The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 222

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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 43

By the time I returned to the Justice Guild’s Doksan Branch, it was already the dead of night.
I had departed early in the morning for the Cheongmun Guild located in Cheongna, and what a long day it had been.
“Shhh, ahh.”
As I stepped out of the car and drew in a deep breath, the crisp and clean night air filled my lungs completely.
It was truly wonderful that the guild was surrounded by mountains.
“Somehow I’ve managed to visit both guilds in a single day, Guild Master Ryu Do Kyung.”
“We apologize for the intrusion at such a late hour.”
For someone like me, it was already well past the time to be in bed, but since there was still more to discuss, I had invited the Ryu siblings to the Justice Guild.
“There’s a break room over there, so since you must be tired, let’s go finish our conversation quickly and——”
“Yeo Joo!”
Just as I was about to enter the Training Building, Chung Soo came rushing out in a flurry.
“Oh, Chung Soo. What brings you up at this hour instead of sleeping?”
“‘Oh, Chung Soo’? Haven’t you even changed your clothes yet?”
True to form, my personal nag.
Despite being six years younger than me, he had a tendency to treat me like I was the younger one.
“It’s not that I haven’t changed—it’s that I couldn’t change. I want to change too, you know.”
“…Go change right now. What if you catch a cold? I’m going to tell Director Seo Yu Baek everything.”
“Ugh, come on. That’s a bit much, isn’t it? There’s just an urgent meeting I need to attend to. Let me finish quickly and send our guests home first.”
“Well, I suppose…”
Chung Soo, kind as always, refrained from nagging further.
Instead, he gestured toward the inside of the Training Building and spoke.
“Everyone’s waiting. And we have guests from the Dongbaek Guild as well.”
“Huh? From the Dongbaek Guild?”
Stepping into the break room, I found Yoo Myung Hwa from the Dongbaek Guild and Sub-Guild Master Lee Cho Rok sitting with Justice Guild members, sipping beverages.
I had sent word that we should meet early tomorrow to talk, but it seemed they didn’t want to wait until morning.
In the middle of the night, Yoo Myung Hwa, who had been drinking coffee, noticed us entering the break room and smiled brightly as she asked a question.
“Hello. How does it feel to be the Association’s example?”
At first glance, Yoo Myung Hwa seemed like a simple person with clear preferences and nothing more, but she was certainly someone who could see the bigger picture.
“It doesn’t feel good.”
I answered as such and found a comfortable seat with Team One members.
As Yoo Myung Hwa had said, today’s disciplinary action was Jo Gye Young’s example.
I had become a messenger pigeon conveying the message that this is what happens if you don’t listen to the Association’s orders, including in Double Dungeons and beyond.
Yoo Myung Hwa glanced at the Ryu siblings from the Cheongmun Guild and spoke.
“If the Double Dungeon goes to auction, guilds with more money and larger scales will have an advantage—the Gong Gil Yeon Alliance has more of those. Our Jung Dong Alliance is mostly made up of mid-sized guilds.”
“This protocol was designed with that in mind from the start. Even if people don’t know what a Double Dungeon is, it looks novel and entertaining. To some eyes, it’s probably just a shiny new toy.”
“Sa Ma Young—that bastard definitely has something seriously wrong with his head.”
I hadn’t mentioned his name on purpose, but Yoo Myung Hwa caught on immediately and clicked her tongue in disapproval.
The Ryu siblings said nothing.
They appeared to be deep in thought.
And understandably so.
They’d sided with the Gong Gil Yeon Alliance because of the Awakener Residential Restriction Act, but they were now realizing just how different their values were from Cheongmun’s.
However, I didn’t offer them any comfort.
‘Think hard about it.’
Once they thought deeply enough, Cheongmun would naturally return to the Jung Dong Alliance with a heart longing for home.
Hiding such intentions, I called out to Ryu Do Kyung.
“Guild Master of Cheongmun.”
“…Yes, Hunter Yeo Joo. Please speak.”
“We’ve been through hardship together in the Double Dungeon, so there are things we’d like to discuss. But they’re all sensitive matters. Can we trust Cheongmun with this?”
At my blunt question, Ryu Do Kyung flinched slightly, then nodded.
I smiled at him to show my gratitude.
“On the way here, I spoke with a journalist I know, and he mentioned something interesting. There’s a rumor that another unopened Double Dungeon appeared, just like during the last Sa Ma Guild conquest, but it can’t be confirmed through official channels. The Awakeners Association is blocking any information about Double Dungeons from leaking out.”
“But…”
Ryu Do Kyung furrowed his brows as he spoke.
“But if they control information like that, won’t the public and hunters be unable to prepare for Double Dungeons?”
“Think about the protocol. It’s not for the many. It’s for the few who want to monopolize it.”
“That’s…”
“What’s already happened can’t be helped. Now let’s talk about what comes next. I believe the Association Director needs to be replaced.”
It was quite a bombshell statement, but everyone gathered here simply nodded in agreement.
“And just as they made an example of us, we’ll make an example of Jo Gye Young, the Association Director. We’ll crush him so thoroughly that he can never recover, sending a message to everyone in the Association: if you don’t come to your senses now, this is what will happen to you.”
“I like it.”
Yoo Myung Hwa spun the coffee cup in her hand and laughed wickedly.
“I should send out a press release right away. The Dongbaek Guild is also withdrawing its confidence in Association Director Jo Gye Young.”
“Cheongmun will issue a statement as well.”
“Will that be alright? You’ll probably get some criticism from other guilds in the Gong Gil Yeon Alliance.”
Ryu Do Kyung answered my question with a bitter smile.
“It’s simply a matter of being clear about our purpose and means. Cheongmun became part of the Gong Gil Yeon Alliance to protect hunters’ rights. But the most important and fundamental of those rights is the right to conquer Gates as safely as possible. Right now, the Korean Awakener Association is violating that right. If we don’t agree to withdraw confidence in order to stop such behavior…”
Ryu Do Kyung continued in a calm voice.
“We’ll have to take a different path.”
Thinking that way would make the conversation flow smoothly.
“Then, could I ask Cheongmun for one favor?”
“Please.”
“This memory card containing the Double Dungeon conquest footage.”
I pulled out the black memory card I’d kept in my Subspace and placed it on the table in front of Ryu Do Kyung.
“Unlike other strategy videos, the Awakeners Association has no authority over this. It’s purely Cheongmun’s property. So only Cheongmun has the right to release this footage. Of course, they also have the right not to.”
Ryu Do Kyung nodded with a hardened expression, grasping the meaning behind my words.
He then picked up the memory card and slid it back across the table toward me.
“Release it. Everyone needs to know.”
People like Ryu Do Kyung exist in this world.
The type who never looks back once they’ve decided something is wrong.
Incidentally, they’re exactly my kind of people.
I gripped the memory card and rose from my seat, speaking with resolve.
“We’ll hold a press conference tomorrow. Under the names of three guilds—Justice, Dongbaek, and Cheongmun. Rather than going through the hassle of distributing press releases, we’ll address everything right there.”

