Based on the mood, I had an idea of what was going on.

‘Smart.’

I wasn’t the only one that was taking advantage of the situation. The Black Swan Guild also needed someone who was able to keep up with the situation and I was sure that they tried to find someone among them that could resolve this situation. It was a bit surprising that the person they chose was Lee Ji-Hye, but I somewhat understood why. She was well-versed in politics and from all the people that I met so far, she was the quickest to catch on to things. Lee Ji-Hye was 100 times better than Jung Yoo-Ra who didn’t know her place.

There was a good chance that her greeting me like this was part of her calculations.

‘So you want to show it off, huh?’

She must have greeted me to show the members of the Black Swan Guild that we were close. It wouldn’t matter if I pretended not to know her, but if I played along, then we would certainly get something in return. Lee Ji-Hye was a woman that knew exactly what making a deal meant.

“Are you really Ji-Hye?” I asked.

“Yes. I didn’t think I’d meet you here. Hehe,” she said.

“It’s been a while. Have you been doing well?” I asked.

“Yes, of course. I thought it would be hard for us to see each other again, so I’m glad we met like this,” she said.

“It’s good to see you again. Really,” I told her.

Seeing her nod and smile made me think that my assumption was correct. The middle-aged woman from the Black Swan Guild looked happy, and as expected, the gramps from our guild looked really pleased as well.

“Hahaha. What a small world.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

‘Why are you laughing? You crazy old man.’

I didn’t like the fact that the old gramps were sitting here from the start. I became flustered and was at a loss for words because they looked submissive and even tried to read the room. Even if the Black Swan Guild was a large guild that represented Lindel, there was no reason for the Blue Guild to bow in this current situation. The Blue Guild and the Red Mercenary Guild also had a close relationship and the situation itself gave us an advantage.

Simply ruining Jung Yoo-Ra wasn’t the only thing we could gain from it. In the process of resolving this complicated diplomatic case, the Blue Guild had more to gain as a guild than me, but they must have not realized that. I thought that maybe they were personally acquainted with each other and it became obvious that they were close just by looking at them.

“I’m really sorry for not visiting earlier. We also had a few issues we needed to handle ourselves,” the woman said.

“It’s fine. You coming here yourself is more than enough,” the old man replied.

‘More than enough? Bullshit. You crazy old man.’

The way they were putting on a show was a sight to see. Those two were apologizing to each other while the people that were directly involved in the case stayed quiet. The woman tried to greet me when she saw me standing quietly, but there wasn’t anything about this situation that I liked. Honestly, it was to the point that I felt like they were being rude.

When I quietly looked at the middle-aged woman, I guess that she must have realized something because I saw her introducing herself. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Choi Eun-Hee from the Black Swan Guild.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Ki-Young.”

But it seemed like the crazy gramps weren’t planning on helping me out. I noticed them immediately stopping me from saying anymore and started talking to the woman again.

“How about some tea, Miss Choi Eun-Hee?” one of the old men asked.

“Sounds good, Mr. Seol-Ho,” she answered.

The old man glanced over at me and then continued his conversation with Choi Eun-Hee. When I saw him trying to ruin my entire scheme, I was furious.

‘Should I break this up?’

It was a situation where the trash members of the guild were being a lot more annoying than the enemy. I knew that they were going to do something annoying someday, but I never imagined that they would ruin my plan like this.

It happened when I was thinking about whether it would be a good idea to say something.

“I think it’ll be best if you two drank the tea since we still have issues that need to be taken care of.” Lee Ji-Hye quietly told them.

“Oh.”

Lee Seol-Ho looked a bit flustered and the way Choi Eun-Hee was looking at Lee Ji-Hye was the same as Lee Seol-Ho. But when I saw Choi Eun-Hee nod with a bitter expression made me realize that Lee Ji-Hye had a lot of authority in this situation.

‘So that’s how it is.’

It wasn’t sure what she told the senior officers of the Black Swan Guild, but it seemed like they had a lot of faith in her, which wasn’t a bad thing for me.

“Then, shall we do that, Mr. Seol-Ho?” Choi Eun-Hee asked.

