Chapter 337: The Seven Deadly Sins (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 337: The Seven Deadly Sins (4)
Unlike regular companies where you can throw down your resignation letter whenever you want, the process of leaving a Hunter Guild is just as complicated as joining one.
The reason is simple.
Hunter Guilds earn their income through the activities of their affiliated guild members.
In other words, the guild members themselves are basically the guild's lifeline.
And there's no way a profit-driven organization would just let its lifeline walk away as they please.
That's why guilds have their members sign a contract upon joining.
It lists out the signing bonus, annual salary, contract period, and other detailed conditions.
This ensures that even if a member decides to transfer to another guild after being scouted, they must work for the minimum contract period before they can leave.
And if they refuse even that, the guild can charge a penalty fee corresponding to the remaining time on their contract.
“Ah, right. There was a contract.”
“……”
Her expression, as if she'd only just realized, made my head spin a little.
When on earth is this girl going to grow up?
Her body's gotten bigger, but her actions are exactly the same as when she was a child. I can't help but worry.
I worry she'll get scammed by someone out there.
As I found myself looking at her with pity, she noticed and furrowed her brow.
“Your gaze just now was quite unpleasant.”
That sullen voice only comes out when she's slightly pissed.
“You must have seen wrong.”
I quickly composed my expression and played innocent, and Si-a turned away with a “Hmph.”
It was a sign that she'd let it slide this once, so I'd better behave.
If I annoy her or tease her any more, she'll enter Stage 2.
I'd better start cheering her up again.
Because once she enters Stage 2, calming her down gets a bit tricky.
“Would you like another cup of coffee?”
“…Give it to me.”
She held out her empty paper cup with a sulky voice.
In Stage 1, a well-made cup of coffee is usually enough to appease her.
And how do you handle Stage 2?
You have to grant one of her small wishes.
The kind of wishes that are doable, but time-consuming and annoying.
It's better to deal with it now than to regret it later.
As I handed her a freshly made cup of coffee, I voiced a question that had just occurred to me.
“By the way, why did you submit a withdrawal form? You're a member of the Guild Leader's direct party, which is composed of only the guild's elite, Princess.”
No matter how great a National Hunter is, they don't clear dungeons alone.
That's why guilds have a party that reports directly to the Guild Leader.
A tanker, a ranged dealer, a detection specialist, and so on.
They are individuals who boast renowned skills, more than capable of supporting an S-rank Hunter.
And Jung Si-a, standing before me, is one of them.
Her position is debuffer.
The binding effect created by her trait, ‘Tyrant's Gaze,’ is more powerful than any other crowd control skill.
What does all this mean?
It means Jung Si-a is an elite guild member, treated as a core part of the guild's strength, and her compensation and treatment are on a completely different level from other members.
Which makes me even more curious.
What complaint could she possibly have with a guild that treats her so well, providing her with everything she needs, that she'd go so far as to throw down a withdrawal form?
“Hmm… the reason, you ask.”
Jung Si-a swallowed hard, her expression melancholic.
She began to speak.
“What I am about to say is strictly confidential. You alone must know of it.”
Confidential…
What on earth could it be that would make her use a word like that?
It's not like I have anyone to blab to, so I might as well listen.
“Yes, I will.”
When I nodded in response, she continued, her demeanor visibly more relaxed.
“The current Guild Leader is preparing to make his return.”
“His return... you mean he's resuming his activities as a Hunter…?”
“That is correct.”
I was a little surprised, but that was it.
I'd been thinking it was about time for that to happen.
His break has already extended beyond the sabbatical he initially announced.
Whether he wants to or not, that guy has no choice but to start planning his comeback.
The Association and the government must be hounding him like crazy, asking when he'll be back.
I bet even Han Ju-hee is one of the people poking him in the ribs.
I saw in the news that she handled a few major incidents that Son Si-woo was originally supposed to.
Given her recent tendency to focus more on research than on Hunter activities, she probably felt it was an interruption to her research time and nagged her husband about it a few times.
