Part IX

The next day, outside the Demon Castle Gate

"Hm?" Emiya suddenly froze when Jin-Woo used the key to open the Demon Castle dungeon. "Give me a sec."

"What's wrong?" Jin-Woo asked as he watched the Counter Guardian's eyes flitting from left to right, as if he was reading something in front of him which Jin-Woo couldn't see.

Emiya raised his hand and tapped something on thin air, frowning as he read some more.

"It says I don't have the visa."

Jin-Woo stared at Emiya.

"...Say what?"

"I don't have the visa," Emiya pointed with his chin at the swirling Gate. "To that dungeon. It is part of a different dimension."

"Are you kidding me," Jin-Woo deadpanned. "You just want to ditch work, right?"

"...No," Emiya sighed, before gesturing to an unseen panel in front of him. "I was being serious when I said I can't enter because I don't have the pass. My system says so."

"But I can get in," Jin-Woo said, proving that he could do so by sticking his hand into the Gate.

"Apparently, this dungeon is normally not linked to your Earth, so normal Awakened people wouldn't be able to enter either," Emiya pointed at the black key in Jin-Woo's hand. "Only you have the pass."

Jin-Woo facepalmed and groaned. There went his plan to be back in three days. He had decided to bring Emiya along to finish the Demon Castle dungeon because with Emiya, who was much stronger than the current Jin-Woo, they could clear the dungeon three times as fast as if Jin-Woo went alone.

"Can't you, I don't know, apply for a pass to your System?" Jin-Woo asked desperately. "Or get a visa on arrival?"

"It's not that easy," Emiya sighed once more. "Dimension travelling is not as simple as crossing the border between countries on Earth. I need more time and Gold to prepare for the application, and it'll take them at least a week to process it."

"So long? But you said Counter Guardians travel between dimensions all the time."

"Those are business travels, not recreational travels. They are quite stingy when it comes to vacation passes."

"You're pulling my leg, aren't you?"

"Hey, you think applying for a visa is easy?" Emiya tsked in annoyance. "It took me months to apply for a visa to this Earth, and I even got the wrong Earth! Stupid Alaya, I should've hired a private travel agent."

...Jin-Woo wasn't sure whether he was supposed to believe him or not. Emiya must've sensed his skepticism, because he threw his hands up before banging the swirling Gate. Jin-Woo's hands had passed through the Demon Castle Gate easily, but it was clear that it had become a solid wall in front of Emiya.

"Look! I can't go!" Emiya hissed at him. For some reason, he looked extremely vexed, even more so than Jin-Woo himself. "You think I don't want to go? Ever since you told me that I can kill monsters as much as I want in this dungeon, I've been looking forward to it! Because I got the wrong Earth, my retirement plan has failed before it could even begin and I need to vent my frustration! I obviously can't do it here since I can get deported, but at least in the dungeon I can just blast everything to smithereens!"

Silence.

Jin-Woo stared at the heaving Emiya in bewilderment. Just this morning, the very same guy hummed happily while making breakfast, as if today was his birthday or something. He didn't expect the usually calm man to bottle up this much anger.

Maybe he should get a local high rank Gate and let Emiya use it as a rage room. Hopefully Emiya can enter normal Gates, because Jin-Woo didn't want to think about what would happen should the Counter Guardian explode on Earth.

Oh, wait. Jeju happened. Right.

Nervous, Jin-Woo rummaged through his bag and took out a bottle of water, before passing it to Emiya. Thankfully, the man had calmed down enough to accept the bottle without a fuss.

"...Thank you," Emiya gulped down some water before sighing tiredly. "Sorry, I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Please don't deport me."

"I won't, don't worry," Jin-Woo assured him, even though he was prepared to shout 'deport Emiya!' to his System. "I should've believed you. Maybe you can follow me when I get a local high rank Gate. Since normal Awakened people can enter local dungeons, you should be able to go there too."

"Okay."

Jin-Woo scratched his head and sighed. Now what? He still needed to clear the Demon Castle dungeon, but since Emiya couldn't come with him, an S-Rank escort was needed while Jin-Woo was gone. Plus, he had to tell Jin-Ah that his trip would be extended, so Jin-Woo took out his phone and sent some messages.

Two days ago, when he and Emiya went to meet Go Gun-Hee, they had agreed to create a group chat for South Korean S-Rank Hunters. Emiya was docile now, but at least an S-Rank escort was needed whenever he went out. So by having a group chat, Jin-Woo and Emiya himself could request for an escort directly from the S-Rankers.

Their current situation was a bit sudden, but thankfully, Hunter Baek Yoon-Ho was free.

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"Well, then, I'll leave him in your care, Hunter Baek," Hunter Sung said, before vanishing into thin air.

Baek Yoon-Ho could no longer see him, but he could sense that the newest S-Rank Hunter was moving away at high speed. He had heard that Hunter Sung was a magician-type Hunter, but the man sure moved like an assassin. Hunter Sung was unique even among S-Rankers.

