The two of them were able to speak more candidly after moving inside a market building in front of Seoul Station.

Yu Cheonghwa suggested they have a light tea time in her private office, and Kang-hoo agreed.

It was certainly more comfortable to be alone in a private space than surrounded by a crowd. The gaze of random strangers was never welcome.

On the way in, Kang-hoo had been roughly briefed on the recruitment offer, and as soon as he sat down, he spoke up.

“I’ll have to decline the recruitment offer. I appreciate the interest and your words, but I’m not looking to belong anywhere.”

“That’s what I expected.”

“If I ever need a nest, I’ll look for one. But for now, I prefer being a bird flying free.”

“Understood.”

The conversation about recruitment ended much faster than expected, because she didn’t push the matter again.

According to Yu Cheonghwa, Go Cheon-yeong wasn’t the kind of hunter who liked rejection.

But fear alone wasn’t a good reason to accept a recruitment offer that didn’t sit right. Kang-hoo wasn’t bothered.

Yu Cheonghwa, knowing Kang-hoo hated repeating the same conversations, quickly shifted the topic.

“Taking down Ishihara Yuji, whom the three national Public Safety Bureaus failed to apprehend together, will be remembered for a long time.”

“Well, he came looking for a place to die. It worked out conveniently for me.”

“Even if someone comes to die, it’s useless if you don’t have the power to kill them, right?”

Instead of answering, Kang-hoo downed the tea she had poured earlier. There wasn’t much to say in reply.

Yu Cheonghwa, rewatching the battle footage broadcast through an Eclipse member, continued talking.

“The fight ended really quickly. Striking decisively when an opportunity appears—it’s a trait always demanded of assassins, but rarely fulfilled.”

“Aren’t you flattering me too much?”

“That’s not just my opinion. It’s a general consensus among my close friends. We had a discussion about it.”

“Close friends.”

“Yes, close friends. Hmm… Or maybe people I think are close friends?”

There was a hint in Yu Cheonghwa’s words.

If she had meant real close friends, she would have named Takashi or Emilia outright.

And according to the original story, Yu Cheonghwa had no friends within the Shinto Guild. No one she trusted at all.

Because she was treated as an outsider, she spent far more time in Korea than in China.

If she had trustworthy colleagues or friends, her main base of activity would have been Beijing, not Seoul.

In other words, when she said “the general opinion of my friends,” she meant the entire Justice faction.

That would include Jang Si-hwan, Chae Gwanhyeong, Casey, Vincent, Elizabeth, Yu Cheonghwa herself, Takashi, and Emilia.

“Anyway, that’s how it happened. Yuji and I had bad blood, so it was something that needed settling eventually.”

“Yuji was just stupid. Look how much time and effort he wasted trying to get revenge.”

“I don’t really understand it either.”

“That’s why people called him a lunatic, right? Anyway, congratulations. It looks like the Public Safety Bureau has a reward coming your way too.”

“Well, it’s not like I went into that fight for a reward or bounty. Honestly, I just realized that now.”

“Hohoho, I know. Still, I got a real feast for the eyes. That was awesome. Amazing!”

At Yu Cheonghwa’s earnest praise, complete with a big thumbs-up, Kang-hoo smiled.

It was good news if Justice was paying attention with interest, but Vincent might be a different story.

He would probably find Kang-hoo’s rise in fame all the more irritating.

Provoking, even? Kang-hoo had a feeling it might push Vincent to come to Korea sooner than expected.

After finishing his cup of tea,

Kang-hoo got straight to the point.

He wanted to quickly dispose of Yuji’s belongings that he’d brought in the limousine.

As he pulled out Yuji’s items from a large bag, Yu Cheonghwa let out a dry chuckle.

“Still warm, fresh off the corpse, huh? I can even see spots with caked blood.”

“I tried to clean it as best I could, but I guess I missed a few spots.”

Looking at the lingering flesh and bloodstains that hadn’t been completely washed off, Kang-hoo commented.

And as he examined the scars left on his body from the battle, the fight replayed vividly in his mind.

It definitely hadn’t been easy.

If Yuji had been more composed, or approached the fight with the intention of buying time, things might have gone differently.

Of course, once a result is set, there’s no such thing as “what if,” and Kang-hoo was confident he still would’ve won.

He just thought that maybe he would’ve come out with more injuries. Maybe it would’ve been a tougher fight.

“I’d like the appraisal done right away, and I hope we can proceed with the sale. I’ll cover the cleanup fee myself.”

Kang-hoo made the offer first.

“Cleanup” referred to costs for precautions and countermeasures in case of retaliation by Eclipse.

But Yu Cheonghwa shook her head firmly. Kang-hoo had thought she’d accept right away since it benefited her, but her response was the opposite.

“No need. What could Eclipse possibly do to Shinto Guild? Nothing to worry about.”

“But—”

“Accepting a cleanup fee would be like selling our guild’s pride for that money. I’ll have to decline.”

“I see.”

“I’ll just deduct the 5% instant transaction fee. That okay with you?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll appraise them now. May I?”

“Go ahead.”

Yu Cheonghwa immediately began the item appraisal. She had a sharp eye—no room for mistakes.

Moreover, the market she managed had never had a single accounting error or incident.

Setting aside any personal bias toward China, it was still a very trustworthy place.

