Is It Strange For A Succubus To Be Wearing Clothes?

Chapter 39

—–CROW—– 

And so… I was kicked out.

Dan Unnie, with an expression like a wife who had just caught her husband mixing up his ex-girlfriend’s birthday with hers, said…

—Don’t even think about coming back until you renew your Hunter license!!!

*Nweeeng.*

I was kicked out.

All I had left was this pitiful yet beautiful body, a suit, and my Ego Violin, chattering away beside me as always…

“Dan Unnie, you’re being too much…”

No, but think about it, it’s unfair.

What did beautiful me do wrong?! —*A lot of things.*—

How, just how!

How could you do this to me?

How could you unleash such terrifying anger at someone as pretty as me!

You had the privilege of witnessing my beauty up close, and now you’re pretending you don’t know me!?

Truly, humans are always shameless, no matter the world!

Ah, Dan Ah-yeon, who mercilessly and cruelly kicked out peaceful, humane me…

This is like the beautiful Cinderella being abused by her stepmother, weeping pitifully and sorrowfully.

It’s just too much.

‘Ugh, stop it. Stop it.’

Actually, I was the one in the wrong.

Of all things, I completely forgot to renew my Hunter license, which was connected to my lifeline, my very survival, and my mental stability.

For other financial and administrative procedures, Dan Unnie could act as my representative and lawyer, but Hunter-related matters had to be handled personally.

The fundamental purpose of Awakened and Hunters was to protect the world by blocking and repelling Rifts, monsters, paranormal phenomena, Gates, and dungeons that came from other worlds.

The Hunter Association, by classifying Awakened by rank and issuing dungeon access licenses, could be seen as a kind of advocate for their rights. And since the lives of countless people depended on a single Hunter, who else could handle their license renewal but the Hunter themselves?

Incidentally, this was also a rule written in blood.

‘There were quite a few cases of Hunter license fraud in the past, right?  The child of a certain high-ranking official even forged a B-rank Hunter license because they were embarrassed to be only D-rank.’

Incidentally, that license forger was no longer among the living.

What was it? They were rescued after being found dismembered and used as a human shield by Black Goblin Knights, but they released all their internal mana barriers and jumped off the hospital roof, committing suicide.

How unfortunate~

You should know your limits.

If things worked the way those high-ranking officials thought, and monster hunting or dungeon raiding could be bought with money, the world would already be at peace.

Anyway, in the past, lower-ranked Hunters would sometimes pay higher-ranked Hunters to take their promotion tests for them, obtaining a rank higher than their actual skill level.

Initially, the government and the Hunter Association thought, ‘If someone obtains a rank higher than their qualification, they’re more likely to die in dungeons and Rifts,’ believing no sane person would go through such lengths to obtain a higher rank.

‘But that was underestimating human folly~’

And in human society, a Hunter license meant more than just a certificate.

It was an ID, a badge of honor, and a right to earn a significant amount of money, especially at higher ranks.

Even without a proven track record, simply possessing a high-rank Hunter license brought in higher salaries and better contract offers.  Being B-rank or above granted the title of High-ranking Hunter, which came with prestige.

Then, when a Rift opened and monsters flooded out, the reports would state that 30 B-rank Hunters went to protect the citizens, but in reality, a ragtag party of 11 C-ranks, 18 D-ranks, and 1 F-rank would be responsible for the citizens’ safety.

Naturally, someone’s complacency and greed led to the bloodshed of innocent, unrelated people.

Not just one person, but many.

As a result, a strict, rule-based system was established for Hunter licenses, requiring personal handling, rigorous screening, and uncompromising procedures, regardless of the applicant’s status.

That’s why, while the government and public institutions weren’t trusted, the Hunter Association had a high level of credibility among ordinary citizens.

It was even more trusted than the post office.

Anyway, and so… I arrived at the Hunter Association!

The Hunter Association’s Korean headquarters was a shiny, streamlined building that looked like an art piece, as if it belonged at an expo.

“It’s been a while~”

Almost a year?

I couldn’t quite remember when I last came here.

Incidentally, the area around the Hunter Association was riddled with all sorts of protective spells, traps, interception spells, and mana mines.

They hadn’t faced just one or two terror threats; the Hunter Association building had been completely blown up before.

The current building’s strange, round, and spiky shape was due to the layers of protective spells plastered all over it.

No one was around.

It was already 11:29 PM.

They said Hunters had no day or night, but there usually weren’t many people at the Hunter Association at this hour.

Of course, the Hunter Association operated 24/7 to prepare for and handle emergencies.

It was good that I came late at night when no one was around.

Actually, Dan Unnie kicked me out around 1 PM, but since I was out, I went to try the trending kobold meat tanghulu, snuck into a newly released movie, and killed time before heading to the Hunter Association.

—Entry confirmation.

—No license detected.

—State your business.

“Hello~”

Instead of a person, I was greeted by a sleek, metallic, feminine doll with multiple spider-like arms and legs.

Her name was Sarah.

She was a mechanical golem with AI, loaded with the Hunter Association’s operational data.

Since even Awakened were human, there were those who caused trouble, and it was difficult for powerless civilians to handle them, so Sarah was deployed.  After her deployment, the number of complaints at the Hunter Association significantly decreased.

Being machine-based, Sarah was unlikely to make mistakes based on the data.

And if any Hunter acted rudely or caused trouble, Sarah would enter extermination mode.

Apparently, Sarah, created by a top first-generation Awakened, could even handle low-level A-rank Hunters.

So currently, Sarah was in charge of handling complaints, administrative tasks, and security for the Hunter Association building.

