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If it was before, Jiho and Seung Joo would’ve been busy getting ready to clean up after the fissure right about now.

But No Name’s guildmembers, who arrived shortly after Chungram’s, had entered the area after the barrier had been lifted.

Among the No Name guildmembers, there were hunters, but also F-rank awakened ones and non-awakened ones who work in the office as well. Almost everyone in No Name had come out onto the scene.

For the latter group of people, the scene of the dead monsters was horrific, making some of them cover their mouths and run off somewhere.

From the crowd of No Name guildmembers, Jang Hyo Joo walked out towards the three people. Since Jang Hyo Joo once belonged to Chungram, she seemed to be quite close to Gyung Woo, as he smiled widely at her.

“Oh, Hyo Joo-ssi. How have you been?”

Instead of answering, Hyo Joo pulled a business card out. After accepting the card, Gyung Woo chuckled.

“Senior Managing Director Jang. Hm, it seems you’ve adjusted well.”

“Yes, thanks to you.”

“It seems you brought all of the office workers with you?”

Hyo Joo nodded.

No Name Guild is still yet to operate properly. There are some employees who have never worked for a guild before, and others who have come from other guilds. As such, No Name hasn’t established a set method of operation yet.

“It was perfect timing. They’ll need more experience on sites, but I figured this would be a good excursion for them.”

Once a fissure has been fought, the aftermath is the job of an awakened one who is accompanied by a team of normal office workers. The job of this team is to investigate things like the number of monsters killed, any damages to the city, and the number of casualties; and then report that to the Hunter Association. And only after that is the necessary process complete.

Although there are employees who stick entirely to the office, it’s good for them to come by a site like this at least once. Since this fissure appeared right in front of the guild’s office and is being jointly managed by Chungram, it’s the perfect first excursion.

“If there is anything that you need, we will help as well. After all, we are one family.”

Gyung Woo laughed. Hyo Joo thought about it for a bit before shrugging.

“Alright.”

Had it been any other guild that offered their help, it would’ve been extremely disrespectful, as the chance of them taking credit for some of the work is high. But with Chungram, they don’t need to worry about such things.

Hyo Joo politely excused herself before heading towards the group of people busily cleaning up the scene. Though No Name’s guildmembers were clumsier than Chungram Guild’s guildmembers, who are experienced in this sort of thing, and Kim Tae Yong, they were doing their part well.

With the situation being resolved quickly, Jiho came up to Seung Joo, who looked like he had something to say to him. Seung Joo instantly stiffened.

“Why are you nervous?”

“No, it’s just that you’re close….”

Why is he still so timid when his stats were raised? Jiho tilted his head before giving up on trying to understand. Because the recent Lim Seung Joo is different from the Lim Seung Joo of the past, it’s easier for Jiho if he just thinks that this person changed.

“Never mind. Is something wrong?”

There must be a reason that Lim Seung Joo, who usually hunts all of the monsters coming out of fissures to the ground, simply returned.

Lim Seung Joo gestured with his eyes that it was hard to talk about here. Jiho observed the situation and thought about it for a second. Then, he nodded and followed Lim Seung Joo. There’s no need for him or Seung Joo to take care of everything anymore, after all.

The two people came into the empty emergency stairwell. Even though Lim Seung Joo used his sensitive hunter senses to check that there were no people, he still lowered his voice to whisper.

“Kim Tae Yong was having a clandestine affair with Yang Hojin.”

“A clandestine affair?”

“The two were talking with each other in the cafe on the first floor of this building. There’s no real reason for them to be talking to each other, right? Another guild’s guildmaster with our guildmember.”

Jiho blinked. He stared pointedly at Seung Joo. 

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Didn’t Hunter Lim Seung Joo used to meet with other guildmasters as well?”

Seung Joo’s pupils shook wildly at Jiho’s light question.

“Ah, you knew?”

“Yes. There was a time I was thinking of ways to keep holding onto you. Now, however, if you still want to leave, I will let you go.”

Jiho spoke lightly. Seung Joo’s face turned deathly pale. 

“Not anymore….”

“Yes, I know.”

As long as Jiho has [Blessing of the Star], Lim Seung Joo probably won’t be going to another guild. Even if Lim Seung Joo isn’t keen on following Shin Jiho, [Blessing of the Star] is, after all, a very tempting skill.

“It is a little odd. Kim Tae Yong isn’t the type of person to snatch a guildmember.”

