## Chapter 131 – 131. Jingoistic Interview
#131. Jingoistic Interview
A residential complex in Bundang, Seongnam City.
Reporters and police faced off in front of a detached house, separated by police tape.
The police couldn’t help but lower their heads to avoid the barrage of flashing cameras.
Behind the reporters, a crowd of residents had gathered, a mixture of curiosity and concern. A man with a prominent scar across his nose bridge was intently observing the scene.
The man adjusted his glasses and left shortly after, meeting another man in an alleyway some distance from the site.
“It’s been a while, Investigator Kim.”
“Haa… I’m swamped, why the fuss?”
Kim Hyun-shik, a police investigator from the Hunter Association, was primarily responsible for determining whether the Hunter Association needed to intervene in a case.
The man offered a friendly smile to Kim Hyun-shik, who was already grumbling, and pulled an envelope from his coat pocket.
Kim Hyun-shik’s face brightened as he accepted the envelope.
“Just so you know, we don’t know much either.”
“Just tell me about the state of the body, that’s enough.”
“Tsk, I don’t know what kind of crazy bastard did it, but five guys threw up at the scene. Five.”
As Kim Hyun-shik put a cigarette in his mouth and searched for a lighter, the man skillfully lit it for him, as if he were used to it.
“…Why are you working in a place like that when you can use magic?”
“Everyone has their place in the world.”
“Bullshit.”
Whoosh, the cigarette smoke dissipated into the air.
“…Not only were the limbs dismembered, but the torture was so severe that the hands and feet were in worse condition than the mop I use to clean my bathroom. And the face was so grotesquely distorted, it was clear they died writhing in pain.”
The bespectacled man made a noise of contemplation at Kim Hyun-shik’s vivid description, pressing the bridge of his nose habitually and letting out a heavy sigh.
“Just like Mr. Go Nam-seok.”
“The higher-ups think it’s the work of the same guy… but they don’t seem too keen on catching him.”
“…Why? If a sitting district mayor was brutally murdered, wouldn’t there be considerable public interest?”
“Why do you think? With the Association’s manpower focused on Pyongyang, who’s going to investigate this? The Hero Association, which is now practically defunct? Or the Magic Tower, which refuses to cooperate?”
“…”
“Ha, yeah, I know. You can investigate if you want to. No matter how noisy Pyongyang is, the Association can handle a case like this, right?”
Kim Hyun-shik stomped out the cigarette he had barely smoked, looking at the man with cold eyes.
“But you know why the Association isn’t transferring the case, right?”
“…Is it because of Jangbaek Society?”
“Heh, I guess not all wizards are smart.”
Kim Hyun-shik sneered at the man’s serious attitude.
“Do you think the Association has time to care about garbage groups like Jangbaek Society? The branch manager hates parasites like you the most.”
Kim Hyun-shik poked the man with his fingertip, but the man remained unmoved, listening without showing any emotion.
“If it’s a crime involving abilities, the Association should get involved, but if the victim is someone the branch manager hates, that’s a different story.”
Seemingly fed up with the man’s reaction, Kim Hyun-shik turned away without a second glance.
“Isn’t the Black Mountain Guild going to catch the culprit anyway? Your guild leader must be grinding his teeth, so there’s no need for us to waste manpower.”
“That’s harsh. We don’t evade taxes as much as they do, shouldn’t the Association help us in times like this?”
“You’d die if you did.”
Kim Hyun-shik chuckled and tossed a few words as if doing a favor before leaving. The man watched him go for a moment before putting a cigarette in his mouth.
His attitude might seem harsh, but since the Black Mountain Guild was blacklisted by the Association, no one else would provide this much information.
Even so, the Association doesn’t destroy the Black Mountain Guild because there’s no conclusive evidence.
If they caught even a small lead, they would raid the place that day, and if they tried to escape, the Association’s hunters would start a relentless pursuit.
The guild leader is a top-tier A-class hunter, so there’s a high probability that an S-class hunter would get involved.
“…A dilemma, huh.”
If they gave up on finding the culprit in this case and stayed quiet, they could buy some time and figure out how to get out of this situation.
But the guild leader doesn’t want that.
Even if the Black Mountain Guild burns to the ground, he won’t stop avenging his brother.
Go Tae-beom, the guild leader of the Black Mountain Guild, was that kind of man, as he had seen for the past 15 years.
‘…If I had known this would happen, I should have assigned a more competent bodyguard.’
The bodies found at Go Nam-seok’s crime scene were those of his aide, the bodyguard assigned by the guild, and Go Nam-seok himself.
The man compiled the information gathered by the guild member dispatched to Go Nam-seok’s crime scene.
First, the aide’s direct cause of death was physical damage and internal heat damage from the fire.
This might seem like a simple traffic accident, but they found faint traces of magical power at the scene, and the investigation concluded that it was a 1st-circle magic, Fireball.
‘But I can’t say for sure that the attacker was a wizard. Fireball is the most commonly used magic scroll, after all.’
The bodyguard had cuts and stab wounds from a dagger, but the direct cause of death was decapitation.
The guild member who was lucky enough to examine the bodyguard’s body said this:
-The cut was too clean. He probably didn’t realize he was dead until his head hit the ground.
The guild member dispatched to the scene was a B-class assassin.
“At least a high-ranking B-class…”
But there was something unsettling about concluding that the culprit was an assassin.
First, the cuts and stab wounds on the body were too straightforward compared to the decapitation. It meant they had never been trained in professional dagger techniques.
