The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 221

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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 42

Jo Gye Young, the Association Director, made no attempt to hide his panic—a petty man whose capacity was no greater than a soy sauce dish.
He never imagined Cheongmun Guild would come at him like this.
He’d probably thought that summoning the Cheongmun Guild Master would be enough, and if he subtly arranged for responsibility to slip away, everything would quiet down nicely.
But Ryu Do Kyung was nothing like that sort of man. Not in the slightest.
“Cheongmun Guild Master, before you say anything more, perhaps we should take a moment to think this through….”
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll state this clearly once more before the Association Council members here. Cheongmun Guild requested that Justice Guild undertake the conquest of the Double Dungeon, and Justice Guild simply answered that request. Therefore, if there is responsibility for entering the Double Dungeon, it rests entirely with us at Cheongmun.”
“W-well, that is to say….”
The Association Director glanced nervously at the Awakener Association executives seated around him, continuously dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief.
And the solution he finally arrived at was truly pathetic.
“Let’s adjourn this hearing for now. The Cheongmun Guild Master has just returned from the conquest and appears fatigued, and come to think of it, the Justice Guild Master isn’t even present, so let’s reconvene tomorrow….”
“The Justice Guild Master has arrived.”
Click.
With the sound of the door, Kang Han entered the conference room.
Though his wounds had all healed, Kang Han’s condition was a mess.
He hadn’t even had time to change clothes—he was still wearing his torn uniform.
But what troubled me most at a glance was his pallid complexion.
“…You should be resting.”
I could handle an Association Director like this on my own.
My heart sank seeing Kang Han push himself to come to the Association despite his body not yet being fully recovered.
He brought a chair over and sat beside me, speaking in a low voice.
“I apologize for being late.”
“You can apologize later and take your scolding then. Guild Master, just sit quietly. I’ll handle the Association Director.”
“…I’m counting on you.”
Kang Han smiled weakly as he spoke.
Meanwhile, now that the Justice Guild Master had appeared, the Association Director—truly without any excuse left—simply kept his mouth firmly shut.
Now it was my turn to speak.
“It’s true that we conquered the Double Dungeon together at Cheongmun’s request, but that doesn’t mean I intend to place all responsibility solely on Cheongmun.”
“Yeo Joo Hunter.”
“It’s fine, Guild Master Ryu Do Kyung.”
I gave Ryu Do Kyung a reassuring wink before turning to the Association Director.
“Just now, you said that since the Double Dungeon originated from a Gate owned by Cheongmun, Cheongmun has priority rights. So that’s correct, isn’t it?”
The Association Director merely nodded his head.
“Please confirm it verbally, Association Director.”
“…That’s correct.”
“Then what happens if the Double Dungeon appeared because of something owned by the Justice Guild?”
“That’s….”
The Association Director’s face twisted as though I were being unreasonable.
“The Double Dungeon that opened in this Cheongna Underwater Dungeon had a trigger item.”
I retrieved the camcorder memory card I’d received from Ryu Ja Kyung beforehand along with the Believer’s Proof statue from the Subspace and showed it as I spoke.
“The Justice Guild has nothing to hide before all of you here at the Association. We’ve recorded footage of clearing the Double Dungeon, so let’s watch it together.”

