Chapter 453

‘Are they glaring at me because I look like a pushover to them?’

Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded.

Of course, in the eyes of these officials, Choi Yeonseung was a human more formidable than the household members from the Abyss, who were all from different races.

However, it was the household members who were angry at them, while Choi Yeonseung was the one trying to defuse the situation and prevent them from losing their heads.

Thus, he felt they were being truly ungrateful.

-

Isn’t there too much fear in their eyes to consider it glaring?

-

People can glare even if they’re afraid. I experienced this quite a lot when I used to be just a hunter.

There were many people who tried to mask their fear and raised their voices at hunters despite the fact that the hunters could decapitate them in one swift move.

“Didn’t you hear me? Give me your leader’s head!”

“I-if it’s the leader...”

“So what if the prime minister of this kingdom said he’d resign? Did you honestly think you could get away with such a pitiful excuse? You humans have insulted not only my master, but also the other honorable constellations that have tried to help here. It is absolutely unforgivable!”

The Japanese hunters at the scene turned deathly pale at the barbaric demand to decapitate the resigned prime minister. Even though this was a secret meeting with household members from the Abyss, they hadn’t thought it would be this intense!

The officials asked for a short break and proceeded to consult with themselves.

“This isn’t what I expected. Their stance is a lot tougher.”

“Cutting off the prime minister’s head... Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? Mr. Matsuoka, did you hear it?”

“Indeed, they’re being awfully ruthless.” Matsuoka nodded as if he had known this would happen.

The other officials were surprised by his reaction.

“Mr. Matsuoka, no way...”

“I was thinking that things might turn out this way. The reason? Hunter Choi Yeonseung, obviously.”

“!!”

“After all, why would a constellation need the prime minister’s head? There is no reason for them to come out like this. It’s clear that Hunter Choi Yeonseung instigated it. He’s strategically threatening us to further get what he wants.”

“No way...!”

The officials in the room squirmed in shock.

Of course, there were many nefarious people in the world that used threats and intimidation like this, but the officials couldn’t believe that they themselves had to deal with such a dangerous person.

“Then Mr. Matsuoka! What should we do?”

“It’s simple. We need to pretend like we’ll comply with their demands as much as possible while driving a wedge between Hunter Choi Yeonseung and the household members. Even the household members have brains. If we keep stalling and the negotiations lead nowhere, they’ll realize that something is wrong. They’ll realize that Hunter Choi Yeonseung is using them!”

“Oh, you’re right!”

The officials nodded with determination.

Following their short break, they resumed discussions with Choi Yeonseung’s group. This time, Matsuoka spoke first.

“...Fine. If that’s what you really want...!”

“?”

“We’re ready to make any sacrifice to protect our people. I believe the prime minister shares our resolve!”

Some of the officials were moved to tears by Matsuoka’s solemn attitude. Any constellation that respected righteous heroes would also be moved by this.

Of course, Choi Yeonseung was just embarrassed.

‘What? Is he on bad terms with the prime minister who’s just resigned? Has he been waiting for the opportunity to kill him?’

Even if this official couldn’t say no, there was no need to exclaim that he would bring the prime minister’s head on a silver platter...

Choi Yeonseung couldn’t guess what was in this person’s head.

“Hah! Now we can talk!” exclaimed Barbagi.

“Y-yes. This is what sincerity is like,” added Uranta.

“Make sure to remember, humans. This is what we want. Understood?” Illaphael told the officials.

The three of them nodded in satisfaction. Those from the Japanese government seemed to have come to their senses, and they were finally showing something.

“So when will you cut his head off and give it to us?”

“C-cut it off quickly. And don’t scam us! We will check it later.”

Barbagi and Uranta urged the officials to do this properly, and the officials were taken aback by their unexpected attitude.

“S-so you really want us to decapitate him...?”

“Are you trying to deceive us? Cut it off!” Barbagi snarled. He was starting to lose his patience, thinking that these officials were looking down on them too much.

No matter how much the officials apologized, the household members wouldn’t forgive them for mobilizing hunters to interfere with their raid and insulting their masters.

Such sins could only be washed away with blood!

“In fact, we should

watch

you cut his head off. Humans engage in lowly trickery all the time. Bring him here and do it in front of us! We’ll take his head with us!”

“Go-good idea, Barbagi. Bring him over now!”

“...”

The officials felt like they were about to faint and turned to Matsuoka, staring at him with desperate eyes. Of course, Matsuoka didn’t have an answer for this situation.

“Uh... So...”

Matsuoka was at a loss.

Choi Yeonseung was staring at them with an impassive expression, his figure looming over them.

‘Choi Yeonseung...! He predicted even this?!’

It was clear that the cunning strategist had anticipated this situation and persuaded his subordinates in advance.

There was nothing Matsuoka and the officials could do if they insisted on cutting the prime minister’s head no matter what.

“...Everyone, I’m sorry.”

“Are you joking? Give me his head! I will cut it off myself!”

Barbagi put his foot on the desk and prepared to draw his sword, startling the hunters behind him. They wanted to intervene, but they were so terrified by the presence of the household members that they couldn’t even move.

Their murderous aura was out of this world.

“We will offer you anything but the prime minister...! The prime minister is one of our people. We can’t give you his head...”

“Y-you said you would!”

“I’m not saying it’s impossible, but that kind of determination...”

“Forget it. There will be no end to this.” In the end, Choi Yeonseung couldn’t watch this circus for any longer, so he stepped in. “Of course, the most satisfying thing would be to receive his head. However, that’s virtually impossible. No country will decapitate one of their leaders and offer their head to someone else.”

“This world is very barbaric...”

Barbagi tried arguing but Illaphael quickly shut him up. She wanted to listen to what Choi Yeonseung had to say.

