Chapter 111: Artemis Guild

“This is troublesome…”

Tak Woo-hyun muttered to himself as he entered the reception room.

Lee Hyun-seung had come to the Blacksmith Association in advance, saying he had something to discuss with Tak Woo-hyun. He made up a vague excuse about having something to talk about.

The reason Lee Hyun-seung arrived early was simple. He knew Yoo Han-beom would act that way.

“Is something wrong?”

“Hmm… do you remember the day I went to deliver the equipment to you in front of Broad Academy? When Yoo Hee-yeon mocked you?”

“Yes, I remember. Not only did she try to intercept the weapon I had ordered, she also talked trash about how your work was gathering dust in a warehouse or some such nonsense.”

“You remember it well… and that’s the problem. Yoo Hee-yeon was the heir to the Artemis Guild, wasn’t she? That’s why I didn’t let the matter slide as a personal issue—I raised the prices on all weapons sold to the Artemis Guild and restricted the quality as well. I didn’t see the point in giving good weapons cheaply to people who don’t understand their worth.”

“You did the right thing. It was the proper response.”

When Lee Hyun-seung replied, Tak Woo-hyun had a look on his face like, Do blacksmiths really just understand each other?
But his expression soon darkened again.

“But now there’s a problem. I heard Yoo Hee-yeon has been stripped of her position as the guild’s successor. That would make her just a regular guild member now… so perhaps my actions were too harsh for a mere member’s mistake. In fact, Guildmaster Yoo Han-beom left looking furious. He even said something about retaliating against the Association…”

Hearing this, Lee Hyun-seung thought to himself.

‘He’s missing the point.’

To be precise, the insult Yoo Hee-yeon directed at Tak Woo-hyun happened while she was still the successor of the Artemis Guild.
In other words, she had full authority to represent the guild at that time.

Because Tak Woo-hyun only said “a while ago” without specifying the exact time, Yoo Han-beom must have assumed the incident happened after she was stripped of the position.

On the other hand, Tak Woo-hyun probably doesn’t know the exact timing of Yoo Hee-yeon’s removal and mistakenly assumed, after hearing Yoo Han-beom’s words, that she had already been demoted when the insult occurred.

‘Should I just tell him right now?’

If he explained it to Tak Woo-hyun, the man could raise a formal objection to Yoo Han-beom.
And Yoo Han-beom, once he realized he was in the wrong, would likely correct the situation.
He was strict toward those who harmed his people, but also took full responsibility when he made mistakes.

‘No, there’s no need to say anything right away.’

If the two parties resolve this misunderstanding on their own, then it ends there.
But if a third party steps in and mediates the conflict, then the outcome changes entirely.

Lee Hyun-seung didn’t understand how someone of Tak Woo-hyun’s caliber didn’t know the exact timing of Yoo Hee-yeon’s removal.
But right now, the situation was a clear opportunity.

With a smirk, Lee Hyun-seung spoke to Tak Woo-hyun.

“Chairman Tak, I honestly don’t understand the Artemis Guildmaster’s reaction. You responded exactly as anyone in your position should have. Since I have some personal rapport with Guildmaster Yoo Han-beom, I’ll speak to him directly.”

“You… you’d really do that?”

Tak Woo-hyun looked at him with surprised eyes.

He must have gone through quite a bit of stress in a short time.
Now that he thought he’d done something wrong, having someone else step in to resolve it was something no one would reject.

“Yes, I’ll do my best to explain the situation. Unlike Yoo Hee-yeon, Guildmaster Yoo Han-beom is someone you can reason with. I’ll try to make sure the Association suffers no damage.”

At that, Tak Woo-hyun looked at him with eyes full of gratitude.

“Thank you so much. Even if this doesn’t end well, I won’t forget your efforts. Not just me—everyone in the Blacksmith Association will remember it.”

Tak Woo-hyun’s appreciation was only natural.

The Artemis Guild was the most powerful and influential organization in the country. And Yoo Han-beom, as the guild master of that very guild, was considered the strongest person in the nation.

Raising objections against someone like him wasn’t something that could be done with just a bit of personal connection or courage. One wrong move, and a person’s entire life could be ruined.

With just a word from Yoo Han-beom, the life and career of a mere academy student could be completely derailed. That’s why Tak Woo-hyun was incredibly grateful. From his perspective, it looked like Lee Hyun-seung was risking his life to help him.

‘This is a fight I can’t lose.’

Lee Hyun-seung already knew what kind of person Yoo Han-beom was. He was someone who had acknowledged Lee Hyun-seung enough to offer him a scout proposal. If he used that position well, he could minimize the risk and maximize the return.

