The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 174

173

“I really suspected it! How could you not resist slacking off?!”

“…….”

CEO’s office.

Director Lee Ah-young’s voice echoed sharply.

“We need to finalize the Middle East branch’s accounts by next month, and review the Japan branch’s business plan! How can you abandon everything and hold an expo?! Are you out of your mind?!”

“Well, there’s a reason for all of this…….”

“Yes, there must be a reason! But why are you giving tours there?!”

“…….”

I had nothing to say, so I lowered my eyes silently.

Damn it.

Of all the bad luck, how could I get caught there?

If I made any more excuses, I felt like I’d be lectured until dawn, so I quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, weren’t you supposed to return next month? Why are you here already?”

“Are you changing the subject?”

“…….”

She’s like a ghost.

Soon, Lee Ah-young calmed down and took a step back, opening her mouth.

“Well, things stabilized faster than I thought. Mr. Haramura is doing better than expected too. I’ve taken care of all the urgent matters, and Sung-il said he would handle the rest, so I came back first. Well, I was also worried…….”

She glared at me once more.

I ignored her gaze and asked.

“Was there any particular reaction from the international association?”

“No.”

“……Huh?”

“I said no. I thought they would at least make an offer to buy us out. But there’s really no reaction at all.”

“That’s…….”

“It’s a bit strange, isn’t it?”

I nodded.

“They can’t possibly not know that we tricked Branch Manager Shoichi and took over the Japan branch. If it were before, they would have used force or some other trick to try to take it back…… It’s strangely quiet.”

“Hmm…….”

Indeed, she was right.

We and the international association headquarters were already intertwined.

Not entirely, but we roughly knew what kind of faces each other had.

We had even clashed several times, whether by force or politically.

Why no reaction now?

The Japan branch was worth spending a fortune on, or even risking another armed conflict to reclaim.

After a moment of thought, I opened my mouth.

“……Well, maybe they just couldn’t be bothered.”

“The international association?”

“How many times have we clashed with them? The results weren’t always good, so they must be too tired to mess with us again.”

“I hope that’s the case.”

“Well, or maybe they just don’t have a reason to care about us anymore.”

It was just a passing comment, but Lee Ah-young’s expression stiffened.

Indeed, that was definitely not a good sign.

In fact, that was more plausible.

We had tentatively concluded that the international association’s goal was not just to establish branches around the world, but to collect Bank Items.

Since they obtained all the Bank Items in the last incident, it might mean they don’t care what we do anymore.

Well, if that’s really the reason…….

‘It means they’ve already achieved their goal.’

I don’t know what that is…… but it doesn’t feel good.

“I don’t know what they’re planning, but it’s unsettling that they have all the Bank Items.”

“I agree.”

“We need to proceed with the deal as soon as possible.”

“……What deal?”

“The deal I made with Noah last time.”

It was a deal to tell him about my sister’s case in exchange for returning the Bank Items we handed over.

We postponed it for a while, but if we proceed now, we can at least recover the Ability Stone and Time Stone.

Well, there’s no guarantee that Noah will actually bring them…….

‘I don’t have to worry about that guy…….’

Above all, he’s the guy who waged war against the international association headquarters in his past life because of his sister.

He would kill the secretary-general to get them back if he had to.

If the information I’m giving him is worth that much.

“Therefore, we should start a full-scale investigation on our end.”

“……Yes?”

“Contact the US branch and set up a meeting date. I think we need to go there and find out directly.”

“…….”

A mysterious incident.

Something was definitely discovered in the dungeon where my sister was deployed, and the international association headquarters was trying to find it.

I don’t know if they got it as a result.

What is certain is that Noah’s sister died after that day, and all the colleagues who were involved in the operation disappeared.

What the hell happened?

What does it have to do with the international association?

What exactly did they find in that dungeon?

The only way to find out everything is to go there myself.

“Are you going to slack off again?”

“…….”

“Even if you go, finish your work first.”

“…….”

Ha, anyone would think I’m running away all the time.

I slowly reached for the coat hanging on the chair and slowly opened my mouth.

“……Director Lee Ah-young.”

“What?”

“Please take care of things while I’m gone.”

“Ugh, you human!!”

I ran out of the office, leaving behind a deafening voice.

***

“Are you really okay with this?”

International Hunter Association Headquarters, Secretary-General’s Office.

Representative Emma looked at Secretary-General Wesley with a puzzled voice.

“Hmm?”

“I’m talking about the Japan branch. Kim Jun-woo ripped you off right under your nose. It was quite a strategic location for us, but is it okay to just leave it like that?”

