‘Well, it’s not the first time I’ve seen a constellation take the day off and leave the work to a subordinate.’
Constellations were rulers, and there was no need for rulers to step up and diligently do everything themselves. Some rulers preferred to step back and entrust their household members with all the work.
Of course, there were also some rulers who lay down without leaving the work to anyone...
-Isn’t that a bit too sharp?
-I guess it’s just my mood.
Choi Yeonseung looked at Kalasnegen and said, “An alliance… It’s not a bad idea, but my master isn’t very close to the Snake of Alcohol and Dancing. Why should we make an alliance with someone he doesn’t trust?”
“Oh, is it like that? My master holds the Undefeated Incarnation of Training in high regards...” Kalasnegen hissed, puzzled.
Choi Yeonseung was slightly surprised to hear that.
‘Does she really have a high impression of me?’
“I thought our masters were close, but I guess it isn’t the case.” Kalasnegen waved his tail like he wasn’t surprised.“Aren’t you surprised?”
“It’s not the first time this happens… It’s possible that Master had one too many drinks on different occasions and did something rash…”
“...”
No strict constellation would tolerate their household member speaking like that about them, but Kalasnegen didn’t seem afraid of his master at all. It was clear that he really trusted the Snake of Alcohol and Dancing.
“First of all, I have prepared an argument for forming this alliance. Would you please listen to it?”
“I’m listening.”
“First of all, the realm of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training isn’t that far from my master’s realm.”
The realms of the Abyss were like a labyrinth with complicated twists. One couldn’t find their way from realm A to realm B by using logic and coordination.
It was often the case that realm Z would come after realm B. Moreover, whenever the chaos of the Abyss worsened, a new path would be opened, which would complicate the labyrinth of realms even more.
‘Was the realm of the Snake of Alcohol and Dancing close to mine?’
Choi Yeonseung was surprised.
The new forest in his realm was so vast that he was still busy making tweaks to it, but it wasn’t far from the realm of the Snake of Alcohol and Dancing?
-You weren’t too interested in the outside world.
The goddess of sloth calmly explained the situation.
Whenever a constellation received a realm in the Abyss, the best course of action was to order their household members and subordinates to look for nearby territory and plunder or occupy it. However, Choi Yeonseung had only raised the defenses thoroughly and developed his realm internally.
It wasn’t necessarily a bad strategy, but it was certainly a strange thing to do in the Abyss.
“Of course. I’m sure you knew this, Hunter Choi Yeonseung. You should be able to see the Winding Serpent Tower far in the distance from your realm.”
“...Of course.”
“Nevertheless, we assumed that you haven’t contacted us so far because you wanted to tacitly declare your neutrality in relation to us.”
“...”
Influenced by his neutral master, Kalasnegen appreciated Choi Yeonseung’s policies. Of course, Choi Yeonseung just hadn’t been paying attention, but...
Kalasnegen continued, “But wouldn’t it be more advantageous to form an alliance in the current situation?”
“It would make sense I suppose.”
“Alright, that was my first argument in favor of the alliance. The second is that Master will give you a gift if you join hands with her.”
“!”
Choi Yeonseung was taken aback by that.
‘A gift does sound tempting.’
A gift from a constellation was bound to be valuable. In addition, the Snake of Alcohol and Dancing was a prominent constellation who had given Choi Yeonseung an Abyss building when he had been going through a hard time.
“What kind of gift?”
“She will lend you one of the cities here, and you would be free to use it as you please.”
“...!”
Choi Yeonseung paused at the unexpected proposal. He felt like such a gift was catered more to someone like Aine, not him…
North Korea was the territory of a constellation, which meant that a city in it would be as valuable as an entire country, its uses almost limitless. One could save up on labor costs and taxes, as well as benefit from low external exposure and high levels of security…
Choi Yeonseung could tell that this was a generous offer.
“Is it really okay? This is the territory of the Snake of Alcohol and Dancing. Won’t it be uncomfortable for her if outsiders come here and make noise?”
“It’s okay. Master has given me permission to make this offer to you. Besides, she is annoyed that the minions here keeps drinking alcohol and don’t do any work. She told me to make them do something.”
“...”
-Things are going pretty well here too.
The goddess of sloth evaluated the land controlled by the Snake of Alcohol and Dancing. This alone gave her a rough idea of what the atmosphere was currently like.
***
“This… This is serious.”
“You mean the clan’s performance? We still have more losses than wins, but it’s getting better. The fans have been quite positive as well...”
Lee Changsik quickly calmed down the staff member of the clan, who was trying to convince him.
“That’s not what I meant. I was talking about the news.”
“Oh, you mean the recent successful raid?”
The clan’s staff member tilted his head. He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the news. The whole world was abuzz thanks to the success of the raid in the Second Realm. This was especially true when it came to the Korean news.
Many of the hunters who had participated were from South Korea.
-Korean hunters have successfully completed the most difficult raid, namely the Second Realm raid in the Abyss.The hunters have been talking about this incident...
-Hunter Joseph Grant reveals that the raid would’ve failed if it hadn’t been for the help of the Korean hunters...He also enjoys listening to K-Pop and often eats bibimbap. He has a deep love for South Korea.
Back when the First Realm raid became a success, everyone rejoiced. It was as if humanity had launched a probe into space for the first time.
It was an outstanding success that gave people confidence for the Second Realm.
-Humanity can do it!
-No matter how greedy and violent the constellations are, it’s not a big deal as long as we have the talented hunters on the frontlines of humanity!
