Chapter 44

“Then let’s do it this way.”

Picking up a strawberry, I popped it in my mouth and chewed it down.

“You really don’t have to impose such conditions.”

“Huh?”

At my words, Glaria blinked her eyes in surprise.

“I mean, you don’t need to set conditions like building a church or anything.”

Well, honestly, even if I didn’t think of it, the government of this country would likely be considering it.

Even if we talk about treaties, they could have limited influence. There’s really no need for military influence. Even if they stationed troops here, we wouldn’t gain any significant benefit.

Instead, they might be thinking of purchasing rights to develop the large estates of the nobility beyond that or opening new markets to sell various goods.

Now that the princess is involved, that plan will surely gain more momentum.

Of course, I would be stepping away from it. I never even planned to become a Saintess in the first place, so I think I can keep my distance.

“I’ll help you find a job. I don’t know what the government will think about that, but that’s beyond my control.”

“Huh….”

Glaria looked a bit flustered as she glanced at Ria.

Ria shrugged her shoulders and popped a strawberry in her mouth as well.

“Wait a second. So you mean you’re saying you would help without any particular conditions?”

“That’s right.”

“Are you… not aware of your position? I mean, I did my research on you before saying this… ”

My reputation among the Hunters was something anyone could easily hear about. Plus, being in a position where I could rise to a very high place in the church would surely entice them.

Who doesn’t know that?

“I know. Regardless of what the government or the church thinks, if I say something to the association, they would at least give me a job. It’s not explicitly forbidden.”

Even though she’s called a princess, Glaria is using the title ‘noble’ here. The title of princess is a secret.

They might think of providing her with a guard, but in the main story, there isn’t such a presence around Glaria anyway. In fact, given that the Gate has been completely shut, the ‘value’ that the people of this country see in her might not be all that high. All assumptions about crossing over to the Gate must hold meaning.

In other words, it probably means there’s a much greater chance that there won’t be “big problems.”

Moreover—

“What’s so hard about just saying a word?”

Right. This means if I take Glaria out, I myself will have to go out too.

Why would I throw away the privilege of being able to roam outside relatively freely?

“….”

Glaria stared at me with a slightly dazed expression.

She seemed to have forgotten that we were in the middle of a meal.

I originally liked walking quite a bit.

This was also true in my previous life. Of course, I didn’t do something crazy like walk all the way to a job far away, but when the weather was nice, I enjoyed going outside and taking walks to relax whenever I had the time.

If I could walk to the headquarters in this world, I would’ve done it. The headquarters was slightly less than an hour away on foot.

“Ugh, I knew that would be too tiring.”

When I shared my thoughts, Ria shook her hand in disagreement.

“Well, I thought so too.”

I shrugged my shoulders as well.

Officially, I still held the title of ‘candidate,’ but I was actually quite an important person within the order.

Even if they were to send guards with me, walking far would still be too risky.

Above all, wasn’t I someone who didn’t particularly hold such a title of importance?

It was pretty obvious that anyone would want to have someone who could add a little extra life to their own during dangerous moments. In that sense, anyone could target me.

… This doesn’t come up in the novel, but in this world, such cases actually happen.

When the Gates were notoriously opening wildly, posing a risk to the survival of this world before the order was properly established.

There were people who thought they could use the flesh, bones, and blood of those who could utilize Saint Power for some kind of magical purpose.

Nowadays, such things don’t happen, but there’s a reason the government still permits the order to directly lead the Knight Order.

As we got on the minibus that moved with the church group, we headed to the association.

The Hunter Association ‘Horizon,’ where Lee Si-yoon and his childhood friend Han Yu-ri belonged.

While it is among the top associations in the country, it is not the largest in scale.

Of course, saying it isn’t the largest doesn’t mean it’s not ‘big,’ but the most important thing about this association is that the Hunters belonging to it are quite skilled.

So, how did a low-level Hunter like Lee Si-yoon manage to get in here? — Because his parents were highly distinguished Hunters themselves.

That’s why he’s also treated as ‘the weakest.’ He couldn’t completely inherit his parents’ power.

