Chapter 197 - Chapter 197 (1/2)

'I lost.'

Thomas Andre slowly opened his eyes as his head kept repeating those two words he never thought he'd say ever again.

He found himself inside a hospital room.

'When was the last time I stopped by at a hospital?'

Jin-Woo might have frequented hospitals as if they were his second home during his early years as a Hunter. However, Thomas Andre didn't, and he couldn't recall a single instance of staying in a hospital even once, ever since becoming a Hunter.

Just who would've expected to see this kind of a result from a fight between a Hunter who used to be the worst even among the rank Es, and a man who started his career at the very top?

Of course, Thomas Andre didn't care about Jin-Woo's past. He was still deeply flustered with this result, though.

'I really... did lose.'

Thomas Andre slowly sat up with a dazed face of a man whose soul had abandoned him.

Tap, tap….

The sound of someone lightly tapping on a keyboard came to a halt. He shifted his gaze in that direction and found the main manager of the Scavenger Guild, Laura, sitting in a location not too far, but not too close, either.

Perhaps she was in the middle of her work because her slender fingers were still hovering above the laptop's keyboard.

"You've woken up."

"….Looks like it."

Thomas Andre withdrew his gaze and rubbed his chin.

One could estimate just how much time had passed, with the length of one's beard. Should he say he felt relieved, then? Because... his beard wasn't as long as he feared.

"About... one day, is it?'

"Yes."

Laura affirmed it for him with a short answer, before continuing on.

"The first doctor to examine you suggested that I should prepare for the worst case of you waking up several weeks later."

That was how terrible Thomas Andre's conditions were last night.

But then….

….She found it bit difficult to decide whether him waking up after only one day was rather befitting of Thomas Andre's capabilities, or the fact that he even blacked out in the first place was unbecoming of him, instead.

Laura felt this conflict of emotion as she stood next to her boss's bed.

"Should I call for a doctor?"

"No, not yet."

Thomas Andre massaged his aching temples and shook his head.

The impact force he felt when that man punched him in the head still remained vivid even now. What a horrible pain this was. So much so, he no longer wanted to recall yesterday's event if he could help it.

A doctor wouldn't be able to do much anyway, even if one was summoned here. Besides all that, though – wasn't there something else he should confirm first?

Thomas Andre quickly asked.

"What about Mister Hwang?"

Laura's lips parted for a moment, but she couldn't verbalise her answer and simply shook her head.

"....Is that so."

He pondered for a little while longer, before asking a different question with an unconcerned tone of voice.

"What about other losses?"

"We have incurred many injured personnel, but thanks to the timely response from the Hunter Bureau, everyone has fully recovered."

Thomas Andre had been maintaining his calm until then, but he couldn't stop his voice from going up an octave.

"There were no other casualties?"

"Yes, sir."

"....."

His shock soon morphed into astonishment. He began gasping out inwardly.

Even though the fight had been truly intense, not one person was killed. It could only mean that his opponent went easy on them.

This was a clear sign of an overwhelming defeat.

When a person tastes such a complete defeat, one would often lose any notion of getting angry at the result. That's how Thomas Andre felt right about now.

He was also awestruck, as well. Jin-Woo had defeated not just Thomas Andre, but all the elite Hunters the American had gathered, all by himself. That made Thomas somewhat fearful of the young Korean Hunter. No, his emotion had gone beyond that and almost into the territory of pure respect.

Thomas Andre always told himself that being powerful was justice, so the mental shock he felt right now was rather immense.

However...

However, why was he being like this?

He tasted an ignoble defeat yet he didn't feel so bad at all. Maybe, he had no regrets because he got to confirm the gap between him and his opponent?

He didn't feel like getting angry at the person who defeated him. Nor was he thinking of avenging his loss, either.

'Instead, it's more like....'

As several thoughts began crisscrossing in his head, Laura suddenly presented him with a small but lengthy box. It was a case for glasses.

'….?'

Thomas Andre accepted this case while sending her a puzzled stare. She solved his curiosity right away.

"Your sunglasses were recovered from the location, but they were too damaged to be repaired."

Click.

He opened the case to find a new pair of sunglasses with the same design as before that he liked to wear. Thomas Andre broke into a smirk and put them on.

"Looks like I keep ending up owing people."

Laura was inwardly worried that her boss would start going off on a rampage the moment he woke up, but his response brought about a sense of relief in her and she sighed inwardly, before forming a gentle smile.

"It's my job, sir."

Thomas Andre wordlessly stared into the distance, before quietly opening his mouth.

"Mister Hwang…. Make sure you hold a proper funeral for him. He was still one of our own, after all."

"Understood."

"Oh, and also...."

And also?

Laura stopped jotting down Thomas Andre's orders in her memo pad and raised her head.

"Tell Hunter Seong Jin-Woo that the Scavenger Guild will…. No, wait. Scratch that. Send him a message that I, Thomas Andre, will offer an official apology."

***

Protect the Hunters.

Why did Madam Selner say something like this? Jin-Woo formed a puzzled expression.

"....Why me?"

She seemed to be unsure of where to start her story but eventually, opened her mouth rather laboriously.

"While the dream kept repeating itself, I tried my best to memorise the faces of those hunting down the Hunters. However, it was all for nought."

She explained that all she could remember after waking up were faces covered in veils of darkness.

"And so, I decided to use another method. Even if it was just a dream, I'd use my ability to look into their true nature, their true form."

"Was that why you looked into my eyes last time?"

"Yes, correct."

Madam Selner readily admitted to how her ability worked.

Ba-thump.