Chapter 14

Jeong-Hoon, who opened his eyes in the morning, quickly finished preparing and left his room. He then arrived at So-Hyun’s room on the top floor.

“So-Hyun, did you have a good night’s sleep?”

“Oh. Chairman Lee, good morning.”

Already woken up and blankly watching the TV screen, So-Hyun nodded and frowned when she saw Jeong-Hoon. The hunter disease is known to be unimaginably painful for ordinary people. Therefore, So-Hyun is receiving an enormous amount of painkillers. However, it is Jeong-Hoon who felt that So-Hyun’s current expression was different from that of pain.

“Did something happen? You don’t look so well.”

“Huh? Was it that obvious? I thought it would look as if I was sick.”

“Your expression seemed different from that of being sick.”

She had an expression of concern. Of course, people with only five days left to live can’t help but have worries. However, Jeong-Hoon intuitively felt from her expression that she was thinking of a different matter than her lifespan.

“Yeah, so about that. Chairman Lee, are there any lawyers you know well?

“Do you need a lawyer? Don’t tell me you were sued overnight.”

“That wouldn’t even happen. I didn’t step a foot out of my room.”

“Can I hear what the problem is?”

If she needed a lawyer, he was willing to call a truck-full of them. However, Jeong-Hoon expressed his curiosity because he was curious about why she needed a lawyer.

“It’s because the guild that my sister is part of said some nonsense.”

“Sorry? Wait, didn’t hunter Han Si-Eun return home yesterday?”

Just then, Si-Eun entered the room. Jeong-Hoon opened his eyes wide. To think that she didn’t return home and instead stayed with So-Hyun.

“I contacted the guild and our family that we won’t be back for a while.”

“Oh, is that really okay? Aren’t you busy because you’re an S-class hunter?”

“No, I’m not that busy. Our guild is pretty small, and…”

“Is there something else?”

“If it’s not time like this, when would you ever stay in one of Lumen’s luxurious rooms?”

Jeong-Hoon nodded and smirked at the fact that she had her own purpose of fulfilling her self-interest. It may seem like that was her true intention, but it’s not really the true intention. Si-Eun had just made an excuse to stay with So-Hyun as long as possible. She wasn’t good at lying to the point where he couldn’t notice her true feelings.

“Ah. You said that the daily stay here is definitely more expensive than Si-Eun’s monthly income, right?”

“Money is money, but the conditions are quite tight.”

“Sigh… Well, that just makes my worries seem pathetic. I’m trying to stay in a room that’s more expensive than the monthly income of an S-class hunter and scrape off for a small sum of money.”

At So-Hyun’s sudden sigh, Jeong-Hoon realized that the reason behind why she needed a lawyer was because of money.

“If it’s a money problem, I can solve it for you.”

“Huh? It’s not a matter of needing money, it’s a matter of my severance pay.”

Feeling that there was something strange behind the word ‘severance pay,’ Jeong-Hoon frowned.

Perhaps the guild she belonged to was a black company- no, a black guild.

***

It’s not a rare case that a guild abuses its power against its hunter. Unfortunately, the object of its power abuse applies beyond the hunter to the hunter’s family, but to be more exact, to the family of the hunter who died. Jeong-Hoon was also a victim of a guild’s power abuse. Therefore, he had a serious expression when he heard this case from So-Hyun.

“Just what kind of brain must a bastard have for him to tell her to donate it all instead since she can’t use it anyway?”

Jeong-Hoon, who was clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white, slowly emitted an aura of murderous intent. Watching this, Butler Joo thought it was fortunate that Jeong-Hoon had returned to his room for investigation. The aura that Jeong-Hoon was emitting right now was something that non-awakened people can never do.

Judging by the aura alone, it can be determined that he had the strength of an A-class hunter. This was the aura emitted by a person who had only been to the dungeon once. Although the orc lord was the opponent at that time, the aura was abnormally strong. It was fortunate that he did not emit it in front of So-Hyun, a patient, even if she was D-class.

