RG 65

It was late, past 11 p.m. With only the minimum lights left on, the dark hallway was eerily quiet. Ryu Seonghyeon, leaning against the hallway wall next to the stairs, recalled what had happened in the representative’s office earlier.

Cover had taken a step back as if startled the moment he faced Song Ji-un. In that brief moment, Ryu Seonghyeon didn’t miss the sight of Cover’s face, which had looked deathly pale under the brim of the hat. Although he had no choice but to leave the office due to Song Ji-un’s orders, Cover’s reaction kept bothering him, making it impossible for him to leave the hallway. So, he lingered there.

Creak, click.

How much time had passed? The sound of a door opening and closing echoed, and someone walked out of the office. A dark figure slowly approached the stairs from the shadows, and as he came closer to the dim light, his face became visible. As expected, it was Cover.

“…Did the conversation go well?”

“Yes,” Cover replied curtly, looking more exhausted than before. Rubbing the back of his neck as if it was stiff, he spoke in a somewhat deflated tone, “Vicemaster of Circle, I have a favor to ask.”

“Pardon?”

“With the news breaking that I’ve intervened in the competition, a new coordination meeting will likely be scheduled by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.”

Cover’s words flowed slowly, giving off a lethargic feeling. Drawn in by this strange energy, Ryu Seonghyeon found himself unconsciously focusing on his face.

“I would appreciate it if the competition’s start time could be set for the evening. Anytime after 8 p.m. would be ideal.”

At that moment, Cover’s and Ryu Seonghyeon’s eyes met. As soon as Ryu Seonghyeon realized that Cover’s eyes were black, Cover quickly lowered his head and pulled his hat down further.

“Ahem. Ronic should be willing to accept such a request… Please.”

“Understood.”

It seemed that Cover was indeed planning to participate in the competition.

If Song Ji-un had intended to reject him, he wouldn’t have invited him to the office in the first place, so this outcome was predictable. Still, it was awkward and uncomfortable to have to compete alongside this stranger.

Swallowing a sigh, Ryu Seonghyeon brought up another concern, “I appreciate your help, but Ronic won’t stand by quietly. To participate in the competition as a mercenary, one must provide proof of identity, and they’re sure to challenge that. Do you have a plan for that?”

“I do. I’ll contact you tomorrow regarding that matter.”

“Pardon?”

Contact me? How?

As Ryu Seonghyeon was engulfed in confusion, Cover passed by and offered a farewell. “Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

“Oh, uh, Hunter Cover!” Ryu Seonghyeon raised his voice slightly, unable to physically stop Cover, and asked hastily, “Do you…happen to know the guildmaster?”

Cover, who had been descending the stairs, stopped upon hearing the question.

Ryu Seonghyeon had asked because something about the way Cover acted in the office had been bothering him. But now, the atmosphere felt even colder.

Cover briefly looked back, as if he had something to say, but then he left with a short response, continuing on his way without hesitation.

“No.”

***

The competition’s rank readjustment meeting was scheduled for 1 p.m. the next day. It was amusing to see Ronic, who had been dragging their feet and showing signs of wanting to delay the meeting, suddenly getting impatient and setting the schedule first.

“This is unacceptable, Vicemaster of Circle.” The government official, who was present as a witness and mediator, adjusted his thick glasses and glared at Ryu Seonghyeon, who was seated on the left. “Bringing in a mercenary so suddenly? And announcing it through a news flash? Do you think this competition is a joke?”

The harsh rebuke seemed too sharp to be coming from a mediator. Guildmaster of Ronic, Park Huiseok, who was sitting across from Ryu Seonghyeon with his arms crossed, smirked and chimed in, “Isn’t that a bit too rude? No matter how hard it is to find an A-class… How can you bring in a Hunter whose face you don’t even know? What if that Cover guy is a criminal?”

[T/N: Ch. 23 mentioned that the guildmaster was someone called Choi Jonghun. I don’t understand this change of name either.]

“Exactly! I thought you were taking this seriously, but, tsk… Honestly, whether you win or lose this competition, it’s Circle Guild that benefits, right? It’s this big of a deal because your opponent is Ronic Guild.”

“Haha, the officer is giving us too much credit.”

