episode_0702

Tap-tap-

Staring blankly at the hologram monitor and absentmindedly tapping the air, Irene yawned and stretched.

She made sure to straighten her shoulders and cover her mouth.

Since coming from Korea to France.

There was too much work to handle, not allowing her a proper day of rest.

As the Iris Guild grew stronger, she became busier as well.

Especially since Irene had access to more information than other leaders, her tasks were plentiful.

“I miss being in Korea… The house there was nice too.”

Even though she wanted to go back to Korea, it was not possible.

To finish her tasks in France, she had to sacrifice even more sleep.

“I want to have fun. Tea time with Alice… or go back to Korea with Eohyeon and have a glass of wine together…”

Drinking wine, the atmosphere warming up. Warm breaths. Hands slowly moving up…

“Hoo.”

Irene shook her head to clear her mind.

Being able to entertain unnecessary thoughts was somewhat of an improvement for Irene.

“Alice, are you okay?”

“….”

Irene turned to look at Alice, who was in the same office.

Alice’s charming blonde hair was roughly tied back, dark circles prominent under her eyes.

“Alice…?”

Even in her current unadorned state, which Irene found endearing, she cautiously spoke, concerned about her sister’s vacant gaze.

After calling her name twice, Alice slowly turned her head.

“Sis, unless it’s something new, please don’t talk to me. I can’t focus on anything else right now.”

“Oh, sorry…”

Alice refocused on the hologram monitor, while Irene turned away, feeling disheartened.

Alice had far more tasks than Irene.

Being the designated successor by their father.

“She must know more than me… Alice is going through a lot.”

Their father sometimes shared things only with Alice and took her somewhere alone.

Irene wanted to do the difficult tasks herself and leave the easy ones for Alice, but she couldn’t, which saddened her.

But being a guild leader was inherently challenging and demanding.

Having witnessed Isaac building the Iris Guild, Irene understood this even better.

Now Alice would also realize how remarkable their father truly was.

“That’s ridiculous. That man is always out having fun. Isn’t he just passing off everything, even the responsibilities he didn’t do before, by stepping down as the guild leader? He must be doing that. Definitely…”

“Calling him ‘that man’ to Father… huh?”

Thinking back, Irene recalled seeing their father and mother leaving the guild alone a few days ago, saying they would spend some time together.

They had smiled and told Alice to keep it a secret…

“It can’t be. He wouldn’t do such a thing to his own daughter.”

No. It couldn’t be.

It surely couldn’t be…

Click-

At that moment, someone knocked on the office door.

Irene looked at the door and responded, “Come in.”

Creak-

Jennifer entered the room.

She was the second-in-command of the Iris Guild and in charge of reports.

“Irene, there’s something unusual.”

“Unusual?”

Irene blinked as Jennifer handed her a document.

EK Guild.

A guild known as the world’s second-in-command.

Although overshadowed by the Iris Guild, it still held considerable prestige.

They were openly criticizing the Iris Guild.

“What’s this? Why are they criticizing the Iris Guild?”

“We are currently investigating worldwide branches. Given the scale of the criticism, it seems that many places are aligning with the EK Guild.”

“What a bother…”

Despite the Iris Guild being in the lead, there were still quite a few guilds attracted by the name of the EK Guild.

“If there are baseless criticisms against the Iris Guild, gather all the information and report back. If they are on the blacklist, cut support, and if it’s their first time, inform them it’s their last chance.”

“Yes. Understood. And they’re also messing with Mage Lee Ho-yeon.”

“Who?”

“Mage Lee Ho-yeon.”

“…Why him?”

In fact, the Iris Guild has been attacked more than once.

This time it might get a bit annoying, but we should be able to handle it in the end.

They’ve built up such a strong influence that they conduct business.

However, Lee Ho-yeon is different.

He’s an individual and not someone who’s particularly greedy, so there shouldn’t be a need to attack him…

“EK Guild prided itself on having strong abilities. It seems like the world’s strongest ability user has ties to the Iris Guild. Isn’t this some sort of noise marketing tactic?”

“What exactly are they attacking with?”

“We’re still preparing the urgent report related to Mage Lee Ho-yeon… In truth, the Iris Guild and Lee Ho-yeon don’t have a solid alliance. It’s a contract relationship driven by money. Something along those lines.”

“It’s just a false rumor. We’ve never engaged in financial transactions with them.”

The Iris Guild has never given money to Lee Ho-yeon.

Of course, they did provide valuable talents like Irene and Ellis, but… no, they didn’t give anything.

How should I put it… It’s not about money but rather a more precious relationship.

“Still, we should inform Lee Ho-yeon.”

“The Korean branch sent guild members. They assured the Iris Guild that they would handle it well, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Well done. Kang Hyo-rin is good at her job. Since Lee Ho-yeon isn’t particularly weak-minded, things shouldn’t go wrong.”

Suddenly.

