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[As Expected of Branch Director Baek Kang-hyeon!]
[This Is the Republic of Korea’s Number One Hunter!]
The comments exploded.
Some were posts from fans begging him to join a Guild already and rise to even greater heights.
[I would like to thank all the workers and Hunters for their hard work during today’s S-rank gate incident.]
Baek Kang-hyeon closed with a remark befitting a consummate civil servant.
From beginning to end, he said nothing about Poppy or the boss’ corpse.
The reporters did ask.
But Baek Kang-hyeon merely said, ‘The corpse disintegrated, and I placed the spoils in my Inventory.’
“If it disintegrated, that makes sense.”
They can just dress it up by saying the Boss Monster was somewhat different.
[H-How rude! Big Brother! I will never disintegrate! I shall remain your younger brother for all eternity…!]
“All right, I get it. Hey, aren’t you hungry?”
To hell with explaining the situation.
What the hell am I doing the moment I get back?
Let’s eat something first.
Thanks to his parents running a fried chicken restaurant, Ji-hoon had eaten plenty of chicken from an early age.
There’s probably some chicken left over from yesterday’s sales today too….
“There it is.”
I’d have preferred them to sell out whenever possible.
But it looks like this situation is exactly the same as it was ten years ago.
“Poppy, try this.”
Poppy tapped the chicken box with a forepaw.
[What is this? This… strange, greasy-smelling lump.]
“It’s called fried chicken.”
[…This is the legendary fried chicken that you called 'the greatest food in the world' and said you wanted to eat the entire time you were at Hell Farm?]
“Yeah, so at least taste it.”
Unable to resist Ji-hoon’s imploring gaze, Poppy carefully pecked a piece of chicken with his beak and tasted it.
CRUNCH!
Poppy’s eyes flashed.
The Griffin’s small beak moved frantically, swallowing the piece of chicken in an instant.
[I have never tasted anything like this!! The savory richness of an animal carcass, and this crispness! Big Brother, more! Please give me more!]
Poppy devoured the chicken in a frenzy.
After emptying the chicken box in an instant, Poppy’s beak gleamed with grease.
Ji-hoon pulled out a tissue, wiped his beak, and laughed.
“That’s a relief. So you like this kind of thing too.”
But his relief was short-lived.
[Is there no more? This is not enough to fill my stomach.]
No matter how small he had become, he was still the massive S-rank Dungeon Boss Monster.
There was no way one whole chicken could fill his stomach.
“More? There isn’t any more.”
[That is unfortunate. I believe I could eat this much five more times….]
Five more?
How much do six fried chickens cost these days?
‘There’s no helping it. For now… I’ll have to work hard and earn enough to feed him.’
I can’t exactly ask my parents for money….
Even the support payment coming in soon will barely be enough to put food in Poppy’s mouth.
Pecking up every last crumb of fried batter, Poppy spoke gallantly.
[Then I shall gather it myself. Just tell me where the carcasses are!]
“As if that’d work.”
When I glared at him, Poppy dejectedly lowered his beak.
“You still haven’t come to your senses after our trip to the Management Bureau earlier, huh?”
[I am sorry, Big Brother….]
“The common sense you knew at Hell Farm doesn’t apply here. And one wrong move, and you’ll really be disintegrated. Are you that fucking desperate to die?”
At my roar, Poppy planted his face against the floor and raised his body into a headstand.
THUD!
His beak struck the floor first.
[Forgive me, Big Brother!]
“Argh, stop doing the Griffin bow!”
You’re going to put holes all over the floor!
It looks like I’ll have to ask Branch Director Baek Kang-hyeon for a house too.
Whether it’s a lump-sum deposit lease or monthly rent, I’ll ask him to find me something.
Just then, the Management Bureau called.
–Hunter Lee Ji-hoon?
“Yes, this is Lee Ji-hoon.”
–I’m Kang I-na from the Management Bureau. The Branch Director asked me to take special care of you, so I’m calling to explain your compensation!
***
The process for receiving the compensation was simple.
As a procedural necessity, Ji-hoon had to visit his local community service center.
Then he had to wait for the money to be deposited into his registered account.
After briefly explaining the process, Kang I-na of the Management Bureau added something.
–The Branch Director also told us to put you on the payroll, Hunter Lee Ji-hoon.
“Ah, yes.”
