Side Story 39. The Story After (39)

Whoooooong-

A private jet slowly landed amidst the forest.

“Hmm… So this is the air of France.”

Lee Hoyeon, who had disembarked from the private jet, took a deep breath and stepped onto French soil.

Inside the Iris Guild’s premises, the place where the private jet lands.

It’s a place I’m visiting after a long time, since the last time.

“It’s been a while since I was here. I even saw my friend Scarlet here back then, didn’t I?”

“Indeed. It’s a good memory. Today, we can just walk right in.”

Scarlet greeted the pilot and then led the way into the Iris Guild.

Since my role was like an escort who brought Mage Lee Hoyeon, I need to act a bit more confidently today.

“Hoyeon-nim. Straighten your shoulders and walk confidently. It’s an official visit today.”

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

Lee Hoyeon looked around as he walked through the forest.

CCTV cameras and hidden guild members were visible everywhere.

As expected of the world’s best guild, the security was excellent.

‘I wonder if Alice and Irene-ssi are doing well.’

Thinking of the blonde sisters, after walking for about 10 more minutes, the Iris Guild’s building came into view.

Lee Hoyeon followed Scarlet’s lead and entered the building.

As soon as they entered the building, several guild members recognized Scarlet and approached her.

“Oh my, Scarlet!”

“Scarlet-nim! It’s been a while!”

“It’s nice to see you all. I’m glad to be back.”

Scarlet naturally exchanged greetings with the others.

Anyone could see that she looked like a guild member returning after a long time.

‘But why is she acting so natural?’

Didn’t she quit the Iris Guild?

It feels like nobody would even notice if she just returned like this.

Click- clack-

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

Just then, a familiar voice was heard from inside.

Spotting the approaching blonde beauty, Lee Hoyeon smiled and went towards her.

“Irene-ssi, you’re still as pretty as ever?”

“…Ahem. Thank you for coming to help today. You agreed to our official request even though you must be busy.”

Irene replied, subtly avoiding Lee Hoyeon’s gaze.

Seeing that, Lee Hoyeon felt pleased and took another step closer, opening his mouth.

“Oh, don’t mention it. Between us… Where are the Guild Leader and Alice?”

“They’re waiting since you said you were coming. Let’s go inside.”

“Okay. Scarlet, let’s stop greeting and go.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

Scarlet finished her greetings and adjusted her clothes again.

Because she was meeting the Guild Leader after a long time, she felt unnecessarily nervous.

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

“Hey, Scarlet. Where are you going? We haven’t seen each other in ages, and you still need to greet the information team.”

“Huh? What? No. I’m an important figure who came with Mage Lee Hoyeon today… Kyaak!”

They linked arms with Scarlet from both sides and dragged her somewhere.

Swept up by the large crowd, Scarlet disappeared towards the other side of the building with a Kyaaak-!

“…Huh?”

“What are you doing? Looks like Scarlet has some circumstances. Let’s go by ourselves.”

Lee Hoyeon blinked at the sudden situation and looked at Irene.

‘Is this really okay? She followed me as my escort, though…’

“Irene-ssi. Isn’t Scarlet needed today?”

“It’s fine. Greeting the Iris Guild members is also an important task, isn’t it?”

“Surely you didn’t order that, Irene-ssi?”

“…”

Irene walked ahead without answering.

*

The Iris Guild Leader’s room.

Inside the luxuriously decorated room, a blonde man and woman were sitting.

The man smiled a welcoming smile as Lee Hoyeon entered the room.

“It’s been a while, Mage Lee Hoyeon.”

“Guild Leader-nim. It’s been a while.”

Lee Hoyeon gave a quick nod towards Isaac.

A dignified, blonde handsome man dressed in neat, formal attire.

He is the Guild Leader of the Iris Guild and the father of Alice and Irene, Isaac.

I always think this guy is quite handsome whenever I see him.

Of course, not as much as myself, though.

“Mage Lee Hoyeon-nim, how busy must you be that you’re only showing your face now?”

Alice, who was sitting next to Isaac, opened her mouth, fiddling with her blonde hair.

Alice looked at Lee Hoyeon with a dissatisfied expression.

It’s the first time I’ve seen him in a month, and it feels like there’s not enough gladness.

Shouldn’t he be showing me more affection?

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

“Even if I say I’m busy, isn’t it proper etiquette to make time and come see me at least once?”

“Sorry…”

Honestly, I didn’t quite understand, but I apologized for now.

Because dark circles were visible under Alice’s eyes.

Messing with Alice in that state unnecessarily could lead to trouble.

“Now, now. Let’s talk about that later. For now, sit down there. We came for official business today, so Alice, don’t make that face.”

Fortunately, thanks to Irene’s mediation, I could escape Alice’s scary gaze.

I gave Irene a nod of thanks and sat down.

“Right. Mage Lee Hoyeon. We have a lot to discuss today, so let’s start quickly.”

“Yes. Guild Leader-nim.”

“…By the way, it seems you’ve gotten closer with my daughters?”

