episode_0705

Huuung-

The private jet slowly descended amidst the forest.

“Hmm… This is the air of France.”

Yi Ho-yeon, who had disembarked from the private jet, took a deep breath as he set foot on French soil.

This was within the grounds of the Iris Guild, where the private jet landed.

It had been a long time since his last visit to this place.

“It’s been a while. Didn’t we see Scarlet here last time?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Good memories. Today, we can just walk in openly.”

After exchanging greetings with the pilot, Scarlet led the way into the Iris Guild.

As a retainer who brought Yi Ho-yeon the mage, she needed to act more confidently today.

“Master Ho-yeon, walk with your shoulders back and confidently. It’s an official visit today.”

“Don’t worry. There aren’t many people as confident as me.”

Yi Ho-yeon walked through the forest, observing his surroundings.

CCTV cameras and hidden guild members were visible all around.

True to being the world’s top guild, their security measures were excellent.

“I wonder how Elise and Irene are doing.”

Thinking of the blonde sisters, he walked for about ten more minutes until the Iris Guild building came into view.

Following Scarlet’s guidance, Yi Ho-yeon entered the building.

As soon as they entered, some guild members recognized Scarlet and approached her.

“Oh, Scarlet!”

“Scarlet! Long time no see!”

“Nice to see you all. Welcome.”

Scarlet naturally exchanged greetings with the others.

To anyone watching, it was clear she was a returning guild member after a long absence.

“Why is she so natural though?”

Wasn’t she the one who destroyed the Iris Guild?

She could probably return without anyone noticing.

Tick-tock, tick-tock-

“It’s been a while. You still look radiant.”

At that moment, a familiar voice came from inside.

Spotting the approaching beautiful blonde woman, Yi Ho-yeon smiled and went towards her.

“Irene, you’re still as lovely as ever, aren’t you?”

“…Ahem. Thanks for coming to help today. I appreciate you responding to the official request despite being busy.”

Irene briefly avoided Yi Ho-yeon’s gaze as she replied.

Seeing her reaction, Yi Ho-yeon felt pleased and took one step closer, speaking up.

“Oh, come on. Between us. Where are the guild master and Elise?”

“They’ve been waiting for you to arrive. Let’s go inside.”

“Alright. Scarlet, stop with the greetings and let’s go.”

“Oh, yes. Understood.”

Scarlet finished her greetings and straightened her clothes once more.

Meeting the guild master after a long time made her unnecessarily nervous.

However, the Iris Guild members around Scarlet had no intention of letting her go.

“Oh, Scarlet. Where are you going? We haven’t seen you in a while; you should say hi to the information team too.”

“Huh? Oh? No. I’m an important figure who came with Yi Ho-yeon the mage today… Ah!”

With arms linked on either side, Scarlet was dragged off somewhere by the crowd.

Swept away by the crowd, Scarlet disappeared towards the other side of the building with a yelp.

“…Huh?”

“What’s going on? Seems like Scarlet has something to attend to. Let’s go by ourselves.”

Yi Ho-yeon blinked at the sudden turn of events and looked at Irene.

Is this really okay? She came along as my retainer…

“Irene, is Scarlet not needed today?”

“It’s fine. It’s important to greet the Iris Guild members too.”

“I hope Irene didn’t ask for this?”

“…”

Without a response, Irene walked ahead.

*

Inside the Iris Guild’s guild master’s office.

In a room with luxurious interior design, a blonde man and woman were seated.

As Yi Ho-yeon entered the room, the man greeted him with a warm smile.

“Long time no see, Mage Yi Ho-yeon.”

“Guild Master, it’s been a while.”

Yi Ho-yeon bowed his head respectfully towards Isaac.

A handsome blonde man dressed in formal attire, Isaac was the guild master of the Iris Guild and the father of Elise and Irene.

Every time he saw this man, Yi Ho-yeon couldn’t help but think he was incredibly good-looking.

Of course, not as much as himself.

“How busy must Mage Yi Ho-yeon be if he’s only showing his face now?”

Sitting beside Isaac, Ellis opened her mouth while twirling her blonde hair.

Ellis looked at Ihoyeon with a dissatisfied expression.

It seems like there’s a lack of joy in seeing a face after a month.

Shouldn’t she express more affection to herself?

“…No, weren’t you busier than me? I wanted to see you too.”

“Even if I say I’m busy, isn’t it manners to make time to visit at least once?”

“Sorry…”

Though I didn’t quite understand, I apologized for now.

Dark circles were visible under Ellis’s eyes.

It’s better not to mess with Ellis in that state.

“Come on. Let’s save that conversation for later, just sit there for now. We came here today to discuss official matters, so Ellis, don’t make that kind of face.”

Fortunately, with Irene’s intervention, I could escape Ellis’s intimidating gaze.

I expressed gratitude to Irene with my eyes and took my seat.

