In this cramped, cramped world, there are two things only humans can possess.

『One is faith, and the other is malice.』

If you desire my wrath, then become human.

No matter how long a beast barks, how could I be angry?

Hunter Seo Jio, who really had only shown his face, left the event room.

"Squad Leader."

A member of Haeryeong approached the blond Hunter with a friendly expression.

"Why did you do that? To that Hunter from the Collector just now."

"Right, why did I do that?"

"Hmm, did you not want to be put on his team?"

"Did it look that way?"

"You do that when you don't want to work with someone, Squad Leader."

At that, the man called Squad Leader curved his eyes into crescents.

"It's not like I always do that."

"Living up to your name, liar?"

"Ah... I hate that."

"It's the name the Association gave you, so be grateful."

"I told you, that's why I hate it."

"Anyone could see you were picking a fight just now."

The guild member lightly jabbed his leader in the side.

"And did you see?"

"See what? The color changing?"

"You saw everything, so why play coy?"

"He suddenly pulled his hood up, so of course my eyes went to him..."

The blond Hunter drew out the end of his words and swept his gaze over the surroundings.

Pitch-black eyes that seemed as if not a single point of light could enter them took in the world.

"Looks like a few people besides us noticed too."

When he had gone and poked at Hunter Seo Jio, for some reason the man had met his eyes with a smile, so he had given him a light wave.

Right after that, the eye color of Hunter Seo Jio, who had pulled his hood low, changed.

"What color do you think it was?"

"Hard to say. It was strangely dark under his hood..."

"Hmm, so it really was an item?"

"From what I saw, yellow?"

"I'll bet on gold."

"Then gold must be right."

The team member asked with a laugh.

"Aren't the Collector's eyes gold too?"

"Uh, no. His feel a bit brighter."

"What do you mean, brighter? Fluorescent?"

"Maybe something like that."

"Anyway, don't you think there might be... a possibility?"

"What possibility?"

"Come on, you're doing it again when you know."

"It is an interesting thought, certainly."

The blond Hunter laughed lazily.

His lovely team member undoubtedly wanted to say, "Hunter Seo Jio, whom Collector Bi Sabeol favors this much, might be related to him by blood."

"I was wondering who he took after to have such an empty head."

"Should I shut up...?"

"Mhm, I think it would be best to be careful, since the Collector guild members still in the hall probably have ears."

"Then I'll shut up, Squad Leader."

"I wonder who you take after to be this adorable. Me, of course?"

The man, joking without meaning a word of it, grinned and slung an arm around his shoulders.

"Let's be careful, okay? I don't want to fight the Collector..."

"Because the foreman will scold you?"

"That too."

"But for that, didn't you already pick a pretty big fight?"

"Aha, did I?"

His eyes curved once again.

"How troublesome."

It was the face of a liar.

"Haeryeong is..."

Curator Garasani continued.

"A guild made up of typical fighting cocks."

Hunter Garasani spoke while attending to Jio in the room he had been assigned.

"They are people who prefer living with their brains removed."

"With their brains removed?"

"I did not mean their brains are literally removed, but that they are that thoughtless."

"I see."

Jio had not asked because he did not know that, but for the moment, he decided to shut up.

Keeping his mouth shut always got him at least halfway there.

The fifth-floor chief, who was watching the portrait's attentive attitude with satisfaction and without laughing, asked Ju-hyeon, who was helping arrange Jio's luggage.

"Mr. Ju-hyeon, do you have any materials on the Haeryeong Guild?"

"If you mean information on the guild members participating in this raid, I have it here."

"Thank you for your trouble."

Curator Garasani received the transparent tablet from Ju-hyeon and asked Jio.

"Would it be all right if I continued explaining?"

"It would be a great help if you did."

"It is an honor, thank you."

Garasani, wearing a gentle smile befitting his alias of "Head Butler," soon continued.

"The name of the one who approached Hunter Seo Jio in the event room is Sanarae, and his alias is 'Pinocchio.' His position within the guild is squad leader. Haeryeong consists of regular employees, squad leaders, foremen, supervisors, and the Guild Master."

"Were those taken from production worker ranks?"

"You know a great deal about the types of ranks in human society. Excellent. The members of Haeryeong consider themselves a kind of sanitation worker. And such sanitation work is also one type of production work."

"The members of Haeryeong consider themselves sanitation workers?"

"It contains cleaning in various senses. Haeryeong mainly deals not only with monsters, but also with Grade 5 citizens of the Red Hunter type. In other words, they clean both dungeons and society."

Garasani displayed information on Haeryeong's guild members on the room screen.

"But that does not mean you can expect ordinary refinement from them."

"Yes, I believe you just described them as people who live with their brains removed."

"Thank you for remembering. Haeryeong's guild members are difficult personnel to control unless one is their superior."

At that, Ju-hyeon received Garasani's permission with a glance and continued his explanation.

"If I may dare to add to that, Haeryeong's guild members hand over all control of themselves to their superior. They even entrust their lives entirely to their superior."

"Mr. Ju-hyeon has stated a very important point. Yes, Haeryeong is generally where people who are dying to die gather. Therefore, Haeryeong's guild members can be divided into three cases."

