"Hmm..."

I found myself sinking deeper into thought.

I was now making a lot of money, and as a hunter, it could be said that I was doing quite well.

The last thing remaining was Chae Soo-hyun’s rank.

And I was thinking it might be time to expose Chae Soo-hyun’s past. If I did that, she’d be completely expelled from the hunter community, and I wouldn’t have to see her face again.

‘How should I go about this…’

It wouldn’t be easy to make someone who’s already an S-rank hunter get reassessed. Even if I suddenly shouted, "Chae Soo-hyun is actually an E-rank hunter!!" no one would believe me. It wasn’t that kind of atmosphere, and it clashed with social conventions.

‘Hmm… What should I do… Hmm…’

Then, something crossed my mind.

‘I should give her the chance to expose herself, right? That’s what a decent person would do.’

Some might ask why I was bothering to give her a chance, but I didn’t want to dirty my own hands. Also, even if people found out about my past relationship with Chae Soo-hyun, it wasn’t a story I was particularly fond of.

‘Then I just need to drag her into a dungeon.’

A slight smile crept onto my face.

Knock knock.

Lost in thought, Chae Soo-hyun snapped back to reality.

‘Ha. How long was I daydreaming? I must have been thinking too much about Ji-hoon oppa.’

“Yes?”

“I have something to deliver to you.”

“What is it?”

It was someone from Baek Ji-hoon’s secretary office. Chae Soo-hyun’s expression brightened immediately.

‘What is it? Good news? Is Ji-hoon oppa finally sending me a signal?’

Filled with overwhelming excitement, her eyes sparkled as she looked at the person who had just entered.

“Please accept this document.”

“Yes.”

‘Huh…?’

Chae Soo-hyun looked slightly puzzled. After reading the document, her expression showed she wasn’t sure what the intent behind it was.

[Isn’t Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na basically slaves now?] Reply: Seems like it. The vibe is different, why are they working so hard? Reply: I told you, they probably have a thing for that Baek Ji-hoon guy. Reply: People were saying on the company community app that Lee Soo-ah and Baek Ji-hoon are dating. Reply: No, they said Baek Ji-hoon was dating Cha I-seul. Reply: Is he juggling multiple women?

[Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na’s recent activities] (Cool-looking pic) -> (Pic of them frantically cleaning up B-rank monsters)

What happened to these girls?

Reply: Something weird seems to be going on with Blue Guild. Reply: Do you think the auction house is related to Blue Guild? Reply: Why is Blue Guild doing so well lately? Reply: I wanna join Blue Guild too.

If you looked online recently, it was filled with comments like this.

It seemed like 99% of the discussions were about Blue Guild. In the past, the topics had been more varied, but now everyone was overwhelmingly interested in our guild. Especially those images of Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na panting as they cleaned up B-rank monsters—they were even being turned into memes.

They must know this as well.

I sent Chae Soo-hyun the document.

[Joint Attack of S-rank Hunters from Blue Guild]

Naturally, the content was about gathering all the S-rank hunters for a joint attack. This would make things obvious.

On the surface, everyone’s an S-rank hunter.

But with Chae Soo-hyun’s E-rank abilities, it would be painfully obvious. If things went this way, she would have no choice but to step down herself. I figured she had enough sense to pick up on that.

[Joint Attack of S-rank Hunters from Blue Guild]

‘Hmm… What’s this about…’

Chae Soo-hyun pondered deeply. She couldn’t figure out what the point was of gathering all the S-rank hunters like this.

‘Why? Why would they drag 11 people into a dungeon? Is there even a reason for that…?’

She thought back to the last dungeon where Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na had been behaving like slaves, which had quickly spread across the internet.

‘What is this? Is he planning to make all the S-rank hunters into slaves or something? Is that why he made Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na test it out first…?’

Since this kind of joint dungeon attack was unheard of in the hunter industry, it was impossible to discern the true intent.

‘But they included me, right? That means he still has feelings for me, doesn’t it? He misses me… That’s why he’s including me, right?’

She knew that her past actions were enough to seriously piss off Baek Ji-hoon—or any man, really. So she had fully expected him to cut her off completely.

But in reality, she had settled into Blue Guild without a hitch, and now she was being included in a joint dungeon raid with the S-rank hunters.

‘It’s a relief. He’s not mad at me. Phew…’

She thought she saw a glimmer of hope.

Though she had been quite anxious, she was now deluding herself into thinking the situation was improving.

