The Zodiacs Have to Make a Living Too

Following a route that kept them away from places like Slaughterhouse Dock and the market, Jing Yang and Menchi headed back together.

In that short time, after polishing off a plate of stir-fried pork with green seasoning, Jing Yang had already recovered seventy or eighty percent of his stamina. Combined with Menchi's superb cooking skills, her Nen Ability was truly twice as effective.

As they passed through East Town, Menchi patted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I saw them too." Jing Yang glanced at the group of people asking passersby for information.

People from Kakin.

More than ten days ago, Jing Yang had completely stopped secretly observing Babimayna and the others, so he had no idea what they had been doing on the island lately. But beginning four days ago, Kakin people had started appearing in the towns along the East Coast, furtively asking around for information...

They were probably looking for that missing "swaddled baby boy."

Judging by their situation, they did not seem to have made much real progress. That was good news for Jing Yang.

Ochima's side seemed equally clueless. Over the past few days, aside from the Kakin people, the amateur Hunters Ochima had brought along had also begun splitting up to search East Town and West Town for clues—more than twenty years ago, this island, which should originally have been within the Kakin Kingdom on another continent, had appeared here like a "ghost." There might well be Kakin natives left on the island from that time. Even rumors with no solid basis could perhaps lead to clues.

Over the past half month, Jing Yang had kept the two crows around Shizuku without getting too close—he had not insisted on tagging along with her back to her hotel in West Town. But whenever Shizuku carried out missions and infiltrated the protected area, he would lend some assistance in exchange for food. It was through the crows' eyes and ears that Jing Yang learned Ochima's people appeared to be looking for the tomb of an ancient Kakin king on this island.

...What would they do if they found it? Develop the ancient ruins into a tourist attraction? Or turn it into a museum, dig up antiques, and hold exhibitions?

Following Menchi, Jing Yang quickly met up with Ging, and together they headed to Ochima's official representative currently in East Town—the balding young man Slooe, whom Jing Yang had long heard about.

On the way, Jing Yang asked, "Ging, aren't you joining?"

"I'll pass," Ging said. "The mission I accepted this time was to deal with the Poacher, and I've already completed it. If Ochima's people want to hire me, they need to submit the mission to the Hunter Association first. Once the review department confirms it, it'll be passed on to me. That would waste some time."

Menchi pointed at herself and Jing Yang, looking puzzled. "What about us? We're Professional Hunters too. Don't we have to go through the process?"

"My rates are relatively high. As for you two, you should be able to accept the pay offered to private Hunters, right?" Ging said. "If you can accept that, there's no need to go through the process."

"I see!" Menchi suddenly understood. "It feels like we're getting the short end of the stick, but we're doing this for the experience anyway. Lower pay is fine!"

Jing Yang asked, "It's only this troublesome when it's a job commissioned by an official organization, right? If private clients commission the Hunter Association, especially for deals that aren't worth much, would they really have the time to review every single one? The Association's members are pretty free. It's impossible for everyone to be willing to take jobs on their own while being held back by the higher-ups."

Ging glanced at Jing Yang and nodded. "That's true. But the rewards offered by official organizations are beyond what private jobs can match."

"They're rich!" Menchi sighed.

Jing Yang smiled. "It's budget money anyway. It has to be spent somewhere, doesn't it? The more they spend, the more people earn."

Ging gave Jing Yang another look before telling them, "The rewards I mean aren't limited to money."

Menchi was full of question marks. "What else is there besides money?"

"Little girl, you're too young," Jing Yang said earnestly, patting Menchi's hand. "Being able to show off your skills before official institutions from various countries—what an amazing networking resource that is. You can chat and laugh with V5, and everyone you deal with will be somebody important. Close one deal, and maybe someday a king or president will hire you as a 'state preceptor' or 'minister,' supporting you for the rest of your life. Wouldn't that be a massive profit?"

If he remembered correctly, the Zodiacs' "Dragon," the Hunter said to be closest in strength to Chairman Netero, actually worked as a government official in some country.

"I see!" Menchi instantly got it.

"They say they're temporarily recruiting locals, but I'm guessing Ochima's people heard about Menchi and me over at Blanche Company. They're really after Professional Hunters like you, Menchi..."

"Don't leave me out, old man." Jing Yang pulled out a Hunter License. "I'm a Hunter too."

"We're here." Ging led the two of them into a building.