It was inevitable that people would feel that way.
‘So why is he saying that the news isn't good?’
“Ah, is it because they keep asking the foreign hunters strange questions? I’m sure they’ll all behave in front of the cameras...”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Lee Changsik shook his head. Of course, it was a bit embarrassing to ask foreign hunters what Korean food they liked, but that wasn’t what bothered him.
What Lee Changsik thought was bad was the media’s attitude toward Choi Yeonseung. Or rather, not the media, but the politicians.
“They’re giving too much all of a sudden.”
“Isn’t that... a good thing?”
“You’ve got it wrong.”
In fact, despite his track record and performance, Choi Yeonseung had strangely gone unnoticed in South Korea until this raid.
Of course, the public always cheered for him, but the politicians were either reticent or straight up against him.
Normally, politicians would raise hunters on a pedestal even if they were only B-grade, saying absurd things like “This B-grade hunter has proudly served our country by succeeding in the wild dogs raid! We need to do everything in our power to support this hunter to become the next A-grade hunter!”
Thus, it was rather strange for them to disregard Choi Yeonseung, the most active A-grade hunter in recent years.
However, there was a reason for it.
-Hunter Choi Yeonseung has been promoted to A-grade?Why did you let this happen?Are you even my aide?I wrote a presentation about this. I wanted it to become popular...
-Congressman, Hunter Choi Yeonseung...He’s a first-generation hunter who was in the same clan as Hunter Hwang Gyeongryong.
-......
A first-generation hunter who was active in the same clan as Hwang Gyeongryong— that alone was enough for politicians to fear him.
There were dozens of politicians, both in the ruling party and in the opposition, who had suffered after inviting Hwang Gyeongryong, an S-grade hunter, to South Korea.
-Fellow citizens!There are fireworks going off to welcome me!They used your tax money to buy fireworks!The politician who hosted this welcoming party...
-If you’re going to spend the tax money on something like that, you should also spend some money on supporting the hunters when dungeons explode!My fellow citizens!I’m not sure if you know, but the person in charge of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security at that time is still in the same position!
-Y-y-y-you bastard, what are you saying?!
-Haha! Do you think you can shut the mouth of an S-grade hunter? Let’s see you try it!
-You madman!
Hwang Gyeongryong, who had lost several members of his clan and gone to the United States, really hated the people in charge at that time.
When he came to South Korea, the people in charge of Hwang Gyeongryong were ready to take off their suits and resign because of the heated public opinion.
Many people had bled because of Hwang Gyeongryong, regardless of whether they were in the ruling or opposition party. Thus, it was natural for the politicians to be afraid of Choi Yeonseung.
-Seeing him stay with Hwang Gyeongryong, they must be... on the same side, right?
-We can’t risk getting involved with him. It’ll be troublesome if it backfires.
The politicians thought that he was the same as Hwang Gyeongryong. However, their opinions slowly changed overtime.
As Choi Yeonseung continued to build up achievements and work with the Korean hunters, politicians were becoming more open-minded.
-Isn’t he different from Hwang Gyeongryong?
-In fact, maybe we were too harsh on a young man who loves South Korea.
-He’s not a young man...In fact, he seems older than you...
-...Regardless, I can’t stand still.What if the ruling party makes an agreement with him before us?
The results of Choi Yeonseung’s countless achievements were evident in the current events. Regardless of what party they were in, all the politicians were trying to win him over!
Both parties were keeping a close eye on each other. If one of them made a move, the other hurriedly tried to match it so that they wouldn’t lose ground.
The staff member said, “Still, I think it’s good that they’re holding him in high regards.”
“There aren’t many hunters who got into politics and got something good out of it,” Lee Changsik said bitterly.
Lee Changsik, who had earned the title of Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor, had played all types of roles as an A-grade hunter during South Korea’s previous generation of hunters. He had felt how powerless one was when dealing with people involved in politics and business.
-Hunter Lee Changsik,I know that the dungeon explosion has destroyed some areas, but we can’t send support to them all.The opposition party will never...
-Hunter Lee Changsik, the ruling party would never allow something like that...
-Hunter Lee Changsik, you’re saying that the hunters from our company should be allowed to mobilize the evacuation of civilians in case of an emergency.It sounds like a very good suggestion, but what’s in it for us?
-Hunter Lee Changsik,we can’t accept the claim that the injury of that hunter was caused by a malfunction of the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword we’ve recently released.We’ve already prepared materials to disprove it in court. If you keep insisting, you'll have to fight us in court.
Some incidents from back then infuriated him even now, years later. The thought of Choi Yeonseung going through such things made him feel uneasy.
“But Hunter Choi Yeonseung... He...”
“?”
“Isn’t he closer to Dragon Hwang than you, Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor?”
“...Don’t ever say that again.”
***
As Lee Changsik was talking with his subordinate, Choi Yeonseung was traveling on account of an invitation. He was going to Camp David, the private villa of the president of the United States, not far from Washington D.C.
Arriving in front of the villa, which had several layers of tight security, Choi Yeonseung found himself face-to-face with the president of the United States.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Hunter Choi Yeonseung.”
Choi Yeonseung nodded and shook the president's hand.
“It’s a pity that Dragon Hwang isn’t here. In the past... Was it called a jjimjilbang? I once went to a Korean-style sauna called that. It was really fun.”
“...”
Choi Yeonseung didn’t show it, but he was really surprised.
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