The Honorable Assassin

Battle ended in an instant. The children and old people who had been waiting for their final execution were safely rescued by the Wraith Guild executives Hyun-jun had summoned. While the executors cleaned up the scene, Hyun-jun picked up the bludgeon the berserker had been carrying. He had kept glancing at it ever since he first felt the unusual mana radiating from it.

"It looks like an A-class piece of equipment."

Tae-min approached as the cleanup neared completion and spoke up. Hyun-jun's gaze, still fixed on the bludgeon, shifted to him.

"You know your stuff."

"I've never seen A-class equipment in person before either, but with that much mana, I'm sure of it."

Tae-min spoke with confidence. Hyun-jun nodded as well. Even without being an appraiser, it wasn't hard to estimate an item's grade by the amount of mana dwelling within it.

"I should take it for now."

Hyun-jun let out a faint smile and tucked the bludgeon into his subspace pouch. Subspace pouches generally had a little spare room even after accounting for the equipment worn on the body, and Hyun-jun's had been specially made, leaving even more room than usual. A heavy bludgeon like this could be stored without issue.

"Is the cleanup almost done?"

"Yes. We've already contacted the Special Police Bureau."

"Then I should be going soon."

He already had an alibi in place, having been at home resting the whole time. There was no reason to expose himself by destroying it now. It was enough for this incident to be announced as something Tae-min and the Wraith executors had handled.

"I..."

"It's fine. I came here by car."

Hyun-jun shook his head. Tae-min had to stay behind to finish the scene and wait for the Special Police Bureau's forces. Hyun-jun had erased his traces with Hashashin's blessing, but it was better to double-check, just in case.

"Then I'll leave the rest to you."

"If you turn on the internet tomorrow morning, there'll be plenty of interesting news."

Tae-min had been right. The next day, articles about Andersen poured across the internet.

Hyun-jun read every article related to Andersen and set his smartphone down with a satisfied expression.

Every newspaper was spewing aggressive attacks against Andersen, and public opinion had caught the scent and started hunting. There was no way to defend them when one horrific incident after another had piled up, from indiscriminate terrorism to the recent slaughter in the slums. From Andersen's perspective, it was an impossible situation to contain.

"Good work. The chief executor must have had a rough ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time."

He sensed someone approaching. It had to be Tae-min. Hyun-jun praised him in a calm voice. To be honest, he hadn't expected things to go so well that Andersen would hit number one on the real-time search rankings.

"It was hard to start the fire, but not hard to pour gasoline on it and make it bigger."

Public sentiment toward Andersen had already been sour because of the indiscriminate terror attacks on ordinary guild members who had crossed the border into the unofficial guild war. The fire had already been spreading, but An Seong-jin, blinded by rage, had set off a bomb, and Tae-min had poured on the right amount of fuel. In the end, public opinion had completely swung to the side of the Wraith Guild.

Hyun-jun took a sip of water and picked up his smartphone again. He was checking the comment section under the Andersen articles.

There wasn't a single comment that criticized Andersen. They were hanging there, taking stones thrown by an enraged crowd. Some of the blame had even been turned toward the Special Police Bureau for its lack of action, but Wraith was getting nothing but friendly support.

"Anything special to report?"

Hyun-jun asked. Thirty minutes earlier, he had received the official report from Jong-seo, so Tae-min's visit now meant either an unofficial report or some change in circumstances.

"The Special Police Bureau contacted us. They said that if we hand over the evidence we've already secured from the terror case and this massacre through unofficial channels, they'll begin a full intervention."

"Don't hand it over yet."

Hyun-jun answered firmly. Turning over the evidence and bringing in the Special Police Bureau was a good option, but there was still room to use it as leverage and force a better deal from Andersen.

"They said they'll move in three days even if they don't receive the evidence."

"Then we have about three days. Do you think Andersen knows?"

"They seem to have already figured out the situation. Andersen's chief executor, Lee Gyu-hwan, has requested an unofficial meeting."

It was an interesting turn. In fact, things were leaning in Wraith's favor so clearly that Hyun-jun couldn't hide the smile spreading at the corners of his mouth.

"When are they coming?"

"They said they'll fit their schedule to ours."

The game was over. It was called an unofficial contact, but the moment they bent low enough to leave the timing entirely in his hands, the ending had already been decided.

"Tell them to come right now."

It might have sounded rude, but in this situation it wasn't. Andersen would know by now that this was the time to bow their heads. Of course, their hotheaded guild leader probably still had no idea what was happening, but the chief executor was different. There was information that he had a calm, cool temperament.

"There's no need to openly show that we're on top right now."

"Agreed. I'll send the message immediately."

Tae-min agreed as well. He sent the message to Andersen's executive office at once, and as Hyun-jun had expected, they reacted positively. Before even ten minutes had passed after the message was delivered, word came back that Gyu-hwan had departed for the negotiation.

"He should arrive within thirty minutes," Jong-seo reported.

"Then it would be better to wait in the reception room."

As Hyun-jun finished speaking, he left the office and headed for the reception room. Tae-min and Jong-seo followed behind him. When Hyun-jun arrived, he filled a mug halfway with coffee and waited for Gyu-hwan.