Garasani explained them one by one.

"The first purely enjoy combat, the second are people whose lack of safety awareness is terminal and who live with their lives on the line, and the third are those addicted to the sensation of death."

He pointed to the information on "Haeryeong: Sanarae" displayed on the screen and spoke.

"Hunter Sanarae here belongs to that last case."

"I do not quite understand the expression that he is addicted to the sensation of death."

"Literally, he cannot escape the sensation called death... Hmm, he is an addict."

Feeling that his explanation had been insufficient, Garasani thought for a moment before continuing.

"Hunter Seo Jio, do you know what behavior a human addicted to drugs displays? Even if it is not drugs, a human heavily intoxicated by addictive things like cigarettes or alcohol."

"Yes, I know."

"I think it would be good to refer to those cases. Humans sometimes fail to govern themselves and brace themselves for death, and sometimes they cannot escape lethargy. Hunter Sanarae is a much more hedonistic human than that, however..."

"A hedonistic human?"

"He could be classified as a kind of pleasure-seeker. He often behaves like an addict heavily intoxicated by various kinds of stimulation. Even if he appears to think and act normally, he is fundamentally not in his right mind. In many ways, he is a burdensome human to form a personal friendship with."

Garasani returned to the screen listing Haeryeong's guild members.

"To return and finish my explanation, that is how much Haeryeong's guild members obey their superiors."

"They did not seem to have a clear hierarchy. Is there no one who rebels?"

"The probability of that happening is extremely low. To them, insubordination effectively has no meaning."

At those words, Ju-hyeon smiled and added.

"It is a guild of people who do not want to think about troublesome things."

"Aha, I understood immediately."

In short, they only wanted pleasure without responsibility.

"Then they certainly would not want to rise to a high position."

They would have no particular desire to do so.

They seemed to be people who disliked using their heads so much that the expression "living with their brains removed" was used for them, and they clearly understood that the higher one's position, the more responsibility one had to bear.

"Their thoughts are not shallow, so in a sense, they are admirable people."

"Are they? You find them admirable. Hunter Seo Jio, you are truly merciful."

Garasani, smiling gently as if watching a grandson who had gotten into a prestigious university perform a trick, continued again.

"To return to the subject from earlier, there must have been some purpose behind the disrespectful words and actions Hunter Sanarae showed you. At minimum, since he holds the position of squad leader, he is not a human whose mind does not work."

Garasani stroked his chin.

"Haeryeong does not particularly like so-called 'young masters' and 'young ladies.' Because it is a guild where many people of unclear backgrounds have gathered, there are many bad feelings about grades. It is a representative example of grade conflict."

"Their backgrounds are unclear?"

"Yes, even Hunter Sanarae himself is from the slums. In particular, Hunter Sanarae is... It may displease you if I say this, but he is famous for hating Hunters who are hothouse flowers."

Unlike his appearance, which made him look like a spotless knight or a prince from a fairy tale, Sanarae's words and actions were closer to those of a thug.

He was an expert at grinning lazily and getting on people's nerves.

Unless a strong person crushed him with authority, he did not listen; even if he knelt as easily as breathing, he thought other things behind their backs; and with a face that did not look at all like he would, he lied as naturally as he ate, giving people headaches.

At times he seemed servile, but at other times he did things worse than a beast.

Since he calmly uttered false oaths and smiled skillfully, no one could expect obedience or compliance from him.

"His eyes look obviously insane to anyone who sees them, but he always maintains an attitude that makes him seem sane. Rumors are rampant that if the Haeryeong Guild had not taken him in, he would have become a Grade 5 citizen."

At Garasani's words, Ju-hyeon nodded as if in agreement.

"He seemed to receive a lot of evaluations saying no one knew what he was thinking. They also said he often betrayed people without a second thought or did unexpected things."

"Perhaps they have comradeship, because Haeryeong's guild members get along well among themselves. Conversely, they do not try to properly interact with anyone else."

Garasani nodded.

"I believe the grade conflict I just mentioned is in a similar context."

"Do you mean the part where they show a bad attitude toward 'young masters' and 'young ladies'?"

"Yes. It is not that way toward everyone, but on average, they maintain that strange attitude toward 'hothouse flowers.'"

"Unfortunately, I am indeed a hothouse flower."

Jio said it confidently, but Garasani merely smiled at him as if watching a cat do a forward roll.

At that look, as if he found nonsense adorable, Jio shut his mouth this time as well.

At that, Garasani continued.

"Hunter Seo Jio, from an outside perspective, there is certainly a high possibility you look like such a 'young master.' You are receiving our Guild Master's great favor, and even just with the personnel this time, it must have been obvious that they were people assigned to assist you."

"It must have been obvious."

"Sadly, yes. There is also a high probability they will be displeased, saying Hunter Seo Jio's sudden fame is another scheme by the Collector. In effect, that is not very different from the truth, but that is why Hunter Sanarae had many psychological reasons to pick a fight with you, the 'young master.'"

Ju-hyeon spoke with an awkward smile.

"It certainly was excessive personnel for the Collector."

