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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: A Pathetic Apology
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“Good grief. I was worried you might be having dark thoughts, but look at that goofy grin. How annoying.”
Gong Haeyeon clicked her tongue, grabbing Seora's soft cheek and stretching it.
“Aack! That hurts!”
“Yoon Seora, are you really okay?”
Seora's eyes shot open from the pain, and Haeyeon's face was right in front of hers. Maybe it was because she was so beautiful, but it felt incredibly intense.
An E-rank intimidating an S-rank. Is she secretly hiding her real rank?
“Ahem. I'm fine. ...Thanks for worrying about me.”
Feeling needlessly embarrassed, Seora grumbled her reply. Haeyeon, who had been watching her quietly, nodded in understanding.
“Great, then hurry up and tell me. Why are you in such a good mood? I have to know!”
But her assault wasn't over.
As Haeyeon stretched both her cheeks like rice cakes, Seora finally let out a shriek.
* * *
“Ouch. Gong Haeyeon... she's a mage-class, so why is her grip so strong?”
Having barely escaped Haeyeon's clutches, Seora stood in a quiet corner of the hallway, rubbing her stinging cheek. If Section Chief Jeong Taeseok hadn't called for her just then, her cheek would have been stretched out like a warm rice cake. Seora sniffled.
“The idea that mages are physically weak is just a stereotype. You still don't know that?”
Jeong Taeseok, standing beside her, chuckled. Seora felt even more bitter.
I know that much, but I never thought an E-rank could stretch an S-rank's cheek like a rice cake...
“So, why did you call for me? Is something wrong?”
If it were about a dispatch mission, he would have said so right away, but Jeong Taeseok had called her out to an empty hallway. When she asked, puzzled, a look of unease briefly crossed his face.
“Well, the Association President said to prioritize your opinion.”
“About what?”
“That bastard, Park Jinyong, is here at the Association right now.”
Seora's eyes widened at the unexpected answer.
“Park Jinyong? But didn't Director Do beat him to a pulp? How can he already be moving?”
“It seems the Cheongrang Guild lent a hand.”
Seora scoffed at the reply.
“Ah, a healer. A-rank Hunters really are on another level. He throws an innocent person into a dungeon, and his guild still heals him. Wow, I'm so jealous.”
How can an F-rank even survive this injustice?
‘I really wish the Cheongrang Guild Master would prostrate himself in front of all the S-ranks.’
Seora ground her teeth inwardly.
“No, no. It seems they only healed his legs enough for him to walk. The Cheongrang Guild Master apparently ordered him to come and apologize to you first.”
This was another unexpected development.
“I thought we were all supposed to meet when Director Do returned. Has that been called off?”
“He said they couldn't just not apologize until then. He's supposed to kneel and apologize, and if you don't accept it, he's to stay here with his head to the floor until the day we all meet.”
“Oh, that's a surprisingly extreme measure...”
“You saw it too, Seora. What Director Do is really like.”
Director Do Junyeong, known as an A-rank Hunter but actually an S-rank.
It seemed that even the Cheongrang Guild Master found it difficult to handle the wrath of a fellow S-rank Hunter.
“The Cheongrang Guild Master seems furious, too. I don't think he expects you to accept that bastard's apology; it's more like he wants him to stay here with his head to the floor for a few days. Since he'll be under our watch anyway.”
Seora paused to think. Whether or not to accept an apology from someone like Park Jinyong wasn't even worth considering. However, she did want to see him prostrating himself in apology...
Would that bastard truly be repentant?
And would he show his true colors in front of S-ranks?
Absolutely not.
“I'll meet him, but just the two of us. If someone powerful is there with us, he'll just force an apology, and I don't want that. I want to hear what he really thinks.”
A look of worry crossed Jeong Taeseok's face. He looked like he was about to say, ‘Who knows what could happen if you meet him alone?’
Instead of answering, Seora opened her inventory and took out a brightly gleaming weapon.
“I'll be fine. I may be fragile, but my item isn't.”
“Is that...?”
Recognizing the S-rank Crimson Mace, Jeong Taeseok's eyes widened in shock. Seora tapped the mace against her palm and gave him a bright smile.
“The Association President gave it to me for self-defense. I'm curious. Which is stronger, this little guy or an A-rank Hunter?”
Seeing her bold declaration that she wouldn't just stand by if he acted recklessly again, Jeong Taeseok silently gave her a thumbs-up.
* * *
‘Wow. He's so incredibly predictable.’
Seora had deliberately called Park Jinyong to a conference room with no CCTV cameras. That way, she could see the bastard's true colors without any restraint.
And just as she'd expected, the moment Jeong Taeseok left, Park Jinyong confirmed there were no cameras and his expression completely changed. He looked at her as if he wanted to kill her on the spot.
‘Is he naive, or just an idiot? To fall for such an obvious trick.’
Seora clicked her tongue in disapproval.
“You said you had something to say. We're both busy people, so let's make this quick.”
“Something to say? Surely you don't think I'm actually going to kneel to someone like you?”
“Of course you are. Is that strange?”
As Seora tilted her head, Park Jinyong shot to his feet. The chair, unable to take the force, fell backward with a loud clatter.
His bulky muscles twitched menacingly, as if to threaten her.
But so what.
“What, are you trying to threaten me? Go on, give it a try. I'm curious to see what you'll do.”
Watching Park Jinyong, who looked ready to lunge at her any second, Seora blatantly stroked the mace she had placed on the table.
“I wonder what it feels like to use an S-rank weapon from the Association President.”
