Ch.6322. Cooperation Mission Meeting (1)

“Mr. Minsu will attend that meeting himself?”

At Team Leader Seo’s words, Maria nodded.

“That’s right. Not just the meeting, but for this cooperation mission, Minsu has been designated as the operator instead of me. So naturally, it’s appropriate for Minsu to attend that meeting in my place.”

“Hmm. I see.”

It was natural for Team Leader Seo to be surprised. A Task Force meeting. Obviously, it’s a gathering attended by elite raid teams from major guilds.

So sending me instead of Executive Director Maria was quite extraordinary.

“Well, I suppose there wouldn’t be any major issues with Minsu attending. No, he’ll actually be helpful to the Guild Master. I’d say it’s a very appropriate choice.”

But Team Leader Seo accepted Maria’s words immediately, to the point of embarrassment. I asked Maria:

“Are you really saying that I’ll be in charge of the main operation?”

“Yes. And this wasn’t an impulsive decision on my part. While you were away on business with the Guild Master, we held several meetings with other raid team members about this matter. About who would be more suitable as an operator.”

Team Leader Seo added to her statement.

“And we unanimously decided to entrust you with the operator role for this mission. Of course, I didn’t know you’d be attending this meeting as well.”

I glanced at Executive Director Maria’s face. Her expression was surprisingly calm.

‘It’s like she’s had her position taken by a newcomer like me.’

Of course, if I take on the main operation, Executive Director Maria can focus more on her primary job as a sniper.

And it’s much better for me too. This cooperation mission is important. It’s a main episode that Siwoo from the original work also participated in.

‘Just like meeting Zerfield on Mount Seorak, who knows what might happen during this cooperation mission.’

I encountered an unexpected monster during this Mount Seorak trip. And as a result, I obtained an important legacy.

‘This mission might also unfold completely differently from the original work.’

It’s an episode related to the Red Lake. And it’s a dungeon difficult enough for the Association to directly request cooperation from major guilds.

So if I’m in charge of Flame’s main operation, I can respond more actively to whatever might happen in that unpredictable place.

Actually, I was planning to volunteer as the main operator even if it meant opposing Maria. With this decision made from above, things have unexpectedly worked out easily.

‘Maria has really changed a lot since Ains.’

Maria continued speaking with a composed face.

“A small guild like ours doesn’t need to worry about complex corporate politics or conventions. Everyone acknowledges Minsu, so we’ve simply assigned the most suitable person for the position instead of me.”

Team Leader Seo nodded as well. He said:

“I’m not sure how Executive Director Maria feels about this, but ahem, records don’t lie. I heard from an acquaintance at the Association that your recent work in Pyongyang has become quite a topic of discussion.”

“You mean when he caught Jang Gyesin with Team Leader Yeon? I know from the combat records. That’s why I was debating whether to have Minsu participate as an operator or as a dealer.”

“That’s a happy dilemma for Flame. Haha!”

Unexpectedly, the two continued praising me. I already knew Team Leader Seo thought highly of me, but…

Maria’s goodwill still feels unfamiliar to me. Maria isn’t a maid to Yuri, but a lady-in-waiting. A lady-in-waiting serving a Grand Duke’s daughter is naturally of noble birth.

Especially in the Kingdom of Slavia, nobility isn’t a pre-modern relic.

The Kingdom of Slavia maintains a bilateral alliance system with Korea.

Legally, Koreans don’t need to show courtesy to Slavian nobles, but their social influence is certainly significant.

So during the Ains days, it was natural for Maria to look down on me.

‘Yuri, whom Maria served…’

Yuri is the only daughter of Grand Duke Andrei. And Grand Duke Andrei serves as the chairman of the Alliance Council, making him a very influential person in Korea as well.

So in reality, Yuri and I were worlds apart in terms of social status.

Unfortunately, the Lee Minsu I possessed, a minor character in the novel, was a character without any background setting, not even parents.

As an orphan, the gap between me and Yuri, a Grand Duke’s daughter, was immense.

That’s why Maria was always prickly toward me during the Ains days, thoroughly preventing me from approaching Yuri. But the current Maria is quite different.

As she’s saying now, Maria has become much softer toward me.

“I’m glad you joined us when we needed you most, Minsu. Since you have a very close relationship with the Guild Master and Team Leader Yeon, our two core dealers, you’ll be able to enhance their abilities in battle even more than I could.”

And I think I understand why. The “close relationship” Maria just mentioned—she must already know about the subtle relationship between Yuri and me.

‘Is it all for Yuri, whom she serves?’

I became certain during this Mount Seorak trip. The current Yuri seems to need me a lot. And I need Yuri as well.

Just as ancient dungeons and legacies existed in places Yuri headed to, I sincerely need Yuri, who has taken Siwoo’s place, for my revenge.

‘That’s how I should think about it.’

Getting any closer to Yuri would be dangerous for me too. I resolved once again to maintain clear boundaries with Yuri.

Shortly after, the brief meeting among the three of us ended.

“Then I’ll email you the materials needed for attending the Association meeting and a list of things to prepare. Let’s conclude the meeting here.”

“Understood.”

The three of us stood up. After Team Leader Seo left the room, Maria briefly called out to me.

“Excuse me, Minsu. Just a moment.”

“What is it, Executive Director Maria?”

Maria hesitated as she looked at me. She seemed to have something to say. This side of Maria was unexpected too.

‘At Ains, she only ever gave one-sided notifications.’

After hesitating like that, Maria bowed her head and said to me:

“I really want to thank you, Minsu. Since you joined, Miss Yuri… I mean, the Guild Master has changed a lot.”

She continued briefly, explaining how mentally overwhelmed Yuri had been before I joined.

“But now the Guild Master smiles more than before. Just like… Miss Yuri right before graduating from Ains.”

