Please Cooperate In The Execution Of S-Class Official Duties - Chapter 55

However, Lee Eunjoo was more brusque than Hara’d thought. No, should she say sharper?

Hara felt a bit surprised from the moment they entered the director’s office. The director’s office in the Seoul regional office looked much plainer than she had imagined.

There was only a desk, as well as a large table and chairs for meetings within. There wasn’t even a single potted plant.

Her tone was quite kind, it only appeared that way at first.

“Right, you’re Hara-ssi? Can I also speak comfortably?”

Director Lee Eunjoo spoke with a smile, but it disappeared once they began discussing work. The questions she asked were rather sharp. Despite having received a rough report from Jung Yoojin, the director asked Hara about things she hadn’t even considered.

For example.

“Is there evidence that the constellation is Cupid?”

“Do you think you approached merely by chance? By the constellation?”

“Why?”

Hara was truly flustered. These were things she’d never thought about before.

[The constellation ‘Cupid’ dislikes Director Lee Eunjoo]

[The constellation ‘Cupid’ claims his innocence]

“First of all, he claimed to be Cupid… And I’m currently in the middle of a linked quest, and the reward is Cupid’s Bow……”

She’d probably be able to find out if he’s Cupid after receiving it? After saying this, the director tilted her head and asked again.

“You haven’t received that reward yet, so how are you so certain?”

“……If receiving it……”

“Do you know? If the bow you’d received is genuine, Greece could claim it back on a national level.”

Hara’s eyes turned round. Could that really happen?

The director continued matter-of-factly.

“We’ve been arguing with the Cultural Heritage Administration for two years over that seven-branched sword that surfaced in the Buyeo dungeon.”

Is that so? Hara stuttered and bowed her head. She had never considered such a possibility before.

The director looked at the sullen Hara with an expressionless face and spoke again.

“If you had lived your whole life as an E-class, this could happen.”

“Sunbae.”

Chief Jung shot a pitying gaze at Hara, and finally spoke up to Director Lee in dissuasion after glancing back and forth.

But Director Lee shook her head and called Hara again.

“Kang Hara-ssi.”

“Y, yes!”

“Shorten your answers.”

“Yes!”

“There’s something you have to keep in mind from now onwards.”

Director Lee clasped her hands together in front of Kang Hara and spoke firmly.

“As an S-class, you must constantly doubt.”

“……”

“I’ll ask you again. Why do you think the constellation approached you coincidentally? Is there a reason for the constellation to take an deliberate interest in you?”

Hara fidgeted with her fingers and managed to respond.

“Well, I’m not someone that a constellation would find interesting…”

“In what way?”

“There’s nothing remarkable about me…”

“Kang Hara-ssi, I don’t have a constellation either.”

Ah. Hara raised her head again.

That’s right. Director Lee Eunjoo didn’t have a constellation, and was born as an S-class.

Ever since the first appearance of hunters, and when the constitution first detained hunters and made them government officials. Lee Eunjoo, who’d been leading an ordinary life, became a civil servant due to the S-class result from the Awakened grade evaluator.

“I’m an S-class, so shouldn’t a constellation have taken an interest in me much earlier?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

[The constellation, ‘Cupid’ hints with, ‘I don’t like such a fastidious person’]

Hara averted her gaze before speaking.

“…Even without a constellation, you’re still outstanding?”

“Well, aren’t you good at speaking.”

Lee Eunjoo chuckled. However, before the atmosphere eased fully, the director brought out some documents from her desk, saying, “Shall we get down to business?”

It seemed that before meeting with Hara and Chief Jung, the director had gathered information on Hara in advance, and put them into a file.

“Before, you worked in the mana stone management division. In order words, dealing with complaints.”

“Yes…”

“If I asked you to lead a team right now, could you do it?”

A team. It was undoubtedly referring to the dungeon dispatch unit organised for S-rank hunters. Just like Team K, led by Kwon Wook. Hara shook her head in confusion.

