All the safety rules were written in blood.
For the hunters, that was no exaggeration at all.
No matter how hard the media tries to portray them, most hunters are manual laborers who use their abilities.
And among them, there are quite a few who fight monsters.
Therefore, the association was very obsessed with safety rules.
But even if it's called the Hunter Association, it's ultimately just a civil servant organization.
From its inception until now, there has never been a single moment when we had sufficient manpower.
In particular, there was an even greater shortage of manpower to devote to conquering low-level dungeons.
In the case of the Black Horse Guild, they exploited such vulnerabilities very well.
"Looking at it, it seems like you've been violating safety rules very strategically. You probably won't find a case this vicious, even if you search the entire association."
"The Black Horse Guild only does what others do..."
"The list is a bit long, so listen carefully and let me know if there are any mistakes. First of all, there has to be at least a week between dungeon raids, but the Black Horse Guild hasn't kept to that rule even once in the past six months. The deceased, Ha Min-seong, raided at least five 'official' dungeons per month."
The president swallowed hard and made a face at my choice of words.
Yes, the unofficial part has already been exposed for a long time.
"At this point, the association would have recommended action and that would have been the end of it, but you weren't satisfied with that. You resorted to unconventional means to increase the number of business trips."
There were originally about 20 hunters who belonged to the Black Horse Guild.
And dungeon raids are conducted by forming a team of 6 or more people, no matter how low the rank.
Even though they're guild members, they can't always be together, and since business trips to the provinces are even more reluctant...
The deceased, Ha Min-seong, was ordered to carry out the attack together with other subcontracted company employees.
The Black Horse Guild used this structure very intelligently.
"Originally, another employee was supposed to go on this business trip, but Ha Min-seong went every time."
The civil servant who was out on scene monitoring was naturally flustered, but...
The Black Horse Guild insisted on sending Ha Min-seong as a stopgap, using excuses like a cold or a family event.
Normally, if the plan was disrupted like this, the dungeon raid would have to be canceled, but local government officials don't work that way.
Everyone has come a long way to clear the dungeon, so how can I tell them to just go back today?
If the dungeon raid is delayed like that, it's obvious that the nearby residents will file complaints.
So I just force it.
Even the Black Horse Guild showed meticulousness in deliberately controlling the areas where they would go on business trips, fearing that if they continued to send the same temple to the same region, the officials would notice.
First, they were sent to Gyeongsang-do, then to Jeolla-do, and then to metropolitan cities.
I paused for a moment and recalled the scene I had seen earlier in the detention room.
Most of the Black Horse Guild's members were greatly distressed by Kerga's barking...
Some of them were monks who lay as if dead without any complaint.
These were male hunters who suffered from constant business trips to the provinces.
Usually, when one person dies from overwork, his colleagues are already in a dangerous state.
I ordered a thorough examination of them to obtain additional evidence.
"The male hunters were sent on business trips to the provinces, so they skipped their regular checkups, but the female hunters never even went outside of Gyeonggi Province. We found out through an examination of their vehicle's black box. Didn't you ever think this was too much?"
"What's so extreme about it! We men are a privileged class!"
"Privileged?"
As I froze at the sound I had never imagined, he raised his voice, thinking it was time.
It seems like they think they can turn the tables if they make a proper argument here.
"Korean women have always suffered from discrimination. I'm a true man who understands their pain, so I just gave them a little bit of comfort on their business trip!"
"What kind of discrimination?"
"Women often hear unpleasant things about going to college, and sexual harassment is a common occurrence. The glass ceiling also makes it difficult for them to advance in society."
Since my last encounter with Blue Lightning, I haven't felt such a strong shock.
This guy, is he really living in the 90s?
I stammered and tried to pick up the phone in a daze.
"Wait a minute. The Black Horse Guild executives are all men, right? And in this day and age, what nonsense do you hear about going to college? You've never even been near the threshold of a university."
"It's just that our company is so small! There are only three executives, including myself, so there's nothing we can do..."
"That's really crazy. What about sexual harassment? Is that your experience?"
Only then did I truly understand the person who was the leader of the Black Horse Guild.
A man who assumed that since it was like that in his time, future generations would naturally be like that too.
