Chapter 157 – Old Bonds (1)

“David Henri was admitted to the hospital today?”

“Yes, he hasn’t come out yet.”

“I see.”

At the new sales employee’s report, Kim Shin, the head of the Tushin Guild’s HR team—no, now a director at Tushin—adjusted his tie and quickened his pace.

He knew David Henri had been in the country for some time, but his whereabouts had been a mystery until now.

The rumor that Henri had retired in France and moved to Korea with his sick wife was already famous worldwide.

‘David Henri.’

Some foreign hunters were racists. Thanks to them, there were plenty who caused trouble.

But the more you heard about Henri, the more you swelled with national pride.

His mother was Korean, and though he couldn’t afford to learn martial arts in his youth due to poverty, he was able to learn thanks to the kindness of a Korean Taekwondo master.

As a result, his fighting style was based on practical ITF Taekwondo.

Not only that, but he had a Korean wife and was known to be doing everything in his power for his family member suffering from Magic Stone Disease.

In other words, he was a Frenchman who fit in well in Korea.

Since he could also speak a fair amount of Korean, it was inevitable that Korea’s major guilds were chomping at the bit to recruit him.

Kim Shin was no exception.

‘If only I could bring David Henri in.’

There were S-rank hunters like Karl Thomas, a Korean-German, who worked in Korea as mercenaries.

This time, the Tushin Guild was pouring all its efforts into claiming the number one spot.

Just when they thought they had earned the right to challenge the throne of Shinhwa, the industry’s undisputed leader, they were suddenly facing a fierce pursuit from the unexpected Hanul Guild.

They had dismissed Hanul at first, but now it held the number three spot in the industry.

And with almost no gap between them and the Tushin Guild.

It was safe to say that the Korean guild scene was a three-way battle centered in Seoul.

‘Recruiting Henri will put us on even footing with Tushin.’

Currently, the Tushin Guild’s only S-rank hunter was the Paladin, Seol Ji-hoon.

The Shadowmancer Villain, Ryu Ji-yeon, recruited on Seol Ji-hoon’s recommendation, was also S-rank.

They never would have brought someone with a dangerous past as a Villain into the guild if she weren’t S-rank in the first place.

She was recruited purely for her abilities, for her skills. But for some reason, Ryu Ji-yeon had fixed her rank at A-rank.

Even her gender was suspect.

The Company Man was known to be a man in his thirties. Yet the person who joined the guild was a woman in her twenties.

Thinking about it only gave him a headache, so Kim Shin decided to ignore it completely. He shouldn’t have let that shady Villain into the guild.

‘If it weren’t for that damned Lee Hyunbin.’

The reckless move of bringing in a Villain was largely Lee Hyunbin’s fault.

It was because he had been stigmatized for turning away a monster like Lee Hyunbin when he had come to them on his own.

At the time, the guy was just a powerless nobody claiming to be a Hero. Who in their right mind would hire a lunatic like that?

He let out a low sigh.

Henri was in a hospital run by Hanul. Rumor had it that Hanul had even provided a place for his family to live.

But just because there’s a goalkeeper doesn’t mean you can’t score a goal.

Kim Shin had convinced his superiors and had come with a blank check to recruit Henri.

Henri himself was an outstanding hunter, but the ripple effect of his name value was immense.

If a hunter as skilled as him joined the guild, it would increase the likelihood of other promising hunters joining as well.

As Kim Shin loitered in the hospital lobby, he saw a bald Frenchman in sunglasses, Henri, coming out.

‘Perfect!’

As luck would have it, Henri was alone. It was a golden opportunity.

He strode confidently toward Henri.

Then, with a sharp movement, he pulled a business card from his pocket and politely offered it to him.

“Greetings, Hunter David Henri. I am Director Kim Shin from Tushin, the number two ranked guild in the country.”

“Hey, what’s up?”

It was informal, but his Korean was surprisingly fluent.

It seemed he had learned even more Korean in the meantime.

“I’ve come because we would like to scout you, Hunter Henri. We are prepared to offer you any treatment you desire for your recruitment.”

Kim Shin said, projecting an air of confidence and trustworthiness.

Just then, someone else interjected.

“What are you doing with someone else’s hunter?”

“…Lee Hyunbin?”

The sight of the detestable Hyunbin suddenly standing next to Henri, looking at him with a smirk, was infuriating.

‘Someone else’s hunter.’

Those words could only mean one thing.

He’d had a bad feeling since this was a hospital run by Hanul, but he hadn’t expected things to be concluded already.

“Hunter Henri. Are you already affiliated with Hanul?”

“No.”

What the hell.

Hearing Henri’s answer, Kim Shin stared at Lee Hyunbin in disbelief.

“You told me to say it like this, right?”

The conversation was a bit strange.

Hearing Henri’s words, Hyunbin let out a small laugh and opened his mouth.

