The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 388
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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 209
In that darkest hour just before dawn breaks.
Crash!
The phone Yoo Se Ran hurled at the wall of the safe house shattered on impact.
“…So Utopia is backing out too?”
At her adjutant’s question, Commander Yoo Se Ran couldn’t contain her fury, breathing heavily as she shouted.
“Those damned bastards! How dare Sa Ma Young ignore the nation’s call!”
Selfish Hunters who thought only of themselves.
Yoo Se Ran spat out harsh curses through gritted teeth.
This country had been buttoned up wrong from the very beginning.
“They should have been placed under state authority from the start!”
The military had a chain of command.
It meant Hunters couldn’t run rampant relying solely on their personal abilities and connections.
There was no need to mention how unnecessary it was to worry about public opinion like this.
“…There’s no helping it.”
Yoo Se Ran retied her disheveled hair neatly.
Even Utopia, whom she had trusted, had notified her through a single phone call that they wouldn’t participate in the operation.
But the orders remained unchanged.
Secure Yeo Joo’s person for the military.
That was the command from above….
‘Who was it?’
Yoo Se Ran frowned, rubbing her temples that had been throbbing frequently lately.
The severe pain made her forget such trivial things as not remembering the face of the superior who had given the order.
“Commander, are you alright?”
“…I’m fine. We proceed as planned. Are the men all prepared?”
“Yes, they’re all standing by.”
Compared to the reckless Guild-affiliated Hunters running wild, these were loyal subordinates who knew what mattered.
Major nations like the United States, Japan, and China were already coveting Yeo Joo’s potions and skills.
Beyond that, countries suffering from chronic problems due to frequent rampages by top-tier Hunters were knocking on the Korean government’s door one after another.
“If this operation succeeds….”
Yoo Se Ran smiled with satisfaction, imagining herself becoming Yeo Joo’s direct superior and soaring to new heights.
But that smile didn’t last long.
“Commander…!”
Another subordinate came running with a laptop.
The screen held out by his subordinate displayed statements from both organizations.
One was from the Awakener Association, which came as no surprise.
But when Yoo Se Ran saw Maestro’s seal clearly imprinted on the second statement, her eyes widened in shock.
“Why would Maestro…!”
The content was simple, but damn it, it was shocking.
Maestro would not sell items to any Guild or Hunters participating in coercive pressure campaigns against the Healer Yeo Joo.
It was even a threat that included Master’s personal works.
A security phone was thrust before Yoo Se Ran, whose teeth were grinding.
“…This is Captain Yoo Se Ran.”
[ “Operation suspended. Withdraw. Return to headquarters.” ]
“…Yes, understood. My loyalty.”
After returning the phone to her adjutant, Yoo Se Ran stood silently with her hand pressed against the table for a moment.
Then suddenly she grabbed her laptop and slammed it repeatedly against the table, venting her frustration.
“What the hell is Yeo Joo?!”
* * *
I woke up to find public opinion had flipped again.
All the posts criticizing me as selfish in agreement with the government’s stance had vanished, and instead, people condemning them were raising their voices louder.
“Why did this suddenly happen?”
While brushing my teeth and searching for the cause of this situation, I soon had no choice but to rinse my mouth hastily and dash to the living room.
“Boss!”
“I’m here, Yeo Joo.”
The home was so vast that I had to walk for quite some time in the direction of the voice before I could finally spot Jung Je Hwa.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“Coffee isn’t the important thing right now…!”
Seeing him sitting leisurely and tilting his mug, I felt my chest about to burst with frustration, but then I came to my senses.
“You didn’t need to issue a statement in the middle of the night like that.”
Jung Je Hwa had threatened hunters and nations across the world.
That if they harassed Yeo Joo, he wouldn’t sell items.
And it was a statement with Master’s personal seal stamped right on it.
“Still, it will help you, Yeo Joo. For now, everyone will be too busy watching my mood.”
That was true.
But at the same time, I couldn’t simply overlook the fact that Master had used his greatest card for me.
“Every time, I only receive help from you, boss…”
Click.
It was merely the small sound of Jung Je Hwa setting down his mug.
Yet with just that, he stopped my words and strode toward me.
Then he gently wiped away the water beading on my chin with his finger and spoke.
“Are you burdened again?”
“It’s not so much a burden as it is my apologies.”
“As I’ve said before, Yeo Joo.”
I had to exert all my effort to keep from blinking excessively.
Ever since the keyword changed yesterday, Je Hwa had transformed as well.
It wasn’t easy to explain, but it was a change that meant I could no longer treat him as casually as before, calling out “Boss!” with ease.
“I’m happy that I can do something like this for you, Yeo Joo.”
