Chapter 32
Chapter 32: A Broadcast? Me? Why? 1
It had already been a week since the Hunter Gallery became noisy due to the appearance of a saintess with an impressive “maternal pouch.”
This place was originally the largest Hunter community site in the country, full of vicious netizens, a playground for troublemakers, and a hotbed for daily new gossip and provocations.
Normally, a topic like this wouldn’t have lasted more than a day, but thanks to the anticipation that a new S-rank Hunter might be born, and the fascination with Shia’s maternal pouch, “Hunter Isiah” remained the gallery’s main topic of debate and gossip, even though she hadn’t resumed her broadcast.
[When’s the streamer coming back?]
『Please come back please come back please come back please come back please come back please come back please come back please come back please come back please come back please come back please come back please come back please come back』
[Holding my breath until Isiah starts streaming again]
『*Gasp*』
[This guy probably floated down the Han River on his way to work this morning]
ㄴ[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Yep, your Shia’s gone to heaven]
ㄴ[No, she said she went to America!]
ㄴ[It’s heaven, not America]
Of course, Shia hadn’t resumed her broadcast over the past week.
Meanwhile, people kept stirring up all sorts of rumors.
There was even a skilled person who made a mad movie by clipping parts of her past broadcasts.
Considering that a Hunter streamer’s average viewership is around ten thousand, Isiah’s broadcasts weren’t actually watched by that many people live.
However, the latest AI drone camera rented from the Hunter Association perfectly captured Isiah from every angle, even without manipulation.
As a result, the scene where Shia fought the pack of wyverns in the Kurtala Mountains was enough to surpass any blockbuster action movie, and the high-quality visuals left people awestruck even without any editing.
[Sketch of Saintess Kanttabiya stealing a wyvern egg] (Post #329)
ㄴRecommendation count: 1632
『I laughed so hard at the Saintess’ expression in the gif of her snatching the wyvern egg, so I drew it』
[How are you so good at drawing?]
[This is way too cute lmao]
[Look at her bright expression; she’s totally Saintess Kanttabiya ㅋㅋ]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[“Ehehehehe!!!”]
[I can almost hear that laugh through the screen lmao]
[Now she’s gonna beat the wyvern leader to death with that cheerful face and then revive it again, right?]
ㄴ[It’s a tragedy, not a comedy…]
ㄴ[Wyvern: “Just…kill…me…”]
ㄴ[Since when did wyverns have rights lmao]
[The saintess’ cruel infant kidnapping scene..how exquisite.]
ㄴ[Infant kidnapping? lmao]
ㄴ[Shotacon?]
ㄴ[Saintess Noona with a shota…totally possible…Heuhhh…]
ㄴ[The shota’s gonna be eaten…]
[Honestly, it’s so gross how people keep fawning over the “boob saintess” for the whole week when she hasn’t even streamed.]
ㄴ[At least she’s A-rank upper-tier, maybe even S-rank if we’re lucky. That’s why people are going crazy over her, lmao.]
ㄴ[You know how insane an S-rank returnee is just by looking at Yujin.]
ㄴ[Heuhhh, Yujin hyung…]
ㄴ[You’re gay… you’re so gay…]
ㄴ[The only thing gross is your life]
ㄴ[Honestly, it’s kind of irritating. Why do we have to look at this chick with her bouncing chest as the gallery’s top topic all day?]
ㄴ[You’re gay… go change your IP…]
ㄴ[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Got caught without changing your IP, lmao]
ㄴ[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Then, a bombshell dropped.
[I’m a staff member at the Association] (Post #429)
ㄴRecommendation count: 1931
『I work at the Association.
A few days ago, I attended a meeting with the Commissioner, Vice Minister, and the Directors.
I still feel nervous as hell.
I don’t even know why I raised my hand there, man.
Anyway, here’s the important part.
The meeting was about the returnee Isiah.
As the Hunter Gallery guessed, Isiah is indeed a returnee.
I can’t share other classified details, but she’ll probably be officially issued a Hunter license soon.
There were a lot of discussions in the meeting, but I think there might be some kind of announcement today.
Oh, and once the announcement drops, get ready to worship me, folks.』
[Is this guy legit?]
[This guy’s “worship me” phrase reeks of an old man vibe.]
ㄴ[Real talk lmao]
[What the hell does “smartwatch it” even mean]
ㄴ[It’s short for “Just do whatever, go play with your smartwatch”]
ㄴ[That’s so stupid lmao…]
[What department do you work in at the Association?]
ㄴ[Returnee Ethics Department. I can’t disclose my real name or position.]
