The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 115

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Yeo Joo Saves the World – Episode 115

Fortunately, Sa Ma Young was occupied with conversation among his subordinates seated beside him.
Right.
The auction is just around the corner, so you must be busy too.
‘Let’s just pass by without running into each other. Please.’
With that thought, I glanced around the venue.
“It’s even nicer to see Guild Master Kang Han here.”
“Indeed.”
“I heard you were forming an alliance with Tae San….”
Kang Han was conversing with Yoo Myung Hwa, and the other guild members were doing the same.
Everyone was busy exchanging greetings with hunters from other guilds they knew.
“Kwak Ji Hyun, what brings you here?”
“You’re one to talk. Our guild master is giving me a tour….”
Even the twins were chatting with Kwak Ji Hyun, who they’d had a dispute with last time, with surprisingly friendly expressions.
I’d been a bit worried, but it seemed their relationship had improved considerably since receiving an apology.
“Hmm.”
I stood there awkwardly for a moment.
With only my fellow guild members, Yoo Myung Hwa, Jung Je Hwa, and Geum Eun Dong as hunters I had any acquaintance with, I had no one in particular to greet.
“I should visit the restroom.”
Once the auction begins, I won’t be able to leave my seat for a while.
I confirmed that Kang Han was still talking with Yoo Myung Hwa, then quietly slipped out of the auction hall.
Fortunately, the restroom wasn’t far away.
“The Awakener Association really does have everything. Even the restroom is nice, very nice indeed.”
I murmured while using a restroom so pristine that even the finest department stores couldn’t compare.
The warm temperature was so comfortable—as if the facility had anticipated the cool, rainy weather outside—that one could lie down and sleep without a care.
“Please let today pass without incident.”
O lottery gods.
I prayed while washing my hands and looking in the mirror.
“How bothersome.”
There must be paper towels hidden somewhere for aesthetics.
But finding them seemed too much trouble, so I was shaking my hands dry as I left the restroom when—
“Hello.”
A handkerchief suddenly appeared before me, accompanied by a brief greeting.
As I looked up to see who held it, a chill ran down my spine.
“…I’m afraid I can’t return the greeting, Sa Ma Young.”
It was Sa Ma Young who smiled at me with that knowing grin.
He’d clearly looked busy just moments ago!
Yet here he was, waiting for me outside the restroom.
I was chiding myself for my carelessness when Sa Ma Young spoke.
“Oh my. Don’t you need a handkerchief?”
A handkerchief was offered to me once again.
Sa Ma Young had definitely been conversing with Woo Jun Kyung just moments before.
Who knows what that poison specialist had done to the handkerchief.
“I don’t need it.”
I answered while deliberately wiping my hands on my clothes in front of Sa Ma Young.
Sa Ma Young chuckled at my display and tucked the handkerchief back into his pocket.
“It’s been a while. Good to see you, Yeo Joo.”
“Ah, I see. Then I’ll be going.”
Keep business brief and simple.
I tried to walk back into the auction house, following Sa Ma Young’s own philosophy.
But even that attempt was blocked by him.
Sa Ma Young had positioned himself directly in my path.
Now the distance between us was merely two steps.
If he extended the hand in his pocket, he could do whatever he wanted to me at this distance.
But Sa Ma Young simply stood there and uttered a single phrase.
“I’d like to tear open that head of yours.”
Tear open what?
I was about to respond indignantly when Sa Ma Young beat me to it.
He extended the hand that had offered the handkerchief and lightly touched a strand of my hair that had fallen loose.
And as if that weren’t enough, he threw a curveball.
“What’s your secret?”
That I’m the possessed protagonist of this novel and you’re just a villain who dies midway through?
The urge to reveal his pathetic future and watch his stunned expression welled up, but I responded with considerable composure.
“The Justice Guild’s success isn’t really a secret.”
“No, not that.”
As Sa Ma Young shook his head slightly, his ink-black hair swayed in tandem.
“Strange things seem to happen around you quite often. Reawakening, for instance.”
His crimson eyes flickered like flames.
And a familiar warning window appeared before my eyes.

[ The ‘The More You Know (EX)’ skill has nullified the attack. ]

‘This damn bastard.’
Sa Ma Young was trying to cast his charm skill on me again.
And then he had the audacity to say—
“Ah, it doesn’t work after all.”
“This is seriously annoying.”
I swatted Sa Ma Young’s hand away as I spoke.
“Listen here.”
By now, Sa Ma Young was probably hitting the ceiling of Grade A.
So I decided to poke at that frustration a little.
“Do you want to re-awaken?”
Instead of answering, Sa Ma Young’s eyes turned fierce.
“People reap what they sow. If you really want to re-awaken so badly, then start conducting yourself properly for once.”
“Ha.”
Sa Ma Young let out a hollow laugh as if utterly exasperated.
Then he reached out his hand again—the one I had just knocked away.
It was the same motion as before, but I could sense it instinctively.
This time, something was different.
‘Ah, this is dangerous.’
That was when it happened.
A scarred, rough hand appeared and seized Sa Ma Young’s pale, straight hand.
“Ms. Yeo Joo, are you alright?”
It was Kang Han.

