The interview ended really well and what was surprising was that there were more people like Kim Mi-Young than I thought. Of course, I had no reason to avoid them. It was because I thought that desperate slaves would do a better job than those that weren’t desperate. I did give strange questions to some people because I had no intention of hiring them from the start and they seemed dejected. They were questions that I couldn’t even come up with an answer for, so it was understandable for them to react that way.

‘All the members of the Blue Guild are drowning. Who would you save first and why?’

‘All the guilds in Lindel commissioned you to clean the guild. How much should you charge and consider an appropriate amount?’

‘You and your comrades are exploring a dungeon. If one of them had to die during the expedition, would you participate in the dungeon control or not?’

‘How would you explain alchemy to your five-year-old child?’

It was those types of questions. They were ridiculous questions with the goal of creating an innovative image and it didn’t really matter since those questions were for the people that I was going to eliminate, but there were people that had changed my mind because they gave decent answers. Of course. I simply referenced the interview questions that famous companies on Earth gave, but it was pretty effective.

‘As expected from the Blue Guild!’

This was the kind of reaction we got. There were public opinions that criticized us about how we were imitating an innovative company when we were a guild that was falling apart, but we had created a dream job that everyone wanted, so it helped in covering up those criticisms. The process after the interview was crucial as well.

“Please set up a separate interview for the people that got eliminated,” I requested.

“What kind of interview?” Park Joong-Ki asked.

“I’m sure they’re curious about why they got eliminated. You just need to skim through the resume and give a generic answer. Oh, and make sure to include something like thank you for your support or whatever. I’m sure that’ll really comfort them,” I explained.

“Okay, I understand,” he said.

“Great.”

A beautiful guild that even took care of the candidates that were eliminated. It was a different move from the other guilds that made people go back home without knowing the reason why they got eliminated and of course, I didn’t forget to use my best friend, the press.

[How is the Blue Guild different?]

This was the title of the interview style article that was published and the public’s reaction was so great that I couldn’t help but be flustered. The followers of innovation and the innovation parrots had started to spread their wings and naturally, this was being done in order to create an image that would leave a positive impression on the combatant jobs interview that was going to be held after the non-combatant jobs interview. At this point, the maybe traitors that had abandoned the Blue Guild after the incident started to contact us again. Of course, we refused their request to rejoin the guild.

‘We don’t need migrants.’

Rather than working with people who liked to jump to different places, it was better to hire a few more lovely workers.

It seemed like the new slaves liked the Blue Guild and even though they were quite busy, they enjoyed the facilities within the guild and were working hard because of these. They knew that they would receive a reward if they showed results and this simple mindset was like adding fuel to the flame for Kim Mi-Young and the other workers. After adapting to their jobs, they started working to the point that the existing staff members even felt threatened by them and that created a strange competitive tension within the guild.

Everything was going smoothly and despite that…

‘I feel like I’m going to die.’

The fact that I was very busy was undeniable. My daily routine was simple. I didn’t know the reason, but Jung Ha-Yan was still in bed and by giving the excuse that I was going to visit her, I would sleep in her hospital room. If I didn’t do that, at the least, then my body would have probably collapsed by now and it was to the point that I even fell asleep while lying down next to her. I couldn’t help but comfort myself by thinking that Jung Ha-Yan would like this if she was awake, but on the other hand, I was sure that I would be embarrassed once she woke up and saw me like this.

After the short break, I would visit the workshop and start researching the fantasy potion that was going to be released as a product. The new alchemy planning department was working hard, but to be honest, they didn’t have that much work to do. In contrast, I still had a lot of work to do. Moreover, those that were still in their second jobs weren’t competent enough to be called researchers.

After that, I would have a meeting, organize the guild, and give detailed work instructions. I would give Hwang Jung-Yeon a little more work and then spend some time resenting Kim Hyun-Sung.

Next, I would plan flexible promotional strategies, make plans for the future, take turns working in the imperial legal affairs, and do some personnel management planning for the combatant members. Right now, it was better for me to take care of the tasks that the interns couldn’t do.

