Chapter 173: Chaser (1)

Due to the appearance of an S-Class Gate, President Kikumoto had set up an emergency response headquarters at the Osaka branch, rather than in Tokyo where the main headquarters were located. After establishing the emergency headquarters, he spent most of his time receiving reports from his subordinates.

"

Hoo...

"

The president stepped out of the elevator with his aides. He loosened his tie and waited for a guest at the main entrance.

"Where is Hunter Kim Ki-Rok?" he asked.

"He said it would take about thirty minutes," one of his aides replied.

"Hm? He didn't ask for Hunter Yukie's help?"

"He said it takes time to gather information..."

Association President Kikumoto let out another sigh. He had seen firsthand how extensive Kim Ki-Rok's intelligence network was when they worked together to eliminate Awakened criminals. Now, that same Kim Ki-Rok had openly stated he would gather information.

"He seems to be planning to destroy the Chaser Guild..." President Kikumoto quietly murmured.

He might have prepared a countermeasure if it were just one man, but with the whole of France involved, it would be impossible to simply sweep the problem under the rug.

"What about Vice President Imanaga?"

His aide immediately answered, "He is actively cooperating. Judging by the submitted evidence, it seems clear this was the independent doing of the Chaser Guild."

"In other words, Kim Ki-Rok is trying to appease France by bringing down the Chaser Guild."

There would be no problem clearing the Gate, whether the French Hunters participated or not. However, it seemed Kim Ki-Rok was looking ahead to the future.

"What about the Chaser Guild?" President Kikumoto asked.

"They surrendered willingly, acknowledging what they had done. But..."

"But?"

"It seems they are relying on their guild's rank and the existence of an S-Class Hunter."

A-Class guilds were rare, especially those with an S-Class Hunter as their ace. That was how the Chaser Guild had secured their position as one of the top five guilds in Japan. This incident might not end with mere remorse, but could tear the guild apart entirely.

President Kikumoto sighed at the thought of that worst-case scenario. Then, as a vehicle registered with the Association pulled up in front of the main gate, he straightened his posture with effort. As expected, Kim Ki-Rok stepped out before the driver could even reach the door, clearly in a hurry. He was already tapping away on his phone with one hand, eyes scanning the screen.

Who is he talking to?

President Kikumoto wondered.

Kim Ki-Rok returned the driver's bow and entered the main gate while still tapping on his phone.

"Oh, I'm sorry for being late," he said in Japanese.

"No, it's fine," the president replied.

"Let's go to the conference room first."

"Right."

President Kikumoto swallowed nervously. He had to decide whether to protect the Chaser Guild or abandon it. Neither option came easy.

Would the citizens and the political circles accept cutting off a large guild from our own country, especially one with an S-Class Hunter?

Because of the Chaser Guild's greed, the rescue mission had nearly failed and a French Hunter had died as a result. France wouldn't just look the other way. What could have ended quietly now threatened to spiral into an international crisis. Japan would face global criticism, and no country would be willing to send Hunters here again. Worse, it could destabilize the entire system of global cooperation.

As they boarded the elevator, President Kikumoto glanced at Kim Ki-Rok, who was still glued to his phone. He seemed to be messaging someone, but the president noticed the language wasn't Korean, English, or even Japanese.

Unable to look away, Association President Kikumoto stared at the text until an aide behind him whispered in a low voice, "Mr. President, it's Thai."

The president couldn't hide his surprise. More than Kim Ki-Rok's fluency in Thai, what puzzled him was why he was using it at all. Korean made sense, given his nationality—Japanese, too, considering where the incident had occurred. Even English, as a global language, wouldn't have raised eyebrows. But Thai? That was completely unexpected.

Kim Ki-Rok stopped typing and looked up, prompting the president and even the aides behind him to flinch.

"I have an acquaintance in Thailand," he explained.

"I-I see," the president carefully replied.

But why? Why was the man who came to destroy a Japanese Hunter Guild chatting with someone from Thailand?

Everyone was thinking the same thing as they watched Kim Ki-Rok. He just smiled in response and turned to exit the elevator. As he stepped into the conference room, already filling up thanks to the advance notice, someone among those who stood to greet him caught his eye.

"Secretary Momoka—oh, I apologize. Secretary

Kamido

is also here," Kim Ki-Rok said.

A woman reviewing documents looked up in surprise, shocked that a stranger had recognized her. Momoka would have understood if he had been Japanese, since she sometimes made appearances to represent her superior, but Kim Ki-Rok was Korean.

"Um! Nice to meet you. I'm Kamido Momoka, attending the meeting on behalf of the situation."

"Oh, where are my manners. I'm Kim Ki-Rok, a Hunter from South Korea, Guildmaster of the DG Guild. So, what's the Prime Minister's decision?"

Secretary Momoka hesitated, glancing at President Kikumoto for help instead of answering. He sighed, as if he had no choice, and gave a reluctant nod. There was only one answer, and it was just a matter of accepting it now or waiting for it to be forced on them.

