Side Story 47. The Story After (47)

The rescue team was organized quickly.

Actually, it was hardly even a rescue team, as it was merely the Iris Guild’s prepared reserve force cautiously moving in.

Since there were no enemies, there was no need to gather forces.

“No way… Was the Iris Guild’s power this strong?”

“Stop talking nonsense. Mage Lee Hoyeon did it all by himself.”

“…What kind of bullshit is that? He killed all these guys by himself?”

The man, who was part of the Iris Guild’s reserve force, widened his eyes.

That there was a Mage who could take down this level of force alone, did that even make sense?

“He didn’t kill them. They’ve all been subdued. We called for support, so let’s clean this up slowly.”

“Isn’t subduing them harder? Whoa…”

The over 10,000 terrorists were all being suppressed by mana.

The reserve forces began cleaning up the area around the party venue, capturing the fiends and terrorists one by one.

Meanwhile, the inside of the party venue was just as chaotic.

“You placed mana on the EK Guild members? I didn’t notice it at all…”

“I only set it up as insurance, so I didn’t know it would actually be used.”

Lee Hoyeon reassured the flustered Alice, explaining the situation.

He himself hadn’t expected the EK Guild to actually attack.

Still, it was fortunate that things were resolved well, but the other people weren’t reassured yet.

“What on earth happened with the EK Guild?”

“Why did a fight break out between the Iris Guild and the EK Guild?”

Most of the reporters and VIPs, who lacked mana, couldn’t properly grasp the situation.

Even those who had witnessed the fight between the Iris Guild and the EK Guild didn’t understand why the EK Guild had suddenly shown hostility.

This was because the Iris Guild hadn’t yet accused the EK Guild and the terrorists of collusion.

“Medical team has arrived! Are there any injured?”

“There are no injured people…”

“Huh? No injured people?”

“There are people collapsed over there.”

The medical team that arrived at the scene blinked in disbelief upon seeing the EK Guild members, their entire bodies paralyzed.

Reporters swarmed the Iris Guild, throwing questions indiscriminately.

“Mage Lee Hoyeon! Please explain the situation!”

“What are your thoughts on the situation where terrorists appeared at the party hosted by the Iris Guild?”

“Are the EK Guild Leader’s words true?!”

“…”

Lee Hoyeon looked around.

The large-scale battle, his first in a while, was over.

Now, the truly troublesome part was beginning.

‘It’s about time I made my escape.’

The battle against the fiends was quite fun… but Lee Hoyeon knew best just how troublesome interviews and cleanup were.

Things like this should be left to the experts.

“Guild Leader-nim.”

“Mage Lee Hoyeon. …Are you alright? You didn’t overdo it, did you?”

Isaac had been observing the situation.

In fact, the Iris Guild hadn’t done much during this terror attack.

It was Lee Hoyeon who blocked the fiends, and it was Lee Hoyeon who subdued the EK Guild internally.

“I’m fine, really. But I think I need to rest a bit. Could I perhaps ask the Iris Guild to handle the wrap-up?”

“That’s a natural request. Leave it to us and rest.”

Lee Hoyeon smiled and nodded his head.

Seeing Isaac looking at him with a pleased expression, it seemed the plan was working out well.

“Alice. I’m not feeling well, so I think I have to go. Could you do the interview in my place?”

“…Me?”

“Yeah. Because your opinion is essentially my opinion. Ah, Irene-ssi, please help her out too.”

“Lee Hoyeon… Okay. I understand. I’ll do that.”

Irene smiled as she looked at Lee Hoyeon.

Entrusting the interview to the Iris Guild and Alice meant that he trusted the Iris Guild.

Depending on their perspective, it was an action that wouldn’t seem strange even if one thought she belonged to the Iris Guild.

It meant that Lee Hoyeon trusted them that much.

“Then, I’m counting on you, Alice.”

“Okay. I’ll handle it as best as I can.”

After making eye contact with Alice, Lee Hoyeon turned his head towards the reporters.

“Please direct all official statements to the Iris Guild. The Iris Guild’s opinion is essentially my opinion.”

As soon as Lee Hoyeon finished speaking, Alice stepped forward.

She looked more confident than earlier.

“As everyone saw, the EK Guild acted hostile towards the Iris Guild and exacerbated the chaos during the terror attack, so they have been subdued. We plan to hand them over to the Hunter Association when they arrive. The Iris Guild’s reserve force will be here soon, so distinguished guests, please rest assured.”

Watching Alice’s interview, Lee Hoyeon discreetly slipped away.

*

That night.

After the interview ended, Alice and Irene collapsed, exhausted, in the office.

Usually, the aftermath is the hardest part with things like this.

Only after being surrounded by reporters, receiving thanks from many VIPs, and hearing words of encouragement from the guild members did the schedule finally end.

The scary part was that the real work would begin tomorrow.

