On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Four Hundred And Sixty-Six

As we left the helicopter, we saw that several other helicopters had landed, and Minister Kang was already here, along with the Greek siblings, who looked rather nervous. The base was a military-style encampment, although I noticed a number of non-military personnel, perhaps civil servants. We were suddenly stopped by a man speaking basic English, and I realised it was our pilot, by his uniform, and he looked rather pissed off. Understandable, I suppose.

“Why did you fire a gun inside?” he asked, angry. “You’re lucky you didn’t suffer harm from the pressure! And bullets bouncing in enclosed spaces can still kill or break vital equipment. If the helicopter was damaged, we would all have died!”

“Sorry. I didn’t think of all that.” My sis apologised. “But… you have to admit it was a very persuasive demonstration!”

As the pilot glared at her, Yu-mi smiled and said something to him in Korean, before agreeing with my sister. “Yes, very. Though it could have waited, but I suppose the added danger made it more immediately memorable.”

“Once the danger of the shockwave was mitigated by Akio-kun’s abilities, I was no longer worried, though I agree it was most foolish.” Arisu-san defended us, surprising me. “Akio-san has numerous ways to deal with any problems that occurred, and I was watching. A small projectile such as a bullet, I can deal with. In actuality there was no danger, though such displays of bravado should be avoided in the future.”

“It does serve a purpose.” Yu-mi backed us. “I think even dad was impressed, right dad?”

Park-ssi nodded slowly. He had covered himself again with his mask, glasses and hoodie, since we needed his involvement with us to remain under wraps, so that he could aid us with the Tengokusentou problem. “Yes, it is the suspension bridge effect. In a situation of heightened danger, the fear can be misconstrued as positive emotions. You should be wary of that, Yu-mi. Although…” he lowered his voice. “…perhaps that might be for the best, considering.”

“Just forget it.” The pilot groused, angry. Yu-mi said something else, and the man brightened, before leaving.

“Don’t worry, I promised him a bonus. He’s a soldier, so the money will be useful for him. It might go against protocol, but if he doesn’t tell, we won’t!” she smiled cheerfully. “Now…” she looked meaningfully at Minister Kang, who was coming over. Yes, back to business mode.

“You’ve arrived. Excellent. Now we wish to extract the prisoners. Though I have been in contact with President Moon and also the Japanese Foreign Minister.” She said seriously. “The issue of the Korean citizen who attacked you… it has been decided to fast-track his extradition, as an act of goodwill, you understand. We are counting on your continued cooperation.”

So it’s a bribe. Under international law, we’d have an excellent case for extradition anyway, though it’s a bit shaky as we are on Korean soil, but we are also kind of like diplomats. But it wouldn’t be quick and would likely drag on for weeks or months before a decision. So yes, they are trying to curry our favour. Fortunately President Moon of South Korea seems decisive. And we do want him, for now…

“We appreciate it, Minister Kang.” Haru said professionally. “Working together and expediting matters is for the good of all. I am sure we can begin resolving this mess as soon as possible.”

“Speaking of…” Hinata broke in politely. Minister Kang looked at her flatly for a moment, before smiling, her professionalism reasserting herself.

“Feel free to speak your mind, Miss Takatsukasa.”

“Thank you, I will. I was hoping that my guests have arrived and all been settled in?” Hinata queried, and the woman nodded. “Excellent. In that case, we’ll head there shortly. But first…”

I turned to Arisu-san. “Sorry to ask you for more, but we’ll need you to reopen the Room so we can take out the victims and start their treatment. Although… no, it’s fine.” With my Chirurgery and Shaper Of Flesh And Spirit I’m confident I’ll be able to keep the Chosen that attacked us unconscious without causing lasting damage.

“I will be glad to be rid of them.” Arisu-san said coldly. Shiro chuckled at her attitude, and pretended to be scared when Arisu-san gave her a flat look. Tired of that play, she turned back to me.

“I guess you can remove any remaining mind control?” Shiro asked.

“Yeah. So lead on.” I said to Minister Kang, and she escorted us to a hospital-style temporary building. Soldiers were everywhere, all heavily armed, perhaps as a show of force in addition to security, but other than the Greek siblings, who had latched onto us again happily when they saw us, nobody seemed scared. I glanced at Yu-mi, and she smiled, whispering.

