Chapter 48 – Onboard Casino (1)
“Tia, Tiah…”
A weekday morning after a temporary holiday.
Tia, who was locked in the room, cried out sadly as soon as she saw me.
The room given to him was quite spacious and tidy, but there was little to eat.
I gave a glare to Alice, who was preparing to go to work with me.
“Hey, I’ll put in some ramen… Is the kid completely starving?”
“Sorry. I’m in a hurry…”
“You wash up and come out.”
“Uh… Can I really leave?”
Tia was dubious about my words and finished getting ready to go out with her hoard.
Since this guy hadn’t registered with the association yet, he was thinking of registering on his way to work today.
There is no precedent for using an S-rank raid boss as a hunter pet, but…
The association is in no position to refuse me and Yeriel’s request.
After all, there is no one other than us who can properly manage Tia.
‘But there’s no reason I just want to kill an S-rank monster that was successfully captured for the first time in history and can communicate properly…’
“From now on, I’m going to get permission to keep you, so please answer me well, okay?”
“Tia!”
“You try that one more time.”
As I frowned, Tia gave her head a hard nod with her frightened face.
Since the matter was the matter, Yeriel also went to work today.
However, as I drove to the office, I saw an unprecedented long line.
People holding pickets, as if protesting, shouted eagerly toward the association’s headquarters building.
“Immediately stop the planned investigation of the hunters!”
“What is a search and seizure without a warrant!”
“Don’t repay the hunters who defended the country this way!”
Just in case, it was a protest condemning the activities of the special investigation team.
A monster wave occurred a while ago, and they came out in droves.
We felt intense disgust when we saw them like that.
The special investigation team didn’t violate the basic rights of the hunters, they just caught the criminals, but they came out like that.
In particular, the part where he seemed to insist that he could commit a crime because he protects the country was the height of vulnerability.
To be honest, I don’t think they really believe in their own propaganda… But I hope they do it to the fullest.
Yeriel, in the passenger seat, tried to stop her car at last.
“Seobang-nim, let’s stop for a moment.”
“Let’s just go. Tia is here today. I don’t want to show them too much.”
“Ah, if that’s the case.”
After moving to the underground parking lot with Yeriel, who had difficulty convincing, she immediately went to register as a hunter pet.
The staff in charge of her hunter pet registration seemed to be impressed with Tia’s language skills.
Of course, apart from that, the permission had already been given away.
“Are you done?”
“Yes, it’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Yeriel.”
“Thank you for your help.”
Tia has now officially become our Hunter Pet.
I took the guy who had been starving since yesterday and moved to a nearby cafe.
This is the place where Seo Ji-yu ran at will in the past.
“Wow… Is it really okay to eat?”
“I have to go to work, so eat quickly.”
Tia, who had been constantly looking around her, began to gobble up her brunch menu that I had ordered.
Like Alice, her face and clothes are full of cuteness, but when she goes to eat, there is no dog that has been starving for several days.
Both of her cheeks burst, and she happily stuffs food into them.
Even considering how hungry I was, it was quite shocking.
Staring at it blankly, I couldn’t help but ask him.
“Where have you been? Are you eating in such a hurry? Didn’t you use the Internet for a bit?”
“Actually, I haven’t been to the city for a while. For the first two years or so, I lived avoiding people’s eyes.”
I roughly caught on to Tia’s words.
He was probably in a foreign country that became the land of monsters… And that was in the north.
Even if the monsters had occupied the place anyway, they wouldn’t have posed much of a threat to Tia.
Of course, even after moving to the city, he would not have been able to lead a very leisurely life.
The guy doesn’t even have a proper identity.
It was no different from an unregistered hunter whose existence itself was illegal.
Even if he somehow saved money, he would have had no choice but to go to a PC room or a jjimjilbang at most.
The guy who finished his meal satisfactorily asked me with a face full of enthusiasm.
“I ate well! It’s so delicious. What should I do now?”
“Simple.”
It was Yeriel who responded to Tia, not me.
She calmly explained to the trembling Tia.
“When the West tells you to breathe, you breathe. When the West tells you to die, you die. You don’t have to think.”
“Ah… I see! Keep that in mind!”
“Okay. Yeriel, you can go back now. You’re still busy with the sponsorship event…”
I noticed her Yeriel’s intentions and saw her off.
Good cops and bad cops, carrots and sticks… There are so many analogues I don’t know what to call them.
Anyway, it’s a role that Yeriel longs for, and a role that I do well.
‘I should have registered a hunter pet, so it’s not a bit much to send it back right away.’
I changed her schedule a bit and took Tia up to her office.
If you close her mouth and stay still, she is as beautiful as Alice.
First of all, it’s treated as a hunter pet, so you can borrow power when you need it.
Tia’s glamorous appearance immediately caught the eye of her office staff.
Lee Seo-woo seems to be afraid to even ask, and tries to turn a blind eye.
On the other hand, Seo Ji-yu approached without fear.
“Huh? Team leader. What is this guy?”
“Your friend.”
“Let’s be friends from now on!”
After hearing my joke right away, Tia suddenly offers her hand to Seo Ji-yu.
Seo Ji-yu grabbed it again fearlessly and shook it.
“Chi, friend? Please take good care of me in the future…”
“I’m not saying you’re really close, I’m saying your rank in the office is roughly the same as yours.”
“Then it’s the floor, right?”
“Hey. Did you know?”
When I affirmed, Seo Ji-yu hesitated and backed down as if he had been sincerely hurt.
I ignored it neatly and looked at today’s work.
“Chief, did you see the protest in front of you?”
“You don’t have to worry about it. Do you know that people of national merit have immunity from immunity?”
“Because you’re cool too.”
“What’s wrong with you today?”