At that moment, with a thud, Ellis, who was sitting beside them, stood up.

With bloodshot eyes, Ellis turned her head to meet Jennifer’s gaze.

Even though she was completely focused on work, she couldn’t ignore his name.

“Jennifer. What was that report just now? I didn’t catch it properly.”

“Ye-yes? Oh, it was about the media’s attack on Mage Lee Ho-yeon…”

“Sigh. There’s so much to do… ”

Ellis flicked her fingers, using clean magic to tidy up her disheveled hair.

Concentrating the remaining magical power on her forehead, she forcibly awakened her brain.

As she cooled her head, irritation towards the person who had offended Lee Ho-yeon surged within her.

“I already feel bad for borrowing his name… Jennifer, put those who mentioned Lee Ho-yeon on a blacklist without giving them a chance.”

“Oh, um… Is that okay? There are many places subtly mentioning Mage Lee Ho-yeon without directly attacking the Iris Guild…”

“Then tell them to stop spreading false information about Mage Lee Ho-yeon right away. If they don’t delete it within an hour, cut off all dealings. There’s no need to deal with clueless people.”

“Ah, understood.”

Jennifer bowed her head under Ellis’s sharp gaze and left the office.

With a vacant expression, Ellis also addressed Irene, who was looking at her.

“Sister. We need to handle this properly. Those criticizing the Iris Guild are just dogs attached to the losers of the EK Guild.”

“Ellis…”

“I don’t like Lee Ho-yeon being harmed either. Dad forced a friendly image with Lee Ho-yeon. Of course, he’s trash enough for that, but we shouldn’t cause harm.”

“Ellis, when I tried to talk earlier, I said I couldn’t focus…”

“…That’s one thing. Anyway, track the next move of the EK Guild. They won’t be trying to increase their reputation through noise marketing; they’ll likely try to expose the negative image they’ve artificially created. It could involve Lee Ho-yeon, so make sure to inform the Korean branch first.”

“Got it… That’s a reasonable deduction…”

Irene, somewhat surprised, sent a message to the second-in-command.

Just in case, it was an order to relay the information to the Korean branch.

“Oh? They’re already investigating. Seems like one of the guild members in the Korean branch shares the same thoughts as you, Ellis.”

“Well done. We should reward them later.”

Dedicated individuals loyal to the Iris Guild.

Alice nodded satisfactorily.

*

Iris Guild’s Korean Branch Manager.

Dr. Kang Hyorin.

She was riding in a car for the first time in a while to meet a famous person.

When she first saw that bold young man, she never imagined he would become a renowned figure worldwide with exceptional abilities. It’s truly a surprising world we live in.

“It’s been a while since you’ve come here. Dr. Kang Hyorin.”

“That’s right. Lee Hoyeon. I haven’t been seen much at the academy these days.”

“I was kicked out. They said I was disrupting classes…”

Lee Hoyeon shrugged as if disheartened.

Sensing his true disappointment, Kang Hyorin quickly changed the subject.

“Ahem. Anyway, today I’ll speak as Kang Hyorin, the Korean Branch Manager. Lee Hoyeon, the magician. I heard you’ve been helping the Iris Guild.”

“Yes. If I can help, I should. The Iris Guild has done a lot for me too.”

In reality, both of them had received help.

To avoid a life-or-death situation when they eventually faced Isaac, they needed to help each other now.

“We were actually planning to ask for your help… Thanks for bringing it up first.”

“Scarlet mentioned that. She said if the Iris Guild’s image is tarnished, she might attempt something else. If she needs my help during that process, she can ask me anytime.”

“I also thought Scarlet made sense, so I proceeded with the task and reported to headquarters. If it goes well, she said to reward that guild member. Scarlet. Do you have any ideas?”

“Just take it.”

“Oh, come on. Your skills are too valuable to waste. How about discreetly returning during this opportunity? If you and I push for it, the Guild Master might pretend to lose but accept?”

“… I’ll think about it later.”

The Iris Guild…

Having a sincere conversation with the Guild Master, Scarlet left gracefully, wondering if it was time to leave now.

Suddenly, Scarlet had that thought.

“Anyway, Magician Lee Hoyeon. As Scarlet suggested, EK Guild is preparing an operation. There’s a high possibility of an attack on the business entity protected by the Iris Guild.”

“You can know this so quickly?”

It hadn’t been even a few hours since Kang Hyorin met Scarlet.

Yet, they already knew the details of the incident?

“What do you think of the Iris Guild? Many people within the EK Guild cooperate with us. Frankly, I don’t understand why they’re challenging us.”

Kang Hyorin earnestly nodded.

What were those people thinking when they provoked the Iris Guild?

“And why did they mess with this man?”

In truth, the most curious thing was who dared to provoke Lee Hoyeon.

They probably didn’t realize how strong he really is….

Seeing is believing; one can only understand by experiencing it firsthand.

Kang Hyorin bit her tongue as she sipped her tea.