Of course, everything was perfectly legal and the reason why I trusted team leader Kim Mi-Young was that she was an imperial law expert and utilized her talents very well. There were a lot of loopholes within the imperial law. There probably wasn’t an issue when the investigation started, but from Jo Hye-Jin’s point of view, she probably thought she was in danger. If she was a fundamentalist, she probably noticed the problems within the guild while I was gone.

‘That’s not the only issue…’

Sun Hee-Young’s volunteer work could be a problem as well. When we go to the slums to clean up the trash, some people may think that we were contributing to society by catching and killing criminals, but it was still a crime. In addition, being able to control the media was something that couldn’t be understood with modern values so Jo Hye-Jin might think that the media had to be transparent and she might force them to put it into practice. To me, she was one of the worst landmines. The more power she had and the more influential she became, the more limited my movement would become.

‘Hyun-Sung…’

I started resenting my regressor. Out of all the timing, why did he have to bring her in now? The guild wasn’t in a position to be picky because what the Blue Guild needed right now was growth. I would probably sound selfish, but I didn’t want to be held back by my conscience. I thought that maybe she might restrain herself since she had already failed once, but a person’s values wouldn’t change so easily. She could overlook it a few times, but it wouldn’t change the fact that she and I were incompatible. Of course, I need to confirm it myself first.

When I slowly got up, Jung Ha-Yan moved as well. I only took a moment to place her on the side of the bed, wash up and leave. I thought she was pretending to be asleep, but I guess she really was sleeping.

The person I wanted to visit was Kim Mi-Young. I felt bad about visiting her on her day off, but it was better to get things done ahead of time. Everyone must be asleep because it was quiet inside the guild house. When I knocked on Kim Mi-Young’s door, I saw a child opening the door.

“Oh!”

“Is your mom here?” I asked them.

“M-Mom! The mister is here!”

“Mooom!”

I didn’t think I was that old to be called mister, but hearing it directly caused my heart to break. I was sure children would call everyone mister, but I couldn’t help but feel bitter about it. Anyway, Kim Mi-Young must’ve heard them because I heard a loud sound from inside. There was nothing more uncomfortable than your boss suddenly visiting you on your day off and as her savior, I felt the same way. I felt kind of bad, but it couldn’t be helped.

‘She needs to work just as much as she’s getting paid.’

It was safe to say that it was like a ceremony for getting promoted to team leader.

Moments later, I saw Kim Mi-Young quickly opening the door.

“S-Sub guild master. What brings you here?”

“I’m sorry for visiting you on your day off, but I have something to discuss with you. I also need to rewrite the contract and I also wanted to visit you,” I answered.

“If you would’ve told me…”

“I didn’t want to since it’s a personal matter that I don’t want others to know about…”

“Excuse me?” she asked, stunned.

“It’s related to your job. Anyway, do you mind if I come in?” I asked with a smile.

“Yes, but it’s quite shabby…” she replied, mumbling.

This was my first time entering a guild staff member’s room.

‘It’s not bad…’

It was better than I thought. I was sure she got a better room because she had kids, but I realized that the basic furniture and tableware were of high quality. When I slowly looked around, I noticed that her children seemed a bit discouraged. I decided to pat their heads before sitting on a chair.

“Have you eaten yet?” Kim Mi-Young asked.

“No, not yet. I woke up not too long ago,” I replied.

“If it’s okay with you…”

“I’m okay. It seems like you’ve already eaten, so I don’t want to bother you. About your children…” I pointed.

“Oh! Kids, could you go into your rooms?” she asked them.

“Okay!” they answered.

The kids ran to their rooms.

“Your kids are nice,” I commented.

“They’ve matured at a young age… it makes life easier, but I do feel bad at times. By the way, may I ask what brought you here?” she asked.

“There are just a few things I needed to check. As I’ve mentioned earlier, I also want to discuss your contract. Your annual income will be 700 gold,” I replied, smiling.

“Excuse me?”

It was a big amount. I was sure the amount was difficult for her to imagine because she was a staff member, not a party member. 700 gold was about 70 million won and it was an amount that wasn’t easy to get even in Korea.

“700 gold. I’ll increase your income based on your performance later on,” I added.

“Th-That’s too…”

“It’s not too much,” I said, interrupting her.

‘Because that’s how much work you’ll be doing...’

“I already know that you’re working more than what you’re getting paid. The benefits in the contract will also change, so you can look through them later,” I told her.

“Th-Thank you,” she said.

“Read it carefully and sign it. You don’t have to do it today.” I instructed her.

“All right...”

“Oh! There’s a different reason for me visiting you today…”

“Hm?”

“I was wondering if you could tell me about Miss Jo Hye-Jin.”

“Well, like I’ve mentioned yesterday, she’s a good worker and…”

“I’m not talking about those things. Please tell me the kind of tasks she has worked on, which documents she approved the pay for, the conversations she had, the issues she had while working, and other things you can remember while I was gone. It’s fine even if it’s something trivial. Tell me her personality, actions, any strange actions so far, and her normal behavior,” I explained.

“I see…”

“Obviously, this conversation will be a secret between us,” I said, emphasizing my words.

“Yes, of course…” she replied with her voice lowered.

Kim Mi-Young’s eyes widened and she looked as if she didn’t know what was going on.

“Is there an issue with Miss Jo Hye-Jin?” she asked, concerned.