Of course, I also had to spend time organizing the things that needed authorization from the hateful Kim Hyun-Sung.

“Kim Hyun-Sung… that bastard…”

When I unknowingly mumbled my thoughts, I heard a voice beside me.

“Sorry?”

“It’s nothing, Miss Mi-Young. I heard you’ve been doing well recently,” I said.

“Thank you, sub guild master,” she replied.

“How are your children doing?” I asked.

“Th-They’re having a good time thanks to you. I-I don’t know what to say… thank you very much,” she said.

‘I’m more thankful…’

The fact that I was able to hire such a competent worker in exchange for taking care of her children was a very beautiful thing and out of all the people that I hired so far, Kim Mi-Young was the best worker. During the interview, I said this without thinking much about it, but after a year, I was confident that Kim Mi-Young would really become a team leader.

“I should be the one thanking you for joining our guild,” I told her.

“Thank you and here’s the…”

“Oh, thank you for your hard work. You can go home now,” I said.

“But the revision…”

“I actually have to visit the guild master right now to get authorization and you also need to spend time with your children from time to time,” I said.

“Oh, thank you,” she said.

When I patted her shoulder, I noticed her blushing.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I told her.

“Okay, sub guild master,” Kim Mi-Young said.

After she left, I organized the documents and stood up. The tasks that I thought I couldn’t take care of needed the authorization of the most powerful person in the guild. Basically, getting authorization for things that had high risk was the right thing to do. It happened while I was slowly heading to the office while having various thoughts.

“Huh?”

I saw the guild members of the Red Mercenary Guild. They were the ones that Cha Hee-Ra had ordered to stay beside me in case someone else tried to assassinate me. Before I could think about why they were here, though, one of them started talking.

“It has been a while.”

“Yes, it has been a while. What brings you here?” I asked.

“The master is here,” they answered.

“Hee-Ra noona?”

“Yes. She’s currently talking with Kim Hyun-Sung, the guild master of the Blue Guild,” they said.

Just then, the office door started opening and it happened so fast that it felt like she knew I was here. Inside the office, I saw Cha Hee-Ra, whom I haven’t seen in a while, and for some reason, I couldn’t get used to her smiling face.

“You’re here, honey,” Cha Hee-Ra said.

“Noona?” I asked.

“Good thing you’re here. We were actually talking about you…” she said.

“Please come in, Mr. Ki-Young,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“Okay.”

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but naturally, I felt anxious. Usually, Cha Hee-Ra wouldn’t talk alone with Kim Hyun-Sung because negotiations with the Blue Guild were often done through me. Of course, having a meeting with Kim Hyun-Sung wasn’t strange at all since he was the guild master now, but seeing his uneasy expression made me really nervous.

‘Did something happen?’

I had seen many faces on our hateful regressor’s face, but I had never seen that kind of expression from him. It was like he had lost everything and the strange part was that Cha Hee-Ra looked fine, no, she looked really happy.

“Did something happen?” I asked.

Since I didn’t know what was going on, it was natural for me to feel anxious. While I was reading their expressions, Kim Hyun-Sung said, “Nothing happened, however, we were talking about the meeting.”

“Is it an important meeting?” I asked.

“It is. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it, actually, it would probably be best to explain from the beginning. There isn’t a reason for us to know about this yet, but every year in the Holy Empire of Benigoa, they hold an event and invite all the guild masters of large guilds that are within the free cities. It’s basically a social event,” he said.

“I see.”

I had heard of it before and although I couldn’t remember the details, I remember hearing it from Cha Hee-Ra and naturally, it had nothing to do with us. Large guilds like the Red Mercenary Guild and the Black Swan Guild were the ones that would be invited and the Blue Guild was no different from the guilds that had just started on their journey as a guild. But after seeing Cha Hee-Ra’s expression, I had an idea as to what she was going to say and she spoke as if she was waiting for it. “Naturally, my guild and the Black Swan Guild have received an invitation from the Holy Empire.”