“…….”

Secretary-General Wesley was reluctant to answer.

Representative Emma seemed quite frustrated with his ambiguous response.

“Should we send our guys to wipe them out and take it back now……?”

“There’s no need for that.”

“What?”

“I said there’s no need for that. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“……What are you talking about?”

Representative Emma narrowed her eyes and asked, and Secretary-General Wesley grinned.

“Anti-Ability Stone, Dimension Stone…… and the Ability Stone and Time Stone in Korea. Now we have them all in our hands.”

Representative Emma immediately realized what that meant.

Well, that was Wesley’s goal in the first place.

But apart from knowing it, the purpose was not understood.

“Are you still romanticizing world domination or something?”

“Hmm. You’re not wrong.”

“That’s ridiculous. You’re not a kid.”

Secretary-General Wesley shook his head at the blatant ridicule.

“World domination, I mean. The word is a bit childish, but in reality, those with power have tried it without exception for thousands of years.”

World domination.

If it’s just a dream, it’s just a delusion.

If it becomes a reality, there is no better goal.

“The first attempt was to ride around on horses and plant flags in each country. But this is more inefficient than I thought, and it takes a long time. Above all, if you make even one mistake, it’s all for nothing. So people gradually started looking for other methods.”

“…….”

I didn’t answer, but I seemed to know what he was trying to say.

“All you need to do is get your hands on one element that can affect the whole world. How easy and simple. In fact, those with religion ruled the world thousands of years ago. Hundreds of years ago, those with tanks, and decades ago, those with oil took over in turn.”

“…….”

“So what is it now?”

In fact, the answer was already determined, so Representative Emma didn’t bother to answer.

“Dungeons, abilities, and hunters. Getting these three things is like getting the whole world.”

“So that’s why you were so desperate for the Bank Items?”

“Of course.”

Dungeons and abilities have now become too important elements worldwide.

Beyond just being targets to be defeated, they are jobs for some, business items for others, and entire countries for others.

But what if there is a remote control that can freely control the abilities of hunters and open and close dungeons as desired?

And what if you finally got that remote control?

“We can now control international society as we please. A few branches? Let them take them as they please.”

“Ha…….”

Representative Emma burst into laughter once.

Soon, she nodded and opened her mouth.

“Well, that’s a good idea.”

“Right?”

“If ‘Eden’ is not discovered until the end.”

“…….”

Eden.

As soon as that word came out, Secretary-General Wesley’s expression turned cold for a moment.

Representative Emma immediately waved her hand.

“I was just saying. Don’t make such a scary face.”

“…….”

Secretary-General Wesley still seemed very uncomfortable.

Eventually, Representative Emma hurriedly changed the subject.

“But if the Dimension Stone is used to control dungeons, and the Ability Stone and Anti-Ability Stone are used to control abilities……, what is the Time Stone used for?”

“Brake.”

“……What?”

Representative Emma’s eyebrows twitched at the unexpected answer.

“It’s used to prevent someone from grabbing that remote control.”

“What does that mean……?”

“Shall I tell you one interesting fact?”

Secretary-General Wesley covered his mouth with both hands and continued in a low voice.

“Kim Jun-woo…….”

Soon, Secretary-General Wesley’s eyes flashed.

“He’s not from here.”

***

John F. Kennedy International Airport.

“Ah-young seemed very angry…….”

As soon as we arrived, Kim Min-joo poured out worriedly.

“I clearly said let’s finish all the work and come. Don’t blame us later.”

Han Yu-bin also added a word.

I shook my head with a faint sigh.

“Geez, why are you all so scared? Is that person going to eat you?”

“He’ll eat the teacher, not us…….”

“…….”

It’s too true to say anything.

“Why don’t you just confess? I think that’s the only way to live.”

“If you say that bullshit one more time, you’re fired.”

“……You’re only mean to me.”

Han Yu-bin’s eyes narrowed as I said sternly at once.

As I was doing that, Kim Min-joo asked slyly.

“So, did the person who was supposed to come from the US branch arrive?”

“Well, they said they’d be here on time…….”

I was looking around when it happened.

“Are you from Karma Corporation? I’ve been waiting.”

A woman approached us.

We all froze on the spot when we saw her.

Indeed.

“I’m Chloe, the team leader of the support team from the US branch who will guide you from now on.”

“…….”

“…….”

I wondered what kind of guts she had to show her face in front of us.

She reached out to me without a word, but I just glared at her without taking any action.

Then, Han Yu-bin said nonchalantly.

“Shall we kill her?”

“……Let’s do it where people can’t see.”

Not here.