Chapter 1141: Side Story – Late Love (2)

Kyungsook Sunbae arrived at the Hope City Guild about two hours after I came to work.

Since my work start time is around 10 AM, she arrived right around lunchtime. She probably timed it accordingly since she came regarding the company cafeteria.

At this point, we both know that the cafeteria overhaul is almost a flimsy excuse, but we don’t explicitly state it. And well, because improvement is actually needed.

-Knock knock.

“Taekyung Hubae, are you inside?”

“Ah, yes. Come in, Sunbae.”

Kyungsook Sunbae knocked on the Guild Leader’s office door, confirmed I was there, and came inside.

When I saw her last time during the vacation, she seemed to be in a suit, but today, she was in relatively casual attire. A sky blue striped shirt and navy blue slim-fit jeans. Actually, this outfit too gives off a casual office worker vibe rather than everyday wear, but it’s fresher than a suit. Even though she was wearing pants, the curves revealing her figure were quite alluring.

“Oh, it’s been a while, Taekyung Hubae.”

“Yes. Have you been well during that time?”

“As for me, it’s the same every day. Running the company, developing recipes, managing franchises. It was really hard to make time.”

“Thank you for coming like this even though you’re busy. Actually, I should have visited you, but since it seemed right for Kyungsook Sunbae to see and judge our guild’s company cafeteria directly, I couldn’t help it.”

“It’s okay. I said I’d visit sometime, so I feel sorry about coming this late too. When that was brought up, it was early summer, but it’s already autumn.”

Kyungsook Sunbae was subtly implying that three months had passed since the day we first became intimate. I wasn’t sure whether that was an expression of disappointment because I hadn’t visited, or just something she said carelessly.

It felt awkward to continue talking while sitting in the Guild Leader’s seat, so we moved towards the reception table. As soon as Kyungsook Sunbae entered the Guild Leader’s office, Eunbyul, who was preparing refreshments, placed light snacks in front of her and me.

“Between coffee and tea, which would you prefer?”

“Black coffee… please.”

“Yes, understood.”

Kyungsook Sunbae had a slightly surprised reaction upon belatedly noticing Eunbyul in her maid outfit. For an employee you might expect in the Guild Leader’s office, it was quite a niche outfit.

“A maid outfit? Is it perhaps Taekyung Hubae’s hobby?”

“Yes, it’s my hobby. Maid outfits are pretty, aren’t they?”

“…Well, I suppose so.”

She seemed to have a lot to say, but she didn’t bother saying it out loud. Perhaps she thought it wasn’t something she needed to interfere with. Most of our guild staff had already gone through a similar process, so now she confidently walked around the guild in her maid outfit. A few maid outfits are gradually being modified into maternity sizes because of her growing belly, though.

After taking a small sip of the coffee Eunbyul brought, Kyungsook Sunbae asked a few questions about the guild, as if trying to gauge the demand for the company cafeteria.

“Since you said it was a new guild, I didn’t expect much, but the building is large. Was it newly built?”

“I remodeled the building that was originally here. I have an acquaintance in construction.”

“Really? What kind of building was it originally?”

“The Chuncheon City Hall building.”

“…The government really gave permission easily.”

“Who would oppose establishing a Hunter Guild in a district ruined by a monster wave? And I also have a personal connection with the Chuncheon Mayor… ah, the person who is now the Hope Mayor.”

“…Really? But it’s been made very stylishly for an old Chuncheon City Hall building. Where did you get the remodeling done?”

“By Dokyung Construction.”

“…By a construction company? You did the remodeling? Then, is the acquaintance you mentioned someone from Dokyung Construction?”

“Yes. We’ve known each other for quite a long time.”

During that time, we shared quite a lot of physical exchanges too. Whenever there was dungeon procurement or construction-related work, meeting to have sex was practically routine. I met them just a few weeks ago to ask if they could create a communal cemetery on the mountain land I own. In that process too, there was lobbying using my body, just like during the Hope City Guild remodeling.

“Taekyung Hubae, you’re surprisingly more influential than I thought?”

“Well, I am quite big.”

“…I wasn’t talking about that specifically…. Ah, no, of course, that’s big too, but….”

Kyungsook Sunbae was instead flustered when a sex joke came out of my mouth, a man. Age-wise, she’s around the same age as Eunyoung Noona or the President, but she seemed surprisingly naive in this regard. Perhaps because she’s a career woman, she didn’t have many opportunities to meet men. Looking back, the item ‘Capable Man’ was listed in her sexual fetishes; perhaps it’s just that most of the men around her until now have been mediocre.

“So, the company cafeteria is currently just operating, right?”