–Do you have any reason that would disqualify you from the four major social insurance programs?
What?
A disqualifying reason?
What’s that?
I’ve never even had a job before.
“Uh, I probably don’t… think so?”
–Thank you. You consent to a background check, correct?
“Yes, I consent.”
–Do you consent to the use of your personal information?
“Yes, I con….”
This was starting to sound more and more like a phone scam.
While Ji-hoon was entertaining that suspicion, Kang I-na spoke with a bright laugh.
–Done! You’re registered! And this is just something I’m curious about.
“C-Curious?”
–Yes! Are you, perhaps… some kind of secret government agent?
“…What?”
Otherwise, there was no reason for him to operate in such secrecy.
She loved spy movies, and this was incredibly thrilling.
She hoped this would happen, then that would happen….
Ji-hoon silently held the phone for five minutes.
“I’m hanging up.”
–W-Wait, Hunter! You have to tell me about your adventures later! You have to te….
CLICK–
Ji-hoon sighed.
[What kind of bitch is she, Big Brother? Shall I take her out?]
“No… please, just stay still….”
[Yes, sir….]
At least I won’t have to worry about making ends meet right away.
It’s about twice the salary of an ordinary civil servant, so I’ll probably receive around five million won, right?
Dreaming that sweet dream, Ji-hoon flopped onto the sofa.
“…Poppy.”
[Yes, Big Brother.]
“I got some of your feathers.”
Poppy, the King of Griffins, tilted his head.
[My feathers?]
“Yeah.”
[I have never plucked out any of my feathers for you, Big Brother.]
“No, I got them as a gate-clear reward. Look.”
Poppy’s eyes widened when he saw the feathers Ji-hoon had received as a reward.
[They are bottom-of-the-barrel quality, but they are indeed my feathers. Why did they appear as a reward?]
“That’s why I’m going to take a look at this.”
Ji-hoon picked up the smartphone he had tossed beside his bed.
The tacky red icon.
It was finally time to make use of this 'Hell Market'.
When he pressed and held the red icon, a strange notification window appeared.
[Blessing 'Demon King’s Secret Ledger' verifies authorization.]
[Auto-login: Account of Second Demon King 'Astarote Bellianne de Abyssal'.]
“So it was Abel’s account after all.”
At the top of the screen was Abel’s profile image, along with the username [ElegantNavyWisp].
For a Demon King to give a secondhand-marketplace account a name like some randomly generated game username.
Ji-hoon clicked his tongue and selected one of the items in his Inventory.
[Register 20 Griffin Feathers (B)?]
“Will these even sell, though?”
Who would buy Griffin feathers?
Are they used to make weapons?
“Hmm, how much should I charge…?”
With no way of knowing the value of 'Dephor', Hell’s currency, Ji-hoon entered the number 500 at random.
With twenty feathers, that came to a total of 10,000 Dephor.
But less than a second after he listed the item, chat alerts erupted.
[Message from DemonRealmCollector!]
[Message from Anonymous Imp!]
[Message from Trade Is Trust!]
“Wh-What?”
Startled, Ji-hoon checked the chat history.
[Chat] Trade Is Trust: k
[Chat] DemonRealmCollector: Hey, are these really feathers from that Griffin at Hell Farm? This is insane;;
[Chat] Anonymous Imp: Wow, how did you pull these off that ferocious creature? Are you some kind of adviser to the Demon King’s Army?
“What’s going on? Why are they acting like this?”
[Who are all these brats? Why do they want my feathers so badly?]
“I don’t know. I guess your feathers are rare.”
[My feathers? I have never thought they were particularly special.]
Ji-hoon was about to reply to 'Trade_Is_Trust', the first person to contact him.
STOP–
“…Wait.”
Ji-hoon hurriedly deleted the message he had already typed and wrote another.
[ElegantNavyWisp]: There are so many people who want to buy them….
Sure enough, a reply arrived within 0.1 seconds.
[Trade_Is_Trust]: I’ll buy them all! Give me all twenty!
[ElegantNavyWisp]: Just a moment. Several messages came in at once, so my replies may be slow.
Then Ji-hoon sent a message to DemonRealmCollector.
[ElegantNavyWisp]: There are so many people who want to buy them….
[DemonRealmCollector]: Which bastard took mine? I’ll pay double, so let’s make this a quick deal.
