The Former Empress Roughly Hides Her Abilities - Chapter 495

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Yeo Joo Saves the World
Part 3, Episode 99

The person sitting with his back to Geum Eun Dong turned his head.
“What is it, Geum Eun Dong?”
It was Sung Ro Sa again, his long hair flowing as ever today.
In the moment his gaze was stolen by that color—as if gold and silver had been carefully mingled and melted together—another person noticed Geum Eun Dong’s arrival.
“The Maestro’s here too?”
“Oh, Eun Dong!”
“Why are there so many people today?”
Whoosh!
Geum Eun Dong quickly stepped inside and shut the door.
He had the distinct feeling that these people gathering in one place shouldn’t be seen by others.
There was no clear reason for it, but something told him it was necessary.
“Why is everyone gathered here?”
Geum Eun Dong asked rapidly, urgently.
He was so startled that even his usual stammer had vanished.
“Is there some incident I don’t know about? No, but even so, this doesn’t make sense…”
Geum Eun Dong’s mind, normally occupied solely with the Maestro’s operations and item crafting, was flooded with dark scenarios.
And for good reason—the hunters gathered in the conference room were far from ordinary.
It wasn’t just Sung Ro Sa, who had turned to look at him first.
Yoo Myung Hwa from the Dongbaek Guild and Ha Young Hyun from Utopia were seated together.
And when Geum Eun Dong glanced at the table beside them, his confusion only deepened.
“A gambling table…?”
Ryu Do Kyung and the Mugunghwa Guild Master were actually playing cards.
The one pulling together candy tokens—apparently substituting for chips—was none other than Seo Yu Baek.
The director of the Korean Awakener Hospital.
At Geum Eun Dong’s muttered words “gambling table,” the large hand holding the candy froze momentarily.
“Ha, a gambling table! We’re just passing time while we wait for our turn—it takes forever to get called!”
The Mugunghwa Guild Master waved his hand toward Geum Eun Dong as if shooing away bad luck.
It was a gesture inviting him to come sit down.
Geum Eun Dong perched uncertainly on a chair and tilted his head.
‘I thought I was called here alone.’
It wasn’t just the hunters he’d spotted earlier.
Toward the back of the conference room, the guild masters and sub-guild masters from each guild were crowded together.
“The Muwoon Guild Master is…”
“He’s sleeping.”
Director Seo Yu Baek glanced back at Shin Tae Muk, who lay in the corner of the conference room, and spoke.
“Things have been so hectic inside and outside the guild lately that even an S-rank hunter’s body wears down. I checked on him briefly, and he fell right asleep.”
“I see. You even brought an eye mask…”
“I believe you’re visiting here for the first time today as well, Sub-Guild Master Geum Eun Dong.”
Geum Eun Dong asked carefully, as Seo Yu Baek added that he too was visiting here directly for the first time.
“What is this place supposed to be?”
“Ah, let me start with that.”
Sub-Guild Master Geum Eun Dong clearly had no idea what was going on.
Seo Yu Baek was quiet for a moment, touching his lips thoughtfully, before he spoke.
“Since you don’t venture into Gates, your Darkness Addiction rate isn’t particularly high, correct?”
“That’s true. Though I do handle byproducts closely…”
“The hunters gathered here are waiting to receive Darkness Purification from Yeo Joo, the healer.”
“Then that makes even less sense. My addiction rate isn’t high, and I never requested assistance…”
“Is that so?”
Director Seo Yu Baek tilted his head in confusion.
It was then that Ryu Do Kyung, the Cheongmun Guild Master, with a solemn expression, dealt a few cards in front of Geum Eun Dong and spoke.
“Perhaps they simply wanted to check in on your well-being? Just relax and wait.”
“Do you think so?”
“Yes, yes. Come now, put in a candy.”
It was just as Geum Eun Dong, drawn into the card game almost without noticing, carefully placed a strawberry-flavored candy in the center of the table.
Click!
The lights flicked off, and the conference room instantly darkened.
“Why’d you turn off the lights?”
“Oh, who’s messing around now!”
It seemed only Geum Eun Dong was startled by the sudden occurrence.
Perhaps because such remarkable people were gathered here, or perhaps because their temperaments were uniformly laid-back, the hunters merely frowned slightly.
Some even seemed satisfied, murmuring that it was nice and dark.
Bang!
“Hello, everyone!”
Before Yeo Joo the healer burst through the conference room door with Kang Han and Association President Ji Jung Hwi in tow—
She had greeted them cheerfully and immediately climbed onto the stage in front, sweeping her gaze over the hunters sprawled about haphazardly before speaking.
“No one’s left the room, right? Then let’s get straight to the main point.”
With a gesture, the projector flashed, and clean, easy-to-read text appeared on the white screen.

