The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 184

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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
Part 2, Episode 5

The resumed conference had changed nothing.
The same exhausting exchanges continued, each one only deepening the animosity between the factions—a chain of hostility that seemed endless.
“Mmm.”
I suppressed a yawn threatening to escape and tried my best not to show my boredom.
When I turned my head at the sensation of a gaze settling on my cheek, I found Kang Han watching me with eyes brimming with amusement.
What? How long has he been looking at me?
“If you’re bored, shall we leave?”
Kang Han leaned toward me and whispered in a soft, barely audible voice.
“Don’t tease me like that when you’re not actually going to leave. Now I’m going to want to go home.”
At my sulky response, Kang Han’s smile deepened.
That was when it happened.
“We said we’d discuss how to reunite the hunters divided into two factions!”
It was Yoo Myung Hwa, the Dongbaek Guild Master, who erupted in fury.
Her anger was so intense that her clenched fists trembled visibly.
But Sa Ma Young, who was engaged in debate with her, remained remarkably composed.
In fact, his brazenly smiling face seemed to suggest he was actually enjoying this situation.
“Is there truly a reason we must do so?”
At Sa Ma Young’s words, everyone turned to look at him.
Even the guild masters belonging to the Gong Gil Yeon Alliance.
His statement was that shocking.
Despite all the disparagement and growling directed at the opposing faction, everyone harbored the underlying belief that this conflict would eventually need to end.
Ever since Gates appeared and Awakeners emerged as a new form of humanity, hunters had always stood united.
While the dominant guild shifted with the rise and fall of different organizations, never before had the factions been divided so sharply.
“So… you’re saying we should continue divided like this?”
Ryu Do Kyung asked Sa Ma Young as if he couldn’t believe his own ears.
“There’s no immediate solution to this problem, is there? Since it’s such an important matter, I’m merely suggesting we approach it with appropriate caution.”
Though he elaborated at length, his meaning was clear: maintain the status quo.
Guilds like Fantasia and Utopia, which had been reaping considerable secondary benefits since the emergence of the Jung Dong Alliance as a counterbalance, didn’t react negatively.
Instead, they merely gazed at Sa Ma Young with eyes that seemed to ask, “Is he a genius?”
But Ryu Do Kyung’s complexion had clearly hardened.
He said nothing more, maintaining only silence.
And then my eyes met Sa Ma Young’s.
Ding-

《 ♥ 10 》

Now my affinity rose just from making eye contact.
Even as I thought dismissively, my gaze with Sa Ma Young didn’t break.
Neither he nor I looked away.
Ding—

