The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 224

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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 45

‘…Is this even human?’
The destructive power of a beautiful woman lying there, pale with sweat, was so dizzying that I nearly stumbled backward for a moment.
‘He must be in considerable pain.’
Sa Ma Young, who was more sensitive than a cat, hadn’t even noticed me entering the room and was still asleep—which suggested his condition was worse than I’d anticipated.
I stood where I was and checked Sa Ma Young’s status.

Sa Ma Young S
.
.
.
Abnormal Status – Desire 65%, Darkness Addiction 98%

Good grief, he looked like a bomb about to detonate.
It wasn’t enough that he’d openly rammed Jo Gye Young during the hearing—he’d even held a press conference afterward.
I’d spent all my moves.
So now it was Sa Ma Young’s turn to strike.
Yet two days had passed since the press conference, and there had been no counterattack from Sa Ma Young, Gong Gil Yeon, or even Jo Gye Young.
It was far too strange.
By now, I’d expected Sa Ma Young to meet with a National Assembly member to push the forced awakener legislation, or for Gong Gil Yeon to issue a statement about this Double Dungeon to stem the guild defections flowing toward the Jung Dong Alliance.
Enough time had passed for him to do both, yet there was no movement whatsoever, which made me think.
Perhaps Sa Ma Young’s inaction wasn’t voluntary.
When I called to confirm, Woo Jun Kyung answered.
That’s how I ended up at Sa Ma Young’s Residence.
“So that’s why it’s been so quiet.”
Seeing his face, thinner than the last time I’d seen him, suggested he’d been in this pre-rampage state for several days now.
And as if he’d heard my voice in his sleep, Sa Ma Young called my name before his eyes even opened.
“…Yeo Joo?”
“Yes, it’s me, Yeo Joo.”
His long eyelashes trembled once, and then his eyes opened, revealing irises as crimson as rubies.
His gaze, unfocused and staring blankly at the ceiling, soon found me standing motionless in the middle of the room.
“…Yeo Joo.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you take so long to come.”
“…You came without even making an appointment?”
“That’s why. You know how it is when I’m unwell—you always come find me like this.”
Speaking while lying down seemed to exhaust him; Sa Ma Young’s words trailed off into labored breathing.
“How long has it been like this?”
“…What day is it today?”
He’d clearly been suffering for so long that he’d lost all sense of the calendar.
I was genuinely taken aback.
Not by the fact that Sa Ma Young was on the verge of a rampage—that wasn’t the surprise.
I’d watched him frequent the Dungeons regularly, so I’d anticipated he’d be in this state by now.
What startled me was that Sa Ma Young had left me completely untouched despite reaching this point.
“Why didn’t you contact me? You know I can stop your rampage.”
Given Sa Ma Young’s nature, I’d expected that the moment he sensed a rampage approaching, he’d either bombard me with a hundred missed calls or forcibly kidnap me to exploit my ability.
Yet he’d said nothing until it came to this.
If I hadn’t sensed something amiss and tracked him down to his residence, I wouldn’t have even known Sa Ma Young had already experienced a rampage once.
“Contact….”
Sa Ma Young asked with a faint smile at my words.
“If I’d contacted you, you would have come, wouldn’t you?”
“…That’s true.”
More than anything, I’d been frantically busy these past few days.
So much so that I couldn’t have spared the time even if Sa Ma Young were rampaging in the middle of Seoul.
But wait.
I realized something didn’t add up and asked.
“Have you spoken with Association Director Jo Gye Young recently?”
“…Do I really have to converse with that ugly old man?”
At the mention of Jo Gye Young, Sa Ma Young’s beautiful face twisted in disgust.
“So you haven’t heard anything about the Double Dungeon?”
“Seems like quite a lot of interesting things happened while I was lying here.”
“Ah, so that’s it.”
Now it made sense.
People said Jo Gye Young’s punishment was excessive, but I thought the opposite.
The Justice Guild wasn’t even a top-ranked Guild engaged in precarious ranking competitions, and being unable to conquer regular Dungeons for thirty days wouldn’t cause significant damage.
If it were Sa Ma Young, he would have targeted our real weakness.
For instance, if he’d imposed a fine of hundreds of billions, the Justice Guild—still impoverished with many expenses—would have faced far greater hardship.
“Then who imposed such an ambiguous punishment as a thirty-day conquest ban?”
“…So the Dongbaek Guild can’t enter the Gate for thirty days?”
“No, it’s the Justice Guild.”
“….”
For just a moment, something fierce flashed across Sa Ma Young’s eyes.
It was so brief I almost thought I’d imagined it.
“So you came because you wanted to see me?”
“That’s probably it? I just came to see if you were alive. But now that I’m here again, my mind’s changed.”
I perched myself on the edge of the bed where Sa Ma Young lay.
Up close, he looked even more beautiful.
I tried not to stare at Sa Ma Young’s face, which kept drawing my gaze.
“Like I said before, I took a hit from Association Director Jo Gye Young, right? So I’m planning to pay him back properly. Want to lend a hand?”
“Why would you think I’d help you?”
Well, that constant beeping sound was still going on, after all.

