Chapter 13: Networks are assets to merchants(5)

“You know. Mom…”

Shin Yuhwa looked at her mother, Lee Seoyeon, with a hesitant look.

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Oh, whyyy…”

“I know what you’re trying to say. But do you think that makes sense?”

“…..”

Lee Seoyeon’s eyes were glaring at Yuhwa.

“You made a mistake during field training? It can happen. Every hunter makes mistakes. I can tolerate that.”

“Yes…”

“You weren’t diligent in class? As your mother, it’s hard to bear, but if you say you want to enjoy your life while you’re a student… I can accept that.”

“Well…”

“You used that weapon in the expulsion test? I don’t know how you got it, but I’ll consider it unavoidable. There was a magic surge, right? You couldn’t use spells, so it was unavoidable.”

Yuhwa couldn’t even lift her head.

Her mother had already endured Yuhwa’s actions many times.

“But, what are you saying now?”

“Well…”

“Not only did you resort to other means after making a mistake once, but you’re saying you’ll continue to use such tricks to avoid expulsion?”

“That’s not it…”

Lee Seoyeon bit her lip tightly.

“With your skills, you wouldn’t be expelled even if you just listened to the classes. Either listen to the classes, try to get good grades by not making mistakes during other practical training sessions, or pass the expulsion test with your own skills!”

“…..”

Each of Seoyeon’s words pierced through Yuhwa’s heart.

“Absolutely not. Got it?”

“Hmph…”

“Don’t act cute! Who taught you to try to get out of situations with aegyo!”

“Really, that’s not it!”

The fact that Seoyeon thought that way was Yuhwa’s karma. It was Yuhwa who broke the trust first.

But for this matter, Yuhwa had something to say.

“I really did change for the better. I’m listening to classes, doing my homework…”

“I heard. I’m even more disappointed because I heard. I thought you had changed, but it seems like you’ll go back to your old ways.”

Her mother’s heavy love weighed down on Yuhwa’s heart. The temptation to give up now rippled before Yuhwa’s eyes.

‘I already have five guns anyway. Three of them work well, and I don’t really need to buy bullets-‘

But she couldn’t bear the thought of her friend, or more precisely, her classmates, bragging about buying a new gun.

“It’s, I just really want to buy it.”

“You want to buy it?”

“Yes!”

The thought that she might finally be able to persuade her parents made Yuhwa’s eyes sparkle.

“I can make fire bullets, you know? That’s a skill I can use in any situation.”

“That’s right.”

“There might be a situation where a magic surge occurs, or a monster that resists my spells appears, or there might be times when the power of my spells is too excessive depending on the situation.”

She calmly persuaded her mother.

“So you’re saying you’re not buying this gun to pass the test?”

“Yes! Honestly, I don’t need to buy that gun for that reason, unlike other kids. Like Mom said, I won’t be expelled as long as there’s no magic surge.”

Shin Yuhwa is strong.

She was born with the blood of a strong hunter and had talent and ability that surpassed that.

The recent incident was just an accident, and in a normal situation, she wouldn’t be a student who needed to worry about the ‘T’ in expulsion.

“…Is there any other reason besides that?”

“Well. I know the guy who’s selling that item, and I want to help him out with his sales-“

Yuhwa mentioned the word ‘guy’ without any hesitation.

She had called him ‘Brother’ casually when she saw him, and even when she was at the academy.

But that was only because other students, teachers, and even the ‘guy’ himself thought, ‘How can I stop her…’.

“Ah. So you know the guy who’s selling that item?”

“Yes! We sometimes have coffee and text each other!”

And Yuhwa casually said something dangerous.

Without realizing how her mother’s expression had changed.

“…Shin Yuhwa.”

The atmosphere changed. The atmosphere that had been warm until just a moment ago turned cold.

“W-Why! Suddenly!”

“Give me your phone.”

“W-Why all of a sudden…”

Yuhwa trembled, unable to adapt to her mother’s sudden change in mood.

“If you don’t give me your phone in three seconds…”

“W-What! What are you going to do if I don’t?”

“I’ll take it by force.”

“Here you go.”

Shin Yuhwa was a girl who could objectively recognize her own strength and the strength of her opponent.

If her mother tried to take her phone, she would inevitably lose it.

“Sigh…”

Seoyeon took Yuhwa’s phone and checked the text messages.

-Brother, where are you now?
-Brother, is it true that you’re selling that?
-Brother.. are you sleeping now?
-Brother, how’s my selfie? Pretty, right?

Seoyeon bit her lip tightly.

Her daughter, who had never caused her any trouble with boys, suddenly did this.

‘If only he were an academy student…!’

She tried to be a good mother. She thought that even if Yuhwa brought home a boyfriend, she should accept him with an open mind.

‘Not an adult, not an adult!’

The thought that her daughter had been deceived by a bad man made her heart ache.

“…Call this person.”

“What?”

“Tell him you’ll buy the gun.”

“W-What… all of a sudden. I thought you weren’t going to allow it?”