Mireu’s guildmaster is known for having no greed. Even though Mireu Guild has a lot of talented awakened ones thanks to the vice-guildmaster, Lee Rahui, and her abilities…

Compared to Chungram or Heaven Guild, which build their reputation through frequent activities, Mireu Guild’s actions are far from ambitious. They’re more like a cultivator pursuing the Tao or a Buddhist with no worldly desires.

“So where did Hunter Yang Hojin go?

“He stuttered that he wasn’t before running away. He’s probably off work already.”

Then does that mean that Seung Joo came from interrogating Kim Tae Yong since Yang Hojin ran away?

Jiho deliberated for a bit before nodding.

“I understand.”

“Are you not going to take any special action?”

“If they were talking to each other in a cafe, then it shouldn’t be that suspicious, right? Of course, I’m not going to stand by and do nothing…. Hunter Lim Seung Joo should also look into it just in case. Do not act like you’re too suspicious of him, however.”

“Of course.”

After advising Seung Joo, Jiho went back outside. He came out to check that the work was being done properly, but he could see that No Name’s guildmembers were doing well under Jang Hyo Joo’s excellent leadership.

Jiho felt satisfied.

He observed for a bit longer before slipping back into the building.

Since a fissure had appeared in the alleyway right in front of them, all of the stores in that area were preparing to close early.

Of those stores, Jiho entered the cafe Tae Yong and Hojin were seen talking in. That cafe was also getting ready to close for the day, but as soon as the manager saw Jiho, he showed a charming smile.

“Welcome, Boss.”

The owner of this cafe is Shin Jiho. It somehow became that way.

“Hello. You have worked hard today.”

While exchanging greetings, Jiho walked to the table in the inner part of the cafe and took a seat. Familiar with this sign from the owner, the manager came over holding an ade with extra syrup. He naturally sat down across from Jiho.

“I heard that Hunter Kim Tae Yong and Hunter Yang Hojin were here together.”

“Yes. They were here.”

The manager greeting Jiho is an F-rank awakened one. His skill has no use in combat, but is very useful in places like this.

His skill amplifies his hearing. Though the range is narrow because he’s an F-rank, it’s enough to cover a cafe.

“Were you able to hear what they were saying?”

“Yes. I was able to hear everything.”

That means they weren’t talking about anything that can’t be said.

“What were they talking about?”

“They were talking about skills. I wasn’t able to understand everything since they were using such official jargon….”

“That’s okay. Just tell me a general summary.”

“Yes. They were talking about how to buff Hunter Yang Hojin’s skill. And then after that… they moved on to Guildmaster-nim.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of things were they saying about me?”

The manager hesitated for a second before whispering quietly.

“They said Guildmaster-nim is very pretty.”

“…”

Jiho spit out a bit of his ade. The manager quickly passed Jiho a tissue, with which Jiho wiped his mouth. Jiho stared at the manager with disbelieving eyes.

Reading his disbelief, the manager just nodded.

“They complimented you. That you are pretty, good-natured, kind, competent, hard-working, and…”

“No, you can stop now.”

Face red, Jiho bid the manager well as he left the store.

While Jiho didn’t think he’d be able to get anything big out of this conversation, who would’ve thought that the two people were flattering someone else? Were they doing that on purpose knowing that someone was listening in on them?

Jiho continued to wonder this as he returned home.

Looking expressionlessly at the completely empty house, Jiho trudged over to the sofa and threw himself onto it.

Jiho stayed unmoving there for a bit, as if he had collapsed. Only after hearing his terminal ring did Jiho excitedly get up.

Unfortunately, the name that appeared on his terminal was not Joo Yiwon but Park Geon Ho. 

Hiding his disappointment, Jiho answered.

“Yes, this is Shin Jiho. Is there a problem?”

– No. I apologize. I am calling to report that I’ve made no progress today. I apologize; finding evidence on this is harder than I thought it would be, it looks like this task will take longer than expected.

It hasn’t even been half a day since he was assigned this task, but Geon Ho was apologizing like he was terribly late to something.

Hearing Park Geon Ho’s guilt-ridden voice, Jiho checked his clock. It was a little late to be called evening. 

“Besides that, shouldn’t you not be working at this time? Get some sleep and start again tomorrow, after you receive my skill when you come to work tomorrow.”

Park Geon Ho was silent for a while, as if he had heard something he wasn’t expecting to hear. Then, he carefully asked.

– Can I do that?

“Of course. There’s no need to rush, you can relax.”

– Hm, alright.

It didn’t really sound like he believed Jiho. His voice was laced with suspicion, as if it was saying, ‘You might say that, but you’re going to scold me later for not doing any work, right?’.

It seems like it was normal to work overtime in that evil guild. In No Name, there’s even a vice-guildmaster who held a grudge against and scolded the guildmaster for giving him overtime.

