The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 400

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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 3, Episode 4

Awakeners—especially high-rank Hunters—couldn’t be allowed to die meaninglessly in a rampage.
The Final Gate wasn’t a threat that a handful of exceptional Hunters like Kang Han could hold back alone.
Harsh as it sounds, the only way to increase our odds of preventing the apocalypse, even slightly, is to have as many people fighting together as possible.
Perhaps the true intention behind creating the Rampage Prevention Squad was to buy time—so they could die facing the apocalyptic Gate instead of succumbing to a rampage.
“Yeo Joo?”
Lost in thought, I hadn’t even noticed Seo Yu Baek’s return.
I quickly stood and accepted the jar-shaped banana-flavored milk, smiling.
“Wow, Teacher. How did you know I love this?”
“You had a lot of blood drawn. Eat something sweet and rest. You worked hard, Yeo Joo.”
I watched him stand there with both hands buried in the pockets of his white coat, grinning brightly, and sipped the straw.
“Teacher.”
“Yes, Yeo Joo?”
“You know you have to stay healthy to save more people, right?”
“…So this is how it felt when I nagged you.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Yes, yes. I know. Thank you for the nagging.”
If preventing deaths from rampages and preparing for the apocalypse was the “ditch,” then the innocent, gentle doctor and Healer smiling harmlessly before me was the “crayfish.”
“For the Rampage Prevention Squad to function properly, Teacher, you can’t go anywhere. You need to stay right at the Awakened Hospital.”
S-rank Healer Seo Yu Baek—who rushed to the scene when the 6th Gate Break occurred and died from exhaustion after desperately saving people.
The Rampage Prevention Squad was the shackle of responsibility I’d forged to keep Seo Yu Baek from ever leaving the Awakened Hospital.
It was currently June.
In the 【Chronicles of Sejong】, Seo Yu Baek died in August, when the lingering summer heat was at its worst.
‘I won’t let that happen. Not ever.’
I would save my pretty Teacher Crayfish, no matter what.

* * *

I had just changed clothes after returning from the Awakened Hospital and was about to leave home for my afternoon schedule.
“Yeo Joo, wait a moment.”
Je Hwa, who had apparently been waiting for me, called out from where he sat at the table where we’d had dinner last night.
“Boss? Didn’t you say I needed to be in Jamsil today and tomorrow?”
Geum Eun Dong, the sub-guild leader, was supposedly waiting with a mountain of documents that needed approval.
I tilted my head in confusion, and Je Hwa answered with a smile.
“That’s right. But I have something to give you before you go.”
“…Now I get nervous whenever you say you have something to give me.”
“Just nervous?”
“Well, maybe a little excited too?”
“I hope you keep feeling excited about it. But…”
Je Hwa trailed off, his expression becoming oddly contemplative.
“You look beautiful.”
“Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve worn a skirt.”
After wearing nothing but comfortable clothes like jeans and hoodies every day, the cocktail dress that clung to my legs with every step felt terribly awkward.
“Last time I went in the Justice Guild uniform, the Association Director wouldn’t stop lecturing me about it. Something about how appearance makes the person.”
“There are far more eyes on you than before. I understand the concern, really.”
“Does it not suit me? Should I change into something else?”
What I was wearing was a pale coral dress that reached my knees.
I’d chosen it somewhat carelessly, thinking it looked decent enough, but if Je Hwa—whose aesthetic sense was impeccable—thought otherwise, I was willing to change.
“I have a deep navy one too. But that one’s skirt is a bit short, so it’d be uncomfortable…”
“What you’re wearing now is perfect.”
With that, he retrieved a flat box slightly larger than his palm from his Subspace and held it out to me.
“And I think the gift I prepared will suit you well too.”
“…A pearl necklace?”

[ Pearl Necklace for Yeo Joo ( S )
: Blocks all types of mental attacks once.
Crafted by Je Hwa ]

I had a suspicion, and my suspicion was correct—it was an item.
The pearl necklace with its soft pink hue was exquisite in appearance, but its function was even more remarkable.
“It’s an item that protects against mental attacks. Since you’ll be meeting many people, I wanted to be prepared just in case. As for physical attacks, we have two people going with you as shields, so that should be fine.”
Kang Han and Sa Ma Young had inadvertently been relegated to the role of personal bodyguards.
“You never know what kind of person might approach you or what they might be thinking.”
Je Hwa reached out and removed the necklace from its box, then naturally moved behind me.
“Excuse me for a moment, Yeo Joo.”
With hands large enough to belong to someone far less delicate, yet capable of creating the most intricate works, Je Hwa fastened the necklace around my neck and stepped back exactly one pace, smiling as he looked at me.
“Yes, you look even more beautiful now.”

