Ambitious Man (1)
“Hm… I think my shoes look a little dirty…”
At my words, Jung Yura’s expression crumpled into an ugly, distorted frown. However, seeing her trembling, I knew she would have no choice but to concede to what I wanted.
‘Hmm…’
This entire time, I could feel Lee Jihye’s heavy gaze set upon me. At this point, I was more curious about how she had scored such a high position within the Black Swans than I was curious about Jung Yura’s wellbeing.
The girl in question spoke. “You seem to be curious about this situation.”
“Sure, I am. Honestly, I’m surprised they let you treat her this way. Even with the trouble she’s caused, she’s still quite powerful in her own right. Are you sure there aren’t any risks in what you’re doing?”
“There is no risk at all, rest assured.”
I stopped talking then, only because I was busy assessing Yura’s status with my ability.
[Check player Jung Yura’s status window and potential.]
[Name-Yura Jung]
[Title-The Worst Woman Ever]
[Age-29]
[Propensity-Calculating Strategist]
[Job-Assassination Thief-Rare Grade]
[Job Effect-Acquisition of basic archery knowledge]
[Occupational Effect-Acquisition of basic dagger skills]
[Occupational Effect-Acquisition of basic trapping knowledge]
[Job Effect-Acquisition of basic assassination knowledge]
[The acquired knowledge is not available.]
[Capacity]
[Strength -41→05/Growth limit: Hero or higher]
[Agility-55→10/Growth limit: Hero or higher]
[Health -43 → 11 /Growth limit: Hero or less]
[Intellect -40 → 30 /Growth limit: Rare or less]
[Durability -20 → 05 /Growth limit: Rare or higher]
[Luck -23→10/Growth limit: Rare or less]
[Holy -43→09/Growth limit: Hero or higher]
[Overall Review-Her body is damaged due to external shock. Most of her magic circuits were destroyed. Due to the damage to her muscle fibers, her stats have decreased. It is not an exaggeration to say that her life as an adventurer is over. She can be healed with divine healing magic or with a saintly-class priest, but there is no assurance of such as an event. Anyway, this is so very tragic. To lose a talent with great potential, unlike Kiyoung Lee, is indeed a tragedy to behold.]
‘Huh…’
Among everything I’ve read, her newly-assigned title caught my eye.
I had been expecting the creation of such a title, but I wasn’t expecting her stats to decrease as a result. Upon seeing my curious expression, Lee Jihye spoke up once again.
“Her body has been damaged in various places, you see.”
“…”
“She looks fine on the outside, but they say she’s going to struggle to even live a normal life. The media’s so harsh that it’s a relief she isn’t dead yet. Honestly, I’m the one who saved her life. The situation hasn’t even been assessed properly yet, and this happens. That’s why the higher-ups of our guild are angry.”
“I understand.”
“While we were still trying to understand what exactly had happened, there were some other people who thought that now would be the right time to show what would happen to people who they thought ‘abused’ their powers, and I guess they singled her out as a prime example.”
“Hmm…”
“There’re some more internal issues at hand, but since they’re guild matters, I’m not authorized to tell you, no matter what position I hold.”
“Does that mean there’s a power struggle within the guild?” Even as I asked, I already knew the answer.
As expected, Lee Jihye nodded.
I honestly thought the Black Swans were a cluttered mess, but I didn’t expect for it to be this bad. There must have been a lot of power-hungry people like Jung Yura in their midst. Perhaps this event wasn’t a bad thing after all – it gave them a reason to start throwing out the trash among them.
“The people who hold positions within our guild were all rotten to the core, so it was only right to cut them off and replace the Guild Master. I’m sure you think the same.”
“Well…”
“I’m not someone who speaks with no factual basis, you know. If everything goes well, the guild will be refined, and the guild master will get replaced. And contrary to what you think, most of this has been done peacefully.”
“Does that explain why you’ve been sent here? With this woman?”
“What really matters here is how our internal affairs are going, not what will happen to Yura. Another important thing to take note of is what the public thinks of this mess. You definitely made a bigger spectacle this time, oppa.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
“You seem to be worrying about me using this information against you. Don’t worry, recording magic doesn’t exist. Anyway, I had to do what was best for the guild, and that meant siding with a few insignificant members, or siding with you and the public.”
“And what’d you do?”
