“Senior, Let Me Pay My Respects!”

“Thank you for coming all this way.”

“Oh, not at all.”

Oh Hyeonseong loaded the boxes of strawberries into the cargo bed of the truck.

The driver, who had hurried outside, quickly lent him a hand.

They were all shipments bound for Hankyung Department Store.

“Wow, this shipment seems bigger than usual.”

“I’ve gotten pretty used to farming.”

He gave a grin.

He had started farming rather awkwardly, relying on information he found on his phone, but before he knew it, his farming had become quite stable.

The same was true of the strawberry farm he had hurriedly expanded.

Crops tended by the spirits had no trouble with pests or diseases, and the yields were plentiful.

On top of that, there was virtually no waste and the quality remained consistent, giving him a much higher yield rate than ordinary farming.

Oh Hyeonseong himself had also picked up various tricks as he became more accustomed to farm work.

Well, honestly, I’ve reached the point where I barely need to do anything anymore.

By then, the truck’s cargo bed had been filled with strawberries.

The driver climbed into the driver’s seat and gave a polite nod.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Yes. Drive safely.”

Oh Hyeonseong watched the truck leave, dusted off his hands, and headed toward the farm.

The farm in question wasn’t the main fields where he did his serious farming.

It was the strawberry farm located below the house.

He had built new greenhouses on the side that wasn’t protected by the barrier.

At first, he had considered building a proper smart farm there to make the whole thing look more convincing, but after consulting the Yoo siblings, who were experts in that field, he learned that it was far more complicated than he had expected.

Even setting aside the cost, there were countless things to worry about.

So he had settled for installing greenhouses that were reasonably well-hidden from the outside.

Hnnng!

As soon as he entered, he saw the spirits playing around inside the greenhouse.

They were happily frolicking between the strawberry plants.

Although they looked as if they were doing nothing but playing, they had already finished all their work.

They had harvested the day’s strawberries long ago.

Oh Hyeonseong had said that he himself had gotten used to farming, but the same was true of the spirits.

If anything, they were even better at it.

By now, they could handle everything right through to harvesting without his help.

It was practically an automated farm.

“I brought strawberries.”

Hnnng!

At his words, the spirits came rushing over.

Oh Hyeonseong called over the others playing in the house and other fields, then took strawberries out of the container and handed them around.

The strawberries were enormous compared to the spirits’ bodies, but the little creatures polished them off with gusto.

“Haha, you really like them.”

After giving all the strawberries to the spirits, Oh Hyeonseong sat down.

He took out the strawberries he had brought for himself and the spirits and began eating.

Of course, the strawberries he and the spirits were eating weren’t the downgraded ones from this greenhouse.

They were the real strawberries grown in the upper fields.

“Mmm…”

Oh Hyeonseong closed his eyes and savored the taste.

The juice burst inside his mouth, leaving him almost dazed.

It was a flavor that made him understand why the spirits shook their heads from side to side whenever they ate.

“They really are delicious.”

They were strawberries he had grown himself, but even he couldn’t help being impressed.

The spirits were practically unable to stop themselves from eating.

They seemed to like them even more than they had liked potatoes when they first tasted them.

As far as the spirits’ palates were concerned, strawberries seemed to have the edge when eaten on their own.

Ring!

Hello, this is Park Jeongtae. I heard this shipment of strawberries is on its way as well. Thank you, as always, for sending us such healthy and excellent produce. Thanks to you, our department store is continuing to grow better than ever. I can only express my gratitude for the great favor you’ve shown us…

“Whoa…”

Park Jeongtae had sent an enormous wall of text.

It wasn’t frequent, but every once in a while, he sent messages like this that made Hyeonseong feel rather burdened.

When they had signed the contract, Park had left looking utterly miserable, but apparently he was quite satisfied with the strawberries.

However, toward the end of the message, there was one sentence that was different from usual.

…So if you have the time, please stop by our department store sometime. We’d be happy to personally show you around and explain how the distribution process works, as well as confirm that all the terms of the contract are being properly observed.

“Hm… He wants me to stop by the department store?”

Oh Hyeonseong muttered as he picked up another large strawberry.

As for people’s reactions to the agricultural products he had supplied, he already knew about them.

The response had been so noisy that he could tell what was happening simply by going online.

However, something he had learned from his days working as an agent was that no matter how much you saw things through the media or read reports about them, some things simply didn’t feel real until you witnessed them yourself.

