The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 390

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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 211

We couldn’t keep standing outside indefinitely, so we hastily moved to the Conference Room.
The remaining guild members stayed outside while only four of us entered: Sa Ma Young, Woo Jun Kyung, Kang Han, and myself.
It was a space I’d never considered small, yet it felt strangely suffocating.
The reason was obvious.
Kang Han, sitting beside me with his arms crossed like armor, and Sa Ma Young, smirking mockingly from across the table, were both unleashing their auras without any restraint—as if engaged in a power struggle.
Woo Jun Kyung seemed resigned to it, but I felt as though I were wrapped tightly in thick blankets.
“Sigh.”
Unable to endure it any longer, I exhaled sharply.
The moment I did, the two auras that had been swelling as if ready to burst the Conference Room vanished cleanly as if they’d never existed.
…They should have done that from the start.
At any rate, with the air finally clear, I broached the main topic of our gathering.
“Sa Ma Young.”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
Sa Ma Young, interrupting me, unfastened the top two buttons of his coat.
What on earth was he doing?
I was about to furrow my brow when something poked its face out from within Sa Ma Young’s coat.
The small “puff!” sound came from none other than Hong Joo, a cat-like creature with pitch-black fur.
Its large, crimson eyes blinked as if it had been confined in that space for quite some time.
“Why would you put the little one in there!”
“[Yeo Joo?]”
“Hong Joo, are you alright? Come here!”
At my call, the lustrous black cat bounded into my arms with rapid patter of paws.
“[I missed you!]”
Then it rubbed its head against my neck and purred like a true cat.
“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
“[It was hard. So suffocating, so cramped….]”
“I know, I know. Poor thing.”
I patted Hong Joo’s hindquarters while shooting a glare at Sa Ma Young.
With all that wealth, couldn’t he have gotten a proper carrier?
…Though, I suppose a carrier wouldn’t work since it’s not actually a cat?
Still, though!
“I had no choice. I couldn’t leave it with anyone.”
“Then why did you suddenly create such a situation?!”
Sa Ma Young merely shrugged at my reproach.
“Poor Hong Joo suffered so much from meeting the wrong Awakened.”
As I coaxed him once more, a pitiful meow echoed near my ear.
“Still, even as I was leaving, I made sure to pack all of Hong Joo’s belongings.”
“Let’s be precise here—you weren’t driven out. You left of your own volition!”
“But I couldn’t possibly keep sharing a meal with people who’ve lost their minds, could I?”
“…I suppose that’s true.”
Honestly, that part surprised me too.
I never expected the Vice Cult Leader’s influence to reach even Sa Ma Jin, Sa Ma Young’s father.
“Let’s discuss that properly later.”
“Yeah, so take me in.”
Sa Ma Young tapped the desk in front of me with his fingertips like a childish brat teasing his desk mate.
“Where have you been staying since then?”
“Just wandering here and there. Since I’ve severed all ties with the Sama Group, what else can I do?”
He spoke casually, but bitterness seeped through his words.
‘Cutting ties with family is no small matter.’
Given how desperately he’d struggled to earn Sa Ma Jin’s approval, this situation of leaving the Sama Group by his own choice must be far from welcome.
If I were in his position, I’d have countless worries about what comes next.
‘Is that why he came to find me?’
His face did seem a bit gaunt.
As I stared at him intently, the smile gradually faded from Sa Ma Young’s face.
Finally, his expression turned unusually serious as he asked.
“You’ll take me in, right?”
Instead of answering, I gauged Woo Jun Kyung’s reaction.
Would it not be painful for him, who reveres his lord like his own life, to come to the Justice Guild and ask to be taken in like this?
“What do you think, Woo Jun Kyung?”
“If my lord wishes it, I will follow.”
Right, that’s the kind of person he was.
I gave up conversing with Woo Jun Kyung and turned my attention back to Sa Ma Young.
While he was somewhat pitiful, this wasn’t a conversation to be swayed by emotion.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘take me in’?”
“I mean take me in as a member of the Justice Guild.”
“…As a member of the Justice Guild?”
“Yeah, I want to share meals with you.”