“I still don’t know my abilities well enough. My skills haven’t been fully unlocked yet…”

“That isn’t important. What’s important is your ability to lead.”

Lee Eunjoo gestured toward Chief Jung with a jerk of her chin.

“Chief Jung is also the chief of the Mapo branch office. Chief Jung didn’t become the chief just because she’s good at fighting.”

“Ah, Sunbae.”

Chief Jung made a whimpering sound.

Lee Eunjoo didn’t smile and continued flipping through the documents.

“You’re a close combatant from the looks of your skills. But based on Hunter Kim Seongbok’s comment, it seems like you’re also capable of mid and wide-range attacks. I heard that you’re the one that destroyed the Eonyang Caves, right?”

[T/N: Kim Seongbok is Bokhee’s real name.]

“……Yes……”

The documents Lee Eunjoo was glancing through was most likely a compilation of the training content Hara had undergone with Team K. Although Kwon Wook seemed to handle Hara carelessly, it was unexpected but it appeared that he received systematic reports through Bokhee and Raeyoung.

“Firearms haven’t been developed yet, so it’s uncertain, but if it does work out, it means that you’ll be capable of long-range and wide-area attacks.”

How would that be possible? The only thing Bokhee had shown Hara was OverXatch’s DX.

Director Lee’s brows furrowed at Hara’s bewildered expression.

“In other words, if you’re able to use the pistol-shaped equipment to extract light, it should also work with a machine gun.”

The stunned Hara’s eyes widened upon listening to Director Lee’s explanation. Was that really possible?

“Do you understand? If this is true, this office needs to send Hara-ssi out as soon as possible. We would easily be criticised for negligence in our duties if we kept someone with such long-range abilities idling here.”

Chief Jung let out an admiring sigh.

“Wow, Hara, that’s amazing. You’re incredible!”

At the same time, she patted Hara’s shoulder firmly. But Hara couldn’t quite come to her senses.

Despite Director Lee’s praising words, Hara couldn’t believe that she was such a powerful person.

However, Director Lee didn’t give Hara any time to process her thoughts.

“Also, are you willing to work in the provincial office?”

“What?”

“Even if you’re unwilling, there’s a high chance.”

Director Lee stroked her chin.

“The most pressing areas are the Gangwon regional office and…”

“The Jeju regional office.”

Chief Jung interjected.

Hara finally realised what Director Lee was talking about, albeit a little belatedly.

So, there are a total of 8 S-class hunters in Korea. 3 of which were concentrated in Seoul. The remaining 5 are distributed in Gyeonggi Province, Chungcheong Province, Jeolla Province, North Gyeongsang Province, and South Gyeongsang Province.

Gangwon Province was excluded due to its low population density, and Jeju Island had the highest population density currently, making it the most urgent place requiring the support of an S-class hunter.

There were three S-classes in Seoul, so there was talk about bringing over one of them. However, one of the three S-class hunters was currently imprisoned, while the other two were Kwon Wook and Director Lee.

Furthermore, due to the cases of the entire country being paralysed the moment a dungeon appears in the heart of Seoul erupts, so everyone held back with dissatisfaction in their hearts.

“Understood? Hara-ssi will have to work in a provincial office.”

“Ah…”

“Isn’t that great? Jeju Island.”

Chief Jung interjected.

Hara’s eyes rolled around flusteredly. Working at Jeju Island…? It sounds appealing…?

However, Director Lee lightly rebuked Chief Jung.

“Going to a small, unfamiliar town and squeezing in to work with people you’re unfamiliar with. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“……”

“I heard that Hara-ssi has a flight-related skill, so it wouldn’t be that bad to work in Gangwon Province either, but Jeju Island is more urgent. I appreciate the appearance of a superstar, but state affairs are all like this.”

“But, isn’t there a remaining quest?”

Chief Jung immediately added. Director Lee flipped through some documents and murmured, “That’s right.”

