The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 432



Only Noblemtl

Episode 432

#432. He’s overly friendly.

The headquarters of the Gloria Guild had a plaza in front that was open to everyone.

Johanna caught a taxi from her home and got out at the entrance to the square. Her cobalt blue armor coat was fluttering.

‘Why did the car break down? Is it really time to change it?’

My plan to get through the underground parking lot unnoticed went awry, so I had no choice but to get off at the plaza.

This was because a registered vehicle was required to use the road leading to the guild parking lot.

It had been a long time since Johanna visited the Gloria Guild. It still felt a little unfamiliar, but at the same time, the atmosphere was comfortable.

It was especially welcome to see numerous tourists and citizens flocking to the square from early in the morning to take pictures with the Gloria Guild sign in the background.

She felt eyes on her from all over the place. Some even recognized her.

“Isn’t that person Johanna?”

“That’s right. Johanna Ceretti!”

“You said you were injured and haven’t been seen for a while.”

“I heard you retired?”

Most of them were local Venetians, not tourists.

These people are involved in various commercial activities related to the Gloria Guild, so they cannot help but be sensitive to news about the Hunters affiliated with the Guild.

Among them, Johanna Ceretti was well known as she was one of the signboards of the Gloria Guild.

Occasionally, there were people from other places who pretended to know me, but most of them were Italian nationals.

Johanna crossed the square and stood in front of the headquarters building, oblivious to the surrounding commotion.

Then I looked up at the Gloria Guild logo embossed on the front door sign.

I was so touched. I thought I would never come again.

“What are you doing instead of coming in?”

A familiar face greeted me through the revolving door at the front door.

“Emma.”

“I thought you forgot my name again.”

“No way. Would I forget my first assistant?”

“Come in quickly. You want to apply for reinstatement? The HR department has been moved to a different floor. To the 11th floor. I’ll show you around.”

“Okay. I’ll find it myself. You don’t have to go through all that trouble… .”

“There are many other changes as well. Don’t waste your time by getting confused. We have a lot to talk about. Let’s have a cup of coffee and talk about where we’ve been and what we’ve been doing… Oh, Mr. Grosso retired. He runs a café and his coffee tastes pretty good. But isn’t it funny that the guy who used to cut monsters’ throats while laughing is now the café owner?”

“Okay. Okay. Okay. Let’s meet up later and talk about it…”

“No. Not now!”

Emma frowned and placed both hands on her hips. Her curly, medium-length brown hair flowed down her shoulders.

At first glance, Emma didn’t look much different from other playful, early 20-something hunters, but she was actually a tough hunter who would rank second to none in terms of brutality among Gloria’s hunters.

The only person she was acting up to was Johanna.

Johanna, who knew this, could no longer refuse Emma’s consideration.

“Then, should I ask you to guide me?”

“yes.”

It was the moment when Emma took the lead and entered the headquarters lobby.

A regular employee, not a hunter, stood in front of them. Emma knew who she was.

‘Secretary Gilma’s office?’

The secretary gave Emma a quick nod, then turned to Johanna and said:

“Your Majesty is calling.”

“Master?”

“We’ve already taken care of the return process. All you have to do is sign later. First, go see Gilma and I’ll show you around.”

As the secretary turned and walked away, Johanna followed Emma, ​​patting her on the shoulder.

“Unfortunately, we’ll talk about this later. Is your number still the same? I’ll call you.”

“Yeah… … .”

Emma also had no choice but to give up her time with Johanna to Gilma.

Leaving Emma’s feeble answer behind, Johanna followed the secretary.

‘I mentioned the situation in Korea in advance by email, but I can’t believe Gilma called me right away. This is a different reaction than before. What happened?’

Johanna raised the tension to the max.

* * *

Vittorio Gasman, the master of the Gloria Guild. The man commonly known as Vito gave Johanna a strange look the moment he saw her.

“Did you rank up? I’m pretty sure you were an A-rank the last time I saw you.”

“Yes. It just so happened.”

“You said you were resting, went out, and came back after getting ranked up. You don’t regret the hiatus at all. You probably didn’t even go hunting, so what happened?”

“LA situation. Did you see the news? I was there.”

“Oh, of course it would be like that in that chaos.”