“Oh…”

“The Mercenary Queen has submitted an official request to take you to this meeting, Mr. Ki-Young,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“It’s more like a desperate favor than a request,” she said.

“Oh!”

‘Boombayah!’

It only took a moment for me to realize what happened and why Kim Hyun-Sung looked so depressed.

‘Shit! I love you, Hee-Ra noona!’

I didn’t need anything else. The important thing was that I finally got the chance to escape this hell called ‘work’ and it was to the point that I started to feel affectionate toward Cha Hee-Ra. Not only was it difficult for me to suppress my urge to kiss her luscious red hair, but I couldn’t even hide my smile.

“I… see…” I said.

I tried to stay calm, but it was difficult. Just imagining me going to the capital of the Holy Empire and leisurely enjoying the party with Cha Hee-Ra made me want to jump in joy. I desperately wanted to take a break.

‘Hee-Ra noona…’

“The situation in the guild may become difficult since Mr. Ki-Young is currently in charge of all the operations in the guild, but… I’m sure it’ll be helpful to him if he visits the capital and socializes with other people,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

Kim Hyun-Sung looked really miserable while talking. Even though I wasn’t overconfident in my abilities, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that it was because of me that the guild was currently operating smoothly. It was equivalent to exchanging a human named Lee Ki-Young for work and it was obvious how the guild was going to turn out without me here. The major tasks would fall on the guild master.

‘Justice prevails!’

Naturally, Kim Hyun-Sung wouldn’t want to send me away, but considering the fact that this was the chance for me to enter the high society, it wasn’t a bad exchange and that was the reason why he felt conflicted about this.

“The Mercenary Queen did say that she wouldn’t take you if you rejected her offer…”

“I’ll gladly go with her,” I said, cutting him off.

“Okay… I’m sure that’s the right choice,” he said.

This kind of request was something we should approve considering the fact that the Red Mercenary Guild had always been helping us. Of course, I wasn’t just doing this because I wanted to hand over all my work to Kim Hyun-Sung.

“Then has it been decided, Mr. Hyun-Sung?” Cha Hee-Ra asked.

“Yes. We should be the one thanking you for this opportunity since it’s not every day that we get this kind of opportunity, Miss Cha Hee-Ra,” he said.

“You look pretty depressed for someone who’s thankful.” She pointed out.

“It’s only natural since Mr. Ki-Young is in charge of many things in the guild… haha. I’m getting a headache on how I should handle the tasks in Mr. Ki-Young’s absence,” he said.

‘What do you mean? You just need to do the work for me...’

Justice would prevail no matter what and this was the moment that made me realize that fact.

‘Keep up the good work, husband.’

I was done being the wife that did all the work and I thought it was time for the wife to start enjoying life, even if it was only for a moment.[1]

* * *

“Hey, is noonim okay, Hee-Young noonim?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“Yes. I’m not exactly sure why she isn’t waking up, but there’s nothing wrong with her body,” she answered.

“...”

“It’s a relief to hear that she’s healthy, but I’m worried about the fact that she’s still in a coma… but seeing how she’s breathing, I guess she really is healthy.” He pointed out.

“You don’t have to worry because she’s really healthy,” Sun Hee-Young said.

“...”

“By the way, have you heard? Hyung-nim is going to the imperial capital or something like that,” he said.

“Yes. The guild is in a state of emergency because of that. He’s going to be away for a while, right?” she asked.

“I think so and I think he’s going with that Mercenary Queen. I hope that fox-like lady doesn’t hurt hyung-nim…”

“No!”

“Huh?”

“Miss Ha-Yan?”

“Pl-Please tell me the details!” Jung Ha-Yan shouted desperately.

1. The Korean used for ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ were 바깥양반 and 안사람 which is a very Korean expression. 바깥양반 is a husband who works outside, you wouldn’t call a house-husband a 바깥양반. 안사람 is directly translated to be ‘person inside’ referring to ‘wife’ since usually, wives stayed at home while husbands worked outside. ☜