In the Dungeon ②
Sehyun had already grabbed that kid by the collar.
“Siha-ya.”
Sehyun's voice was low and deep.
His eyes were sincere. The expression of someone who could bury a person in the back of the mountain without any doubt.
“What should we do with this kid?”
Sehyun asked me.
It was as if Jiseob's life or death was in my hands.
Sehyun was usually taciturn, so it was even scarier.
When someone like him is sincere, that's when you get the most scared.
“Sehyun-ah, well, let's just let go and think about it.”
Instead, I was making a rational judgment.
I was trying to calm Sehyun, who was on the verge of exploding, and smooth things over.
“These bastards dare!? Hey, who the hell are you!? You can't even recognize Black Wolf. Are you even a hunter? Do you have the guts to look down on us? Let go of this right now!”
Jiseob was ranting furiously while being held by the collar.
He was boasting about Black Wolf's prestige loudly.
Black Wolf is unknown to you. You, on the other hand, can't even recognize an S-rank hunter.
Jiseob's arrogance was based on ignorance.
A human who rose through office politics rather than ability.
Whether Sehyun was who or not was irrelevant.
“Sehyun-ah, let go for now. Let's talk it out calmly.”
In the end, I had no choice but to mediate the situation.
I kept my mind cool and collected.
It was thanks to Sehyun. I was happy that he stood up for me.
Having someone to rely on made my heart swell.
“You insignificant lackeys. Do you know who I am? I have connections at the Association, and I'm on good terms with the executives of Nine Tails. You messed with the wrong person!”
Jiseob, now released, was spitting out his anger while gritting his teeth.
His face still didn't get the situation.
“Sir, the hunter is······.”
Another staff member whispered something to Jiseob.
It seemed that Jiseob's behavior was so out of line that he needed to be reprimanded even while watching silently.
“What, what, S-rank hunter? What the hell are you saying now!?”
“I thought the director would know······!”
“Do I have to know every little thing!? I can't even get simple reports on time?”
Jiseob's eyes widened as he received the report.
He was like a puppy that had touched the tiger's plate.
But it was too late to realize.
He had already revealed the bottom of human nature.
“I-I'm sorry. Since my duties are in the analysis department, I couldn't grasp the situation in the field.”
Jiseob's attitude suddenly became polite.
A classic example of strong-weak-weak dynamics.
“I-I'm sorry for overstepping my bounds.”
Jiseob bowed to Sehyun.
But he didn't even look at me.
I was being treated as if I didn't exist.
“It seems the guild's internal affairs have been tense lately, Hunter Sehyun.”
Jiseob smiled pleasantly while looking at Sehyun.
It was obvious he was treating me like a ghost.
This double-facedness was probably his way to protect his pride.
“I chose the wrong person to apologize to.”
Whoa!? Sehyun grabbed my shoulder tightly.
Then he brought me in front of Jiseob.
“Apologize to Siha, not me.”
Jiseob's face twisted sharply.
Because I was the one he had been ignoring.
Moreover, the positions had reversed.
“W-what do you mean······.”
Jiseob's panicked expression was visible.
He was trying to avoid me at all costs.
“Insulting Siha is the same as insulting me. I won't let this slide.”
Sehyun firmly pressed Jiseob.
He wasn't willing to compromise even an inch.
“Ah, no! It was mutual fault just now. I was just being easy on the subordinate who had been rude······!”
Jiseob was at a loss, like the fire had fallen on his feet.
Jiseob knew Black Wolf's internal affairs well.
How desperate he was to recruit S-rank hunters.
So, even a small thread would scare him.
“Grr······!”
Jiseob gritted his teeth.
A person who rolls well under superior command.
The hierarchy was overwhelmingly Sehyun's.
In the end, Jiseob bowed his head to me.
“······Sorry, Siha. I'll apologize sincerely.”
There was no expression of apology.
His tone was trembling. An apology that didn't match his face.
But the humiliation engraved on his face was real.
Jiseob, whose entire self-worth was paper-thin, had surrendered.
“Pfft.”
I couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
Jiseob was twitching like he had bitten a cicada, which was funny.
It was a big deal. I could see through the cowardly appearance of a ruthless superior.
If I had brought popcorn and 3D glasses, it would have been perfect.
“What are you laughing at······!?”
Jiseob was venting his anger with a furious face.
“Ahaha. Sorry. Suddenly, a funny story came to mind.”
I responded with a playful smile.
Even getting angry at a cheerful girl would only make Jiseob more pathetic.
Sometimes the image of an underdog can be useful.
My heart felt refreshed.
The forced apology from Sehyun was enough.
