“It’s been about three days.
Mia suddenly didn’t show up for work.
Thanks to that, I’ve been on duty for three days straight now.” “Huh?
Mia’s boyfriend?
Oh, the one who’s a Hunter?
Mia bragged about him so much.” “The magical beasts have decreased since it’s gotten colder lately.
It’s made the atmosphere here grim.
The Hunters have lost their source of work, after all.” “The Hunters have become scarce too.
It’s only natural since there are no magical beasts.
Maybe they went to look for other work?”
The stories from the nurses at the makeshift ward were mostly similar.
As winter approached, the nearby magical beasts dwindled, and so did the Hunters.
There was no reason for hunters to stick around in a hunting ground where the prey had disappeared.
“What do we do now?”
Hunter Yi Kang-ho let out a deep sigh.
“There isn’t a single clue about Mia.
She just vanished without a trace, all of a sudden.”
I listened silently, letting out a puff of cigarette smoke.
It had that distinct dusty taste, mixed with the air from outside of Seoul.
“Hmm, you seem to have something on your mind.” “The wisdom of age, I see.”
Lenea whispered, leaning in stealthily.
“Don’t talk about age in front of someone who could be your future husband.
I’ll kill you.” “You don’t really believe that’s going to happen, do you?” “I-I can at least dream, can’t I?”
Sigh, right.
At 1,900 years old, she was closer to being dead than alive.
She should get to do everything she wants before she dies.
“Something on your mind?
President, did you find something?” “Ms.
Yu Mia’s mother told me.
There’s a record of her clocking in for work, but she never returned to Seoul after her shift.”
It meant Yu Mia went missing outside of Seoul.
That was why the police didn’t make a proper move.
Outside the city center, missing person cases caused by magical beasts were a frequent annual occurrence.
“A magical beast…!”
His eyes wide, Yi Kang-ho hurriedly gripped the shotgun in his hand.
It wasn’t a meaningful action.
But he probably wouldn’t be able to calm his anger otherwise.
“I’ll wipe out all the magical beasts in the area right now!
Then-!” “That’s strange, isn’t it?”
Lenea cut him off.
“If that’s true, it doesn’t add up.
The number of magical beasts nearby has dropped sharply, yet someone has disappeared?”
She definitely had the wisdom of age.
She pinpointed the exact thing I was about to question.
“Huh?
Th-That’s right!
Why?”
It’s a bit much to say this, but…
Hunter Yi Kang-ho looked a little dumb.
It was a relief the matchmaking agency didn’t evaluate intelligence.
If we did, I would have downgraded him to an A-rank.
“I’m not familiar with the ecology of this place.
You, however, seem to know something.” “Usually, there are two possibilities in cases like this.
One, her luck was just rotten.
A magical beast managed to evade the Hunters’ eyes and abduct Ms.
Yu Mia.”
The probability of that was, of course, low.
The other possibility was—.
“Some crazy magical beast preparing for hibernation is snatching up everything in sight.”
The expressions of the two turned grim.
The possibility that a magical beast was stockpiling food for hibernation, and that Yu Mia had become part of its hoard, surfaced.
“Most of the magical beasts in this area don’t hibernate.
It’s a spot beloved by Hunters all year round.” “That’s right.
I hunt in more dangerous zones, but most Hunters with families or who prefer safety hunt here.”
The very presence of a makeshift ward made of shipping containers meant many Hunters frequented the area.
“The way I see it, a big one has crawled in from somewhere.”
There was a magical beast gathering nearby magical beasts as stockpiled food for its own hibernation.
No, was it just magical beasts?
One of the nurses had said it.
Recently, the number of Hunters had also decreased.
“I bet people have been captured too.”
I put the finished cigarette butt into my cigarette case.
This hypothesis would also explain the ‘jumbled smell of people’ Lenea mentioned earlier.
“What?!
P-People!?
Then this is a really big deal!” “…You know quite a lot for a matchmaker.”
Unlike the panicking Hunter Yi Kang-ho, Lenea crossed her arms, sizing me up.
“That’s not what’s important right now.
There could be more abducted people.
Since it’s outside the city, the police are unlikely to bother.” “Th-Then what should we do?
Should I gather some fellow Hunters?” “That would take time.
And you’d have to pay them a lot.
Rather than that—.”
I called the office with my phone.
The ringing tone passed, and—.
– H-Hello?
B-Boss?
“Yeah, hey, Kim Yang.
You done dancing?” – …I-I wasn’t dancing.
“I’ve followed your account.” – Boss!
Tell me your ID!
I’m g-gonna block you!
“Whatever.
More importantly, go to my desk.” – V-Voyeurism.
S-Spying on his b-beautiful secretary, you p-pervert.
I-I’m gonna sue you.
She’s picked up some weird words from somewhere.
– I-I’m here, Boss.
“In the second drawer, there’s a letter, right?
With a number on it?” – A love letter?
O-On heart-shaped stationery?
“That’s the one.
Call that number and tell them I’m in danger.
My GPS is on, so they’ll find me on their own.” – O-Okay, Boss.
“Were there any clients?” – No.
Right, this just makes it more important that I succeed.
If I get the marriage success fee, I won’t have to worry about food for at least a few months.
Goodbye to ramen.
As soon as I hung up, the two of them asked at the same time.