And then, there was this one. Yoon-Ho turned to Emiya, who was grumbling about how Hunter Sung was treating him like a kindergartener. The guy who had allegedly destroyed a quarter of Jeju in the span of two hours was an S-Rank Awakened who wished to live as an E-Ranker. Yoon-Ho didn't know how strong Emiya was, but judging by the current state of Jeju Island, he must be dangerously powerful.

Yoon-Ho wondered why were S-Rank escorts even needed, if they could not stop Emiya should he go for a rampage. Fortunately, the Japanese man was sufficiently scared of deportation, thus was willing to cooperate.

"Shall we go?" Yoon-Ho turned to walk down the street, Emiya following obediently. "There's a Korean BBQ restaurant two blocks from here. Have you had lunch yet?"

Emiya perked up at the mention of food. "No, I haven't."

"Good. The food there is quite amazing, so you'd like it," Yoon-Ho grinned. He looked at his watch to check the time. "I have a lunch appointment with a friend there, so do you mind if he joins in? He's another S-Ranker, though he has retired."

Emiya shrugged. "I don't mind."

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Half an hour later, at a Korean BBQ restaurant

"Hyung," Min Byung-Gyu steepled his fingers to hide his mouth, and looked Baek Yoon-Ho in the eye. "I'm going to hire Emiya-ssi."

Yoon-Ho put down his chopsticks and sighed. When Byung-Gyu said something seriously with steepled fingers, Yoon-Ho knew he was going to say something stupid.

"Hire me? For what?" Emiya cluelessly asked, blinking in bewilderment.

"To be my personal griller," Byung-Gyu replied, before gesturing wildly at his own bowl. "This. What the hell is this? I thought we bought normal samgyeopsal, but this tastes even better than the marbled beef I had three years ago! What did you do to the samgyeopsal?!"

"Uh, I just grilled it normally," Emiya scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, before flipping the meat on the grill plate with the tongs. The pork belly sizzled, giving off a pleasant savoury smell. With the provided scissors, he cut the meat into bite-size pieces, before putting some into Byung-Gyu's bowl. "Here, have more. The lunch is on me, so you should eat a lot."

"Marry me!" Byung-Gyu gobbled up the meat in tears.

"Hey, hey, slow down," Yoon-Ho scolded the retired Hunter as he took some of the sizzling meat into his own bowl. "Emiya-ssi and I have barely eaten anything and you've finished a whole plate of samgyeopsal by yourself."

"I," Byung-Gyu gulped, before putting more meat into his mouth. "I have three older brothers. I had to fight them for food when we were young."

"Yes, and your brothers are all bony," Yoon-Ho nodded as he took a piece of lettuce and put grilled meat, garlic, kimchi and ssamjang onto the lettuce, before wrapping them up.

"You sure put a lot of vegetables into your wrap, hyung," Byung-Gyu commented. "I thought you're the White Tiger."

"It's the way I like it," Yoon-Ho replied, before putting the wrap into his mouth. Mm. Indeed, it was delicious. "Besides, tigers do eat grass."

"Yeah, but that's for easing digestion," Byung-Gyu looked at him worriedly. "Hyung, are you having digestive problems?"

"Oh, just shut up and eat!"

"You two seem quite close," Emiya commented, amused by their antics. "I had thought S-Rankers are individualistic."

"Normally, they are," Byung-Gyu grinned at him. "Most S-Rankers in South Korea belong to a Guild, and they always compete with each other to make their Guild the best one in the country. You should see Hyung with Choi Jong-In; they fight like cats and dogs whenever they meet."

"Yeah, I've seen them," Emiya smirked, while Yoon-Ho's ears turned red in embarrassment. "We met two days ago, when I was at the South Korea Hunter Association. They couldn't stop fighting over Sung Jin-Woo."

"Right? It's always amusing to watch them fight," Byung-Gyu laughed. "Anyway, I've known Hyung ever since the third Jeju raid two years ago. I'm a Healer and I don't belong to any Guild, so we don't fight over who's the best or whatever. Nowadays we meet up for lunch or for a drink, since Hyung is pretty rich and always buys me food, hahaha!"

Yoon-Ho gave him an exasperated smile. Byung-Gyu was a peculiar S-Ranker, as he was a compassionate Hunter who hated blood and violence, unlike most S-Rank Hunters. The failed Jeju raid two years ago had driven the Healer to depression, especially when one of their friends died in the raid. In a way, Byung-Gyu was similar to Emiya in that both chose to live like normal people. The public backlash was inevitable, but he certainly looked more alive now than when he was still a Hunter. After all, Byung-Gyu may have not lost any limb, but he harboured more hidden scars than any other S-Rankers in South Korea. Yoon-Ho was relieved to see him smiling again after the tragedy.

"Speaking of which," Byung-Gyu munched on a piece of lettuce while waiting for Emiya to finish grilling the next batch of meat. "Hyung, do you know who caused the Jeju incident three days ago? I need to thank them for squishing a lot of ants."

"Ah…," Yoon-Ho inadvertently glanced at Emiya. No one but South Korean S-Rank Hunters could know about Emiya's identity, and Byung-Gyu had retired so he wasn't included in the group. "I don't know."

Byung-Gyu narrowed his eyes at him.

