Ha-ri starts her mornings early.
She wakes up at the crack of dawn, does a light workout, and eats a fried egg with ketchup.
Her morning routine is pretty conscientious for a modern person. Ha-ri hasn't seen anyone get up earlier than her since her orphanage days.
"Ah, Your Majesty, have you had a good morning?"
"Yeah."
But Leon's mornings were much earlier than Ha-ri's. Never one to go to bed early, he was up before the morning chickens crowed.
He rises and swings his sword mechanically. Although he never breaks a sweat in battle, what kind of intense training does he have to do to break a sweat?
"You're an early riser, I see."
"Morning, Your Grace."
A ghostly woman in a black dress, her face hidden by a veil.
"Have a seat, Queen."
Leon offers her a seat and the two casually sit down on a bench in the training center.
"Make us a cup of tea."
"Yikes!"
Ha-ri blushed and prepared a teacup for both of them.
"Your Majesty, would you like green tea or barley tea?"
"Hmm, my queen. Black tea would be proper, but these people don't know how to make tea."
"As long as it's hot, she's fine."
"I've been neglecting, but I'll have to hire a maid after all. Han Ha-ri."
"Ah, yes!"
Leon said, gracefully drinking the barley tea Ha-ri offered.
"You may attend to Queen Beatrice for now. I don't care about your luggage, but I want you to dress and behave appropriately for the queen."
"Ha… yes."
"It is not necessary for you to go to such lengths."
"No. Royalty must be properly attended to and cared for."
"Then… Did you say you were Miss Ha-ri?"
The queen's veiled gaze turned to Ha-ri.
"Ah, yes!"
"I sense an intense aura of fire coming from you, and if you don't mind, I'd like to take a look."
Did she recognize her unique skill?
The queen's unexpected suggestion caught Leon off guard.
"Very well, then, draw your sword. You've been carrying the load, and you deserve it."
Leon hands over the sword, as if she's honored to be taught by king Lionheart himself.
Ha-ri hesitantly took the sword.
"Where did your swordsmanship come from?"
"I learned it from my master at the Academy. I've heard that he was a promising swordsman before the Cataclysm."
"Show me your swordsmanship. I'll take a look."
"Yes!"
Ha-ri gripped the wooden sword and stood as Leon instructed.
As a recent graduate of the Hunter Academy, she hadn't had much training and what she had learned was basic swordsmanship so there was a gap in her skills compared to the arcane skills that the Ten Guilds kept hidden.
Rejecting the offers of the Ten Guilds in the draft, Ha-ri had to develop her own swordsmanship on her own.
Ha-ri swings the sword as she imagines a swift, loud blow that slices through space.
Ha-ri was a prodigy…the youngest Rank A Hunter but Leon looked at her sword swing and said nonchalantly.
"It's a big move."
"...Yes."
It was fast, but that's all. A fast sword that relied on physical ability has many gaps and a large range.
"That's assuming you use your abilities."
"Well, yes, sir. You recognized it right away, didn't you?"
"Because I saw it when you fought that honorable knight at the Hunan Gate."
Leon remembered fighting the Dulahan.
"Watch this king closely. Swords are meant to be swung hard, but in short bursts."
Leon takes up the sword himself, assumes a top stance and strikes down with a light, quick slash.
It seems light and simple at first, but the movements are small and unassuming. He had such skill that even the queen admired it. And then──
-Kwazik! Kwazik!
Sharp sword winds scraped the floor and cut through the outer walls. It was a terrifying sword wind that would tear the entire training center apart with just a little more force.
"It's easy enough, try to imitate it by swinging the sword ten thousand times a day."
"Ugh...."
"And then there's the Blessing of Fire, which requires you to swing the sword with all your might to maximize its power. Demonstrate it once more by using it."
Ha-ri's unique skill, Blessing of Fire, gave her heat resistance and the ability to convert magic into fire.
It requires a medium, and in the hustle and bustle of battle, it's most efficient to use a sword as a medium to ignite the fire and swing it with full force.
When combined with her own unique skill, Blessing of Fire, Ha-ri's swordplay was quite colorful and convincing.
"Beatrice, what do you think?"
"Her use of fire is immature."
The queen stood up and drew her sword. It was a sword from the royal family of Spero.
"The only way to use fire with swordsmanship is to imbue the sword with fire magic."
The queen snapped her fingers, and fire leapt from her sword. It was a fire created by magic.
"Fire is a fragile power," she said, "it must be compressed, not scattered."
Beatrice's words were true, and the fire in her sword was compressed to the limit.
Unlike Ha-ri's fire, which quickly scatters around the sword, hers clings to the blade, unbroken.
