Episode 32
Shortly after.
Jonghyeon was called to another room by someone.
“Might you be an A-Rank Ranker?”
At the quiet question of the ranker police officer, Jonghyeon nodded as if embarrassed.
Immediately, the police officers standing nearby removed the handcuffs that had been fastened to Jonghyeon’s wrists.
Only then did Jonghyeon grasp the situation unfolding and let out a bitter smile. This was a treatment that his former self could never have imagined.
“A-Rank Hunters are basically granted a certain degree of immunity. Furthermore, looking at the statement, it says five people picked the fight first… We will handle the matter properly. Please quell your anger first.”
At words that were almost earnest, Jonghyeon spoke without being able to drop his bitter smile.
The ranker police officer who had looked like he would devour him had become polite simply because he was A-Rank. Wasn’t this completely unchecked power?
“Well, causing a commotion was my fault. If something like this happens again, I will endure until the police arrive.”
Though his posture was clearly lowered, thorns existed in his words. And the man who had brought him to the room, seeming to know that point, bowed his head once again.
“I am the chief of the Ranker Police New York Branch. It is nothing much, but if you have been promoted to A-Rank today, do you have anywhere else to go? If not, how about joining our police force?”
In the end, it was a recruitment pitch.
Jonghyeon had felt it was a recruitment pitch from the moment he entered this room. That was nothing like an orc’s intuition ability.
It was simply the way of this world. An A-Rank Ranker existed at its peak, and the police officer writing up the report earlier had clearly discovered that point.
“No. I am not someone that great, and receiving an A-Rank was partly due to luck. I am not someone who will accomplish great things.”
Because Jonghyeon spoke politely, the police officer could no longer press the matter. He merely smacked his lips with a disappointed gaze.
★ ★ ★
Released without any major issues, Jonghyeon boarded a plane to Korea the next day.
The events of last night and the things that would happen from now on. Jonghyeon felt a strange sense of anticipation about them.
Now that his abilities were recognized, the treatment he received had changed. How would monetary compensation change, and what would the world’s attention be like? Now everything approached him as curiosity.
‘Honestly, I no longer have greed for money, but.’
The earnings from an A-Rank Ranker clearing just one A-Rank dungeon were at least 1 billion won.
The distribution of A-Rank magic stones alone was to that extent, and on days when even a single item actually dropped, he could earn in one day what his former self earned in a year.
As if to greet Jonghyeon who had arrived at the airport, two men in black suits guided him to a car.
At first, Jonghyeon didn’t know they were waiting for him, but he found out after receiving a call from Chairman Lee.
“I’ve sent a car for our A-Rank Ranker. It’s my gift, so don’t feel burdened and take it.”
Even among the two men in black suits, one was said to be his chauffeur, and the other would become his secretary.
“Aren’t you treating me too well? Just how much do you plan to squeeze out of me?”
Only now could Jonghyeon treat Chairman Lee as he had before. Except whereas he hadn’t held much respect for Chairman Lee in the past, now he did so with a hint of respect.
Chairman Lee had definitely become someone trustworthy in Jonghyeon’s eyes.
“Is it something to call squeezing? For now, come to the mansion. The announcement date has been set for tomorrow.”
“Yes, I understand.”
For the first time in his life, Jonghyeon sat in the back seat of a car.
The car was none other than a Mercedes-Benz RRS368.
It was a famous and expensive car that even Jonghyeon, who wasn’t very interested in cars, had heard of.
Riding in the back seat. Before having a car, he had no reason to ride in one, and after buying a car, he had always driven himself, so amusingly, this was truly his first time.
‘Comfortable, indeed.’
Jonghyeon asked for his chauffeur and secretary’s names. The chauffeur introduced himself as Seo Jinu, and the secretary as Jang Siwon.
“Then you will be Driver Seo and Secretary Jang.”
Jonghyeon decided to become accustomed to such things now. Though it was still awkward, he had realized it clearly from the treatment he had received recently.
‘If I live stupidly like before, I’ll only be used. Rather, I need to keep my wits about me even more than before.’
When his abilities were merely average, he had been grateful simply to be put to use. But now he was welcome anywhere. It was time for an attitude matching that.
While thinking such thoughts and looking at the scenery around him, soon a familiar sight appeared.
They had arrived in front of Chairman Lee’s house.
As if recognizing Jonghyeon’s car, the main gate opened immediately, unlike when he had come before.
Soon the car stopped in front of the annex, and Jonghyeon got out. What Jonghyeon realized upon getting out was,
‘The air is different.’
It was a subtly different feeling from before he left Korea.
But since it was clearly in a good direction, he puffed out his chest with a light heart and headed to the reception room.
“Oho. You’ve come! A-Ranker.”
At Chairman Lee’s joking words mixed with laughter, Jonghyeon couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I’m embarrassed, so please stop.”
“No, then if I don’t call an A-Ranker an A-Ranker, what should I call you?”
“I was merely lucky.”
At this uncharacteristic modesty, Chairman Lee began joking to his heart’s content. After a few quips ended, Jonghyeon was finally able to hear the main topic.
“First, tomorrow there will be large-scale news about you. You need only appear in court once accordingly. The court will deliver a not-guilty verdict regarding your actions as justifiable defense for protecting the nation. Then you’ll do one interview and that’s it.”
Though Chairman Lee spoke truly simply, Jonghyeon’s mind was a bit complicated.
“What kind of content should the interview be about?”
“Well, I don’t know either. The reporters will handle it. If I had to guess, wouldn’t it be about how you grew strong or something like that?”
Chairman Lee spoke as if he worried about everything.
