"S-rank Hunters? You plan to gather them all?"

"Yes, I intend to bring them all into our Blue Guild and place them as division heads under my leadership in A-Team."

"That's... impossible..."

Of course, in the current landscape, it did seem impossible. There were 15 S-rank Hunters in the country, each typically affiliated with a top 10 guild or, like Yoo Hana, working in other sectors. The idea of gathering them all seemed absurd.

"You must be joking, right?"

"No, I'm serious. I truly plan to gather them. We already have three in Blue Guild."

I spoke with complete seriousness.

He seemed to quickly grasp the situation. After all, I had already secured Yoo Hana and Lee Soo-ah.

"I understand. If you ever consider collaborating with Baekho Guild, please reach out."

He handed me a sleek, expensive-looking business card before leaving.

'Collaboration, huh? Not interested.'

When it came to Baekho Guild, all I could think of was Cha Soo-hyun.

"So, Oppa, how did it go? What about that Baek Ji-hoon guy?"

"He seems a bit crazy."

"Why?"

Cha Soo-hyun’s expression brightened slightly.

"He said he plans to gather all the S-rank Hunters into his guild. Isn’t that insane? How does he plan to do that?"

"What...?"

Cha Soo-hyun’s voice turned sharp, as if she had just heard something deeply unsettling.

"He mentioned he already has Yoo Hana and Lee Soo-ah. He might actually be serious."

"Sigh..."

Cha Soo-hyun could sense it. She knew Baek Ji-hoon wasn't the type to make empty claims.

'Is he really planning to gather the S-ranks...? If that happens...'

Her world was growing darker. Her value was plummeting, and it wasn’t even close to hitting bottom yet.

'What are you planning, Ji-hoon oppa...'

"Anyway, you should focus more on your media activities."

"Huh?"

"It sounds ridiculous, but if by some miracle Baek Ji-hoon really does gather all the S-rank Hunters, they’d have a monopoly. We can’t let that happen. We need to maintain our image as the guild with the number one S-rank Hunter."

"Yeah... right..."

The phrase "number one S-rank" hit her hard. On the surface, she was the top S-rank, but in reality, she was nothing more than an E-rank Hunter. Once a Hunter reaches S-rank, they don’t undergo reassessment, so as long as she avoided a re-evaluation, she could keep up the facade.

'Thankfully, S-rank Hunters don’t usually take the frontlines due to their conditions. If I act intimidating enough, I might be able to avoid suspicion...'

She was deeply anxious, feeling like she was walking on thin ice. Meanwhile, Baek Ji-hoon was moving far ahead, at a pace she couldn’t keep up with.

'Sigh... If only I hadn’t been so stupid...'

The situation had completely flipped in just 10 days.

'It’s not over yet. I have to hang on somehow... even if it means leaving Baekho Guild...'

Her thoughts were becoming increasingly tangled.

"Hyung, how did your conversation with Lee Jin-hyuk go?"

"It was nothing special. He was just babbling nonsense, so I told him I’m going to gather all the S-rank Hunters."

"Oh... I see. But..."

"What?"

"Did you send any letters or messages to the S-rank Hunters?"

"No? Why?"

"Then why did an S-rank Hunter come here to see you?"

"What?"

I followed Hyung-seok’s lead into the meeting room, where I found S-rank Hunter Cha I-seul waiting.

'What? Cha I-seul?'

"Ji-hoon, long time no see."

She greeted me with a warm, familiar smile.

"Hyung-seok... Hyung-seok..."

Lee Soo-ah caught Park Hyung-seok as he was passing by, her voice urgent.

"That... that woman, who is she? Why is she here?"

"Oh, that’s S-rank Hunter Cha I-seul."

"Of course, I know who Cha I-seul is! I mean, why is she here?"

"I don’t know? She said she wanted to see Ji-hoon hyung. Maybe she saw him on TV?"

"Why all of a sudden? And their relationship seems a bit... strange. What’s going on between them?"

Lee Soo-ah looked genuinely worried.

"I’m not sure. I didn’t ask, but I’ll let you know if I find out anything."

Park Hyung-seok walked away, unfazed.

'That’s not a normal relationship... Something’s definitely up...'

Lee Soo-ah watched them with anxious eyes.

"What are you doing?"