⟪ ♥ 29 : Mine ⟫

I glanced at the affection meter hovering above Sa Ma Young’s head before speaking.
“If it weren’t for Sa Ma Young, Jo Gye Young would have received orders from someone else and punished the Justice Guild instead. A guild master wouldn’t keep something that passed through someone else’s hands, especially not someone like Jo Gye Young whom you don’t even care for.”
“…You know me well.”
Watching Sa Ma Young laugh with a slightly deflated expression, I sat with one leg crossed and my arms folded tightly.
A beauty so lethal that even breathing has an effect.
Dangerously, impossibly fatal.
“You have something on Jo Gye Young, right? Give it to me. I’m going to expose everything. Of course, I’m not asking for it for nothing. In exchange, I’ll stop your rampage.”
“Now you don’t even hide it in front of me.”
“What’s the point when you already know everything?”
When we faced each other at the last meeting, Sa Ma Young threatened to reveal my abilities to everyone.
So I decided to be honest and shameless in front of Sa Ma Young from now on.
As I shrugged my shoulders, Sa Ma Young grabbed my hand resting on the bed and spoke.
“Okay.”

* * *

Sa Ma Young S
.
.
.
Abnormal Status – Desire 88%, Darkness Addiction 15%

“That’s all.”
I released Sa Ma Young’s hand after confirming his Darkness Addiction Rate had reached 15%.
Though I’d relied on Chung Soo’s medicinal tonic, the efficiency was noticeably better than last time—likely because his affection had grown higher.
Thanks to that, it didn’t take long at all.
“You kept your promise.”
“…Yes.”
Sa Ma Young sat up, then pressed a button on the nightstand beside him.
A moment later, Woo Jun Kyung entered with a crisp knock.
He looked at the now-healthy Sa Ma Young with mild surprise, then bowed respectfully.
“You called for me, my lord?”
“Bring me information on Jo Gye Young.”
“…Understood.”
Shortly after, Woo Jun Kyung handed me a thin file.
Glancing through it, I saw complex numbers crawling across the pages—clearly financial misconduct of some kind.
Having obtained what I needed, I rose from my seat with ease.
I then retrieved a small box from my bag, placed it on Sa Ma Young’s bed, and said my farewell.
“These are snacks for Hong Joo. I’d love to see her while I’m here, but I’m quite busy right now. I’ll be going.”
Whether he liked it or not, Sa Ma Young was a necessary figure in preventing the apocalypse.
But Jo Gye Young was not.
The press conference had stirred public opinion, and the collective vote of no confidence had already destabilized his position itself.
Now it was time to deliver the final, devastating blow from which he could never recover.
I hurried out of Sa Ma Young’s Residence and immediately began driving toward Seoul.
“If Sa Ma Young abandons him, Jo Gye Young becomes nothing but a kite with its string cut.”
I hadn’t sought out Sa Ma Young for nothing.
Even if public opinion turned sour and the Guilds withdrew their support, if Sa Ma Young continued backing him, it wouldn’t be easy to remove Jo Gye Young from the Association Director’s position.
But now I had Sa Ma Young’s direct leverage against the Association Director.
“Now the game is over.”
I turned up the volume of the music in the car, my heart brimming with excitement.

* * *

Days later.
The article I’d been waiting for finally broke.

[ Korean Awakener Association Director Jo Gye Young Arrested at Home on Charges of Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Embezzlement, and Illegal Lobbying. ]

By the way, Jo Gye Young in the photo had been dragged out of bed without even putting on a wig.
“Serves him right, absolutely.”
I chuckled and turned off my phone screen, gazing out the car window.
Between the dense trees and swirling sand dust, a familiar sign reading “Mii Village” came into view.
“Now I need to install a new Association Director.”
I’d emptied the position—now it was time to fill it.

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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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