Her movements as she demonstrated with the fire sword were as beautiful as if she were dancing, causing Ha-ri to let out an involuntary gasp of admiration. Just then──
"Releasing the compressed fire is a deadly move. Just like this stab──"
The sword soared towards the sky and in the next instant, a fiercely spinning flame shot out like a cannonball, tearing a hole in the clouds.
"Eh...."
A hole in the sky…Ha-ri stared dumbfounded at the sky above her.
"Compressed fire doesn't leave flesh behind, you just have to compress it to a high enough temperature to turn it into ash, easy, right?"
"...."
Not easy.
Ha-ri had been taught by some of the greatest minds in the world, but the words of geniuses were hard to understand.
* * * *
The new cadets have arrived.
The Association has announced the achievements of Leon's first class of cadets and promoted them all at once.
-Really, all those Ten Thousand Year D-ranks just got promoted to C-rank?
(TL Note: They're mocking the hunters who were stuck to D-rank for a long time)
-You saw the video, it's insane.
-I can't believe the D's survived that long against the demons and in a Fluctuation Gate too.
The video of the first class's graduation ceremony also played a role.
"Yes, I learned a lot."
"It's been really… rewarding."
The trainees were sincere.
For many of them, Leon was a salvation from the horrors of D-rank and death but Yappy, who's filming the ceremony, cuts the interview and then gives instructions again.
-Above average text content. Squeeze every last bit of vocabulary out of him.
"...No, even if you tell me to extract it."
Machine gun pointed.
"I will."
...…
...
…
"The cadets who have passed with distinction will be rewarded."
Seven of the forty-three trainees who completed the ceremony were presented with enhancers refined from the heart of an Orc Warrior.
It was a valuable item that ordinary D-rank Hunters would never be able to afford. The recipients were Hunters such as Koo Dae-sung and Kim Do-han, who had actively demonstrated their judgment in battle, which also drew the enthusiasm of many Hunters.
-What in the world, giving a mere D-rank Hunter the Heart of an Orc Warrior?
Even mid-tier guilds give it to up-and-comers!
-Well, this is one hell of a lucky break.
The training was great, and the treatment was great. Even the guild members who have become official soldiers are given blessed crops for free.
-Wow, I'm so happy.
-The Ten Thousand Gods Guild is the best.
-You should all join the Ten Thousand Gods Guild. His Majesty Leon is a good man, and treats everyone well.
I didn't say that because of the machine gun behind the camera.
"Whoa~ I have to report to the chief and the president of the Association...I have to feed the new trainees potatoes and sweet potatoes…I have to change the armor, but where do I get a blacksmith...."
Leon is not the type to sweat the small stuff. He considers it a disgrace to do such chores, so naturally, he has other people do it instead.
"Taxes! What do I do about this?!"
There was that too but Leon still refuses to pay taxes. The king can't pay taxes, he said.
The Association has been doing things in a way to accommodate him as much as possible.
For example, rice delivered from the Naju Plain is refunded and treated as tax.
It also took coordination with the local military government to ensure that the majority of the taxes were used for the benefit of the residents, as per Leon's instructions, amidst a ridiculous tax rate of 90 percent within the Ten Thousand Gods Guild.
They couldn't just build facilities for the residents' convenience with private capital.
"Ugh…accounting is not my specialty...."
Ha-ri's head hurt. She had learned how to pay taxes at the Hunter Academy in Korea, but this was out of the question.
Ha-ri was carrying snacks for the Hunters as she wrapped her head in her hands.
-Ha-ri?
"Lord Yappy?"
Yappy was hovering on the hallway ceiling, defying gravity.
"What a surprise...."
Whenever she sees Yappy in the dark, it makes her jump.
-No accounting?
"Huh?"
It was an unexpected comment from Yappy, who must have heard Ha-ri talking to herself.
-Wanting to share accounting duties to increase efficiency.
"Lord Yappy...!"
That's right. The Ten Thousand Gods Guild had an all-around Holy Knight, Lord Yappy!
"Well, we also need to account for expenses and pay taxes, and I've been to the accountants, but 'I don't pay taxes' is a stretch."
-Big Data Notes. Hunter Applying the Special Administrative Law. Can process hunter meal expenses. Registered to produce own equipment.
"What?"
Ha-ri remembered that last month, the trainees had only spent 38,000 won on sugar and salt but in the accounting, it was registered as 38 million won.
It wasn't stealing, it was accounting manipulation.
"Well, there must be something wrong with that?"
-Not wrong. Crop prices in the Naju Plain skyrocketed. Utilizing the special support type of the Agriculture and Fisheries Act. Purchase tax credit.