* * *

I arrived at the grand banquet hall of a hotel nestled at the foot of Namsan, accompanied by Kang Han and Sa Ma Young.
The expansive, luxurious space—capable of accommodating hundreds at once—was adorned with lavish décor.
And across the front screen, the name of the banquet was displayed.

[ Korean Awakener Association – Synergy
(Synergy)
]

“Synergy” was meant to convey the spirit of gathering together and drawing strength from unity, but in reality, it was a social gathering meant to tell the hunters: stop fighting and start getting along.
This banquet, held quarterly under the Association Director’s sponsorship, was naturally my idea.
My intention was to bridge, even slightly, the widening gap that had emerged since the split between the Gong Gil Yeon Alliance and the Jung Dong Alliance.
When that confrontation first took shape following the Pangyo incident, I had viewed the shift positively.
The Jung Dong Alliance and Gong Gil Yeon would grow through competition, after all.
‘In the end, it’s all a matter of time.’
Damn this apocalypse fast-forward.
But there was hope.
As my purification skill came to light, the sharp confrontational structure crumbled considerably, and for guilds seeking my favor, the distinction between alliances became meaningless.
And most importantly, the Gong Gil Yeon Alliance had lost its central axis.
Sa Ma Young had swept up his subordinates and defected wholesale to the Justice Guild.
‘If that was going to happen, he could’ve cooperated from the start.’
I was aware I was blaming an innocent party, but irritating was irritating nonetheless.
As I glared at Sa Ma Young, who was walking to my right, he sensed it with eerie precision and let out a quiet laugh.
“Why are you glaring like that?”
“I’m not glaring at anyone.”
“Playing dumb now?”
His face, with his forehead half-exposed, caught the banquet hall’s lighting and seemed to glow like a fish meeting water.
“You come here wearing a necklace some other man gave you, and you’re acting so confident about it?”
Truth be told, Sa Ma Young had been in a foul mood ever since he saw the item Je Hwa had gifted me.
He made no attempt to hide his thorns, sharp and pointed like those of a crimson rose.
But I wasn’t the type to cower and shrink away.
I scoffed and spoke with a dismissive snort.
“If I start being considerate, you’ll get upset about that too.”
“…Everyone’s always saying I have a bad personality, but you’re no saint either, Yeo Joo.”
“Who said otherwise?”
I’d never thought of myself as a good person anyway.
As I pushed forward shamelessly, Sa Ma Young glared at me indignantly for a moment before sighing as if he’d given up.
“…You’re not even that good-looking.”
“Lower your standards instead of using yourself as the benchmark.”
Who would get upset if I said I looked ugly?
“Don’t say things like that. You look beautiful today.”
Kang Han, walking on my left, leaned in and spoke softly.
“Thank you. I wanted to throw away the makeup, the heels, the dress—everything—but knowing I look presentable makes it worth enduring.”
“Once the banquet ends and we’re heading home, you can take off your heels right away. I’ll carry you.”
I wasn’t a patient, and that was a bit much.
But I’d missed my chance to respond.
As I stepped into the banquet hall, the gazes of people who had arrived early and gathered in small groups poured down on me, and in that moment, Association President Ji Jung Hwi approached with a smiling face.
“You made it.”
“Yes, we’re here. Since I dressed up formally today, please stop nagging me over the phone. I thought my ears were bleeding.”
On the surface, it looked like he was greeting guests warmly and courteously, but up close, his eyes—not smiling at all—were starkly apparent.
“Because of you, I’ve been going through this ordeal once every quarter, so I can’t just let you off easy.”
“You’re being spiteful.”
“A brat who thinks whining solves everything.”
“Well, whining worked—you threw this banquet for me.”
It did work, didn’t it?
“So you need to take responsibility. Stay glued to my side today and experience what it’s like to have your face twitch in discomfort.”
“I don’t want to do that.”
If I stood next to the organizer, I’d end up meeting all sorts of people whether I liked it or not.
But Association President Ji Jung Hwi ignored my protest and spoke to Kang Han and Sa Ma Young instead.
“Leave the troublemaker to me. You two go handle things.”
“….”
Yet the two men didn’t move.

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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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