The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 235

234

“Yes, yes, we are currently looking into solutions.”

Karma Corporation Headquarters, Operations Headquarters Office.

From earlier on, Chief Kim Min-joo had been on the phone non-stop, repeating the same things over and over.

“Yes, yes… I apologize. We will take action as quickly as possible.”

“Thank you for your patience. Yes, yes, I apologize.”

The moment she put down the phone, it rang again.

The thought of having to repeat the same words again made her head spin.

Instead of answering the phone, Kim Min-joo let out a deep sigh and swept her hair back.

And then.

“What is going on?”

Chief Ha Sung-il hurriedly entered the office, his voice full of agitation.

“Why hasn’t it been approved yet?! All the countries are in an uproar right now!”

“Customs isn’t allowing the weapons to be exported.”

“What?”

Ha Sung-il’s eyebrows twitched at the unexpected answer.

“What do you mean? That has never happened before.”

“I’m looking into it.”

“What in the world is going on…”

Ha Sung-il bit his lip as if frustrated.

“Then, as a temporary measure, how about sending at least the personnel? We can use the weapons stocked in each association.”

“That would be difficult. Except for the Inspectors and Guardian Classes, the Magician, Priest, Mechanic, and Sniper Classes can’t exert their full power unless they have weapons specifically made for their unique skills.”

“Ah…”

Ha Sung-il awkwardly scratched his head, realizing he hadn’t known that.

He had been with Karma Corporation for several months, but he was still quite ashamed of not knowing much about the field operations.

But that wasn’t the important thing right now.

“Then what do we do? It’s getting harder and harder to suppress the monsters in each country. If the dispatch is delayed any further, there will be casualties.”

“…….”

Kim Min-joo frowned.

Even if they asked her what to do, she didn’t have any brilliant ideas at the moment.

Of course, because the situation was so absurd, she had asked Kim Jun-woo’s direct ‘Intelligence Team’ to investigate, but even they wouldn’t be able to resolve the situation immediately.

Procedures and everything else would take time again.

“For now, all we can do is wait a little longer…”

The moment Kim Min-joo said that.

– Ji Bo-won, the head of the Seoul Central District Customs Office, has been booked by the prosecution on charges of bribery and corruption.

The unexpected news broke out.

At the same time, Kim Min-joo and Ha Sung-il began to focus on the announcer’s voice.

– Chief Ji, who claimed to have been in a traffic accident, was rushed to the hospital for treatment, where he suddenly requested the police. There, he confessed to all of his charges.

– According to the subsequent investigation, Chief Ji Bo-won revealed that he had received a large sum of money from the International Hunter Association in exchange for preventing Karma Corporation’s dispatch.

– The fact that a public official in charge of import and export customs committed such an act, and that the International Hunter Association tried to block the dispatch, is currently being reported rapidly in the global media, and many citizens are in shock in light of the global shortage of hunter manpower.

– Meanwhile, he was found with severe injuries, including fractures to both legs, due to a traffic accident, but he is not saying where or how he had the accident. Police authorities have stated that they will conduct additional investigations into whether there were any physical threats or assaults….

“W-what is that…?”

“Could it be the Intelligence Team…?”

Even so, did they really catch the tail this quickly?

No, that’s beside the point.

Was the customs office really involved with the International Association?

‘What in the world…’

Kim Min-joo was taken aback by the reality of what she had only suspected, when.

“Export permit approved!”

Chief Lee Ah-young burst into the office, shouting.

“Yes…?”

“As soon as the customs chief was booked, the president appointed someone directly from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. We just got a call saying that all weapons exports have been approved!”

“……Haa.”

It felt like she had barely crawled up from the edge of a cliff.

After letting out a sigh of relief.

“Then… let’s get started in earnest.”

“Yes!”

“Alright!”

Their eyes gleamed.

***

Paris, France, International Hunter Association Headquarters.

Because a guest who came from afar had declared war, the remaining forces were even dispatched urgently.

‘No matter how I think about it…’

In a situation where an unprecedented war could break out the moment someone even twitched a finger, Secretary-General Wesley maintained a calm expression.

‘I can’t understand it at all.’

He was glaring at Kim Jun-woo, who looked like he was about to charge at any moment.

Of course, he understood that Karma Corporation was currently in a difficult situation.

After all, he was the one who had put them in that situation.

But that didn’t mean that there was no other way out.

It was Kim Jun-woo, of all people.

He could have found any number of other solutions.

But the fact that he had come all the way here and made such an extreme choice as to mention war was something he couldn’t understand at all.

This wasn’t the Middle Ages, and he knew better than anyone that things couldn’t be solved with brute force without a plan.

Even they, who were in an advantageous position, were doing all sorts of groundwork to prepare for war… there was no way they would wage war against them without any countermeasures.

That man wasn’t that stupid.

Secretary-General Wesley couldn’t move rashly despite Kim Jun-woo’s blatant provocation.

‘There’s definitely something…’

He had a deep feeling that the moment he moved here, he could get caught up in his pace.

But he couldn’t just keep glaring like this….

He was wondering what choice to make, when.

“Secretary-General.”

The executive secretary who approached from behind called him in a low voice.

“Mr. Ji has been exposed. It seems he has confessed to receiving lobbying and instructions from us. It is currently being reported through the Korean media.”

“…What?”

Secretary-General Wesley’s eyebrows twitched.

But only for a moment.

‘I see…’

He quickly regained his composure.

Yes, that was it.

From the beginning, Kim Jun-woo had no intention of fighting.

It was just a smokescreen to buy time and track down his tail.