“And then there was Outbreak in Seoul. I fought Demi Balrog there. I almost died, but luckily I survived. While I was rehabbing, I found out that I had moved up in the ranks.”

“To Seoul? When did you get there? Haha! Anyway, it’s good news. Oh, by the way, it was so unexpected that I didn’t even tell you to sit down. Sit over there.”

Vito brought up the expedition as soon as Johanna sat down.

“There will be an expedition reorganization around the end of this year. Your return will make the tank pool more diverse. The minimum rank requirement has been resolved, so you should fill in any remaining achievements that have been lacking for a while. Since you have experience in actual combat before coming, I think you will be able to join the expedition.”

“I don’t think you called me because of the expedition team?”

Johanna asked, not paying any attention to the expedition. Vito stared at her again.

“You, something has changed… no, a lot.”

“It’s not that I’ve changed, but I’ve learned a lot.”

“I’m glad that it seems to be going in a good direction either way. I think the party venue and more are worth looking into.”

“Don’t get excited. I’m not greedy.”

“You’ve definitely changed, seeing you say that without getting excited. Good. Tell me why you called me.”

As Vito changed his gaze, the atmosphere seemed like they were having a light talk about recent events.

Johanna felt the pressure. Even though their ranks were the same, the momentum was unrivaled.

The adage that rank is everything to a hunter, but at the same time doesn’t tell the whole story, came to mind.

“LA. Seoul. They have something in common. A guild called Iron Will. It’s the guild that has recently become famous, the S-rank, and has Joo Se Ah, right?”

Johanna flinched at those words.

‘You knew all about my actions.’

It was a natural information power for a Tier Guild, but the fact that they pretended not to know in advance was proof once again of how sinister the Gilmar people were.

“you’re right.”

“The leader who came with us this time is named Kang Mu-hyeok. He was in LA and invited Janelle.”

“Because we fought together as comrades. That’s why he invited me.”

“Comrade? A civilian?”

“Hunters aren’t the only ones who fight monsters. People who aren’t hunters also have their own fighting styles. I realized that this time.”

“I guess you like that guy named Kang Mu-hyeok. That cool-headed Johanna Ceretti is praising him.”

“I’m not talking specifically about Director Kang Mu-hyeok.”

“Even if you didn’t say it specifically, you must have given him that opportunity. So, isn’t that why you guided him to Venice?”

Vito had noticed Johanna’s intention to return.

She tried to arrange Kang Mu-hyeok with the guild. This was the point that Vito pointed out. That is, to draw a line. Not to expect any promises.

At the same time, I was expecting an explanation. A reason why I had to meet him.

Johanna said without showing any sign of embarrassment.

“I received a favor, and I will try to repay it. An Italian hunter is nothing but a corpse without loyalty, right?”

“Yes. If you don’t keep your promises, you’re not an Italian Hunter. But I don’t need to join in repaying that favor. Tell me. Did you come to Korea because of the Flying Seahorse?”

“Yes. He is looking to purchase the Flying Seahorse. He will make an official offer soon, and he asked me to give him a chance first. He is not asking for any special favors, so I thought it was a reasonable request.”

Johanna spoke bluntly to avoid any misunderstanding.

Vito said, waving his hand.

“I’m not saying anything about that. It’s not illegal or fraudulent to use that level of connections. I just wanted to say that the current situation is not normal.”

“What does it mean when it’s not common?”

“Japan and China have also placed orders. The fact that three Northeast Asian countries have moved at the same time means that the scale of the attack is that big. The strategic value of the Flying Seahorse will increase even more in the future.”

Vito said it nicely, but it was basically a promise to raise the price.

Johanna tilted her head.

“That’s strange. According to Director Kang Moo-hyeok, the Naga from the Mediterranean moved to Northeast Asia. Doesn’t that mean that the demand for Flying Seahorses has decreased? It’s not like they’re buying it cheap, but they’re offering to pay more than the fair price, so isn’t it a bad sign that they’re trying to sell it at a higher price?”

“As demand has decreased, we have also reduced shipments from ranches. We are limiting breeding.”