“It’s hard to worry. Firstly, they aren’t here for us, and I did just watch you get shot in the head a number of times, I even did it myself.”

“Minister Kang, everything is ready!” An officer declared, saluting her. As she nodded, we were shown to a spacious room with dozens of beds set up, with several doctors and a number of nurses waiting for us. Arisu-san looked at them cautiously, before looking at me, and I understood her concerns.

“I’m fairly confident that these medical professionals are ether part of the military or at least highly trusted and able to keep secrets. Am I right, Minister?”

She agreed. “Of course. Korea takes its obligations seriously. They are all tight-lipped and have signed suitable waivers. If they betray that trust, unlimited fines and prison time is a certainty, and you could even argue for extradition to Japan, like the criminal that attacked you.”

“That’s all very well, but in addition to punishing the unwise who break trust, Japan would seek punitive damages against South Korea as well.” Haru pointed out. Minister Kang hid her displeasure, but not well enough, as several of us still detected it, but we chose not to make an issue of it, as she agreed, and said such a thing wouldn’t happen.

“Very well then. But rest assured, I am not a forgiving person, and despite being an actor, I cherish my privacy, now more than ever.” Arisu-san reopened her room, the slash in space forming, faint violet sparks scattering, and with my Eye I could see her reserves of aether and spatial element dropping precipitously. Yeah, we need to finish up now.

“First thing I’ll do is deal with the Hunters.” I decided. “That should be quick. Then we’ll bring out the victims one by one.”

“Yes, we have a list of the students and staff who were present at Choe-Museon Academy, as well as the soldiers, police and other missing people such as delivery drivers and maintenance staff.” Minister Kang produced some paperwork. “While it may not be exacting, few should be missed. The families of the students are awaiting news, be in good or bad, so we should make haste. The President is eager to salvage any good news from the situation he can.”

“Just like our Prime Minister.” Haru whispered faintly in my ear. “He’s fortunate you’re a reasonable man, Akio-kun. Though the Ministry is likely to end up overseeing plenty of Chosen as exuberant as the Korean Hunter Guilds, I’m sure. Why did I ever take this job?” she complained insincerely, but her brown eyes were sparkling happily, and I was glad she had set aside her earlier bad memories once again, at least for now.

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“Because you’re ambitious.” I laughed, and as she pouted cheerfully, Yu-mi pulled Hinata aside as we were all about to enter Arisu-san’s room. As Hinata looked at her quizzically, Yu-mi asked her for a favour.

“I need you to make a call for me, Hinata. It’s about what you wanted sorting, so…” She had lowered her voice, but I could still hear. “…I don’t know this Eri girl, so it would be better if you made the introductions, trust me, I can take care of the rest!”

I see. Well, I’ll let them try their plan. I will talk to Eri honestly about all this. I mean, we’ve talked before, but sometimes it’s hard to be fully sure we understand each other. If I had Telepathy like Haru… no, that’s probably more trouble than it’s worth. Once inside, I was greeted by Kang Da and Violet-noona, who stopped her conversation and looked at me.

“Back then? Is everything sorted out there?” she asked, and I answered as best I could.

“The fighting’s certainly over, and we’ve all reached safety, far away from Choe-Museon. But now a different sort of battle is starting.”

“Oh yeah, politics.” Violet-noona looked as if she wanted to spit, but perhaps remembering how annoyed Arisu-san was last time she did, she swallowed, her expression bitter, before she realised something. “At least we’ll get paid. We might not have been much use…” she glared at Rampage and Subtle in the clear cells next to her, displeased. “…in fact, you pair got mind-controlled and still managed to get yourself beaten within an inch of your lives without even inconveniencing Akio-oppa… uh…” she looked at me again, this time embarrassed, a faint flush on her cheeks. “…not that I wanted them to screw things up for us, but… oh fuck it, I don’t know what I mean!”

“Oh, Bora-noona…” Kang Da sighed, clearly exasperated with his sister and her verbal flailing, but I merely smiled as I gestured for Arisu-san to open the cell, and the clear wall dissipated.

“I get it. You don’t like a poor performance, even in these circumstances.” I said, and my sis piped up behind me, agreeing.

“Yeah, if you think of it like competition, you have to challenge those you respect, or your friends, no mercy. But…” she stood proud, smiling at me. “Comparing them to my bro isn’t going to be fair. It’s like a child going up against grown adults.”

