"Mr. Hudson. It is good to see you again-"
"Woo Jinchul. Aren't you supposed to be overseeing the hunters back at the Association? What are you doing down here?"
At my words, the young man with orange hair and black eyes looked embarrassed for a few seconds before regaining his demeanor as an A-Rank hunter working for the Korean Hunters Association.
"The Chairman has sent me to collect the order he placed."
I raised an eyebrow and continued staring at him, making him sweat a little before he sighed in defeat.
"Fine. The work at the Association is a little low these days, so I am left with free time. Figured I'd stop by to see how you are doing."
"In other words, you wanted to use the excuse of picking up the order to slack off in my shop."
"Guh! When you put it like that-"
I waved my hand and chuckled a little before sitting on the couch with him on the opposite side.
"Don't worry, kid. Your secret is safe with me. It is quite unfortunate that despite having been completed a few days ago, those standard swords and shields are going to need some last-minute checking before I hand them over."
The young man grinned as he easily grasped the hidden meaning in my words.
"Quite unfortunate indeed. So, how's life treating you?"
"Same as it always is. At least, I don't have to fight for my life these few years, so that is something."
I leaned back into the couch and closed my eyes in contentment.
"Honestly, I can't really complain about this mundane life I've carved out for myself."
"….You know, we could really use someone like you in the Association. Even if not as a combatant, you could still become our exclusive blacksmith. The pay won't be as high as that of the Guilds, but it will still be much higher than what you currently make-"
"Drop it, kid. I ain't interested in playing politics in those tall towers and fancy meeting rooms, not anymore."
"Fine. I just had to try."
Again, I chuckled at his words.
"I know. If you gave up that easily, then I would have doubted Go Gunhee's decision to choose you as his successor."
"Oi! The old man has not made any declarations like that, and neither has he made any such indications towards me in private. Don't give me false hope like that."
This time, I sat forward and gave him a serious stare.
"Woo Jinchul. Take it from an old man like me. Go Gunhee gives you more privileges than any other agent in the organization, even more than many S-Rank hunters that I've seen. If that is not favoritism, I don't know what is. Putting that aside, do you not see just how much workload he keeps putting on you? Workload that someone of your access level should never even see in the first place? Does it not tell you anything?"
As the young man fell silent at my words, I reached into my storage space and pulled out a bottle of expensive wine and an Estus bottle disguised as a regular bottle.
My sense of taste had long since been eroded to nothing thanks to the countless years I spent in Lordran and my nature as an Undead. The only thing that can even remotely make me taste anything is the Estus, which keeps refilling itself every day for some strange reason, despite there being no bonfire or a Fire Keeper.
My best guess is that the Flask itself is drawing the ambient mana in this world to refill itself, somehow.
Pouring the wine into a glass and pushing towards the man who was thinking deeply about my words, I drank the Estus in a leisurely manner.
Woo Jinchul finally came out of his brooding and took the glass I offered, slowly sipping at the wine.
As a powerful Hunter, his metabolism is extremely powerful. So much so that most kinds of alcohol and poison have no effect on him, just like the rest of the hunters, even E-Rankers like Jinwoo. The only way for their bodies to be affected is if they drink alcohol made with mana or poison refined from monsters.
"The Astraea Guild is trying to get the Chairman to reveal your location again."
Damn it, kid! Did you come here to annoy me or something?
He must have spotted my expressions since he had the audacity to smirk at me.
"Of course, the old man turned down the request and rebuffed all of their subtle threats and bribes. There is no way we are going to let another country poach you just like that."
"Good. Seriously, that man needs to learn about giving up. Just because he runs the number one guild in France and is an S-Ranker does not mean that he should always get his way with things."
"But, can you blame him for his persistence? You should have thought of the consequences before you acted as publicly as you did back then."
This time, I glared at Jinchul.
"Are you saying it is my fault for saving the lives of those people?"
He gave me a somber look as he nodded.
"If you wanted to stay hidden and away from fighting again in this life, then yes. As callous as it sounds, people die all the time. If you really wanted to stay away from that life, you should have stayed put and let whatever was happening go on."
Then, his face split into a knowing grin, much to my annoyance.