She continued.
“However, in the process, that fake arbitrarily brought people into the guild.”
I think I know who. The four paladins that the cult priest from the upper echelons gave him to use as his limbs.
“And not just as regular guild members, but as members of the Guild Leader's direct party, he said!”
“Ah.”
Furious, Jung Si-a violently crushed the empty paper cup in her hand.
A rough picture of what that guy wants is forming in my head.
That bastard is probably still unable to properly handle my body.
He'd have to actually put in some effort to use it even a little, but he's the type who has built a wall against that sort of thing.
Meanwhile, the Association, the government, and even his wife are all poking him in the ribs, asking when he's coming back.
To overcome this, he received the four paladins from the cult priest.
The reason is obvious.
“He must intend to have them clear the dungeons in his stead so no one finds out he's a fake, hmph!”
Si-a shouted, fuming.
She's right.
The fake Son Si-woo brought the paladins into the guild to hide his own incompetence.
His purpose, of course, was to make them his direct party members.
He'd enter the dungeon with them, but then he'd leave the entire clear to them while he just sits back and twiddles his thumbs.
Then, after the clear is finished, he'd come out and run his mouth as if he did it all himself.
I can roughly understand the picture he's painting, but there's one part I don't get.
“Did the other guild members just accept that?”
“Of course not!”
she exclaimed in an even more indignant voice.
But that was only for a moment.
“And yet… their objections were not accepted…”
Si-a added in a thoroughly dejected voice, letting out a deep sigh.
“This whole situation is so frustrating. That fake is growing bolder, and no one believes this princess’s words… What am I to do…?”
Hmm…
Despite her good treatment, the guild members don't take her words at face value.
It's not like this is the first or second time she's spouted some absurd story about being a tyrant in her past life.
Furthermore, she's claiming the Guild Leader—who clocks in every day using fingerprint and iris scanners—is a fake. Unless you already know the truth like I do, that's not an easy thing to believe.
I can understand how she feels.
The Guild Leader is a fake and the other members don't believe her; how frustrating must that be?
“So that's why you created a withdrawal form and threw it at them?”
Even making one yourself since there isn't an official company form for it.
Si-a nodded weakly.
A thought suddenly struck me.
“Do you have any plans for what you'll do after you leave?”
I naturally assumed she didn't.
“I do.”
“…Oh.”
She says she does.
What could it be?
As my curiosity grew, she spoke again.
“I will find the real Guild Leader.”
“……”
As I said before, Jung Si-a doesn't make empty promises unless she absolutely has to.
There's no reason for her to lie in this situation, which means she's 100% serious...
“And you know where he is?”
“Hmm, I have not yet thought on that matter.”
She said, her tone quite serious.
“But I will find him, one way or another.”
Her eyes were filled with the resolute determination to find him.
But contrary to that, her next words were tinged with a deep sorrow.
“The Guild Leader… Ajeossi… is my only family….”
“……”
Family.
Jung Si-a has no family.
Unlike me, who was abandoned at birth, I heard she lost her parents to a monster that came out of a rift when she was in her first year of middle school.
Her only relative was an aunt living far away in America.
Even she couldn't be contacted, so the fourteen-year-old girl who was left all alone overnight lived by herself for a little over a year after that.
…Until she met me.
“Ajeossi was the only person who reached out to me when I was isolated, overwhelmed by a power I couldn't control.”
Even her way of speaking changed.
It was her normal self, the one that occasionally pops out when she's being completely sincere.
“So I'm going to find him. No matter how much time or money it takes… I will.”
An energy flickered quietly within her dark eyes.
It looked less like firm determination and more like a sticky obsession.
A distant something, tangled and intertwined like glue, impossible to separate.
“I won't lose him again.”
“……”
Perhaps the true nature of that feeling is a wound.
A twisted emotion, or perhaps a twisted ego, formed from a bundle of unhealed scars.
