Chapter 55
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Did I Come Here for Nothing?
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Seoul's certain high-rise building.
It stood tall like a window, proudly serving as a landmark.
At the top of that building.
Click-clack, click-clack—
Two women walked down the hallway there.
The woman in the lead was Seo Na-rin, leader of Mystic Guild.
Unlike most A-rank Hunters, she was famous for building her guild through an energetic image.
'Sexy and decadent big sis.'
'Charismatic unnie.'
'The pinnacle of smart and capable supporters.'
That was the image the public held of her.
Her bold moves sometimes sparked controversy, but in the end, they successfully boosted Mystic Guild's brand value tremendously.
But recently, cracks had appeared in her image.
The cause was Lee Jae-hyeok, a fellow guild member.
Due to his terrorist-like rampage—not even from some lowly employee, but a near-founding member—Na-rin had been forced into a nonstop apology tour.
An A-rank Hunter who was publicly active, no less, and the head of a major guild? The media salivated and pounced on her humiliation.
Na-rin stood before the public not in her usual flashy, confident demeanor, but meekly bowing her head.
The silver lining was that the backlash wasn't entirely negative.
She'd stepped in to handle the situation before it even hit the 9 o'clock news, offered full support to the investigation without holding back, and didn't downplay or dodge responsibility.
And unlike other A-rank Hunters who might've sent a proxy, she appeared before the cameras herself, even though it wasn't her fault.
As a result, while she lost her flawless superhuman image, she gained one of responsibility and accountability. Her apologies were textbook-perfect, and she even earned some goodwill.
Thanks to that, Mystic Guild minimized the damage.
That didn't mean there was no loss, though.
"……."
Na-rin glanced sideways at her surroundings.
The rows of cutting-edge equipment and luxurious decorations were more than enough to intimidate visitors.
The unusual part? Everything was treated for static electricity prevention.
Before she knew it, they had arrived at the office door.
Na-rin stopped, and the woman who had been quietly following stepped forward to knock.
"Mystic Guild's Master has come to visit."
The one who knocked was Kim Ye-rin, Jae-hyeok's secretary and the person who effectively ran Camellia Guild's operations.
Her official title was Vice-Master, but she preferred to call herself a secretary.
Using an A-rank Hunter as a mere secretary?
It might sound like a ridiculous waste of talent at first.
But for the country's one and only A-rank data-processing ability user, it was something she could handle on the side.
"Come in."
A light, casual tone.
With permission granted, Ye-rin opened the door made of premium wood.
Beyond it was a massive window covering the entire wall.
The room offered a panoramic view of Seoul, a testament to this being Korea's strongest guild.
This was Camellia Guild's headquarters.
And the office of the Hunter everyone tacitly acknowledged as Korea's top.
The desk sitting alone in the middle of the room felt a bit out of place.
A man sat at the desk directly in front of Na-rin.
...Definitely not the same one as before.
'Someone must've smashed it again.'
Desks getting destroyed here had become something of a tradition.
Like a sport, almost.
The floor showed clear signs of multiple repairs too.
Had the scorch marks increased by a couple?
Na-rin quickly scanned the room and offered Ye-rin some comfort.
"Our Ye-rin must be working so hard."
"Thank you."
It was an out-of-the-blue encouragement, but Ye-rin bowed her head in thanks without batting an eye.
She had the confident air of someone who knew her own hardships all too well.
'Their shamelessness does seem kinda similar.'
Seo Na-rin strode confidently into the office.
As Na-rin approached, Jun-hyeok, who had been reviewing reports, slowly looked up.
In his expressionless state, he was just a handsome guy with bold features and a sporty vibe.
Unlike when he'd met Ga-eun and Su-hyeon, his hair wasn't swept back, making him look a few years younger.
A face that belied his 33 years.
'Seriously, if he'd just keep his mouth shut, he'd be pretty easy on the eyes...'
No sooner had she thought that than Jun-hyeok met her eyes and flashed a grin.
