Side Story 36. The Story After (36)

Ttak- Ttak-

Blankly staring at the hologram monitor and tapping the empty air, Irene yawned and stretched. She stretched her shoulders wide, not forgetting to cover her mouth.

After coming to France from Korea.

There were so many things to handle that she couldn’t properly rest even for a single day.

As the Iris Guild grew stronger, she was getting busier too.

Especially since Irene had access to more information compared to the other captains, she had many tasks.

‘It was good when I was in Korea…. That house was nice to live in too.’

I can’t go to Korea even if I want to.

To finish the work in France, I’ll probably have to cut back on sleep even more.

‘I want to relax. Alice… Tea time with my beloved sister… Or maybe go back to Korea and have some wine with Lee Hoyeon, the three of us….’

After drinking wine. The heated atmosphere. Warm breaths. Slowly rising hands…

“Hoo.”

Irene shook her head, clearing her mind of distracting thoughts. Irene, who could afford to have useless thoughts, was relatively better off.

“Alice. Are you okay?”

“….”

Irene turned her head to look at Alice, who was in the same office. Alice’s attractive blonde hair was loosely tied with a hair tie, and dark circles were deeply set under her eyes. Alice fixed her eyes on the same hologram monitor as Irene.

“Alice…?”

Even her unadorned appearance was lovely, but Irene, worried about her sister’s lifeless eyes, spoke carefully. When called twice, Alice’s head slowly turned.

“Unnie. If it’s not something new, please don’t talk to me. I can’t divert my attention.”

“Ah, okay. Sorry…”

Alice fixed her gaze back on the hologram monitor, and Irene turned her head away, looking dejected. Alice had much more work to do than Irene. It was because she was the successor designated by Father.

‘She probably knows more information than me… Alice must be having a hard time.’

Father tells her things only she knows, and sometimes he goes somewhere taking only Alice. I want to do the hard tasks myself and have Alice do only the easy ones, but it’s sad that I can’t do that. But being a Guild Master is originally a difficult and arduous position. Irene, having seen Isaac raise the Iris Guild firsthand, knows this even better. Now Alice will understand what a great person Father is too.

“That’s ridiculous. That guy just goes around having fun all the time. Isn’t he just dumping all the tasks he didn’t do onto Alice while handing over the Guild Master position? He definitely will. Definitely…”

“Calling Father ‘that guy’… Huh?”

Thinking about it, the image of Father and Mother leaving the guild a few days ago, saying they would spend time together just the two of them after a long time, came to mind. They said it with a bright smile, telling Alice to definitely keep it a secret…

‘Surely not. Would he do such a thing to his own daughter?’

Yeah. It wouldn’t be.

It definitely wouldn’t be…

Knock knock-

Just then, someone knocked on the office door. Irene looked at the door and replied.

“Yeah. Come in.”

Creak-

The one who came inside was Jennifer. She was the captain of the Iris Guild’s 2nd unit and in charge of reports.

“Irene-nim. It’s a special report.”

“Special report?”

Irene took the document Jennifer handed over and blinked.

EK Guild.

A guild renowned as the second strongest in the world. Although pushed back by the Iris Guild, it still holds considerable influence even now. Such a place was openly criticizing the Iris Guild.

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

“We are currently investigating from branches worldwide. Seeing the considerable scale, it seems there are quite a few places allied with the EK Guild.”

“What does that mean… Tsk. This has become troublesome.”

The trend has already shifted towards the Iris Guild, but there are still quite a few guilds attracted by the name value of EK Guild.

“Identify all baseless accusations against the Iris Guild and report them. If it’s a company on the blacklist, cut off support. If it’s their first offense, notify them that it’s their last chance.”

“Yes. Understood. And they are targeting Mage Lee Hoyeon too.”

“Who?”

“Mage Lee Hoyeon.”

“… Why him?”

Actually, the Iris Guild being attacked is not a rare occurrence. This time it might get a bit troublesome, but eventually, we will be able to handle it. It’s because we have built such strong power that we started this business. However, Lee Hoyeon is different. He is an individual, and in the first place, he’s not a greedy man, so there wouldn’t be any need to attack him…

“The EK Guild’s pride was its strong pool of ability users. It seems to be because the strongest ability user in the world has a connection with the Iris Guild. Isn’t it like noise marketing?”

“Exactly what content are they attacking with?”

“Since it’s an urgent report, the content related to Mage Lee Hoyeon is still being prepared, but… Actually, the Iris Guild and Lee Hoyeon are not a solid alliance. It’s a contractual relationship driven by money. It’s something like that.”

“That’s a baseless rumor. Dismiss it by saying we have never made monetary transactions.”

The Iris Guild has never given money to Lee Hoyeon. Of course, we did give valuable talents like Irene and Alice… No, we didn’t give them. How should I put it… Let’s call it a more precious relationship, even if it’s not money.

“Still, I need to convey this to Lee Hoyeon.”

“The Korean branch manager apparently sent a guild member. I conveyed that the Iris Guild will handle it well, so he shouldn’t worry.”