* * *

“I’m fine.”
Even as I said it, my expression had grown rigid.
Kang Han wrenched Sa Ma Young’s hand away with force, then grasped my shoulder instead.
His touch was incomparably gentler than moments before.
“Go inside. The auction will begin shortly.”
“Let’s go together.”
My gaze flickered toward Sa Ma Young.
Kang Han didn’t like that.
Unease had pooled in my eyes—eyes that always sparkled with brilliance.
“That won’t be necessary.”
Kang Han shook his head as he spoke.
His refusal was gentle yet resolute, leaving me with no choice.
I turned back once more before stepping into the auction house.
As the door clicked shut, Kang Han’s expression turned glacial.
“What are you doing?”
Sa Ma Young was examining the hand that had been seized.
“Well, it seems the Justice Guild actually has something worth using.”
As he spoke, his crimson eyes fixed upon the auction house door through which I had just entered.
His gaze was thick with avarice.
Kang Han stepped into his path.
“Sa Ma Young.”
With Kang Han’s call, their eyes met.
It was a savage confrontation—one where violence could erupt at any moment.
“The day will come when your own greed consumes you.”
Kang Han warned him, his green eyes darkened to an ominous shade.
“Neither Yeo Joo nor the Justice Guild are things you have any right to covet.”
“Right?”
Sa Ma Young laughed softly.
And gradually, the amusement faded from the corners of his narrowed eyes.
“Ah, this is getting tedious.”
He tilted his head slightly as he murmured.
Simultaneously, a system window materialized before him alone.

[ Abnormal Status ‘Greed’ activates. ]
[ All Awakener abilities increase by 20% for one hour. ]

The Justice Guild had always been the object of my grandfather’s endless greed.
But Sa Ma Young could no longer deny it.
That hunger for the Justice Guild, passed down through bloodline, had taken root within him as well.
“You should be careful, Kang Han.”
Sa Ma Young spoke with one corner of his mouth raised.
“Otherwise, you might end up burning it all to ash.”
“….”
Kang Han did not answer immediately.
It was not that Sa Ma Young’s momentum had silenced him.
Rather, the opposite was true.
Sa Ma Young’s words, which had once felt so threatening, no longer carried the same weight as before.
All that came to mind were the smiling faces of my Justice Guild comrades and Yeo Joo.
Without realizing it, Kang Han drew a smile similar to hers and replied.
“So be it.”

* * *

“You’re back?”
I examined Kang Han carefully as he took the seat beside me.
Fortunately, there were no signs of burns or dishevelment.
Kang Han looked at me and asked.
“Were you worried?”
His voice carried a hint of amusement.
“Of course I was worried. What else would I be?”
“You worry too much, Yeo Joo.”
I agreed with Kang Han’s composed words to some extent.
If he fought with resolve, he would not be completely overwhelmed by Sa Ma Young.
But Sa Ma Young was someone whose depths were impossible to fathom.
“As long as nothing happened, that’s all that matters.”
“We simply need to do what we must do.”
Kang Han spoke plainly.
It felt like watching a tree so steadfast it would not sway in the wind.
The protagonist of this world was growing stronger.
That also meant I was walking the right path.
The dimming indoor lighting conveniently covered the goosebumps rising on my skin.
I turned my gaze to the large screen ahead, pretending nothing was amiss, and opened my mouth.
“You’re right. In that sense….”
But I could not continue.
It was because of the auction list displayed on the screen.
“The Underwater Dungeon is missing?”
Lee Yu Eul spoke in a flustered whisper.
The other guild members and I hadn’t voiced our concerns aloud, but our unease was unmistakable.
The dungeon we’d targeted wasn’t on the list.
It was completely unexpected.
Among the dungeons suitable for us to conquer, only the Flame Dungeon—the one Gwak Ho Young wanted—remained.
“Damn it.”
Beyond the simple difficulty of conquering it, there was another reason we’d been avoiding the Flame Dungeon.
“Yeo Joo….”
Jang Su Ho, seated to my left, looked so pale it was visible even beneath the dim lighting.
The dungeon where Jang Su Ho had once lost control, unable to withstand the seething rage and heat.
That dungeon was a Flame-type dungeon.
There was only one person capable of erasing all other dungeons from the list and forcing the Justice Guild to walk willingly into the Flame Dungeon with a noose around its neck.
“Sa Ma Young, you’re quite clever.”

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