"Then again, I know you too well. You may bitch about today's generation and that you hate fighting. You might say that all you want to do is create things all the time and live in peace with your family. But deep down, you know as well as I that when push comes to shove, when people are placed in danger in front of your eyes, you cannot help but act."
For a split second, his confident face was replaced by that of a man wearing bulky armor shaped like an onion. A phantom from days long past.
I chuckled bitterly at those words and fell silent, drinking the Estus and spending the evening with the young man who wished to slack off from his responsibilities.
I did not have the heart to tell the young man that he was wrong in his assumptions.
I do not care what happens to others. Any sense of empathy I once had was long since stripped from me back in that hell and the countless loops I went through.
The only reason I acted to save those people back in France, and why I would do what he thinks I would do, is because I am nothing more than an imitation.
An imitation of a Warrior of Sunlight that spoke of chivalry. He was a true hero to the end, no matter how many loops I go through. An imitation that I must carry out so that I can make him and the rest of my friends and loved ones proud.
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Matteo Blanche knew that he was dreaming.
He knew this as a fact, not because his senses were telling him that, but because what he was seeing in front of him was an incident that had already passed, a calamity that he and his guild escaped through sheer luck, and the help of their savior.
It was supposed to be an easy Dungeon raid. A C-Rank dungeon that should have posed no threat to his group of S-Rankers that came to help his precious daughter gain experience in her very first Dungeon raid.
And yet, everything went wrong when they killed the boss.
As the dungeon started to collapse, a strange, humanoid monster appeared out of nowhere and started to slaughter his group.
It was absurd.
The strongest S-Rank hunters of their country were being killed like chickens as the monster weaved between their attacks with inhuman grace and deadly attacks.
Then, things became even worse as the humanoid's last attack threw Matteo and his daughter, Alicia, out of the Gate and directly in the midst of the civilians watching from outside, including his son, Aaron.
One moment, Matteo was about to issue a command to the surrounding security to evacuate everyone, and then the next moment, he was lying on the floor as a large chunk of his abdomen was carved out by the monster.
Matteo heard his daughter and son's frightened screams, but he could not bring himself to move, to protect his family, or to do his duty as a hunter.
He felt a powerful burst of mana and ice engulf the area as the distant screams of the civilians reached his ears.
Instinctually, he understood that his daughter must have lost control of her ice magic due to witnessing his 'death', resulting in an ice storm that must have engulfed everyone in the area and either killed or frozen them solid.
In that moment, between life and death, he prayed and begged.
He begged any god, devil, or monster that would listen. He begged for the safety of his children. He begged for their lives and to take him in return.
Something, somewhere, must have heard the plea of this dying man, for a miracle that no one could have hoped for took place.
The frigid winds of Ice were swiftly pushed back by an angry storm of fire that swept through the area, vaporizing all the ice and suppressing Alicia's magic completely.
"Great Heal! Soothing Sunlight!"
With a voice that promised salvation, a golden light engulfed Matteo's vision momentarily before he felt strength return to him slowly as his pain vanished.
Then, the same voice rang out again, this time promising the destruction of his foe.
"Gravelord Sword Dance!"
What Matteo saw as he turned to the monster was a sight he would never forget in his life.
Blades made of mana, that looked as if they were dripping blood, manifested from beneath the ground, intending to slaughter the monster as it did with his hunters.
However, the monster managed to barely avoid the attack at the last second.
As the blades continued to burst through the ground, chasing their prey, the monster continued to perform this dance of death, not knowing that he was now but prey being led towards his demise by the hunter.
Suddenly, the monster lunged towards the man facing it, intent on killing the hunter just like it did with the rest of his team.
However, its claws that easily broke through the defenses of Matteo's high-rank magic armor, found no purchase on the armor and helm of his mysterious savior. The armor that seemed to have been made of stone easily blocked the extremely powerful monster's blows with hilarious ease.
This failure only fueled the monster's fury further as its attacks became even more frantic and started to release its full power that swept through the area, revealing that it was at least a National-Rank monster, much to Matteo's horror.
And yet, the hunter proved to be just as deadly as he matched the monster blow for blow, their hand-to-hand fight transcending anything that Matteo had ever seen as the beautiful and deadly dance of their battle mesmerized him.
