The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 402

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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 6

I had reached my limit.
No—I had reached it long ago.
I simply couldn’t ignore the people screaming in agony before my eyes, so I turned a blind eye to my own condition instead.
“…Haah.”
Blood smeared across the hand wiping my lips.
Within my blurred vision, the crimson spread in a grotesque mess.
‘When was it that I coughed up blood?’
An hour ago? Two hours?
I didn’t even have the luxury to sift through my hazy memories.
In the blink of an eye, I found myself slumped against the rubble of a collapsed wall.
It seemed my consciousness, which had been barely clinging together, had fractured at some point.
Crash, boom—!
The sound of something shattering and crumbling echoed from afar.
Yet the frequency had noticeably diminished compared to before.
The screams of people were no longer audible.
That was a small mercy.
It meant this hellscape that began when the Dungeon ruptured was nearly at an end.
Not a single bead of sweat dripped from Seo Yu Baek’s face, despite the oppressive heat of a midsummer afternoon.
It was proof that my body could no longer function properly.
I stirred.
Seo Yu Baek gathered what little strength remained to reach over and grasp the hand of the child lying beside me.
The child was perhaps around six years old now.
By all accounts, this child would be my last patient.
Gazing quietly at the pale, young face marked by a wound on the forehead—the child had lost so much blood—I scraped together my remaining strength.

[ Healing Skill ‘Oath of the White Coat’ has been activated. ]

My heavy eyelids slid shut, then immediately felt light as a feather.
Unbound by anything any longer, I soared upward and arrived at a moment from the past.
It was the day I finally became a Doctor after years of relentless effort.
I wore a white coat with the name “Seo Yu Baek” embroidered across it in three characters.
A declaration rested in one hand, though I didn’t need to read it.
I had recited it countless times until every word was etched into my memory without a single omission.
Slowly raising my right hand, I swore with a trembling voice, pouring my heart into the words.
Slowly raising his right hand, he swore with sincerity, his voice trembling.

I, Seo Yu Baek, solemnly swear to dedicate my life to serving humanity as a doctor.