“At least say an amateur versus a professional…” Violet-noona sighed. I approached her and asked her to sit still as my Eye glowed, and scalpels of aether formed. Just as I expected. It’s a lot easier now, almost trivial. I can even reclaim a few extra traces of the adherence left within the blood, but it’s still a pittance. While I’m here, might as well do a tune-up…

“Hey, wait… that feels strange. My skin’s crawling. Ouch… uh…” Violet-noona seemed surprised as I finished up, and she lifted up her ragged tank-top, exposing her toned stomach, looking down at it, surprised. “Sure, most of my scars heal up now without a trace, but I had a few from when I was younger, including one here… remember that one, little brother?” she asked, and Kang Da nodded.

“You fell off your bike and landed on some broken glass. You just laughed like an idiot, even though there was blood everywhere. You weren’t ladylike, even then. I despair…” he sighed.

“Yeah, nasty jagged scar, hurt like a bastard in cold weather, not that we see much of that here.” She snorted. “It got a bit better when I gained my powers, but… now it’s gone, just like that. And I think some other scars too. I’m not showing where they were though.”

“Consider it a freebie, Violet-noona.” I said as I quickly removed the remaining traces from Rampage and Subtle as well. “Anyway, curse lifted, you’re all free to go.”

“Just like that, huh?” she repeated. “Damn, you’ve got skills.” Violet-noona sighed, exasperated. “Though you don’t have much delicacy. Must be tough having a big brother like that, huh?” she said to my sis, who giggled.

“Wow, you’re right. My bro means well, but yeah, touching parts of a woman even with aether is a bit… oh well, that’s just how he is. No helping it now.”

“Cool, so…” she pulled out her phone, stepping outside. “Sweet, got a signal. Little bro, I’m making a call to the official in charge of registrations. Got to check a few things…” As the rest of the Guild Violet Scorpions hurried out after her, it was time to deal with the others. This is still going to take a while, more for the Healing required. But I suppose Haru has it harder than I do…

“You’ve come then?” Dong said in Chinese, and I nodded.

“Yeah, time to get you all out of here, though don’t run off.” I said, as the cells opened one by one and I removed the traces of Morana’s water.

“I know.” He glanced over at Suk-ja. “You wish to hire her. Though we still do not know what that entails.”

“Details will be forthcoming.” I said, and after they all thanked me, Dong translating, I moved onto the much less pleasant task of the survivors. The first, a young man perhaps in his last year at the Academy, woke screaming, even as I purged any traces of blood and water from him. He eyed us warily, babbling in Korean, but Minister Kang, who had also accompanied us, quickly spoke, trying to calm him down. After a while, she frowned, shaking her head.

“He is barely coherent. I suppose it is to be expected, but I was hoping for rather more.” She brandished the papers. “While it is a certainty that anyone not rescued is dead, I was hoping to piece together the fates of all the victims, including how they died and who killed them.”

Haru let loose a little of her Mind Healing Light, and the boy quietened. Seeing that, Minister Kang brightened, but Haru shook her head. “I can’t do each patient individually, I don’t have enough strength, and I can hardly afford to spend days here. My Light works on all it touches, so ideally we should group everyone together, or at least in big groups. Sorry Akio-kun.” she said to me apologetically. “I guess you’ve your work cut out for you!”

The next hour went by in a blur, as I healed the worst wounds of the victims and cleaned out any remnants of cursed blood and water. Most of the kids and even the adults were as broken as the first boy, shouting and screaming, few were as composed as the traumatised Kim Eui, who merely shuddered a bit as I worked on her, looking at us with wary eyes. Haru then let her light bloom, and everyone calmed, though it was surface level, and a stopgap solution.

Just one task left. As the trusted nurses of the Korean government took out the victims, taking them to their beds in the makeshift hospital, I went to the Chosen who was still unconscious, and my Eye blazed, as I pondered him. A few swift strokes of aether later, and I managed to disrupt several key pathways and branches in his subtle body, which had the affect of preventing him from waking, while causing little lasting damage. So long as he gets a heal every few days, we can keep him out indefinitely without long-term harm. That’s more than enough time to decide what’s to be done…

Obviously, I knew what needed to be done, but I still wanted to follow due process and the law. After all, without law, there was chaos, and what was acceptable during a battle to the death wasn’t allowable afterwards. Just like how you can kill a soldier in a war, but when captured and they become a prisoner, you have to treat them with dignity. Though in this case… The newly passed Japanese laws were clear enough, though they likely seemed absurd to the international community. We have the advantage of a good number of knowledge cheats, so we can use that knowledge to plan ahead.