“Yes. Ihoyeon the Mage. We have a lot to discuss today, so let’s start quickly.”

“Understood, Guild Master.”

“…But it seems like our daughters are getting closer?”

“Father, stop it and let’s focus on the negotiations!”

“Tsk. Fine.”

Isaac was glaring at Ihoyeon contrary to his words.

‘Was this why I didn’t want to come here…?’

There’s something strange about this household.

Despite having pretty faces and being handsome, sometimes the atmosphere can be chilling.

Clap clap-

Irene lightened the mood with applause and led the conversation.

“Well, Mage Ihoyeon. I heard you have some knowledge about the situation in Korea, care to share?”

“I know they are planning a terrorist attack. Dissatisfied guilds are supporting terrorist groups against the Iris Guild.”

“That’s somewhat accurate… but let me explain in more detail.”

Under Irene’s guidance, Ihoyeon learned detailed information about the terrorist threat.

There were more groups planning terrorism than expected, and the involved guilds and corporations were large and complex.

Especially, the opposing guilds were larger in scale than Ihoyeon had thought.

“In the end, the guilds who lost business due to Iris Guild’s success are angry.”

“That’s true. But we conduct fair trades more than anyone else. Businesses don’t just come in because we’re strong.”

“That makes sense. Both Miss Irene and the Guild Master seem kind-hearted.”

“Why am I excluded?”

“Ellis, you’re obviously kind too.”

Ihoyeon had complete trust in the Iris Guild.

Where Irene and Ellis were, there couldn’t be a bad place.

“This is the layout of the party leader. The area expecting the terrorist attack is the right annex. So, the guilds associated with the terrorists are placed on the right.”

“Really? If I set up a barrier, no one should die anyway.”

“Hmm. That’s true…”

As Irene hesitated, Isaac interjected.

“They are the ones planning to cause chaos from within when the terror happens. It’s easier to deal with them if they are concentrated in one place.”

“If you knew that beforehand, couldn’t you have arrested them from the beginning?”

“They are also aiming for that. Even if information about the terror leaks, ultimately, it will be the Iris Guild claiming it. They’ll use the terror to eliminate rival guilds through a public opinion battle.”

“Isn’t the Iris Guild controlling the world media?”

“Even without the media, they can still wage a public opinion battle. The world dislikes the strong oppressing the weak, whether it’s true or not.”

Isaac looked at Ihoyeon and continued.

The most important thing in this terror incident is to swiftly subdue the enemies within.

“Mage Ihoyeon. Instead of calling me ‘Mage Ihoyeon,’ feel free to address me more casually.”

It feels burdensome when everyone calls me ‘Mage Ihoyeon.’

Isaac is currently the guild master of the Iris Guild, the best guild in the world.

It’s not easy for someone like him to be deferential to himself.

“No. I believe strong individuals deserve appropriate treatment. It’s necessary to have titles that match our positions.”

“Understood. I’ll focus on my work. Hmm, this is getting annoying. It would be best to set up a barrier outside and quickly clean up the inside.”

“Yes. I apologize, but I’d prefer if you subdued them without killing as much as possible. It would be better if there were no loose ends.”

“Don’t worry. That’s my specialty.”

Adjusting strength to avoid killing is bothersome but not difficult.

Humans are surprisingly resilient if not targeted at vital points.

“From the EK Guild to the Seru Guild and the HA Alliance… all the trash is gathered here.”

“Yeah. You could call it a gathering of criminals.”

“Are those people really that bad?”

Lee Hoyeon asked Alice and Irene, who were digging through information beside him.

He had heard that they were bad guys in the Korean underworld, but he didn’t know how bad they truly were.

“Look at this. It’s roughly organized.”

Lee Hoyeon furrowed his brow while looking at the hologram monitor handed to him by Alice.

Starting from minor crimes to tax evasion, murder, sexual assault, rape, kidnapping…

He wondered how these scumbags managed to become a large guild.

“There have been many criticisms of the Iris Guild. They even exposed scandals involving me and my sister.”

“Alice. What did you just say?”

“The scandal involving me and my sister? It was quite intriguing. There’s a man named Libera in the EK Guild, who was considered the strongest hunter before you appeared. We encountered him in a party and took a picture…”

“Guild Master.”

Lee Hoyeon interrupted Alice and looked at Isaac.

His heart grew cold. He immediately knew how to deal with these people.

“Just kill them.”

“What?”

“I said let’s kill them. Leave it to me. If terror strikes, staining the emotions of the people at the party with fear will make it easier to get testimonies. I’ll handle it so that no one can trace anything back.”

…”

Isaac blinked rapidly, looking at the suddenly changed Lee Hoyeon.

Being cooperative is good, but he has become too violent.

‘I thought he had a gentle personality. Was I wrong?’

Isaac revised the information about Lee Hoyeon.