Episode 195. The Girl’s Revenge (3)

“Then I’ll be going. Call me anytime when you’re ready.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Scarlet.”

Sasa-sak-

Scarlet disappeared, crawling along the ceiling with her usual movements.

At first, she was disgusting, like a spider, but the more I see her, the more I think she has a certain charm.

Through our conversation, I clearly understood Nam Daeun’s intentions.

Since she has a strong will for revenge, all I need to do is set the stage.

After Scarlet left, I looked through the reporter’s contact information I got from the networking party.

“No, no, no.”

Calling a reporter is good.

After the terrorist attack, I was hospitalized and focused on wooing the heroines, so the media coverage about me had become relatively quiet.

It wouldn’t be bad to stir up some interest soon.

But there’s something I need to do before that.

I sent messages to the heroines first.

Because they wouldn’t feel too good finding out I was being discharged soon through an interview.

– Me: Professor. I’m being discharged soon. You’ve kept the magic expo schedule open, right?

– Me: Alice. My treatment is almost finished now. I think it’s okay to prepare for the massage.

– Me: Surin noona. I’m being discharged soon! What have you been up to lately, noona?

– Me: I’m being discharged soon, want to hang out together, Lumi?

– Me: When I get discharged, should we hang out together, Lucy?

“… That’s a lot.”

Why are there so many women like this?

Considering I haven’t contacted Liliana, Nam Daeun, or Baek Ahyoung, this is way too many.

Of course, I can’t give them up, so I’ll have to take them all.

Anyway, now that I’ve contacted everyone, I left a message for the reporter too.

– Me: Hello. Ms. Hayoung. This is Lee Hoyeon. I was thinking about doing that interview you mentioned before.

The person I contacted is a reporter famous under the name Hayoung noona.

She’s someone I was grateful to because she wrote an article about me when I saved Baek Ahyoung from a dungeon.

I was already grateful, but she stood out because she approached me first at the party and said she was a fan.

I should repay her this time.

– Kim Hayoung: Yes. Of course. Hoyeon-ssi! Where should I go? I’ll run right over anytime!

– Me: Come to Ironblood Hospital and ask for Lee Hoyeon. I’ll let them know in advance.

– Kim Hayoung: I’ll get there as soon as possible. I’ll contact you before I arrive.

Preparation complete.

I waited for Reporter Hayoung to arrive, pondering how I could boost Park Min-gyu during the interview.

*

Ttiriring-

“Haa… Hmm?”

Alice, who was meditating, widened her eyes at the alarm ringing on her smartwatch.

It was because this wasn’t the usual alarm, but a sound set to ring whenever Lee Hoyeon sent a message.

Alice quickly checked her smartwatch.

– Lee Hoyeon: Alice. My treatment is almost finished now. I think it’s okay to prepare for the massage.

“… He’s being discharged.”

Hoo.

Exhaling the air that had filled her body, Alice evaporated her sweat with Clean magic.

If it were up to her, she’d want to rewatch Lee Hoyeon’s discharge-celebration sex tape again…

“Sebastian.”

“Yes. Young Lady.”

Sebastian stood nearby, ready to handle any potential accidents during meditation.

Alice put aside her disappointment and slowly opened her mouth.

“I found a mana masseuse.”

“… What? Didn’t you give up on mana massages?”

“I found a good person and decided to try again. I’ve already signed a contract.”

“If you had told me first, the Guild would have provided support.”

“There’s a reason. The masseuse is a man. A young man, at that.”

“…”

Sebastian closed his mouth.

Everyone in the Iris Guild wants Alice to overcome her congenital mana deficiency in any way possible.

Even if she received mana massages from a young man, Sebastian wouldn’t have minded as long as it could fix her condition.

However, the Guild Master’s thoughts might be different.

Because the nuance of the word ‘massage’ combined with a young man and woman creates a situation anyone would suspect.

“Will the Guild Master… permit it?”

“Do you think I’d sign a contract for nothing? I’m doing this because I saw the effects firsthand.”

“Of course, I don’t doubt your judgment, Young Lady.”

Alice had been a genius since childhood.

Having watched her grow up beside her, Sebastian naturally trusts Alice.

The Guild Master probably won’t doubt Alice either.