“Yoon Seheon.”

“While I’m thankful that the two of them are willing to sacrifice themselves to date for the sake of the nation’s crisis, it will become a long-distance relationship if Kang Hara goes to Jeju Island.”

“A long-distance relationship… How long was your long-distance relationship with your husband, Chief Jung?”

“We’d dated for 5 years, but we couldn’t even handle a year of long-distance relationship. We would have broken up if we weren’t married.”

“Was it that difficult?”

“It’s extremely difficult. Besides, the two of them aren’t together because of love.”

Director Lee and Chief Jung engaged in a somewhat serious discussion, but the content was Andromeda to Hara. She even wanted to faint.

The Director of the Seoul office and the Chief of the Mapo branch office, in other words, a 1st-grade Vice Minister and a 3rd-grade Deputy Inspector, were seriously discussing the sustainability of her relationship. What kind of situation was this?

“How long do you have to date?”

“The constellation is considering…”

At the next moment, the silent constellation sent a frantic message.

[Oppose long-distance!]

[Strongly oppose!]

[The constellation ‘Cupid’ imposes a restriction between the user ‘Kang Hara’ and the designated user ‘Yoon Seheon’’ From now onwards, the two individuals cannot be more than 100 km apart for more than one day]

[A sudden restriction! The constellation, ‘Cupid’ receives a penalty]

Startled, Hara stared at the air. Then, she belatedly explained the situation to the two superiors that were paying attention to her.

“…We can’t be more than 100 km apart for more than a day…”

What a forced situation this was. Why all of a sudden? It was unbelievable. It might appear like she was trying to avoid leaving Seoul by making up excuses to others.

However, the Director Lee didn’t dismiss her words with comments like ‘Are you making this up on the spot?’ or ‘How amusing?’. Instead, she quickly shifted her focus.

“Is that so? Then what about getting married?”

[The constellation ‘Cupid’ is flustered]

Hara was also taken aback.

But Director Lee continued with a business-like tone.

“It’s a national loss to leave an S-class as half an S-class. If Hara and Yoon Seheon reach an agreement to marry, the country will support you both fully. We’ll even buy a house and offer Anchor Yoon an appointment. After working for five years, you’ll be transferred to a different region.”

“Sunbae, it’s still too sudden.”

To Chief Jung’s comment, Director Lee snorted and said, “Don’t be funny.”

“The ending of any relationship is either marriage or breakup. No matter what kind of relationship it is, it’ll come to an end, right? Also, the constellation doesn’t want them to break up. So, they should move towards marriage.”

Hara’s eyes clouded over. Chief Jung’s words suddenly hit her with a sense of realisation.

In other words, if the quest between the two of them becomes public knowledge, the entire nation would go crazy trying to play matchmaker in their relationship.

And now, Director Lee was encouraging her marriage on a national scale.

Moreover, Director Lee wasn’t finished.

“Anchor Yoon Seheon’s father, Rep. Yoon, is a member of the Conservative Party. It’s annoying that he advocates for the privatisation bill, but it’s well known that Anchor Yoon’s stance in politics is progressive. If he ever has thoughts about entering politics, let me know. I’ll find a way to get him into the Progressive Party’s proportional representation list……”

“Ahhh, Sunbae. If word gets out that a current Director said such things, we’ll all face disciplinary action.”

“Just think all this as part of the official duties to foster a new S-class talent.”

Hara’s mind went blank. The scale of what Director Lee was proposing was beyond her wildest imagination.

It sounded like a good deal. Providing a house, consideration for Anchor Yoon’s position, transferring her to Jeju Island for five years and relocating her afterward……

But surprisingly, the first thing she felt was a strong aversion. When her lips were pressed into a tight line due to her dislike, Director Lee stared at Hara for a moment before asking.

“You don’t like it?”

It was a question from the esteemed Director. Although she should answer immediately with “No, I like it!”, Hara just couldn’t bring herself to say that.

“…Yes.”