“Father. Stop it already and let’s have the discussion!”

“Tsk. Fine.”

Isaac glared at Lee Hoyeon, contrary to his words.

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

This family is just a bit strange, you know.

They have pretty and handsome faces, but sometimes their vibe is intimidating.

Clap- clap-

Irene, having refreshed the atmosphere with clapping, took the lead in the conversation.

“Now, Mage Lee Hoyeon. You heard roughly from the Korean Branch Manager, right? How much do you know?”

“I know there’s a planned terror attack at the party venue. I also heard that guilds dissatisfied with the Iris Guild are supporting the terrorist group.”

“In summary, that’s correct, but… I’ll tell you in more detail.”

Under Irene’s guidance, Lee Hoyeon received detailed information about the terror attack.

There were more groups announcing the terror attack than expected, and the involved guilds and corporations were large and complex.

Especially, the hostile guilds were larger in scale than Lee Hoyeon had estimated.

“Ultimately, the guilds whose positions were taken as the Iris Guild expanded their business are angry, right?”

“That’s true. However, we conduct business more fairly than any other place. Businesses don’t just enter simply because they are powerful.”

“I suppose so. Because both Irene-ssi and the Guild Leader-nim seem like kind people.”

“Why are you leaving me out?”

“Alice, you’re obviously kind too.”

Lee Hoyeon completely trusted the Iris Guild.

Because there was no way the place where Irene and Alice were could be a bad place.

“This is the layout map of the party venue. The place where the terror attack is expected is the right annex. Therefore, the guilds associated with the terrorist group have been placed on the right side.”

“Really? Anyway, if I cast a barrier, nobody will die, right?”

“Hmm. That is true…”

As Irene mumbled, Isaac continued speaking.

“They are the ones who decided to cause a disturbance from inside when the terror attack happens. It’s easier to deal with them if they’re all gathered in one place.”

“If we know that in advance, can’t we just arrest them from the beginning?”

“They’re aiming for that too. Even if information about the terror attack leaked, ultimately, it’s the Iris Guild claiming it. They probably intend to wage a propaganda campaign, saying they’ll eliminate rival guilds by linking them to the terror attack.”

“Doesn’t the Iris Guild have a tight grip on the world media?”

“You can wage a propaganda campaign even without the media. The world really hates the image of the strong oppressing the weak. Whether it’s true or not.”

Isaac continued speaking, looking at Lee Hoyeon.

The most important thing in this terror attack is actually to quickly subdue the internal enemies.

“Mage Lee Hoyeon. As soon as the terror attack happens, they will cause a disturbance. We must subdue them as our top priority.”

“Ahem, Guild Leader-nim. You don’t have to call me Mage Lee Hoyeon; it’s okay to call me casually.”

Everyone calling me Mage Lee Hoyeon feels somewhat burdensome.

Especially since Isaac is the Guild Leader of the Iris Guild, the world’s best guild.

It feels awkward for such a person to use respectful speech towards me.

“No. I believe the strong deserve corresponding treatment. There must be appropriate titles fitting each other’s positions.”

“Understood. I’ll focus on the work too. Hmm, this has become troublesome. Then, it would be best to set up a barrier outside and quickly deal with the inside.”

“Right. I apologize for saying this, but I hope you subdue them as much as possible without killing them. It’s better that way to avoid complaints.”

“Don’t worry. That’s my specialty.”

Adjusting my strength to avoid killing is an annoying task, but it’s not necessarily difficult.

If I don’t aim for vital points, humans are surprisingly resilient.

“EK Guild, Seoyu Guild, even the HA Alliance… All the trash has gathered.”

“Yeah. It’s safe to say it’s a gathering of criminals.”

“Are those people that bad?”

Lee Hoyeon spoke to Alice and Irene, who were looking through information beside him.

I heard from the Korean Branch Manager that they were bad guys, but I didn’t know how much of fucking bastards they were.

“Here, look at this. It’s roughly organized.”

Lee Hoyeon frowned as he looked at the hologram monitor Alice handed over.

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

It made me wonder how these bastards became major guilds.

“There was a lot of slander against the Iris Guild too. They even spread sexual scandals about me and Unnie.”

“Alice. What did you just say?”

“The sexual scandal about Unnie and me? It was quite interesting. There’s a man in the EK Guild named Libera, who was considered the strongest hunter before you appeared. I ran into him at the party, and they took photos of that…”

“Guild Leader-nim.”

Lee Hoyeon cut off Alice’s words and looked at Isaac.

My chest grew cold.

I immediately got a sense of how to deal with them.

“Just kill them.”

“What?”

“I said let’s kill them. Just leave it to me. The moment the terror attack happens, if I immerse the emotions of the people at the party venue in fear, it will be easier when receiving testimony. I will handle it so that no one can find fault.”

“…”

Isaac blinked, looking at the suddenly changed Lee Hoyeon.

Being cooperative is good, but he’s become too violent.

‘I thought his personality was gentle, but was that not the case?’

Isaac revised the information he had on Lee Hoyeon.