The last time I saw that expression was when we were at the Cursed Shrine. I flinched without realizing it, but it wasn’t a big deal because I knew better than anyone that Jung Ha-Yan had changed compared to back then. She hadn’t killed anyone recently, and she had been trying her best to prevent herself from doing things I wouldn’t like, so of course, she had been really calm lately. I was almost certain that she wasn’t going to harm me.

Anyway, after seeing Han Sora, Jung Ha-Yan was definitely shocked to see her because she stared at her, and then I saw tears rolling down her cheeks. The surprise caused her to hiccup, which I found to be surprisingly cute.

“Hic… cup… hiccup.”

‘I’ll comfort her later.’

Jung Ha-Yan looked cute to the point that I started questioning if I really wasn’t sadistic. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking as she was crying, but Han Sora looked pretty happy because she was thinking that everything was going according to her plan. I knew that dumb woman’s script was pretty simple. I was sure her silly plan was to get me kicked out of the guild by using sexual assault as an excuse, and then she would enter the Blue Guild after re-negotiating her offer, but that wasn’t going to work.

‘Nice try, though…’

Han Sora had simply picked the wrong opponent. I knew where she had gotten the idea from because the owners of large corporations on Earth frequently suffered from sexual harassment. Unfortunately, this wasn’t Earth. I wasn’t the owner of a large corporation, and I wasn’t some celebrity who lived off other people’s attention.

“Hiccup… hiccup…”

Jung Ha-Yan looked frustrated, but I guess she must have remembered how I scolded her when she found me on the same bed as Kasugano Yuno because she was hesitating. She thought I was going to scold her again. In the end, she dropped her head and ran away.

‘I should compliment her for that.’

I guess the scolding I gave her during the Kasugano Yuno incident was effective.

Since Jung Ha-Yan showed that kind of reaction, the stupid woman in front of me naturally looked back at me.

“I told you that you were going to regret it, right? Who’s going to protect you now?” she asked.

“...”

“I’ll make sure you realize that you messed with the wrong person and just know that I didn’t want to go this far,” she added.

“Alright, just leave already,” I told her.

“I’m going to go after Miss Jung Ha-Yan,” she informed me.

“Do whatever you want,” I commented.

“I’m going to run to her and tell her that you sexually assaulted me, and then I’m going to tell the instructors of the Red Mercenary Guild,” she continued.

“You’ve been told that you’re not good at reading the room, right?” I asked.

“That’s something I wanted to ask you. Anyway, you can struggle all you want.”

“Okay, and since you’re visiting Ha-Yan, tell her she can do whatever she wants,” I requested.

“Still arrogant until the end…” Han Sora commented.

“I’m busy, so leave already,” I told her again.

Her acting wasn’t so bad because she immediately pretended she was crying after that sly smile. Compared to Ahn Ki-Mo, her acting skill wasn’t that great, but it still wasn’t bad.

‘I’ll give her 70 points…’

After slamming the door closed, I heard her running somewhere. I had a lot on my plate, so I was annoyed that she had wasted my precious time, but I didn’t think too deeply about it, as Han Sora had said she was going to visit Jung Ha-Yan.

‘Now that I think about it, the plan wasn’t that bad.’

If her opponent were an ordinary instructor of another guild instead of me, then I would have applauded her for her plan. It was a bit dirty how she had planned it around the time Jung Ha-Yan finished her class, but I guess she was only able to come up with this plan because she was going to pretend as a victim.

‘She was daring as well…’

If her opponent was an ordinary instructor of a mid-sized corporation…

“At least she wouldn’t be in the current situation…” I mumbled.

She probably wouldn’t have experienced the same humiliation she did just now.

‘You messed with the wrong person.’