“…Maybe I’ll go this time.”

He had taken another step toward becoming a full-fledged farmer and had even reached the point of supplying his produce commercially.

It didn’t seem like a bad idea to take this opportunity to see firsthand how his produce was actually being distributed.

An office at Hankyung Department Store’s Gangnam branch.

The department had previously enjoyed a warm atmosphere thanks to its excellent performance.

Now, however, a grim atmosphere hung over the office.

And it wasn’t because of an internal problem.

“What exactly did I just hear?”

Joo Jihye let out an incredulous laugh.

After tossing and turning all night again, she had gone straight to Hankyung Department Store as soon as she woke up.

She had sought out the person in charge of the natural-produce section.

She hadn’t caused a scene or demanded an unreasonable amount of strawberries.

That was why she had never expected a problem like this.

“So… you’re saying you can’t tell me?”

“I’m sorry. Our guidelines prohibit us from disclosing information about contracted farms, so we’re unable to provide it.”

“Hah. Wait, wait. You know who I am, right?”

“…Yes. Of course.”

“And you’re still saying that to me? Do you have any idea how much I spend at this department store every year?”

Joo Jihye was one of the highest-ranking members among Hankyung Department Store’s Trinity-tier members.

In terms of both wealth and social reputation, she stood on an entirely different level even from the department store’s ordinary VIP customers.

If she demanded to see the department store’s president, they would have to come out and meet her without complaint.

Yet from her perspective, some mere employee was stubbornly refusing to give her a single phone number.

“Th-The farm owner specifically warned us about this when we signed the contract.”

“I don’t care about the damn farm owner. I said I want to see him!”

“…I’m sorry.”

Park Jeongtae repeatedly lowered his head.

Under normal circumstances, he would have gladly handed over a contact number.

But he had no choice in this situation.

Naturally, there was no chance Joo Jihye would understand that.

“He’s been screwing me over since last time… Now he’s really getting on my nerves.”

Joo Jihye’s eyes blazed as she strode forward.

And she wasn’t simply approaching him.

A vicious force seemed to stab toward Park Jeongtae’s body from every direction.

The intense killing intent radiating from her caused sweat to pour down his forehead.

“P-Please stop!”

“Stop? Stop what?”

The pressure was so overwhelming that it was difficult for him to even maintain consciousness.

For an ordinary person, her killing intent was downright lethal.

“Should I bring the president here and make him kneel before you?”

“Ghk…!”

Joo Jihye was infamous even within Aegis Entertainment as a crazy woman whom nobody dared to touch when she was in a bad mood.

And because she had held herself back more than usual, her anger had now erupted all the more violently.

“W-What do we do? Shouldn’t we stop her?”

“Are you crazy? How are we supposed to stop her?”

A department store was inevitably a place where unreasonable customers showed up in droves.

Normally, if a situation escalated to this level, they would call the department store’s security personnel and take action.

But there was one problem.

Their opponent was a Grade 10 hunter.

Among hunters, reaching the double-digit ranks carried special significance.

It was the point at which a hunter became capable of conquering S-rank Gates, humanity’s greatest enemy, and it meant they had entered an entirely different class from ordinary hunters.

Wherever they went, double-digit hunters were treated as special individuals, and governments around the world even maintained separate lists to monitor them.

But what happened when someone like that lost control and started rampaging?

A celebrity suffering from star syndrome could at least be restrained by people crowding around and calming her down.

An enraged high-ranking hunter, on the other hand, was a physical disaster.

A massive calamity that even the police or military would be unable to suppress.

“You don’t seriously think a hunter can’t rough someone up in this day and age, do you? You’ll actually die if you keep this up.”

Joo Jihye grabbed Park Jeongtae by the collar.

The threat that he might genuinely die filled Park Jeongtae’s mind.

“Phone number or address. Tell me right now. Before I crush everything below your jaw.”

“I-I absolutely can’t! Even if I die, I can’t tell you! Just kill me instead!”

…What kind of lunatic is this guy?

Even after being threatened this severely, Park Jeongtae wouldn’t budge.

It was enough to make even Joo Jihye hesitate, despite the fact that she had never actually intended to kill him.

She couldn’t believe it.

But from Park Jeongtae’s perspective, he had agreed to pay an enormous penalty if he leaked the information when signing the contract.

On top of that, Oh Hyeonseong had given him an extremely stern warning.

It had only been a few days since the contract was signed.