“Excellent work.” Minister Kang conceded as the Room closed behind us, Arisu-san regaining some colour and masking a quiet sigh of relief behind one elegant hand gesture. The captive was taken away, and would be transferred back to Japan shortly when we returned. “This largely concludes your role, and the government will of course pay what was promised, and keep the agreements your government demanded. I hope this is the last time…” she sighed, and for a moment I felt sorry for her, despite her slightly condescending and unfriendly attitude.

“It won’t be.” Shiro said, shaking her head. “Even if you can keep a handle on internal troubles, like we’re managing, there’s external threats. Especially here in the East.”

“Of course. Though I can hardly discuss it openly.” Minister Kang agreed. “Suffice it to say, we will present a unified front with Japan on the matter, and fortunately, we already have an existing framework in the Hunter Guild, so the issue of compensation for partaking in defensive or offensive actions is well-established… although…” She looked at the Hunter Guilds, who were keeping to themselves, all largely uninjured now, except for one. Yeah, I’ll fix her up properly before I deal with Hinata’s patients.

Shiro, Haru and the Minister continued to talk, with Arisu-san occasionally interjecting, while I walked over to the Unsheathed Blade, led by Lee Jong-su. He was being hugged by Jin-Ae, who looked pale and wan, her expression rather pitiful, and the ethereal Eunbi, while Hee-Young looked on warmly and a touch enviously. I wonder if that’s how I look to others? Oh well, I’m happy for them all. Love is love, and the powerful will be drawn to each other.

Seeing me coming, Hee-Young smiled in a matronly fashion, and started in with her broken words. “All good. Jin-Ae live. We win! Get paid!” She curled her thumb and forefinger into a circle, in the universal sign language for coins.

“Yes but let me fully fix her up.” I said, getting my point across with some gestures. Seeing me coming, Lee Jong-su and Eunbi bowed gratefully, and Jin-Ae nodded, her pale face a little red from embarrassment, especially as I placed a hand on her forehead, Eye glowing. Yeah, I fixed all the catastrophic damage, but there’s still some scarring and internal injuries. Might as well give her the tune-up. That done, her complexion improved. I had even restored a little of her lost blood, so her fatigue and dizziness receded. Seeing that, Lee Jong-su thanked me in Japanese, and the others followed suit, though that was all they seemed to know how to say, except for Hee-Young.

“Thank you! Hope next time, we be fighting … together!” Hee-Young bowed, before giving Jin-Ae a hug. It was then that Hinata and Yu-mi returned, Yu-mi looking satisfied. Seeing me talking with the Hunters, Yu-mi strode over and exchanged some words with Hee-Young in rapid Korean. Yeah, I know I need to learn Ancient Japanese and Kunlun-era Chinese still, but… there’s other languages I need as well. Not knowing how to communicate properly is a pain. That’s why spiritual beings have an advantage… hmm. That made me wonder, but there was no time for that at the moment.

Whatever they seemed to be talking about interested Hee-Young and the others, as Jin-Ae joined in, and Lee Jong-su shot me an appraising look. Yu-mi nodded, her face red, before Hee-Young glanced at me, smiling knowingly. After that, they exchanged some more words, before they waved at us cheerfully.

“What was that about?” I asked, and Yu-mi giggled mischievously, and I thought once more that she did have some similarities to Hinata, though she was more adult about it.

“Just discussing your good points. They hope to work with us in the future, though they admit to being rather overshadowed by your exploits. Not just yours.” She nodded politely to Shiro. “Yours were equally impressive, I hear.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere. But yeah, I’m starting to get to the level of power I need to no longer be a drag, even without Tan.” Shiro admitted. “But anyway, when are we heading home?”

