The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 236

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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 57

At my sharp rebuke, the two creatures still curled their lips threateningly, but began stealing glances at me.
Yet even as they did, I grew angrier at the sight of the twins, who looked ready to fight in earnest if I made even the slightest mistake.
“These damned beasts—still?”
I freed my legs from Na Baek Ho’s tail and strode between the two Familiars with purpose.
Then I flicked both Baek Ho and Hong Joo on the head hard enough to produce an audible “thwack.”
“Yelp!”
“Yowl!”
The two creatures cried out sharply and raised their front paws to rub their foreheads—the gesture perfectly mirrored, as if they were looking in a glass.
S-rank bodies that bleed, yet they whine like this.
Still, I had succeeded in releasing the tension that had been pulled taut between them.
I pushed Hong Joo’s head away toward Sa Ma Young and spoke.
“Hong Joo, calm down. Step back. I understand you’re upset that your father was hurt, but you can’t do this to Baek Ho.”
“…Grumble.”
Hong Joo seemed to accept my words and turned her head sharply back toward Sa Ma Young.
Now it was Na Baek Ho’s turn.
Anticipating a scolding, the creature retreated half a step and lowered his head.
“Na Baek Ho, sit.”
I had him plant his hindquarters firmly on the ground so he could fully calm himself, then called his name.
“Na Baek Ho, answer me.”
“Growl.”
“You answer very well, don’t you?”
“…Growl.”
“Is it okay for you to attack people, or is it not?”
It was something I had drilled into him relentlessly from the moment I first brought him home.
The same applied to all the other young Familiars.
No matter what happened, never attack humans.
Considering how they would grow, and beyond that, it was the one rule that admitted no compromise whatsoever.
Yet today, Na Baek Ho had broken it.
Sa Ma Young is an S-rank combat-type Hunter, after all.
The durability of the skin covering his body had long since transcended human limits.
If the one Na Baek Ho had struck with his foreleg had been anyone but Sa Ma Young—if it had been me or an Unawakened—the wound would have been far worse than a mere scratch on the back of the hand.
The hand would likely have been shredded to tatters.
Precisely because the Familiars possessed such tremendous power that I taught them with such strictness.
But since they’ve crossed such an absolute line, I can’t just scold them and let it go.
I pondered for a moment about what the harshest punishment I could give Na Baek Ho would be, then spoke.
“You’re banned from snacks for a month, and you’re also banned from entering my bedroom.”
“Whiiine!”
“What, whine? Does that seem too short? Should I make it two months?”
“…Whimper.”
As I threatened by wiggling my middle finger next to the index finger I’d already raised, Na Baek Ho finally hung his head in defeat.
Watching the white tiger accept his fate, I added one important clarification.
“That said, I’m not punishing you for getting angry at someone trying to touch you carelessly. Instead, from now on, don’t just attack right away—give a warning first. Create distance and show a signal that you don’t want them to approach.”
“Growl.”
Na Baek Ho nodded to show he understood.
Then he reverted to the form of a small baby Baek Ho, all his energy drained.
“Whimper.”
The little one crouched down with his head lowered, and I had to admit it was rather pitiful to watch.
But that didn’t mean I was going to reduce his punishment.
I was deliberately ignoring Baek Ho when another presence moved first.
It was Hong Joo, Baek Ho’s twin.
Patter, patter.
Hong Joo approached Na Baek Ho with soft footsteps and extended her tongue to lick his cheek.
It was as if she were apologizing, saying ‘I’m sorry for being angry.’
Na Baek Ho didn’t ignore his sibling who had come forward first to offer reconciliation.
“Soft whine.”
Baek Ho let out a small sigh and rubbed his forehead against Hong Joo’s neck.
‘That seems to be resolved.’
After confirming that the two Familiars, who showed no sign of their earlier quarrel as they licked each other, had made peace, I spoke to Sa Ma Young.
“Let’s head inside for now.”