About ten minutes passed.

Yu Cheonghwa took off the glasses she used for inspecting the items and announced the appraised value.

“Appraised at 170 billion won. Final purchase price is 161.5 billion. Objections are welcome anytime.”

“No complaints.”

“Shall we finalize the transaction?”

“The sooner the better.”

“I’ll wire the funds.”

Right there, a massive sum of money was transferred to Kang-hoo.

It was a clear demonstration of how much discretionary power Yu Cheonghwa had over large funds.

It also confirmed how much the Shinto Guild trusted her, and how deeply favored she was by Go Cheon-yeong.

After the payment, Kang-hoo’s balance now stood at 571.5 billion won.

The numbers alone didn’t feel real, but the moment an item you want is right in front of you, it all becomes very real.

‘Even though it seems like I could buy a bunch of amazing stuff, it’s really just enough for a single Grade-1 item. Or maybe a rare Grade-2 item.’

It was an amount regular people would never see in their lives, but for hunters, it was the kind of money that could vanish in a single purchase.

Kang-hoo had been interested in Grade-1 items for a while now, and he thought rare Grade-2 ones were also good.

So while he was at it, he decided to try buying something. Since it was the Shinto Guild’s official market, there were plenty of good items.

Kang-hoo asked,

“Do you have anything available in Grade-1 rings or rare Grade-2 items?”

Other equipment slots were tied to upgrades or completing sets, so they couldn’t be swapped out easily.

That’s why he inquired about rings.

Rare items, since they don’t overlap with existing gear, are wearable regardless of their form.

“One moment.”

Yu Cheonghwa quickly worked her tablet PC. She must’ve been checking inventory via the market database.

In less than fifteen seconds, she had everything sorted and showed the screen to Kang-hoo.

“There is one Grade-1 ring available, but it’s 800 billion won. Non-negotiable.”

“Hmm, then that’s a no-go.”

“Instead, I think the rare Grade-2 item could work. It’s a minor relic. The slot is also classified as a relic.”

“So it’s a rare item that activates in the special ‘Relic’ slot.”

“Exactly. Like how glasses go in the eyewear slot—this is a relic because it’s a relic. It’s a different concept from talismans.”

“Oh-ho.”

The advantage of items similar to talismans was their portability.

But that was also their disadvantage, easy to lose or have stolen.

Still, regardless of that, rare items always commanded high prices when listed.

Because they didn’t conflict with other gear, you could wear them freely.

There was no need to take off your current equipment. No stat loss, no complicated calculations.

Which made him curious.

“If it’s a rare item, I doubt I should even be in line to buy it. Is there a reason it’s still available?”

“You’ll see. Its base requirements are pretty strict. I couldn’t even think of buying it because of those.”

“May I take a look?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

As Kang-hoo examined the relic Yu Cheonghwa handed him, his gaze deepened. Just as she said, there was good reason for it.

【Caution】

【Hunters who cannot wield divine power will not be acknowledged by the relic and will be thoroughly rejected.】

【To activate, it continuously consumes 0.1 mana per second. Without mana supply, it loses all relic functionality.】

“Hm…”

“Now you understand, right? Most hunters give up after reading the first caution.”

“And the second condition forces others to back off due to mana strain.”

“Exactly. We ran tests—unless your mana regeneration is ridiculously high, it’s impossible. Either you maintain the relic’s effect but can’t use any skills…”

“Putting the cart before the horse.”

“Right. That’s why it still hasn’t found an owner. Wouldn’t it be hard for you too, Mr. Shin Kang-hoo?”

Yu Cheonghwa subtly scanned Kang-hoo. Judging by his expression, he didn’t look like someone who couldn’t use it.

She knew that Kang-hoo used more skills than most hunters and didn’t seem burdened by it.

Even just watching the publicly released combat footage, his mana control far surpassed the average hunter.

But divine power?

Yu Cheonghwa already knew that Kang-hoo was an assassin capable of wielding Dark Energy.

‘Dark Energy and divine power can’t coexist.’

At least in her understanding, she had never seen a hunter with both hidden stats.

So why would Kang-hoo want it?

It wasn’t like he could buy it and resell it—its requirements were too strict for most.

Despite countless inquiries, no one had taken it. In fact, it was practically dead stock for the Shinto Guild.

And then—

“I’ll buy this relic.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I can use it. I’m not buying to resell. It has too many appealing effects for me not to.”

“You… can use it?”

“Yes. Because I can wield divine power too.”

“Wait—”

Yu Cheonghwa froze like she’d been hit in the head with something heavy.

Being able to control both divine power and Dark Energy was like a human body hosting both a man and a woman.

In short, it didn’t make sense. Even calling him a mutant wouldn’t suffice, it was an ultra-rare case.

And that kind of anomaly was standing right in front of her. Kang-hoo himself.

He had said it clearly.

That he could wield divine power too.

Normally, she didn’t want to be surprised by Kang-hoo anymore, but this time, she couldn’t help but gape.

Could even the long-standing grudge between the Hall of Radiance and the Dark Sanctuary be silenced in the presence of Kang-hoo?

The inner makeup of this man was beyond comprehension. Yu Cheonghwa could only shake her head in disbelief.

Strange didn’t even begin to cover it.