ch41-ch60 · 044-ch44

Chapter 44: Hunter Association Aoba Branch

We stood in front of the building — its heavy metal outer walls looming at the foot of the World Clock itself.

The Hunter Association Aoba Branch — apparently built using materials brought back from inside the Clock.

In a word — it felt like a black tower.

"Whoa, are all these people my fellow examinees?"

"Most of them probably are."

A crowd of aspiring Hunters was heading into the building. Their expressions showed anxiety and tension, but many were filled with "longing and anticipation."

Getting a Hunter License guarantees a certain social status. If you're lucky enough to get recruited by a guild, the money follows.

It's truly a step toward turning your life around.

『So many people.』

Lumiel muttered quietly.

There was no need to draw unnecessary attention, so I'd asked her to stay in cat mode, but—

"Oh, that's Remnant's."

"Ahh, it's Lord Shiki!"

"So cool... I wanna get close to him..."

"Why's he here? Scouting new recruits?"

Burning stares from the surrounding Hunter hopefuls pierced into us. This guy Shiki Mitsumune, standing next to me with a straight face, was incredibly conspicuous.

"(...Better just get my application over with fast.)"

With barely a moment to appreciate the exciting giant structure, we climbed the gentle stairs and entered the Association.

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The entrance hall was a massive atrium with a ceiling height that must have been a good twenty meters.

The walls were polished black stone, and the floor was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the figures of visitors.

『Exam applicants, please proceed to the passage on the right. Biometric identification will be performed automatically, so you do not need to prepare identification.』

Ooh, unnecessarily high-tech.

"Alright, I'll take my leave here. Contact me if anything comes up."

"Thanks for accompanying me. I'll head home with Lumiel after making a few stops along the way."

Shiki-kun had another job to get to (basking in cheers as he left), and Lumiel (in cat form) and I followed the announcement, heading down the right passage.

"So, Lumiel. See anyone strong?" I whispered.

『Nope.』

But— Lumiel continued.

『A lot of people stronger than Koh, though.』

Oh, is that so.

That's fine, I've got room for improvement. Room for improvement.

『Maeda Hagane-sama. Your application for the Hunter Exam has been received.』

The application went through without a hitch. Now it's just training until the exam in ten days.

In the entrance hall, Hunter applicants who'd finished their registration were socializing, and I could hear youthful conversations like "let's form a guild if we pass."

"Well, let's head home, grabbing some food along the way."

『! Street food...!!』

As we were chatting, a fat young man in sunglasses blocked our path.

I had a bad feeling about this.

"Hey, you fraud."

The young man suddenly hurled the insult at me.

Naturally, his gaze was fixed on me.

"Fraud?"

"You got famous as a hero through a corrupt politician's connections, didn't you?"

"Uh, where'd you get that information?"

"It's all over the internet."

W-what the hell is this guy talking about?

He's just swallowing online speculation whole... Is he really a kid of the modern era?

"People who can't see through lies are—"

"Don't play dumb! You don't have any magic power at all, do you!"

"Hey, leave my magic power out of this!!"

Ah crap, he hit a sore spot and I reacted.

Still, if he can sense magic power, I wish he'd notice... the ominous aura coming from the cat lady next to me.

"I'm going to expose your lies — me and my listeners. Don't forget my name, alright? See ya."

The young man left with that parting shot.

I kind of wanted to know his actual name, but whatever. Let's forget about him.

『I won't forgive him.』

"Being famous means you get haters too. Getting angry at every single one is a waste of energy."

『But Koh, you were angry.』

"Because that bastard brought up my magic power! There are things you should and shouldn't say! Ughhh it pisses me off!!"

『Koh, you're acting like a kid.』

Whew, I got heated. So this is what they call "getting under your skin"... I guess being called out on something you can't do anything about really does piss you off.

"Still, 'listeners,' huh."

『What are listeners? Like squirrels?』

"Nah, audience. He's probably a streamer or something. Like a live broadcast on TV."

I've heard a lot of Hunters do streaming. Because it builds recognition.

From my analysis, Hunters can be broadly divided into two types. The "meritocracy" type like Shiki-kun, or the "popularity-first" type.

There are plenty of Hunters who specialize in putting on a show during World Clock battles. They do it hoping to attract sponsors and get work through public recognition. And streaming — and listeners — are huge for that.

"When you stand out like that, the listeners spread it around for you, y'know."

I murmured that I watched them sometimes too, and Lumiel flicked her tail with disinterest.

『Then getting angry earlier was probably bad.』

"Ah, yeah. Probably really bad..."

It might've been spread!!

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I'm planning two more updates today.

Volume 1 is out now, thanks to all of you! Thank you so much.

If you could follow, leave a review, or rate the story, I'd really appreciate it!