The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 111

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Yeo Joo Saves the World – Episode 111

“Guild Master!”
Jang Su Ho’s face, which had remained rigid ever since arriving at the Taesan Guild, brightened as if a light had been switched on.
“Su Ho, it’s been a while.”
Yoo Jin Rok made no effort to hide his own delight as he greeted him.
Jang Su Ho rushed forward and embraced Yoo Jin Rok, his large eyes asking eagerly.
“When did you return?”
“Return? I don’t even enter Gates anymore. I’m just here in an advisory capacity.”
“Still, you could have at least contacted me….”
Jang Su Ho seemed quite disappointed by the fact that Yoo Jin Rok had been working at the Taesan Guild without a word.
But once again, Gwak Ho Young inserted himself into this touching scene.
“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you too, and it must be even longer for Yoo Jin Rok. Good to see you, Su Ho?”
“….”
Jang Su Ho didn’t even respond to Gwak Ho Young’s belated greeting.
He merely fixed him with a cold, piercing stare.
But apparently that struck a nerve with Gwak Ho Young.
“Keep that up and I’ll throw a punch your way.”
Gwak Ho Young said with a sneer.
“I’ve told you before—if you don’t fix that temperament of yours, you’ll regret it.”
He wasn’t referring to the current situation.
He was talking about when Jang Su Ho had finally lost control inside the Dungeon.
I could see Jang Su Ho’s fists clench with tension.
But I didn’t intervene.
Because I trusted Jang Su Ho.
I hadn’t raised him to be weak enough to fall for such a simple provocation.
And Jang Su Ho proved me right.
“It’s you who hasn’t made any progress.”
He even landed a satisfying blow and let out a light chuckle.
…The way he raised just one corner of his mouth looked rather similar to how I do it.
Anyway, that wasn’t the important part.
After glancing once at Gwak Ho Young’s now-cold expression, Jang Su Ho turned to Yoo Jin Rok and spoke.
“Guild Master, don’t go anywhere after the meeting ends. Understood?”
Jang Su Ho deliberately called Yoo Jin Rok “Guild Master” while pointedly ignoring Gwak Ho Young.
“Of course.”
After confirming that Yoo Jin Rok nodded in agreement, Jang Su Ho walked back toward us and naturally claimed the seat beside me.
“Well done.”
When someone does well, you have to praise them.
That’s how they get more motivated and perform better.
Besides, I understand how difficult this situation must be for Jang Su Ho, returning to Taesan on his own terms like this.
It must feel like digging up old memories that were buried with such difficulty.
“This much is nothing.”
Jang Su Ho shrugged his shoulders as if it were trivial.
His unwavering demeanor no matter where he goes is a sight to behold.
A sight to behold, truly.
“Hey, it’s cramped here. Can’t you sit somewhere else?”
“No.”
This overgrown puppy of a man.