I realize it anew.
Si-a cherished me more dearly than any family.
In contrast, I had just been thinking whatever was convenient for me.
Thinking things like, ‘She's all grown up now, she'll be fine without me.’
But that was a delusion.
She won't stop until she finds me.
Not until the day she draws her last breath.
I can't just stand by and watch that happen.
So, I have to tell her, and only her.
That I am Son Si-woo.
“Ms. Si-a.”
Hearing her name called so suddenly, she scowled.
“Ahem, how dare you so impudently speak this princess’s name…”
But her words trailed off.
Because my dead-serious attitude made it impossible for her to fully maintain her persona.
I spoke again to the slightly flustered girl.
“I'll help you find the real Guild Leader.”
I had resolved to reveal my identity to her.
But not right now.
With the disclosure prohibition clause in effect, I can't say anything truthful.
So for now, I'll just have to keep her by my side.
Keep her close so I can properly manage and console her, and prevent her from pouring time and money into a futile effort.
“…Really?”
She looked up at me, her eyes wide.
To her, right now, I am her only confidant.
The one and only person who completely believes her story about the Guild Leader being a fake and understands her feelings.
“But I have one favor to ask in return.”
“A favor...? And what might that be...?”
I held up one index finger and continued.
“First, you will not leave your current guild for the remainder of your contract period.”
If I remember correctly, Si-a has about a year left on her contract.
If she throws a tantrum and insists on leaving now, she'll have to pay a penalty fee. And since her salary and signing bonus were so high, a year's worth of penalty fees would really hurt her bank account.
A lot.
At my first condition, she nodded with a reluctant expression.
“Well… since that man is a fake, there won't be much activity anyway, so it shouldn't be too difficult.”
Seeing that she accepted it without much fuss, I held up a second finger.
“Second, after your contract period is over, you will join the guild I'm going to create.”
Surprised by my words, Si-a's eyes widened a little more.
“What…! You, you're going to create a guild yourself…?”
“Yes.”
Creating a guild.
To be honest, it was something I'd considered a few times before giving up on.
Having experienced how difficult it is once, I never wanted to do it again, but I've had a change of heart recently.
“I'm planning to create my own guild. One filled entirely with my own people.”
It will be run with a small, elite team.
I'm going to create a guild composed only of those bound to me by an inseparable fate.
A comfortable guild where betrayal is impossible, where we can all easily watch each other's backs.
And at the same time, a guild that possesses more military might than any other.
Hearing this, she asked me with a strange smile.
“Hoh… does that mean you are vowing to make this princess your woman, or some such thing?”
Don't make me laugh.
You're already my person, you punk.
I hid my inner thoughts of finding her ridiculous and simply nodded.
“That would be nice, but… I have no intention of forcing you to stay. If you find the real Guild Leader and decide to leave with him, I'll let you go without any regrets.”
This was a conciliatory tactic, meant to gently bend her stubborn heart.
In reality, it was like tempting her by waving a free carrot I'd found on the street—it cost me nothing.
And it seemed the temptation was working quite well.
“Hmm… if that's the case, it might certainly be acceptable…”
Her gaze flickered down to the crushed paper cup in her hand.
She was probably thinking something like, ‘He makes good coffee, so maybe staying for a little while wouldn't be so bad...?’
Just then, she lifted her head and asked me.
“Ahem…! Do, do you have a name for the guild in mind? If I like it, I might consider your offer…?”
“I do.”
Thankfully, I did. A name I'd decided on after agonizing over it for days.
“The Peace of Mind Society (安心會). What do you think?”
It means a society for people who want to have, or already have, peace of mind.
I spent days and nights agonizing over this name.
I looked at her with eyes full of conviction, certain that there could be no better name for a guild. In response, she glared at me with a murderous expression, as if she'd just met her mortal enemy, and snapped.
“You should avoid naming things if you can. You seem to have a talent for pissing people off with them.”
“……”
I got shot down, hard.