The secretary responded with a bitter expression, "We will hold the Chaser Guild responsible."

"I doubt that alone will satisfy France," Kim Ki-Rok quickly replied.

"The Prime Minister wants solid justification."

"Okay..." Kim Ki-Rok said, turning to the president. "And the Association on the same page?"

"We share the same sentiment."

After confirming the decisions of the Japanese government and the Hunters Association, he turned to a worker from the French embassy. "What about France?"

"As long as it's not just for show and they're actually punished, we won't object."

"But you will refuse to participate in this operation and return home, correct?"

The French embassy staff didn't directly respond, but there was no need.

Instead, Kim Ki-Rok reframed the question. "What if the Chaser Guild was completely destroyed and the victims were not casualties of an accident, but rather casualties of battle?"

"That's impossible," replied the French staff.

"I understand your anger, but this incident could undermine the entire international dispatch framework," Kim Ki-Rok warned.

The French embassy staff watched Kim Ki-Rok in silence. After a few tense seconds, one of them stepped back with a bitter smile. "We'll decide after seeing how the Chaser Guild is punished."

"Okay then, please have a seat. We will start the meeting immediately."

As Kim Ki-Rok settled into the seat by the laptop, the others followed suit. Contrary to what he just said, the meeting did not begin immediately. The Hunters waited anxiously as he plugged in a USB drive and continued typing on the keyboard.

Why is the preparation taking so long...

thought some of the Hunters.

About ten minutes passed. Kim Ki-Rok stood up from his seat and announced, "Since we have Japanese, French, and, for some reason, Koreans present, I'll speak in Korean to ensure a smooth meeting. Please, everyone, put on your translators."

After seeing that the attendees had all slipped on their devices, he said, "Alright, please bring up the screen."

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

An Association staff member followed his cue and switched on the wall-mounted screen.

"I had a lot of concerns. France demands real punishment and compensation, and they are willing to resolve this quietly. Meanwhile, Japan needs to cut ties with an A-Class guild without causing fallout. So, what kind of action satisfies both?"

It was a diplomatic deadlock. Any compromise risked backlash, or worse, exploitation by a third party. The whole situation was a ticking time bomb, yet Kim Ki-Rok seemed confident.

"I realized we just need a legitimate reason to crush the Chaser Guild. That way, France gets its punishment, and Japan avoids backlash for cutting ties with an A-Class guild under pressure from another country. It all comes down to how we justify the punishment."

He moved his cursor to open a file on his laptop, his movements almost eager.

"Preparing the data took longer than expected. There's no video, but I've included several photos, so let's start from there."

What had him so excited? Was it the fall of an A-Class guild, or was he just enjoying the chaos? Everyone in the conference room seemed to be wrestling with the same uneasy thought.

"The photo you see now is a drug production site in Thailand."

Now he's talking about drugs all of a sudden?

Unfazed by the confused stares around him, he moved to the next photo, one of a strange-looking plant.

"This is a drug production site run by an Awakened criminal group that discovered and cultivated a large number of drug seeds containing mana from a Gate. And this is one of the drug lords in Thailand."

A new image appeared of an older man being pinned down by armed Hunters.

"He was taken into custody just now. Thirteen minutes ago, to be exact. He's being interrogated as we speak," Kim Ki-Rok said calmly.

The room stirred.

Surprising, yes... but what did this have to do with the Chaser Guild?

Without pausing, Kim Ki-Rok advanced to the next slide.

"This is a ledger recovered from the site," he said. "If you can't read Thai, just focus on the third name from the top."

President Kikumoto's expression tightened as suspicion crept in.

"Eigawa Toshino," Kim Ki-Rok said, calm and to the point.

The president paled as he stammered, "W-what in the world..."

"There's a drug that's rapidly becoming popular in Japan right now, isn't there? What was its name... Dream Candy, right?"

As the president unraveled in stunned disbelief, one of the French embassy staff members suddenly got up from his seat.

"Dr-Dream Candy?"

"Ahh, speaking of which, France also had a problem with Dream Candy recently, right?" Kim Ki-Rok mentioned, almost casually. "Well, it's been completely eradicated, so there won't be any further circulation."

Around the table, representatives from uninvolved countries quietly pulled out their phones beneath the table, already messaging their superiors with updates about the arrest and the drug. Paying them no mind, he moved to the next slide.

"Of course, it was possible that we discovered someone with the same name, but I've tracked cash flowing into an account registered to Eigawa Toshino, the Guildmaster himself."

The next image that filled the screen depicted a dimly lit space lined with cages of various sizes. Inside, low-ranked monsters paced or cowered behind the bars.

"These are live monsters, one of the products currently sold on the American black market." He clicked again. "And this is an 'item' recovered there three months ago."

This time, the screen showed a small, fox-like creature trapped in a cage—a monster with silver fur and two tails that shimmered unnaturally in the light.

"What is this!"