Only Wisdom Awakened

Chapter 46  You’re fired

Across the phone, the radio, and all the television screens of Chicago's citizens, only one name echoed…

"The association branch's new leader: Hans Ritcher."

As the doors opened and the young man stepped out, he wasn't even given the time to breathe as all the cameras instantly swiveled towards him, the flashes blinding him akin to the summer sun.

Despite the discomfort, he did his best to endure it for the sake of his newfound position.

Among the onlookers, there were some who were more shocked than others, for example, the former leader of the third team fainted on his chair, while the other people who knew Hans from the previous gate raid remained surprised as they watched him from their home.

In a lonely hospital room, where his family lay unconscious, a single thought came into the man's mind when he heard the name on the TV.

"Hans Ritcher"

'My…. Son.'

Though his body didn't move and nor did his breathing change, his mind worked.

He felt a swell of pride, finally, his son had moved on, it was time, he couldn't just waste his life caring for them.

Just like a bird that had seen its youngling take its first fly, he finally felt ready to die, knowing that his legacy would be passed down to his son.

Even then, a single tear welled in his eye, it wasn't even big enough to slide off his hollowed cheeks and fall.

Meanwhile, back at the conference, Hans walked across the room before finally arriving at the chair next to Garrison and taking a seat.

Then the tempest started: a wave, no, a tsunami of questions was directed toward him.

Everyone tried to get closer and closer, while the bodyguards hired by the association formed a barrier to keep them at a distance.

All the hands holding the microphones were directed towards Hans, pointing them at him as if they were swords and so the barrage of questions began.

"Mr. Ritcher, would you like to tell us something about yourself?"

"Mr. Ritcher, how old are you?"

"Mr. Ritcher, how did you come to know Mr. Garrison?"

"Mr. Ritcher, are you going to reveal your class?"

"Mr. Ritcher, would you be kind enough to share with us the plans you have for the future of the association?"

"Mr. Ritcher…" "Mr. Ritcher.." "Mr. Ritcher.."

Garrison pitifully looked at Hans, feeling sorry for letting the young man shoulder all this stress and responsibilities at such a young age.

'Maybe, I shouldn't have retired.'

At that moment, the worry that Hans wouldn't be able to lead the branch well really hit Garrison, making him wonder if he had made the right choice.

However, Hans, whose eyes remained closed because of all the flashes, remained calm and composed. And after taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes, causing all the reporters to halt their questions. For now, it seemed that his authority hadn't degraded and was still on the same level as Garrison's.

But in the future, it could be influenced by his actions as the leader.

In case he turned out to be unqualified for the position of branch leader, the citizens with the support of the other guilds would retaliate against him and his words would lose all their power and his position wouldn't provide him any authority.

After getting their attention, Hans started talking and knowing well that he was being heard by at least a million people, his words weren't filled with fear or insecurity, nor were they laced with any jokes or useless words.

While his tone remained normal, his heavy and authoritative words pierced right into the citizens' hearts, and for the people from the occasion, he made it even deeper.

"First of all, I would first like to express my thanks to all of you who have come here today."

"As for your questions… let's see, my name is Hans Ritcher and I am currently eighteen."

"Some of you might know me under another name and face... I first met Mr. Garrison a few months back when we were raiding a C-Rank gate."

"During the operation, I acquired a unique nickname thanks to my position and some people started calling me 'Fifth Team Leader'"

The faces of all the people before him froze in shock. It hadn't been long since he was crowned as the savior of the city and now they discovered that not only was he barely an adult, but also slated to be the next branch leader. Hearing him, there was only one word that came to the minds of all the reporters.

HEADLINE!

In the realm of hunters, everything became famous, especially when it involved Mr. Unknown, the fifth team leader, and publishing an article about him guaranteed a headline.

Nevertheless, Hans pressed on with his speech, "As for talking about my class, it's not really appropriate for me to disclose it, isn't it?

"But, if we are talking about my plans for the association.." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

His words slowed down, his cold gaze reached the eyes of a middle-aged man, who stood among the association's high-ranking seats: Logan Harris.