“Human beings become ugly when it comes to money.”

“…”

Jeong-Hoon nodded at the words of Butler Joo, who had said it to calm him down.

“So, which guild did you say it was that So-Hyun belongs to?”

“It’s a small guild of 28 members called Odyssey.”

“It’s a guild that I’ve never heard of.”

One could easily tell that Jeong-Hoon was ignoring Odyssey in that sentence. However, Jeong-Hoon wasn’t simply ignoring it. Jeong-Hoon is a hunter otaku. Meaning, he memorized the names of quite a few guilds and hunters, including the top 10 guilds. If such Jeong-Hoon claimed that he had never heard of a certain guild, it meant that the guild was literally nothing.

“He’s just telling her to donate but in reality, he’s trying to eat away her severance pay, isn’t that right?”

So-Hyun retired from the guild due to Hunter’s disease. Her guild contacted her to donate the severance pay to the guild. They even went as far as to say why she was trying to receive it when she couldn’t even use it since she only had a week left to live.

“So, is the investigation over?”

Since he had asked to investigate this case while on his way to his room, Jeong-Hoon snapped his fingers and called the most competent lawyer in Lumen. A thin man in his early 40s appeared, his bangs neatly parted in 2:8 ratio.

“Did you call for me, Lord?”

“How did the investigation that I asked for go, Lawyer Ko?”

“I have finished everything.”

Lawyer Ko, or Lawyer Ko Yu-Yeon. He is one of the 12 vassals leading Lumen’s legal team. As he handed over a document with a slight smile, Jeong-Hoon let out a long sigh after briefly looking through it.

“I see a human being who shouldn’t be left alive.”

When looking at the name and career of Odyssey’s guild master, Jeong-Hoon let out a long sigh.

[Kim Kyung-Hwan. B-Class Hunter. Former Ilias Guild Master]

Ilias is a guild that was disbanded after the annihilation of guild members. At that time, the guild master stole even the compensation to be paid to the bereaved families of hunters and completely disappeared. But to think that he would shamelessly create another guild. Jeong-Hoon’s hands trembled as he remembered his late parents.

“Is this true?”

“There’s no flaw in Lumen’s information collection- no, my information abilities.”

A person who dismantled the guild and disappeared. Jeong-Hoon shook his head at the fact that a person who can be called a criminal was proudly leading a guild. Seeing him shake his head, Ko Yu-Yeon looked uncomfortable, perhaps thinking that Jeong-Hoon’s behavior was out of distrust of the information.

“Lord? I’m an undefeated lawyer, but I’m also a vassal with the best information collection ability from an SS-class family. That information is for sure.”

At the words of the proud Lawyer Ko, Jeong-Hoon’s murderous aura shot up. And as the direction of the aura headed toward Lawyer Ko, Butler Joo quickly intervened between the two. Jeong-Hoon’s aura can’t harm Lawyer Ko, who was an SS-class awakener. It was all just to soothe Jeong-Hoon’s anger.

“Lord, I think you only have to make a decision based on the information Butler Ko Yu-Yeon has brought you.”

“Ha? I mean, yes? What do you mean by decision?”

Jeong-Hoon, who lost his words in anger, hurriedly returned to his original tone. Come to think of it, this wasn’t something to be mad at Ko Yu-Yeon. He was just annoyed at him.

“The level of punishment to give to Odyssey.”

“Oh, that’s right. Lawyer Ko, to what extent can we punish the guild based on this information?”

“If I come forward in this case, I can turn even white into black. Death penalty is also possible.”

At Ko Yu-Yeon’s confident declaration, Jeong-Hoon nodded and beckoned him to leave. His anger has subsided now, but he was not confident that he would not be angry again at the lawyer’s confident and tactless attitude.

“Then I’ll go and meet with Hunter Lee So-Hyun’s side. Didn’t they say they needed a lawyer?”

Jeong-Hoon, nodding at those words, snapped his finger shortly after Ko Yu-Yeon left. Then Woo Do-il, the director of Myeongil Hospital, appeared in front of him.

