Chapter 11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Change (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Red Dragon female—one, Wyverns four!”
In sync with Im A-rin’s briefing from her detection magic scan of the surroundings, Seol Ju-hee naturally fell back from the lead, and Hong Yu-ra stepped forward from the rear guard.
S-rank monsters like Red Dragons had a habit of testing foes first with a breath attack.
The three of them had heard this from Do Ji-hyeok so often it was drilled into their heads, so they smoothly shifted formation to brace for the Red Dragon’s assault.
Leader Hong Yu-ra recalled Do Ji-hyeok’s teaching—clear the small fry first without fail—and issued orders to her teammates.
“Block the first breath, then take out the Wyverns!”
That instant.
Quaaaaa─────!!!
The Red Dragon’s breath attack came blasting through the dense forest.
“Incoming!”
Hong Yu-ra raised her sword high, condensing mana at the tip.
The scorching flames that melted even the ground gaped wide to swallow the trio whole.
Hong Yu-ra swung her sword down.
Quagagagagagak─────!!!!!
A sword beam cleaved the flames in two, as if erecting a transparent wall.
As the fire quickly died down, Seol Ju-hee—who’d been waiting—leapt toward the Wyverns like she’d been itching for it.
Taat—! Taat—!
Seol Ju-hee nimbly stepped onto the platforms Im A-rin conjured in midair and swung her fists at the Wyverns.
Pang—! Paaang—!
The A-rank Wyverns burst apart pathetically under Seol Ju-hee’s overwhelming might. That was when...
Kuaaaaaaang……!
A roar like thunder echoed through the sky.
The Red Dragon was about to appear.
“...Light and...shadow’s...”
Im A-rin immediately began gathering mana to chant an illusion spell, aiming to draw the Red Dragon’s attention.
Kuaaaaaaaang────!!!!
But right then, another dragon’s roar boomed from behind.
“...Huh?”
“!?”
Two S-rank monster dragons at once.
“Headquarters!”
Seol Ju-hee, who’d just finished off the Wyverns and landed, calmly called HQ for countermeasures instead of panicking.
[Uh... um...! For now, just run!]
“...What?”
HQ spat out an absurd response.
Dragons grew even fiercer against perceived weaker opponents.
That’s why Im A-rin had planned to use illusion magic to distract it for a sneak attack—efficient subjugation.
But rattled by the unexpected situation, HQ issued a ridiculous order.
“R-Run away...?”
“That’s their advice...!”
Im A-rin and Hong Yu-ra gaped incredulously at HQ’s nonsense.
“Forget it.”
Seol Ju-hee grimaced in annoyance and took charge herself.
“I’ll handle the rear. You two take the one up front.”
“!”
It was the obvious call barring retreat, but Hong Yu-ra and Im A-rin couldn’t hide their shock.
The three had never fought separately before.
Do Ji-hyeok always insisted on teamwork and strategy over raw power, and they’d won every time on that principle.
It let them survive high-rank gates’ chaos far better than other teams.
Now Seol Ju-hee was breaking the team’s framework with her own hands.
“Whoever finishes first backs up the other. ...Be careful.”
“W-Wait, Ju-hee...!”
Seol Ju-hee issued the order unilaterally and bolted off, ignoring Im A-rin’s call.
Hong Yu-ra paused in thought, then raised her sword and spoke calmly to Im A-rin.
“Let’s go.”
“...Yu-ra...”
If even Hong Yu-ra followed Seol Ju-hee’s lead, there was no choice.
Hong Yu-ra was the team leader.
Do Ji-hyeok had handed her command.
“...Okay...”
Im A-rin stared briefly at Hong Yu-ra’s oddly stiff, hardened expression, then gripped the staff Do Ji-hyeok had gifted her with worry, and advanced alongside Hong Yu-ra to face the Red Dragon.
Early afternoon.
[Queens Boldly Holds 1st Place with S-Grade Gate Clear.]
[Secret of Seol Ju-hee’s Chosen Gear: “The old stuff was good too, but this is way more practical.”]
[Queens Defeats Two S-Rank Red Dragons. “First Split Combat, but Excellent...”]
While waiting for the awards ceremony, I read the fresh news on Queens and could tell how hard Cheonhwa Guild was working to erase my traces.
“Hmm...”
Cheonhwa Guild—Queens’ affiliate—had rushed new sponsor contracts right after I left. And the old ones they ditched? All companies I’d picked.
That wasn’t all.
In the S-grade gate, Queens faced two Red Dragons and split up for the first time to take them down.
Thankfully no major injuries, but the attached SNS pics showed more cuts and scrapes than usual.
They’d struggled with the unfamiliar approach.
Seeing this, it felt like they were uprooting everything I’d built...
This radical shift made me suspect Cheonhwa’s upper brass might be behind framing me.
Those bastards...
Truth be told, it made a twisted kind of sense.
Cheonhwa Guild’s executives—Cheonhwa Group—never liked me much.
I’d blocked their attempts to overwork Queens’ members.
Of course, I couldn’t stop everything, but it surely fell short of their satisfaction.
It’s not impossible...
Lost in deep thought like that.
“Producer!”
Han Gyu-ri, who’d done Bang Han-na’s makeup, called out.