Incidentally, Sarah was recognized as a sentient being, received a salary, and even had vacation days.

Her only flaw… was being too mechanical?

She had absolutely no flexibility.

“You know me, right~?”

—Response:  No Hunter license detected.

—Female, Race… Unknown.  Based on visual data, confirmed as demonkind-based human.

—Checking data… None found.

—If you wish to register, please fill out the personal information section below.

“Ahhh, how sad. Even though you’re an AI, you forgot me after witnessing my beauty…”

Look at this.

Such a sad AI…

You saw me before, how could you forget me?

Don’t talk nonsense to an AI?

Don’t say such ignorant things.

Even AIs are often treated as individuals these days, and whether human or inorganic, anyone who sees beautiful me will have my beauty eternally etched into their cognitive functions and retinas!

But this AI, after only a year… or maybe a bit longer, but anyway, just because I didn’t visit for a short period, she forgot me…

This is misfortune, this is a curse, this is a tragedy.

Ah, so sad.

“Sob, sob, poor Sarah, you forgot beautiful me…”

—Response: I am not poor.

—Please state the purpose of your visit to the Hunter Association.

—Your friendly doll, Sarah, will assist you.

“Sarah, want to grab a drink with me? I’ll take you somewhere nice.”

—Checking Troublemaker Response Protocol Chapter 3, Verse 17.

—Continued disruption of operations may result in forceful removal.

—Please state the legitimate purpose of your visit.

“Aw, you still don’t understand the concept of a joke?”

—Negative.

*Heung.*

To be rejected like this…

So sad.

So, so sad…

‘Ah, should I just charm her?’

No, no.

I came here today to renew my license, so I shouldn’t do anything unnecessary.

“I’m here to apply for Hunter license renewal. My name is Lee Jae-hee.”

—Confirming…

—Hunter Lee Jae-hee, confirmed. Due to continuous loss of contact and no confirmed Hunter activity, your Hunter license has been revoked.

Hmm, I thought it might have happened, but it really was completely revoked…

Hunters were a profession that always faced death.

Not just known dungeons, but unexplored otherworlds, unidentified Rifts teeming with monsters and creatures that could kill with a single glance.

So, it was natural for Hunters who couldn’t be contacted to be classified as missing or deceased for the smooth operation of the Association.

Why not cooperate with government agencies for resident registration checks, death reports, and missing person reports?

Not long ago, a disaster occurred when the government tried to control Hunters using their personal information.

That’s why the Korean Hunter Association vehemently refused to hand over or request Hunters’ personal information from the government and its agencies.

Except for national emergencies, it was a rather closed-off organization.

In fact, the Hunter Association was the one place where all information was restricted from the government, agencies, politicians, and civilians, except for Hunters themselves.

It was only natural that Dan Unnie, who was somewhat affiliated with the government, couldn’t handle my Hunter license matters.

Anyway, if a Hunter’s dungeon entry wasn’t confirmed for two weeks,

and they didn’t respond to the Hunter Association’s contact attempts, they were classified as missing.

And if they remained missing for over a month, they were declared dead, and their Hunter license was revoked.

Of course, this was also a rule written in blood.

There were countless cases of institutions killing sleeping Hunters and continuing to receive related subsidies.

And there were many cases of abuse far worse than that.

‘Well, my case is a bit special, right? They put in so much effort, with hundreds of calls and texts. Hehehe, as expected of beautiful me.’

Anyway, enough self-praise about my beauty.

Just like water flows, wind blows, and clouds drift, I am beautiful, a natural and obvious fact that doesn’t need constant mentioning.  I should focus on what I need to do today.

“What should I do if my Hunter license has been revoked?”

—Response: You must undergo the reapplication process.

—The reapplication process for your Hunter license is…

—…

—…Calculating…

—…No precedent.

“Oh my?”

No precedent?

What does that mean?

—High-ranking Hunter ignored a total of 382 contact attempts.

—Said Hunter ignored 285 license renewal request messages.

—11 home visits also resulted in no contact.

“Uh, well…”

Actually, there’s a slight misunderstanding.

Because I’m so beautiful, I always attract unwanted attention, you know?

I seem to run into Grandpa Servant almost once a week these days.  And even if it’s not him, whenever I go out, people ask for my number, beg me to go out with them…

Even today, while I was watching a movie, a guy with his girlfriend next to him suddenly asked for my number…

Anyway, because of this, I can’t help but ignore or avoid all calls, messages, and visitors unless they’re someone I know.

—No such precedent exists for a High-ranking Hunter.

—Conclusion: After a total of 683 attempts to confirm survival and license status, the Hunter was classified as missing and presumed dead during a dungeon raid.

—So why are you here now?

—This is impossible for a human.

“…”

Well, I do feel a little sorry that they tried to contact me 683 times.

—Based on the above, Hunter Lee Jae-hee avoided contact with the Association due to concerns about rank demotion from ability loss. Is that correct?

“Huh, no… it’s not?”

—Then, you intentionally concealed the lapse of your license and submitted false activity reports to hide the fact that you lack High-ranking Hunter qualifications, thus delaying license renewal. Is that correct?

“No…”

—Then state your reason.  Be advised that an invalid reason may result in permanent suspension of your Hunter license.

“No, it’s just… I forgot.”

—…?

Sarah’s eyes narrowed.

They were clearly doll eyes, but they definitely seemed to narrow.

As if she was looking at a creature she had never seen before.

—Calculating, this is impossible for a human.

—A human cannot forget something this important.

—A human cannot ignore 683 contact attempts.

“…”

Human Lee Jae-hee.

AI judgment: Not human.

“No, but… it’s possible to forget…”

—–CROW—–