* * *

The Dongbaek Guild’s sprawling press room was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with reporters and relevant content creators who’d heard the news.
“There were rumors about a Double Dungeon opening in Cheongna yesterday. Is that what this is about?”
“I heard the Justice Guild and the Association had a proper clash over it?”
“The Association just clams up whenever Double Dungeons come up—it’s infuriating. Maybe today something will finally break open?”
As reporters huddled in small groups, their anticipation mounting, it happened.
“Here they come!”
With someone’s shout, the sound of camera shutters filled the press room like a torrential downpour.
In an instant, hundreds and thousands of photographs captured four figures: Yoo Myung Hwa of Dongbaek Guild, Kang Han and Yeo Joo of Justice Guild, and Ryu Do Kyung of Cheongmun.
After brief greetings, they took their seats, and the first to grasp the microphone was Yoo Myung Hwa, the Guild Master of Dongbaek Guild and owner of the press room.
“Thank you all for taking interest and coming despite the short notice. I’ll explain the reason we’ve gathered you shortly. For now, please watch the footage we’ve prepared.”
At Yoo Myung Hwa’s signal, a Dongbaek Guild staff member dimmed the press room lights and activated the projector.

[ “You asked earlier why a Double Dungeon suddenly appeared. I suspect it’s because of this item.” ]

The moment the video began, the reporters’ eyes widened at the words “Double Dungeon.”
And moments later.

[ “What the—!
BOOM—!
Sang-eun!” ]

In the silent press room where no one dared speak, only the urgent sounds from the video played, until someone let slip a quiet gasp that rang out distinctly.
“That’s… a Double Dungeon?”

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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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