“There isn’t really an issue, but it can be a problem if she’s too clean. Actually, I should give you some information first, but you’re the only one who should know about this,” I warned her.

“Okay...”

“Miss Jo Hye-Jin moved from Castle Rock to Lindel because she was a whistleblower. After exposing the guild’s corruption, she was kicked out and the news must have spread because she couldn’t join other guilds within Castle Rock, which caused her to move to Lindel. I’m certain Mr. Hyun-Sung already knew about this while I used other methods to gather this information,” I explained.

“I see…” she mumbled, nodding.

“Of course, she did the right thing, but I’m still worried and that’s the reason why I asked you those questions. Do you understand now?” I asked.

“Yes… I do,” she answered.

I was sure she understood. My questions were basically this...

‘Have you done anything that could be considered suspicious? If so, does Jo Hye-Jin know about it?’

“I understand what you’re worried about, sub guild master.” Kim Mi-Young nodded.

“I’m glad...”

“But rest assured. You don’t have to worry too much about it. I’ve already handled the things that could potentially be a problem… I’ve already taken care of the potion factory, the taxes, and the incident with the Free City of Celia. I’ve already reported these to the guild master,” she explained.

“Oooh!”

This was good news.

“Miss Jo Hye-Jin was mostly involved in the crisis response team and the dungeon strategy team which required her to be directly present. I don’t know exactly what happened since I have no idea about the details…” she said.

“No, it’s fine…” I told her.

“The guild itself is very transparent. We didn’t break any laws and everything is done legally, so you don’t have to worry,” she added.

“I’m glad. What about the ethical aspect? Oh, you can just tell me your honest feelings,” I said.

When I glanced at Kim Mi-Young, she nodded and continued. “We’ve monopolized the potion market to the point that small clans and private alchemy businesses can’t do anything about it, but… there are no legal issues. Once we start the Lindel alchemy support business, there won’t be any ethical issues since the Blue Guild has a good image. As such, there won’t be any other issues as well.”

She must’ve felt embarrassed when I looked at her because she lowered her head. I knew it because I picked her, but she was very competent. She was different from me because I was more of a street-smart guy. Unlike me who only knew how to instigate, fabricate and deceive people, Kim Mi-Young was actually smart. Having a lot of competent subordinates was a good thing because using people like her would make me look competent as well.

“That’s great.” I commended.

“Thank you...”

‘I think you should be paid more.’

After drawing a line on the annual income portion of the contract, I wrote a different amount. I added 300 gold to the income I originally offered and made it 1,000 gold. I saw her eyes widen, but I spoke as if it was nothing.

“You’re getting paid this much based on your skills. I really like how you handled the tasks that could potentially become problematic ahead of time,” I explained.

“It’s… nothing compared to your kindness…” she responded in a low voice.

“No, I wouldn’t call it kindness. I merely picked up a jewel that was lying around. Oh, was there anything else? Has the guild master given Miss Hye-Jin some sort of authority?” I asked.

“Objectively speaking…”

“Yes?”

“I felt like it was a bit too much. I understand when a person is given a good position based on their skills or character, but the authority she was given was a lot more than I imagined…” she said.

“Strictly speaking, wouldn’t you say you’re the same, team leader Kim Mi-Young?” I asked her with a smile.

“I-I’m just an attorney that handles your tasks for you, sub guild master. It’s nothing more and nothing less,” she replied.

“Hm.”

“Miss Hye-Jin is different. After recruiting Miss Jo Hye-Jin into the guild, not only did he immediately give her tasks, but the guild master also immediately gave her authoritative rights for several things. It was just a rumor, but I’ve heard people saying that Miss Jo Hye-Jin was going to become the guild’s chief secretary. I understand the Blue Guild’s motto, but many are becoming more concerned because she has been given more authority than the other party members,” Kim Mi-Young explained.

“I see…”

“Apart from Miss Jo Hye-Jin’s character and abilities…”

“I understand what you’re saying,” I said, interrupting her.

Obviously, Kim Mi-Young wasn’t envious of Jo Hye-Jin. She wasn’t the type to be jealous and her opponent was on a different level to begin with. No matter how smart she was, Jo Hye-Jin was a strong, powerful person. Basically, she was a competent person who was guaranteed success. Setting aside Jo Hye-Jin’s character, Kim Mi-Young was more concerned about giving so much power to one person in a short period of time.

“Your authority may also…”

It was a bit surprising that she was worried about my authority as well.

“I’m thankful that you’re worried about me too,” I said, smiling.

“O-of course…”

“The guild master did mention that he’ll decide on Miss Jo Hye-Jin’s key position after coming to an agreement with you, but it feels like he has already made up his mind,” Kim Mi-Young added.

“Hm.”

‘The guild’s chief secretary…’

Judging from the position alone, it had similar authoritative power as the sub guild master. Of course, I was in a higher position, but a chief secretary would work directly with the guild master, so I was sure she would have a lot of power. I was certain Kim Hyun-Sung wasn’t going to split the power and create a two-party system. He must have happily imagined how compatible Jo Hye-Jin and I would be, as well as how much progress the Blue Guild would make when two talented people worked together, but unfortunately, she and I were like oil and water. I could understand that Kim Hyun-Sung must’ve not noticed that we were incompatible since he couldn’t read other people’s status windows, but…

‘She’s too much…’

I understood why my Hyun-Sung failed in his past life. He must have gotten himself backstabbed by people like me.

‘I’m sure of it...’