《 ♥ 12 》

My affinity rose again, but I felt no particular joy.
‘I’m being observed.’
Sa Ma Young’s gaze was relentless.
Like tossing a large stone into a lake and watching to see how I’d react.
Under normal circumstances, I would have furrowed my brow and shown my displeasure.
‘It’s not bad, though.’
My honest thoughts didn’t differ much from Sa Ma Young’s.
The hunters divided into two factions would compete against each other.
Just as they’d reject guilds outside their faction, they’d strengthen their bonds with one another.
‘We need to conquer more Gates than the Jung Dong Alliance,’ ‘We need to rank higher than the Gong Gil Yeon Alliance guilds’—they’d drive themselves harder than ever before.
And through that process, they’d grow.
By now in the Sejong Era, the Sama Guild’s monopoly was beginning—the point where they’d swallowed mid-sized guilds and expanded their dominance.
Breaking through that gap to nurture the Justice Guild seemed impossibly distant.
Yet through Kang Han’s decision to sacrifice everything to protect the citizens of Pangyo, the Justice Guild became the backbone of the Jung Dong Alliance despite its small size.
‘Actually, this is better.’
Since the board was already set in our favor, there was no reason to refuse it.
As long as I racked my brain to find ways to maximize this advantage.
‘But it’s somewhat unpleasant that Sa Ma Young and I are thinking the same way.’
Still, what could I do about it?
Sa Ma Young and I certainly shared many similarities.
In any case, I planned to fully exploit this competitive structure for the time being.
It was the moment a flicker of interest crossed Sa Ma Young’s eyes, as if he’d sensed my thoughts even vaguely.
“Direction matters more than speed, wouldn’t you say?”
Kang Han spoke in a calm voice, addressing everyone.
“If we continue dialogue and exchange without giving up, we can eventually reach the goal of finding common ground in our conflict.”
“Dialogue and exchange—sure, those are nice words.”
It was Sung Ro Sa.
“But they’re not realistic. Even when we gather like this to have a conference, we end up raising our voices and fighting. How will dressing things up with pretty words actually improve the situation?”
She hadn’t abandoned her concept of appearing kind and virtuous, but her words were clearly sarcastic toward Kang Han’s statement.
That woman, seriously.
“Then let me focus on the facts.”
Unlike me, who was bristling with indignation, Kang Han remained composed and serious.
“The situation we’re in now wasn’t created by hunters. It was the government’s reckless legislative announcement. The reason our opinions have diverged is simply because we differ in how we respond to it.”
“That may be true, but…”
“There is no one in this conference room arguing that we must unconditionally accept the government’s bill, Fantasia Guild Master. In the end, we all share the same goal. If we continue to make efforts together, is there any reason we cannot reach a consensus?”
He was right.
Many people, including myself, were already nodding in agreement.
“Right now, our opinions differ so greatly that we might harbor hostility toward those in the opposing camp. But we must remember the most crucial fact: our enemy is not within our own ranks.”
Scattered, awkward coughs echoed through the conference room.
Several guild masters who had been raising their voices most fiercely against the opposing side now had slightly flushed faces.
Kang Han waited for the minor commotion to settle before speaking again.
“Let us not forget that hunters’ true enemy lies beyond the Gates.”
Many people who had unconsciously begun to view the opposing side as their “enemy” now wore dumbfounded expressions.
Kang Han was right.
A hunter’s enemy is not another hunter.
The true “enemy” is the monsters lurking within the Gates, waiting for any opportunity to slip outside.
“Ha.”
A slightly deflated laugh escaped me.
This is why I have no choice but to stand beside Kang Han.
Those who believe in righteousness shine with their own light.
And that light captivates ordinary people like me.
It compels us to walk the righteous path alongside them.
I gazed at Kang Han without hiding my admiration.
Before everyone’s eyes, the protagonist of this world neither shrank away nor inflated himself with exaggeration.
He simply stood there with confidence, hiding nothing, revealing himself completely and authentically.
I smiled without concealing my sense of pride and thought to myself.
‘Now that’s truly befitting a protagonist, Kang Han.’

With Kang Han’s statement, meaningful discussion came to an end, and the conference concluded as it was.
Everyone seemed lost in thought, so the room fell silent.
Of course, no one was shouting or fighting.
“Isn’t anyone going home?”
I stretched in my chair and glanced around the room.
Though the conference had ended, no guild rushed to leave.
Some, like the Cheongmun guild master, were lost in contemplation, while others like Utopia and Fantasia Guild huddled within their own factions to continue their discussions.
Kang Han was among the latter group.
The moment the conference concluded, numerous guild masters from the Jung Dong Alliance surrounded him in a swarm.
“This doesn’t look like it’ll end anytime soon.”
Having the protagonist become this popular was inconvenient, to say the least.
Since things had come to this, I decided to visit the restroom and stretch my stiff body, so I left the conference room.
The moment I stepped into the hall where the elevator was located, I sensed someone following behind me.
‘I can guess who it is.’
I considered ignoring them, but then thought better of it—I couldn’t afford to lose their interest completely. So I stopped and turned around.
“Yeo Joo.”
It was Sa Ma Young, as expected.
“Are you heading out? Please be careful, Sa Ma guild master.”
I had just wished him a safe departure, after all.
Yet Sa Ma Young stepped even closer to me.
And with an expressionless face, he asked.
“Why don’t you hate me?”

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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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