"Report: Lee Gyu-hwan has arrived. His escort consists of only one B-class hunter from the guild executive office."

After checking his smartphone, Jong-seo reported.

"Tell him to come up."

Then, about five minutes later, the reception room door opened and Gyu-hwan cautiously walked in with his escort.

Even after they had entered the center of the room, Hyun-jun did not rise from the sofa. Tae-min and Jong-seo, standing behind him, swept their sharp gazes over Gyu-hwan and his escort from head to toe. It was a move only possible when one had the upper hand.

"I'm Lee Gyu-hwan, in charge of Andersen's executive office. Guild Leader of Wraith. I never expected to meet you like this again."

"I didn't expect it either."

After giving that short reply, Hyun-jun drew mana into his eyes. He was about to use Romanov's blessing.

For a moment, his vision turned gold, and Gyu-hwan's True Name appeared above his head.

[Lee Gyu-hwan: Honorable Assassin.]

He was completely different from An Seong-jin, whose True Name had been "Greedy Slave Trader." Even from the report Tae-min had compiled, Hyun-jun had been able to see that Gyu-hwan and Seong-jin clashed often and had sharply different temperaments, but now that he had confirmed the True Name for himself, the difference was unmistakable.

From Gold tier onward, the position of vice guild leader was formally recognized, but below that, the executive chief usually occupied the vice-leader's role. Yet the two men were too different in temperament to lead a guild together.

"Sit."

Hyun-jun said. He had offered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the invitation while seated, and Gyu-hwan accepted with a nod, showing no sign of offense as he took the seat across from him.

"Let's cut the preamble and get straight to the point. Why are you here today?"

Hyun-jun asked, firing a sharp look at Gyu-hwan. He had no desire to waste time on a long-winded introduction.

"I heard the Special Police Bureau has declared intervention."

"That's right. I was notified today as well."

"And I believe Wraith has information related to us, Andersen."

It had been Tae-min who had been the first to arrive at the massacre scene and report it to the Special Police Bureau. So it made sense that they would assume he had evidence in hand.

"If we do, then? Say what you want."

"Our guild leader said that if Guild Leader of Wraith agrees to the deal, three A-class pieces of equipment and a cooperative relationship could be established..."

"Wait."

Hyun-jun interrupted Gyu-hwan with a displeased expression. A-class equipment was indeed rare, something that required money and power to obtain, but if they seriously thought three pieces would solve the situation they were in, all he could feel was that they had underestimated him. Their second proposal, a cooperative relationship, had no merit at all.

"Do you really think I'd accept those terms?"

"I apologize. I wasn't given full authority to negotiate."

He had no authority.

"It seems Andersen's guild leader doesn't trust you."

"That's not true... The guild leader..."

"I know he covered your younger sister's medical expenses when you were struggling. She's recuperating in Paju now, isn't she?"

"H-How did you...!"

Gyu-hwan jumped to his feet in shock. The fact that his sister was in Paju was a top-secret detail known only to him. That was why he couldn't help being stunned.

"Sit."

Hyun-jun's voice was cold. With the sudden shift in atmosphere, Tae-min and Jong-seo had already drawn their weapons from their subspace pouches. Only then did Gyu-hwan realize his mistake and sit back down. Tae-min and Jong-seo put their weapons away as well.

"Even if I don't turn over the evidence, the Special Police Bureau will move in three days no matter what. You didn't hear that part?"

Seeing no answer, Hyun-jun leaned back against the sofa and continued.

"Once the Special Police Bureau steps in, the unofficial guild war will stop."

It was impossible to continue an unofficial guild war once a government agency intervened.

"But have you calculated how many Andersen executive hunters will die over those three days? You can't move because of public opinion, but we can."

"Guild Leader of Wraith... It seems you want something from me."

The threat, sharp as a cold dagger driven into his chest, left Gyu-hwan with a hardened face as he asked the question.

"Bring as many executive hunters over here as you can."

"The guild leader will kill my younger sister."

Gyu-hwan said. Hyun-jun lifted the corners of his mouth slightly.

"Do you think I'll just sit back? My personal informant is keeping watch on Andersen's guild leader."

"Personal informant...?"

"If I didn't have an informant, how do you think I knew Andersen's executive office schedule so perfectly?"

The personal informant he spoke of was "the shadow."

"Get out there right now and bring the executive hunters over here. Do you really want to keep serving under that lunatic when the only thing waiting for you down there is rolling in the mud and ending up in prison?"

At Hyun-jun's question, Gyu-hwan shot to his feet.

"I'll be back."

And with that, he left the reception room with his escort. Tae-min, who had been standing behind him, stepped forward and spoke.

"Even if his relationship with An Seong-jin has worsened, will he really defect?"

"Chief executor. Didn't you hear what Lee Gyu-hwan just said?"

A smile spread across Hyun-jun's lips.

"He said, 'I'll be back.'"

That night, Lee Gyu-hwan crossed over to Wraith with thirty-six hunters from Andersen's executive office.