In this world, whether a Hunter’s abilities actually come down through genetics is still a topic of much discussion. There are cases, like Ria, where abilities are passed down, and cases where they are not. The current second generation is still a bit early to be called the second generation.

… Well, anyway.

We arrived at a rather large building.

All the surrounding buildings were not that tall. The tallest structure in this area is a hospital operated by a national university, and the rest barely reach eight stories high. Even the apartments around here are not that tall.

Several universities are nearby, and while there are some restaurants scattered around, the atmosphere here has somewhat changed since the Gate incident.

“Honestly, shouldn’t we just call it an association at this point?”

Ria said with quite a serious expression.

Right. There are quite a few association offices around here. Aside from Horizon, or those associations that handed me business cards, there are many that just rent out a floor or a single office.

If this world were a medieval fantasy world filled with adventurer associations, one might expect to find some shady establishments around, but in this world, Hunters are clearly a profession.

In a way, this setting actually results in a lower crime rate than other places.

“But there are a lot of college students too, right?”

“Maybe it’s because there are so many college students that more associations have come in. Or is it because there are many research institutes?”

The ones buying the materials acquired from beyond the Gates the most actively are indeed the natural science universities and research institutes.

It’s relatively easy to recruit smart personnel, and at the same time, it’s also easy to sell the materials they’ve obtained, so it’s inevitable that such places would form— as stated in the novel.

… Well, the main reason is probably that a huge Gate appeared nearby, causing the greatest loss of life in this country.

Even now, there’s a memorial stone in the middle of the park.

After getting out of the car, we bowed our heads toward the memorial stone. The church officials who followed us did the same.

Be it sincere or not, this is something that is always done when passing through this area. Well, even though I have rarely seen it.

…

Glaria awkwardly followed the gesture.

The building was right next to that park. When one thinks of a building belonging to an association, one usually imagines a well-constructed glass palace, but this building was made of red bricks. However, it was definitely not a house.

The interior was quite comfortable.

“Chaeun!”

As soon as we entered, someone waved at us and approached.

Kim Hyun-gang. The friend of Ria’s father that I had seen last time.

“Uncle!”

Ria waved happily in greeting.

Mr. Kim Hyun-gang approached us and lightly nodded his head toward me.

“Sister.”

“Brother.”

After exchanging a light greeting, Mr. Kim raised his head again.

His eyes turned toward Glaria. The glimmer in his gaze suggested that he had heard the story. After all, the Hunters from this association participated in the last operation.

Mr. Kim, who briefly exchanged pleasantries with Glaria, then turned his head back to Ria and me.

“You want to recommend someone?”

“Yes, brother.”

I replied casually.

“Then shall we listen to the details?”

Mr. Kim said with a light smile.

“I’ll guide you right away.”

Had he already prepared for this?

Well, that makes sense. If I’m moving, the church probably wouldn’t remain silent about it.

… I feel like it’s getting a little harder to back out now.

I held back a sigh and followed behind him.

Well, the story didn’t take that long.

It seemed like they had already heard about it from various sources. Plus, they had received some sort of compensation.

From the association’s point of view, they really had no reason to resist.

“Then shall we wrap up this conversation here? We will need to discuss the specific amounts separately, but Glaria-ya, you still don’t have a firm grasp on the currency units of this world, right?”

“Indeed, is that so?”

Glaria nodded.

“Yes, that is true… it’s embarrassing, but I still know nothing.”

“In that case, how about you stay with us for a while to get a feel for living here? You can’t really grasp money until you actually use it.”

That part made a lot of sense.

Even when traveling abroad, it’s common for one’s sense of money to be a bit off.

But when I heard the next story, I almost spat out the green tea I had in my mouth.

“I’ll have kids around Glaria’s age keep her company. There’s Han Yu-ri and Lee Si-yoon…”

Oh crap.

Was the story going to flow like this?

Thinking about it, it’s not that strange. In novels, there needs to be a reason for the heroine and protagonist to get tangled up.

“Uh, um…!”