How were magic stones and materials obtained from gate subjugations distributed?

While there were various complex criteria regarding the matter, taking standard magic stones as a baseline, a 35% commission fee was deducted for the corporation owning the gate.

An additional 15% was tacked on for subjugation and acquisition fees, ultimately leaving 50% for the hunter who carried out the subjugation. However, 13% of that remaining amount was then taken as tax.

Of course, that only applied to independent hunters acting on their own.

If that hunter was affiliated with a corporation, an additional fee was levied on the final sum.

However, at the very least, this did not apply to Jung-woo.

‘One of the few perks of being a state-sponsored hunter.’

Taxes on magic stones obtained from gate subjugations were exempted.

After all, didn’t the nation already take a hefty cut from the corporations leasing the gates?

Thus, they applied a rather generous standard for their own affiliated personnel.

Was it acceptable for public officials to reap such benefits?

There was a highly realistic and rational answer to that question.

‘It’s because of perks like these that the state-sponsored hunter system is sustained.’

No matter how prettily it was packaged, a hunter was ultimately a mercenary risking their life for work.

Even if you waved the banner of a greater cause, who would willingly sacrifice themselves for this job without material compensation?

The tax exemption on magic stones was the bare minimum safety net against such a sense of deprivation.

It was all a matter of context.

The patrol of Seoul’s gates.

Thanks to the greedy upper echelon completely ignoring the gate density control standards, hundreds of magical beasts were slaughtered every time they entered a gate.

It could perhaps be considered a drawback of the Bear Hero.

Because its attack method involved omnidirectional energy emission, no corpses were left behind, making it impossible to harvest materials. Nevertheless, the number of magic stones obtained nearly reached ten thousand.

The revenue from selling those stones had been deposited into his bank account.

Jung-woo opened his banking app and felt a wave of disbelief.

‘I really did make a lot of money.’

The displayed amount was in the tens of billions of won.

Rather than feeling joyous, he felt a sense of unease.

Considering it was revenue gained through forced execution, didn’t it also imply just how dire the gate situation in South Korea had become?

‘I don’t regret it, but…’

He also needed to exercise restraint.

Monopolizing gate profits so forcefully wasn’t a good look to begin with.

It was merely suppressed because he had public opinion, a just cause, and the reputation of being an irreplaceable military force on his side.

He shouldn’t get any greedier here. He needed to save the money he had well.

‘Because I have to support whatever Se-gi wants to do when she grows up.’

You never know. She might suddenly want to get into the arts or sports.

If she wants to do music, then music.

If she wants to do art, then art.

If she wants to do sports, then sports.

‘If she says she wants to hold a concert, I’d have to rent a venue for the day…’

The moment his delusions stretched that far, Jung-woo let out a chuckle.

‘Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, let’s keep it within reason.’

Feeling his imagination running a bit too hot, he took a deep breath to calm himself.

Then, he raised his head and looked at the living room.

Se-gi, wearing a fluttery dress, was standing face-to-face with the Bear Hero.

They were in the middle of playing house.

The Bear Hero stood there blankly, wearing a bow tie.

Se-gi placed her hands on her hips and shouted cheerfully.

“Please give me everything from here to there!”

What was she asking for?

If one were to ask, the answer was somewhat embarrassing.

Ppok!

Special magic stones.

The Bear Hero had lined up the special magic stones obtained from champion-class magical beasts it had hunted since its first awakening, and was picking them up one by one to stack them beside Se-gi.

There was only one reason those were being used as toys for playing house.

The special magic stones of champion-class magical beasts could not be traded through normal channels.

Because the stones possessed heterogeneous mana, it was impossible to consume them as a general energy source.

They were typically used to craft specially made hunter equipment or modern mana weapons, so transactions had to be conducted with the state acting as a notary after reporting their intended use to the government. But who had the time for that right now?

The only remaining option was to process them, add safety measures, and toss them in the house. And once he did, oh boy.

Se-gi had seen the sparkling surfaces of the magic stones and started treating them like toy jewelry.

‘I guess it’s fine since Se-gi likes them.’

Arriving at that lenient conclusion, Se-gi was allowed to play lady with magic stones more expensive than jewels to her heart’s content.

The Bear diligently stacked the stones, and Se-gi stomped her feet with a beaming face as she watched the pile grow.

Then, she threw her hands up in the air and shouted.

“Se-gi is rich now!”

She really had become rich.

Though that fact didn’t seem practically important to Se-gi at all.