* * *

“….”
The Association executives who had watched hours of clearing footage sat in complete silence.
Rather, they couldn’t say anything at all.
There was nothing left to criticize.
The footage Ryu Ja Kyung had recorded contained everything—from the conversation about the time limit right after the Double Dungeon appeared, to the revelation that the monster Kang Han had barely caught through his sacrifice was S-rank.
I retrieved the memory card from the Association Staff member, carefully stored it in my Subspace, and spoke.
“As you’ve seen, the item that triggered the Double Dungeon’s opening was my possession—in other words, the Justice Guild’s property. So there was no need to find a separate guild to clear it. From the start, both Cheongmun, which has authority over Double Dungeons, and the Justice Guild, which caused the Double Dungeon, entered and cleared it together. And we even successfully defeated an S-rank monster.”
Then I deliberately smiled at the Association Director and continued.
“Shouldn’t you actually be rewarding Cheongmun and the Justice Guild for brilliantly preventing a Double Dungeon that could have become an S-rank catastrophe?”
“…Let’s pause the meeting.”
Cornered, the Association Director said that and hurriedly left the Conference Room, and I let out a scoff watching his retreating figure.
The pathetic silhouette of a defeated coward.
He’s probably going to call Sa Ma Young for an SOS now.
The other Association executives were also rising from their seats one by one.
It was a break period of unknown duration.
I quickly pulled out one bottle of Im Chung Soo’s medicinal tonic, uncapped it, and handed it to Kang Han.
“Drink it all down quickly.”
“Yeo Joo….”
“Didn’t you just see me beat down the Association Director with words? I’m fine, so hurry up.”
Kang Han didn’t hesitate any further and drank the potion straight down.
I was prepared to force him to drink another bottle or two if needed, but fortunately, color was gradually returning to Kang Han’s face.
“How is it? Feeling better?”
“Yes, a bit….”
Smack!
If he’s feeling better, now it’s time for a beating.
I smacked his thick forearms repeatedly while unleashing all the nagging I’d been holding back.
“I even specially asked Team Leader Yang Hwa Yeon to send you to the guild! Why did you come here! If you were going to come, you should have at least taken potions with you! What would happen if something serious occurred!”
“Ah….”
I kept hitting him, ignoring the pain in my own palm as I scolded him for reflection!
Kang Han touched his forearm where my palm had passed and let out a laugh mixed with exaggerated complaint.
Then, with a serious expression, he spoke.
“I apologize. It’s not that I don’t trust you, Yeo Joo. I simply didn’t want you to face this alone.”
…When someone speaks so beautifully, what can I possibly say in return?
*Pat.*
“From now on, don’t push yourself so hard. Not inside the Dungeon, and not outside either.”
The image of Kang Han burning his own body to defeat the S-rank god’s shell was still vivid in my mind.
And how scorching the blood that seeped from his collapsed form had been.
I touched my clean palms—now bearing no trace of blood—a few times before changing the subject.
“I managed to push through with words, but honestly, the footage won’t be of much use.”
“Why is that? Surely the Association members understood after seeing the footage?”
To Ryu Do Kyung’s question, I shook my head and explained.
“Of course, everything was captured clearly on film. The fact that the Double Dungeon appeared because of an item I possessed, the fact that time constraints prevented us from requesting assistance from other Guilds—all of it was documented. But if someone was going to back down over that, we wouldn’t still be here with our hair not even properly dried yet.”
“…Sigh.”
Our Justice Guild had clashed with the Association countless times, large and small, but it seemed Cheongmun had not.
Judging by that disappointed expression on his face.
After all, without expectations, there can be no disappointment.
“I’m sorry… I have no face to show.”
Guild Master Ryu Do Kyung bowed deeply toward Kang Han and me.
“The Justice Guild merely helped us…”
“No, I don’t think that’s something you need to apologize for. You know as well as I do that without the item I possessed, the Double Dungeon would never have opened in the first place. In a way, it’s also my responsibility for being ignorant.”
“Yeo Joo…”
“So let’s call our apology battle a draw and move on. It looks like they’re about to restart the meeting anyway.”
The Association Director, whose complexion had brightened considerably since leaving, immediately began speaking the moment he settled into his seat.
“While we have confirmed there were multiple justifiable reasons for entering the Double Dungeon, we have determined that both Guilds violated the Association’s directives. Therefore, we are revoking regular Dungeon conquest rights for both Cheongmun Guild and Justice Guild for thirty days.”
Since we were already being shameless about it, I thought they might at least go easy on Cheongmun Guild.
But it seemed Ryu Do Kyung’s rejection of his goodwill had triggered a spite penalty.
“What kind of unreasonable decision is that!”
At the excessive punishment of losing conquest rights for thirty days, Ryu Do Kyung strongly objected, and even the surrounding Association executives looked shocked, but the Association Director paid no attention.
As if daring anyone to challenge his authority, he merely raised his nose even more shamelessly.
I slowly rose from my seat and spoke so everyone could hear.
“The Justice Guild officially protests the Association’s decision.”
Honestly, I was delighted that the Association Director had made such a decision.
It was like someone slapping your cheek when you wanted to cry.
If someone asks what to do when slapped, I would answer like this.
“Effective immediately, the Justice Guild withdraws its confidence in Association Director Jo Gye Young.”
From that point on, it’s self-defense.

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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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