The two recognized each other at a glance.
One was a woman dressed like a warrior from a historical drama, her wrists wrapped in bandages.
The other was a man with cracked, damaged skin, wearing a hood even in the broad daylight, his skin wrapped in bandages.

‘That wrist bandage. I saw it briefly before, but it’s the same way it was tied back then. It has to be her.’
‘The man whose face was so damaged he had to wrap his skin in bandages. It’s definitely the same guy.’

If Min Woosung were here, he’d be shocked by how many other features stood out, more noticeable than just the bandages. But even so, both of them were visibly startled the moment they recognized each other.

‘If that tremor just now was caused by him, he must be angry.’

Hae Eung-eung felt deeply apologetic towards Shin Seong-gwak.
The store where they had hidden magical waste that summoned monsters,
almost causing Ah-young’s death,
was originally believed to be a scheme by Myeongho Guild.
However, the truth revealed was that it was an insurance fraud by the convenience store owner who was after a payout.
The poor former powerhouse had fought with her for no reason,
and his house had been ruined and put up for quick sale.
Meanwhile, she had ended up receiving the house for free, without spending a single penny, taking it on a permanent lease.
Unless you’re a saint, it was only natural to be angry about this.

‘Could Shin Seong-gwak have fallen into a trap?’

Shin Seong-gwak recalled how he ended up in this situation.
Numerous trainees had left the Awakener Academy.
They were taken by a mysterious new guild.
The audacious individuals who had made his old home their guild headquarters
had even appointed the assassin who attacked him as their Guild Leader.
It was only reasonable to think that these suspicious circumstances could only be a trap.

“You, you’re a very scary person.”
[I'm sorry about what happened before.]
“When did you start planning this?”
[What do you mean by planning?]
“Of course you’d say that. If I were to admit it, I wouldn't have gone this far in the first place.”

Shin Seong-gwak was angrier than Hae Eung-eung had anticipated.

“Back then, when I asked you to clean up the mess, it wasn’t with pure intentions of getting the young ones to deal with it, was it?”

The feelings Shin Seong-gwak had were not just anger, but closer to betrayal.

“After the attack disguised as a grudge, my only pride, my beloved mansion, was ruined. I couldn’t even afford to repair it.”
“With my days numbered, and having returned to active duty, I couldn’t afford to fix it. So, I decided to sell it.”
“But the person who bought the mansion was someone you sent from your organization, and through some channels, the ownership of the mansion ended up in your hands.”

The so-called warnings, the nighttime raid—
it was all part of the plan to get the mansion.

“If I hadn’t realized the true value of this mansion site, you wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to scheme.”
[What are you talking about?]
“It’s no use pretending. Don’t you know that Guild Leader Lee Myung-ho, when he was a comrade, allowed the land use change and construction permits for this mansion site without restrictions?”

What was this?
Hae Eung-eung glanced back at So Gyeong-seok, who was watching from a distance.
Even a skilled spy like So Gyeong-seok seemed to have not gathered this delicate information, as he shook his head.

Shin Seong-gwak, a second-generation Awakener from Myeongho Guild,
was a founding member who had contributed greatly to the establishment of the guild,
and Guild Leader Lee Myung-ho had provided many benefits to him, including the mansion site.

Though he had bought the mansion himself with the money he earned from his hard days as an active warrior,
there had been invisible perks involved.

His Guild Leader had noticed his growing interest in building and decorating his own house,
so all kinds of construction permits were freely granted,
and the land became free from restrictions like building codes and land laws.

“Of course, that includes the Guild Fragmentation Prevention Act.”

To prevent excessive guild fragmentation,
strict standards for guild formation were established.
In addition to the well-known public requirements,
there were also significant hidden, undisclosed conditions tied to government approval for guild establishments.

“The speed of guild establishment approval for this land. Isn’t that what you were after?”

Guild offices in commercial buildings
are not judged by the area of the office itself but by the total floor area of the building,
which means the review time is prolonged.
Other tenants in the building must consent,
and legal time must be allotted to inform them of any potential damage caused directly or indirectly by the guild office.

“That’s what you say to cover up the real intention. If you wanted to expedite the guild’s approval, you had to bribe or meet contribution requirements.”

Of course, few would actually pay the money directly to the guild association.
Guilds without backing usually meet the contribution requirements,
while guilds with strong backing pressure the association to speed up the review process.

“You’re not the kind of person who would be without a backer, and yet you were after the mansion site to avoid the restrictions of guild formation approval, using the land to hide your backers!”

So Gyeong-seok’s mind exploded with realization.

‘I see! Hae Eung-eung is definitely part of a villainous organization. She must have obtained information about this mansion and attacked it because she has some unacknowledged backer!’