“Soon. But Akio is staying here for another day or two.” Hinata said, surprising us. Seeing our expressions, she pointed at Yu-mi. “She’s going to sort out that little problem we discussed. Eri is on her way even as we speak. So go have some fun, just the two of you and your chaperone. You did promise Eri a holiday, right? Might as well get started now. Besides, it’s sad to say, but ironically Shiro is more valuable for your Territory right now than you are. The buff on Asha’s Tree needs refreshing.”

“The most important thing is to see this last issue with Eri finally squared away. Be honest, Aki.” Shiro sighed, though despite her avowed hatred of being a buffbot, she swelled with pride as she was praised. “When you brought in Tsukiko, you expected us all to accept it. And why wouldn’t we? We are all the same as her, latecomers. But you worried for Eri. So get it sorted. And even if you can’t, have some fun.” She eyed Yu-mi then. “Uh… has Hinata…”

“Yes, we discussed it. I’ll definitely do my duty in Adamant, and I’ll not let you down.” She glanced at the hospital building, where her father and cousin were, along with Haru, who was using her Mind Healing Light to exhaustion. “Dad’s put me on a balance scale for my cousin, and it kind of hurts, but… it wasn’t a fair balance. Poor Yu-jun was going to die, tortured and alone, while all I had to give was some of my future. Honestly, I didn’t want to move to Japan and marry some guy I didn’t know, no matter how famous, but from what I’ve seen and heard you’re not such a bad guy. Now I know that’s true. The truth of a man can be seen through the eyes of those that love him, and the trust and love they give off is radiant. And they aren’t just the sort of foolish girls you can find at any university, or in the clubs in Gangnam. No, I guess if you can win all these over, make them determined to cling on and share rather than risk being cast aside… the scales weren’t balanced at all. But I do need to repay the aid you provided Yu-jun, so… I’ll start here. And honestly…” she rubbed her hands together, giggling. “…now I think about it, it’s really exciting! I’ve already got some ideas for Adamant’s expansion here, and maybe if we could find someone suitable…” She looked over at Violet-noona, who was on her phone, arguing with someone loudly in Korean, eyes appraising. “…we could have a proper branch. You have ways of moving between countries, right? Hinata said you can get to Britain in the blink of an eye. So, then…”

As she explained, Hinata nodding along happily, I realised I had picked up a second Hinata. Originally she gave off a much different impression, more of a spoiled but not stupid rich girl, one who just wanted an easy, enjoyable life. But now, having been swept into our world, she was excited by what it portended. No doubt Hinata’s been bending her ear trying to win her over too. We do need to expand worldwide, so…

“Right, we’ll talk more about this later.” Yu-mi said. “It’ll still be a few hours before Miss Eri can get here, even with travelling on a private jet. First…” she looked at Hinata, who nodded.

“It’s miracle time, and a good PR campaign. You can use this as leverage too…” she explained to Yu-mi. “We used healing to earn money and favours from the wealthy and powerful, so feel free to offer the same, although don’t go overboard, Akio has many demands on his time…” Their conversation started up again, and I couldn’t help but smile at their enthusiasm. Entering another room, I saw a number of the Black Wolf Company, including Aliyah and Treyvon, who saluted when they saw me. There were also a dozen people lying in bed, as well as a middle-aged woman who seemed to only have one arm. Huh, have I seen her somewhere before?

“Bit of a bastard flying all these sick people out to Korea.” Aliyah snorted, her usual straightforward, almost rude self. “But we can hardly say no to the little mistress. She’s even taken Luciana away, we barely see her now.”

Hinata giggled. “She’s still a part of the Black Wolf, and when you go on missions, she’ll join you as always. But she’s too talented to waste on mere construction work and bodyguard duty. Anyway, yes, I had to leave some candidates for this in Japan as surviving the flight might prove risky. They will be next. But we needed to get in first, before problems arise…”

“Nothing like an ulterior motive…” Aliyah scoffed, but there was a trace of respect in her eyes as her brother shushed her, looking embarrassed. Out of curiosity, I let my Eye glow, and was impressed at their progress, as they both contained a decent amount of earth element. Looks like dedicated, trained professionals do naturally excel. It makes sense, as they already had the drive and talent to succeed.