Yoo Hana’s slightly irritated voice interrupted her.

"Ugh... Yoo Hana, now’s not the time for us to be fighting."

"What do you mean?"

"Look at that."

Lee Soo-ah pointed to Cha I-seul.

"Huh? Cha I-seul? What? Why is she here? Did Ji-hoon call her?"

Yoo Hana was equally shocked when she realized what was happening.

"No, Ji-hoon didn’t call her. She came here on her own."

"Why...? She’s from Zeus Guild, isn’t she? We don’t have any connections with them..."

"Ugh... What is this...?"

The two S-rank Hunters were desperate to eavesdrop on the conversation, but the room was soundproof, so they couldn’t hear a thing. Their anxiety was palpable.

"Ji-hoon, it’s been a while."

"Uh... yeah."

I was genuinely taken aback. It had been a long time since I last saw her. Almost five or six years.

I was face to face with an old childhood friend I hadn’t seen in years.

Cha I-seul.

We had known each other for nearly 20 years. But then...

I-seul had to move due to family circumstances, and we lost contact. I had heard she was busy, so we hadn’t stayed in touch, and then she had become an S-rank Hunter.

I had heard about her becoming an A-rank Hunter, but I was too embarrassed to reach out after that. So I just stayed quiet.

"Congrats on becoming an S-rank Hunter."

"Heh, same to you. I saw you on TV."

We exchanged pleasantries.

"How did you suddenly become an S-rank?"

It was the question everyone was dying to ask, but I couldn’t give her an answer.

I couldn’t exactly tell her about Cha Soo-hyun, the succubus.

"I just discovered some unknown traits of mine a bit late."

"Oh, I see. We have a few people like that in our guild too. Late bloomers, you know."

She nodded as if she understood perfectly.

"I knew you were doing well as an S-rank Hunter, but I didn’t reach out because it felt awkward..."

"Hey, you should’ve reached out anyway..."

"Well, I was just an E-rank..."

I scratched the back of my head with an awkward smile.

Our relationship had always been a bit complicated. No matter how long we’d known each other, there was a huge gap between an S-rank and an E-rank. Of course, that’s not the case anymore.

I ended up chatting with Cha I-seul for a long time, catching up on everything we had missed during our years apart.

"What are you two doing?"

Park Hyung-seok interrupted Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana as they anxiously observed Baek Ji-hoon.

"Hyung-seok... What’s going on here...?"

"What do you mean?"

"Cha I-seul is here... in our guild."

"Yeah, well, it looks like things are going according to what Ji-hoon hyung said. Who knows? Maybe all the S-rank Hunters really will gather here."

Park Hyung-seok spoke casually, as if it was no big deal. In fact, he seemed optimistic about how things were progressing.

"Sigh..."

Lee Soo-ah massaged her temples, struggling to process the rapid changes. She was clearly overwhelmed.

"Hana."

"Yes?"

"I’m sorry, but... should we form an alliance? A truce?"

"What...?"

Yoo Hana looked startled, clearly not expecting such a suggestion.

"An alliance? Just the two of us?"

Park Hyung-seok was equally surprised.

"If we keep fighting, Cha I-seul might end up getting closer to Ji-hoon instead. We can’t let that happen, right?"

Lee Soo-ah’s eyes glinted with determination.

"Uh... yeah... I guess..."

Yoo Hana was flustered, but she agreed.

"We shouldn’t be fighting each other. Now’s not the time."

"Yes, I agree."

It was the moment when two well-known rivals in the Hunter industry decided to join forces.

"So, what brings you here all of a sudden? Did you have something you wanted to talk about?"

I asked, curious about her visit. If it was just a friendly reunion, it would have made more sense to meet somewhere else, not at the guild.

"Well, how about this? What do you think of Zeus Guild and Blue Guild working together?"

"Huh?"

"Our guild hasn’t really had any connections with Blue Guild before. But now that you’re with them, I thought it might be a good idea for us to collaborate..."

Her suggestion reminded me of the offer from Lee Jin-hyuk.

"Hmm..."

I took a moment to think.

"How about this? I have a counter-proposal."

"Yes?"

I decided to make an offer of my own.

"Iseul, what do you think about joining Blue Guild?"

"What...?"

Cha I-seul looked genuinely shocked by my proposal.