"What does that mean?"

"As far as I know, the Collector usually..."

Garasani confirmed, as if to say Ju-hyeon's thought was correct, when Ju-hyeon could not speak clearly.

"That is right. Ordinarily, the Collector does not assign this much personnel for a single Hunter."

"I heard that the Collector's new recruits are usually experienced hires. That means they are already sufficiently seasoned Hunters, so the chance of danger is low no matter where they are dispatched."

"Of course, if something is judged dangerous, we do show unstinting support, but usually that stops at material support. If not that, we send ordinary field staff Hunters as assistants."

At that, Jio asked.

"The people who came with me are not only field staff, are they?"

"That is correct. I, for one, am a Curator, and there are even two recovery team members from the gallery."

As if to say he had pointed it out well, Garasani continued.

"The Collector's uniforms differ slightly depending on the position held. They are designed so that even outsiders can tell our guild members' roles at a glance."

Field staff wore sleeveless cloaks, the recovery team wore capes for mobility, and Curators wore neat overcoats.

If they wore only a suit with the Collector's insignia and no separate uniform, they were classified as general office staff.

Many guild members did not bother wearing them outside official schedules, but this case was different.

Garasani pointed to the black cloak Seo Jio wore.

"As it happens, Hunter Seo Jio's cloak is also a type of cloak."

"Yes, it has no sleeves."

"Therefore, most people will identify Hunter Seo Jio as a field staff guild member."

"Will they think that even though it is not the Collector's uniform?"

"Hunters are foolish creatures who use only the equipment they are accustomed to."

They tended not to use clothes that felt unfamiliar or uncomfortable while active.

That was because even such a small inconvenience could often decide a Hunter's life or death.

"In particular, the Collector is a guild that values its uniforms enough to wear them outside official schedules as well, so our members are all the more likely to match equipment similar to them. Hunter Seo Jio will be judged that way as well."

Garasani smiled.

"When the departure ceremony is held the day after tomorrow, would Hunter Seo Jio also wear the Collector's uniform?"

"Yes, I am looking forward to it."

"Thank you for accepting it with such a broad mind when it may have displeased you."

Garasani expressed his thanks lightly and continued.

"In these various contexts, Hunter Sanarae probably also had the intention of probing you. There are abundant rumors about Hunter Seo Jio, but you have not shown much actual activity."

Jio nodded with his characteristic expressionless face.

"I felt the part you spoke of as well, Mr. Garasani."

"Yes, and if not that... perhaps..."

Garasani stroked his chin as if weighing something.

"He may not have wanted to be on the same team."

"Is that so?"

"Hunter Sanarae is famous for often behaving this way at events the day before entry."

"Aha, he is famous."

"He is a human who seems to swallow what tastes bitter to him, yet in the end spits it out in one way or another."

Ju-hyeon smiled faintly as if he understood.

"... As I said before, events like this provide major clues for planning personnel combinations after entry. It means there is a high possibility he intentionally showed himself openly causing conflict because he wanted to be separated into another team."

At that, Garasani gave a tidy smile.

"And then he often ends up on the same team instead."

"Why is that?"

"Because Hunter Sanarae's results are good when he is with such 'hothouse flowers.'"

"He must dislike that."

"There may also be a part of him that works harder because he dislikes it."

"Because he wants to finish quickly?"

"You got it exactly right, Hunter Seo Jio."

Garasani nodded.

"Even aside from that, I understand that the fighting styles of such 'hothouse flowers' and Hunter Sanarae's fighting style are fairly compatible. Hunter Sanarae is excessively freewheeling, so the formulaic 'young masters' and 'young ladies' actually dilute that."

The two types of Hunters often had better synergy than expected.

"Even so, they are generally separated into different teams whenever possible. Especially when there are enough excellent personnel, as there are now, there is no reason to deliberately allow the seeds of friction among Hunters to grow."

"I see."

"Yes, then..."

Garasani asked politely.

"Hunter Seo Jio, what would you like to do about that human?"

Now that he had finished the explanation the portrait wanted, all that remained was to ask his intentions.

"The reason I came here is to offer what you desire. If it does not displease you, please tell me your will. I have both the will and the power to follow it exactly."

"..."

"Hunter Seo Jio, you may use me however you wish. Could you tell me your intentions? Whether intervention, observation, or even mere conversation, if you speak it, I will follow accordingly."

"... I wonder."

Jio continued with those blue eyes, and with that expressionless face.

"There was no malice."

"There was no malice."

Sanarae, the Hunter with straight blond hair, spoke with a crescent-like smile.

"It just looked interesting."

"... That's all?"

"I suppose you could say I wanted to poke at him."

"What kind of bizarre..."

"I was only interested."

He possessed senses closer to those of a beast than a human.

"That person didn't smell human."

That was why he had to know.

What kind of being was with us.

Jio said,

"It simply seemed he was curious about me."

"Aha, is that so?"

"So I found it a little disappointing."

Arjio stared at Hunter Sanarae on the screen with golden eyes.

"... I prefer things to be clear..."

Was this a beast, or a human?

"..."

Either way.

Either would be qualification enough.