You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿-Chapter 119

After that, things proceeded smoothly.

Both Layla and James were handed directly to the police right in front of the dungeon.

This was something that Han Jae-young seemed to be quite happy about.

"You know, the Hunter Association sent a lot of people, but in the end, the police are taking the credit. The Association President is going to look pretty bad."

This, too, was like the situation in Korea, where there is a subtle tension between the existing authorities and the hunters.

Humans, who can’t live alone, always end up fighting when forced to live together. It’s truly strange how creatures like that operate.

I also had to give a brief statement to the police as the kidnapping victim.

I handed over the recordings of various statements made by James Chen.

The original copy, of course, was kept by Han Jae-young.

"Files like these should always have a backup. I'll send it to your email, Da-on."

"Have I ever given you my email address?"

"You're our prospective guild member, and now you’re acting like it’s some big deal. When we go to Korea, I’ll send you a dungeon guide through email before the raid, so don’t just mark it as spam."

...Whether it was because I spent more time with Han Jae-young than expected or because he was just too perceptive, I suddenly made eye contact with James, who was waiting in the police car.

James looked startled and immediately lowered his head in a deep bow.

"Is that James?"

Lee Pyeong-hwa, who had been standing next to me like a bodyguard, frowned.

"Why is he acting like that? He’s the criminal, yet he’s acting all scared. Is he feeling guilty?"

Well, I guess it’s not guilt, but maybe he’s just terrified of looking at me.

Of course, Lee Pyeong-hwa, who had no idea about the situation, was grumbling.

"Should I go over and say something? Tell him to act his age."

I wasn’t sure how well the translation tool was handling this.

"Leave him be. Han Jae-young probably beat him up so badly that his legs are shaking just looking at him."

"Huh? Me? How could I—... Isn't it Yoo Han-ul?"

"...The people I hit weren’t James Chen, they were his subordinates."

Yoo Han-ul, who had been quietly sitting, responded calmly even though he was suddenly called out.

"And if they were James Chen’s subordinates, they probably expected something like this."

Well, that was something only they could confirm.

But the subordinates of James Chen, whom Yoo Han-ul had dealt with, were all moaning in the back of an ambulance, not a police car.

The ambulance that had come to check on me, the kidnapping victim, had only taken a quick look at me before heading off to transport the other injured people.

Given that all of them had broken bones, it was clear how efficiently Yoo Han-ul had handled them.

"Anyway, now that it's James or whoever, he’s going to jail, right?"

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"I don’t think so."

"Huh?"

Han Jae-young snickered at Lee Pyeong-hwa’s innocent question.

"Embezzlement charges? In the end, it’s still an internal matter within the Association. The Hunter Association will strip him of his position and reputation, but..."

For Layla Lopez, it was probably worse than death or prison, but that’s a matter of perspective.

"Do you think he’ll end up in prison? Maybe just probation at best?"

Han Jae-young’s explanation wasn’t all that surprising.

In fact, Layla Lopez herself had mentioned that even if she reported James Chen, this would have been the outcome.

‘He won’t be locked up anyway, so I guess they served him loneliness.’

Even if James was kicked out of the Association, his connections and wealth wouldn’t just disappear.

There would still be ways to make use of him.

If James was helplessly locked in prison, there would be no use for him, and that would be a waste of a valuable resource.

‘Honestly, it’s not a bad result for only being kidnapped for two days.’

After all, Layla Lopez was about to return to the Association, and now she had James Chen, who still had some use for her.

Moreover, they had targeted me first, so I wasn’t involved in any ridiculous "good deed" quests.

I now had two pieces on the chessboard that I could control, and I almost felt like being kidnapped for a few more days.

"Ha, but wasn’t it a nightmare for you with the embezzled items during the Gwanghwamun Dungeon Break? There were even casualties."

Unlike me, Lee Pyeong-hwa seemed really shocked.

She couldn’t believe that a criminal °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° like this wouldn’t end up in prison after a trial.

"To prove that James Chen is responsible for this incident, the prosecution would have to prove the connection between him and Lee Man-bok... but that’s difficult."

Even with monsters popping up worldwide and awakeners using supernatural abilities, some things remain unchanged.

"Even if it’s proven that there was a connection, did James personally give the items to Lee Man-bok? Or, when passing them on indirectly, did he intend to trigger the Gwanghwamun Dungeon Break? Those are the issues."

Humans always create systems full of holes compared to their desires.

No matter what structure is built, creatures always find ways to escape it.

Quest, ‘Good deeds will bring you blessings?’ is in progress.Well, at least thanks to that, I haven’t fallen into the trap of that quest system.

"Still... you recorded it, right? If we use the recording as evidence..."

"James Chen has been a Hunter for over 20 years."

Yoo Han-ul, who had been listening quietly, interjected.

"And... Hunters with this much experience often go for psychiatric counseling or take medication."