‘Alright! Then of course!! I have to participate, right!’

“Hm? What’s this…?”

Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na had both received the same document.

“Yoo Ha-na, what do you think this is?”

“They’re talking about gathering all the S-rank hunters for a joint attack? Why? What’s the point?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. Ji-hoon… Do you think he’s into harems?”

“Oh come on, no way. Didn’t he reject you last time?”

Yoo Ha-na hit the mark with her comment, causing Lee Soo-ah to glare at her with a scowl.

“Hey, I wasn’t rejected, okay...”

“That’s totally getting rejected. And if he really was into harems, wouldn’t it be even worse for you? You didn’t even make it in.”

Yoo Ha-na smirked teasingly.

“Are you kidding me? I wasn’t rejected!! I… I’ll get my chance eventually, okay?!”

“Wake up~ I bet Baek Ji-hoon is going to marry Cha I-seul anyway.”

“Ugh, stop saying such unlucky things!”

Lee Soo-ah snapped at her.

“Anyway, I don’t know why we’re doing this…”

“Could it be that he liked the way we worked so hard to take down those monsters like slaves last time?”

Lee Soo-ah, looking hopeful, showed an eager expression.

“I can totally act like a slave again…”

“Ugh… Lee Soo-ah, get a grip. Haven’t you seen the memes going around?”

Yoo Ha-na showed her a meme circulating online.

“Yeah, I know. I get it. But… People just don’t understand our situation!”

“What don’t they understand? I think they’ve got it pretty spot on.”

Yoo Ha-na, being more rational, responded coolly.

“Anyway, I think this is meant to spark some competition among the S-rank hunters. I’ll take first place.”

“Go ahead~ It’s mine anyway, so think whatever you want~”

Yoo Ha-na scoffed.

“Hunter Baek Ji-hoon.”

“Yes.”

“All the S-rank hunters have responded. They’ve all agreed to participate.”

“Even Chae Soo-hyun?”

“Yes, she seemed very excited.”

‘Yes. She’s taken the bait. But why is she happy?’

It was a bit confusing.

‘Isn’t she misunderstanding something?’

Though it was ridiculous, she’d figure it out soon enough.

“Huh? You’re gathering all the S-rank hunters?”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“To expose Chae Soo-hyun as an E-rank, of course.”

“Oh…”

A look of understanding crossed his face.

“So you’re planning to make her embarrassed enough to quit on her own.”

“Do you really think Chae Soo-hyun will give up willingly? I don’t think that’s in her character…”

He looked a bit worried.

“If she doesn’t, we’ll just make her do it by force~”

It was only a matter of time.

There was no way she could become an S-rank again.

There was no way she could recover her abilities on her own.

“Alright, let’s get going.”

“Yes!”

“Hello. Thank you all for accepting my invitation.”

I was addressing a group of 10 S-rank hunters. We were now standing in front of an A-rank dungeon.

“The reason I’ve gathered you here is because our Blue Guild has become famous for having 11 S-rank hunters. We’re gaining global recognition.”

Everyone nodded in agreement as I spoke.

Blue Guild was now reaching unprecedented levels of fame.

No other guild in the world had more than 5 S-rank hunters.

“And that’s why I think it’s important for us to create a strong concept, emphasizing what makes our guild unique.”

I glanced at Chae Soo-hyun.

She was smiling brightly, as if she had some strange expectations.

‘Is she crazy? Why is she so happy?’

She didn’t seem to realize she was heading straight toward her downfall.

‘Well, that’s good for me. It’ll make my job easier.’

“And so, I believe that by showing the world how the 11 of us work together to conquer a dungeon, we’ll increase our value even further.”

‘Of course, the real purpose is to expose Chae Soo-hyun…’

Everyone nodded, showing their agreement. No one resisted.

It was an unusual and bold move, but they believed there was a valid reason behind it.

“Alright then, I’ll give you your first mission. Complete the task I give you, and we’ll move forward step by step.”

My assistant Hyung-seok stood beside me, handing out sheets of paper with the missions to each S-rank hunter.

“So we just need to complete these?”

“Yes, this is the first step.”

Of course, it was an easy mission for an S-rank hunter, but I had given Chae Soo-hyun an impossibly difficult quest for someone of E-rank.

Naturally, I was curious about her reaction, so I couldn’t help but watch her closely.

Her face had turned bright red, her expression one of utter shock.