* * *

The meeting began.
Gwak Ho Young spoke first.
“Given that you’ve come this far, I take it you’ve accepted my proposal?”
“I believe it’s a good opportunity for the Justice Guild as well.”
Kang Han, seated across from Gwak Ho Young as the guild master, responded.
It was a very wise answer.
An opportunity, certainly, but his tone suggested he would hear the full proposal first.
Gwak Ho Young seemed to recognize this, nodding a couple of times before gesturing to an employee waiting by the door.
“Then let’s start with this.”
The room darkened and the projector turned on.
What appeared on the screen was a list of Dungeons scheduled to come up for auction.
‘He went out of his way to call us here for a meeting. So this was the reason.’
Unless an S-rank or ultra-large Gate was about to open, this list was kept secret until the day of the auction.
Of course, it was common knowledge that large guilds secured such information in advance through their own connections.
But I never expected Taesan to have something like this.
“Of course, the list is confidential?”
Gwak Ho Young said this with a subtle air of self-satisfaction.
His smile seemed to say, ‘You’ve never seen anything like this before, have you?’
I ignored Gwak Ho Young’s words and spoke to Kang Han instead.
“What do you think?”
“Hmm.”
Kang Han carefully scanned through the list.
The list displayed various Gates ranging from A-rank to E-rank, along with their estimated locations.
But it wasn’t something to be decided based solely on rank.
There were many factors to consider: the expected size of the Dungeon, its type, and its difficulty level.
“From my perspective….”
That was when Kang Han was about to open his mouth.
“Since the Justice Guild is experiencing this for the first time, allow us to share our opinion first.”
It was Gwak Ho Young again.
“This C-rank Volcanic Dungeon would be suitable. The difficulty is high, and the expected number of monsters is substantial. Simply put, it’s a Gate that’s ideal for raising your achievements.”
Then he added one more thing.
“High risk, high return
(High risk, High return)
—that’s what I mean.”
High risk, high return? This isn’t gambling.
As I muttered to myself, Kang Han looked at me with eyes that held a faint glimmer of amusement.
“I understand the Taesan Guild Master’s point, but Volcanic Dungeons carry excessive risk during conquest—such as the possibility of explosions.”
Kang Han shared my thoughts, as expected.
But Gwak Ho Young, as if he’d been waiting for this, didn’t hide his displeasure and grumbled.
“Does the Justice Guild even intend to cooperate with us?”
Look at him being sarcastic.
If the Taesan supporters saw this, they’d lose all their composure.
But Kang Han didn’t stay silent either.
“Does Taesan have no intention of cooperating with the Justice Guild unless it’s a dangerous Dungeon?”
“That’s not quite it.”
“This is a decision that requires careful consideration. If you insist on conquering that particular Dungeon, I suggest you look for another Guild to cooperate with.”
As Kang Han pressed harder, Gwak Ho Young backed off slightly.
“It seems there was a misunderstanding.”
But it was only half a step back.
“So what should we do? Besides the Volcanic Dungeon, the only suitable Gate is the Underwater Dungeon.”
“I like it—the Underwater Dungeon.”
This time, I interjected.
“Pardon?”
“The Underwater Dungeon sounds good. It’s a rare type, so I think we should request broadcast coverage from the Awakeners Association as well.”
“Are you serious, Hunter Yeo Joo?”
Gwak Ho Young seemed to think I was bluffing and asked for confirmation again.
Ugh, why does he keep making me repeat myself?
“Yes.”
Cooperation is just a nice word for it.
In the end, it’s a fight over who gets to eat more of a single pizza.
So let’s lay down a proper, full-sized double super supreme seafood gold rich cheese crust pizza and really go at it.

* * *

The meeting broke for a recess midway through.
I was beginning to regret the decision to ally with Taesan because of Gwak Ho Young.
Still, it seemed the established guild wasn’t without merit—thanks to the data they possessed on the Underwater Dungeon, the meeting hadn’t been entirely fruitless.
The lights came back on, and the people in the Conference Room naturally divided into two groups, one from Justice Guild and one from Taesan Guild.
“In the Underwater Dungeon, securing breathing is the most critical factor, so you’d be the best fit, wouldn’t you?”
So he valued communication, or so they said.
The only one speaking from their side was Gwak Ho Young.
“The snacks are delicious.”
During the break, the cookies the staff had brought were quite good.
“Noona, this one’s fragrant. Try it.”
Im Chung Soo fed me a piece of the macadamia cookie he was eating.
“Yeo Joo, you like chocolate anyway.”
This time it was Jang Su Ho.
Whether macadamia or chocolate, both were equally delicious.
Mixed together like this, they tasted even better.
But then, a latte was quietly placed in front of me.
“It’s decaffeinated.”
It was Kang Han.
My throat had felt a bit tight anyway.
I nodded to Kang Han in gratitude and took a long sip of the latte.
But that didn’t mean I was only focused on the snacks.
My gaze never left the Taesan Guild gathered on the opposite side of the Conference Room.
More precisely, it never left Hunter Yoo Jin Rok, who stood apart and seemed out of place.
‘It’s not just an awkward atmosphere, this is…’
Rather, the other hunters from Taesan seemed to be actively excluding Yoo Jin Rok.
When I listened carefully, I could hear their conversation.
“I don’t recommend the Underwater Dungeon.”
Interesting—Hunter Yoo Jin Rok appeared to be trying to persuade Taesan.
“Our Taesan specializes in close-range combat, and the Underwater Dungeon has poor compatibility with that.”
It was sound advice, befitting an experienced hunter.
Unlike us, who have a balanced mix of close-range, ranged, and magic users, their team consisted mostly of hand-to-hand and short-weapon specialists.
Of course, it seemed there was one magic user mixed into the raid team, but that wouldn’t be enough.
But Gwak Ho Young didn’t seem interested in listening to Hunter Yoo Jin Rok’s words.
“Sigh.”
He let out an exasperated breath.
“Did you forget that the Underwater Dungeon is unpopular with guilds, so the merit value is doubled?”
“That may be true, but clearing a dungeon isn’t all about merit value…”
“Hunter Yoo Jin Rok.”
Even so, he was a former guild master, yet his tone carried no deference whatsoever.
“Taesan under your leadership and Taesan now are different. We don’t shy away from aggressive choices.”
Gwak Ho Young’s words had finally crossed the line.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————