Though she'd already had more than a taste of its power, Seora feigned innocence, hugging the mace like a baby. Park Jinyong's face instantly turned pale.
“S-rank? That's... an S-rank weapon?”
“You're an A-rank Hunter and you can't even recognize an S-rank weapon? This thing is all over the internet, too... A raid leader of a major guild should be familiar with this kind of thing.”
She wasn't just mocking him; she was genuinely baffled.
A C-rank like Jeong Taeseok recognized it at a glance, but an A-rank Hunter didn't. Unbelievable. It was crystal clear what kind of person Park Jinyong was.
“Well then, take a good look. Since, in a way, it's all thanks to you that I got this, I'll let you have a peek.”
Even she had to admit, she was being obnoxious.
Her bright smile, her sarcastic and condescending words—everything about her was utterly infuriating.
【Administrator: (* ´ ∀｀)ｂ°】
Look at that. Even my Administrator is praising me. Feeling incredibly proud of herself, Seora shrugged her shoulders.
“Phew. Just looking at it makes my heart feel so full. Thanks to you, I even got my hands on an S-rank weapon. I'm so grateful, what am I to do?”
You don't have one of these in your inventory, do you?
He couldn't kill me, got his ass handed to him by Do Junyeong, earned the wrath of his Guild Master, and now the F-rank he'd completely ignored was boasting about the S-rank weapon she got thanks to him.
Park Jinyong's face turned beet red, looking like it was about to explode.
Ah, this is surprisingly satisfying.
“Try something else. In case you didn't know, even civil servants can claim self-defense. I've got nothing to fear now.”
“Gah!”
“Of course, if something like that happens again, you'll be the one who really dies.”
Seora, who had been playfully stroking the mace, looked up at Park Jinyong. Unlike her still-youthful face, the black eyes staring at him were frozen solid.
“So, are you not going to apologize?”
That was all it was.
Her eyes just weren't smiling.
But Park Jinyong couldn't understand why he felt such pressure.
She was just an F-rank, a nobody, a damn pest who had dared to humiliate him...
For a moment, Park Jinyong's body stiffened, surprising even himself.
“N-No! Fuck! Why should I!”
Suddenly realizing this, he flew into a rage and bellowed.
“This whole mess started because a nobody like you couldn't keep her mouth shut! What did I do wrong? It's not like I was the one who closed the gate! You're the one who should be kneeling, not me!”
As if disgusted by the fact he'd been intimidated even for a moment, his face twisted in a snarl as he pointed a finger at Seora.
Seora scoffed at his pathetic display.
“You did nothing wrong? It's my fault? You don't regret throwing someone into a dungeon at all.”
She had expected him not to apologize, but she hadn't thought he'd be so brazen about it. Talking any further would be a waste of time.
“Then I suppose our meeting ends here. We'll see each other again later, with the Cheongrang Guild Master.”
She waved her hand dismissively, issuing an order to leave. It was as if to confirm that she was the one in power here, and he was the subordinate.
His face flushed an even deeper red, but there was nothing he could do. If he so much as broke the table, word would get back to the Cheongrang Guild Master.
“The Association won't be able to protect you forever.”
In the end, all he had left were cheap threats.
When Park Jinyong's gaze momentarily flickered to the mace, Seora almost burst out laughing. It seemed he was thinking of finding her when no one was looking, knocking her out from behind, and stealing this precious weapon...
‘Go right ahead. That's the moment I've been waiting for.’
Seora openly twisted her lips into a sneer and lightly flicked her fingers at Park Jinyong.
“Goodbye.”
Insulted by her gesture, Park Jinyong ended up slamming the door so hard on his way out that the entire building seemed to shake.
“So barbaric. What on earth did the Cheongrang Guild Master see in a guy like that to make him a raid leader? I'm starting to doubt his judgment.”
【Administrator: (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))}
Just then, the Administrator's emoticon appeared before her. Seora couldn't help but smile at how excited it looked.
“Administrator, aren't you enjoying this a little too much?”
Seora looked down at her own fingers. These slender fingers could now be called weapons, even without holding one.
So, here's a question.
“When will that dense idiot, Park Jinyong, notice the cut on his face?”
At the last moment, she had lightly flung a bit of magical power at Park Jinyong.
She was curious to see how big the skill gap between them was.
And that fool hadn't noticed he'd been attacked, even as he was leaving. The difference between an S-rank and an A-rank was this vast.
‘With this much power, I can definitely get my revenge when Park Jinyong comes after me in secret.’
Plus, with the Administrator's blessing, the chances of getting caught were low.
Come at me again. Try to kill me.
When you do, I'll unleash all the fear and rage I had to swallow while I was trapped alone in that dungeon.
Seora clenched her fists.
* * *
After leaving the Association, Park Jinyong headed for the Cheongrang Guild headquarters.
The surveillance from the Association's civil servants was annoying, but he couldn't overpower them on his own, as they were acting on the Association President's orders.
Making such a fuss over messing with one useless piece of trash!
Park Jinyong glared fiercely at the civil servants. He had no intention of dragging them around, so he planned to just go back to his quarters and lie low.
However, he was met with an unexpected situation. Han Su-eon's secretary was waiting for him and immediately led him to the Guild Master's office.
Park Jinyong broke out in a cold sweat. The expressionless Han Su-eon sitting at his desk was far more terrifying than the civil servants monitoring him to prevent his escape.
“Did you apologize properly?”
Hearing the icy voice, Park Jinyong, who was standing with his hands clasped, flinched.
