Jung-woo accepted Edmond’s offered handshake while organizing the information he had just received.

As he had suspected for some time now, there was no such thing as a “born S-Rank.”

Rather, those with talents too extraordinary to be graded received the extraordinary classification of Ex, and they would either safely complete their awakening to become heroes—or be seized by parasites before that and become disasters.

The Council was a collective of awakened Ex-grade hunters.

They monitored disasters beyond humanity’s capacity to handle, serving as a safety mechanism to ensure humanity’s survival.

And finally, that collective was the greatest wall blocking Zero Gate exploration—and to persuade them, he would need to become the ninth Council Member Edmond had mentioned.

Once accepted, it was a straightforward story.

And for Jung-woo, there was no reason not to accept it.

After all, wasn’t the possibility that Se-gi was also an Ex like them strongly implied?

“Then let’s get into the details. May I take it that you don’t currently have information about the Zero Gate either?”

“That’s right, damn it.”

“You said we need to persuade the rest of the Council to gain access. What’s the reason for that?”

“Because of the Council’s rules.”

“Rules?”

“We’re a Round Table.”

Meaning they all held equal standing.

Edmond released the handshake and continued his explanation.

“Agenda items brought before the Council are decided by internal vote. Submitting to the outcome is the one absolute principle we hold.”

“And if someone doesn’t submit?”

“Raising objections is permitted, but push further than that and things won’t end well. I told you—all of us are Ex-grade. If they swarm you in a group, it gets very troublesome. I wouldn’t lose in a fight, but even I can’t be certain against external pressure.”

“…All of them stand at the pinnacle of the most stable nations of this era. Even if it’s not public, they could apply diplomatic pressure.”

“Exactly. Unnecessary losses. No reason to endure that.”

He was right.

The nations of those called “born S-Rank” might differ in form, but all exhibited a level of stability that was second to none.

They were the superpowers of the hunter Era.

Hearing that much, the picture became clear.

“Then you’re saying I don’t need to convince everyone.”

“Right. We just need a majority in the Zero Gate exploration vote.”

“What are the current votes?”

“Four opposed, two in favor, two abstaining. With you, that’s three in favor. I can pull one of the abstainers to our side. That makes it a tie.”

“…Should I consider it fortunate that there are that many votes in favor?”

“Even the ones I can bring to our side—their reasons aren’t exactly to my liking, but better than nothing, right?”

But it wouldn’t be a complete breakthrough.

Jung-woo stared at Edmond.

“Then it sounds like the one remaining abstention vote is the key.”

“Correct. Were we brothers in a past life? We understand each other far too well.”

“Anyone who isn’t a fool would know.”

“How cold.”

Edmond ground the dirt with the tip of his dress shoe.

A languid smile stretched across his lips.

“That’s what I want to leave to you.”

“Excuse me?”

“That last abstention vote has never once participated in a vote. In fact, our side has even been trying to block access entirely.”

“What on earth…”

“You’ll understand once you hear it. Teddy Bear.”

He said it, as if tossing the words aside.

“That abstention is the Princess of Osaka.”

“…!”

Jung-woo drew a sharp breath.

But the moment he heard it, everything clicked.

“If it’s that person…”

“A shut-in who never steps outside her absolute domain. Her name is on the Council roster, but even I’ve only seen her face on the news.”

“You want me to persuade her? Me?”

“You’re the only one who can do it, since you’ve had no significant contact with the Council. I told you—if we try, the path gets blocked entirely.”

It was enough to make him laugh in disbelief.

He didn’t bother raising the obvious objection of why he had to be the one to do it.

His current mindset was that he would do whatever it took if it was necessary.

But considering the practical aspects:

“Wouldn’t it look even stranger if I suddenly went to Japan from here?”

They were in the middle of pushing hard for the North Korean reclamation operation.

In the midst of such massive internal changes, suddenly heading to Japan to meet their absolute sovereign—

How that would appear diplomatically was obvious, and Jung-woo wasn’t confident he could fabricate a convincing excuse for it.

So he asked whether there was a way.

Edmond answered.

It was a pretext he truly hadn’t imagined.

“Jormungandr is moving south.”

This time, he was genuinely shocked.

The impact was enough to freeze Jung-woo’s thoughts for an instant.

“…Did I understand that correctly?”

“If you understood it to mean the white serpent of the Arctic is descending, then you’re exactly right.”

One of the four Out-of-Rank magical beasts that had been discussed earlier.

Jormungandr, master of the Arctic Sea, was moving south.

The shock was inevitable.

In the past thirty years—not once, and even in the ten years Jung-woo could remember going forward, not once—had such a thing occurred.

‘Why on earth?’