Anyway, it was about time to wrap up the playing house.

“Se-gi. We should get going soon.”

“Gasp! Okay!”

Se-gi ran over to Jung-woo with a dododo and leapt into his arms.

Jung-woo picked her up and stood from his seat.

Wearing a pretty, fluttery dress that Se-gi loved.

On a bright, perfectly spring-like day.

“Will there be sea otters at the zoo!?”

“Yeah, I heard they have sea otters.”

It was his first outing with Se-gi.

This life, he would listen to what Se-gi truly wanted.

From the moment he made that resolution and continued pondering it, there was always something that weighed on Jung-woo’s mind.

‘I never went on a single picnic with her.’

Whether he was struggling to make ends meet or whatever, let’s drop the excuses.

Stating only the facts, the Se-gi of his past life was a child who, even if asked to look back on her childhood memories, wouldn’t be able to recall a single special moment with her family.

Can one feel a sense of deprivation for a concept they don’t even know?

That was a truly foolish question.

“You know~ I bragged to Eun-ha, Yu-jeong, and Min-ji that I’m going to the zoo today~!”

Children have their own world.

They have their own social circles, and through them, they hear about how other children spend time with their families.

Therefore, while they might feel a sense of relative deprivation, there is no absence of longing born from ignorance.

This was especially true for children who wanted to brag about everything.

“I have to take pictures with the sea otters today! The other kids said they all saw sea otters! It’s Se-gi’s first time seeing them today!”

“Yeah, pictures with the sea otters. It’d be great if we can take some.”

“Hehe…”

Seeing Se-gi’s bright smile, Jung-woo felt a pang in his chest.

It was an emotion he couldn’t quite get used to.

Probably for the rest of his life, perhaps until the day he died.

Jung-woo realized that every time he faced his child’s happiness, he would inevitably recall the image of Se-gi crying sorrowfully before that smile.

It was an indelible original sin.

“We’re here!”

He had driven them to the zoo.

From the moment the zoo’s entrance came into view in the distance, Se-gi couldn’t contain her excitement.

Jung-woo smiled.

After parking and getting out of the car, he headed into the zoo, watching the child who, perhaps wanting to run around on her own today, refused to be carried and instead tightly gripped his index finger with her tiny hand.

It was in that moment he realized he was a celebrity.

“Welcome, little one! We are the Fantasy Animal Kingdom… Ah? M-M-Mr. Shin…”

“Haha… Hello?”

When the employees reciting their scripts gaped in surprise.

When passersby stopped in their tracks and gasped! he felt the change in his status.

He had taken a day off on a weekday anticipating something like this, but it seemed it couldn’t be completely avoided.

Fortunately, no one actually approached him to strike up a conversation.

Thanks to that, Se-gi’s zoo outing was proceeding quite successfully.

“Bear! Bear! Daddy! A bear over there!”

“You’re right, it’s really chubby.”

“It’s bigger than our Teddy Bear!”

She was surprised comparing her summoned Teddy Bear doll to a real bear.

“It’s so cute…”

“The desert fox must be sleepy. It’s sleeping.”

“Its eyes are fox eyes!”

“Yeah, I guess because it’s a fox…?”

Perhaps due to the animated perception that foxes have narrow eyes, she looked at the sleeping fox’s closed eyes and claimed that was how fox eyes naturally looked.

“Sheep!”

“Oh, it’s an experience booth. Do you want to try it, Se-gi? It says you can touch the sheep.”

“Gasp! I want to touch them!”

Modern zoos were so well-organized that they offered interactive experiences with animals, and there were even times when Se-gi got to feed the animals herself.

Then, they finally achieved their original goal.

“Sea otters!”

“They really are here. Sea otters.”

“Sea otters! Clams!”

For days before he even mentioned going to the zoo, Se-gi had been constantly saying she wanted to see sea otters.

It was almost like a broken record, so this was where they ended up after searching for where the sea otters were.

It was a fortunate thing.

‘This was the only place in the country that had them.’

Even that was only possible because they could create a breeding environment using mana batteries, making it their first attempt at raising them.

Floating on artificial seawater, basking in the sun with clams resting on their bellies, the sea otters had quite a charming side to them.

At that moment, Se-gi’s mouth wouldn’t stop running.

Having been with Se-gi since his regression until now, he had come to realize.

This child had a tendency to study whatever she was interested in by any means necessary, just to teach others and show off her knowledge.

It wasn’t just showing off knowledge at a child’s level.