Upon learning that the Zodiacs' "Sheep" would not be participating, Slooe, Ochima's balding young man, did not seem surprised. The funds available for this operation had different standards for hiring private Hunters and Professional Hunters. Without going through the Hunter Association, the balding young man could only hire Ging at the rate for private Hunters. It was only natural that Ging was unwilling to take a pay cut to help.

"So, you two... Menchi and Jing Yang, correct?" the balding young man asked with a genial smile. "The term is five days. If you find nothing, the reward will be two million Jenie. If you discover something, the reward doubles. If the results are conclusive, then each of you will receive ten million. Here is the contract. If there are no issues, please sign it."

"I have objections, but they're not serious." Menchi casually took the paper and pen and signed her name.

As a young prodigy who had won the World Cooking Championship at the age of twelve, she had long mastered her signature. It was bold and flowing, quite beautiful.

The five amateur Hunters hired alongside Shizuku, even Dago, the most experienced among them, could only stare as Menchi briskly signed her name. Just like that, she was guaranteed two million Jenie.

...The terms of her reward contract were the same as theirs!

But they had been working for half a month already! Why?

Just because she had a Hunter License?

Endure!

Dago felt stifled with resentment and turned to glance at Shizuku.

After working together for over half a month, no matter how dull they were, Dago and the other four had begun to realize that this bespectacled girl, who always seemed somewhat vacant, might be the strongest among them aside from Kang Jae.

Her strength lay in the fact that over more than half a month of infiltrating and searching both inside and outside the protected area, the five of them had all ended up somewhat bedraggled. The simplest example was this: while they were on edge, avoiding surveillance and using every method they had to search, mental exhaustion would set in. Even ordinary wild beasts like tigers, if encountered while they were not at their best, could chase them into a sorry state.

Only this bespectacled girl had always acted as though nothing had happened.

Yet Shizuku showed no reaction at all as such an unfair scene unfolded right before her eyes.

Was she really that scatterbrained?

Even if she was, there was nothing they could do. They were simply inferior in skill. If she wanted to be scatterbrained, she could be scatterbrained. If they insisted on raising objections, they might get punched.

"Could you help me with something?"

While they fumed inwardly, the other boy—who was clearly only five years old yet had somehow produced a Hunter License—walked over to Shizuku with the contract and pen.

"What help?" Kang Jae, who had nothing to do, came over when he heard that.

Jing Yang pointed at the huge block of scribbled text on the contract. "I can't quite understand this. I'd like her to read it for me."

"Isn't that simple?" Kang Jae scoffed. "What's there to read? Just sign it."

Jing Yang looked at him in confusion. "You're the Zodiacs' 'Tiger,' right?" He glanced back at Ging. "Are the Zodiacs being handed out wholesale? How have I run into two in a row? At your level, you still have to take jobs all day?"

Ging was innocently caught in the crossfire and felt rather speechless.

From behind them, Menchi complained, "Am I illiterate? Why didn't you come ask me?"

Did you even read the contract carefully? Ging silently thought.

"What's wrong with the Zodiacs? Do the Zodiacs not need to earn money and support their families?" Kang Jae seemed to have quite a temper. He had been fine at first, but the more he spoke, the angrier he became. Glaring at Jing Yang, he said, "Do you take me for one of those Specialized Hunter types who pick and choose the missions they're assigned? I think you're looking for trouble, brat."

As he spoke, astonishing Aura surged from his not particularly tall or muscular body along with his anger.

Among those present, the balding young man was an ordinary person. Aside from sensing that Kang Jae's presence had suddenly become frightening, he did not feel much else. But Dago and the other amateur Hunters understood what they were seeing, so they could directly and clearly sense the force of Kang Jae's Aura. Their faces instantly turned pale, and cold sweat broke out across their foreheads.

...Was this the strength of the Hunter Association's Zodiacs? This kind of power could not possibly be real, could it?

Shizuku seemed not to notice the astonishing pressure Kang Jae was releasing beside her. She was still studying the contract Jing Yang had handed her with a head full of question marks.

Jing Yang was not intimidated by Kang Jae's presence at all. He asked Shizuku, "You should have already signed a contract identical to this one, right?"

"Is that so?" Shizuku said, though nobody knew what exactly she meant...

Did she mean, "Is that so? But I forgot," or "Is that so? I really signed one?" Or perhaps, "Is that so? Whatever, then"? It made Jing Yang genuinely want to crack open this airheaded girl's skull and find out.