It was pointless to question why she didn’t just choose a different kind of facility for her guild office.

No matter what kind of facility they used,
the association had intricate traps for bribery in every type,
making it impossible to avoid.
In this entire Myeongho-dong area, the only place that was an exception was this mansion site of Shin Seong-gwak.

“I now understand why you didn’t kill me that day. If you had killed me directly, the ownership of this mansion would have gone to someone else, so you had to create a plausible excuse to avoid that trouble.”
“And after realizing I couldn’t afford to spend a large amount on repairing the mansion, you figured you could do what you did and take it over.”
“By using a flimsy excuse, you mocked me. Did that make you happy?”

What a ridiculously detailed scheme.
Hae Eung-eung, wronged and furious,
quickened the pace of her note-taking, but before she could even show a response,
Shin Seong-gwak continued with his own speech even faster.

“You’ve been hiding your true identity and infiltrating Myeongho-dong all along, and now your purpose is clear. You want to swallow this entire Myeongho Guild!”

As a second-generation Awakener who had experienced many dirty schemes,
Shin Seong-gwak had developed a knack for calculating what his enemies might be planning.
And now,
his sharp mind had arrived at a shocking hypothesis.

“If your plans are exposed, you’ll be tightly controlled by the relentless countermeasures of Myeongho Guild, so you devised such a clever plot to conceal your identity.”

[This is a misunderstanding. I had no such plan...]

“You’ve been trying to form a new guild, associating with people unrelated to your organization from the very beginning.”

[Let me answer slowly...]

“The result of all this is the civilians and rookie Awakeners, and this Haenampa Guild!”

With the continued accusations,
Hae Eung-eung, who had grown more furious than apologetic,
was ready to act.

Swoosh!

Deciding that words weren’t getting through,
Hae Eung-eung drew her sword,
intending to knock him out first
and discuss things later,
but the employees, unable to hide their excitement about the thrilling development, spoke up.

“Our Guild Leader is amazing!”
“Wow!”
“So, does that mean we have backers too?”

Unlike the naive employees dreaming their fantasy,
So Gyeong-seok, who had worked as a freelancer for the association and had completed many dirty jobs,
seriously wondered whether it was time to escape.
Hae Eung-eung’s pulling of her sword made it look like she was deciding to finish the mission with a final, fatal blow,
and So Gyeong-seok felt the heavy atmosphere that followed.

“You can’t fight here! The mood is already tense from the terror incident, and if a fight breaks out, we won’t be able to clean it up!”

So Gyeong-seok, trying to be clever, spoke up.
However, Hae Eung-eung, already fed up with Shin Seong-gwak’s incessant speech,
had torn through her notebook five times in frustration and didn’t want to listen anymore.

“Sir, you should calm down. If things escalate here, it’s bad for both sides.”
“Do you think I’ll just let this go after you humiliated me like this!”
“If a fight breaks out, you might die, sir.”

So Gyeong-seok’s comment made Shin Seong-gwak pause.

‘Wait, what will happen if a fight really breaks out?’

Even though it was an ambush,
Shin Seong-gwak doubted he could win, having already been defeated once in a straight confrontation.
The chances of winning were slim, and even if he managed to survive,
his condition would worsen due to excessive use of his powers, worsening his magical illness.
After that, he would likely be immobile, unable to even tend to the guild’s affairs.
If the faction that once held power in Myeongho Guild fell,
the guild would be left vulnerable and unable to survive.

‘If I can’t get out of here, Myeongho Guild might collapse!’

Hae Eung-eung glared at So Gyeong-seok, her frustration rising,
and Shin Seong-gwak, seeing her reaction, interpreted it as her scolding her subordinate for ruining the plan.
The stakes had never been higher, with his life and the guild’s future hanging in the balance.
The weight of dealing with such an overwhelming threat pushed him to his limits.

“Grrr!”

Suddenly, Shin Seong-gwak’s heart started to fail.
He gripped his chest and groaned in pain,
before collapsing to his knees, gasping for air.

“???”
“Why is he acting like this?”
“Did our Guild Leader ambush him?!”
“Eh? We didn’t even see the sword being drawn!”
“That’s how skilled he is.”

Of course, the explanation was a misunderstanding.
Shin Seong-gwak’s collapse was due to stress-induced cardiomyopathy, not an ambush from Hae Eung-eung.

“Oh no, this isn’t the time for this. We need an ambulance…”
[No need to call one.]
“Guild Leader?”

Hae Eung-eung glanced down at Shin Seong-gwak with a displeased expression before loosening her grip.

[He keeps interrupting me, but I suppose this is an opportunity. I’ll treat him myself.]