Suddenly, the monster leaped away from the man, its intent clear to see as it eyed the surrounding civilians. However, it would not find its hostage as the man showed that he was waiting for this very moment.
"Tranquil Walk of Peace."
With those words, a spell was invoked, locking the monster in place as it struggled to move.
Then, the man made his next move with his open palm, which was engulfed with a powerful flame that gave Matteo a sense of wrongness.
The Monster screamed in pain as black flames engulfed its form, reducing it to cinders in a matter of mere seconds.
And yet, Matteo's relief would be short-lived as the civilians woke up from their shock.
"You Bitch! Why did you aim at me with your magic!"
"Murderer!"
"You Monster!"
"You don't deserve to be a hunter!"
Various accusations and complaints were thrown at his precious daughter, who looked lost and deeply hurt while holding the unconscious form of her brother.
Matteo felt his blood boil at those words. He understood that these civilians were only lashing out due to fear and hate for what had happened. That these were the actions of people who had just lost someone close to them due to an unfortunate accident.
However, he would not allow them to accuse his innocent daughter of something that she had no control over.
Just as he began to rise from the ground, intent on shielding his daughter from the outrage, a powerful surge of mana erupted from their savior that forced these civilians into silence, as even people as useless as they felt suffocated by the sheer intent behind this mana.
"How Pathetic. You people blame someone else for a tragedy of your own making?"
One of the civilians, a rash young man, spoke out despite his fear, holding the limp body of his lover.
"W-what do you mean? It was clear that witch that-"
"Tell me. Who were the ones who clearly broke through the barricades set up to keep civilians away from the Gate?"
The man turned to the rest of the civilians.
"Who were the ones who willingly overpowered the security guards just so that they could catch a glimpse of their so-called idols? Ignoring all warnings and danger to themselves."
"The same idols that you are now blaming for an accident that happened only because you people were too close to the Gate?"
"E-Even so-"
"Even so, what? You want to blame an innocent girl for losing control of her emotions when her father appeared to have died in front of her eyes, when you people are now blaming her for losing your loved ones? Is her pain not the same as what you feel now? Is she not entitled to feel emotions just because she is a hunter? Pathetic."
The man turned away from the group as golden energy started to burst out of him.
"No wonder hunters are starting to hate their jobs. If this is the result of what they face when they shed blood, sweat, and tears to keep you pathetic lot safe, then I say they should stop doing so much and leave you ungrateful people to fend for yourselves."
"Homeward"
With that spell invoked, the man started to fade from view, showing that it was a transportation spell. However, before he faded completely from view, he uttered two more spells.
"Remedy" "Bountiful Sunlight"
Suddenly, the people who were lying on the edge of death in the civilian crowd were healed, and those suffering from frostbite were instantly freed from the effects.
Unfortunately, there were still a handful of casualties, but the worst-case scenario was avoided thanks to the mysterious man.
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"My Lord. We have received a request from the association."
Matteo woke up from the dream and became alert, turning to the butler and waiting for his response outside the door of his office.
"Come in."
The old man opened the door and entered, carrying a handwritten letter containing the details.
Skimming through the details that asked for his guild's help in clearing an S-Rank dungeon that sprang up in the country, Matteo nodded and handed it back to the butler.
"Tell them that we will send a team to clear it soon."
"Of course, My Lord."
"What did Go Gunhee say about our latest offer?"
"Rebuffed. As always."
Matteo smiled at those words as he leaned back.
"That stubborn old man. Fine. I guess it is time to take a direct approach to this."
"Is that a wise choice?"
"For me? No. But my daughter is not as limited as I am in terms of movement, and neither is my son. They should be able to take care of this task in my stead."
The old butler simply bowed and headed out, leaving his master to stare off into the distance.
It took Matteo two years of rigorous scouring across the world through his contacts and social circles before he was finally able to pinpoint the location of his savior, thanks to his armor design.
Matteo is a Blanche. And a Blanche must always pay back his debts.
For that reason, Matteo will never stop until he finds his savior, this he swears on his family name.
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Matteo Blanche: (Click here for image)
Aaron Blanche: (Click here for image)
Alicia Blanche: (Click here for image)
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Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1