“Just, I want to see his face.”

“You’re not going to do anything to him, right? If you do, I won’t let it go.”

“What will you do if you don’t let it go?”

“I’ll cry.”

“That won’t work either.”

Seoyeon firmly cut off her daughter’s words and sighed deeply.

From now on, she would have to remove a leech that had attached itself to her daughter.
****

‘Why does she suddenly want to buy a gun…’

It wasn’t certain, but through my conversation with Roze, I could roughly gauge Yuhwa’s skills.

In terms of pure skill, she was top-class within the academy. If it weren’t for the magic surge, she wouldn’t have to worry about expulsion at all.

Moreover, she had been diligently attending classes lately, so she wasn’t a child who needed a gun.

‘Well…’

She seemed to be quite fond of me, so I could only assume that she had persuaded her mother with some excuse.

It was a bit sad that there were children who could buy a million-won toy without a second thought, but the world wasn’t fair.

And considering the money I had made recently, I had no reason to be envious of anyone.

‘I made this much money just by selling what is essentially trash… just ‘items with options’ anyway.’

I thought the daily wage I received as a gatherer was quite a lot, but I was raking in an incomparably larger amount of money.

At this rate, I couldn’t help but look forward to how much money I would make when I started earning money on a ‘profitable’ level.

But the moment I opened the door of the apartment, I felt that all the thoughts in my head became meaningless.

“Come in.”

The moment I saw the woman waiting for me at the door.

‘…Lee Seoyeon? Is that right? Am I seeing things?’

One of the top hunters in Korea. Lee Seoyeon was in front of me.

‘I-Is it someone who looks like her?’

I had met famous people and rich people while meeting the parents of academy students.

But Lee Seoyeon was on a different level. If you were to name ten hunters in Korea, you couldn’t leave out Lee Seoyeon.

She runs her own guild. Among the guilds run by individuals, not sponsored by corporations, it’s one of the top guilds.

Her own skills are also immense. She has participated in all kinds of large-scale raids and is an Awakened who can be immediately mobilized to act when the country is in danger.

And she’s in front of me.

“You’re Mr. Isu, aren’t you?”

Moreover, that’s not the end.

Her voice is cold. It’s as if she’s about to kill me.

And Seoyeon is someone who can do that.

Even if an Awakened disappeared inside Seoyeon’s house, no one would pay attention to it.

The moment she used her ability, I wouldn’t be able to resist at all. I would collapse without even realizing that I was dying.

‘No, what did I do wrong? Did Hunter Lee Seoyeon have such a bad personality? Why is she doing this to me-‘

What I felt was definitely killing intent. The sharp, refined anger of a top hunter.

But I was meeting Lee Seoyeon for the first time, and there was no reason for her to hate me-

“Brother! It’s your first time at our house, right? Do you remember the flower pot on the veranda? I sent you a picture of it because the flowers were so pretty!”

“Ah, yes. I remember.”

There was. And it was so clear that there was no way to make excuses.

‘You were the culprit.’

For a moment, I seriously considered whether I could sue that kid for attempted murder and whether the charges would be recognized or not.

‘She’s just a kid, so she’ll be released soon…’

With a bitter smile, I came inside and sat in front of Lee Seoyeon.

“You seem very nervous. Did you do something wrong… or something?”

She smiled leisurely and looked at me calmly.

“No. It’s just that I was momentarily flustered to meet someone like Hunter Lee Seoyeon…”

“I see. Didn’t you know that Yuhwa is my daughter?”

“I didn’t know.”

Everyone knows Lee Seoyeon, but just because she’s a celebrity doesn’t mean everyone should know her family relationships.

“…I don’t like beating around the bush.”

“I see.”

“I’ll buy the item. Time is money for a salesperson, right? I can’t hold you without a reason.”

“You can take your time.”

“I don’t want to have a slow conversation with you.”

Like a killer in a horror movie slowly approaching, her killing intent gradually thickened.

“Ten million won. Ten guns. You’re not planning on selling bullets to my child, are you?”

“Isn’t it the buyer, not the seller, who decides what and how much to buy?”

“Mom, I told you I was going to buy fifteen guns!”

I looked at Yuhwa again.

That child was either so thoughtless that she didn’t notice this killing intent, or she was so strong that she could withstand it, or she was so loyal that she thought she had to protect me even if she had to endure it.

“Okay, fifteen. Got it… Did you hear that? Give me that.”

“Yes. I’ll give it to you right away.”

Unlike when I sold items to other places, I didn’t give any precautions. In the first place, Lee Seoyeon’s interest wasn’t in my item.

“…So you’re the kind of person who sells these items.”

When I took out the incredibly shabby Gremlin pistol, I felt like my credibility dropped a little more.

“Then, let’s get straight to the point.”

“Let’s do that.”

A moment of silence passed. I held my breath and waited for Lee Seoyeon’s verdict.

“Don’t meet my daughter anymore.”

Fortunately. She didn’t seem to want to kill me right away.

“Understood.”

I nodded immediately.