The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 68

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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 – Episode 68

It took gift certificates worth two hundred million won plus an additional thirty million won in cash just to buy the cauldron.
Damn, it was expensive.
But even that price—two million won cheaper—was thanks to Geum Eun Dong giving me a genuine fan discount.
I asked just in case, but seeing that he actually did reduce the price, maybe Geum Eun Dong isn’t such a terrible person after all.
After stashing the purchased cauldron into my subspace, I took the escalator downward with Geum Eun Dong.
But something had been bothering me for a while now.
“Vice Guild Master, you really are the vice guild master, aren’t you?”
“W-what do you mean…?”
“People have been glancing over at us this whole time?”
There was no need to distinguish between the up and down escalators.
Everyone kept turning their heads to look at us and whispering among themselves—enough to make even someone as thick-skinned as me feel a bit tense.
Well, it was Geum Eun Dong of the Maestro.
He’d draw this kind of attention anywhere.
While I was thinking that, I felt his gaze burning into my profile.
“What?”
Geum Eun Dong was staring at me with that complicated expression our guild members often wore.
“A-ah, no… I was just thinking that Kang Han, you must have it really tough, Guild Master.”
Kang Han always has it tough.
What’s new about that?
We continued our conversation and arrived at the first floor.
“I-if you’re heading back to the guild, I c-can call you a car.”
“Oh, that’s fine.”
I casually declined his rather kind offer and pointed toward the escalator leading downward.
“I have something else to take care of.”
“…”
Geum Eun Dong fell silent for a moment.
He simply alternated his gaze between me and the downward escalator.
I gave him a slight nod in farewell and headed downward immediately.
I could feel Geum Eun Dong’s gaze on the back of my head.
Yeah, you’ve figured it out now, haven’t you?

* * *

“Boss, I’m here!”
“You’ve arrived.”
Jung Je Hwa greeted me—an unusual gesture on his part.
I couldn’t help but check my affinity score.

《 ♥ 10 》

Hmm, no change in affinity, though.
Well, good is good. I smiled and approached the counter.
“Is the item I left with you ready, boss?”
“It’s been prepared.”
“Oh, as expected.”
Jung Je Hwa pulled out a flat box from beneath the counter.
The enigmatic item I’d obtained from clearing the Crocodile King Gate—the acolyte’s priestly robe sleeve—I wondered how it had been reborn in Jung Je Hwa’s hands.
My fingers tingled with anticipation as I opened the box without hesitation.
“Gloves?”
Since the robe’s sleeves were quite long, I’d imagined something like a scarf.
But he’d layered multiple sections together to craft gloves instead.
Truly a decision worthy of a Master craftsman.
The white gloves gleamed with a subtle luminescence, every trace of the dark crimson bloodstains completely gone.
“Let me read the certificate for you.”
I quickly unfolded the item certificate Jung Je Hwa offered.

[ Gloves of Yearning ( A )
: Gloves imbued with the deep resentment of a dying priest.
Enhances the wearer’s concentration. ]

“Ha, boss. You didn’t peek into my head and pull out what I needed, did you?”
I’d only handed over a priest’s robe sleeve, yet he crafted exactly what was required.
“Perfect, absolutely perfect.”
“The remaining material is here.”
Jung Je Hwa carefully folded the white fabric—about two spans wide—and showed it to me.
“I’ll keep that.”
“…Keep?”
“Well, you know how people keep good liquor at a bar and drink it later. If future commissions need it, just use it.”
“Understood.”
Apparently finding the idea sound, Jung Je Hwa wordlessly tucked the remaining fabric beneath the counter.
Meanwhile, I examined the Gloves of Yearning more closely.
“It’s genuinely soft.”
The gloves appeared quite thick, yet when I actually touched them, the thickness was barely perceptible.
I carefully slipped my fingers inside.
“Huh?”
I was startled.
“It’s like the glove disappears when it touches skin?”
“I designed it to transmit tactile sensation directly to your skin, so you can use them as if wearing nothing.”
“Wow, this is… incredible.”
Even as I touched them, I couldn’t quite believe it.
There was clearly white fabric between my skin and the object, yet it felt as though my flesh was in direct contact with it.
“You really are… truly remarkable, boss.”
I nearly called him Master without thinking.
Worried I might slip up further, I abruptly stood and wandered around the cramped shop.
Was there anything else worth acquiring?
“Oh, you made more of these. Rabbits really are adorable.”
The small rabbit figurines I’d swept clean on my last visit now had two new ones displayed alongside them.

