Chapter 198: Chapter 198

“What decoration?”

“Legion... Legion something. French is difficult. Damn. Why don’t the French speak English?”

“Maybe it’s because they’re stupid.”

The hunters nonchalantly uttered words that would’ve angered the French had they heard them.

Regardless of whether they had a high or low rating, hunters were basically people with terrible personalities. However, the higher the rating, the more aggressively rude they were.It was somewhat understandable, since they risked their lives?to save the citizens of Paris.

“What is the point of having that decoration? Will the French government give us money every month?”

“I think it’s gonna be a small amount anyway.”

The person in charge heard this and coughed.

“...It isn’t a material reward but a medal of honor. You can be buried in the national cemetery of France...”

“Are you crazy? Why would we want to be buried on French soil?”

“Are these French people crazy? Hey, don’t you know that our corpses are worth a lot of money? I’ve already signed an expensive contract.”

A hunter’s corpse was unlike the corpse of a normal person. It was very expensive and had all types of magic powers. Thus, some hunters would sign contracts to donate their bodies after they died. In any case, it was all after death. Wasn’t money more important when one was still alive?

“You’re not trying to cheat us out of the rewards we would get by using this, are you? If you try to screw us by offering us some random decoration, we’ll be really pissed off.”

“How can that be?”

The person in charge inwardly cursed the hunters.

He was grateful to them for saving the people of Paris, but his gratitude had disappeared after a few days of having to put up with them. However, that wasn’t the case with?Choi Yeonseung. The A-grade hunter Choi Yeonseung was humbly staying silent while the other hunters were gloating… “Aren’t they a bit too much?”

“Be patient. Things aren’t organized right now. It’s gonna be troublesome if they get pissed off.”

“I don’t understand how they can be so obnoxious when their leader, Choi Yeonseung, is being humble and respectful. The other day, someone called me at 4 a.m. and made a fuss about bringing him American beer. He said French liquor is tasteless...”

“That’s what hunters are like. We should consider ourselves lucky.”

“... ”

“This time, someone like Choi Yeonseung came, so everything turned out pretty well, all things considered. Imagine if another A-grade hunter had come instead. Would it have ended like this?”

The boss’ words sent shivers down the spines of the other French people. Some A-grade hunters with well known personalities passed through their minds.

“I hope the hunters will be satisfied with this decoration ceremony.”

“You think they will? They’re greedy people.”

“They?are?greedy but there is no one who doesn’t like being praised.”

The boss knew it because he had dealt with several hunters.

Of course, money was important, but the desire for fame was something else entirely. Hunters who were initially asking for money would get drunk on the sweetness of being praised in front of numerous celebrities and public figures.It was clear that the decoration ceremony was held with that intention as well.

-My country thinks of you this way, so please calm down and stop causing trouble!

...Of course, it was also meant to express gratitude toward the hunters. If they didn’t do so, the citizens of Paris would curse at them right away.

No matter how much the government said, ‘In fact, the hunters here have a terrible personality and harassed the officials,’ it was clear that the citizens wouldn’t accept it and would just say, ‘The government is messing around again and doesn’t want to give them money!’

The?image was terrifying. As far as hunters were concerned, once they did something heroic, the people would have unconditional faith in them.

“Once they get a decoration, they’ll be happy and calm down.”

“I hope so.”

***

“Mr President, do you understand what I mean?”

“Ah, I know. I just have to be polite, right?”

President Georges was annoyed. His words stressed out the aide. People unfamiliar with the work inside the palace respected and envied the aide’s job, but it was actually an extremely difficult job.

‘How did someone like this become president?’

He would always?say things without thinking, brag about the company he owned in speeches that were supposed to be about state affairs, and become angry when lawmakers pointed out mistakes by saying, ‘This is the conspiracy of the enemy!’...

Thus, unsurprisingly, anyone who opposed him would be kicked out. Only those who would suck up to him got to stay. The problem was that they had to make sure the president would act normally this time, no matter what! If the hunters were outraged, being fired was the least of their problems.

“The hunters who are coming this time are very important people. They even rescued you and the people of Paris. If you are rude to them, then no hunters will come forward to support you.”

“I understand. By the way, what did our country’s hunters do except stay still?”

“......”

The aide had nothing to say in response to this question. The hunters guarding the palace were overcome in a surprise attack and they lost contact with two A-grade hunters. It was simply humiliating. Even the media, who were usually friendly to the French hunters, couldn’t stand the humiliating scene and cursed the hunters fiercely.

-The great France is dead! What were the A-grade hunters doing?

-The privilege of an A-grade hunter, right? Our taxes...

The aide was silent and Georges nodded in understanding.

“What did I say?! Those hunters are useless. They are stealing our tax money!”

“It was the hunters who rescued you...”

“Those that saved me are hunters from overseas. The hunters?of our?country are useless. Why can’t you understand what I am saying?!”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“It’s just right. I must take this opportunity to reprimand our country’s hunters for their incompetence.”

“T-That is a bit... ?The hunters might strongly oppose that. In any case, you should focus on the decoration ceremony right now...”