“No, am I wrong? You should be acting with some discretion if you realize that this is your chance to ride on Ronic’s fame and make a name for your guild. This is all helpful advice for Circle, really.” The official clicked his tongue in irritation, clearly annoyed, as he continued, “Why don’t you go ahead and refute me, Vicemaster? Am I wrong? Huh?”

“…”

“Vicemaster?”

“…”

“Vicemaste of Circler!”

“Oh.”

The official suddenly raised his voice, and only then did Ryu Seonghyeon, who had been deep in thought with a troubled expression, lift his head. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“…”

“…”

Both the official and Park Huiseok were momentarily speechless at the sight of Ryu Seonghyeon awkwardly smiling and apologizing. Unable to repeat the earlier accusations in this situation, the official cleared his throat and looked away. “Ahem, never mind if you didn’t hear it! Please focus properly during the meeting, Vicemaster.”

“I’ll do that.”

Park Huiseok frowned slightly at Ryu Seonghyeon’s calm demeanor.

‘What’s with this guy?’

Ryu Seonghyeon was usually someone who couldn’t hide his emotions when it came to guild matters, so Park Huiseok had expected an entertaining reaction. But now, Ryu Seonghyeon was completely ignoring whatever he and the official had been saying, which was deeply irritating.

“Let’s wrap up the adjustments we didn’t finish last time. Guildmaster of Ronic, you’ve submitted the same documents as before. Does this mean there are no changes to your competition roster?”

“Yes. We’re sticking with it,” Park Huiseok replied with a pleasant smile, hiding his displeasure. “We’ve already discussed it among the guild members. So… my apologies, Vicemaster of Circle,” he spoke directly to Ryu Seonghyeon, clearly intending to provoke him, but Ryu Seonghyeon simply nodded silently.

Everyone knew that Ronic wouldn’t change their position. This meant that to face Ronic’s seven A-class Hunters, Circle would need to bring in Hunters with equivalent power.

“Hmm, and…” The government official flipped through the papers, glancing back and forth between the documents and Ryu Seonghyeon. “In Circle’s case, you have two S-class, one A-class, six B-class, and three C-class Hunters. This somewhat balances the ranks with Ronic.” The official adjusted his glasses once more before setting down the papers. “As mentioned earlier, to bring in a specific Hunter as a mercenary, that Hunter’s identity needs to be verified. They must be registered with the Bureau or have their resident registration verified.”

“…”

“If neither of those is possible, someone with a confirmed identity must vouch for them. As long as these rules are followed, you can bring in a mercenary.”

Silence fell over the conference room as the official finished his explanation. Park Huiseok waited in feigned patience, secretly sneering at Ryu Seonghyeon’s inability to respond.

‘As expected.’

Park Huiseok didn’t know exactly what was going on, but he was certain that bringing in Cover as a mercenary was impossible. When the news broke, he had briefly wondered if Cover might actually step in to help Circle, but it seemed unlikely. Why would Cover reveal his identity just to help Circle?

“Vicemaster, what will you do? We can’t process the paperwork like this…”

After waiting for over a minute without a response from Ryu Seonghyeon, the official opened his mouth to press him further when—

A low vibration hummed through the room. Ryu Seonghyeon checked his phone, which had just received a message, and then spoke, “My apologies. I was waiting for someone.”

“What? What do you mean by that all of a sudden?”

Knock, knock.

A firm knock sounded from the conference room door behind the startled official. As the door opened, Ryu Seonghyeon smiled faintly.

“Someone has come in person to verify the Hunter Cover’s identity.”

The door swung open, and a tall man entered the room with confident strides. He wore a sharp three-piece suit, his hair slicked back to reveal a cold, handsome face. The official immediately recognized the man, as would anyone living in Korea, and stumbled to his feet, stammering out the man’s name. “G-Guildmaster Kwon Taehyeok?”

“I’m a bit late.”

“What?”

Kwon Taehyeok, who had nonchalantly admitted his tardiness, walked into the room without hesitation and took a seat beside Ryu Seonghyeon. Then, with a composed demeanor, he addressed the official and Park Huiseok, both of whom were staring at him in shock, “Let’s resume the meeting.”