying it was their fault.

Some even brought the bodies of dead children. They clung to their pants, wailed, and struggled desperately to get even a handful more of supplies.

“We can't make exceptions to the distribution standards out of compassion.”

She knew well enough how hard the distribution workers had it. When someone reported that a message had arrived from the warlord Kaiser, the people in the operations room turned their eyes to Lee Se-eun.

“Put the call through.”

At least it was fortunate to receive a message from Kaiser’s forces. For the first time in a while, Lee Se-eun’s expression improved slightly.

Yoo Chan-seok had opened the door for negotiation. The means were, as she guessed, probably extremely violent, but that couldn't be an issue for now.

— This is Daniel of the Kaiser forces. I contacted you to proceed with negotiations regarding the transport of the shield generator.

“This is Lee Se-eun of Jannabi. Thank you for contacting me first.”

She gave the formal thanks.

“I imagine there was some damage caused by Hunter Yoo Chan-seok. That is regrettable.”

— What you’re saying is that it was the independent action of Hunter Yoo Chan-seok?

“Yes. I didn't ask him to. Though in the end it turned out to be helpful.”

Lee Se-eun simply agreed with Daniel’s words. Whatever Yoo Chan-seok had done in Hamburg, it had been his own action.

— So even the great Candy Lady has Hunters she can't control.

“If it were a Jannabi-affiliated Hunter it might be different, but I have never once forced other Hunters down with authority or force.”

There was no reason for Lee Se-eun to apologize for any damage caused by Yoo Chan-seok.

“Let’s put that aside. First, shall we discuss cooperation in transporting the shield generator?”

— …Fine. Since it has come to this, I will cooperate, but I can't do it for free.

At Daniel’s words, Lee Se-eun looked toward the Embargo Tower members, including Ja Sujeong. Continuing the negotiation here was fine, but the opinion of Embargo Tower was still important.

“As long as it does not harm Embargo Tower, we will delegate full negotiation authority to Hunter Lee Se-eun.”

After confirming, Lee Se-eun nodded and began.

“Two days from now, after the scheduled delivery of relief supplies in Warsaw, we will pass through Berlin, then Hamburg, and depart for the Netherlands.”

She conveyed to Daniel the volume of supplies to be delivered to Berlin and Hamburg, as well as the amount of time they would stay.

— The Kaiser’s forces would like, in return for cooperating in this matter, to receive a dispatch contract for Jannabi-affiliated Hunters.

Hearing this, Lee Se-eun clicked her tongue and reached out to shuffle through some papers.

“Seven Hunters dispatched to Bahía Blanca, Argentina, will soon return after dealing with a class 2 Erosion Zone.”

— Seven? …It would be better if we could contract for a few more.

She answered immediately.

“We can't spare more. It’s not quite the same, but I can introduce you to other Hunter companies.”

If the recommendation came from Jannabi, few companies would refuse as long as the contract terms were reasonable.

Daniel’s goal was to reinforce Hunters guarding the border, so the alternative she presented was not a bad choice.

— Then please arrange that as well.

If they couldn't obtain the shield generator, Daniel at least wanted a channel to reinforce his Hunters. Lee Se-eun neatly resolved that request.

“If we had settled this with words earlier, we could have both achieved what we needed, you know?”

Daniel replied,

— The only one who got what they needed was you.

What he truly wanted was the shield generator. With it, he could gain some breathing room against the monsters and later use it as leverage to extort money.

But with things as they were, it was better not to cause trouble and just take what could be taken, so he accepted her terms.

“In any case, I hope for active cooperation.”

Lee Se-eun ended the call. She didn't have to give anything immediately.

For Daniel to secure contracts with Jannabi and introductions to other Hunter companies, he would have to give his best effort.

“How far along is the distribution of supplies?”

“About seventy percent has been handed out. If we hurry it up a bit more, we can arrive within the time we informed the Kaiser forces.”

“Hunter Yoo Chan-seok really has done us a big favor this time.”

Thanks to things going smoothly, the atmosphere in the operations room was warm, but an urgent report came in.

“At Zamkowy Square… Hunter Lee Se-eun. You should see this yourself.”

“Hmm?”

A photo soon appeared on the operations room projector. It was in Zamkowy Square in Warsaw.

“…Haiyaa.”

From her mouth came a strange sound, halfway between a sigh and exclamation.

In the center of the square, eight severed human heads were displayed. Below them was a message in Polish.

Crime: Seizing and smuggling relief goods

Executor: Han Sang-ah

After reading the message, Lee Se-eun shuddered slightly and spoke.

“Hunter Han Sang-ah, recall her immediately.”

