The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 357

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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 178

I was grinding my teeth, recalling the smug faces of the Shin brothers—who had not only exploited the Justice Guild for their family squabble but had also brazenly monopolized the media’s attention with such a shallow ploy.
“Yeo Joo.”
Kang Han gently covered my hand with his own.
“Yes?”
“What are you plotting now? I’ve called you several times, but your mind seems far too occupied to notice.”
Ji Jung Hwi, the Association Director, let out an amused chuckle and shook his head.
“No, if anyone heard that, they’d think I’m someone who causes trouble every single day.”
That’s unfair.
I’m actually a very rational and composed person!
Yet both Kang Han and Ji Jung Hwi seemed to hold their tongues, their expressions suggesting they couldn’t agree with my protest.
Hmph, so this is how it goes.
“Let’s just finish the negotiation we were discussing earlier, Director.”
“A negotiation?”
Kang Han, unaware of what had transpired between me and Ji Jung Hwi during the re-scan, tilted his head in confusion.
“Well, to summarize what it was about…”
Even as I explained, I felt anxious.
I worried that Kang Han might say something like, “Since this could help with social stability, we don’t need any compensation.”
But after listening to my explanation calmly, Kang Han nodded and spoke.
“That does sound like something that requires proper negotiation.”
“Right?”
Excellent! Forget about naive Kang Han!
I need to extract whatever I can!
“However, I have no talent whatsoever in such matters. Would it be alright to ask Yeo Joo to handle this?”
“Of course.”
I’ll do my absolute best to serve you, sir!
“How shameless you two are.”
Ji Jung Hwi, who had been glaring at both Kang Han and me with disdain, clicked his tongue.
“So what are your demands?”
“The first one isn’t really a demand—it’s more of a necessary cooperation if you want to use Kang Han as the Justice Guild’s mascot. If we promote the Guild Master, there will inevitably be questions about responsibility for the Fifth-Grade Gate Break.”
To be honest, it’s already happening.
In the news I checked earlier, there were a few rare comments expressing frustration along the lines of, “Did everyone forget which guild caused the Fifth-Grade Break?”
“Hmm.”
Ji Jung Hwi pressed his temples with his fingertips, as if the mere thought was giving him a headache.
“Until just last year, the Justice Guild was the target of public scorn nationwide. It’s unavoidable. So please, Association Director, step forward and show your support.”
Unlike the previous Association Director, Ji Jung Hwi enjoyed fervent public backing.
If someone with that kind of support came forward to back Kang Han, it would be tremendously helpful.
But that also meant Ji Jung Hwi would be tying his fate to the Justice Guild.
Fortunately, the Association Director’s deliberation didn’t last long.
“It’s not a difficult matter. And what’s the second condition?”
“The second condition is.”
I glanced at Kang Han once before continuing.
“Please conduct an official reinvestigation of the Cheonho-dong 5th Dungeon Break.”
The Association Director’s hand, which had been tapping the sofa’s armrest with his knuckles, went still.
“Publicly, through the Awakeners Association. Of course, we should space out the announcement of the reinvestigation from Kang Han Guild Master’s skill window disclosure. It doesn’t matter if it’s after the Guild Cup concludes.”
“…I’m asking you to do this, Association Director.”
Kang Han added a word from beside me.
His voice trembled, but I didn’t pretend to notice.
No matter how much we’d experienced the Dream Dungeon together, I couldn’t possibly fathom the full weight of Kang Han’s heart.
“A reinvestigation of the Cheonho-dong Dungeon Break….”
Association Director Ji Jung Hwi spoke while stroking his chin.
“I apologize in front of Guild Master Kang Han, but are you trying to say the Justice Guild bears no responsibility for that incident?”
“That’s not it.”
Kang Han shook his head.
“It’s true that the Justice Guild entered the Cheonho-dong Gate. It was measured as an S-Grade Gate, and the guild master at the time, Hunter Kang Young Won, decided the Justice Guild would tackle it alone. But I also have something I’d like to ask you, Association Director.”
“What is it?”
“You worked alongside Hunter Kang Young Won for a long time.”
“That’s right.”
Association Director Ji Jung Hwi had belonged to the Awakeners Association ever since his awakening.
Naturally, he had actively collaborated with the Justice Guild, which had been the representative of the guilds back then, on joint dungeon raids.
“Based on your direct experience with Guild Master Kang Young Won at that time—was she the kind of hunter who would recklessly attempt a raid while gambling with countless citizens’ lives?”
“…If she were, she couldn’t have become the Justice Guild’s guild master.”
His voice carried a bitter undertone.
“Around that time, I was going berserk myself, and my wife… anyway, I was too preoccupied with retirement to think of that. In any case, there must be a reason you want the reinvestigation, Guild Master Kang Han?”
“I suspect a Double Dungeon was involved.”
“A Double Dungeon….”
“The Cheonho-dong Gate at that time was a closed-type dungeon. Everyone already knows that. But because of that, nothing about what happened inside was ever revealed. Perhaps… the first Double Dungeon occurrence happened right then.”
After a moment of silence, the Association Director let out a breath.
“Hmm, two years ago this would have been absurd, but now… yes, Double Dungeons do exist.”
Now it was my turn to help.
“There’s technology to detect Double Dungeons now, isn’t there.”
“Right, we can cross-reference it with the data from the time of the Cheonho-dong Gate incident.”
Ji Jung Hwi nodded.
“I’ll make a request to the Master.”
“Thank you, Association Director.”
“There’s no need for thanks. If there’s a real cause behind the dungeon break, it’s only natural we uncover it.”
The Association Director spoke to Kang Han.
It was good that we pushed out Jo Gye Young when we did.
If the previous Association Director had remained, I never would have dared make such a request.
“And there’s a third thing.”
“You’re really trying to bleed me dry, aren’t you? Go ahead.”
“I need you to investigate three hunters from the Muwoon Guild—Shin Se Hee, Shin Tae Muk, and Shin Tae Jung. And I’d like surveillance on them as well.”
“What?”
“Yeo Joo?”
Both men turned to stare at me in shock.
Asking for background investigations on others was one thing, but surveillance too—their surprise was justified.
Still, I decided to push forward shamelessly.
“What’s your reason?”
“Those two people from earlier—or at least the Muwoon Guild—seem to have connections to the Apocalypse Cult.”
“T-the Apocalypse Cult?”
“Yes.”
Just before the Shin brothers left, their final conversation had given me certainty.