"So… you're buying crops at a premium and including them in the hunters' food allowance? Isn't that a scam?"
-Separating businesses. Ten Thousand Gods Farm and Ten Thousand Gods Guild are strictly separate entities. Utilize special support for Ten Thousand Gods Farm. Additional tax exemptions.
-Utilize the Trainee Family Support Project. Register a welfare business in the name of Ten Thousand Gods Guild and utilize additional tax exemptions.
-Registering an independent pension business. Increase asset value through investment.
He downloaded the country's legal system in 0.1 seconds and found loopholes in the law in an instant.
'Is this big data?'
Ha-ri marvels at Yappy's intelligent computing power that finds solutions in a fraction of a second.
"Wow, that's really helpful, I think I can put this issue to rest for now."
-Ha-ri
"Mmmm…."
There was nothing more Ha-ri could ask for since Yappy had taken care of things so quickly. She now spoke of a very personal matter.
"His Majesty has asked me to attend to the Queen, and since I'll need to hire a maid, he's also asked me to provide her with an outfit…a maid's outfit, I assume?"
Ha-ri knows that Leon's worldview is very medieval.
He's from an otherworldly fantasy kingdom, so it can't exactly be compared to Earth, but the maids he thinks of are probably maids, right?
Yappy agreed.
-His Majesty Leon. Similar to modern medieval European kingdoms. The handmaiden=maiden inference is reasonable.
"It is, isn't it? I was hesitating because I thought I'd be criticized for cosplaying later."
-No problem. Rational 'maid suit' order based on big data?
"I'd be grateful if you did!"
Ha-ri didn't know that the "big data" of a maid suit that Yappy was referring to was aggregated data from online home shopping.
It was the number one product with the most satisfactory star rating.
-My boyfriend really likes it.
-My boyfriend really likes it. I should wear it more often.
-Yay!
It was the scourge of big data.
* * * *
After Ha-ri left, Yappy went about his business without a break.
Heto, the god of iron and blacksmithing, had entrusted Yappy with one task: The rise of the Ten Thousand Gods Guild and the resurrection of the Lionheart Kingdom.
To do so, Yappy must manipulate public opinion and spread faith so he got right to work, utilizing his 1,398,865 accounts.
First, he edited the video he shot of the Fluctuation Gate and translated it into the language systems of every country on the planet with an active internet connection.
He also thoroughly analyzed local YouTubers, overseas YouTubers and channels, and communities related to hunters and religious communities.
Among them, Yappy's latest concern was to investigate the strength of the Archdemon Androzin items obtained from the Fluctuation Gate.
-Dense ore. Strength measurement, superalloy MDⅤ or higher.
Yappy sees the possibilities of this great metal. While not comparable to the 'new iron' shown by the divinity of iron and blacksmithing, it is at least as hard as the superalloy MD series he was used to in his original world.
-Similar minerals exist. A special mineral from Gate Mountain. Commonly known as 'Adamantite.' 99.8% Identical
Yappy has counted hundreds of instances of it and deemed it worthy of purchase and study.
-Legendary Minerals. 230 million per kilogram of Adamantite. Need to raise more money.
The budget required was enormous so Yappy asked Leon for permission to raise funds.
"We need large quantities of materials to build research facilities and factories."
"Hmm, military funding. We'll always need money. Is the money from selling rice and the gates not enough?"
-Not enough. Suggestion. Stock market intervention.
Leon was only vaguely familiar with stocks, though he was surprised to learn that a famous investor from his time on Earth was still alive.
"How do you plan to raise the money?"
-Game plan. Futures market manipulation. Hack the polls and send the coin market skyrocketing.
"Hmm… I forgot to discuss the definition of human with you."
Leon recognized the AI's lack of human morality.
"I suppose there are victims to your sordid money-grubbing ways but you are a Holy Knight of the Goddess of Light and Justice. There must be justice in gambling."
-Huh?
Leon laid down a few principles.
1.Reduce the number of innocent victims.
2.The standard of innocence would be human morality.
With its overwhelming computing power, AI absorbed human morality, commonly condemned financial crimes, etc. into big data, and naturally came to one conclusion.
It is possible to make a lot of money and still be moral.
-Discovered 187 suspected stock price manipulations. Engaged in immoral behavior. Opening unlimited short trades.
Using 1% of its computing power to manipulate the stock market, the computational power of artificial intelligence, which can turn even the world's best supercomputers into barbarians, has begun to intervene in the world's stock market.
-I will be a righteous thief today.
The destruction of the world's stock market manipulators has begun.