“That’s right. I’m making enough for about 50 people daily, including staff and guild members. It’s still in a trial operation phase since it’s a new guild, and next year, when the guild members increase a bit, we’ll have to increase the scale or something depending on the situation then.”

“Not bad. The cafeteria is open now, right? Can I go check it out?”

“Yes, Sunbae. Since it’s lunchtime, let’s go down together and have a meal.”

I don’t know if our guild’s food will suit Kyungsook Sunbae’s taste, the matriarch of the food industry, but in the first place, we invited her for that reason too, to improve everything including things like that.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

When I went down to the cafeteria, a dozen or so hunters already eating immediately caught my eye. Including guild members who formed a somewhat deep relationship with me and those who haven’t gotten that close yet. Thanks to a certain incident that happened recently, hunters who suddenly retired started gathering at our guild one by one, so the guild’s situation has improved considerably. …Coincidentally, the main characters who caused that certain incident are currently eating in the cafeteria.

“Oh, you’ve arrived, Mas… Guild Leader!”

“Hello, Sung Chae-eun-ssi.”

Whether it’s the intuition of the Dragon Blood race, Sung Chae-eun noticed I entered the cafeteria first and bowed by bending her waist. I was slightly startled upon seeing her about to habitually blurt out the word ‘Master’.

“T-Taekyung-ssi…. Oh, you look handsome today too, heh heh…”

“Thank you, No-eul-ssi.”

“…Taekyung-ssi, have you come to eat too?”

“Yes. Today, I wanted to eat in the cafeteria instead of the Guild Leader’s office. Don’t feel too pressured, everyone, please eat.”

“Yes!”

“…Yes. Taekyung-ssi, enjoy your meal too.”

“E-Enjoy your meal, Taekyung-ssi…”

The Destruction Trio group, which recently became the center of attention in many ways. Seeing them, who were already drawing the attention of other hunters, vying with each other to exchange at least one more word with me, Kyungsook Sunbae showed a slightly surprised expression. Not just one S-class hunter, but all three of them were showing affection towards me. The feelings each of them felt might be slightly different, but regardless, it was undoubtedly a rare sight.

“I heard the story about the Destruction Trio reuniting, was that your guild?”

“Yes. I had quite a bit of trouble persuading Sung Chae-eun-ssi and Min Hyunyoung-ssi.”

“As a Guild Leader, you seem to have good skills. I remember Ok-hee couldn’t stop their retirement either.”

“Thanks to the three of them joining our guild, many other retired hunters have applied too. Among them, I hired about twenty more people as capable and diligent hunters.”

The two, excluding Jung No-eul, had retired once and returned, making it an incident widely covered by the media. Thanks to that, for a guild in a provincial new city, not even in Seoul, it received quite a lot of attention. For reference, for guild recruitment, I selected mainly diligent hunters, even if their rank was low, rather than focusing solely on the strength of their ability. The secret about our guild’s unique special welfare policy must be maintained, and anyway, if they are just diligent, their hunter rank is bound to rise. Above all, poor ability can mostly be improved by me, rising by at least one or two levels, so there were no major issues. Of course, that ‘helping’ is mostly helping downwards, but since they joined our guild, forming a relationship with me at least once is the basic rule. Using mind-reading ability and Belle’s dungeon, probing the interviewee’s inner thoughts is not difficult, so for now, my eccentricities haven’t leaked out and things are running smoothly.

“Huh? Guild Leader! Have you come to eat?”

“Yes. I should eat here sometimes too. And see your face, Eunha-ssi, to see how you’re doing.”

“Heheh~. As for me, I’m doing well thanks to the Guild Leader~.”

“The cafeteria atmosphere brightened up as soon as Taekyung-ssi entered. Until just a moment ago, it was gloomy because there were only women.”

“Really? Then I should visit more often, even because of Gayoung-ssi’s words.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you often at the training ground, are you perhaps busy these days?”

“My external schedules are a bit numerous. Dajeong-ssi seems to be frequenting the training ground?”

“Since I’m returning after retiring, I have to work hard~. You know the Guild Leader really hates it when we come back injured from our dungeon~.”

“I’m grateful you understand. Next time, if there’s a chance, I’ll visit the training ground too.”

“Yes!”

After that, starting with the Destruction Trio, I greeted over ten guild members who gathered like clouds, one by one. Although it was once a small guild, the landscape of Hope City Guild has now grown considerably, reaching a scale where we can confidently call it a medium-sized guild.

“…Taekyung Hubae, you’re really popular, aren’t you?”

And Kyungsook Sunbae was watching the informal conversation between me and the guild members like that with a slightly flustered expression.