The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 163

162

“I apologize for the wait. I had some urgent business to take care of.”

About ten minutes after we arrived at the Japan Branch’s reception room.

Branch Manager Shoichi wiped the sweat from his brow and belatedly appeared.

“It’s alright. We were the ones who came without notice.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

His excessively polite tone made me unconsciously furrow my brow slightly.

Isshiki had informed us that the Donggang Association headquarters was raided by an unknown assailant after our visit.

We arrived at the scene late, but most of the organization members, including the chairman, were collapsed.

And, of course, Haramura Ryuhei was not there.

‘The circumstances strongly suggest these guys…’

Haramura is probably being held at the Japan Branch. And he’s likely already revealed the lies surrounding the Haramura workshop.

So, this bastard is now brazenly acting like a nice guy, even after killing dozens of people to steal a single art.

“What brings the representative of Karma Corporation here without prior notice…”

As I remained silent, Branch Manager Shoichi cautiously asked.

Why is he asking something he already knows?

I took out the documents and handed them over.

“As I told your aide, I would like to proceed with a weapon order contract with the Haramura workshop.”

“…….”

His complexion darkened at the same time.

“Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no. No problem at all. But why come to us when you could contract directly with the workshop…”

“Isn’t the Japan Branch in charge of contracts with the Haramura workshop? Of course, I could contract directly, but considering the volume, it seems appropriate to go through the branch.”

“…I see.”

Branch Manager Shoichi forced a smile.

Taking advantage of the moment, I probed him.

“I’ve heard that the Haramura workshop’s weapons are very special. Honestly, I initially thought it was just a rumor. But I guess they must be reliable if they’re so popular with the International Association hunters, right?”

“Ha, haha… of course.”

“As a subjugation company, we can’t afford not to acquire such great weapons. As you can see in the contract, the conditions are very favorable. So, is a positive review possible?”

“…….”

He clearly looked troubled.

Of course.

It wasn’t a problem when he didn’t know, but now that he knows everything, it’s quite troublesome.

There’s a risk that the truth about the Haramura workshop could be exposed to us.

No matter how good the conditions are, he can’t just blindly sign a contract.

He’ll try to cancel the contract here somehow.

“Well… I understand what you’re saying. But I think I need to talk to Master Haramura first.”

“Oh, is that so? That’s perfect. I wanted to meet him too.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s call Mr. Haramura and discuss it together.”

“…….”

He’s probably thinking of getting out of this smoothly.

No way, you bastard.

“Ha, haha… I didn’t mention it. Actually, Master Haramura has recently suspended his work for a while. And he’s not very responsive.”

“Hmm? Suspended his work? Why…?”

Feigning ignorance, Branch Manager Shoichi wore an exaggeratedly awkward expression, acting troubled.

“We don’t know the details either… Anyway, it seems difficult to proceed with the contract in the current situation. Please come back next time…”

“Oh, my. I was so oblivious. You should have told me earlier if that was the case.”

I took out another document from my inside pocket and handed it over.

“This is the Youth Hunter Development Foundation that I’m currently promoting.”

“…Why are you giving that to me?”

“Oh, come on. Isn’t this what you were talking about, Branch Manager?”

I tapped the document with my finger.

At the end of my finger, there was a title written in Japanese: [Youth Hunter Development Foundation Management Responsibility Delegate].

“I’ll hand over this foundation to you. Of course, we’ll be in charge of the actual operation, and you, Branch Manager, just need to handle the accounting. We’ll deposit support funds into the foundation every month, so you can use them as you please.”

“Are you… suggesting a bribe?”

“Isn’t that what you wanted? Ah, if you’re worried about getting caught, don’t worry. Even in Korea, no one in this industry can touch me.”

“…….”

Alright, the bait is thrown.

If he proceeds with this contract, he’ll pocket at least billions of won [Korean currency, approximately millions of USD].

Can he really refuse this?

‘…Well, it stings a bit to do this much for these guys, to be honest.’

I clicked my tongue.

I know there’s a price to pay to get something, but the fact that the other party is the Japan Branch doesn’t make me feel good.

I’m not a patriot, but considering what these bastards have done, it’s hard to look at them favorably.

After a moment of contemplation.

Branch Manager Shoichi, who had been staring intently at the documents, finally opened his mouth.

“…Alright. I’ll persuade Master Haramura to proceed.”

“Thank you.”

Yeah, it’s too much money to refuse.

We shook hands, concluding the deal for now.

“Ah, by the way… could we possibly do a weapon demonstration test? Ah, of course, it’s not because I don’t trust the branch and the workshop. I just think a procedural check is necessary.”

“…….”

He looked momentarily flustered, but soon smiled and replied.

“Of course. When would you like to schedule it?”

“Would a week from now be possible?”

“We’ll prepare it. We have a laboratory on our side for the test…”

“Rather than that, let’s choose a suitable dungeon to proceed, considering future combat situations as well.”

“…Understood.”

It’s over.

That guy has cornered himself.

From now on, that greedy bastard will do whatever it takes to make Haramura’s lies the truth.

He’ll gather famous artisans from all over the country to try to maintain the name value of the Haramura workshop.

This is the first step.

All that’s left is to completely bring the Haramura family over to our side.

Well, now that he’s received the contract, he’ll take care of that himself.

Now that the truth about the Haramura family is known, the Japan Branch will have no choice but to reduce weapon orders from the International Association.

Considering the investment needed to improve the declining quality, the deal won’t be profitable at all.

Unless they fix the problem immediately, they’ll gradually reduce orders to bury this matter.