Bewilderment surged to the top of his head.

But immediately after, he could deduce the reason.

His brow furrowed.

‘…The butterfly effect.’

A small wind becomes a storm.

Even if the changes Jung-woo had brought about were confined to South Korea, the changes they triggered worldwide would have accumulated, creating divergences from the original history.

Whatever form those changes took, the fact that reality had led to Jormungandr’s southward migration remained unchanged.

Edmond added further explanation.

“It’s not moving particularly fast. We began observing its underwater movement a week ago, though it likely started earlier. Currently, it began in the Arctic Sea and has just passed through the Bering Sea between Russia and Canada, turning its course toward Asia. If it continues straight…”

“…That means Japan.”

“And right behind it is South Korea.”

With that reason, it would certainly serve as a pretext for Jung-woo to go to Japan.

International joint subjugations were common when a magical beast was too large for any single nation to handle.

The Izanami incident in Tokyo had been one such case.

Viewed as an extension of that precedent, it was a perfect excuse.

If Japan couldn’t stop it, South Korea would fall.

Considering the power wielded by an Out-of-Rank magical beast, the terror would be truly immense.

“…What about the public announcement?”

“We can’t hide it forever. The Russian fascists will try to conceal it however they can, and Alaska is already an Erosion Zone so detection was impossible, but soon everyone will know. It’ll be announced within a week at most.”

“That would…”

“It’ll be chaos. Japan will face an instant apocalypse. The citizens who believe in their beloved pretty princess will try to squeeze their way into Osaka by any means, and the rest will flee overseas.”

“Is the Council not going to handle the matter?”

“I told you. We don’t move for justice—we move for mutual benefit.”

Edmond shrugged.

“Each of us carries our own burdens. We can’t throw ourselves into uncertainty so easily.”

“And you?”

“If it were up to me, I’d love to duel that horrifically long serpent one-on-one. But alas, my wife is clinging to me in tears.”

He understood.

“…The United States must be in an uproar. The Universe Guild’s elite are all staying in Korea.”

“Going from here to Japan? If even one of our kids comes back dead, I’m a traitor. I’d be handing the White House a pretext. The only way to override that is to become a dictator. Understand—I hate communists.”

“Yes, going to Japan would actually be the worse option for you.”

How could he blame him?

Even with Izanami, Korea had been able to provide support because the Management Bureau was at the height of its power.

It was only because there was a pillar like Chun Jun-ho that a fighting force like Ha Kwon-seung could be deployed.

Edmond’s position was similar.

A pillar must not leave the building.

Even stepping out was staked against the nation’s lifespan.

“Thanks for understanding.”

“That doesn’t make this welcome news, though.”

He sensed it instinctively.

The fact that he had no choice but to go himself.

Setting everything else aside, he was the only hunter who could currently produce the level of output needed to stop Jormungandr.

The amusing thing, though—

‘Can I catch it?’

The moment he thought it, surprisingly—

‘…It’s not as if there’s absolutely no way.’

When he calculated the probability of subjugation strategically, it wasn’t zero percent.

In fact, even with so few clues, the figure was more significant than expected.

That was how rapidly he was growing stronger.

Jung-woo took a deep breath.

Then Edmond spoke.

“So it turns out I came barging in and dumped a whole pile of troublesome work on you.”

“That’s how the picture turned out.”

“So I thought I’d offer a small gesture of goodwill. Ah, mind if I smoke?”

“Go ahead.”

Chik!

Edmond placed a cigarette between his lips and lit it.

The damp terrain made the sound of it burning soggy.

He said:

“You know you’re in a situation where you have to go. I’d appreciate it if you understood that I told you early to give you more time to prepare. Still, it’s a thoroughly unwelcome affair. Having to fight in someone else’s domain.”

“Indeed.”

“Since that’s how it is, shouldn’t you at least make sure you’re properly compensated?”

Jung-woo watched him steadily, prompting the next words.

“Here’s what we’ll do.”

“What kind?”

“Let’s drive up your price as high as possible. Before Jormungandr’s southward movement becomes public.”

Edmond’s gaze drifted far off, toward the heart of Hwanghae Province.

A childlike smile played on his lips.

And so Jung-woo understood his meaning instantly.

“…You’re saying we subjugate the Haetae. Within a week.”

“We do it together. A joint operation between the Universe Guild and the Korean Hunter Association. Isn’t that a rather pretty picture?”

He couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice.

Jung-woo let out a hollow laugh.

He realized that even this proposal was, to some extent, driven by Edmond’s own desire to satisfy his hunting urge.

But there was no reason to refuse, either.

“You’re truly mad about hunting, aren’t you.”

“The highest compliment.”

Of this much, he could say with certainty.