"First and foremost, I'll be sure to purge out the rotten branches from the association. I'll rip them apart, right down to their very last root."

A palpable force emanated from his being, causing the man who had been previously boldly meeting his gaze to avert his eyes as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

Suddenly, everything in the conference stopped.

It was an unprecedented move, one that no one had ever done before, leaving everyone around stunned.

"Well then, it was my pleasure meeting all of you," Hans declared, letting the microphone crash onto the table, producing an unpleasant sound that shattered the absolute silence as he rose from his seat and began to stride away.

No one dared to speak; they didn't even know what to say.

'This was my warning sign, Logan. The real battle begins and ends tomorrow,' thought Hans as he pushed the doors open, leaving behind him nothing but a crowd of astonished onlookers.

Witnessing Hans' departure, Garrison's concerns from before dissipated into nothing; it seemed like retiring had been the best decision he had made for the association in his whole life.

There was, however, someone who took Hans's actions more seriously: Logan Harris, who was now furious.

'What the f*ck does that brat think he's doing? He must be inexperienced about how things work around here,' Logan seethed, his gaze shifting to the former branch leader, who had always been a hassle for his actions before a small smirk appeared on his lips, replacing his once angry expression.

He muttered, "Garrison, have you truly not taught that kid anything at all? Hahaha, then I'll let him come to me, it'll be a pleasure to devour him and take the position for myself."

With those words, Logan also departed, preparing for what could possibly happen in the near future with such an unpredictable branch leader.

True to the expectations of the interviewers, Hans's interview dominated the front pages of Chicago's newspaper the following morning.

From the first page to the very third, Hans's name loomed large, leaving only the fourth page that was written with something that wasn't related to him.

/Mobilization of the entire Asura guild/

A sudden appearance of a B-Rank gate in the Asura guild's territory had forced its team of officers and guild leader to enter the gate in an effort to protect the urban district where it appeared, thereby preventing civilian casualties.

"Dammit," Hans muttered, slamming the newspaper onto the table.

"So that's the reason..."

When he had gone to negotiate with the Asura guild, they hadn't promised any aid and only agreed to abstain from voting in exchange for a box of high-grade healing potions.

At the time, Hans had little time to haggle and didn't want to remain inside that mansion any longer, hence he agreed quickly without investigating any further. After all, even just an abstention from the vote would mean his absolute victory in the vote.

But he couldn't have ever known that they would've had to abstain from voting anyway, after all, during the time of voting they would be in the gate.

"Haaaa, it's fine. I haven't lost anything and the association hasn't suffered any major losses either."

Since high-grade potions could only be crafted by B-Rank alchemists, they weren't produced in Chicago and all those that the guilds possessed came from external deals, which made those potions really expensive and challenging to obtain.

'I'll just need to make sure to avoid letting the members get injured in the next raid and I'll be even,' Hans reassured himself, knowing damn well that it was just a flimsy comfort.

"Anyway, it's time for me to go," he glanced at the clock, which read 07: 16.

Dressed slightly more stylish than usual in an attire just as recommended by the designers hired by the association last time, Hans wore a yellow-orange waistcoat over a black shirt that was paired with white pants and a light jacket.

Adorning his chest, right above his heart was a golden pin that denoted his status as the association branch leader.

At half past seven, Hans arrived at the association branch, drawing awed gazes from the workers, however, Aiden seemed conspicuously absent.

Taking the elevator to the seventieth floor, he waited to arrive at his destination.

After the elevator opened, only a door stood in front, separating him from his target.

SWOOSH

He pushed it open and walked inside the room, the opening of the large door resulted in a swishing sound.

As he entered the office, Hans couldn't help but have his eyes widened.

Although the room was huge, it had little to no furniture, definitely something one wouldn't expect from the rich association.

There was only a single lectern which stood in the center and in front of it were many steps, forming a semicircle, reminiscent of the old Roman theaters.

Hans walked up to the stage and posed his arms on the lectern before he started speaking in the microphone.

"I am sure all of you must've already heard enough about me. So I'll start immediately without wasting our time with any small talk."

"Today's subject:

Logan Harris…

You're fired."