If the information had already leaked, not only would the contract end, but Hyeonseong might even take revenge by switching his supplier to Daeseong Department Store.

If that happened, Park’s career would end right along with it.

He really didn’t want to die.

But he couldn’t help thinking that physically ending here would actually be less painful.

“Why don’t you stop?”

At that moment, someone barged into the scene where nobody had dared to intervene.

The man strode forward fearlessly, grabbed Joo Jihye’s arm, and freed Park Jeongtae from her grip.

“…?”

Joo Jihye frowned at the unexpected intervention.

But Oh Hyeonseong paid no attention to her reaction and spoke to Park Jeongtae.

“Take the employees and get out.”

“Ah… Yes, yes!”

Park Jeongtae hurriedly left the office, gasping for breath.

The other employees scattered as well, disappearing at the ominous atmosphere.

“What are you?”

“Just someone passing by.”

“Are you his superior?”

“They said company regulations prevent them from telling you. Why are you making such a scene? Do you have some business with the farm owner?”

“Yes, I do! Important business! Much more important than whatever regulations you people have!”

Joo Jihye spoke irritably.

Oh Hyeonseong tilted his head.

“So you caused all this trouble just because you want to eat some limited-edition strawberries?”

“D-Don’t be ridiculous! That’s not it! What do you know about my circumstances to run your mouth like that?”

Joo Jihye shouted, her face turning red.

She was already on edge, and he had been pouring oil on the fire from the moment he arrived.

Eventually, everything she had been desperately holding back exploded.

“…Fine. There’s no talking to you people. Then I’ll show you with force. If I half-demolish this department store, surely even the chairman of the Hankyung Group will come crawling out and beg me.”

Rrrrrumble!

The space trembled violently.

Her unique ability:

Telekinesis.

Every object in the office floated into the air, while sharp objects simultaneously aimed themselves at Oh Hyeonseong.

It was the overwhelming control befitting a high-ranking telekinetic of Grade 10 or above.

She had already seized complete control over the space.

With the slightest movement of her hand, she could crush the entire office.

Naturally, Oh Hyeonseong standing at its center would die instantly.

Yet he didn’t move an inch.

There wasn’t even a hint of agitation on his face.

“You’ve never killed a person before, have you?”

“What…?”

“When a telekinetic fights from that distance, people die. Even someone with crippled legs like me could take you down with me.”

“You crazy bastard… What the hell are you muttering about?”

Disgust appeared on Joo Jihye’s face.

Judging from his presence, he wasn’t even a hunter—just an ordinary person.

What the hell was he bluffing about?

For a moment, she wondered if some mentally ill spectator had barged in instead of a department store employee.

Flash!

But then her telekinesis was instantly neutralized.

The tightly controlled force dispersed, and all the objects floating in the air came crashing down.

Joo Jihye instinctively whipped her head around.

“What are you doing here?”

“R-Representative?”

A sharp-featured man with his hair swept back was glaring at her.

Choi Jeongil.

“Didn’t I tell you not to cause trouble? Especially with ordinary people.”

“Th-That’s…”

Her tone immediately softened.

The woman known within the company as a mad dog had only one person she would willingly bow her head to.

Choi Jeongil, the representative of Aegis.

A legend among hunters and a pioneer of the hunter-management industry.

But even his arrival hadn’t completely extinguished Joo Jihye’s anger.

“No, listen to me first. Those guys were saying things to me earlier—!”

“Choi Jeongil. Long time no see.”

Oh Hyeonseong casually raised a hand.

At his completely unexpected words, Joo Jihye’s expression twisted in disbelief.

There he goes again with some ridiculous nonsense… Who does he think he is, pretending to know whom?

Choi Jeongil, who led the largest hunter-management agency in Korea and one of the world’s Big Three, was a giant among giants.

He was frequently invited to both the Blue House and the White House.

He was also a war hero who had distinguished himself during the Northern Defense War, so even someone as arrogant and unruly as Joo Jihye normally held him in genuine respect.

In other words, he was not someone some ordinary civilian could casually claim to know.

“…?”

Yet Choi Jeongil’s expression as he looked at Oh Hyeonseong was filled with astonishment.

A brief silence followed.

So brief that Joo Jihye almost doubted her own eyes.

Choi Jeongil strode forward.

Then he bent deeply at the waist toward Oh Hyeonseong.

“Senior! It’s been a long time since I’ve come to pay my respects!”