Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: The Heroine Saves the World
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"Did I hear that wrong?"
"I'm here to buy the Justice Guild."
"Uh... The Justice Guild isn't an item, though."
"It's not an item, but it can still be bought and sold."
I said that and sat down on the sofa prepared for guests.
"Whew, I'm exhausted."
I wiped the sweat beading on my forehead and looked at Han Ji-seong.
That man was the vice guild master of the Justice Guild.
"Is Guild Master Kang Han in right now?"
"...He's out at the moment."
Oh no.
I should've called ahead.
I scratched my cheek while staring down at the two bags of money I'd already pulled out.
In my rush, I'd gone to the bank early this morning to withdraw the cash first and hadn't considered the minor detail that Kang Han might not be at the guild.
It would be a problem if Kang Han wasn't at the guild.
A bit embarrassed, I closed the zippers on the bags and locked them.
"Then I'll come back later..."
"He'll be back soon."
Huh? That was an unexpected response.
Han Ji-seong remained expressionless as always.
But then.
Ring~
A sound effect like something out of a magic princess's wand rang out.
Oh my god.
What was this horrific effect?
"Please have a seat and wait a moment. He should arrive soon."
Han Ji-seong turned away coolly, oblivious to the system messing around above his head.
I sat where he indicated and stared off into the distant void.
The favorability increase was good.
But that magic princess ring~ was really too much.
Did I have to see stuff like this every time from now on?
'System, turn off the favorability effects.'
'Option or not, just turn it off.'
The system didn't budge an inch.
'Ugh, damn it.'
Fine, let's accept it.
The magic princess effect looked kinda cute on Han Ji-seong, anyway.
High-rank hunters were all good-looking, for the most part.
It might be bearable.
I tried to console myself like that.
Just then, a clinking sound came from what looked like the break room.
'They're even offering drinks, huh.'
This was full of surprises.
Honestly, I'd thought not getting turned away at the door would be lucky enough.
Or at least not getting stared down so blatantly.
"......"
Ever since we'd been left alone in the office, Jang Su-ho had been glaring at me nonstop.
He was like a large guard dog protecting the house.
No matter how innocently he glared with that face, it wasn't scary at all, you big puppy.
Pretending not to notice his gaze, I looked around the Justice Guild office.
"Tch."
It tasted bitter.
The Justice Guild, which once owned several high-rises in front of Gwanghwamun, was reduced to this.
Click.
A small sound accompanied by a glass of orange juice placed in front of me.
"Thanks, I'll enjoy it."
Han Ji-seong returned to his seat without a word.
It was right by the window where sunlight poured in.
The clear morning sun streamed down his pristine silver hair.
Having Russian immigrant parents who came to relatively safe Korea after gates appeared worldwide, his exceptionally pale skin synergized amazingly with his saintly appearance.
"Ahem."
As I stared blatantly at Han Ji-seong, Jang Su-ho cleared his throat to show his discomfort.
Yet when I turned my gaze to him, he pretended otherwise and busied himself.
I relaxed a bit, leaning back comfortably into the sofa, and thought.
'Can I view both their status windows at the same time, by any chance?'
The system responded immediately.
As a [Sejong Curtain] reader, I didn't need to dig into each skill's pros and cons.
I already knew them all.
I just recalled once more why these two had ended up at the Justice Guild.
'Han Ji-seong was especially sensitive to gate darkness.'
He likely had the abnormal status "Dark Vulnerability."
He'd started as an S-grade magic hunter in one of the top four guilds, Fantasia, but got kicked out because of that damn dark vulnerability constitution.
No matter how S-grade, a hunter who vomits blood, collapses, and rampages just from using skills was useless.
'Jang Su-ho's case is similar.'
An A-grade shielder—the frontline tank in dungeon raids who blocks attacks, protects teammates, and draws monster aggro.
But his abnormal status was "Berserker."
A berserker loses reason, swept up in madness to fight.
A shielder who needs to read the battlefield and handle multiple roles having berserker traits?
He'd already lost his value as a shielder.
"Sigh."
Of course, none of it was hopeless, but the road ahead was long.
"Ah, it's cold."
I took a sip of orange juice while checking the status windows and spilled some on my hand when setting it down.
"Sorry, but where's the bathroom?"
It was rundown but decently maintained.
As I washed my hands before they got sticky and wiped the splatters on my clothes with tissue,
"Huh?"
A woman entered the bathroom.
Even without the status window popping up, I knew who she was.
A sharp bob cut at the nape.
Big, upturned eyes like a feline.
And the name on her somewhat loose gym uniform over her school clothes: Lee Yu-eul.
Justice Guild's high school hunter, the older twin sister.
In [Sejong Curtain], Lee Yu-eul was as mentally tough as her overwhelming strength.
A promising youth from a major guild showing S-grade potential, beloved by the nation, until a freak accident forced her awakening and dropped her to C-grade.
Yet she never lost her smile—a strong kid.
"Um, excuse me..."
Lee Yu-eul blushed through the translucent status window and spoke up.
"Are you the new member of our guild?"
"Something like that."
If my plan worked, I'd be part of the Justice Guild too.
Then Lee Yu-eul beamed and hugged me tightly.
"Yay! The guild's been full of gloomy people, hurting my eyes!"
They were all pretty good-looking, though.
Well, she liked small and cute things, so maybe not to her.
"Yeah, yeah, but can we talk about it in the office? This is kinda weird in the bathroom."
Lee Yu-eul wouldn't let go no matter how I tried to pry her arms off.
'Ah, she's strong.'
In the end, I had to stay hugged like a stuffed toy for a few more seconds until she let go on her own.
All the while, I'd been staring blankly at the little speech bubble above her head firing off hearts.
Back in the office, as expected, one more person had arrived.
Lee Yu-eul's twin brother, Lee Yu-chan.
Slightly shorter and slimmer than his sister.
His slightly curly hair brushed his nape, model student attire, but the eyes behind his glasses were sharper and fiercer than his sister's.
He looked like pure support, but he was actually an attack specialist with huge potential.
If only we could fix that crumbling mentality.
I checked after joining the hunter community last night.
Yeah, hearing that from strangers whose faces they didn't even know—how could kids endure it?
They were young now, but back then, the twins were only 15.
Lost their parents in the accident, lost their shining future too.
They'd grown up pretty well, all things considered.
Then, Lee Yu-chan, who'd been eyeing the money bags behind my back, kicked one lightly with his foot.
'You little brat!'
Do you know how much that is!
I hurried over and lifted the bag from the floor onto the table.
He scanned me up and down and said snarkily,
"Who are you?"
"She's the new guild member!"
Yu-eul pulled me to the guest sofa and answered for me.
"Not a new guild member...!"
"She's a guest here to meet the guild master. Don't be rude."
Han Ji-seong cut in sternly as Jang Su-ho shot up from his seat.
But Jang Su-ho wouldn't hold back.
"She came to buy our guild!"
Jang Su-ho's wariness toward me quickly spread to Lee Yu-chan.
"A peddler, huh."
"Peddler is a bit harsh."
Honestly, it didn't piss me off much.
I knew their personalities well already.
I hadn't expected an outsider to slip easily into the tight-knit Justice Guild that had survived this long.
Still, no need to lose the initial stare-down.
I unzipped one of the closed bags again.
Revealing stacks of 1-million-won bills crammed inside.
"To someone who brought plenty of money to pay generously."
The stunned twins' gazes locked onto the bundle that had slipped out.
Several seconds of silence passed like that, when the firmly shut office door opened and one person entered.
Kang Han, covered in dirt just like yesterday.