“If you’d already obtained that intelligence, that’s why you recruited Bae Do Yoon as well?”
“…That’s correct. We have a confession from Hunter Shin Se Hee stating that after learning of information about repeated nights, she determined that a light-attribute magic skill would be necessary.”

Muwoon Guild had recruited Bae Do Yoon long before the Sanjeong-dong Gate even opened.
I knew what happened inside the Sanjeong-dong Gate because I had “read” it, but how did Shin Se Hee know about the necessity of light-attribute skills?
No matter how advanced technology becomes, the information available before a Gate opens is limited.
Only the dungeon type, the approximate number of monsters inside, and the difficulty determined by the boss monster’s grade can be predicted.
Yet she somehow knew that intermittent nights would occur within it—that made no sense.
‘Unless she’s a foresight ability user like Bishop Yi.’
That was why I suspected the involvement of the Apocalypse Cult.
The reason I wanted to investigate not just Shin Se Hee, who had supposedly purchased information from someone, but also the Shin brothers was straightforward.
They were the ones who benefited most from removing Shin Se Hee from the succession race with this incident.
They could very well be the architects who orchestrated this entire scheme.
“Do you have evidence that Muwoon is connected to the Apocalypse Cult?”
“No, if I had solid evidence, I’d just report it. That wouldn’t be a negotiation condition.”
The fact that the Cult Leader, Bishop Yi, possessed a foresight skill was still unknown information, so I couldn’t explain the full details to Association Director Ji Jung Hwi.
“Yeo Joo, healer.”
“Yes, Director.”
“I trust you understand how serious it is to raise suspicions of connections to the Apocalypse Cult. Also, even with my position as Association Director, investigating hunters’ backgrounds isn’t easy.”
“That’s true.”
“Yet you’re making such demands—does that mean you have another card to put on the negotiation table besides the status window of the Kang Han Guild Master?”
Though he grumbled in words, Association Director Ji Jung Hwi cared for me deeply.
But at the same time, he was someone who maintained strict boundaries between public and private matters.
“Director, you need a powerful hunter to calm public anxiety right now, don’t you? Someone you can boast about to other countries would be even better. Isn’t that right?”
“You certainly understand well.”
“Currently, our country only has Director Seo Yu Baek as an S-Grade healer. They’re extremely rare worldwide too.”
S-Grade healers were dozens of times rarer than S-Grade combat hunters.
“What if there were one more S-Grade healer? That would certainly be valuable enough to justify getting your hands dirty, wouldn’t it, Director?”
“Of course it would be… but are you saying there’s an unregistered S-Grade healer in our country? You know who that person is? Where are they right now?”
To Association Director Ji Jung Hwi’s urgent questions, I raised my index finger and pointed at myself as I answered.
“Right here. I recently re-awakened as S-Grade.”

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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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