For the sake of his reputation, Jiho couldn’t tell him all that, so he got to his main point.

“Since you called, I will tell you this. It’s nothing much, but I would like you to investigate a couple of other things in addition to Ipeulis Guild. Not today; starting tomorrow.”

– Yes. What would you like me to investigate?

“First of all, I want to find a cat….”

– A cat?

Jiho needs to find that cat that ran away after it had killed a monster with a single punch. He should’ve reported the cat to the Hunter Association and left it to them, but…

‘I don’t want to do that.’

Not only might the cat get treated badly in the process of catching it, but once it gets caught, it’ll become property of the country. Jiho doesn’t know how the Hunter Association, which is low on high-ranking awakened ones, will treat a cat that can’t talk.

It’s better if they find the cat themselves and protect it.

“Yes. It’s not a normal cat…. Um, I will explain it in more detail tomorrow, when you come in for work. For now, I know how the cat looks and its mana pattern.”

– If that is the case, then I should be able to find it quickly. Alright.

Park Geon Ho answered confidently. Like this, Jiho can probably look forward to the cat being found soon.

– Then what is the other thing you wanted me to investigate?

“Um… investigating Hunter Kim Tae Yong is probably hard, right?”

Heavy silence passed shortly.

– By Hunter Kim Tae Yong…. You don’t mean Mireu’s Guildmaster, right?

“Yes. Mireu’s guildmaster, Kim Tae Yong.

– I-I apologize for my incompetence.

Park Geon Ho said sorrowfully, as if he were some great sinner who had committed a grave sin or something.

“Ah, no. It is fine. I didn’t think it would be possible.”

– I will try my best to make it possible moving forward.

“Like I said, it is fine. Kim Tae Yong is, after all, one of the few S-rank hunters in Korea, of course it is hard.”

And he’s actually at least an SS-rank. No matter how skilled Park Geon Ho is, the chance of him getting caught is too high. Jiho expected him to be unable to do it…. Thinking that he shouldn’t say anything lightly to Park Geon Ho from now on, Jiho told him his actual target.

“Then please investigate Hunter Yang Hojin.”

– Our guild’s Hunter Yang Hojin?”

If the clandestine affair between Kim Tae Yong and Yang Hojin is suspicious, then all he has to do is investigate the comparably easier target, Yang Hojin.

“Yes. There is no need to look too deeply into it. I will tell you the rest tomorrow, so get some rest and come to the guild tomorrow.”

– Yes, sir.

“Then I will leave this to you. Be careful, don’t overexert yourself, and be sure to get off of work after this.”

They’ll have to work together for a long time; what if Geon Ho overworks himself to exhaustion? Since Geon Ho is a competent hunter, Jiho’s intention is to work hard together for the next three years until they have to renew his contract.

– Yes. I will work hard to bring good results….

Park Geon Ho answered before hanging up the call.

Jiho probably didn’t mistake hearing Geon Ho choke up at the end, right? Even though what Jiho said was nothing special, he could feel that Geon Ho was very touched by it.

‘Just how much did this person suffer in his previous guild?’

Not only does his record indicate that he had suffered quite a bit, but it also seemed that he had grown up lonely.

“Am I making a person like that spend too much time outside…? I guess I should let him stay in the guild for a bit after he finishes investigating Ipeulis.”

In a guild related to gangs, the only awakened ones Geon Ho met were probably related to gangs as well. Geon Ho is a person who was always isolated and alone.

“That’s lonely….”

Jiho pushed his terminal away and sunk his body into the sofa as he mumbled this.

Humans are social animals.

Not having anyone that they understand and who understands them is lonely.

Jiho grew up extremely loved. Jiho knows how blessed of an environment he grew up in.

A family rich enough to fulfill most of his desires. Yet unlike other chaebol families, his family environment wasn’t tense and violent but rather harmonious. As the youngest child of that family, he grew up only receiving love.

Before awakening, Jiho’s almost never felt loneliness before. He was always with his family or friends. Especially since he was always attached to Joo Yiwon.

“Even if his personality’s dirty….”

Society ruined Joo Yiwon’s personality a bit. But he’s still a good guy.

“But why is he not returning home?”

The only one who could answer that question, Yiwon, didn’t return home that day either.

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LaZ Bird Corner

That is the end of Mireu Guild! Fun fact: Yiwon didn’t appear in this entire section. We got to hear a lot of Jiho complain about him though.

Next week, we will start section 7: Scandal (˵ •̀ ᴗ •́ ˵ ) ✧ 

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