“A good deed done impurely is better than doing nothing honestly.” The middle-aged woman stood, and as Hinata called her Shinohara-san, I realised I had seen her on the news. She was a self-made woman who had donated a significant portion of her substantial accrued wealth to good causes but had recently been involved in an attempted hostage situation, which had left her losing an arm and barely surviving the surgery. In fact, the culprits were never caught, but it’s suspected that at least one might be a Chosen. Detective Reiji, Officer Usui and Bunta-san are on the case, I think? “I am of course grateful you would offer your impossible assistance, but…” She looked over at the beds, filled with mostly younger children, but also a couple of sleeping adults. “… I feel there are those that need help far more that I do. The world is full of suffering and injustice.”

“Yes, for now.” Hinata agreed. “But who knows in the future? Besides, just like you have done many good deeds, and my grandfather is full of nothing but praise for you, Shinohara-san, so has Akio, though the world doesn’t know everything he’s achieved. But… one thing he does believe is that good people should be rewarded. I agree. So, to let you continue to do good, Akio extends a hand to you.”

“Fine.” My Eye peered into her, and I could see that in addition to her lost arm, she had suffered damage to her liver and kidneys, and they would likely continue to deteriorate, rapidly shortening her life. There were traces of aether and also what looked somewhat like Hyacinth’s nature element. I’ll memorise them and see if that information can’t help the case… “Yeah, that’s nasty. But…” Shinohara-san shuddered, going white, as aether flooded her. Her insides were easy to repair, but even with my new Class it was impossible to make regrowing flesh, bone, nerves and muscle of an entire new limb less than agonising, although I did manage to numb her pain receptors, giving her some relief. Several minutes later, I mopped my brow, and she was flexing her arm, expression stunned. “How… how can this be? And why?”

“It can be because it’s Akio.” Shiro said dryly. “You should see the healing he did on me. I looked like I’d been run through an industrial mincer then set on fire. Shit, and it was cursed. So welcome to the regrown arms club. There’s a few members, Aki himself included. We have the best booze too.” Shiro joked, lightening the mood. Then a man came running forwards, his sickly, pale daughter trailing after him, getting out of bed, calling for him not to be rude or worry, but I waved a hand, quickly darting to and scooping up the pale young girl, sitting her on my shoulders. Some of the other adults who were sitting with gravely ill loved ones looked on, likely wishing they could speak, and there was hope in their eyes.

“Takatsukasa-sama, Oshiro-sama…” the man bowed, sweating. “Please, please help my little angel!”

“Daddy, I’m fine, I told you. Others need help more.” The girl said from my shoulder, her eyes heartbreakingly pure. She looked down at me, a slight smile showing. “You’re like a magic man, mister. Thanks for helping that nice old lady. But you shouldn’t worry about me. Some of these people look very sick!”

“They are.” Hinata said softly. “Five cases of terminal cancer, two needing heart transplants including this girl here, one incurable tropical disease, and three victims of violence. The trouble is, there are always more who need help. So I had to choose. But…” she smiled at the little girl. “One day there won’t be any sickness, people won’t need to suffer. That day isn’t yet, but we’re working towards it. So…” she reached out a hand. “…you can help, by being one of the first to show the world it can be done. Besides… your daddy wrote a very touching letter. Normally it should never have got past my secretary, but it seems luck was on your side.”

“Really? No more hospitals? Where will people go when they get hurt?” she asked, curiously, and Hinata looked at me for an answer.

“There’ll be hospitals, yes, but the doctors will be able to perform magic.” I waved my free hand, and light formed an illusion of flowers for a moment, making her reach out, before they faded. “There’s always bad things in the world, but if enough good people fight back, everyone can be happy.”

The girl looked at me for a moment, before nodding. “I’m fine, but I don’t want daddy to be sad anymore. He cries a lot, you know? But I’m happy I have a good daddy who loves me. Lots of kids don’t, do they?”

The man blew his nose messily, proclaiming his little girl was sent from heaven, and it was hard to disagree, she was very mature, perhaps because she knew she didn’t have a long life ahead of her, and she was also kind. In that case…

“Sadly, miracles sometimes hurt, but think of it like the dentist. Nobody likes the dentist, but then toothache is worse, right?” I smiled, and aether surged, and the girl cried out. Shiro restrained the man with one hand, as he looked as if he wished to leap at me, but as she reassured her father she was fine, I worked quickly. Actually, this is fascinating. Seeing the difference in structure of everyone’s body… often seeing a defective one is more valuable than a perfect one. But that’s not what matters for now… Fixing the heart and struggling organs was easy, but repairing the genetic fault she had was incredibly fiddly, until I hit on something so simple I hadn’t realised it before. The spiritual also affects the physical, right? Both harm and… healing. Unleashing Chirurgery, I began to make changes, and soon aether was cascading through the girl, regenerating the cells to the new template.