That time was when Yuri and I were closest. And after a brief silence…

Maria hesitated a bit more, as if contemplating, and finally said:

“I know it’s not my place to interfere, but Miss Yuri likes you very much. Just like during Ains. No, even after that, she’s continued to think only of you.”

I remained silent at those words. And perhaps Maria didn’t expect an answer either, as she bowed once and left the meeting room first.

***

Two days later, I attended the Association’s Task Force meeting in the morning.

As previously discussed, Flame’s participants were Yuri, Soso, and me. The three of us were heading to the Association headquarters in Yeouido in Yuri’s car.

‘It doesn’t take long to get to Yeouido, but…’

Still, this is the first time the three of us have been alone together. Actually, this rarely happened even at Ains.

Yuri and Soso weren’t close. Or rather, they didn’t have much in common than having a bad relationship.

While Yuri was at the top of the cadet hierarchy from enrollment to graduation, Soso was actually at the bottom of that hierarchy until she awakened the Cheonma Divine Technique. They were complete opposites.

‘Plus, Soso had a gloomy personality.’

Of course, both were the only daughters of two great powers.

Grand Duke Andrei needs no explanation, and the influence of Cheonma Yeon Sehwi, the leader of the Cheonma Divine Sect that controls not only Hong Kong but also the southern part of Muguk, was comparable to Grand Duke Andrei’s.

But unlike Grand Duke Andrei, who was very strict with his successor, Soso’s father, Yeon Sehwi, doted on his daughter.

He didn’t force martial arts training on Soso, who was naturally introverted. Of course, due to her innate bloodline, she was good enough to be accepted into Ains.

Anyway, with her awkward Korean and in a country with a culture quite different from Muguk, Soso didn’t adapt well to academy life.

As we sat in silence in the car, Soso suddenly spoke:

“I heard there’s an Ains alumni gathering in March. What are you going to do, Yuri?”

“Not interested. Unless it benefits Flame. Most Ains graduates went to corporate guilds, so it probably won’t be much help to us.”

But the current Yuri and Soso conversed without much awkwardness.

From what I’ve heard from some Flame employees, they’re surprisingly drinking buddies. Thinking about it, as daughters from prestigious families…

They might have found common ground in their similar circumstances, with few others they could truly open up to.

‘Still, this situation is a bit awkward.’

But both of them were clearly conscious of me rather than each other.

I’m the one sitting in the driver’s seat now.

And before departure, both tried to get into the passenger seat at the same time and ended up making eye contact.

– Yuri, as the Guild Master, you should sit in the back seat, which is the place of honor according to Korean custom.

– It’s my car, so the passenger seat is more comfortable. And Minsu might feel awkward driving my car…

Of course, it wasn’t awkward at all. Yuri’s car was as familiar to me as my own. I drove this car when we went to Mount Seorak too.

So after discussing at length who should take the passenger seat, Yuri eventually gave in.

Sitting beside me, Soso continued what she was saying earlier:

“Ahem… So, you’re not going, Yuri. But besides us, there’s another 19th class member here. I wonder what Minsu would think…”

At that moment, the air in the car grew slightly colder. It seems both Yuri and I caught the intention behind Soso’s words.

‘Soso seems to want to create opportunities to be with me.’

We went to Pyongyang together because of the Wind Cutter incident, but naturally, I hadn’t had any private meetings with Soso since then.

Actually, during my time at Ains, Soso was the person I hung out with the most. We were friends, after all. We met and spent time together over trivial matters.

Now that things have become awkward between us, Soso might be feeling desperate.

‘Soso would never have attended something like an alumni gathering with her personality before…’

But I had no intention of attending the alumni gathering either. The surviving 19th class cadets still contact me.

My classmates seem to view me as something of a hero who saved their lives. The juniors below us felt the same way.

But if it hadn’t been for me, the villain attack at the graduation ceremony wouldn’t have escalated so much. I couldn’t accept their goodwill.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to attend.”

“I-I see. You must be busy with your many talents.”

I felt a bit sorry for Soso. Her Korean had become very proficient, but her typing skills in Hangul were terrible.

Nevertheless, she had sent me clumsy messages several times trying to make plans with me, but I ended up blocking her messages.

‘I changed my contact information once, so I thought they were spam messages.’

I’ve unblocked her now, but I haven’t replied to those messages separately. Actually, I don’t have time for such personal matters now because of the cooperation mission preparations.

Above all, since I started using mana in earnest, this entity appearing in my vision has been more concerning than ever.

==================

「System error」

Error code : 1713E0529:CE

XXX : Welcome back, Player!

..

..

..

[Creating quest.]

..

..

..

[Paju&…]

[S-class dung# cooperation request]

[Rewards will be provided upon quest completion…? If you want. The red dragon’s.]

==================

As the explanation said “system error,” the red notification window that appeared in my vision had broken text. But I could understand its content well enough.

‘Disgusting bastard… no, system…’

As if mocking me, the system started creating quests on its own. And it was clear that this quest was pointing to the current cooperation mission.

‘If you want… the red dragon.’

The system was arbitrarily displaying that red dragon entity mentioned in the legacy I obtained from the ancient dungeon.

That apocalyptic red dragon that might be related to the Red Lake.

By the time I managed to somehow shut down that system, we had arrived in Yeouido. Both women seemed familiar with the Association headquarters and moved without hesitation.

“Let’s go to the Association’s information desk first to get entry passes for the meeting room.”

And as Yuri suggested, when we all stood at the information desk, suddenly someone called out to me.

“Could it be Minsu? Are you Lee Minsu?”

And I recognized the blonde woman calling me.

“Senior Haeun?”

Yuri and Soso’s gazes simultaneously turned toward that woman.