“I don’t think so. Last November, the Siege of Venice. I also heard that there were large-scale raids by Naga all over Europe. Since then, the guilds in each country have probably been flooded with orders for Flying Seahorses. I heard that they’re looking for new land to expand their ranches because they’re already running their ranches at full capacity. But Nagas have been rare lately, and the pre-orders are running out, right? That’s why they can’t ship them out. It’ll be a headache to deal with all that.”

Vito remained silent with a stern face until he finally opened his mouth.

“Did that guy named Kang Mu-hyeok say that too?”

“yes.”

“That’s strange. It’s probably not a story that’s widely known. How did he know?”

“He is a more capable person than I thought. He has helped many people.”

Johanna said indirectly that those who received help were soon to be her connections. Vito could not have missed that.

Vito felt the presence of Kang Mu-hyeok behind Johanna. Although he had never seen her face before, he was intrigued by the way she spoke freely, saying what she wanted to say.

‘You don’t hesitate to bring up sensitive topics that might make the other guild uncomfortable. I don’t like the way you’re raising your chin when it’s not enough to beg them to sell you the Flying Seahorse.’

But I didn’t feel like he was being arrogant. Rather, I got the impression that he was doing proper business.

It was a rare practice in the guild industry, where transactions depended on power and fame.

“I guess he was the one who taught you how to talk like this.”

“He is an overly kind person.”

“Kindness? Well, kindness can look different to different people. Anyway, tell him that he was very impressive.”

“I will convey that message.”

“And tell him I’m sorry.”

“… … .”

“We won’t sell it even if we suffer a loss.”

“Why is that so?”

Vito was astonished at Johanna’s sharp question.

“If someone saw me, they would think I was an Iron Will Hunter and not a member of Gloria.”

“This is a proposal that involves human lives. If this isn’t the power you need right now, wouldn’t it be something that could help save your people?”

“We can’t save everyone. In the long run, sticking to our own way might be a better choice.”

“Isn’t that something someone who was hoping to make a big profit just now should be saying?”

“Each guild has its own set of difficulties. While pursuing the interests of the guild, there are times when it must take on a greater cause. We must keep various paths open so that we do not miss out on anything.”

Johanna opened and closed her mouth slightly. It was a fleeting expression, but it was filled with surprise.

Vito tried to remember what it was about his words that had surprised her, but he couldn’t find anything.

I was wondering if I should ask about that.

Johanna spoke first.

“I understand. After listening to what Gilma said, it seems like this isn’t something I can do anything about. I’ll make sure to tell Captain Kang Mu-hyeok.”

Johanna immediately gets up at the same time.

Vito swallowed what he wanted to say and said something else.

“You’ll be so busy dealing with a headache as soon as you get here that you’ll be out of your mind. Go back and get some rest. You’ll be busy from now on. I’ll send you the hunting schedule soon.”

* * *

-I’m sorry, but I couldn’t arrange a meeting with Gilma.

“It’s okay. It was expected.”

Kang Moo-hyuk answered Johanna’s call while driving without any reaction.

-As you expected, it seems like Japan and China have also made offers.

“It’s a method that anyone can think of if they think about it a little. It’s difficult, but if it succeeds, it’ll be the best choice, so it’s something worth trying.”

-And one more thing. Gilma seemed to want to sell. It just seemed like he was making excuses because he couldn’t.

“I see, that’s what happened.”

– Did you know this would happen from the beginning, Captain? That’s why you said it wouldn’t work even if you told us about the damage the Gloria Guild would suffer due to the overbreeding of Flying Seahorses?

“I just thought of a few scenarios. One of them was right.

-I wouldn’t have noticed it if the captain hadn’t mentioned it. That’s why I was very surprised at first. I don’t want to suffer a loss, but I feel like I have no choice but to suffer a loss.

“That’s why guild management is so complicated. Before becoming a guild master, you’re a hunter, and even though you’re a hunter, the gap that arises from being a guild master is different from that of a normal business.”

-Anyway, I got rejected this time, but I won’t give up. Just wait a little longer. I’ll figure out a way.

There was a hint of apology in Johanna’s voice.

Kang Moo-hyuk, who realized her sincerity, couldn’t burden her unnecessarily, so he only mentioned his plan briefly.

“It’s okay. Don’t push yourself too hard. Plan B has already begun.”