“Excuse me?” he asked.

“There’s something we need to discuss as well. I think it’ll be best to let the kids take care of the current situation. I’ll first show you the gift that I brought over with me,” she answered.

“Hahaha, thank you very much, Miss Choi Eun-Hee,” Lee Seol-Ho was grateful.

‘Crazy bastard.’

Choi Eun-Hee seemed a bit better than our Lee Seol-Ho since she seemed like she was at least trying to read the room.

After glancing at me, Choi Eun-Hee stood up and spoke to Lee Ji-Hye. “I’ll leave it up to you, child.”

“Okay, unnie,” Lee Ji-Hye replied.

No matter how you looked at it, she didn’t look like an unnie. Lee Ji-Hye probably said that to make her feel good.

Soon after, I saw Lee Seol-Ho, Choi Eun-Hee, and the other senior members leaving the living room. After the door closed, the only people that were left in the room were me, Lee Ji-Hye, and Jung Yoo-Ra. Lee Ji-Hye wore a bright smile, but Jung Yoo-Ra didn’t look so good. She must have been through a lot of stress considering how she looked. 

Jung Yoo-Ra was the main culprit behind all this and I was sure that she never thought it would get this big. Many adventurers were boycotting the Black Swan Guild and to make things worse, it became difficult for them to join a normal party. She was basically the most hated person in Lindel right now and it was only natural for her to lose her position as well. Right now, she might be in a situation where she should be thankful for the fact that she was still a member of the guild.

‘I don’t understand why she acted all high and mighty.’

It was natural for them to see me smiling since we were the only ones here and Lee Ji-Hye preferred this kind of atmosphere more than an awkward one anyway. As expected, she leaned against the back of the sofa and spoke. “Isn’t it annoying?”

“What is?”

“That old geezer. He’s obviously useless… if I were you, I would have ripped his head off,” she answered.

“Well, you’re not wrong but… we have our reasons as well. Plus, I never imagined you would be here,” I told her.

“It just somehow happened that way. I did originally get an offer from the Black Swan Guild, but I was in a situation where I was getting further from the fast track, but who knew the world would change like this? Our guild needed someone that could fix the situation. I’m a bit embarrassed to say this about myself, but I think I’m pretty quick-witted. I think the higher-ups thought that I was the perfect person to handle the situation,” she explained.

“I had a feeling,” I said.

“It’s all thanks to you, oppa. As I mentioned before, a woman needs to meet a competent man,” she said.

“I appreciate that,” I replied.

“They’re not empty words. They treated me very well because of the fact that I’m close to Lee Ki-Young and I also knew that you planned this situation out,” Lee Ji-Hye said.

I couldn’t understand the key point of what she was saying, but I wasn’t dumb enough to openly say that I was the one behind this. I spoke as the corner of my lips slightly went up. “Well, I’m not sure what you mean.”

Next to me, Jung Yoo-Ra looked really flustered because it seemed like she found this situation ridiculous since we were talking while completely ignoring her.

I also couldn’t help but be a bit surprised of this situation. I did think that Lee Ji-Hye had settled down somewhere, but I didn’t think that she would completely exclude Jung Yoo-Ra since she was an individual that the Black Swan Guild once supported. Actually, Jung Yoo-Ra seemed to be walking on thin ice around Lee Ji-Hye.

‘Wow.’

I couldn’t help but acknowledge the fact that Lee Ji-Hye was a capable woman, no, it was more than that. Even if she told the guild that she had a connection with me, the way she took advantage of the situation was great.

“I already told them how you were going to act because honestly, it doesn’t really matter what the truth is… what’s important right now is how we’re going to fix the issue. Hm… before we start talking about it… shall we play?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.

Of course, but…

“I’m not interested,” I answered.

I wasn’t going to accept it.

“Oh my, how cold. I thought it would be good to reminisce about the past for a moment…” she muttered.

“Stop talking nonsense and make an offer, noona. We both know what we’re thinking, so let’s not change the subject,” I suggested.

“You’re really cold. If you’re worried about that woman next to you, you don’t have to worry, oppa,” she said.

“It’s not because of her,” I answered.