People tend to envy high-ranked Hunters because of the money and status they earn, but there’s always a shadow behind the light.

No matter how much of a monster someone is, it’s impossible to stay indifferent to fighting for life and death.

Things happen during those fights, and it’s a fact that many rely on psychiatric counseling or medication.

"What does that mean...?"

"It means the lawyer will likely claim that his statements were made while under the influence of drugs. And it’ll probably hold up in court."

Lee Pyeong-hwa dropped her jaw at my words.

"Wait... you’re saying they’ll use mental illness as an excuse?"

"I honestly think he might have a mental illness."

Even if he didn’t have one before, the PTSD he would have from this incident wouldn’t be surprising.

"Still, that’s too much. This is really unfair to the actual patients."

"You’ll be a Hunter soon, so you should read up on some case studies related to Hunters’ trials."

"That’s too much... really..."

Is this what real twenty-year-old innocence looks like?

If she heard that it was a trend among veteran Hunters to have a few psychiatric disorders on record, she would probably faint.

I don’t remember my actual twenties, but I don’t think I was like that back then.

"...It’s not like it’s all negative. I’m just saying that it’s what’s happened so far; we don’t know how the actual trial will go. Everyone will try to make sure they get what’s coming to them."

Yoo Han-ul, this guy seems like he was once this innocent when he was twenty.

I glanced at Yoo Han-ul, who was comforting Lee Pyeong-hwa in his own way.

‘Come to think of it, now he’s talking to me like it’s no big deal.’

Before the kidnapping incident, he treated me like I was some kind of germ to avoid.

If he had kept distancing himself from me after the kidnapping, I wouldn’t have cared either.

"We’ll head straight to the airport once things settle down here."

"Is that okay?"

"Yes, it’s fine. After all, I was kidnapped while doing an interview before my departure. The U.S. side should provide this much courtesy."

It seemed more like the U.S. government just wanted to avoid further trouble, not wanting to keep me in their country any longer.

The embassy staff was also talking with the police.

"I’ll just go talk to them for a bit."

"Oh, I’ll check if the staff brought my luggage."

Coincidentally, both Han Jae-young and Lee Pyeong-hwa left their seats.

I couldn’t help but wonder if they were working together.

In the end, only Yoo Han-ul and I remained in the seat.

It was a very awkward combination.

"Achoo."

It wasn’t that it was awkward—it was just that it was really cold.

Even though it was getting close to summer, the evening breeze still felt chilly.

Or maybe it was just the eerie atmosphere of the place.

"Take this."

At that moment, a thick scarf was draped around my neck.

Yoo Han-ul, frowning, said,

"You just got out of the hospital, so you should be careful. If you catch a cold, it’ll be a big problem."

I stared at Yoo Han-ul.

‘This guy... is he in his right mind?’

He had always been kind to others, but he had treated me like a germ before, and now he was suddenly taking care of me like this.

"...Sorry."

Was he apologizing all of a sudden?

I didn’t know what he was apologizing for, so I kept observing him with suspicion.

"Are you sure you’re not out of your mind?"

He seemed fine on the outside, though.

"Haha... I caused trouble in the dungeon."

"Do you remember?"

This was the first time I directly asked him about what happened in the dungeon.

I had kept putting it off because I had no way of dealing with it before...

‘But I can’t just leave it alone now.’

Before going back to Korea, I needed to confront this issue, no matter what.

‘There are a lot of people around, so he won’t kill me here.’

"The memory from the dungeon... I remember it."

Yoo Han-ul cautiously started talking.

I quietly listened to his words.

"You looked like someone else, not Jeong Da-on. And I didn’t look like myself either... I felt like I was someone else. It wasn’t a pleasant experience."

It made sense since he must have recalled his past life memories.

The issue was whether he was aware that it was his past life or not.

And whether he was looking at my soul and treating it as his past life, or just mistaking me for a woman of a similar age.

While I was listening carefully, he suddenly said,

"...Actually, I received a really tough quest from the system."

A sudden, unexpected topic.

"What quest are you talking about?"

I knew exactly which quest Yoo Han-ul was referring to.

Quest: 'SAVE THE WORLD'—Would you like to participate?

A grand-sounding quest with the title "Save the World."

Yoo Han-ul laughed awkwardly.

"It’s hard to talk about what the quest is, but after coming out of the last dungeon, the system has been acting weird. It seems related somehow, but..."

"Stop beating around the bush and just tell me. It’s frustrating."

"Yeah, honestly, I was trying to hide it, which is why I avoided you."

Yoo Han-ul sighed as if he was dealing with a troublemaker.

"I guess it’s impossible to keep hiding it. You’ve been involved in too many incidents."

"If you keep dragging this out..."

"The system has activated a sub-quest to make you my ally whenever you see Da-on."

"...Huh?"

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

Did he just say what I think he said?

"The system even said that if I accept this sub-quest... I’ll have no choice but to make you my companion."

...This crazy system!