“Unnie. I’m exhausted…”

“Hang in there, Alice. Lee Hoyeon trusted us with this, so we have to work hard.”

Irene massaged the shoulders of her dear younger sister, who was lying face down on the desk.

She knew well how hard Alice had worked today, even doing Lee Hoyeon’s interview for him.

“Yeah. I’ll put in the effort. We gained a lot from this.”

The Iris Guild suffered no losses from this terror attack.

They had properly proven their closeness with Lee Hoyeon, and the evaluation of the Iris barrier, which withstood attacks from thousands of fiends, was also quite good.

‘Lee Hoyeon had now become an untouchable existence…’

Of course, the one whose reputation improved the most was Lee Hoyeon.

Although Lee Hoyeon had shown his power in the battle against the Demon King, people understood the information that he subdued thousands of fiends alone much better than the concept of an unknown being like the Demon King.

The Iris Guild, in a perfect alliance with him, could now start any venture advantageously.

“Unnie. Since the work is mostly done, let’s go see Lee Hoyeon.”

“Yeah. Shall we check the medical team?”

They wanted to see Lee Hoyeon’s face, and also to express their thanks.

Alice and Irene headed towards the Iris Guild’s medical team.

However, Lee Hoyeon wasn’t at the medical team.

“I was informed there were no injuries for the Iris Guild today.”

“That’s true, but… Lee Hoyeon isn’t here, is he?”

Irene tilted her head, puzzled.

Where did he go after saying he wasn’t feeling well?

“Shall we go see Scarlet?”

“Hmm. Okay…”

Actually, Alice felt a little uncomfortable around Scarlet.

This was because she had ordered Scarlet in the past to film an explicit video of Lee Hoyeon and bring it back.

Of course, Scarlet didn’t seem bothered by it… but the discomfort remained.

“I don’t really know where Hoyeon-nim is either.”

Irene and Alice went to find Scarlet.

She had come as Lee Hoyeon’s secretary, but for some reason, she seemed naturally integrated into the Iris Guild.

“Scarlet. Weren’t you his secretary?”

“That’s true, but… he doesn’t really work enough to need a secretary. Isn’t he probably resting at his residence?”

“But he said he wasn’t feeling well…”

“Hoyeon-nim is also skilled in healing magic. Let’s go check his residence.”

In the end, Irene and Alice headed towards Lee Hoyeon’s residence.

And there they found Lee Hoyeon lying on the bed, watching Nutube.

Upon seeing Alice and Irene, he quickly stood up.

“Uh… Irene-ssi, you’re here? Alice is here too?”

“…Are you okay? I was surprised because I thought you’d be at the medical team.”

Irene blinked, seeing Lee Hoyeon lying down.

He definitely said he wasn’t feeling well… why did he look okay?

“Ah. I have healing magic too. Treating myself is better than most medical teams.”

However, there were no flaws in Lee Hoyeon’s explanation.

Since he was such a magical prodigy, they naturally nodded at the explanation that he was good at healing magic.

“If so, that’s a relief. We were worried, you know.”

Alice came closer with a worried look and hugged Lee Hoyeon’s shoulders.

She was genuinely worried about Lee Hoyeon.

“Mm… Thank you, Alice.”

Lee Hoyeon patted Alice’s shoulder lightly with an awkward expression.

‘Fortunately, they didn’t seem bothered that I did it mainly out of laziness.’

Lee Hoyeon could rest comfortably, which was good, and the Iris Guild could gain his trust and certify their closeness, which was also good.

It was a win-win situation.

This was the win-win strategy.

“So, are you completely recovered now?”

Alice, who had been hugging Lee Hoyeon, lifted her head and said.

“Pretty much. I can use magic too.”

Lee Hoyeon raised his hand and conjured fire in his palm.

Seeing that, Alice suddenly recalled what had happened at the party venue.

“Come to think of it… no one noticed the magic placed on the EK Guild members at the party, did they?”

“Of course. How could anyone possibly notice Lee Hoyeon’s magic?”

Irene had decided not to doubt Lee Hoyeon anymore.

At least when it came to magic, there was no one who could touch Lee Hoyeon’s domain.

“Unnie. That means even my dad didn’t notice, right?”

“Of course. Father was greatly surprised too when the EK Guild members collapsed.”

A magic tool that nullified EK Guild members with the press of a button.

Isaac hadn’t figured that out.

That meant Isaac couldn’t sense Lee Hoyeon’s magic.

Alice nodded her head and continued speaking.

“So… it seems like we could deploy a barrier without being detected.”

“…Ah.”

Irene belatedly understood Alice’s words and looked at Lee Hoyeon.

He stared blankly at Irene and Alice for a moment before belatedly flopping down onto the bed.

“I’m not feeling well today…”

Lee Hoyeon cautiously turned his head away, seeing Alice and Irene looking at him.