“What do you need me for, Lord?”

“Doctor, this is an absurd request, but will it be possible?”

“What is your order?”

Jeong-Hoon’s careful words made Woo Do-Il’s eyes flash. Putting aside his anger at the intense gaze, Jeong-Hoon turned his eyes and looked at Butler Joo.

“My Lord is the ruler of the family. No matter what your order is, it is our duty to fulfill any demands.”

“But I haven’t gotten my hands on Myeongil Hospital yet. I think the order that’ll mobilize Myeongil Hospital is a bit too much.”

“If that’s the case, it doesn’t matter. You’ve already passed the assignment.”

Knowing that there were deadlines for the assignments and it was just that he wasn’t told of the ones he passed, Jeong-Hoon nodded without any burden.

“Then, are there beds for about 17 people to be hospitalized at Myeongil?”

“We can do 170 people.”

“Oh, and! I need to crack down on Myeongil’s internal affairs. We can’t allow people who aren’t even family members to know the remaining lifespan of an ill patient.”

Odyssey knew even the remaining lifespan of So-Hyun after being kicked out of the guild. This meant that somewhere in Myeongil information leaked out. Jeong-Hoon smiled to emphasize that point, but no one took that as a smile.

***

Visiting So-Hyun’s room again with Butler Joo and Woo Do-il this time, Jeong-Hoon opened the room door.

“Hahaha, is that so? Oh, if I had more time to live I’d like to go out with you, Lawyer Ko.”

“Haha, it’s an honor. But aren’t you too young to date a man over 40?”

Jeong-Hoon thought that she would be swept with anger and detest over Odyssey’s power trip. However, the scene right now was completely different from what he imagined. Jeong-Hoon’s hand, which was holding the doorknob of the room in a friendly atmosphere, slipped.

“Hmm, Butler Joo, what did I just see?”

“The scene you saw was Lawyer Ko Yu-Yeon’s unexpected amiability.”

“Is it Lawyer Ko’s amiability or So-Hyun’s amiability?”

When Jeong-Hoon murmured while staring blankly at the closed door, Woo Do-il’s murmur was heard from behind, confirming, “It’s definitely So-Hyun’s amiability.” He wanted to ask in detail the strange sense of dislike he seemed to have towards Lawyer Ko, but the door opened from inside the room.

“Mr. Chairman, why aren’t you coming in?”

“… Oh, my hand slipped.”

When Si-Eun, who had seen the door open slightly earlier, came out and asked, Jeong-Hoon answered in moderation and came inside the room.

“Oh! Chairman Lee! Lawyer Ko is so talented”

“He’s the best lawyer in Lumen after all.”

Jeong-Hoon confidently replied to So-Hyun’s smile, tapping Lawyer Ko’s shoulder lightly. Ko Yu-Yeon smiled proudly as if he was satisfied with the answer, but Jeong-Hoon could hear Woo Do-il clicking his tongue from the back.

“By the way, do you have any plans today? You’re different from usual.”

Recognizing at once that Jeong-Hoon’s outfit was different from usual, So-Hyun asked. Jeong-Hoon nodded in response. Jeong-Hoon usually wore a dark monochromatic suit. Some of them were recommended by Butler Joo, but they are dark suits, so no matter how luxurious they are, they are not noticeable. That was not the suit he was wearing now.

It’s true the suit he had on currently was still of dark color, but it gave off some color and presence due to its blue, red, and gold lines. On top of that, he even wore glasses – even though it was for fashion – so his impression was definitely different.

“Oh, this? Would you like to go together?”

“Where?”

“Odyssey guild. Let’s go smash them to pieces.”

He can pressure the Hunter’s Association to vent all the crimes of Odyssey and make Kim Kyung-Hwan unable to come back to this world. However, that method would take a long time, so Jeong-Hoon decided on a different plan.

To physically smash Odyssey.

And this was why Jeong-Hoon had on an exceptionally cold smile.