“…Sigh.”
Along with my sigh, a “ding—” sound rang out, and Je Hwa’s affection rose once more.
Looking at the number now showing “♥ 80,” all I could think was “what can I do about it?”
“I’ll do my best, Boss.”
* * *
After changing into pajamas and eating the breakfast Je Hwa had prepared with his own hands, and sipping a cup of coffee, my stomach felt satisfied.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Of course! How are you so good at cooking, Boss?”
“I’ve lived alone for a long time, so I picked up the skill out of necessity for survival.”
“Come on, your presentation is prettier than a brunch restaurant.”
“It’s because you’re the one eating it, Yeo Joo.”
…He really does leave me speechless sometimes.
I wiped my mouth with a napkin and stood up from my seat.
“I owe you so much, Boss. I should head back home now.”
“I had a feeling you’d say that, but it’s still sad to hear. Come visit again, Yeo Joo.”
My brief farewell with Je Hwa took place in the Secret Workshop.
That didn’t mean there was no lingering emotion left behind.
“I have a skill called ‘Intuition,’ Yeo Joo.”
Je Hwa said as he opened the door leading to the Justice Guild Building.
“From the moment we first met, that intuition has been telling me something. And now that I’ve accepted it all, I feel it even more clearly—you have a bigger picture, don’t you? Something I still don’t know about.”
I flinched for a moment but didn’t deny it.
I couldn’t say “this world is heading toward its end,” so I simply kept my mouth shut and met Je Hwa’s gaze.
“I don’t know what it is, but I want to help you, Yeo Joo. It feels like I should.”
Then he grasped one of my shoulders gently and added:
“From now on, don’t burden yourself with worry. This is something I want to do.”
“…Thank you for everything, Boss.”
Satisfied with my response, Je Hwa smiled warmly and waved his hand.
Click.
The door to the Secret Workshop closed behind me, and I stood alone in the small room of the Sugar Workshop located in the Justice Guild.
The sudden silence that descended upon me felt like my final moment of rest.
Once I leave here, things will be hectic for a while.
But I wasn’t afraid or tempted to run away.
“How far I’ve come.”
Compared to when I first awakened in my tiny studio apartment and realized I’d entered the Sejong Barrier, I truly had traveled an immense distance.
“This is just the beginning, really.”
I stretched energetically and opened the door to the Sugar Workshop.
“Kang Han?”
The moment I opened the door, Kang Han, who had been leaning against the corridor wall, lifted his head at my bewildered call.
“Did the boss contact you beforehand?”
There hadn’t been time for that, had there?
Kang Han shook his head.
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I thought you would come, so I was waiting.”
“Just like that? What if I didn’t show up?”
“….”
No answer came, but I understood.
Kang Han would have waited here until I arrived.
“Sigh.”
You really are something.
I shook my head with a wry smile and gestured to Kang Han.
“Let’s go. We have work piling up at Tae San.”
“Yeo Joo, before that.”
Kang Han approached and draped something over my shoulders.
It was a Justice Guild uniform.
“…I thought you might be cold.”
His bashful addition made me laugh.
“You’re right. It was getting a bit chilly, actually. Perfect timing.”
Following the careful movements of his hands as he dressed me like an attentive servant, I slipped each arm through the sleeves.
It was just clothing, after all.
Yet wearing this single piece, I felt an unexpected warmth—as though I’d truly come home.
I smiled at Kang Han as his large hands meticulously zipped up the uniform.
“Shall we go cause some trouble then?”
* * *
A sudden press conference was held in front of the Justice Guild Branch.
Though a unilateral notice had been given just ten minutes prior that I, Yeo Joo the Healer, would make a statement, no media outlet dared voice complaint.
For them, the mere fact that I—the protagonist who had remained secluded despite the tempestuous circumstances swirling around me—would show my face before the cameras was nothing short of a blessing.
‘This is absolutely guaranteed to succeed!’
Opportunities that promised viewership and clicks were not common.
Click-click-click—!
The shutters of dozens of cameras opened and closed in rapid succession, their cacophony echoing like the sound of torrential rain.
“…Rampage is not merely a matter of an individual Awakener’s physical condition. It is caused by addiction to a substance called ‘Darkness’ that flows from the Gates….”
My press conference was unveiling information so critical it seemed almost inappropriate to share it on a street corner.
“…I possess two skills capable of countering Darkness. First, I can craft Darkness Purification Potions, and second, I also possess a Purification skill that can directly reduce addiction rates….”
Darkness, addiction rates, rampage.
All the solutions to the explosive problems that had been crippling Hunter society lay with me, Yeo Joo.
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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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