The rest I would take with my own strength.
Someday, I'll become a tremendous hunter like Sehyun.
“Well, since we've cleared up the feelings between us, how about proceeding with this dungeon as a mutual cooperation?”
Jiseob revealed his brazen intent.
There was a reason he had killed his personality from the beginning.
“No matter how much you claim rights, Black Wolf was the first to enter the dungeon. Please make some concessions for that.”
Jiseob presented a negotiation plan close to a notice.
Since they had entered first, they would claim their share.
In other words, it's theft. Pretending to be generous to steal.
He's talking as if he's giving alms.
If it was an ordinary hunter, they would have been kicked out already.
Black Wolf doesn't show mercy to hunters without even a guild affiliation.
But Sehyun is a tiger. A lone beast that doesn't need a pack.
If you ruffle the strong's feathers, there might be a backlash.
“······What to do?”
Sehyun asked me for my opinion.
It was as if he had become a strategist.
“Yeah, let's just go back.”
I answered with the most advantageous choice.
There was no reason to fall for Black Wolf's tricks.
If this matter is agreed upon as mutual cooperation, it would justify Black Wolf's infringement.
Just report the illegal act to the Association.
Would the Association easily overlook an S-rank hunter's voice?
Black Wolf getting thoroughly investigated by the Association was the basic.
If this becomes a catalyst, it would be troublesome if an audit comes in too.
“Wait!? Siha, let's talk about it. Don't go back so soon, it'll be regretful!”
Jiseob, who realized my intention, blocked the way.
His attitude was more desperate than before. His face was in a corner.
“Oops. Strange. The director is usually cool, right? You don't have any responsibility to take.”
He was the kind who transfers responsibility to subordinates and avoids blame.
I didn't expect him to plead like this.
“The guild's affairs are difficult, as I said. This side has accumulated criticisms from the upper management.”
Even tail-cutting has a cool time.
They need leeway to grow a tail again.
If incidents keep happening, transferring responsibility would be difficult.
Jiseob was clearly in a warning accumulation.
“Oh ho.”
It seemed he was in a hurry.
He was revealing his own fatal weakness.
“Siha is a person with humanity, right? If we each make a small concession, both sides benefit, but why are you doing this?”
Interpreting Jiseob's words, yes.
He himself is this low, but you dare.
Since when has humanity been misused as a term to treat Black Wolf?
“I am-”
I was about to open my mouth to cut it off decisively.
At that moment, the radio transmission came in.
[Command post, respond! Urgent situation!]
A frantic voice. The command post was in chaos.
[The dungeon is twisting, and some members are isolated! The subjugation team is in a state of collapse, urgently requesting support······ ugh, aaaaah!]
The scream that leaked from the radio spread everywhere.
It was a voice filled with desperate fear.
“That just now······!”
My body moved first on reflex.
I entered the command post and surveyed the situation.
Dungeons are constantly changing.
Especially anomaly-type dungeons, the forms change unpredictably.
“What is the estimated level of the mutation risk? Has any glitch phenomenon been observed in the dungeon!?”
I asked the dungeon analyst in the command post.
“U-uh······.”
The man was flustered when professional terms came out from a small girl.
I was a staff member here just three weeks ago.
If it was a familiar staff member, they would have recognized me.
“I just joined a few days ago, so I don't know much. I'm still in the process of learning field work!”
“Eh?”
“I was supposed to go through training! I was suddenly assigned duties!”
The one who was at a loss was me.
The expert was you. What to do if I don't know more than you.
The command post was in turmoil.
No follow-up measures were being taken.
“Please contact the guild and request the rapid response team!”
A guild of a certain size keeps a rapid response team on standby for immediate deployment in crisis situations.
But no one in the command post stepped up.
“That is impossible. Support requests are out of the question!”
“Why!?”
“The personnel currently deployed in the dungeon are the rapid response team!”
According to regulations, the rapid response team should be prepared as a reserve.
But those above can think differently.
This personnel is a waste. Abandoning labor.
By deploying them in the dungeon, you gain that much. I am indeed a genius.
The person above who thought that was right in front of me.
It was none other than Kang Jiseob.
I was wondering why a person who became a director was in charge of field command, but he would pull something like this.
Jiseob himself was pale as a ghost.
His hands were trembling, unable to control anything.
In the worst case, total annihilation had to be assumed.
Black Wolf, whose performance was already on the edge.
Improper use of the rapid response team in peacetime. Plus total annihilation, it's over.
A critical situation.
Anyone who could be deployed immediately into the dungeon,
Was only the S-rank hunter in front of me, Sehyun.