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“Hoo….”

Jiho let out a deep sigh. Yiwon, who was sitting next to him, quickly took Jiho’s hand and massaged it. Jiho left him alone because he didn’t have the energy to stop Yiwon, but for some reason, it made him feel better.

Noticing that Jiho’s expression looked better, though still exhausted, Yiwon grinned.

“Kinda a jerk, right?”

“Don’t say that to an adult….”

Jiho couldn’t bring himself to deny that he was a jerk.

Once Jiho visited Alchemy of the Night, he understood why Yiwon insisted on following him here. 

Although Alchemy of the Night is one of the guilds that represent Korea, it has a bad reputation among hunters. Jiho thought that was simply because of their high commission rate, but having experienced them firsthand, the other problem is far more of an issue than the commission rate.

Putting aside that they inspect visitors and treat them like suspicious thieves, or that the employees are not just rude but downright threatening and unfriendly. The way their attitude flipped as soon as Yiwon removed his disguise is the worst offense.  

If this is how Jiho, an S-rank, is treated, how they treat lower ranks…. Jiho doesn’t want to imagine.

Despite the bad first impression, Jiho didn’t lower his expectations until Alchemy of the Night’s vice-guildmaster, Kwon Seok Joong, met them in the lobby with an attitude that far exceeded the employee’s. 

Kwon Seok Joong must’ve drank a lot over the weekend because he stank of alcohol when he met them.

That alone left the worst first impression, but Kwon Seok Joong brought up what happened between Yiwon and Jiho yesterday at Gangnam Station and threw out all sorts of vulgar comments that Jiho doesn’t want to talk about like how it feels doing it between two men as a “joke.”

Kwon Seok Joong’s impoliteness angered Jiho, but he held it in because he was afraid Yiwon would use a skill to send Kwon Seok Joong flying.

Even after they finally got to the main topic, he was still just as infuriating.

Upon learning that Jiho was the client, he started to give unsolicited advice. He can’t even say a thing to Joo Yiwon, but to Jiho, he said how it must be hard at his young age, how it’s natural for rookies to make mistakes, how experienced people like himself will lead him well, and what’s necessary to run a big guild…. From start to finish, he made a big fuss over the smallest things.

Jiho was sick of this attitude that clearly showed Kwon Seok Joong saw himself above Shin Jiho. 

And there’s another reason Jiho disdains him. That’s because of the titles in Kwon Seok Joong’s system window. 

[Alcohol Addict], [Gambling Addict], [Womanizer], [Parasite].

What a spectacle. Having just one of those titles is trash, but having all four? And on top of that, Kwon Seok Joong is the first person Jiho’s seen with such a harsh title like “Parasite.” 

The worst piece of trash of all trash.

Unable to recognize their value, Kwon Seok Joong looked down on the materials Jiho brought until Yiwon said they were the highest quality items. Hearing that, he stared at them greedily. 

However, there’s no way an average C-rank barrier-type hunter can appraise items. Kwon Seok Joong prattled on and changed the subject before eventually saying he’ll bring someone else and scurried out of the room. 

Jiho seriously thought about running away while Kwon Seok Joong was gone.

“Is this place really good?”

“Yes. There’s a reason Alchemy of the Night is the top production guild even with Kwon Seok Joong acting like that.”

There must’ve been quite a bit of victims, but they’ve maintained their #1 spot thanks to the overwhelming difference in skills between them and #2. Since Yiwon confirmed this, Jiho held back his dissatisfaction and stayed. Thinking all the while that next time, regardless of skill, he’ll go to a different guild.

After quite a long wait, the door quietly opened. The person who opened the door was a woman in a white gown, Kwon Yena. Kwon Yena’s face was pale, shuffling inside and bowing her head repeatedly. 

“I am sorry, something came up with the Vice-Guildmaster… so I have come alone.”

Great news. But Kwon Yena apologized as if she had committed a grave sin. Yiwon couldn’t keep watching, and he greeted her unusually kindly.

“It has been a while, Guildmaster Kwon Yena-nim.”

“Ah, ah. Yes. Hello, Guildmaster Joo Yiwon-nim….”

“It is nice to see you again after so long. This person here is today’s client, Shin Jiho. He is my spouse.”

“Are you crazy!?”

Jiho poked Yiwon on his side. Seeing this, Kwon Yena couldn’t hold in her laugh. When Jiho glanced at her, Kwon Yena seemed to have taken it the wrong way, as her face instantly paled.

He sees why Yiwon was uncharacteristically friendly. Had Yiwon acted with his usual temper towards Kwon Yena, who’s incredibly timid, she would’ve been even more difficult to talk to than Kwon Seok Joong.

In Kwon Yena’s system window, [Puppet Guildmaster] is right in her title.

In fact, Kwon Yena also has a debuff skill like Hur Su Hyuk, who feels inferior to his older brother.

Information

Something Like Me Can’t Do Anything (Lv. 1)
Rank	C
Description	If only this ability had awakened in Father instead of me. Father would’ve done so much better than me. This is too great of an ability for something as young, and foolish, and slow as myself. I weighed Father down when I was young, I never thought I’d still be doing this as an adult. I wish this ability was transferred to Father. As long as this skill exists, there is a limit to skill growth, and you cannot use certain skills.

This is much worse than Hur Su Hyuk, whose debuff was an F-rank. 

Although Hur Su Hyuk, who isn’t acknowledged by his family, is unfortunate, Kwon Yena is one step up. 