“I just wrote a few hundred reports after analyzing the current situation, and the cause as to why the guild has been decaying. I also took into account the direction in which the Black Swan should take to move forward, the relationship between the Blue and Red Mercenaries, and the possibility of Blue’s growth in the future. I also included what kind of man you are, oppa. However, I don’t think I’ve expounded on that clearly enough.”
“…”
“Anyway, my actions seemed a little too fresh for the higher-ups. Why do you think we’ve suddenly come to visit, even when we know our guild’s still in hot water after the recent press coverage?”
Ah, she really was crafty, this Lee Jihye.
In other words, she was saying she took the guild’s internal crisis as an opportunity to unleash her skills and show them what she was capable of.
“The fact report wasn’t perfect, that’s for sure. I’m not as talented as you are, Kiyoung, and I didn’t have enough time. Anyway, in a situation where no one wanted to step up and take responsibility, I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to step up just this once and show them what I could offer.”
“So what did you have in mind? Any changes?”
“Of course… Well, I think you’re more curious about the reason why. Could we talk about this later? You’ll have to tell us the conditions you want first. We can compensate you as much as we can. In addition to the official apology gift, we still have a lot to spare… Ah, I can give you this woman, too, if you want her!”
“Huh, how sincere of you.”
“But of course!”
As I glanced back towards the said woman, I could see Jung Yura still struggling helplessly on the floor. A slight smile broke onto my face as I watched her. How despicable.
‘I know deep inside, she’s still going to want to recover.’
Of course, high-ranking priests or divine elixirs weren’t readily available in these parts. There weren’t a few people who could really be called high priests in the first place, and the process of bringing them in was a painfully expensive affair.
The same went for the elixirs, since alchemy wasn’t a popular class, and the ingredients were rare.
In other words, the best shot Jung Yura had at this was by continuously attacking dungeons and recovering her own strength, little by little.
As I reached out to brush away a few strands of her hair, I could see her expression as she looked up. It was a mix of anger, resentment, worry, and regret. It was such a messy expression, compared to my shoes, which had now been wiped clean at my request.
“In fact, I didn’t think things would go so well…”
“…”
It was true, though – my interest had been piqued.
“I guess now you’ve realized, huh?”
“Y-Yes…”
“I’ve realized that you don’t really know what can happen to people unless it actually happens.”
“…”
“It’s hard to understand, but I think it’s just the right type of retribution for people like you. If you were given an opportunity again, you’d probably go back to the way you were.”
“…”
“Don’t worry, that principle applies to me, too.”
“Ah…”
“However, it won’t happen the way you hope for it to. Unlike you, I’m not a brat who only learns once she’s at the bottom.”
“…”
“In your case, you were just out of luck this time around. If you work hard, you may be able to recover, so try to live with strength. And uh, since you’ve stuck to your values ‘til the end. I think you deserve a little reward. That’s what makes society beautiful, am I right?”
As I went through my pockets, Jung Yura’s expression crumpled even further. I then took a handful of gold coins and dropped them all to the floor. Blood dripped from Yura’s lips, as she had been biting at them too intensely.
In addition to this. tears had also started running down the woman’s cheeks.
“Shouldn’t we manage our expressions into something more fitting? Hm?”
“Yes, Yura. It’s a gift from oppa, after all.”
“…Thank you.”
Watching her pick up the gold from the floor in such a pitiful manner made me smile. It was amusing as to how easily one could fall from her pedestal.
I knew this was not the type of lesson-giving a morally-inept person would choose to take, but I knew this was the only way to make Jung Yura truly learn.
To beat the enemy, you must be willing to be as crafty as you can without deserting your values.
This whole, messy situation wasn’t over just yet, but I was going to severe my relationship with Jung Yura right at this moment.
“It was fun while it lasted. You can leave anytime you want.”
Perhaps Yura would never recover from this. I couldn’t see any large guild wanting to invest in her, even in the far future.
As hope is great, so is despair.
One may think that there’s a rainbow after the rain, that there’s pleasure after a bout of suffering, but the truth was – society didn’t work that way.
Even if her suffering might end, that would still be ten, or twenty years away. However, I knew that Jung Yura would continually lust for that day.
‘It’s only human to, after all.’
What kind of life she would live after all the hate has died down, I would never know. What I did know is that, wherever she might end up with, in a slum or prostitute village, she would always remember…
‘She chose to fight the wrong enemy.’
As she slowly left the parlor, Lee Jihye began to speak once more.
“Are you satisfied now, oppa?”
“Hm, only by half. I hope you can tell me what it is you’re capable of doing.”
“Sure. You will probably be satisfied.”