“Good job. Kang Hyorin indeed does her job well. Lee Hoyeon isn’t mentally weak either, so nothing major will happen, right?”

Suddenly.

Just then, with a thud, Alice, who was beside her, stood up. Alice, her eyes bloodshot, turned her head and made eye contact with Jennifer. Even she, whose focus was entirely on work, couldn’t ignore his name.

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

“Y-yes? Ah, the media attack regarding Mage Lee Hoyeon…”

“Haa. There are so many things to do, it’s killing me…”

Alice snapped her fingers, tidying up her messy hair with Clean magic. Focusing the remaining magic power on her brow, she forcibly awakened her brain. As her mind became cold, irritation surged towards whoever messed with Lee Hoyeon.

“Even without this, I feel so sorry for forcibly borrowing his name… Jennifer. Don’t even give a chance to those who talked about Lee Hoyeon; put them on the blacklist.”

“Ah, well… Would that be okay? There are many places subtly speaking ill of only Mage Lee Hoyeon without directly attacking the Iris Guild…”

“Then tell them to stop spreading false information about Mage Lee Hoyeon right now. If they don’t delete it within an hour, cut off all transactions. There’s no need to trade with those who lack common sense.”

“Ah, understood.”

Jennifer bowed her head under Alice’s sharp gaze and exited the office. Alice spoke even to Irene, who was looking at her with a dazed expression.

“Unnie. The response must be handled properly. Anyway, those who criticize the Iris Guild are just dogs clinging to the losers called the EK Guild, aren’t they?”

“Alice…”

“I don’t like harm coming to Lee Hoyeon either. Father forcibly created a friendly image with Lee Hoyeon. Of course, he’s trash worthy of it, but we shouldn’t cause him harm.”

“Alice. When I spoke to you earlier, I told you I couldn’t divert my attention…”

“…That’s that. Anyway, track the EK Guild’s next move. It’s unlikely the EK Guild is trying to increase their name value through noise marketing; they’ll definitely try to exploit the negative image they forcibly created. Since it might be related to Lee Hoyeon, deliver it to the Korean branch first.”

“Okay… That’s a plausible deduction…”

Irene, inwardly surprised, sent a message to the 2nd Captain. The order was to deliver it to the Korean branch, just in case.

“Huh? They are already investigating. It seems one of the Korean branch guild members had the same thought as you, Alice.”

“Good job. I should arrange a reward for them later.”

What a loyal talent to the Iris Guild. Alice nodded with satisfaction.

*

The Korean Branch Manager of the Iris Guild.

Dr. Kang Hyorin.

She was having tea for the celebrity she met after a long time. When I first saw him, that audacious cadet becoming a renowned ability user in the whole world… It’s truly something to live and see.

“Coming here is a long time, Dr. Kang Hyorin.”

“Indeed. Cadet Lee Hoyeon. You haven’t been seen much at the academy lately.”

“I was kicked out. Because I disrupt class…”

Lee Hoyeon slumped his shoulders, looking dejected. Kang Hyorin, feeling genuine disappointment seeing that, immediately changed the subject.

“Ahem. Anyway, today I will speak from the position of Kang Hyorin, the Korean Branch Manager. Mage Lee Hoyeon. I heard you will help the Iris Guild.”

“Yes. If I can help, I should help and live. I have received much from the Iris Guild.”

In fact, I received two people. I must help at times like this to avoid being subjected to a life-or-death duel when I meet Isaac later.

“Even without this, we were going to ask… Thank you for mentioning it first.”

“Scarlet said that they would attempt another scheme while damaging the Iris Guild’s image. If my help is needed in that process, let me know anytime.”

“I also thought Scarlet’s words made sense, so while proceeding with the work, I submitted a report to headquarters. They said it was well done and told me to give a reward to that guild member. Scarlet. Do you have anything in mind?”

“Just take it.”

“Hey. Don’t be like that. Your skills are too wasted, so how about returning sneakily with this opportunity? If you and I push for it, even the Guild Master would probably accept, pretending to lose?”

“… I’ll think about it later.”

Iris Guild…

I left coolly after having a sincere conversation with the Guild Master, but would it be okay to return now? Scarlet suddenly thought that.

“Anyway, Mage Lee Hoyeon. Just as Scarlet thought, the EK Guild is preparing a scheme. It’s likely an attack against a business entity protected by the Iris Guild.”

“How can you know this so quickly?”

Not even a few hours had passed since hearing Scarlet’s words and coming to meet Kang Hyorin. Yet, can you know the truth of the incident already?

“What do they think the Iris Guild is? Even within the EK Guild, there are many people cooperating with us. Honestly, I can hardly understand why they are attacking.”

Kang Hyorin seriously tilted her head. Really, with what thoughts did those people provoke the Iris Guild?

‘And with what thoughts did they provoke this man?’

Actually, the most curious thing is the ones who provoked Lee Hoyeon. It can’t be because they don’t really know how strong this man is… Hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once; they will understand if they experience it themselves. Kang Hyorin clicked her tongue and brought the tea to her mouth.