* * *

Entering through the door Kim Taeeun opened, Do Hajun saw a familiar but unwelcomed face.

He immediately straightened up, saluting with a hand to his forehead.

“Salute…”

“Enough, come and sit.”

The first female president with absolute public support, now in her fourth term, Shin Misook waved him over.

“Yes.”

Do Hajun, sitting in a military posture, looked more like a soldier than a hunter.

Before meeting Do Hajun, Shin Misook had received a briefing on him.

A half-baked hunter who awakened at 20 but couldn’t join any guild due to his ability useless in real combat.

Rumor had it his basic hunter stats weren’t bad, and he had a decent sense for things, but he was in an awkward position due to lacking any dungeon-conquering skills.

Given his decent base stats, not becoming a real hunter wasn’t really an option, especially since he had grown up solely as a fencer and couldn’t live a normal life. So, he chose to become a national hunter. (Hunter working for the government)

Initially, he worked in an office, but later he voluntarily entered the military training camp and went through training similar to special forces before participating in combat.

“So, how’s the hunter work?”

“I’m grateful to be contributing to the country.”

One might need to smear their lips with honey to say such words.

He spoke with such an emotionless expression and eyes that he resembled a robot.

After asking a few personal questions and receiving stiff replies, Shin Misook gave up on small talk and got to the point.

“How did you find him?”

“He was in front of my house.”

“Didn’t you notice at all?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Right. I’ve heard you’re not interested in people. But isn’t Lee Cheongmyeong famous? He’s been in several national commercials.”

Shin Misook grumbled, sinking into the sofa.

“To put it simply, Hunter Lee Cheongmyeong lost contact early this morning in an SSS-class dark dungeon.”

“Weren’t other team members with him?”

“Yes. I don’t know your team’s strategy, but Alpha Team said Hunter Lee Cheongmyeong entered the dungeon first to assess the situation.”

Shin Misook handed Do Hajun a document from the table.

The document contained brief information about the dungeon, the time Lee Cheongmyeong entered, and the time he was confirmed missing.

“Alpha Team entered the dungeon later to find the missing team leader but couldn’t locate Hunter Lee Cheongmyeong until they finished the raid. Fortunately, his clothes had a tracker, and tracking led to…”

“My house.”

“Correct.”

Shin Misook nodded.

-Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

A man entered, handed a document to Shin Misook, and said, “We tried the high-level curse removal potion, but it had no effect. It’s confirmed not to be a curse.”

Shin Misook flipped through the document the man handed over.

“This is troublesome. Have a look.”

The document showed no reaction to curse removal and stated that the body’s composition was similar to that of an infant.

An adult, a hunter with considerable magic resistance, had turned into a child.

If it’s not a curse, then…

“Is it a Monster skill?”

South Korea had the most dungeons as well as hunters.

The variety of monsters appearing in the dungeons was immense, each with unique characteristics.

If it’s not a curse, then a new Monster skill has been discovered. One even difficult for SS-class hunters to handle.

“What do you think? Do you believe it’s a curse?”

Do Hajun shook his head.

“No, it appears to be a monster skill.”

“Right. If a potion can’t remove a curse, it must be a skill. The only way to undo it?”

“We have to kill the monster.”

For Monster skills, defeating the monster was the only way to break it.

“This is a headache.”

Shin Misook tossed the document she was reading onto the desk and rubbed her forehead.

Hunters were national power. Their skills weren’t only useful in dungeons; they were also crucial for war and disaster recovery.

South Korea had two SS-class and one SSS-class hunter. Globally, no other country had so many high-grade hunters.

But now, an SS-class hunter had turned into a child, significantly weakening the national power.

“…I ask this of you, Hunter Do Hajun.”

“Yes?”

Lost in thought, Do Hajun looked at Shin Misook when she called his name.

“Take care of Lee Cheongmyeong.”

“No, I refu-”

“Look after Lee Cheongmyeong.”

The order came faster than the refusal.

“President.”

“No leaves, no resignations, no sick leave.”

With no escape route, Shin Misook smiled broadly.

“Why me?”

“Because your ability is caregiving.”

“It’s rumored to be useless.”

“Then let’s make it useful.”

Shin Misook opened the last document on the table.

Her finger pointed to a part of Do Hajun’s detailed profile.

“An Ability usable for those under ten. Will you refuse now? You said you’re grateful to contribute to the country, so consider taking care of Hunter Lee Cheongmyeong as contributing to the country.”

Do Hajun frowned.

Half a day with Lee Cheongmyeong had already exhausted him.

Now, he was asked to take care of a childified combat hunter?

Newly awakened hunters often couldn’t properly control their power, not knowing their strength.

If adults struggled, children would have an even harder time.

If it was a support type, it might be manageable, but combat types could accidentally destroy buildings or attack people.

Even experienced hunters sometimes caused accidents when they couldn’t control their powers, which often made the news.

Better to have parents who could control them.

“You don’t know, do you?”

Uncharacteristically hesitant, Shin Misook tapped the desk.

“Hunter Lee Cheongmyeong is an orphan.”

Seeing Do Hajun flinch, Shin Misook suppressed a smile.

“Who would take in an orphaned combat hunter?”

“I’m sorry. I’m a hunter in name only, no different from a regular person. Moreover, I’m not suited to take care of children.”

In a cold tone, as if he never flinched, Shin Misook turned and pressed a button on the desk.

“Bring him in.”

Before Shin Misook finished speaking, the previously quiet outside erupted with the sound of crying.

The wailing was Lee Cheongmyeong.

The door opened, and Lee Cheongmyeong entered, his fair face flushed red.

“Decide.”

Despite the loud crying, Shin Misook’s voice was clear.

Do Hajun looked alternately between Shin Misook and Lee Cheongmyeong.