On the other hand, they can’t do that with our contract.

Because of the bribe they’ve already received, they have to maintain the weapon supply, whether they like it or not.

Then, naturally, the results of the Haramura workshop, which the Japan Branch invested in and grew, will be as good as ours.

After that, we can use the workshop as we please.

‘Well, the acquisition of the Japan Branch…’

I can decide after seeing how things turn out.

I don’t see an angle yet.

“Then I’ll get going first. Thank you for the good deal today.”

“No, rather, to try to repay the debt this much, Korea is indeed a country that knows gratitude.”

“Debt?”

Narrowing my eyes at the strange story, Branch Manager Shoichi proudly said.

“As you know, when the dungeon first appeared, the Japan Branch helped Korea, which was having difficulties, didn’t we?”

“……?”

What the hell is he talking about?

“Even if the mouth is crooked, you have to speak properly. That’s what you call helping? Weren’t you trying to swallow up the Korean subjugation rights under the guise of support?”

“Haha, what’s so important about that? Think about how quickly Korea was able to build its initial subjugation infrastructure thanks to us.”

“…….”

Look at this bastard?

“So, that was all for our sake?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Whatever the process, Korea grew as a result, and it’s a clear fact that we were the foundation for that.”

“Ha, hahaha…”

I swear, I never imagined I’d come to work and hear such bullshit.

“Hundreds of civilians who were recruited and dragged away under the pretext of a subjugation force died in vain, and you have the nerve to say that.”

“What are you talking about? They volunteered.”

“You, you son of a…!”

Han Yoobin, who had been listening from the side, exploded first.

I sympathize with her feelings, but I stopped her.

“…Can you take responsibility for that statement?”

“Responsibility? I’m not a politician.”

“It doesn’t seem like this is a conversation for here.”

My eyes were bloodshot, but I had no choice but to let it go here.

I can’t ruin things when the deal is done.

This isn’t the only opportunity.

“Alright. Then I’ll see you in a week.”

“I underst…”

I quickly left the office without even listening to Branch Manager Shoichi’s reply.

Otherwise, something would have happened.

“That son of a bitch, really! Representative! Do we have to keep going with this?! I don’t think I can stay still if I see that bastard’s face one more time?”

“…….”

Han Yoobin burst out with the resentment she had been holding back.

I was also very angry, but she, with her low flashpoint, must have been at her limit. If we had stayed any longer, something would have happened in some way.

I like that she expresses her anger purely and honestly, but it’s really annoying at times like this.

While I was thinking, my phone rang.

「R, Representative!」

As soon as I answered the phone, Chief Manager Ha Sungil’s urgent voice was heard.

“What’s wrong?”

「It seems like you should drop the Japan Branch deal.」

“…Excuse me?”

What is he talking about now?

「There’s an article spreading here that we’ve sided with the Japan Branch!」

“What… how is the article out already?”

「It seems like the Future Democratic Party was planning and waiting for this from the beginning. But the atmosphere is unusual. Considering what happened with the Japan Branch in the past… The public opinion is flowing too negatively.」

“…….”

I immediately opened the internet to check.

└Karma sided with the Japan Branch?

└Ah, this is a bit…

└Giving them too much leeway, aren’t they crossing the line too much? Do they not know what the Japan Branch did to us?

└If they knew all that and still sided with them for money, it’s really not right;;

└I’ve been unconditionally supporting Kim Junwoo, but I really can’t cover for him this time.

└Isn’t a businessman not an independence activist? The primary goal is profit-seeking, so why expect patriotismㅋㅋㅋ

└Hey ㅅㅂ [Korean slang, equivalent to ‘fuck’], there’s still such a thing as morality. Is it right to side with the Japanese bastards who did that shit not once but twice?

As expected, public opinion was flowing seriously negatively.

「If we proceed any further here, our position will become difficult. The ruling party is already saying that we need to stop the monopolization of subjugation rights. If we’re not careful, something really big could happen…」

Could they have been waiting for this to happen?

‘It feels too much like it’s flowing according to a script, but it can’t be just my imagination.’

With a faint sigh, I raised my head.

Yeah.

From the beginning, the tabloid was bait to create public opinion.

I didn’t even know it and got caught nicely.

‘Damn it, really…’

It’s not difficult to release a rebuttal article.

But if I do that, the contract with the Japan Branch will be off the table.

It would be pointless to have endured Branch Manager Shoichi’s bullshit.

‘But if I don’t respond… I’ll be branded as a traitorous company.’

The trust of the citizens will also fall, and the hard-earned exclusive subjugation rights may be shaken.

Maybe that’s why they started this in the first place because they didn’t like that.

‘Tsk, things are getting twisted…’

But now that I’ve come this far, I can’t go back empty-handed.

If siding with the branch is controversial… there’s only one way to solve it.

「First of all, we’ll release a rebuttal article right away, so please return to Korea quickly and…」

“No.”

「Y, yes?」

“Don’t release a rebuttal article, hold a press conference, make a statement, don’t do anything, let’s just remain silent for now.”

「Yes?! If we do that, we really won’t be able to control it…!」

“We’ll acquire the Japan Branch.”

「……!」

Yeah.

If we take the entire Japan Branch here, everything will be resolved.

「…Is that possible?」

“Isn’t there no other way? Of course, it has to be possible.”

「…Understood. Then I’ll trust you, Representative, and wait.」

As soon as I hung up the phone, Han Yoobin opened her mouth worriedly.

“What are you planning to do?”

“First of all…”

I organized my thoughts for a moment and opened my mouth.

“Let’s gather some people.”