Na-rin's face crumpled in response.
"Oh, Seo Na-rin! What brings you all the way here? Wow~ Busy with all those TV appearances lately, huh? Total star! A star!"
His face lit up with glee now that he had fresh teasing material.
"This... jerk."
Hoo—
Na-rin barely swallowed a curse, let out a deep sigh, and ignored him.
"You already know, right? The whole thing went up in smoke. Should've purged him sooner. What a shame."
It was about Jae-hyeok.
Truth be told, Na-rin had known about Jae-hyeok's corruption.
She'd given him subtle warnings and nagged him to watch himself, but he'd brushed it off.
As the punk grew bolder by the day, she'd been planning to make a move.
But he was as meticulous as he was cowardly, so she needed airtight evidence—which was why she'd been preparing with Ye-rin's help.
"Then this crazy bastard goes and blows himself up out of nowhere? Haa... Back when I first scouted him, I thought he was just a cute little nerd. How'd it come to this...? Ah, well, Ye-rin, you did your part, so I'll honor the partnership terms as promised."
It wasn't entirely meaningless, though. With Ye-rin's help, they'd located and protected innocent victims, and tracked down criminals Jae-hyeok had uncovered or connected to, leading to arrests.
"No, by the time I tried infiltrating, things were already well underway. He probably would've been nabbed by now even without me."
One of Na-rin's eyebrows twitched up.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm not sure myself. I can only guess it was some overseas group, but the rest..."
"Overseas...? Was some foreign power targeting Mystic...?"
Na-rin's eyes narrowed at the sensitive topic.
"Doesn't seem like it. They were thoroughly isolating Jae-hyeok alone."
"How...?"
"...Aha."
Jun-hyeok, listening in, reacted as if something clicked.
"What is it?"
Na-rin demanded an answer upon seeing it.
But after staring at her face for a while, Jun-hyeok put on an infuriating expression.
"Not telling~."
"...What?"
"I figured it out, so why should I tell you? Wee-oo wee-oo poot poot."
Crunch.
That annoying speech pattern was from a fad twenty years ago.
Infuriating, seriously.
Composing herself, Na-rin made a polite request once more.
"This could involve Mystic Guild, so as its Master, I'm formally requesting Camellia's cooperation. For the sake of our connection, could you share the info?"
A public, professional appeal rather than personal.
Jun-hyeok stared at her for a moment... but didn't agree readily.
Instead, he tilted his head like he'd heard something absurd.
"Huh? Nah, don't wanna. It's not Camellia's—it’s mine. What's it got to do with you?"
"Argh! You absolute—!"
Piiing!
Na-rin finally exploded.
A pipe flew from her fingertips with a menacing whoosh, slicing the air, but Jun-hyeok casually dodged.
The pipe neatly merged with the desk.
Assassination failed, Na-rin huffed as she went to retrieve it.
"Master, am I in the dark too?"
Ye-rin asked upon hearing that.
"Yeah, sorry, no choice."
"...Understood."
A flicker of disappointment crossed Ye-rin's eyes, but it vanished quickly.
"No, she basically runs the whole guild— what kind of secret is too big even for her?"
Na-rin yanked out the pipe and slung an arm around Ye-rin's shoulders.
"Isn't it ridiculous?"
"It is."
She whispered sweetly, arm still around her.
"Why not ditch that loser and join us? We've got an opening... Unnie'll take good care of you."
"Sorry, I can't."
Tch.
Stealth recruitment attempt and firm rejection.
It had happened several times before.
Failed again, Na-rin instead unleashed a torrent of abuse at Jun-hyeok.
"What hold does that jerk have on you? No way talent like you sticks under a moron like him otherwise. That trash bastard. Can't even act his age. Disgrace to S-ranks. Knew it."
Caught off-guard by the sudden barrage, Jun-hyeok looked genuinely aggrieved.