‘I’ve been tricked again…’

He clicked his tongue in frustration.

“It would be best to avoid conflict at this time. Now that our tail has been exposed, we need to move carefully.”

“…That would be good.”

Secretary-General Wesley nodded at the secretary’s words.

This whole situation was set up by that guy.

If he fell for the provocation and started a war here, he would only get caught up in that guy’s other plans.

He didn’t know what it was, but the fact that he was provoking him so openly meant that it was definitely an unusual plan.

‘Anyway, he’s a guy who you can’t predict even an inch ahead…’

Anyway, now that he knew, there was no need to get caught.

Then it would be a wise choice to take a step back.

Secretary-General Wesley immediately lowered his voice and asked the executive secretary.

“How many troops have been secured so far?”

“About 200,000.”

“That should be enough.”

He immediately looked at Kim Jun-woo and smiled.

“Well, let’s stop playing around here.”

He shrugged and withdrew his skill.

“…What did you say?”

“Let’s be satisfied with confirming each other’s skills today. It’s ridiculous for grown adults to fight in front of people.”

“…….”

Kim Jun-woo’s eyebrows twitched.

Yes.

He must be embarrassed that he didn’t fall for it even after such provocation.

Sorry, but he wouldn’t fall for his tricks twice.

“I will consider the contents you mentioned positively. However, it seems a little difficult to conduct a re-examination of the dropouts.”

“…….”

“I think you’re misunderstanding something, we’re not preparing for war. We’re just filtering out the guys who don’t fit the hunter profile according to your purpose.”

Of course, it was a lie.

He would also know that this was a lie.

But even if he knew everything, it would have a different meaning for the Secretary-General to say it himself.

It would be a formal statement.

If he rashly agreed, he would be declaring war on the world.

“Anyway, it was nice meeting you today. I’ll give you an answer as soon as possible about the proposed content.”

“…Are you going to accept it?”

“Of course.”

Secretary-General Wesley smiled and nodded.

“…I understand. Then, well.”

Then Kim Jun-woo also withdrew his skill and continued.

“I’ll take it that way and wait.”

With a very unpleasant expression, he turned his back and left the building.

Watching him walk away, Secretary-General Wesley couldn’t hide his smile.

This time, he wouldn’t be caught in his scheme.

Secretary-General Wesley enjoyed a strange sense of victory.

***

After the anticlimactic negotiation, Han Yu-bin and I left the headquarters without a word.

“…….”

Even in the midst of all this, I was still frowning and lost in thought.

My head was quite complicated by what had just happened.

But.

“You’re amazing as expected.”

“…Yes?”

Han Yu-bin just blurted out something out of the blue, as if she was relieved by the whole situation.

“You ended up getting what you wanted without fighting.”

“…That’s how it turned out.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You planned it all.”

Then she said something even more out of the blue.

“I just got a text from Lee Ah-young. A high-ranking official who was acting on the instructions of the International Association has been booked by the prosecution. Thanks to you, the whole world is in an uproar.”

“…….”

“You kept their attention until you caught the tail, right? So they couldn’t pay attention to the other side.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I hesitated for a moment, when my phone rang.

「What’s going on? Why haven’t I heard from you?」

It was none other than the leader of the Balance Team of PB Corporation and the head of the Noah Guild.

Noah Westernwood.

“That’s… well, it’s been resolved. So I think you can withdraw.”

「What…? How?!」

“I don’t know either. He suddenly said he would consider it and sent me away.”

「Tsk, I even gathered all the people.」

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect it to turn out like this either.”

「Okay. Don’t let me down next time.」

“I’ll do that. Anyway, thank you. It was quite a sudden request….”

At that moment, he snorted and hung up without answering.

Was he cool, or was he rude….

“Wh-what is it…?”

Han Yu-bin, who had heard the phone call, asked in a flustered voice, her eyes wide.

“Didn’t I say I had insurance? Just in case, I ordered Noah and the entire Noah Guild to attack… well, I just made them take a wasted trip.”

“W-wait a minute! So, you weren’t trying to buy time…!”

“What are you talking about?”

You’ve been saying incomprehensible things since earlier.

“I really intended to start a war right there.”

“…….”

She said she was buying time to catch the tail?

I’m not a shaman, how would I know if I would catch the tail in Korea or not.

“Well, as you said, it’s fortunate that we got what we wanted without fighting.”

“…….”

Han Yu-bin had a half-soulless expression for some reason.

‘Well, that’s beside the point…’

Why did Secretary-General Wesley listen to my request so willingly there?

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out.

He was in an absolutely advantageous position, but he willingly stepped back.

‘Could there be another plan…’

Yes, it doesn’t make sense otherwise.

Even listening to the request could be all part of the plan.

Anyway, he’s a guy who you can’t predict even an inch ahead.

I shook my head, feeling disgusted.

Anyway, I’ve finished all my business, so I’ll rest for a bit and return home immediately….

“But you know.”

Han Yu-bin suddenly opened her mouth in a rather serious voice.

Then she looked straight at me and continued.

“What did you say earlier?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“That you came to the past through the Time Stone.”

“…….”

Damn it.

You heard it.

“And what does it mean to go back when you achieve your goal?”

“It’s nothing.”

I tried to brush it off and move on.

“Is that goal perhaps…”

Han Yu-bin stood there and blurted out.

“Is it related to trying to take over the International Association?”

“…….”

“Then if we achieve that…”

She looked at me with an expression I had never seen before.

“What happens to you?”

For the first time since coming here, she asked about my true identity.