“You can speak plainly to this person, hyung.”

Hyung?

Unable to grasp the situation, Kim Shin looked back and forth between Hyunbin and Henri.

Henri nodded and, with a bright smile, said.

“Aha. I’m not joining your guild.”

“…What is this.”

Kim Shin’s face crumpled at Henri’s words.

He felt like he was being played for a fool.

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. We’ve already put a gag order out to prevent unnecessary speculative articles. I’m just being honest with you, Team Leader Kim Shin. So you don’t waste your time.”

“…I’m a director.”

Kim Shin finally realized Hyunbin was making fun of him.

His face flushed red for a moment, unable to contain his anger.

“Let’s go, Ang-hyung. Let’s get that bulgogi you like.”

“Pulgogi, that is good.”

Watching the two of them walk out affectionately, Kim Shin spoke as if tearing his own lips apart.

“Lee Hyunbin. How long are you going to keep picking fights like this? Huh?”

Hyunbin turned back upon hearing Kim Shin’s angry voice.

“Picking fights?”

“What else is this if not picking a fight? Huh? I’ve been in the Korean hunter scene way longer than you. I’ve been grinding since the early days.”

“Oh, is that so.”

“That thing with your interview. Ha, honestly, isn’t it a bit childish to keep acting like you’re getting petty revenge over that?”

Kim Shin bluntly threw the topic out there.

He was the one who was constantly suffering because of that damned interview.

“Interview? Ah.”

“Yeah, I get it, you’re all that. And honestly, I know it’s ridiculous for a hunter to care about TOEIC scores, certifications, or GPAs. You probably think all a hunter needs is ability. But what about character? Tactics? Learning ability? Who knows? Nobody knows. If you could know everything about a person just by looking at them once, you’d be a fortune teller, not an interviewer, right?”

Kim Shin wasn’t wrong.

“At the very least, to pick normal candidates, we use things like TOEIC and certifications. We use them as a filter to pick people who have put in the effort. It might be unfair, but that’s the system of society, the natural order. It’s not just me, is it? You’ve hired people too, you’re not so young that you wouldn’t know that, are you?”

“I know that.”

Kim Shin was momentarily at a loss for words as Hyunbin admitted it so easily.

“You seem to be misunderstanding something.”

Hyunbin continued with a small smile.

“It’s not that I dislike you for failing me in the interview. What am I, a petty child?”

“Then what is it?”

“I dislike your character, the way you mock people just because you’re in a position of power as an interviewer.”

Kim Shin was speechless.

Of course, he had openly mocked him.

Wasn’t it absurd? A thirty-year-old unemployed man with no experience talking about being a Hero and a Holy Sword.

“Have you connected with that Holy Sword yet?”

At Kim Shin’s words, Hyunbin replied with an unreadable smile.

“I’ll show you someday.”

See, he’s a certified lunatic.

Kim Shin thought that even if he could go back to the day of the interview, he still wouldn’t hire Hyunbin.

You couldn’t tell he was such a monster just from his actions.

Just then, Henri strode over and grabbed Kim Shin by the collar.

Caught in his firm grip, Kim Shin was too stunned to know what to do.

“You mess with my little bro, you’re screwed. Understand? Do you understand?”

“Ang-hyung, leave him be. We’re going for bulgogi.”

“Good, pulgogi.”

“No, bulgogi.”

“Pulgogi.”

Watching them leave the hospital, talking amongst themselves, Kim Shin was left speechless.

He didn’t know what trick he’d used, but David Henri was now completely friendly with Hyunbin, treating him like a brother.

“Damn it.”

Kim Shin gave up on recruiting Henri and walked out.

He’d barely managed to talk the company into a blank check, only to be utterly humiliated. It was like he’d gone to sprinkle ash on a meal that was already cooked.

* * *

Henri was in a good mood for the first time in a long while.

He always wore a smile, but in reality, his smiles weren’t genuine.

His wife was dying day by day, and his child was just an infant.

The one silver lining was that the Magic Stone Disease hadn’t been passed on to the child.

For that alone, his wife offered prayers of thanks, calling it a blessing from God.

But Henri couldn’t pray.

Not when he was watching his wife’s body grow more emaciated by the day.

He needed an astronomical amount of money.

Not all cases of Magic Stone Disease were the same. The size of the magic stone determined the pain and the cost of treatment.

Contaminated by the demonic miasma, a magic stone was growing inside her body. Even if it was surgically removed, it just kept growing back.

Like cancer cells.

Awakened individuals discharge mana by using their skills. But for non-Awakened, the mana generated by the magic stone continuously builds up inside the body, causing internal damage.

It was a testament to the fact that mana was not a blessing for everyone.

Magic Stone Disease was still an incurable illness, and cases of complete recovery were extremely rare.

A proper cure had yet to be found.