"No, think about it? Camellia? Korea's top guild, projected power #3 excluding S-ranks, market cap world #7, size #11, influence #5. But Mystic? Hmm, major Korean guild! But the rankings... Huh, where is it...?"
"...You little—?"
Na-rin's forehead vein bulged, her complex poked.
Mystic's supporter focus meant it couldn't grow large.
"Hoo... Just you wait. Found a real gem this time."
"Another 'rough gem' discovery?"
"Yeah, I found 'em, so hands off."
Na-rin growled, and Jun-hyeok shrugged.
"Gotta know who to keep hands off."
"Like I'd tell you? No way."
"Hmm, but if they're that good, why join Mystic...? No idea."
"Hey! Wanna die!?"
Seeing Na-rin buff herself with reinforcement and charge, Ye-rin impassively contacted the new 'Office Repair Team' she'd formed this year.
To think this was how Korea's top Hunters in their early thirties acted...
Korea's future looked bright.
Tuesday lunch.
Having finished my morning major class, I'd come to the corporate info session for second-years.
Third- and fourth-years yesterday, first- and second-years today.
Not that I was job-hunting, just killing time during my free period. Tuesdays have major classes in the afternoon too, so I had to wait till 1 anyway.
Plus, they were giving out Subway sandwiches for attending.
Lunch was sandwich today.
Arriving at the theater-style auditorium, I was a bit surprised.
What the...?
'Crowd's huge.'
Were our school's students this job-hunting obsessed?
Standing at the entrance, people started noticing me.
I hurried to a seat before causing a stir.
Looking around, nothing ideal caught my eye.
'Did I come here for nothing?'
Figured I'd zone out and grab a sandwich on the way, but this was more hassle than expected.
"Su-hyeon!"
...?
A familiar voice called from pretty close.
Glancing around, I spotted Ga-eun waving from a bit away.
Shuffle-shuffle—
As I weaved through seats, people startled but pulled their knees in.
Faces whizzed by at cheek level.
...Everyone sitting meant their stares hit way too directly.
"Su-hyeon sunbae, hi!"
"Uh, y-yeah, hi..."
Approaching Ga-eun, her friends greeted me, so I awkwardly bowed back.
Pretending not to know felt weird, but so did acting familiar...
After greetings, they whispered excitedly among themselves, thrilled for some reason.
Luckily, there was space next to Ga-eun.
"You guys here for this too?"
No overlapping classes today, so I hadn't expected to see them.
Glad, and relieved to sit with someone I knew.
"Yeah, big guilds are coming—gotta be curious."
Ga-eun pressed down the fidgety folding chair, letting me climb on.
"Eh? Big guilds? Which?"
"Mystic and Camellia."
"Oh..."
No mandate, no big promo, but packed house—mystery solved.
"Man, super popular. I just came 'cause famous people were showing, figured I'd hear some stories like on TV. Guild-run companies different?"
"Kinda... They want different skills, plus good perks."
'Students who aren't Hunters joining guilds?' Fair thought.
But guilds weren't just monster-slaying nomads butchering beasts for corpses and magic stones.
They set up companies too.
Alliances and partnerships couldn't fully cover their needs.
Guilds built subsidiaries for self-sufficiency or to plug capital gaps.
Most focused on manufacturing, but big ones like Camellia and Mystic here ran R&D firms.
These affiliates had better reps than similar-sized companies.
Even in bad economies, guilds needed self-reliance, so jobs were stable, quality consistent.
Iron rice bowls, unless the guild tanked hard.
"Whoa~. Our Su-hyeon knows so much? Sunbae perks!"
"H-Hem! Nothin' special—just profs drill it in class. Listen up, you'll know too."
"Heh, sure sure. A whole year ahead makes a difference!"
Pfft—
Even blatant hype-praise got this obvious joy out of her.
A few nearby first-years eavesdropping burst into laughter, but Su-hyeon didn't notice.
Just figured they were sharing some funny story among themselves.