ㄴ[This guy sounds legit]
ㄴ[Can you verify?]
ㄴ[Are you dumb? It’s classified.]
[If this is real, does this mean the gallery gossip will finally be settled?]
[Will Shia noona stream?]
ㄴ[Heuhhh noona…]
The gossip about Isiah spread through the gallery like wildfire, and soon the top threads were all centered on her.
No matter how pretty you are, without skill, you can’t stay the center of attention in the gallery.
Some gifs or images might make it to a few popular posts, but maintaining top threads for a whole week requires significant buzz.
However, the Hunter Gallery users, known as “Ssusu,” likely realized from watching Isiah’s videos that her level was intuitively impressive.
At a minimum, she was at the top of A-rank, and perhaps even a contender for S-rank.
Her maternal pouch was firm, and her beauty rivaled that of a celebrity, but these were just seasoning.
The main reason Isiah became a gallery hot topic was due to her overwhelming strength and skills.
Secondly, she captivated people’s attention with her bizarre actions—stealing wyvern eggs, repeatedly beating and reviving the wyvern leader, and eventually turning the entire wyvern pack into her personal farm.
Thirdly, there was her unimaginable stunt of making braised wyvern eggs—a delicacy worth over 100 million won on the market. Although she was presumed to be a saintess class who could heal people, she wielded grotesque, twisted tentacles, and her actions against monsters were more like those of a berserker or demon, utterly ruthless.
There was no reason for the gallery gossip not to thrive.
And then, that night—
[Hunter Isiah—Broadcasting Live]
Isiah’s broadcast, which had been silent for a week, was back on air through her streaming channel.
●●●●●●
A week had passed since she returned from the Kurtala Mountains, and Shia was waiting for Yeonhwa on the road in front of her house.
“…Isn’t that Isiah?”
“No way.”
“This is the Returnee Shelter area, though. I think it’s really her.”
Although Shia’s sensitive hearing picked up on the murmurs of passersby, she didn’t react.
Inwardly, however, she felt rather pleased.
Even though it was in another world, hearing people whisper about her recognition gave Shia a peculiar sense of pleasure.
‘The moment when the Empire’s gaze shifted from scorn to admiration was the best…’
At first, the people of the Empire did not look favorably upon Shia, the Saintess of the Dead.
In fact, aside from Menelapie, everyone feared or despised her.
Because she was undead.
Because she was one of the dead.
Because she was a monster that couldn’t die and could devour the living.
It was a natural response, and that fear gradually turned into cheers and admiration as Shia healed the sick and defeated the Demon King’s army alongside Menelapie.
The memory of that feeling still lingered in her mind.
‘Compared to back then, things here are actually starting off pretty well. Even those so-called malicious netizens weren’t all that bad in person. Maybe my chest really is that big, huh?’
Though she had seen the gallery posts mocking her in all sorts of ways, Shia still felt in a good mood.
It was like the feeling of a grandmother watching her grandchildren perform silly antics at a family event.
“Unnie!”
“Bingu’s here?”
“I’m not Bingu!?”
“Okay, Bingu.”
“I told you, it’s Icicle Nine!”
Although Yeonhwa yelled in frustration, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything harsh to Shia, who grinned cheekily.
Perhaps since the moment Shia saved her in the Nafthar Great Forest dungeon, Yeonhwa had always been somewhat weak when it came to Shia.
Yeonhwa hadn’t been nicknamed “Specter” at the academy for no reason.
Those close to her often suffered misfortune or death. She was also cold, keeping her distance from others.
And ever since she received her F-rank Hunter license, she had lived a life of extreme dungeon addiction, constantly hovering between life and death, cut off from her peers.
Anyone from the academy who knew her would be surprised to see Yeonhwa showing such a warm expression.
Shia and Yeonhwa boarded the self-driving electric car sent by the Yeon family.
It was always fascinating how well the car insulated them from outside noise.
‘Come to think of it, Yeonhwa’s house that we visited last time was really big… I think there were even maids or servants…’
On second thought, Yeonhwa really did seem like a child from a wealthy family.
Even though Shia didn’t know much about cars, she could tell this sleek, black electric vehicle must be very expensive.
And the fact that it had autonomous driving allowed them to sit facing each other and chat during the ride, which was a great perk.
“By the way, Unnie, did you have anything to eat before coming?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you eat?”
“There wasn’t anywhere open so early, and I ate so much wyvern egg braised beef stew a few days ago that I didn’t have much of an appetite today. So, I woke up early and had 20 bowls of blood sausage soup and 10 servings of boiled pork.”