Your Skill, Ether Healing, has increased from Rank 9 to Rank 10, ascending the third pinnacle and reaching the fourth horizon. You can…

Perhaps it was my new Class, or my higher skills, but it seemed far easier than it should have, though it was still a great drain on my reserves. As I took the girl down and handed her to her trembling father, the girl looked at me, taking a deep breath. “It doesn’t hurt. Mister, am… am I well again?”

“Yes.” I ruffled her hair cheerfully, and she squirmed a little, embarrassed. “Yes you are.” As the man burst into tears, the others in the room started with loud cries and exhortations, and I turned to them, grinning. “All right. One at a time. I won’t leave until you’re all healthy.” Damn, this is going to be hard work, and I’ve barely recovered. Fortunately… I winked at Shiro and she understood, dropping her buffs on me, and my Chakra network started drawing in and processing aether with much greater efficiency. I have those I can lean on. Though… I was tempted to get her Boiling Blood buff too, but there was no need to take a risk, not when I had people to save…

********

“This makes everything worthwhile.” Shinohara-san watched the freshly healed people as they were shocked at the state of their bodies, unbelieving. Aliyah was playing with some of the kids cheerfully while her brother watched on, and I realised she had quite the amusing gap in her personality. It’s really very moé. I remembered how incensed she had been in Kyoto over the deaths of children and young adults, and realised she clearly had a soft spot for them, even if she was brutally harsh and scathing with me.

“You think?” Arisu-san said idly. She had stayed to watch the healing, and I suspected that she also was kinder than she let on. “I would imagine not being nearly killed would be for the best.”

“Of course.” Shinohara-san agreed. “I was angry, I raged, but I quickly accepted it. When our time is up, it is up. Or so it seemed.” She looked at Hinata then. “So, what do I need to pay for this miracle? I had heard the rumours, I travel in circles with big business and the nobility, but…”

“You don’t have to do anything. This is charity work.” Hinata promised. “In fact, Takatsukasa house will likely be donating to your Foundation. So please continue to do good works and help the poor and pitiable, making Japan a better place.”

“I had heard Takatsukasa house was a bankrupt shell of its former glories…” Shinohara-san said warily, and Hinata laughed.

“It sure was. Grandfather Itsuki wasn’t the safest pair of hands, and my uncle… or father now, I suppose… was even worse. But now I’m shaking things up. And I have a very influential fiancé.” She looked at me warmly, taking my arm with hers. “It’s a shame I can’t stay, but it’s time you and Eri sorted this out once and for all. We can’t move forward with what we need to do if you both aren’t composed. I mean, think of poor Bell…” she smirked.

“I’m trying not to.” I sighed. “But that aside, I get your point. Yes, I do want to do more charity work. But hopefully when we have our factory project running full swing, we can do a lot of good…”

It was then that Violet-noona burst into the room, shouting loudly down the phone still, in Korean of course. Yu-mi raised one eyebrow, listening, and sudden comprehension seemed to dawn on her face as Violet-noona shouted some last words, before hanging up. Turning to me, she grinned maliciously.

“Now he was a stupid bastard. It’s their own fault they didn’t write up the laws properly. The law is what it says, not what you want it to mean, right?”

Yu-mi nodded. “Of course, everyone knows that. So, did I hear you right…?” She glanced at me, her eyes sparkling.

“You sure did. Just did the transfer now. As of this moment…” she grinned at me. “…I’m going to call you boss. Since you are the new Guildmaster of the Violet Scorpions. No law says a Hunter has to be Korean. Maybe there should be, but… too fucking late now. So, how about a drink to celebrate…” she paused, looking around at the celebrating patients, many of whom were still crying. “Uh… what the fuck did I walk into here?”

Yeah, my words exactly. The Violet Scorpions… why the hell would she do that? Looking at her grinning face, I gave up trying to think of the reasons and opened my mouth to ask. Yeah, no point wondering. But… isn’t this going to cause one hell of a diplomatic incident?