“I think I know the reason… well, before we start talking about it, I believe an apology is in order. Oh! It’s your turn now, Miss Yoo-Ra,” she said.

I saw Lee Ji-Hye lightly patting Jung Yoo-Ra’s shoulder and to be honest, it was a sight I never imagined I would see. It was to the point that I regretted just a little bit of the fact that I didn’t bring Lee Ji-Hye to our side. She was a lot more capable than I thought.

When Lee Ji-Hye called for her, Jung Yoo-Ra started glancing at me. She obviously didn’t want to apologize to me because she thought that she didn’t do anything wrong. In addition, Lee Ji-Hye’s attitude and mine must have convinced her not to apologize even more. She struggled to say each word. I couldn’t help but laugh after seeing her act like a typical loser. This may not be the direction I wanted to take, but it wasn’t that bad.

“...I’m sorry,” Jung Yoo-Ra said.

“Oh my, Miss Yoo-Ra. You should apologize more genuinely. It’ll only disappoint my oppa,” Lee Ji-Hye told her.

“I’m… I’m… sorry,” she stuttered.

“...”

But as always, she didn’t seem genuine and that was when Lee Ji-Hye grabbed Jung Yoo-Ra’s hair.

‘Gasp.’

When I heard a slap, Jung Yoo-Ra’s head turned as well. I wasn’t really sure what was going on.

I kind of expected this after seeing Jung Yoo-Ra walk on thin ice around Lee Ji-Hye, but I didn’t think that she would fall this much.

“Miss Yoo-Ra, do you think I was joking?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.

I guess she wasn’t satisfied because Lee Ji-Hye slapped her once more and Jung Yoo-Ra’s head turned once again.

“Please apologize properly.”

Honestly, it was a funny situation. Just by looking at Lee Ji-Hye’s attitude, it was obvious just how badly Jung Yoo-Ra had fallen and honestly, Lee Ji-Hye’s actions right now were a bit more exciting than seeing how far Jung Yoo-Ra fell. I was sure that there were a lot of calculations involved for her to be able to act this way. But this was a type of confirmation on her authority over her and I noticed that Lee Ji-Hye was trying to butter me up. For someone without combat capabilities, it was amazing that she was able to act like that.

Jung Yoo-Ra could easily kill Lee Ji-Hye. But from Jung Yoo-Ra’s attitude, it was obvious that she couldn’t possibly kill Lee Ji-Hye. As such, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Lee Ji-Hye’s position within the Black Swan Guild was far greater than my position within the Blue Guild.

“Please apologize properly by getting down on your knees,” Lee Ji-Hye advised.

“...”

I heard another loud noise as Jung Yoo-Ra’s head turned again. Of course, I didn’t feel sorry for her at all. Actually, it was a bit satisfying. I wasn’t a pervert, but seeing the person who annoyed me suffer made me feel good.

Tears were rolling down from Jung Yoo-Ra’s eyes and she seemed like she was trying to hold them back.

‘Nice, my Ji-Hye is doing well.’

The way she grabbed Jung Yoo-Ra’s hair and forced her to stand up was a sight to see. I even wanted to applaud.

“I told you to apologize properly, Miss Yoo-Ra,” Lee Ji-Hye said.

No matter what Jung Yoo-Ra chose, she was going to be humiliated either way, so in the end, Jung Yoo-Ra started to get down on her knees.

“That’s right. It looks like you can finally understand,” Lee Ji-Hye praised.

“I’m…”

I saw her lying flat on the ground as if she was prostrating. “I’m sorry. Sob… I’m really sorry. I’m sorry… for… acting out of line,” Jung Yoo-Ra apologized amidst her stuttering sobs.

I felt a strange catharsis. This woman could kill me with one shot, but seeing her lying pitifully on the ground was oddly pleasing. When Jung Yoo-Ra slightly got up, Lee Ji-Hye glanced at me and immediately spoke up. 

“Now that I think about it, I feel like there’s something you want…”

“Your shoes do look a bit dirty…”

I noticed a smirk on Lee Ji-Hye’s face.

‘How unfortunate.’

This was the only thought I had.