It looks like Kwon Seok Joong has been psychologically gaslighting Kwon Yena since she was young. Kwon Yena might’ve been looked down on by those in the guild while Kwon Seok Joong held the actual power.

Jiho feels a lot of pity for her when he thinks this. As someone who was also once looked down on by his guild, he can only empathize. 

Kwon Yena trembled like a prey full of fear in front of a predator and barely whispered.

“Uh, uh, um. I heard there is good material… so, so I came to, to see…. A, appraising I am fairly, accurate… not perfect, but I, I can, um, do it somewhat.”

“Yes, so I have heard. Then please.”

Even though Jiho spoke warmly, Kwon Yena trembled as she sat down. But as soon as she saw the materials on the table, her look changed.

A serious, yet passionate look. Kwon Yena looked ecstatic, like a master who’s acquired good materials to create a masterpiece.

“A, amazing. Where did you find this, this material… and so much of it? I, I would like to research this.”

“Hm, that… I don’t think can be found twice.”

“Ah. Ahh….”

Kwon Yena looked a little disappointed, but she soon cheered up.

“But this, this much is incredible. I would like to buy all of it….”

“No, I am not selling all of it… I would like to leave a couple for a commission.”

Yena bit her lips at Jiho’s words as though stuck.

“That, um, schedule….”

“How about the coral and pearl as the commission fee? I will add a few more on top of what I was planning to sell.”

Kwon Yena’s eyes sparkled. Although she’s constantly timid, it seems like she has a lot of passion when it comes to her work.

But in the end, she dispiritedly bowed her head.

“F, first I must consult with Vice-Guildmaster-nim….”

The person to accept the request and carry it out is Kwon Yena, but… Kwon Yena bowed her head as though she can’t make a decision on her own. Kwon Yena raised her terminal with much difficulty like a beast headed to slaughter when Joo Yiwon spoke.

“Guildmaster-nim.”

“Ye, yes?”

“Didn’t you say Vice-Guildmaster-nim had something come up? Why don’t you call Director Lee Hee Min instead? It looks like Vice-Guildmaster-nim went too hard last night.”

“Ah. Ah…. Yes, Lee Hee Min-ssi….”

Kwon Yena looked a bit brighter when she raised her terminal this time to call for Lee Hee Min.

Jiho’s heard of Lee Hee Min before. Besides Kwon Seok Joong, who is involved solely in management, Lee Hee Min is the second-in-command of Alchemy of the Night when it comes to skill and authority.

Lee Hee Min is a hunter who frequently works outside. He appears on TV shows, volunteers often, donates the potions he makes to people in need, and he is ranked among the top three hunters in terms of individual donation amounts. Thanks to that, Lee Hee Min is well-known for his likable image.

Unlike how long it took for Kwon Seok Joong to call Kwon Yena, Lee Hee Min appeared quickly.

“Hello.”

Contrary to his reputation as a hunter who serves the community, Lee Hee Min’s outer appearance is unsettling, like a gangster. His rough appearance makes it easy for anyone who doesn’t know much about Lee Hee Min to form a prejudice against him. On top of that, the piercings on his ear and everywhere else, as well as the tattoos on his neck and under his t-shirt were very impressionable.

Yet in contrast to his appearance, he must be quite warm, as Kwon Yena visibly relaxed when she saw Lee Hee Min. In fact, Kwon Yena moved behind Lee Hee Min as if to hide. Although Kwon Yena is of average height, Lee Hee Min completely covered her with his large frame.

“What is the matter, Guildmaster-nim?”

Lee Hee Min’s eyes were fixed on Yiwon as he spoke. That unkind look that Jiho’s seen from other people…. Jiho is curious about how many fights his childhood friend next to him has been picking, and, at the same time, he doesn’t want to know.

Kwon Yena pulled Lee Hee Min’s sleeve to resolve the misunderstanding.

“Th-There’s something that I, I want…. But the commission is the condition…. Um, accepting it that is.”

“Is this it?”

Lee Hee Min held up the pearl and coral. Since he has an appraisal skill, he soon realized the item’s worth. And he made a decision without any hesitation.

“You can accept this commission. It will not be a loss.”

“Ye-yesterday, Vice-Guildmaster-nim accepted a request.”

“…”

Lee Hee Min scowled and barely held back a sigh. He looks like he’s resisting the urge to grab Kwon Seok Joong by the neck and curse him.

Kwon Seok Joong is probably treated to alcohol in exchange for commissions…. Though not common practice, his slight glimpse of Kwon Seok Joong revealed that he is more than capable of doing just that.

“It probably is not that important of a job anyway, so we can push the deadline back. Let’s do that and accept this job.”

“H-However… Fath, Vice-Guildmaster-nim….”

“Don’t worry about that. Since you have come all this way, can I take it that we can use your name, Guildmaster Joo Yiwon-nim?”

“Of course. Tell him that I requested this due to an urgent matter. Say I need this item.”

Both Hee Min and Yena nodded in relief.

…Is this why he followed him here?

Jiho is also an S-rank, but he’s still inexperienced as a guildmaster. Any sane hunter wouldn’t look down on Jiho, but ill-tempered boomers like Kwon Seok Joong are different. However, even they can’t ignore Joo Yiwon’s name.

Few people can demand priority over Chungram’s Joo Yiwon. The people Kwon Seok Joong hangs around probably don’t have that courage nor ability either.

Though he feels slightly guilty for using a trick, Jiho decided to think positively. 

If Kwon Seok Joong is acting outside of the norm, why should Jiho stay still? He should make use of the cheat key that is Joo Yiwon.

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LaZ Bird Corner

What a… pleasant individual.

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