* * *

You cannot afford to lose your composure.
‘The apocalyptic process accelerating—you already knew this.’
It was all anticipated.
Seo Yu Baek’s death. The inevitable sixth Dungeon Break.
I knew. I prepared.
I’ve rewritten the predetermined future countless times until now.
This time will be no different.
And above all else.
‘That snake deliberately tested me.’
Shin Tae Jung’s piercing gaze had been fixed on me the entire time.
It wasn’t some juvenile provocation.
He was gauging my reaction to the A-rank Gate opening in Jongno.
With Bishop Yi at his side—someone who possessed foresight—it was hardly surprising that Shin Tae Jung had grasped the significance of that Gate.
Yet a question lingered.
‘Why is he testing me?’
In the next instant, the answer that suddenly struck me sent a chill racing down my spine.
Shin Tae Jung suspected that I, like him, knew the future for some reason.
“Didn’t the Justice Guild clear an S-Grade Gate not long ago?” he said, as though it were excessive.
“You should leave opportunities for other Guilds to shine.”
“Well, we’ve been working just as hard as Muwoon Guild lately,” I countered.
Even as I spoke, my mind raced frantically.
Why does he suspect me?
How did he catch on?
Am I missing something?
Just as my forced smile began to tremble, I caught myself.
Am I missing something?
Just as the corners of her mouth, forced upward, began to tremble uncontrollably.
“I’ve heard that in some countries, guilds deliberately delay Gate conquests and collude to drive up their asking prices.”
Representative Kim Jung Joo spoke with a satisfied smile.
“It’s really nice to see such healthy competition like this.”
Thanks to his comment, Shin Tae Jung’s gaze shifted momentarily in that direction, creating an opening.
I’d nearly been caught in a state of agitation.
I was frustrated with myself for struggling to regain my composure, and facing Shin Tae Jung’s irritating expression made it increasingly difficult to maintain my smile.
I clearly needed to step away for a moment to calm my nerves.
I was pondering what excuse would make leaving the table seem natural when a large hand gently wrapped around my shoulder.
“Protecting the people and safeguarding their daily lives—isn’t that both the duty and pride of a Hunter?”
“Ah, Guild Master Kang Han has arrived.”
At Association President Ji Jung Hwi’s feigned surprise, he offered a faint smile and a respectful bow.
He couldn’t have been unaware of the sudden shift in attention toward him, yet the composed ease he radiated—politely declining with a single gesture when someone tried to offer their seat—was unmistakable.
Whether it was the formal attire he wore for the banquet or simply his presence itself.
The image of Kang Han, the ‘successor of the Justice Guild’ I’d seen in the Dream Dungeon, seemed to overlap with him now.
As I looked up in surprise, dazed, Kang Han’s hand—engaged in greeting Representative Kim Jung Joo—gently patted my shoulder.
From that touch, I understood.
‘He came to help me.’
I didn’t know how he’d sensed it, but he’d deliberately intervened knowing I was in a difficult situation.
The moment I realized that, the tension drained from my shoulders.
I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding it.
Just as a hollow laugh escaped me at the absurdity of finding such vague reassurance in Kang Han’s presence, our eyes met.
Those green eyes, warm like the hand resting on my shoulder, were unusually tender.
But the eye contact didn’t last long.
Representative Kim Jung Joo’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as he spoke.
“Healer Yeo Joo and Guild Master Kang Han seem to have a particularly good relationship—it’s nice to see.”
He’d framed it as a comment about camaraderie between colleagues, but the underlying nuance was rather blatant.
He was essentially asking if the two of us were dating.
There was no way someone of Representative Kim Jung Joo’s stature would ask purely out of curiosity about a Hunter’s private life.
‘It’s now clear he’s not someone favorable to us.’
It was an attack disguised as a casual, innocent question.
If Kang Han and I panicked and fumbled our response, or made even the slightest verbal misstep, the internet would be ablaze with scandal about us before sunrise tomorrow.
In an industry where Hunter gossip was worth more than celebrity or idol rumors, the media wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.
If that happened, our actions would naturally become cautious, and we’d have to refrain from entering Gates together, at least for a while.
‘The Jongno A-rank Gate opens in just ten days.’
I clearly needed to dig deeper into the relationship between Representative Kim Jung Joo and Shin Tae Jung.
Just as I was steeling myself to respond with a smile, Kang Han was faster.
“Healer Yeo Joo and I share the same views on several matters. That’s why our trust in each other is unshakeable.”
“For instance?”
“To restore the glory of the Justice Guild.”
At words that sounded like a declaration of war, several guild masters’ expressions hardened.
But Kang Han gazed at Shin Tae Jung with a natural, unbothered smile, as if he knew nothing of such concerns.
“That’s why I can’t yield this A-rank Gate either. Jongno 1-ga is where the Justice Guild headquarters is located. Naturally, we should be the ones to enter, shouldn’t we?”
I hadn’t thought of that!
I felt like I could jump up right then and there to give a standing ovation.
It was perfect—a justification to tell other guilds to back off while avoiding Shin Tae Jung’s suspicion about whether I knew of the sixth Dungeon Break.
Why would another guild set up in our own front yard?
It was the same reason Cheongmun monopolized high-grade Gates in Incheon and Muwoon held priority over Busan Gates—an unspoken rule.
So Shin Tae Jung’s answer was already predetermined.
“…Now that you mention it, that’s true. My thinking was short-sighted.”
Though he forced a smile, Shin Tae Jung’s face looked as if he’d bitten into an astringent persimmon, and I felt laughter bubbling up inside me.
Kang Han had won not through combat, but through a battle of justifications.
Indeed, the protagonist was worth nurturing and watching.
When I quietly gave a thumbs up under the table where only Kang Han could see, I felt his fingers tighten slightly around my shoulder.
In the end, I had to hastily grab my cup to hide my trembling lips—for an entirely different reason than before.

* * *

The next day.
I was lying on the sofa in front of the Underground Training Facility, savoring a rare moment of leisure.
It was a brief respite—just one day off amid a hectic schedule.
But while my body rested, my mind remained busy.
“Where did he catch on?”
Spending the entire day thinking about Shin Tae Jung, his glossy face now floated before my eyes.
“Did Bishop Yi let something slip?”
That was most likely.
Perhaps the incident when Bishop Yi had directly infiltrated the Justice Guild had become the catalyst.
“The question is how much he knows.”
I was continuing my thoughts while wiggling my feet.
Crash—!
The door to the Underground Training Facility suddenly burst open roughly, startling me to my feet.
“Yeo… Yeo Joo.”
Yoo Jin Rok, his face drained of color, called out to me.
“Ga Young… Ga Young is…”
Holding Yu Ga Young in his arms as she convulsed and seized.

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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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