Next came Anonymous Imp.
[Anonymous Imp]: Name your price. I’m rich.
Oh-ho.
This is promising.
I don’t know how much Dephor is worth, but either way, isn’t it true that the more, the better, and the bigger, the better?
But if I don’t know its value… what do I do?
What else can I do?
Time to use a technique I learned from demons.
As Ji-hoon considered his options, the chat alerts kept coming.
[Group Chat Created]
[Participants: ElegantNavyWisp (Host), Trade Is Trust, DemonRealmCollector, Anonymous Imp]
[ElegantNavyWisp]: All three of you messaged me at once. Discuss it among yourselves and get back to me. Whew, another person wants to buy them….
Pit them against one another right away.
It was the method those demon bastards used most often and could carry out most easily.
The three, now fired up, bickered for a long while before Trade Is Trust finally emerged victorious.
Ten times the original unit price! 100,000 Dephor!
[Trade Is Trust]: Thank you for the transaction!
[ElegantNavyWisp]: Use them well.
Wondering what he should do next, Ji-hoon pressed the [Confirm Transaction] button on the screen.
At the same moment, the bundle of feathers in his hand vanished like smoke with a POP!
Soon, a cheerful notification rang out.
[100,000 Dephor (Dephor) deposited.]
“Oh, it really works.”
Money, just from selling a few feathers.
I may have to figure out a way to use it in this world, but for now, it feels as though a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
Besides, right beside me is someone who can provide an unlimited(...) supply of those feathers.
Maybe even 5,000 Dephor per feather was cheap.
I’ll keep browsing and learn the prices of the products.
That way, I won’t get taken for a sucker like I did today.
Having made up his mind, Ji-hoon looked through the other sellers’ listings.
“Let’s see what they have here.”
[I am curious as well.]
Poppy poked his head in.
As befitted a neighborhood inhabited by Demonic Creatures, the marketplace was packed with all manner of bizarre items.
Ji-hoon, who had seen nothing but the feed and medicinal herbs periodically supplied inside Hell Farm, found it a whole new world.
‘Most of these are for Demonic Creatures. Poppy and the others will need them.’
Ji-hoon began adding items to his cart.
He had already been worried that the little ones he had raised so carefully might not be able to adapt to Earth’s environment.
As Ji-hoon’s instincts as a farm owner awakened, his shopping gained speed.
What he purchased was….
Highly Concentrated Recovery Potion for Demonic Creatures (A): Instantly regenerates most injuries. (1,000 Dephor)
Hell-Made Coat Conditioner: No more patchy fur! Turns even an ugly beast into a beauty. (500 Dephor)
Portable Mana Snack Pouch (Meat Flavor): Alleviates hunger and temporarily amplifies mana. (1,000 Dephor)
Odor-Masking Spray Set for Demonic Creatures: An everyday essential that masks the distinctive body odor of monsters. (1,500 Dephor)
Demonic Creature Ranch Whip Lash (B): Essential for operating ranches and farms. Demonic Creatures need taming, do they not? (1,000 Dephor)
“Whew, is this enough?”
As he added items indiscriminately, 5,000 Dephor had already been deducted.
Ji-hoon considered the remaining Dephor, then closed the app.
“Let’s leave the rest for now. Just in case.”
In the end, Hell was also a place where people… no, demons and Demonic Creatures lived.
Ji-hoon realized that the 'Demon King’s Secret Ledger' Abel had given him was a far more useful survival tool than he had expected.
“Poppy, it turns out you were incredibly valuable.”
[Thank you, Big Brother. For you, I am ready at any time to grind my bones to dust and shatter my body!]
“Oh-ho, is that so?”
Ji-hoon stood directly in front of Poppy.
[B-Big Brother?]
“Poppy.”
[…Gulp.]
“Let’s pluck some feathers.”
I don’t know how much Dephor is worth.
But a Highly Concentrated Recovery Potion costs 1,000 Dephor.
A Top-Grade Potion currently goes for ten million won among Hunters. If the Highly Concentrated Recovery Potion is merely equivalent to a Top-Grade Potion, that means I made one billion won today.
“You know how I feel, right?”
[N-No, Big Brother! For these feathers to regenerate properly, Aaaah!]
RRRIP, RRRIP.
Ji-hoon smiled in satisfaction, both hands full of Poppy’s plucked feathers.