While Alice was trying to get Tia up from sitting on the floor.
For some reason, Seowoo Lee handed me a file.
“I think this came to the wrong place. It seems that the hunters were entangled and sent it blindly…”
“What is it? Oh, is it gambling?”
Alcohol, drugs, gambling, and sex.
Added ‘money’ only for organized crime.
These five factors are what I singled out as the main causes of Hunter crime.
Among them, the two tops are, of course, drugs and sex.
Most of the big cases we’ve solved so far have involved either drugs or sex. Or maybe both were intertwined…
On the other hand, drinking and gambling have a very low status compared to two tops.
The reason is simple.
‘Once alcohol is involved, it’s caught quickly.’
A crime caused by alcohol is difficult to be a premeditated crime.
It may be a violent crime, but arresting the perpetrator is not that difficult.
So it rarely comes to our turn.
It’s even simpler when gambling is involved…
The people of South Korea have the right to ruin their own lives.
Hunters usually have a certain source of income, so even severe gambling addictions rarely go as far as crime.
At best, they ate up all their savings and even went into debt, so they paid off their monthly wages.
Of course, if it develops into another crime, it’s our turn to step out…
Before that, don’t step out.
I shook my head thinking so.
“Gambling is also within our jurisdiction, but let’s just pass it. I’m not interested.”
“Yes? Why?”
“That’s a waste of investigative power. There’s no point in capturing these guys.”
Those who are already addicted to gambling cannot be cured even if they cut off their wrists.
It’s nothing to stop them from wasting their own money…
You can’t even dry it in the first place.
Gambling crimes are almost treated as minor crimes, so even if you enjoy illegal gambling of 10 million won, you are fined or suspended.
In particular, hunters have a high average income, so the standard for being judged as a gambling crime is that high.
However, Lee Seo-woo did not understand my words.
Tia watched our meeting with interest while chewing on the sweets Alice gave her.
“No. That’s why gambling is our jurisdiction… We original civilians can’t even touch it.”
“Ah, do I have to explain from there?”
I nodded slightly and clicked my tongue.
“Where do Koreans usually go if they want to gamble, Seo Woo?
“Yeah… Kangwon Land, right?”
Yes.
Korea’s only local casino, Kangwon Land!
First of all, the psychological hurdles go down tremendously just by the fact that it is not illegal.
“But hunters are prohibited from entering Kangwon Land.”
“Yes? Ah… Is it because you’re afraid you’ll use your abilities in gambling?”
“That’s it.”
Expansion of casino facilities only for hunters is a very poor cost-effectiveness.
Therefore, Kangwon Land does not even let hunters in in the first place.
Thanks to this, most of the high-value gambling tables where hunters are involved are illegal.
“Of course, illegal gambling houses don’t welcome hunters either.
“That’s right.”
So, gambling places dealing with hunters are usually run by hunters.
This is why most gambling cases involving hunters fall under our jurisdiction.
By the way, Seo Ji-yu, who was reading the new file carefully, said in a voice full of interest.
“Chief. Are these guys making the gambling hall a bit bigger?”
“Yes? How much?”
“At all, Incheon runs a casino on board…”
“What?”
If you look at what is called a shipboard casino, it will not be at the level of just launching a fishing boat.
Indeed. This time, Seo Ji-yu’s eyes could definitely turn.
“It seems that they have taken over a large cruise ship that has been neglected for a long time and are using the facilities inside.”
“Is that possible?”
“It’s a completely gray area legally. This cruise ship came from a country that has already been ruined, but there is a precedent in which it was recognized as a foreign territory at the time of entry.”
So, strictly speaking, the top of the cruise ship is not the territory of the Republic of Korea.
Then Lee Seo-woo asked as if he couldn’t understand.
“But aren’t Koreans punished for gambling abroad?
Seowoo Lee is right.
I don’t know if it’s fun once or twice for a small amount.
Packing money and gambling away is, of course, subject to punishment.
A casino where gambling addict hunters go… And if it’s a place where an entire large cruise ship is used, the scale will never be small.
But I could easily guess why they hadn’t been punished so far.
“After all, it’s a waste of investigative power.”
“Yes? Why…”
“The reason why large amounts of overseas gambling is punished is simple. It is because gambling itself is regarded as a kind of foreign currency outflow.”
When someone goes abroad and gambles away, they usually lose money, which results in a foreign currency outflow.
That’s why the police bother to punish them.
But this case is different.
“But this cruise casino hasn’t set sail for several years already. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to go out to sea in the first place. Besides, my home country is already ruined.”
“Ah…”
So even if you lose money in this cruise casino, there is no outflow of foreign currency.
Anyway, it goes round and round in Korea.
Perhaps that is why the police have been silent all this time.
First of all, the investigation itself is difficult because it is treated as a foreign territory, but it is not even rewarding.
However, Lee Seo-woo seemed shocked by the fact that such a facility exists in Korea.
I don’t like this too much either.
Just looking at Kangwon Land makes me laugh.
There is a public corporation in the world that reaps profits by stripping the people off.
It is a place that should not exist in common sense.
I suggested a reasonable solution to Lee Seo-woo, who was visibly depressed.
“Then, you can investigate in your spare time after work.”
“Ancient?”
“Jiyu, come here after work today.”
“Oh, no. This isn’t even a regular investigation, is it?”
Seo Ji-yu, already an ex-convict, panicked and tried to back down, but when I handed out a card, she bowed her head.
“Take this.”
“Leave it to me! I’ll finish it proudly and come back!”
“Don’t get caught, just investigate. Oh, that’s right. Are casinos only cash?”
“Maybe a debit card.”
I just decided to give him some cash and went back to my day job.
Tia, who had eaten all the cookies in the meantime, very carefully held out the empty bag as if asking for more.