“You know, sea otters~ They’re actually weasels, you know~ And their bones are purple, you know~!”

It was the first time he’d heard that sea otter bones were purple.

Wondering if she was misinformed, he looked it up, and it was true.

‘The pigment accumulates from eating too many sea urchins…’

A hollow laugh escaped him.

Did Se-gi really have the makings of a teacher?

She did have a habit of using the filler phrase “you know~” when her sentences got long, but regardless, it made her sentences easy to understand.

He was in the middle of thinking that.

“Daddy! Picture! Picture!”

Se-gi was bouncing up and down.

Jung-woo took out his smartphone, adjusted the angle so the sea otters and Se-gi were in the same frame, and then Chalkak! Chalkak! He took pictures of the child.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

‘A picture of us together. It wouldn’t hurt to have one.’

He wanted to preserve every moment of his child’s life.

At the same time, he wanted her to remember that he was there with her in those moments.

So that the child could recall that she wasn’t alone.

He briefly looked around.

A family was standing right next to them, and Jung-woo asked them for a favor.

“Excuse me, but could you perhaps take a picture of us?”

“Huh? Ah, sure… Huh?”

The child’s father, recognizing Jung-woo, was surprised.

His mouth hung agape, but then he smiled awkwardly, handed over his smartphone, and upon seeing Jung-woo pick Se-gi up, snapped pictures almost in a daze.

Se-gi didn’t understand the situation at first, but belatedly realizing they were taking a picture together, her cheeks flushed a bright red and she broke into a wide smile.

It was a day where such ordinary moments continued on and on.

“A sea otter doll!”

“Should we buy one to take home?”

“Really!?”

“Yeah, really.”

Se-gi smiled.

She smiled so much that he worried it might leave wrinkles.

She looked so adorable he could just eat her up.

Jung-woo smiled along with her.

【”Children see and feel so many things!” You’ve visited the zoo with your child! Your child physically felt that many things besides humans live and breathe in this world! [Great Caregiver (8/10)] *Collect stickers to unlock skills!*】

【”Children need memories!” You’ve captured a happy moment in a frame! Your child now has something to cherish forever? [Great Caregiver (9/10)] *Collect stickers to unlock skills!*】

It was the end of such a day.

Even without asking, he felt he had done well today. Above all else, seeing the child’s giggling face as she tightly hugged the sea otter doll proved it, leaving Jung-woo with a profound sense of fulfillment.

With that, he buckled Se-gi into the car and arrived home.

It was time to wind down the day.

Though it was time to sleep, Se-gi came to his bedroom.

“Can I sleep with you today?”

Her eyes were sparkling, seemingly too excited to fall asleep.

Jung-woo laid the child on his bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

Hugging her sea otter doll, the child babbled on for a long while before finally succumbing to drowsiness and drifting off to dreamland.

There was a sense of security that came from falling asleep with someone.

Listening to the child’s soft, rhythmic breathing as he closed his eyes, Jung-woo was able to fall into a more comfortable sleep than usual.

Before the drowsiness weighed down his body, that thought crossed his mind.

‘I’m glad.’

That she liked this day so much.

And so, he fell asleep.

Ttiring!

Without even hearing the alarm sound.

【”Children feel safe in warmth!” After a fun day, your child fell asleep receiving the touch of their favorite person! Please share these moments often! [Great Caregiver (10/10)] *Collect stickers to unlock skills!*】

【[Great Caregiver (10/10)]. Congratulations! You have collected all the Praise Stickers!】

【A skill is being unlocked!】

【Skill: [Children Need Heroes!] is growing!】

Ppi—

Ppi—

Ppi—

Ppam!

【Slot 2 Unlocked: Acquiring Sea Otter Grand Mage (S).】

【Sea Otter Grand Mage (S) is being summoned!】

It was early morning.

Ppok!

Ppok!

Ppok!

The sound reached Jung-woo’s ears.

It was too clear to be an auditory hallucination heard in his sleep, so Jung-woo slowly opened his eyes.

Realizing the sound was coming from the living room, he got out of bed with a furrowed brow.

And so, he came face to face with it.

Ppok!

“…?”

A sea otter doll wearing a black conical hat the size of a human.

The sight of that doll picking up a special magic stone scattered on the living room floor and forcefully stuffing it into the mouth of a clam doll it held in its hand.

And then, the sight of it turning its head toward him.

Ppok?

“???”

For a moment, Jung-woo’s thoughts ground to a halt.