Jung Ha-Yan was surprisingly fierce because she knew the difference in power very well. A lot had changed compared to the time she had killed the woman whose name I couldn’t even remember anymore. She knew her position within society very well, and she was well aware of other’s position in society as well as their powers. She also knew how important some people were to me. For example, she had already categorized Cha Hee-Ra, Kasugano Yuno, Lee Ji-Hye, and Dialugia as people important to me. Strong people, people that would be helpful to Oppa, useful people, and people she shouldn’t harm even though she disliked them. I couldn’t read Jung Ha-Yan’s mind, but after watching her for a long time, it was something I was able to figure out. However, that didn’t mean her nature had completely changed. Jung Ha-Yan would still get very jealous, and she would sometimes display a cold expression.

In Han Sora’s case, she was neither strong nor helpful to me. She wasn’t useful, and her place in society was extremely low. This was just my assumption, but I didn’t think Jung Ha-Yan was going to hold back even though she knew better than anyone that there hadn’t been any physical contact between us…

‘Based on her reaction, I think she forgot…’

It seemed like Jung Ha-Yan had forgotten about everything due to the shock of what she had seen.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

After recalling Jung Ha-Yan’s crying face, I thought about giving her a big reward if she took care of this issue properly.

“I wonder who I should recruit as a rearguard…”

***

‘My[1] plan worked out better than I thought…’

I had planned many things, but the timing of everything was better than I expected. The best part was when Miss Jung Ha-Yan saw us. Actually, the situation would have been better if that stupid alchemist had accepted my offer, but unfortunately, he rejected me. He looked so relaxed that I thought maybe he had something up his sleeve that I wasn’t aware of, but…

‘He’s done for.’

Everything ended perfectly. It was his mistake to think that he was the only one who had a trap card. I was sure that he would try to control the instructors to prevent the rumors from spreading, but I had planned many things, and to make it even more effective, I had to bring Miss Jung Ha-Yan to my side. I was happy when I saw her leave while crying. I was sure the majority of ordinary women would react the same way she did. The sight was obviously shocking to her because she saw the man she loved molesting and sexually assaulting another woman. I was going to visit the Red Mercenary Guild first, but after seeing Miss Jung Ha-Yan’s reaction, I thought going to her would be more effective. Since she was in a really confused state right now, it would be best to go find her and tell her the truth. After talking to her for a bit, she would naturally become Lee Ki-Young’s enemy.

‘It may take some time, but convincing a slow-witted person like her should be easy.’

Bringing her to my side before the Red Mercenary Guild started their investigation was the most important. I was the victim, not Mr Lee Ki-Young’s partner in an affair, and it was important to emphasize that.

While I was heading to the place where Jung Ha-Yan had gone, I saw a few people looking at me, and I was happy because they could be witnesses. I continued to hold back my smile, and when I knocked on the door of Jung Ha-Yan’s room, there was no answer.

“I-I’m coming in, Miss Jung Ha-Yan. Heuk…” I informed her.

“...”

When I opened the door after bursting into tears, I saw Miss Jung Ha-Yan covered in a blanket.

“I-I’m sorry. It was so sudden… I know it’s rude of me to do this, but you’re the only person I could ask for help. I-I didn’t want you to misunderstand…” I started.

“Hiccup… heuk…”

“I didn’t have any other intention. Miss Jung Ha-Yan… Mr. Lee Ki-Young j-just told me to come to his temporary office… I thought he was going to make a recruitment offer…” I continued.

“Hiccup…”

“It’s a misunderstanding. It’s not what you think,” I added.

“A misunderstanding?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.

“That’s right. I wasn’t in that situation because I’m in a relationship with Mr. Lee Ki-Young…” I replied.

“...”

“I-It’s difficult for me to say this, but… Mr. Lee Ki-Young… heuk…” I sniffled.

“...”

“He said he would put in a good word for me at the guild if I listen to him… I-I told him that I didn’t want to, but…” I paused.

“Hiccup… Oppa said that?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.

Yes…

“Yes and I told him we shouldn’t do this, but… he suddenly—”

“T-T-Touched you?” she asked, finishing my sentence.