He is the type of person who commits sins to women at bars and repents to the female employees at work.
Of course, all that talk is just talk and there's no substance to it.
The man, who was momentarily speechless at my question, brought out what he thought was a fatal logic.
"From the beginning, all of our employees agreed!"
"Oh, really? Did you get a contract or something? That doesn't mean anything."
"What about the contract! The fact that they haven't quit until now is tantamount to consent!"
"..."
Dealing with this guy makes me question my job.
The hunter criminals I've dealt with so far either committed their crimes very deliberately, or at least prepared at least alibis...
It seems like this guy wasn't even aware that his actions were criminal.
Well, it's true that most criminals are at this level.
Rather, I would say that the guys I've dealt with so far are in the top 5%.
No matter what anyone says, hunters above A rank are elites in their own right.
Unfortunately, the hunters of the Black Horse Guild were not in a position to resign just because they wanted to.
The hunter industry is currently shrinking rapidly.
Since even the guild I had is disappearing, if I quit now, I don't know when I'll be able to get a job again.
Most hunters are in a position where they have to earn every penny they can.
Currently, all male hunters remaining in the Black Horse Guild are married.
In order to fulfill my duty as the eldest, I couldn't give up and just held on with difficulty.
In effect, the family is being held hostage!
Those who don't should have quit long ago.
'This is a waste of time. I'll see you in court anyway, so I'll leave it at that.'
I checked the messages my teammates sent and notified him.
"For now, I'll charge you with negligent homicide, intentional and habitual false reporting, failure to undergo regular physical examinations, intimidation within the company, and sexual assault. Since the cases are still being added in real time, I think you can just wait patiently."
"Wh...what? Threatening? Sexual assault?"
"The employees have already testified. There's no one like you who doesn't have a history of sexual crimes. Hey, you already have a criminal record for the same thing?"
"Stop talking nonsense! You... you threatened them..."
I ignored the guy's protests and walked out of the interrogation room.
In another room, the interrogation of ordinary temple workers was in progress.
As I was watching it in front of the magic mirror, Seo Ji-yu approached me cautiously.
"Team Leader, what are you going to do about this?"
"As you may have heard, a corporation cannot be held responsible for murder. It lacks the capacity to commit such a crime."
However, it is possible to hold individual employees accountable.
Originally, we wouldn't have done this because we didn't have enough investigators...
This time Blanche was incredibly helpful.
The guy now knows how to do things roughly, so convenience has been greatly improved.
The fact that he previously investigated the black boxes of the employees' vehicles is also his skill.
'I, who was the most opposed to the introduction of AI, am now putting it to its greatest use... I'll probably get a scolding from Matthew later.'
"How on earth did this happen?"
When Seo Ji-yu muttered with a sigh in her voice, I couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
"In a way, this is natural. The Republic of Korea has never paid its soldiers a fair wage since its founding."
"yes?"
South Korea, the safest country in the world!
The true nature of that splendid title is a golden tower built from the corpses of hunters.
As always, Korea tolerated their sacrifices for the sake of the nation.
In fact, other countries would not have been much different.
"In fact, the state is far more vicious than a corporation. As these types of organizations grow larger, they sacrifice people without shame or hesitation. Of course, they don't take full responsibility for their actions. It's a very safe and rational system."
"That, that..."
When the rich and powerful start a war, innocent people die in their place.
It is a very old custom that has supported human history.
After a long time of pouring out my heart, I belatedly warned Seo Ji-yu.
"Oh, you shouldn't take it too literally. My thoughts are a bit extreme."
"You knew that too?"
"If Jiyu-ssi were to suffer injustice like me, she would become like this."
The Big Dipper incident changed my very soul.
Now there's no way I can go back to how it was before.
Seo Ji-yu smiled sadly, knowing that very well.
"I'm sorry to say this, but... I'm glad I was able to meet the team leader thanks to you."
"This is too much, really."
"Ah, then I cancel..."
"No. Don't cancel. I already heard about it, and that's just too much."
"Okay, team leader."
I scolded her and moved again to completely dismantle the Black Horse Guild.
Since we have to clean up a lot of guilds anyway, we can just say that we cleaned up one trash guild first.