Instead, that male masseuse might be dangerous.

This is because the Guild Master loses the characteristic composure of the Emperor of the Night when it comes to matters involving Alice.

“First, I will report this. What kind of person is the masseuse?”

“… Hmm.”

Alice opened her mouth intending to say Lee Hoyeon’s name, but she felt a little nervous when she was actually about to say it.

Even she thought it was suspicious for Lee Hoyeon’s name to come up here.

“Young Lady?”

“It’s Lee Hoyeon. The newly hired masseuse.”

“…?”

Sebastian naturally expressed confusion at the familiar name.

This was because Lee Hoyeon was a student whose background he had personally investigated.

Furthermore, it was the Alice right in front of him who had ordered the investigation, and there was no record of Lee Hoyeon learning massage.

And now, suddenly, a masseuse?

“I know it might not seem trustworthy… but just trust me. I have my reasons. It’s absolutely not for any strange intentions.”

Kuk-kuk-

Alice’s conscience pricked her as she said it wasn’t for strange intentions.

‘This is treatment. Treatment. A necessary part of the treatment process.’

Alice continued the conversation with Sebastian, brainwashing herself.

“Understood. I will relay this to the Guild Master.”

Fortunately, Sebastian didn’t seem suspicious.

Even if Lee Hoyeon seemed suspicious, if Alice gave him her trust, he had to believe it.

That was Sebastian’s role.

“Yeah. Make sure to tell him not to get too excited and to calm down.”

“I will try my best.”

“… If he throws a fit like ‘I’m coming to Victoria Academy’ or ‘I must see Lee Hoyeon in person,’ tell him it’s over between us.”

“Understood.”

Sebastian sighed inwardly.

‘Sebastian. Shouldn’t you be the one to cut off any man getting close to Alice? Isn’t that why I sent you there?’

He could already hear the Guild Master’s nagging like auditory hallucinations.

If it were up to him, he wouldn’t want to report this.

If it were just dating a boy his age, Sebastian could turn a blind eye and let it slide, but since it was a critical matter of treating a congenital mana deficiency, he had to report it.

Sebastian waited with a gloomy expression for the Guild Master’s active hours.

*

The Buyer Guild’s Guild Master’s office.

As the Buyer Guild’s scale suddenly grew, the Guild Master’s workload increased.

Park Min-gyu, who had been examining documents before tossing them aside, slumped back into his chair.

“Haa. This isn’t the time for this.”

Work is going smoothly.

However, there was still no news about the Nam Daeun and Nam Dahee sisters.

‘How can there be nothing?’

If there isn’t even a simple eyewitness account, there’s a possibility they died somewhere.

Then the tower he had spent over ten years building would crumble.

As Park Min-gyu was frowning, someone burst into the Guild Master’s office.

“Guild Master! Look at this. It’s amazing!”

“Stop making such a fuss, you bastard. We need to fix our old habits now, you know? Be neat. Huh? Knock before entering. What if I had a woman with me?”

“Ah, sorry!”

The Guild executive, covered in tattoos all over his body, scratched his head sheepishly.

“Tsk. Get out quickly.”

“Yes, understood!”

The Guild executive presented a hologram monitor and then disappeared, closing the door behind him.

The Buyer Guild needed strength when it took on dirty jobs.

At the same time, they needed scoundrels who weren’t afraid to do dirty work.

Therefore, they only placed idiots who had desires yet were strong and easy to control in executive positions.

This is the result.

The scale had grown, but the Guild itself was a mess.

“Once we get a little bigger, I’ll have to replace all those guys.”

Right now, he didn’t have the capacity for that, being busy managing the rapidly growing Guild.

Park Min-gyu clicked his tongue, ‘Tsk,’ and examined the monitor the Guild member had brought.

On it, there was a man who looked like a parasite.

– Yes. This was an interview about student Lee Hoyeon. If you could mention just one hunter you respect, who would it be?

– Ah, there are so many hunters I respect. Professor Im Sol or Saintess Baek Ahyoung. I also respect Team Leader Min Yeji of the Ironblood Guild. But perhaps the person who catches my interest lately is someone who’s really heating up the scene.

– Someone heating up the scene? Indeed, who is the hunter that the genius mage student Lee Hoyeon respects?