* * *

I led Sa Ma Young to the Break Room, where we had been spending our leisure time just moments before.
“I was thinking of taking a look at Yeo Joo’s bedroom.”
“Why would Sa Ma Young want to go in there?”
“Last time, we spent some quality time in the bedroom, didn’t we?”
“That was trespassing.”
“Ah, right.”
Sa Ma Young played innocent.
Yet his eyes were busy scanning the interior of the Break Room, as if he were assessing the facilities of the newly renovated Justice Guild.
“Don’t sneak around like that. Just look openly. I can hear your eyeballs moving.”
“Should I?”
Once I gave my permission, Sa Ma Young began walking through the Break Room with his hands clasped behind his back, taking in the sights.
Though there was little to see—just a large screen and some snacks and beverages.
“Who picked out the food and drinks here?”
“I did.”
“Hmm, then these must all be things Yeo Joo likes.”
I should remember that.
I let Sa Ma Young’s murmur go in one ear and out the other as I searched for the first aid kit I had stored somewhere.
“Ah, here it is.”
Since no one had been injured and we had a healer on staff, the first aid box, covered in dust, was barely discovered in the corner of the Break Room.
“Stop looking around and come here.”
At my call, Sa Ma Young hurried over obediently.
“Huh? You’re going to treat my wounds too?”
“It’s a wound my Familiar caused, after all.”
Sa Ma Young’s hand was still bleeding slightly, but honestly, it was beyond what a simple first aid kit could treat.
But I trusted in the terrifying natural healing power of an S-rank awakener.
‘If I just disinfect it, it should heal on its own.’
There were other options, of course.
For instance, I could use a skill to heal it cleanly, or use the trauma treatment potion Chung Soo had given me.
But both seemed wasteful on Sa Ma Young.
I pulled Sa Ma Young’s hand closer and pressed a cotton ball soaked in disinfectant firmly against the wound.
“Ow, that hurts.”
“Stop being dramatic.”
“Couldn’t you be a bit more gentle?”
“What’s there to be gentle about?”
“Aren’t I pretty? Everyone says I’m pretty.”
I didn’t feel like responding.
As I closed my mouth and focused on the treatment, Sa Ma Young chuckled and asked.
“That item that opened the Double Dungeon in Cheongna. Where did you get it?”
Perhaps this was the real reason Sa Ma Young had suddenly visited the Justice Guild today.
It seemed wasteful to tell him for free, but if he learned as much as possible about the Double Dungeon, it might prove helpful at some point.
“I just got it as a bonus.”
“A bonus?”
“The Second-hand Market in Garak-dong.”
“Ah, that place.”
Sa Ma Young nodded as if it were nothing, but I caught a flicker of something in his crimson eyes.
The Garak Market might run dry of items for a while.
I could almost see the grin on the second-hand shop owner’s face—the one who’d thrown in the “Gentle Nature” as a bonus.
“And Ji Jung Hwi, the Association Director.”
Right, I’d been wondering why he hadn’t asked about that.
“Yes.”
“How did you bring him back? I thought he’d never return to active duty because of his wife. Don’t tell me—”
Sa Ma Young lowered his voice conspiratorially.
“You convinced him you could keep him from going berserk? Like you did with me?”
“Who seduced who—”
“Did you save that person too?”
His playful expression and tone vanished in an instant, turning cold.
“Tell me. Did you?”
Those unblinking eyes held something unsettling, and I understood.
He’d already finished his investigation.
“…It seems like you already know. Does confirming it make you feel better?”
“Ah, just as I thought.”
Sa Ma Young returned to his usual languid demeanor with a small sigh.
“I don’t like it. More and more people knowing Yeo Joo’s secrets.”
Then he asked casually.
“So when are you going public with your skill?”
I froze.
My hands, which had been wrapping the bandage loosely, stopped.
I stared at Sa Ma Young without speaking.
Does he know about the Scanner? About my plan?
How?
Only a handful of people knew about that plan.
As if he’d read every question racing through my mind, Sa Ma Young shrugged and answered readily.
“I didn’t investigate this one. I didn’t need to. Because I would have done the same thing.”
Sa Ma Young’s crimson lips curved into a knowing smile.
“Once everyone knows, it stops being a weakness, doesn’t 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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