[ Rabbit Eating a Carrot ( ? )
Pet it once a day and it will bring you good fortune. ]

“It’s originally a set of eight pieces.”
“I see. Then I’ll buy this as well.”
I couldn’t resist the set bonus.
Holding two rabbit statues in one hand, I continued browsing to see if there was anything else worth acquiring.
‘Why are so many people staring at me today?’
Jung Je Hwa’s gaze felt far more persistent than Geum Eun Dong’s earlier—almost oppressive.
Still, I pretended not to notice.
‘Alright, time to go.’
There had to be a reason Jung Je Hwa was glaring at me like that.
It was probably just his way of saying business was done and I should leave without making a fuss.
But before I left, I had one more thing to take care of since I was already here.
“Ahem.”
I returned to the counter and broached the subject while settling my bill.
“You know, I’d really like to keep being a regular customer here.”
Jung Je Hwa’s large hand, which had been swiping the card, froze.
“But with the prediction system being so unreliable lately, I’m not sure I can keep working as a Hunter.”
“…Has the Maestro Guild not issued a statement?”
“Oh, they did. Master’s name is plastered all over it. But….”
Jung Je Hwa’s dark brown eyes pierced through his glasses, waiting for me to continue.
“The prediction alerts have been coming in late recently. Sometimes they only notify us three minutes before a Gate opens.”
“Such a thing… has occurred.”
Just as I thought.
He had no idea.
It wasn’t surprising—he was like a monk completely detached from worldly affairs.
“Yes! Of course, the Master’s system is never wrong, but it does feel unsettling, you know?”
“….”
Jung Je Hwa fell silent for a moment.
He wasn’t dismissing me; he seemed lost in thought.
I gave him a moment before adding briefly.
“Maybe it needs an update.”
“An update….”
“Well, phone apps and computer software get updated frequently, right? I’m not an expert, but as time passes, there are bound to be areas for improvement. What do you think, sir?”
Jung Je Hwa’s deep eyes blinked slowly once.
Come on, overcome that inertia or laziness.
“You make a fair point, Yeo Joo.”
Perfect.
Though my affinity and status window showed no change, Jung Je Hwa wouldn’t leave the system as is after saying that.
“Oh my, look at the time. Thank you for your help, sir!”
I’d originally planned to take on more commissions, but Jung Je Hwa would be busy refurbishing the Gate prediction system for a while.
With that thought, I turned and left without hesitation.
“Yeo Joo.”
Have I been tired lately?
Why do I keep hearing what sounds like Jung Je Hwa calling my name?
“Yeo Joo from the Justice Guild.”
A figure materialized.
It wasn’t an auditory hallucination after all.
Still suspicious, I cautiously turned my head back.
‘What on earth is this?’
I could see Jung Je Hwa’s lower half.
Specifically, Jung Je Hwa’s lower half as he walked out from behind the counter.
Of course, he was fully clothed and presentable.
But this was the first time I’d ever seen him emerge from behind that counter.
“Did you… call for me just now, boss?”
“Yes, Yeo Joo.”
Not only does he remember my name, but that’s impressive.
Come to think of it, this is also the first time Jung Je Hwa has initiated a conversation with me.
“What can I help you with…?”
Jung Je Hwa hesitates at my question, uncharacteristically so.
I exercised patience, enduring what felt like hours compressed into mere seconds.
And finally, Jung Je Hwa’s mouth opened.
“Do you have any additional requests?”
“Requests?”
Well, I certainly have requests.
I could submit ten right this instant.
“Aren’t you busy, boss?”
“I’m not busy.”
“You should be busy!”
You need to update your prediction system!
“I do have pressing matters to attend to, but they’re tasks I can complete within a few days.”
“Really…?”
An update that can be finished in just a few days?
…If it’s Jung Je Hwa, maybe that’s possible?
“Yes, then.”
I turned around and stepped in front of Jung Je Hwa, reversing my course toward the exit.
And I asked.
“Boss, did you watch our guild’s dungeon broadcast?”
He flinched.
When you’re that large, even a small flinch looks pronounced.
“I did.”
“Did you see me in it?”
“…I saw it on TV.”
Ting.
How dishonest of him.
He definitely watched because he was wondering what commission I’d assign next.
Still, I couldn’t disappoint such earnest intentions.
“Boss, are you ready?”
“…Yes.”
Just in case, I retrieved what I’d received from Kang Han and pulled it from my subspace.
Thud.
A heavy vibration resonated through the narrow workshop, shaking the ground beneath my feet.
A soft radiance that dimly illuminated the shadowy interior.
The eternal cold iron—the treasure I’d brought back from the last Gate—revealed itself.
Jung Je Hwa bent forward and reached out his hand.
Then he caressed the rough, unpolished surface of the eternal cold iron as gently as one would pet a puppy’s head.
Now I needed to place the commission.
I voiced what I’d been considering ever since Sa Ma Young had that Guerrilla Gate assigned to the Justice Guild.
“Make me a shield.”
“A shield.”
Oh, it worked.
A shield was indeed the answer.
I’d been thinking about it so lightly, but the change that followed was anything but light.
Ding-ling—
Still annoying, but welcome after so long—that familiar sound effect accompanied pink hearts bobbing up above Jung Je Hwa’s head.

《 ♥ 20 》

Like clearing a hurdle, his affection surged up by ’10’ in one leap.
But that wasn’t all.
The dialogue bubble hesitated for a moment before forming a single word.

《 ♥ 20 : Muse 》

I had suddenly become Master’s muse.

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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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