“Oh, right. Just in case, I’d like to ask in advance—if the conversation ends well, would you be willing to lift the restrictions you placed on the Artemis Guild?”

“Of course. Guild Master Yoo Han-beom said he would appropriately punish Yoo Hee-yeon, so from our side, there’s no reason to keep antagonizing the Artemis Guild. If they ask for it, I’m even willing to supply weapons at slightly lower prices than usual, as a sign of goodwill.”

“Understood. I’ll go and speak with him directly then.”

The Artemis Guild headquarters. Lee Hyun-seung stood at the main entrance.

“Who are you here to see?”

A man who seemed to be a gatekeeper asked him the question, and Lee Hyun-seung answered naturally.

“I’ve just joined the Artemis Guild. Where should I go?”

Lee Hyun-seung’s public reason for visiting was to “join the guild.” Not long ago, Baek So-yoon had helped him under the condition that he join the Artemis Guild, so joining the guild was a necessary step.

Once the gatekeeper realized he was a new recruit, he dropped the formal tone and spoke bluntly.

“A new member? How the hell did a clueless-looking guy like you get into our guild? Aren’t you a Gunmage or something? Are we so short on people that we’re accepting even Gunmages now?”

The gatekeeper unleashed a stream of rude remarks. Lee Hyun-seung looked at the man and once again recalled the nature of the Artemis Guild. This was a guild where anything was permitted if you had power. Psychopaths like Baek So-yoon, who had no qualms about killing people, were accepted. It was an extreme meritocracy where even someone with a broken personality could be respected if they had ability. So it wasn’t all that surprising to encounter a bastard like this.

At that moment—

Screeeeech

The sound of a door opening came from behind.

BOOM!

The man who had been mouthing off to Lee Hyun-seung was slammed into the wall.

“Cough—!”

He spat blood in pain. The one who had burst out from the door and attacked him was Baek So-yoon. In a cold voice, she spoke to the man.

“If I see you talk sht to him like that one more time, I’ll fcking kill you. Got it?”

“S-Sorry…”

Cough—!

The man couldn’t even ask why Baek So-yoon was acting this way over a mere newbie, or what kind of relationship she had with Lee Hyun-seung. He wasn’t allowed to ask such questions.

Lee Hyun-seung looked at Baek So-yoon with a stunned expression and spoke.

“What are you doing?”

She smiled and replied.

“I told you, didn’t I? That once you got in, I’d have your back. How was that? Doesn’t that make me a pretty reliable connection in the Artemis Guild?”

Lee Hyun-seung shook his head and replied.

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t do that next time.”

“Why not?”

Lee Hyun-seung glanced at the man who was still embedded in the ground, gritting his teeth in rage, and spoke.

“Helping me only when my life is in danger is more than enough. Using force unnecessarily in every situation only creates more enemies. That doesn’t help me.”

“Only weak people think that way. If you have too many enemies, just kill them all—what’s the problem?”

Lee Hyun-seung thought to himself.

‘…There’s no reasoning with her.’

If you go around solving every issue by beating people to a pulp, then the only people left around you are those who’ve submitted to violence. But if that’s all you’ve got, you can never build genuine allies.

–Sshk.

Lee Hyun-seung held out his hand to the gatekeeper and spoke.

“I’m sorry. Let’s get along from now on.”

The gatekeeper, looking bewildered, shook his hand. Then he mumbled softly.

“Thank you…”

He had nearly made an enemy right from the start. This was Yoo Han-beom’s stronghold. If he was going to absorb the factions under Kim Hee-ra and Yoo Hee-yeon, he needed to stand out.

Just moments ago, the gatekeeper had been grinding his teeth with vengeance. Now his expression had turned to confusion.

Not a bad start.

Baek So-yoon spoke with a puzzled expression.

“You don’t really seem like the type to care about others. That was pretty inefficient.”

Lee Hyun-seung ignored her comment and asked her a question.

“Where is Guild Master Yoo Han-beom?”

“Why do you want to see the Guild Master? If it’s an internal orientation, I can do it for you.”

“I have something important to tell him.”

“Hmm… is that so? Normally a newbie asking for a meeting with the Guild Master would be unthinkable, but with me around, it’s totally possible. Come on.”

Lee Hyun-seung followed her into the Artemis Guild.

‘Hoo…’

He took a short, deep breath.

From here on out, every action he took would build his position within the Artemis Guild.

‘Yoo Hee-yeon. Kim Hee-ra.’

The first step to stripping them of everything they had had just begun.