* * *

After the representatives from both factions moved to the Conference Room, an unavoidable awkwardness settled over those who remained.
Jang Su Ho, vulnerable to such tension, stood like a stone statue in one corner of the Break Room, his eyes darting about nervously.
The Sama Guild hunters standing in the heart of the colorfully decorated Justice Guild looked like crows who had wandered into a kindergarten.
“Please, make yourselves comfortable.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Led by Bang Wi Jin, who responded politely to Han Ji Sung’s invitation, the crows settled one by one onto the sofa placed in the center of the Break Room.
“Brother.”
Jang Su Ho approached Han Ji Sung cautiously, careful not to startle them.
“Are these people really joining the Justice Guild?”
“…Kang Han and Yeo Joo will make the right decision.”
“I suppose so, but still…”
Those innocent eyes that Yeo Joo always called “a mischievous puppy’s gaze” turned toward the Sama Guild hunters once more.
“They’re smaller than I expected, aren’t they?”
“Smaller? You mean cramped and shabby.”
At the exchange between Bang Wi Jin and Bang Ri Ri, Jang Su Ho felt dizzy.
‘Do I really have to work with people like this?’
If Yeo Joo and Kang Han decided to accept them, he would follow along, but these potential new teammates didn’t sit well with him.
Just as Jang Su Ho was pouting with his lower lip jutting out—
“What’s this? Why are outsiders here?”
Im Chung Soo, who had come to the Break Room looking for people since the Guild Dining Hall was empty despite it being breakfast time, spoke with a frown.
From his tilted head and the way he thrust both hands into his pants pockets came the fearless momentum of a tempestuous teenager.
“They’re guests who came with Hunter Sa Ma Young, Chung Soo.”
“Guests who just showed up in a crowd without any prior arrangement?”
“…Chung Soo.”
Han Ji Sung pressed his forehead and shook his head.
Im Chung Soo was second to none when it came to being wary of strangers.
He readily bristled with sharp spines toward anyone who wasn’t ‘family’.
The volatile temperament that had calmed somewhat reignited at the sight of these unfamiliar crows.
But then someone approached Im Chung Soo.
“Um, hello there.”
The owner of the small, trembling voice was the debuffer Ju Sa Eun.
“…Do you know me?”
“Y-yes, of course! The potion that Hunter Im Chung Soo developed, I use it all the time…!”
“Ah, I see.”
At the sight of Ju Sa Eun nodding eagerly while unable to meet his eyes due to her timid nature, the spines that had bristled on Im Chung Soo’s demeanor softened slightly.
“Um, would you perhaps be interested in debuff potions?”
“Debuff potions?”
Im Chung Soo’s head tilted slightly to the side.
What he was actively developing these days was buff potions, not debuff potions.
He was already frustrated by the lack of progress, as if hitting a wall, so the sudden mention of debuff potions caught his attention.
At Chung Soo’s blunt reaction, Ju Sa Eun’s face flushed crimson.
“Oh, no! I just said something strange all of a sudden…!”
“Have you ever made a debuff potion?”
“Not a proper one, but….”
At her hesitant answer, a spark of interest flickered across Chung Soo’s eyes.
Debuff and buff.
Didn’t they say that opposites meet at their extremes?
The thought crossed Chung Soo’s mind that information about debuff potions might just be the key to developing buff potions.
“Let’s go.”
“Pardon?”
“To my research lab. Han Ji Sung, I’m borrowing this person for a bit.”
“I’ll be back soon!”
Han Ji Sung’s mouth fell open in surprise as Ju Sa Eun and Chung Soo hurried away.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
“Oh Young In, it’s been a while?”
“Sang Eun.”
Ryu Sang Eun, also from Busan, approached Oh Young In first and struck up a conversation.
Though Ryu Sang Eun was barely half his size, Oh Young In remained respectful throughout.
“…So, how about a sparring match? It’s been ages.”
“A sparring match?”
“Yeah. Not with me, but with Jang Su Ho.”
Jang Su Ho’s eyes widened as his name was suddenly called, drawing the gazes of both Oh Young In and Ryu Sang Eun.
“Me?”
“Yeah, you said you wanted to fight Oh Young In after watching that Sama Guild raid stream last time.”
“Well, that’s true, but….”
“I accept.”
Oh Young In nodded readily.
His expression remained stoic, but his hawk-like, sharp eyes gleamed with an unmistakable competitive fire.
“…Then shall we head to the Outdoor Training Ground?”
I couldn’t take Oh Young In, still an outsider, down to the Underground Training Facility.
“We’ll be back soon!”
Ryu Sang Eun cheerfully called out as he led his two younger companions outside.
Bang Ri Ri and Bang Wi Jin, who remained, were already engaged in friendly conversation with the Justice Guild hunters.
Han Ji Sung absently stroked his chin with his long fingers and murmured to himself.
“This might not be so bad after all.”

* * *

After Sa Ma Young’s statement, I looked at Kang Han first.
There was no sign of agitation—he had apparently anticipated this to some degree.
I simply stared at Sa Ma Young across from me with an expression I had never worn before.
‘Is he angry? Or just displeased?’
Or perhaps he was simply on guard?
In any case, it was clear this was not a welcoming atmosphere.
“What are the conditions?”
At my question, Woo Jun Kyung produced documents as if he had been waiting for this moment.
“I’ve prepared a contract in advance. Let’s take a look at it.”
But something felt off.
A contract supposedly between Sa Ma Young and his subordinates, yet it was nothing more than a single sheet of paper?

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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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