Savior Edmond Richmond.

He was the most transparent person Jung-woo had ever encountered in his life.

It had been a day with far too much happening.

That evening, back home, Jung-woo’s mind was racing as he tried to organize the information he had gathered throughout the day.

A secret organization standing at the summit of the world, an unrevealed grade—

Plus the clues to Zero Gate exploration and Jormungandr—all of it was information on an overwhelming scale.

But what troubled Jung-woo most was something else entirely.

“Dad, welcome back! Did you have fun with your friend!?”

“Yeah, my friend liked the seolleongtang.”

“Did you give him kimchi!? Do you know kimchee!?”

“No, Mr. Ho-jong did that part.”

He answered warmly and gathered Se-gi into his arms.

She had been waiting all day, eager to hear what her dad had done today.

Then launching into an enthusiastic account of what had happened at daycare.

Just an ordinary child, the kind you’d find anywhere.

Yet upon that child, an impossibly heavy burden had been placed.

‘Ex-grade, huh…’

If they were the same as Se-gi, then her grade would be Ex.

And so he wondered.

‘What would it have been.’

The aptitude Se-gi would have displayed had she become a hero.

The thought that there might have been a future filled only with brightness for the child sent him drifting into imagination.

All Jung-woo knew was the sight of Se-gi destroying Seoul.

Whenever she swung her hand with a face devoid of a single trace of emotion, something purple-black between liquid and gas would sweep through space like a tidal wave, crumbling everything.

Grotesque magical beasts he had never seen before would also erupt from what had once been a city.

The sight of things that had existed as a matter of course transforming into aberrations and overwhelming reality was truly horrific.

So overlaying something bright atop that was not easy.

Yet he dared to imagine.

‘If Se-gi had awakened properly.’

The child who hated being alone would have found a reason to seek him out.

The child who had stayed behind alone, trying to spare her worthless father until the end—she might have gathered her courage one more time and done so.

Then he would have given her his best advice.

How to live as a hunter, what to do and what not to do.

But at the same time, he might have tried to stop her, no matter how many times she insisted on becoming a hunter.

Because she was too precious, and he would have worried too much.

If she refused to change her mind, he might have retired from active duty instead and devoted himself to producing his daughter.

Such a future might have existed.

A future where their estranged relationship would heal through being together.

A world where Se-gi ultimately smiled, and tragedy had never existed in the first place.

Thinking of that made his chest ache deeply.

His smile was fading when—

“Dad?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Is Dad hurt…?”

He had caused her worry.

He had barely been discharged, and already this.

Jung-woo shook his head.

“No. I’m just tired from hanging out with my friend. Dad’s healthy.”

“Mr. Edmond made Dad tired!!!”

“Hmm…”

Jung-woo smiled awkwardly.

Then he answered.

“Yeah, the mister smoked a cigarette and it made Dad dizzy.”

“Gasp! An unhealthy mister! Cigarettes are bad for you!!!”

Sorry, Edmond, but he had to sell him out here.

He couldn’t let Se-gi worry.

“Mr. Edmond is bad! He needs a scolding!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah! Se-gi will scold him! Tell me if he bothers you again!”

Se-gi swung her small fists, round like baby potatoes.

At that adorable sight, Jung-woo was able to erase his sadness.

How futile it was to regret what had passed and could not be undone.

When the reality he had been given was itself a miracle, wasn’t protecting that miracle far more important?

“Then should Dad definitely tattle on him?”

“Yeah! Tattling is bad, but since it’s Dad, I’ll let it slide!”

Ttiring!

【”I’ll protect Dad!” The child has resolved not to back down before her nemesis! There’s nothing quite as wonderful as the heart that steps forward to protect someone else! [Great Caregiver (8/10)] *Collect stickers to unlock skills!*】

Jung-woo burst out laughing at the notification.

It was a monumental day—the day Se-gi had found a mister she didn’t like.

And so ended a night filled with a joy that made even the events of the day feel like a distant memory.

The next day, Jung-woo returned to reality with renewed energy.

It was a time to keep pushing forward, if only to protect the child.

In an era of upheaval, the wise course was to ride the current rather than be swept away by it.

Early that morning, the media began reporting in unison.

[Breaking news! Savior Edmond Richmond, currently visiting Korea, and his guild Universe have announced a joint operation with the Association…]

[The purpose of the visit has finally been revealed! At an early morning press conference, Edmond Richmond stated he needed an opportunity to train with skilled Hunters to break through the US Erosion Zones, igniting the room…!]

[An early Christmas present has been promised to the citizens of South Korea! The Association is currently…!]

Haetae subjugation. The deadline: one week.

It was an event that would leave the entire nation stunned.