Furthermore, there were traces of Go Nam-seok fleeing into the forest at the scene. The culprit deliberately brought Go Nam-seok back to the scene of the crime, the road, and tortured him to death.
It was clearly a revenge killing.
The redevelopment committee chairman was also tortured to death like Go Nam-seok. He lived with his wife, but they had been sleeping in separate rooms for a long time, and she slept so deeply that she didn’t hear her husband’s screams.
‘…Maybe no screams could have escaped in the first place.’
There was only one connection between the two men.
“Taepeong-dong Redevelopment.”
***
Following Go Nam-seok’s murder, the murder of the redevelopment committee chairman caused an uproar in South Korea.
As soon as you went online, the articles were plastered all over the top stories.
But I wasn’t too worried. I had already created an alibi with illusion magic, and I didn’t leave any evidence at the scene that could identify me.
Even if I got caught, I had a dating app, so it wasn’t my problem.
I was a little bothered that I had spent too much time killing Go Nam-seok, so I had to let the chairman go relatively easily.
If I had known this would happen, I should have managed my time better, but I was too overwhelmed and irrational.
Still, I decided not to dwell on what had already happened and headed to the Magic Tower as usual.
‘No reporters today.’
They must have all gone to cover the murder cases.
I was humming, thinking I could finally enter the tower without using magic, when suddenly.
“W-wait a minute!”
A woman ran up and blocked my path. She was clearly a reporter.
I thought no one was here, but she must have been hiding.
The good thing was that I didn’t see any other reporters.
“Y-you’re Kang Hyun-woo, right?!”
“…Who are you?”
“Ah!”
The woman rummaged through her bag in a hurry and handed me a business card.
“Hello, I’m Im Na-yeon from White Color Daily!”
“White Color Daily…?”
I had never heard of that media outlet before.
Im Na-yeon gave a bitter expression, as if she was used to that reaction.
“I came here because I wanted to ask you a few questions, Mr. Kang Hyun-woo, would you happen to have some time…?”
“…I think I have about 5 minutes.”
“Ah…!”
I gave a friendly smile and readily agreed to the interview. If you ask why I, who had been sneaking into the Magic Tower to avoid reporters, was doing this, the reason was simple.
Im Na-yeon was pretty.
Her short haircut wasn’t exactly my style, but even considering that, she was pretty enough to be considered a beauty. And her overall figure played a part as well.
‘Even if my interview goes up, it’ll be buried quickly because of the murder cases.’
The public’s attention is naturally drawn to more sensational topics.
Besides, I read the newspaper from time to time and check online articles quite often, but this was the first time I had heard of White Color Daily.
I felt sorry for Im Na-yeon, but even if she got an exclusive interview with me when there were no other reporters, she wouldn’t be able to get as many views as she wanted.
It’s not a famous media outlet, and articles from unheard-of small and medium-sized media outlets are bound to be buried quickly.
I thought I could just answer appropriately.
We moved to a nearby cafe.
“Hello, I’m Im Na-yeon from White Color Daily. I’m happy to have the opportunity to talk to Mr. Kang Hyun-woo, a new genius wizard who will represent South Korea today.”
But it didn’t take me 10 seconds to realize that I was wrong.
“I’ve heard that you’re a genius wizard comparable to Ms. Han Ra-el, the current Gray Magic Tower Master, and that there are very few people with such talent in the world. It’s only natural that you’re considered the pride of South Korea, but do you feel proud of yourself?”
“…Excuse me?”
“I can’t believe you mastered magic on your own and reached the 2nd circle in less than half a year. It’s no exaggeration to say that South Korea is witnessing the future 8th-circle Archmage. Do you think all of this is related to the special geomantic power of our country, starting with Mount Baekdu and continuing to Mount Halla?”
“…I don’t know.”
“Ah, I see!”
“…?”
“The people believe that more hunters need to firmly hold their positions in order to protect South Korea’s security. However, it’s very rare for wizards in the Magic Tower to attack gates like hunters.”
“…Is that so?”
“But it has been confirmed that you have shown a lot of interest in hunter-related activities, such as visiting the Hunter Association and exchanging magic stones. You can be said to be a role model for wizards. We can see that it wasn’t an easy choice for you. But I’m curious as to why you, a genius wizard, are considering the path of a hunter.”
I’m interested in hunter work?
I joined the Magic Tower because I didn’t want to go into the gate and get my ass kicked?
“Mr. Kim Cheol-soo, a retired wizard, said that if you only look at talent, you are by far the best in the world among those in their 20s.”
Who is that again?
“We at White Color Daily believe that your existence is raising South Korea’s status and playing a big role in promoting it to the world. Do you have any other plans for the future? Do you have any plans to show the power of Korean magic on the world stage?”
This was too different from the interview I had imagined.
Looking at Im Na-yeon’s face, which was full of excitement as she asked questions, I felt my mood sink coldly.
“Many people in South Korea are very excited about the news that a genius like you has emerged in our country. Finally, if you could say a word to the people of South Korea?”
I suddenly wanted to go home.
***
I barely finished Im Na-yeon’s interview, which felt like it was sucking my soul out, and returned to the Magic Tower, where I had a hectic day.
“Mr. Kang Hyun-woo, tell me anytime if you’re having a hard time.”
But no matter how hectic my day was, the current situation didn’t make sense.
“…?”
Why am I in a gate with Professor Shin Min-ha?