“I got it. I just have to thank that Chinese hunter, right? I am thankful that he saved me, but I don’t like the Chinese. The Chinese have been polluting our great France.”

“He is Korean! I told you earlier that it is highly disrespectful to say such a thing in front of Koreans!”

“Are you yelling at me right now?”

“N-No, sir.”

“It’s better that he’s Korean, not Chinese. That... Korea is that place, right? Idols are popular. They make good smartphones.”

“That’s right. It is wonderful.”

“Sushi is popular.”

“...That is Japan.”

“Ah, why do I always confuse them? Shit.”

The aide sighed deeply. If something bad happened at the decoration ceremony, it might be better to just make a run for it before he got caught.

***

“Oh! Hunter Choi Yeonseung! Welcome! Thanks to you, my life was saved! Isn’t it the joy and glory of Earth to have such a hunter?”President Georges exclaimed in a cheerful voice while tightly hugging Choi Yeonseung.

He might be treated as a madman by French citizens and as a walking time bomb by his aides, but President Georges had his own merits. He had a great deal of wealth, aristocratic lineage, and good social skills. These advantages made him very popular in the eyes of his supporters. President Georges’ mistakes were interpreted as?frank statements, clever schemes and so on.

Of course, President Georges had no such thoughts. He was a very simple man. Those who said good things to him were good people and those who said bad things were bad people.

Choi Yeonseung, the one who had saved him, was a very good person. So far.

Choi Yeonseung coughed.

“I’ve heard a lot about Your Excellency’s accomplishments. I've also heard that you are very popular. Not that we have met, I am?certain?that you must be popular.”

“? ?”

The other hunters listening from the side were puzzled.

‘Does South Korea have different standards?’

Of course, Choi Yeonseung was just politely greeting the president, but words were especially impactful when uttered by an A-grade hunter.

“Did you hear? Did you hear? Hey. Did you hear that?”

“Ah, yes, sir. I heard it.”

“Uhahahaha! Yes! I am indeed fairly popular, if I may say so myself.”

President Georges seemed to be in a very good mood.

“Not only did you save me, but you also saved the people of Paris. I used to think that hunters were just bastards who didn’t pay taxes, but it seems that not all hunters are like that!”

“...... ”

Choi Yeonseung cocked his head at the president’s words.

‘Is this guy crazy?’

How could he say that when there were so many people present? There would be articles in the media with words like ‘The president said that hunters are trash’...

‘The French are incredibly lenient.’

If this was done in South Korea, the president’s position would be blown away, but France seemed a bit more tolerant.

“Can you give me something to drink?”

Choi Yeonseung spoke to a staff member who was passing by.President Georges lifted the glass himself and handed it over.

“... ”

President Georges looked at his own hand in puzzlement.

‘This damn thing.’

Choi Yeonseung was embarrassed. He had simply asked for a drink, with no other intentions in mind, but that power had still come into effect. Choi Yeonseung tried to leave, but President Georges was still in a good mood and held onto him.

“By the way, Hunter Choi Yeonseung, ?I have a plan in mind.”

“... ”

“I’m trying to build a very large base in the Abyss, but I can’t rely on French hunters.”

“Uh... I don’t think the French hunters are that bad.”

Choi Yeonseung tried to make excuses by saying that he was no different—he was also a hunter, after all.

However, President Georges exclaimed angrily, “No! You may not know, but they are shameless thieves! Didn’t you see it this time? Two out of the three A-grade hunters couldn’t be contacted!”

‘It’s enough for one person to come...’?thought?Choi Yeonseung, but he didn’t say anything.

Honestly, the A-grade hunters were too much this time. It was hard to believe that they lost contact with two out of three A-grade hunters. It was too much of a slap in the face.It had clearly happened because they were confident in their positions, but things had turned out like this and people’s reactions were cold.

President Georges?read these changes in public opinion very attentively?and responded in kind.

“I will take this opportunity to condemn those thieves and teach them a lesson! For the great France!”

“Uh... Well, cheers to that.”

“Aren’t you leading several clans? You are a lot more reliable than those thieves.”

Choi Yeonseung was starting to wonder whether he should accept the offer. If he?was the one to build a city in the Abyss, and not the French hunters, the money would just come rolling in. The problem was...

‘Am I really allowed to accept such an offer?’ n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

A hunter's country of origin was a crucial factor when working with hunters for monster raids and other such actions. The loot from hunter work meant an astronomical sum of money would be coming and going, so it was up to the hunters to obtain as much as possible for their own countries.

If the Korean government had a hard time hunting monsters and asked for support from Japan or China...

‘We?would be held accountable by those above and have to take off our clothes one by one.’

However, at the same time, something strange was taking place that made Choi Yeonseung wonder if he could accept it.

***

[The French government is planning to build a large base in the Abyss... The overseas clan of hunters led by A-grade hunter Choi Yeonseung will be the administrative leaders?]

[The French clans’ fierce resistance... ‘This is a disgrace to France!’...]

“Pfft!” Hwang Gyeongryong spat out his barley tea when he read the news.