“Are you going to take care of this, or is there no one else? We have no other options.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Shin Misook leaned back in her chair, observing the fierce look on Do Hajun’s face.

“I have a duty to protect and safeguard the citizens.” (Shin Misook)

“Hunter Lee Cheongmyeong is also a citizen.” (Do Hajun)

“No. You know this too. An SS-rank minor Hunter is like a ticking time bomb. It’s not strange for a disaster to occur at any time.” (Shin Misook)

Shin Misook tilted her head slightly and continued.

“You’re right. Protecting Hunter Lee Cheongmyeong is also my duty. He is a citizen and a valuable asset. But if one person causes harm to the majority, we don’t have many options. That’s why I called you.” (Shin Misook, TL: I put the name of the person delivering the dialogue to prevent confusion.)

Do Hajun bit his lip.

Although she was speaking in a roundabout way, her message was clear.

If Hunter Lee Cheongmyeong couldn’t control his power, no matter how young he was, they couldn’t just leave him be.

Since he was the only Hunter who could manage childcare with his Caregiving skill, it meant he had to do something about it.

Otherwise, they might have to handle it decisively to prevent any future accidents.

In other words, Shin Misook was forcing Do Hajun to take on the childcare responsibility.

* * *

“…Do you trust Team Leader Do Hajun?”

At Secretary-General Jeon Hyejin’s question, Shin Misook looked up from her documents.

“Why? Don’t you?”

“No.”

At her firm response, Shin Misook leaned back in her plush chair.

Secretary-General Jeon Hyejin, who had been with her for twenty years, was the most loyal to Shin Misook and cared deeply about the country.

From her perspective, Do Hajun seemed untrustworthy earlier.

He was requesting a deal from her, the president, and the country to which he should be loyal.

“Understood. I’ll handle it.”

“Alright. Your sacrifice—”

“But I have conditions.”

Do Hajun, who had stood up, approached the crying Lee Cheongmyeong.

“Huaaaang..”

“Stop. Don’t cry.”

Using his skill to calm Lee Cheongmyeong, Do Hajun gently patted his back. Though it was an awkward attempt at comfort, Lee Cheongmyeong seemed to find solace and nuzzled his face into Do Hajun’s chest.

Looking at Shin Misook, Do Hajun spoke.

“First, all authority over Lee Cheongmyeong should be delegated to me.”

“…Authority?”

“I will not accept any interference regarding Lee Cheongmyeong.”

Calming Lee Cheongmyeong’s sobs by gently patting his back, Do Hajun continued.

“Second, I will remain the leader of the Delta Team. Therefore, give me the recruitment authority, not the center director.”

“While I also want you to remain the Delta Team leader, why the recruitment authority?”

Do Hajun had made the Delta Team, known for its unruly Hunters, functional.

Without Do Hajun, the Delta Team would likely revert to chaos, which Shin Misook did not want. But why the sudden request for recruitment authority?

“Until Lee Cheongmyeong can make his own decisions as an adult, I plan to assign him to the Delta Team. Besides, I’m tired of people constantly poaching members.”

Shin Misook realized why Do Hajun wanted recruitment authority.

The Delta Team was famous for being a group of ruffians, but Do Hajun’s training abilities also played a part.

Even the most clueless recruits would become fully trained Hunters after three months with the Delta Team, so the Seoul Center kept pushing new recruits into the team, only to transfer them to other teams three months later.

“Alright. I understand.”

“Third.”

“Is there more?”

“Give me one S-rank item or three A-rank items every month.”

The smile vanished from Shin Misook’s face, replaced by a sharp gaze directed at Do Hajun.

“Are you proposing a monetary transaction with me?”

Items.

Unlike dungeon byproducts, items sporadically obtained by defeating dungeon monsters were essential for Hunters.

Higher-ranked monsters had higher-ranked items, so private companies sought to pre-purchase high-ranked dungeons. But the government was different.

The state had to manage dungeons with no items at all, so it sold all dungeons ranked S and above to private enterprises.

Thus, items were a critical source of revenue outside taxes for the state. Demanding the highest-ranked items every month was an outrageous request.

However—

“Shouldn’t I receive compensation for childcare?”

Do Hajun glanced at the now sleeping Lee Cheongmyeong.

It implied he would return Lee Cheongmyeong if the demand wasn’t met.

Shin Misook clicked her tongue inwardly.

Do Hajun, known for his cold demeanor towards adults, was surprisingly gentle with children.

He couldn’t be harsh even to high school students he had met while using his Caregiving Ability.

How would he act with a three-year-old?

Besides, being smart as he was, he quickly understood her intentions and pushed back.

He not only had intelligence but also quick perception.

“Compensation! Where does a Hunter, who should serve the nation, come off asking for compensation! And do you think you’re entitled to such items?”

Lee Cheongmyeong began to wail again at Jeon Hyejin’s outburst behind Shin Misook.

Do Hajun, without soothing Lee Cheongmyeong, looked at Jeon Hyejin.

“Then will you take him?”

National Hunters were not slaves. They could quit anytime. Thus, if Do Hajun refused, there would be only one choice left.

‘It’s my mistake.’

What she thought was a well-considered strategy had backfired.

“…Alright.”

“President! The items are—”

Shin Misook raised a hand to silence Jeon Hyejin.

“Fine. I accept all your conditions.”

“One more thing. Please provide child support.”

“What?”

Anger flared across Shin Misook’s face.

“Are you joking? First, you ask for an item, and now you’re asking for money again?!”

Shin Misook slammed her armrest.

“The item is a reward for taking care of the child, but the money for raising the child is separate. Please provide child support.”

Do Hajun wore a smile so venomous it would make his team members faint if they saw it.

At that moment, Do Hajun looked like a gangster from a loan shark.

* * *