Chapter 40 – A Major Decision

“Мr. Yuki!”

“Мr. Yuki, niсе to meet уоu, I’m—”

“Out of thе way, idiоts, I wаs first!”

“Stор рushing, stоp pushing!!”

In frоnt of the сhеaр nеt саfе he usuаlly frеquented, Sсоuts wеrе swarming.

It seеmed thеy had cоmе chasing after Аsutо from the Hunter Assосiation.

“Whoa, seriоuslу…”

His mind went blаnk at this unfоrеsееn situation.

Even sо, his body mоvеd оn its own.

Flitting through thе wаvе of Scоuts, he slipрed inside the net саfe.

When hе wrоte his nаme on thе registration fоrm at thе frоnt desk, the clerk madе a trоublеd еxрression.

“Аh, sо уou’re Мr. Yuki.”

“Huh? Yеs, thаt’s mе, but…”

“Тhоse реоplе оutside are blocking the entrance, and it’s becoming a problem. Some of them even try to force their way in…”

“That sounds rough.”

“I know it’s not your fault, Mr. Yuki, but it’s causing trouble for our other customers too. Would you mind not using our shop for a while?”

“Wha…?”

Asuto felt an impact as if he’d been struck on the head by a giant hammer.

The clerk’s words were heavily sugarcoated, but in short, it was a refusal of entry.

“This is bad…”

The net cafe he always used as a substitute for lodging was now off-limits.

But there were countless net cafes in Tokyo.

“Well, I can just try somewhere else. It’s not like I can’t stay anywhere but here.”

Changing his mindset, he left his familiar haunt behind.

However, the situation began to roll in an unintended direction.

“Mr. Yuki, you’re said to be the fastest to reach C-Rank in Japan! How do you feel about that!?”

“We have information that the Three Major Guilds are actively pursuing recruitment. Which ones are you interested in, Mr. Yuki?”

“Have you decided which Guild you’ll join at this point?”

“Mr. Yuki, look over here, please!”

It wasn’t just Scouts camped out in front of the net cafe.

There were also reporters from newspapers, weekly magazines, and online news sites, along with TV crews.

Once one person spotted Asuto, all the reporters nearby swarmed over at once.

“What in the world is going on…”

A barrage of voice recorders was thrust toward him, and his body stiffened.

He was bombarded with questions, but his mind couldn’t keep up.

“Kekeke. You’re like a celebrity!”

“More like I feel like I’ve become a criminal.”

The microphones pointed at him felt like gun barrels.

He understood they were serious, but having mics suddenly shoved in his face didn’t feel good.

Seizing a momentary opening, he broke through the encirclement with all his might.

Asuto fled into a back alley.

From there, Asuto searched for a net cafe where he could stay that night.

But no matter where he went, either Scouts or reporters were staked out in front of the entrance, and it didn’t look like he could get inside.

Occasionally, there were shops without lookouts.

But those were already full, forcing him to leave the shops in disappointment.

“Being popular is tough, huh!”

“Please stop…”

A considerable amount of time had passed since he was banned from the net cafe.

Currently, Asuto was hiding in a corner of Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku.

Even though the sun had set, Scouts and reporters were still staked out in the entertainment district, and he couldn’t even walk out in the open carelessly.

“First of all, why did it come to this…?”

Asuto was still a Hunter whose name was unknown.

He had no achievements and little experience.

Until today, most Guilds likely hadn’t had him on their radar.

Nevertheless, the reason he suddenly started being chased by Scouts today was probably related to the ‘unscrupulous individuals’ Ginzan Makoto had mentioned.

When filling out the address field to obtain his Hunter License, Asuto had written the address of a net cafe.

The reason Scouts were staked out in front of the shop was that this personal information had been leaked from the Hunter Association.

“If I meet the guy who leaked my info, I’m giving him a piece of my mind.”

Without finding a single solution, Asuto ended up spending the night in a corner of Hanazono Shrine.

The next day. As the morning sun rose, Asuto made a decision.

“I’ve decided. I’m renting a condominium.”

“Ooh, finally made up your mind, huh? But why the decision? Until yesterday, you seemed fine with just net cafes.”

“I won’t be able to stay at net cafes for a while like this. Even if I could stay at one again, if people swarm there, the same thing will just repeat.”

If he had his own room, he wouldn’t have to worry about spending the night outside like today.

Also, if it was a high-security condominium for Hunters, the risk of someone invading his home would be minimized.

“You got the big bucks to pay for that?”

“That’s… just how it has to be.”

Ideally, he wanted to spend as little money as possible.

But if he didn’t get proper rest, he wouldn’t be able to fight effectively.

No matter how much his Level had increased, Asuto’s body was exhausted after a whole day of running.

In this state, even in a lower-rank Gate, he might make a fatal mistake and die.

(This is a preliminary investment… I’ll just earn it back later.)

Consoling himself with that thought, Asuto headed for a real estate agency.