“…….”
What?
What did I just hear…?
Yeonhwa’s expression momentarily turned strange, but she quickly composed herself.
Right.
Shia unnie always had something beyond imagination.
It would be a mistake to predict her actions, and her lack of appetite couldn’t be taken lightly.
“If you ate that much, the bill must’ve been pretty high… Oh, did the Association pay out the settlement for the Kurtala Mountain expedition?”
“Yeah, I checked on my smartwatch yesterday, and it was deposited.”
Shia manipulated her smartwatch, which was strapped to her wrist.
Unlike the shrinking saintess who had asked Yeonhwa for help when she didn’t have enough money while eating blood sausage soup just a while ago, the current Shia had a confident smile, as if she were invincible.
When you kill a wyvern, the Association pays 10 million won per kill.
Wyverns were typically B-rank monsters, and since strategies for hunting them were widely known, their byproducts were abundant at auctions and Hunter markets.
However, wyvern eggs were rare, available only during the breeding season, and mishandling a wyvern egg meant fighting an entire pack of B- to A+-rank wyverns, making them much more valuable than the wyverns themselves.
Thus, after taxes and various deductions, the Association had paid Shia around 700 million won.
It’s true what they say—generosity and peace of mind come from a well-stocked treasury.
“So, are you ready?”
“What’s there to prepare? I just have to sign a few papers, right?”
“No, I mean mentally… are you okay with this?”
In reality, Shia wasn’t nervous at all.
A week ago, despite seeing her face, combat footage, and wyvern braised beef stew video being passed around online, she hadn’t been fazed.
So, signing a few papers and undergoing some tests wouldn’t be much of a challenge.
After all, she had been through countless battles.
Getting nervous over a simple paperwork review would be laughable at this point.
“Yeah, I’m totally fine. I’ve been the Emperor’s right hand and a saintess for over 60 years. I’m not going to get scared over this.”
“Well, that’s a relief… Also, Unnie, I’ve already archived everything those jerks posted about you, and we’ve got a lawyer at my house. If you ever want to make them pay for messing around with their keyboards, just let me know. Got it?”
Make them pay for messing around with their keyboards, huh…
Even though Bingu seemed delicate, her occasional cold tone showed that she had quite the temper.
I mean, even Yeonseo had been scary when she got angry the first time I met her.
It made sense that her granddaughter, Yeonhwa, wouldn’t be someone to bow her head easily.
“Yeah, yeah. I already talked to the Hunter Association. They’re going to let us handle the drone footage… Oh, welcome!”
As soon as they arrived at the Returnee Management Bureau, Shia recognized a familiar face waiting for them.
It was none other than Choi Bomi, the Director who had overseen her ethics review last time.
“Hello.”
“I’ve been waiting for you since I got the notice! Oh, and hello to you too, Yeonhwa! I saw the footage of you repelling the Goblin guerrilla squad. It was a big hit upstairs!”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Alright, let’s head on up!”
With Choi Bomi’s enthusiastic guidance, Shia was led to a dark interrogation room-like space, and Yeonhwa watched Shia’s ethics review from the other side.
Yeonhwa served as a guarantor for Returnee Isiah, acting as her legal representative who was authorized to receive notifications about all matters from the Hunter Association and Returnee Management Bureau.
Naturally, Yeonhwa needed to be informed about all of Shia’s proceedings, including the ethics review.
The reason Yeonhwa had suggested the Hunter broadcast to Shia a few days ago wasn’t for any selfish motive.
‘Because Unnie seemed to enjoy it.’
Returnees typically had no work.
It was difficult for them to adjust.
Each returnee had their own struggles, whether it was adapting to the new Hunter era or finding a suitable job and source of income.
In Isiah’s case, she had returned to the present after 64 years.
From Yeonhwa’s perspective, Shia’s adaptation to modern life seemed incredibly tough.
Especially since she had the terrifying trait known as “Malevolent Predator.”
That wasn’t something that could be simply dismissed as excessive hunger.
Considering Shia had once mentioned that if not for the Black Minotaur, she might’ve eaten Yeonhwa, there were many factors that needed to align for Shia to successfully adapt to modern society.
Yeonhwa had been both amused and angry when Shia finally ventured outside after a month, only to get lured by blood sausage soup and sheepishly ask her for money. But ultimately, Yeonhwa felt a deep sympathy for Shia.
In reality, Yeonhwa might be more nervous today than Shia herself.