“Anyway, whatever you say, as long as it’s not nonsense, the people will accept it and move on. The press has already coordinated with the state, so they’ll filter it appropriately and release articles. There’s nothing to worry about at all.”
Since Chairman Lee was so nonchalant, Jonghyeon felt relieved as well.
“That aside.”
Strangely, Chairman Lee always hesitated whenever he stood before Jonghyeon.
And after Chairman Lee always hesitated, a bombshell statement followed.
“Must you really continue as a troubleshooter? It’s a dangerous job, and if you wish, you could enter a school I manage as a senior professor. Something like a graduate school.”
A professorship. Jonghyeon tried to imagine himself wearing a suit and lecturing before students.
“Pfft. That won’t do. I have never properly learned martial arts. In other words, it’s makeshift. What would children learn from something like that?”
It was the moment the martial arts created by Jonghyeon were degraded as merely makeshift. A choice of words that would have made other martial artists wail!
However, Jonghyeon burst out laughing at the image of himself teaching, and at that sight, Chairman Lee also held back a smile.
“You seem to find the idea of being an educator amusing. Well. I expected you would refuse. But didn’t I tell you before? My help isn’t free.”
At Chairman Lee’s sudden change of expression and words, Jonghyeon even felt a slight tension.
Just what was this old man about to say again?
After taking a sip of tea, Chairman Lee continued.
“So, as I was saying. It’s fine that you’re a troubleshooter. It’s just, could you help our Bori a bit?”
When the name Bori came out of Chairman Lee’s mouth, Jonghyeon felt very guilty. He had realized it while developing his martial arts, integrating the sword techniques of Cheonwon Simje into his own.
The fact that the martial arts he had secretly learned were meant for Bori.
Chairman Lee, catching his expression like a ghost, continued speaking.
“Well. You must have roughly realized by now, but that secret martial arts manual you did the shameful deed of learning was obtained for Bori to learn. I won’t make an issue of it. What’s done is done. But you seem to have a guilty conscience, and you cannot deny the fact that you grew stronger using that martial art, right?”
Chairman Lee had never learned anything called martial arts beyond light self-defense.
But the common point between his daughter and Jonghyeon was that they possessed rapid growth rates after that secret manual.
After Jonghyeon left for six months of training, Bori’s martial arts had grown rapidly to a degree an ordinary person couldn’t imagine, reaching the level of nearly mastering E-Rank dungeons.
Chairman Lee hadn’t known the secret manual was worth that much and was satisfied that he got his money’s worth, but at the same time, he was worried.
Because if his daughter Bori insisted on entering D-Rank dungeons, there would be no way to stop her anymore.
Of course, the methods by which Jonghyeon had grown stronger included other means, but Chairman Lee, who had no way of knowing that fact, believed it was purely the power of the secret manual, and he was using that as leverage against Jonghyeon.
“First, I apologize. I must explain what happened before.”
Only then did Jonghyeon tell Chairman Lee about his entanglement with Black Dave, the restoration using magic, and so on.
“Hoo. I had quite the strong impression that you grew strong thanks to the secret manual, but you had already accomplished quite a bit before that?”
Chairman Lee made quite a surprised expression at the facts Jonghyeon told him. As a major figure in the education world, Chairman Lee was not directly connected to rankers but indirectly had deep ties to guilds and alliances.
Such a man couldn’t possibly not know the Black Dave Guild.
The number of officially recognized guilds in the entire world was less than about 200.
Among them, guilds that did very bad things or were very strong received particular attention.
“The Black Dave Guild was going to be purged anyway, but it ended up being you who carried it out? You must feel wronged.”
“No. I don’t particularly feel wronged. I simply wanted to offer an excuse, if not an excuse, for how I ended up learning the secret manual.”
“So are you saying you will refuse to teach our Bori as well?”
Chairman Lee looked at Jonghyeon with a hardened face. To be exact, it seemed to contain slightly hurt feelings rather than a stern expression.
“As I told you earlier, I am not in a position to be an educator.”
At Jonghyeon’s firm refusal, Chairman Lee’s face grew increasingly sullen.
“I see…”
Chairman Lee, repeatedly drinking his tea.
Jonghyeon suddenly realized that what he was drinking was cold green tea.
Chairman Lee was even taking such thoughtful care for him; was it really right for him to refuse the chairman’s request like this?
Jonghyeon fell into deep thought, and after a moment, he opened his mouth.
“However, if you ask Bori and there are parts I can teach, I will sincerely help.”
Along with Jonghyeon’s answer, Chairman Lee brightened like a child.
Chairman Lee’s current expression was just like that of giving candy to a crying child.
‘Probably no one outside this family sees this side of this iron-blooded old man.’
The moment Jonghyeon thought that, a question arose.
Then am I also family to this house?
Jonghyeon couldn’t guarantee that point. However, for the first time since the Director, there was someone before him whom he wanted to consider a father.
That was enough.
“Then I shall ask Bori about that matter and proceed accordingly. And isn’t there someone you need to meet? I’m talking about the orphanage.”
At the words that the Headmistress wanted to see him, joy filled Jonghyeon’s face as well.
The joy of completing what he had longed for one by one.
Chairman Lee couldn’t grasp the meaning of that joy. Only,
‘This chap must be that happy to meet the Headmistress. To think he loves the orphanage so. As expected, a chap with a romance that doesn’t fit the world.’
He merely interpreted it in a better light.
---------= Author's Note ---------=
Only S-Rank ranking matches have been held; it is not known whether S-Rankers actually exist.
Therefore, A-Rankers are indeed the pinnacle. Heh heh.
Please press the like button ㅠㅠ The author is always happy even at small reactions.