To go so far as to cut off people’s heads! That was unacceptable no matter the circumstances. There was a sharp edge to her order, and the Hunters quickly summoned Han Sang-ah.

“I heard you called for me.”

“What do you think you are doing?”

Her voice carried clear fury and coldness. To most people, meeting her eyes in that state would make their insides seize up, but Han Sang-ah remained calm.

“While patrolling, I found a site in an alley where distributed supplies were being smuggled.”

It seemed she had retrieved the goods, then learned their base of operations from the smugglers.

“Ah, and in the process of finding their base, I damaged the smuggler’s Achilles tendon.”

“That’s…!”

Before Lee Se-eun could say anything, Han Sang-ah continued in a steady tone.

“The purpose of relief goods is to be distributed free to those in need. We didn't transport them all the way from Vladivostok to Warsaw for a few people to monopolize and sell.”

Her words were not wrong. But that was not the problem.

“Eight people, Hunter Han Sang-ah. Eight! We are Hunters. We should be cutting the necks of monsters, not people.”

Han Sang-ah shook her head.

“That is Hunter Lee Se-eun’s policy. I have my own.”

The entire operations room gaped. Someone who could say that to Lee Se-eun’s face actually existed.

But she was not finished. Looking at the photo on the screen, Han Sang-ah spoke again.

“And there is a crime I intentionally left off that list.”

“What is it?”

Instead of answering, Han Sang-ah opened her phone and showed a video she had recorded.

“They are people who demanded sexual acts from minors in exchange for supplies.”

After viewing the video, Lee Se-eun looked away from the phone. From both the footage and the conversation in it, it was clear it was not the first time they had done such a thing.

Okay, that kind deserved to die. One person had no right to take another’s life at will, but… in this case, it was understandable.

Her fury cooled instantly.

“Fine, I understand your reason. But why leave it off the charges?”

If she had said it was intentional, there must have been a reason.

“I wanted to send the message that if you are caught seizing and smuggling supplies, you will be executed.”

Han Sang-ah took back her phone and slipped it into her back pocket.

“A warning to others huh. We can't stop all the goods transported by truck to the countryside. To them, we are just outsiders.”

They might think outsiders were lording it over them by taking supplies hostage and cutting off heads.

“Do you not realize that the anger toward you could be greater than the anger toward those who forced minors into sex for supplies?”

People could be angrier about an outsider’s report than about a neighbor’s assault.

“I do realize it. I simply don't care because I can handle it.”

“Handle it? What do you mean?”

Han Sang-ah’s answer was shockingly bold.

“If today’s incident becomes a problem, Geumyang Group will cover it up.”

She had openly declared that her powerful background would smother any backlash.

“Do you think you…”

“I don't believe I said anything untrue.”

Untrue? Not at all. Geumyang Group was at the top of the many corporations crowded into Korea.

The fact that she had cut off some heads in Poland would be buried before the group even had to act, with the media, government, and countless organizations all hastening to smooth it over.

“Isn’t that a bit too… brazen though?”

Han Sang-ah looked puzzled at Lee Se-eun’s words.

“Talent and background are both things you are born with. You can see that with Yoo Chan-seok.”

Of course, strictly speaking, his talent was built through effort and experience, but Han Sang-ah couldn't have known that.

“If he was born with remarkable talent, I was born with a great background.”

She scratched her head briefly after finishing her sentence.

“To be honest, it’s not much different from rich brats using their position to curse at their drivers, beat subordinates, grope their secretaries, or do drugs.”

“There is a huge difference!”

Lee Se-eun shot back. Compared to those examples, Han Sang-ah was using her background in a much better way.

“Is that so?”

What on earth was wrong with her thinking? Lee Se-eun wondered as she stared at her.

“So, then you can handle this?”

“Yes. The Geumyang Group also wants prominent Hunters among its members, and I have completely withdrawn from the succession fight, so unless I plant a bomb in the Blue House there will be no problem.”

Thus, Lee Se-eun’s sudden fury over the Zamkowy Square incident subsided.

“In fact, it doesn’t even sound entirely wrong.”

After Han Sang-ah left, Lee Se-eun rested her chin in her hand and thought before reaching a conclusion.

Power was the intangible force that let you do as you pleased without others daring to object.

Most used that power for their own comfort. But what if you wielded it like Han Sang-ah?

For example, if the scion of a conglomerate could beat his driver until he was hospitalized without punishment, then couldn’t he go and beat rapists or serial killers to death instead?

“Damn it, listening to her is making me crazy too.”

Scratching her head, Lee Se-eun muttered that and lay down on her bed.

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