– Hunter Park Min-gyu of the Buyer Guild. He’s the whistleblower from the Shinyoung Guild, isn’t he? Making such a decision must not be easy; I think it’s truly admirable.

“Hoho…?”

Park Min-gyu’s lips curled upwards.

He could feel how much his standing had risen.

Moreover, if it’s Lee Hoyeon, he had spoken with him before.

‘This could be an opportunity for recruitment.’

Knock knock knock.

Just then, a knock was heard.

“Come in.”

Only the Chief Secretary visits the Guild Master’s office so calmly.

“Guild Master. We’ve received eyewitness accounts regarding Nam Daeun and Nam Dahee.”

“What?!”

Park Min-gyu shot up from his seat and snatched the documents the Chief Secretary brought.

“The informant is anonymous… They saw Lee Hoyeon and Nam Daeun together…? Is this information reliable?”

Anonymous informants, with few exceptions, are usually problematic.

“Yes. Although anonymous, they are said to be well-known in that circle.”

“Hmm… one of the exceptions?”

Park Min-gyu pondered for a moment, then let out a vile smirk.

‘Even better. They’re entangled all at once.’

Since they only entrusted it to reliable informants, it wouldn’t be false information.

They aren’t the kind of amateurs who take information from just anyone.

Besides, the protagonist, Lee Hoyeon, was also showing favor towards him.

“Chief Secretary. Call the reporters and set up an interview.”

“Yes? For what?”

“It doesn’t matter what it’s about, just shut up and get them here if I tell you to!”

“Yes, yes. Understood!”

Startled by the outburst, the Chief Secretary scrambled out, and Park Min-gyu sat down, crossing his legs.

“If I can just persuade Lee Hoyeon… everything can be resolved.”

He thought bringing up the topic of women last time was a mistake, but the fact that Lee Hoyeon mentioned it in a public interview means he’s interested in women.

That’s probably why he has Nam Daeun with him.

It’s annoying that he took Nam Daeun, whom I invested so much in, but it doesn’t matter.

All I need to do is get him drunk, introduce women, whatever it takes, just get him to sign the contract.

After that, I can mold him like Nam Daeun.

“This is an opportunity. A heaven-sent chance…”

Park Min-gyu took out a fake contract, intricately manipulated with mana, from his drawer.

There are executives in the Buyer Guild who are actually bound by this contract.

Everything was turning in his favor.

“Whether it’s Nam Daeun or Nam Dahee… I just need to get them back. It’s fine.”

There’s a certain thrill in training a woman whose virginity was taken by another man.

Park Min-gyu began searching for a place to meet Lee Hoyeon while preparing for the interview.

*

Ironblood Hospital’s patient room.

“An interview the very next day, their movements are really fast.”

“At that level, they’re quite a reliable informant, so they won’t suspect anything.”

I was watching Park Min-gyu’s interview with Scarlet from the hospital room.

As soon as my interview was released, Scarlet spread the information.

The information that I had Nam Daeun with me.

– Lately, I’ve been looking at the internet, and student Lee Hoyeon is truly amazing. If I get the chance, I’d like to meet him.

Park Min-gyu on the screen continued the interview with an awkward expression.

Even the reporter’s questions were all directed in a way that favored Park Min-gyu.

“Is it okay to conduct an interview that obviously staged like that?”

“Surprisingly, people don’t suspect things like that. Plus, his image is good these days, which makes it even more so.”

Tiring-

I was watching the boring interview when my smartwatch rang.

– Park Min-gyu: Greetings. Student Lee Hoyeon. I wish to revisit the conversation we had last time.

The contact information I gave to the reporter had reached Park Min-gyu as well.

The conversation we had last time must be about recruitment.

– Me: Yes. Where should I go?

– Park Min-gyu: I will send you the address.

“Time to go, I guess.”

I left the hospital and headed towards the address Park Min-gyu sent.

As expected, it was an area densely packed with entertainment facilities.

This bastard is still the same even after becoming famous.

“Are you ready? Cameragirl?”

“Yes. Do not worry.”

Scarlet followed, hidden in my shadow, and an artifact for recording video was attached to her ear.

I need to blow the whistle on something minor first.

There’s a crazy bastard here who hired hostesses for a student! Folks of the neighborhood!