[ Project Justice ]
[ Subtitle: Inter-Guild Safety Prosperity Campaign with the Justice Guild ]

* * *

After roughly thirty minutes of presentation, or explanation, the lights came back on.
“…”
I’d expected someone to complain about the glare, but the conference room was silent as a grave.
Among the several times hunters had been called together under the pretense of receiving Darkness Purification, had the atmosphere ever been this heavy?
The people who had been relaxing and chatting earlier had vanished, replaced by guild representatives in serious form, and around them snacks and time-passing trinkets lay completely abandoned, as if belonging to strangers.
‘It was a topic worthy of that, I suppose.’
I decided to give them more time to think, and using the controller, I rewound the presentation slides to the front.
So that the hunters could see an overview of ‘Project Justice’ at a glance.

Project Justice
1. Full-scale activation of Berserk Rescue Team operations
2. Production, distribution, and sale of Non-Awakener Emergency Kits
3. Activation of Inter-Guild Strategy Team
4. Re-awakening Camp

Looking at it myself, I who had written those items directly, each one was hefty.
…Was it too much?
But there was no help for it.
These were changes that required time to adapt to.
That’s why I judged it best to push them all through at once, even if somewhat abruptly, to achieve better results.
‘Though Kang Han’s agreement was a bit unexpected.’
Two weeks had passed since the day Lee Yu Eul and Jang Su Ho were successfully re-awakened, and now I had to admit it.
Kang Han, the protagonist of this world, had changed.
He’d become far more proactive, far bolder.
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat and glanced at Kang Han, standing with his arms crossed as if guarding the entrance.
From his manner of observing the guild masters lost in thought, composure seemed to radiate from him.
‘He’s become more like a protagonist…?’
That seemed right.
He resembled the Kang Han from the Sejong Ending that I knew.
Even now, that was true.
Though he surely couldn’t fail to notice my gaze, Kang Han doesn’t look back at me.
He merely fixes the guild masters with a heavy stare, as if demanding swift decisions from them.
I didn’t want to lose to Kang Han either.
‘Project Justice’ couldn’t be accomplished by the Justice Guild’s power alone.
I had to secure cooperation from other guilds right here, right now.
“I’m sure you have questions. Please ask.”
“I’ll go first.”
Yoo Myung Hwa was the first to raise her hand.
“You’re not joking around, right?”
“Hey, think before you speak. Would this be a joke?”
Sung Ro Sa, Yoo Myung Hwa’s handler, grabbed her raised hand and pulled it down, chiding her.
But Yoo Myung Hwa was not the sort to back down from such mild criticism.
“No, but the Justice Guild’s planning to do nothing but good deeds! Do you all really believe that?!”
“I agree with the Dongbaek Guild Master to some extent. Especially the Non-Awakener Emergency Kit and the re-awakening project—they’re hard to believe.”
Ha Young Hyun, the Utopia Guild Master, made no attempt to hide her skepticism.
“The Justice Guild wouldn’t peddle medicine to us, but I need to verify. Is it really true you’ve found a way to re-awaken?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Two weeks ago, Justice Guild hunter Jang Su Ho and hunter Lee Yu Eul successfully re-awakened to S-rank. We haven’t announced it publicly yet, but the Association’s System already has a new skill window registered.”
“The Justice Guild has always had an unusually high re-awakening rate. So you’ve known the method for a long time?”
That wasn’t the case.
Kang Han and I were exceptional from the beginning, and the rest were products of chance.
Lee Yu Chan’s and Lee Tae Yoon’s recent re-awakening came closest to being deliberately triggered, but…
I was about to explain the whole situation.
“If that’s the case, does Utopia have no intention of participating in the re-awakening camp?”
Kang Han spoke sharply to Ha Young Hyun.
“Guilds that wish not to participate need not do so. This meeting was held to ask your intentions.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————