“Let’s get what we want in return. For humanity, that is sincerity. The more we get out of them, the more sincere their apology will be.”

“Umm. If you say so...”

“U-understood. I respect you.”

Barbagi and Uranta finally calmed down and went along with Choi Yeonseung’s decision. They respected him as a human, so they gave up on their stubbornness.

The officials sighed in relief and looked at Choi Yeonseung with grateful expressions. Despite what Matsuoka had said about him, they couldn’t help admiring him. He had stopped the household members from the Abyss from murdering them and acted as humanity’s shield against the constellations.

Even though they were convinced he was an evil conspirator, they couldn’t help being grateful...

‘I can’t believe such a person exists!’ Matsuoka lamented. Choi Yeonseung had made the household members threaten them and then he had taken the role of a mediator and smoothed things over.

Matsuoka had experienced many hardships in the world of international diplomacy, which was teeming with all types of monsters, but he had never seen anyone as hard to read as Choi Yeonseung.

It felt like they were all puppets and Choi Yeonseung the puppeteer.

‘I lost. I’m not good enough!’

-

I don’t know why this human keeps staring at you, Successor.

-He’s probably still shaken up because we’ve asked them to cut off the prime minister’s head.

Choi Yeonseung was unaware of how Matsuoka felt about him.

***

“Bring out the prime minister. I will hang him on the pole myself and display him in the square.”

“Uh... Please forgive us. Instead of that, we shall double, no, triple the number of hunters serving your constellations! We’ll make it mandatory!”

“Bah. You’re a bunch of cowards who are desperate to avoid seeing blood. Then your king should come out himself, and we’ll hit him in the head.”

“A-absolutely not!”

If the officials actually brought the emperor to a bunch of outsiders and let them harm him, they wouldn’t just have to retire from politics but also leave Japan forever!

Far-right groups would accuse them of treason and commit acts of terrorism.

“Let’s just end it by making them apologize in person and triple the amount of faith your constellations receive,” proposed Choi Yeonseung.

“Umm... If you say so...”

Choi Yeonseung managed to defuse the situation once again.

The officials were incredibly grateful that he kept reasoning with the household members every time they made unreasonable demands and got angry.

At this point, some of the officials grew skeptical of Matsuoka.

‘How can he doubt a good hunter who can’t even kill a fly? Hasn’t the minister of foreign affairs exaggerated?’

‘Well, this is the hunter who’s caused his faction to go down in flames. Matsuoka probably wants revenge. What a despicable man! How can he have this attitude toward someone who’s come to Japan with genuine intentions to help?’

‘To think he’s still trying to keep Hunter Choi Yeonseung in check even in this situation...!’

Of course, Matsuoka could read the atmosphere. He found it so absurd that his allies were turning against him that he chuckled in disbelief.

“First of all, we will welcome you as a proper state guest to prove that we are respectfully serving the good god constellations.”

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The first step in apologizing started with correcting what had gone wrong at the start of all of this. The Japanese government should’ve given Choi Yeonseung a formal invitation from the very beginning, but they had spat in his face instead. Now, they intended to properly invite him and show their humility to the entire world.

In addition to announcing the invitation to the media, there would be a very grandiose welcome ceremony for Choi Yeonseung’s group, with traffic being restricted in various areas throughout Tokyo. Moreover, they would display the symbols of their constellations on Tokyo Tower, the Sky Tree, and on various giant electronic boards.

“...Next, you will join His Majesty to watch sumo, Japan’s national symbol.”

‘No one wants to bother with such useless vanities...’

Choi Yeonseung wasn’t particularly excited.

The emperor of Japan wouldn’t want to hang out with the household members, and the same was true for the household members as well. Why were these officials even bothering with such events?

However, such customs were standard practice for humanity.

-This is how much we respect the constellations!

We can entertain the household members of the constellations!

Choi Yeonseung had said it countless times before—words meant very little; only actions could prove one’s sincerity.

“No one except for you will be allowed in the stadium, so you’ll be able to enjoy the event.”

The official’s voice was full of pride.

Japan took sumo very seriously, as it was a sport of national pride. In fact, it was more like a traditional ceremony than a sport.

The officials had reserved an entire stadium just for Choi Yeonseung, allowing him to enjoy their sacred sport with the utmost comfort.

To them, this was the definition of sincere hospitality.

No matter how violent the household members were, they couldn’t help admiring Choi Yeonseung for how he had treated them...

“What is sumo? Why stupid nonsense is that? Stop acting like an idiot.”

“I-I like giants fighting. Fight the giants.”

Of course, the barbaric household members of the Abyss didn’t understand the sincere gesture in the slightest. After all, it was impossible for Abyssal creatures to understand a niche sport from the world of humans.

“Call hunters with martial art skills and organize a battle of martial arts. Hunter Choi Yeonseung would prefer that.”

‘Why are you dragging me into this, Illaphael?”

Instead of the sumo event, Illaphael suggested that hunters who had committed serious crimes be summoned to engage in a fight to the death using only martial arts. The idea was doubly ridiculous because she obviously thought that Choi Yeonseung would love it.

“I-I’m sure you will all like sumo once you see it. Besides, it isn’t an ordinary place. There are exclusive seats available only to selected VIPs, and they’re right up to the ring...”

“Mud will splash on us, you fools!”

“W-why are humans so stupid compared to giants? Use a chair!”

“...”

Tears welled up in the eyes of the middle-aged officials as every one of their suggestions was rejected. They desperately turned to Choi Yeonseung, their expressions saying, ‘

Please help us!’

‘Ugh, I just wanted to get some faith and artifacts, but this has become way more troublesome than I thought it would...’

Choi Yeonseung thought it would be best if he didn’t team up with these household members ever again...