Even if they closed the Gates and eliminated the dungeons, people already contaminated by the leaked miasma would still undergo mutations.

Today, David Henri had witnessed a miracle.

A very young-looking teenage girl had come with Hyunbin. And she had said she would transfer the mana embedded in his wife’s body to another, pure magic stone.

He had thought it was absurd. But the young girl had emitted a sacred-looking light as if in prayer.

It spread to his wife like an infection, and soon, a murky energy was drawn out.

As a result, his wife’s complexion improved. It was visible at a glance.

The hospital’s diagnosis was the same.

They called it a miracle. The magic stone that had formed in her body had stopped growing and had vanished. Any remaining fragments of the magic stone would be naturally expelled from her body.

David Henri was in a good mood.

He had broken down in tears in front of Hyunbin, who was three years his junior.

Hyunbin had kept his promise, and now it was Henri’s turn to keep his.

‘I will make this place my second home.’

Having received such a great favor, Henri vowed to repay it with loyalty.

He had a pleasant meal with Hyunbin and was walking back to the hospital alone.

“It’s been a while.”

A familiar French voice.

Henri turned his head toward the sound.

A brown bob cut, and a crescent moon earring on her left ear.

“Audrey?”

Henri was surprised to see the unexpected person in front of him.

It was Jean-Pierre’s one and only disciple and adopted daughter, the renowned Dancing Empress, Audrey.

“What brings you here, Audrey?”

“I heard you came to Korea, Ajeossi.”

An expressionless face with lifeless eyes. At a glance, she was so stiff one might mistake her for a doll.

“I see. I have some good news. Your auntie…”

“My father’s death, is the official report accurate?”

Henri stopped mid-sentence.

“That he fought until the very end to protect people. Is that accurate?”

“That has already been reported to the agency and announced…”

“That’s a lie.”

“…”

Audrey stared at Henri without even blinking.

Her gaze seemed to pierce right through him.

“Ajeossi.”

“There seems to be some misunderstanding…”

“Your breathing has quickened. You were about to lie, weren’t you?”

Audrey cut off Henri’s words and spoke first.

“He was murdered, wasn’t he?”

“Audrey.”

“Ajeossi. I came to Korea as an investigator for the Marianne Guild.”

The Marianne Guild.

The top guild in France, where Jean-Pierre had belonged.

“I know. That my father was not a person who deserved that.”

Audrey said, pulling her hat down.

The true nature of Jean-Pierre.

Henri wasn’t the only one who knew the dark side of the hero so adored by the French people.

“That means there’s someone in this country who could kill Jean-Pierre.”

At Audrey’s words, Henri hesitated for a moment.

A clumsy lie wouldn’t work on her.

She didn’t have a skill that let her read people’s minds. She relied solely on her own honed intuition, drawing out her opponent’s emotions and reactions with just a few words to deduce the truth.

For Henri, who was a poor liar, the Empress Audrey was the worst possible opponent.

‘If I’m not careful, I might bring harm to Hyunbin.’

He was indebted to Hyunbin.

Even if that weren’t the case, he was a man worthy of respect.

To possess such immense power at such a young age. A power on a different level from Jean-Pierre.

And he was a rare young man who used that power for good. He couldn’t let any harm come to such a person.

For a moment, Henri considered whether he should subdue Audrey.

But even if Henri was unofficially the strongest in France, there was no way he could easily subdue the next-generation S-rank hunter, Audrey, on a public street.

But still, he had to.

More importantly, through his sparring with Hyunbin, Henri had felt as if he had broken through a wall that had been holding him back.

In other words, he was stronger than he used to be.

As Henri clenched his fist, his aura changed. A quiet mana, imperceptible to ordinary people, began to swell.

“Don’t worry, Ajeossi.”

Audrey fiddled with her left ear.

The crescent-shaped earring.

It was something Henri had given her as a gift when she was a child.

“I’ll repay my debt.”

“…”

For the first time, a faint smile formed on the doll-like Audrey’s lips.

She turned her back and walked away.

Henri hesitated. If he let her go now, what if she told the Union?

For the sake of his benefactor, he had to eliminate any dangerous opponents.

Hyunbin had never asked him to do such a thing, but he had sworn to help him by any means necessary if he was in danger.

-Someone like me, am I allowed to receive this?

He remembered the words of the little girl who had looked up at him with lifeless eyes.

The little girl who had been so happy with a simple earring was still wearing the worn-out thing, cherishing it.

He couldn’t do it.

Henri wasn’t that ruthless to begin with. If he had been, he would have been known as France’s strongest long ago.

Watching Audrey walk away, Henri’s heavy shoulders slumped.

Perhaps this mistake had just set in motion a major, irreversible event.

“Ajeossi.”

Just then, Audrey’s voice was heard again.

“By any chance, does it cost money to take a taxi?”

The doll-like Audrey’s face seemed to be tinged with a hint of bewilderment.