Her body had tensed up with anxiety. Whether it was because her thoughts were running wild or she was trapped in her own assumptions, Yeonhwa found it difficult to objectively assess her state of mind.
Shia unnie must be having a hard time adjusting.
Even though she pretends like it’s fine, how difficult must it really be? How hungry must she be?
Even though she says the public’s gaze doesn’t bother her, could that really be true?
On top of that, Shia had an enormous appetite, even without the malevolent predation, which led to a staggering food bill.
Yeonhwa, an A-rank Hunter, couldn’t always stay by Shia’s side to care for her, and Yeonseo, their grandmother, was even busier than Yeonhwa.
It was hard to find a job that would allow Shia to both enjoy herself and earn enough to cover her food expenses while also suiting her temperament.
Simply suggesting that Shia become a Hunter wasn’t an option to take lightly.
Shia needed to hunt monsters and eat their entire byproducts just to feel moderately satisfied as a predator.
Moreover, the Hunter world was full of conflict, with interest groups and individuals clashing, along with plenty of politicking.
Would everything really go smoothly if Shia were thrown into the middle of it?
There were plenty of unsavory Hunters out there.
In particular, criminals who had awakened, or criminal returnees, could easily approach Isiah and lure her into their schemes.
If that were the case, having her under the watchful eye of both the public and the Hunter Association might actually protect Isiah.
Becoming a Hunter streamer with the Association’s certification could offer such protection.
‘The Association isn’t something you can trust blindly, but it’s better than the alternatives.’
The day Yeonhwa suggested the broadcast to Shia, she immediately reached out to Director Choi Bomi at the Returnee Management Bureau.
[It seems like Returnee Isiah is interested in Hunter broadcasting. What does the Bureau think about this? Would it raise any issues during her ethics review?]
She had also asked a slew of other questions, and surprisingly, Director Choi seemed thrilled, saying she’d review it positively and asked for some time.
‘They must have seen Shia unnie’s broadcast too, right?’
There was no way the Hunter Association had planned to push Isiah’s Hunter broadcast before Yeonhwa had even contacted them.
However, given that the proposal was being reviewed positively, it seemed that both the Returnee Management Bureau and the Association had determined that there were advantages to Shia becoming a Hunter streamer.
‘It’ll be fine…’
Hiding her growing unease, Yeonhwa focused on watching Shia’s ethics review.
●●●●●
The ethics review wasn’t particularly difficult.
Just like last time, Shia sat across from Director Choi Bomi and signed a “consent form” that Choi presented. Afterward, they conducted a word association test by showing her random images.
“This time it’s a tree.”
“Fruit, cabin, forest… Seeing that reminds me of the huge tree behind Menelapie’s imperial palace.”
“Menelapie, as in the Empress you mentioned before, right?”
“Yeah. Even if I had business with her, it wasn’t always easy to meet her. Empresses are generally busy.”
“True, higher-ups are always incredibly busy. Just look at our Vice Minister…”
“When Menelapie wasn’t around, I’d climb that tree in the backyard and nap. When I woke up, she’d be next to me, sleeping too… Sometimes we’d cuddle because it was cold. It was a bit uncomfortable since we both had large chests, but it still felt nice…”
“You two must’ve been really close?”
“…Yeah.”
Yeah, we were…really close.
We were so close…
“Alright, the next image is of the sea.”
“Sea dragon, fish, boat, harbor… The food in harbor towns was so rich and tasty…”
“Oh my, so there was a sea over there as well? We have returnees from worlds without any oceans at all.”
“There weren’t as many seas as on Earth. The Demon King evaporated four of the eight seas.”
“Oh my goodness…”
“But since Menelapie, Teresa, and I took care of the Demon King, it’ll recover soon enough.”
“Wow, you really were a true hero, like a real champion of justice, weren’t you?”
“Menelapie was the hero. I was the saintess. Teresa was the witch.”
“Ooh… I see.”
Using the ethics review as an excuse to reminisce about the past wasn’t so bad.
Was it because the “Thought Well” was involved?
Memories from the distant past kept bubbling up like water from a spring.
Maybe my emotions and joy were being conveyed to Director Choi as well.
“Well…ahem, now for the final test. You’ve passed all the documents and tests so far without any issues…”
“Is there a problem?”
“No, not really… It’s just that this final test might be a bit unpleasant for you, Miss Isiah. I hope you understand.”
“It’s fine.”
Even the malicious netizens on the Hunter Gallery seemed cute, so what’s the big deal about an ethics review test…
“Have you… ever eaten a person, Miss Saintess of the Dead, Isiah?”
“….”
Now, that’s…