“How’s Han-na? Cute, right?”
“Uh...”
Bang Han-na had her bright golden hair neatly tied up, wearing a light top and skirt that subtly showed off her figure—unlike her usual style. Her slightly twisted, embarrassed expression made her look like a kid dragged to an event by her mom, and I couldn’t help chuckling.
“You’re cute.”
“Right?”
“C-Cute...?”
After chatting over shy Bang Han-na and wrapping a simple rehearsal that was more explanation than practice.
The awards ceremony finally arrived.
Before it started, we exchanged brief greetings with the late-arriving Seoul Mayor Lee Sang-heum.
“So you’re that Queens producer kid. Take good care of our team, yeah?”
Lee Sang-heum, with his affable vibe, offered a light greeting and handshake.
But in truth, he played a big role in the original novel Supreme Expert.
On the bad side, though.
Never guessed he’d sell info to the Demon King.
“Looking forward to great things ahead.”
“Haha, full of spirit—I like it.”
After that quick chat with Lee Sang-heum, the main ceremony began.
It wasn’t overly grand.
“Okay, smile. One... two...”
Click—!
We got small plaques and certificates, posed for photos, shared short interview thoughts, and wrapped with Lee Sang-heum’s brief pep talk.
“Everyone worked hard. Keep pushing for our team ahead—much appreciated.”
Clap clap clap clap clap───
His business done, Lee Sang-heum moved to leave with his aides right after.
Now’s the time.
I’d been waiting and approached the mayor to request a private talk.
“Mayor! If you have a moment, could we have a quick one-on-one?”
“Hm?”
“You can’t just spring this—make an appointment...”
“Please!”
A guard swiftly blocked me.
Normally, he wouldn’t entertain such a pushy ask.
“Nah, let him through. A chat’s no big deal.”
As expected, mindful of the eyes on him, Lee Sang-heum graciously accepted.
The office befitted a capital city mayor—sleek design, top-notch fixtures.
But.
We talked not in that modern space, but a separate old one behind it.
A desk piled with work papers, sofa, small TV. That was it...
No CCTV anywhere you looked.
“So... what’s on your mind?”
Lee Sang-heum leaned back casually on the sofa and prompted me.
He still wore that friendly smile, but knowing his true colors, I stayed guarded.
“It’s about Team Seoul City Hall’s budget.”
“...Hm?”
The total allocated was about 9 billion won.
Meager for a ranker team, but overflowing for near-amateurs.
However...
This wasn’t fully for the team.
Current head: Kim Jun-hyeong.
Lacking ‘pull,’ he’d been shoved into the role—and became easy prey for budget vampires.
Senior officials already lined up with excuses to siphon funds. Choi Gap-gyu from the interview? One of them.
How much fresh meat survives jackals?
These were padded budgets from the start—10% actual use would be lucky.
“Our budget totals 9 billion. You aware?”
Lee Sang-heum set down his teacup and nodded like it was obvious.
“Of course. That’s baseline for a proper team, right? Wonder if you know the effort I put into securing it.”
Per intel, Team Seoul City Hall was his creation.
Affiliated directly with City Hall, not the Sports Association like most unemployed teams.
He’d pulled strings for direct oversight—to skim unnoticed.
In short, he’d prepped his own meal.
“True. Baseline for operations.”
Confirming he gripped the purse strings, I boldly declared war.
“But I can do with 70%—exactly 6.3 billion. Handle the rest yourselves.”
That moment.
“No idea what you’re on about.”
The ever-amiable Lee Sang-heum’s eyes sharpened.
True colors out.
“Then... how about this.”
Far more at ease now, I lounged on the sofa, crossed my legs, and slid in my pitch.
“Tack on 300 million later, total 3 billion. We can pull more budget anyway—let’s try 6 billion this time.”
Lee Sang-heum narrowed his eyes suspiciously, then...
“Hahaha!”
Burst into booming laughter.
“No clue what you’re saying. What could I even do with 3 billion?”
Different tone, but clear: 3 billion was chump change.
Greedy old coot...
No more dancing around.
I stroked the fine wooden sofa arm and calmly laid out my plan.
“Longest a year, shortest half. I’ll make our team 3rd Division B-rank level. Annual cost for a B-team: 15 billion average. About 70% over current total.”
Average, of course.
Could be higher.
“After that, 10 billion suffices for ‘normal’ ops. Depends on your funding, Mayor.”
“...Hmm...”
If Team Seoul City Hall hit 3rd Division for real, everything changed.
Top 10 (1st), Top 19 (2nd), even Top 39 (3rd) drew crowds.
Now it was me, Kim Jun-hyeong, Han Gyu-ri. At that level? Dozens of staff.
“Why should I play along?”
Not bad, apparently—he probed slyly.
I grinned and dropped an unbeatable credential.
“I built Queens with these hands—what can’t I do?”
Queens Lead Producer. Best business card in this world.
“Heh...”
Lee Sang-heum chuckled faintly like it amused him, pulled an e-cig from his pocket, and puffed away familiarly.
“Hoo...”
Sweet vapor filled the office.
He sank into thought, smoking steadily.
Then, glancing my way, he murmured.
“Tell me more.”