“He did…” I answered.

“W-Where did he touch you?” she questioned.

“It’s a bit uncomfortable to say…” I told her.

“I-I’m asking you where he touched you!” she yelled.

I was a bit surprised when she suddenly yelled at me, but I couldn’t help but feel happy. Jung Ha-Yan was more worked up than I thought, and it seemed like she was becoming mentally unstable.

“He touched… my chest…” I started.

“Heu… heuuuuuuuuung… hiccup… waaaaah…”

‘It’s over.’

I was sure that stupid alchemist was proving his innocence to the Red Mercenary Guild right now, but once I brought this slow-witted woman over to my side, my plan would basically be considered half-successful.

“What did… hiccup… oppa say… when he touched you?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.

“Is it okay—”

“H-H-Hurry up and tell me!!” she yelled before I could finish.

“He said… I was charming, but of course, I kept telling him no…” I answered.

“Charming?” she repeated.

“Yes. I knew we shouldn’t do it… since he has you, but he said… I was attracting him… heuk… sexually. He even kissed me forcefully,” I added.

“...”

“He told me not to tell anyone as he lifted my skirt…” I continued.

“D-Down there, too? Hiccup…” she asked.

“Yes…” I replied.

“Heu… heuuuuk… hiccup… waaaaah…” she cried out.

‘She sure cries a lot.’

I knew that it had been a very shocking situation, but I had never imagined that she would cry like this while covering herself with a blanket. When she cried as if her world was crumbling down, I thought again about how maybe she did have a mental issue. The situation earlier had truly been mentally shocking for her. I thought about how it would make it easier for her to come over to my side, but it would make things complicated if we went to the point where I had to explain everything.

‘I need to give evidence… tsk. How annoying…’

“Heuuuuk… No… Noooo… hiccup,” Jung Ha-Yan blurted.

“I’m sure it’s really shocking for you, Miss Jung Ha-Yan,” I said.

“I-I’m going to kill…”

“You shouldn’t do that. It’s not right…” I commented.

“Hiccup… gaaah… waaah… I-I-I-I'm going to kill… I’m going to kill!” she screamed.

‘She really is a crazy bitch.’

“Wouldn’t it be better if we go to the Red Mercenary Group and explain the situation first? I-It’ll put you in a difficult situation if you do that… The situation will become worse, so let’s testify… Of course, I’m not saying that what Mr. Lee Ki-Young did was right, but you still shouldn’t kill…”

“I-I can kill. U-Useless. This time… right? Just this once. This will really be the last time…” she muttered.

“What?” I asked.

“I-I shouldn’t… no! Oppa will get mad. I might get in really big trouble. It’ll be serious this time. What if he tells me that I can’t approach him again?” she asked.

“What… What did you say… just now?” I asked her.

“But she’s nothing. She’s not helpful like that redhead and blind woman! Oppa didn’t tell me to be careful either! He basically hasn’t said anything yet. Wait! This is different! I-I might not get into big trouble this time!” she continued talking to herself.

“Ha-Yan…” I called out cautiously.

“Can I? J-Just this once. Yeah… she doesn’t have any potential… Oppa has misunderstood this time. He hasn’t even made a recruitment offer yet. Yeah! She’s useless!” Jung Ha-Yan yelled.

“Ma’am?” I called out to her once again.

“Okay! I-I-I’ll… kill her! No… I told you we shouldn’t kill. Oppa will find out if we do,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Huh?”

Click.

“As long as I don’t kill her… Okay! As long as I don’t kill her! Let’s do that!” she exclaimed.

I heard the door being locked.

“Hehehe…” Jung Ha-Yan giggled.

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I had no choice but to suddenly start moving. It was then that I saw a small dagger stabbed into my chest.

“Huh?”

I could feel warm blood flowing out of me, but I screamed—not because it was painful—but because I was afraid.

“Aaaaah!”

1. Han Sora’s POV ☜