"You know," he accused, before humming in thought. He turned to Emiya who continued grilling the meat in silence. "Was it the Japanese? I heard mutated ant corpses had been found along the South Japanese coasts. Maybe they got paranoid and decided to attack Jeju secretly or something. Emiya-ssi, do you know anything?"

Emiya shrugged. "I'm on vacation and am in South Korea."

"Uh-huh," Byung-Gyu crossed his arms, frowning. Yoon-Ho could almost see the gears turning in his head. Byung-Gyu was quick-witted, so it didn't take long for him to connect the dots. He looked back and forth between Yoon-Ho and Emiya, his eyes widening. "Wait…Hyung, since when did you know Emiya-ssi? You've never told me about him until today."

"He's Hunter Sung's friend. Like he'd said, we met at the South Korea Hunter Association two days ago."

"Yeah, but did you get so close to Emiya-ssi during your first meeting that you invited him for lunch without Hunter Sung? No offense, Emiya-ssi, but it's like hanging out with your friend's friend without telling your friend."

Emiya blinked. "None taken."

Byung-Gyu turned to Yoon-Ho. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments, until Yoon-Ho looked heavenwards and sighed. Byung-Gyu, despite being a retired Hunter, was still a trusted S-Rank, so it shouldn't be a problem if he knew. Thus, Yoon-Ho gave up and pointed at Emiya with an open palm.

Instantly, Byung-Gyu's eyes sparkled.

"Really?" He leaned forward in excitement. At Emiya's nod, Byung-Gyu covered his mouth and squealed. Yoon-Ho had to restrain him because other customers began looking at them strangely. "Emiya-ssi, really? You did that?! Oh my God, I saw the island on the news and the damn ants were found dead everywhere! You're amazing! Emiya-ssi, I'm your fan!"

"Ah..," Emiya was visibly at a loss for words. "Thank you?"

"No, I should be the one to say thank you," Byung-Gyu bowed deeply, his forehead almost touching his own bowl. Then, he looked up, his now sombre expression a contrast to his bubbly self just moments before. Byung-Gyu smiled sadly. "I was part of the first, the second and the third Jeju raids. All three had failed, and we even lost a fellow S-Rank Hunter in the last one. No one from South Korea is strong enough to subjugate the ants, and we couldn't afford to hire strong S-Rank Hunters from overseas. And now, there are rumours that the ants have mutated and may be able to cross the sea to mainland Korea. I thought we had lost all hope, but then...You came, and managed to significantly reduce their strength in such a short time. For that, I am grateful."

"You think too highly of me, Min Byung-Gyu-ssi," Emiya scratched his eyebrow. "I wasn't thinking about saving South Korea when I destroyed the ants. I needed a place away from civilisation to vent my frustration, so really, the Jeju incident was just me throwing a tantrum."

"That doesn't matter," Byung-Gyu insisted. "I personally don't care about the means so long as the ants are wiped off the face of the earth. Too many people have lost their lives or their precious ones due to the Dungeon Break in Jeju. They are still a threat to us even now so, really, you've helped us a great deal, no matter how incidental it was."

Yoon-Ho nodded in agreement. He was still nervous whenever he was around Emiya, but so far he knew that at least, the man was on humanity's side. Emiya wasn't arrogant or crazy for money like Hwang Dong-Su, nor was he authoritative like many S-Rank Hunters around the world. The Jeju incident three days ago may have told them of how terrifying Emiya could be, but really, the incident had turned out to be a boon rather than a bane for South Korea.

It seemed like Emiya was also quite humble, since he still refused to acknowledge that his involvement was actually a godsend.

"No use in denying it, Emiya-ssi," Byung-Gyu grinned at the flustered man. "Too bad it's still early in the afternoon, or I would've poured you a drink. Maybe we should meet up again while you're still here. I'll buy you dinner next time. Hyung, you should join us. We should celebrate the ants' destruction!"

Yoon-Ho and Emiya indulged him and lifted up their cups of tea, toasting along with the delighted Byung-Gyu.

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"By the way, Hyung. Don't be a traitor."

"What now..."

"You didn't invite me to 'Emiya's Escort' group chat."

"That wasn't me. That was Association Chief Woo Jin-Chul. Besides, aren't you retired already? This is only for Korean S-Rank Hunters."

"Yeah, but I don't mind becoming a tour guide. I'm still an S-Rank even though I'm no longer a Hunter. At most, what would Emiya-ssi do? Grill me some samgyeopsal?"

"You're too naive…"

"Aw, hyu~ng!"

"Oh fine, fine! But don't spam the group chat!"

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Thanks for reading!

1) Canon Baek Yoon-Ho claimed that Min Byung-Gyu has a weird sense of humour. But when I read the manhwa, I could only find:

Byung-Gyu: "Hyung, do you want to hear something funny?"

Yoon-Ho: "Nope."

Byung-Gyu: "Okay."

Me: haha very funny.

2) Samgyeopsal - pork belly

Ssamjang - thick, spicy paste/sauce, usually eaten together with leaf wraps

3) Korean BBQ is awesome. It's quite genius how they eat grilled meat with leaf wraps.