Chapter 60 – Cleanse (1)

A cold chill descended on the meeting room. 

The chairman, a middle-aged man, furrowed his brows, and the young man seemed quite angry. And the other woman’s eyes widened. She seemed quite surprised. 

“What do you mean, flying all the way to America and then saying you’ll keep your mouth shut?” 

The young man finally couldn’t hold back and yelled loudly. 

“I also just received a request to come here.” 

But Sun-woo didn’t care. There was nothing to feel guilty about. 

“Still, if you’re an association member summoned, you shouldn’t act like that.” 

“Um, Mr. Sun-woo isn’t an association member though.” 

The woman sitting next to him gave Sun-woo kind advice, but she made a bewildered expression at Caroline’s answer. 

“That’s right. He’s registered as a freelancer.” 

Chairman Douglas tapped the documents on the table while acknowledging Caroline’s words. It seemed that aside from the chairman, they hadn’t checked the documents about Sun-woo. 

At the chairman’s words, the other two looked at Sun-woo with surprised eyes. 

“This is the first time I’m actually seeing a freelancer.” 

For ordinary people, freelancers wouldn’t be that unusual, but it was almost unheard of for a summoned to be tied to the association as a freelancer. 

It wasn’t wrong for the two aside from the chairman to have thought Sun-woo was an association member. 

After it was revealed that Sun-woo wasn’t an association member, the young man still glared at Sun-woo as if his anger hadn’t subsided, while the woman looked at Sun-woo as if he were some curious object. 

Shortly after, the chairman’s finger that had been tapping the documents finally stopped. 

“You’re quite a difficult summoned. Fine. Then let’s hear the conditions for getting us to listen to your story.” 

Now the negotiation table had been set. 

Sun-woo straightened his posture and opened his mouth. 

“First, an apology and compensation for the disrespectful behavior toward me earlier…” 

As Sun-woo’s words continued, the three directors made uncomfortable expressions. 

Shortly after, the three directors barely finished negotiations and heard all about the mission related to the contamination spreading agent from Sun-woo. 

Most of it was information they had heard through Caroline, but hearing it directly from him was a different matter. Especially the story about the last mission where he saw the dragon made the three directors’ faces stiffen. 

When Sun-woo’s story ended, he was first taken to a lounge with Sally’s guidance. This time it was to hear Caroline’s story. It seemed internal association matters would come up, so Sun-woo readily excused himself. 

“He seems to have a stronger will than expected.” 

“With that kind of personality, I can understand why he didn’t join the association.” 

“The high security level caught us off guard.” 

As the young director said, Sun-woo’s records maintained a considerably high security level. 

“He’s the first combat personnel in that field to appear in our dimension, so naturally we need to keep it secret.” 

Contrary to Sun-woo’s thinking, the association seemed to regard Sun-woo’s importance highly. 

“So, what’s your impression from observing him up close?” 

After stopping the directors’ conversation, the chairman asked Caroline about Sun-woo. 

The real reason for keeping Caroline was to hear about Sun-woo from her. 

“He’s a bit selfish and has some rebellious tendencies. He has a goal-oriented personality and his interpersonal relationships aren’t very good either.” 

The three directors’ expressions worsened a bit more, but Caroline’s words didn’t stop. 

“But for his comrades, he uses all the power he has. Though he grumbles verbally, he’s a man who takes all risks for his comrades.” 

“Hmm, a family-oriented egoist then.” 

“It’s a shame. If he’s as Caroline says, it would be really good if he became an association member.” 

“Still, personality-wise, there’s a possibility he won’t be helpful to the association.” 

It seemed the young director had formed a bad impression of Sun-woo. 

The chairman, who had been organizing his thoughts for a moment, soon reached a conclusion. 

“According to reports so far, his growth rate seems tremendous too. And from what Director Caroline just said, his character doesn’t seem too bad, so let’s decide to continue the full support and monitoring as before.” 

“I agree.” 

“Tsk, I don’t like it much, but I agree too.” 

When the two directors agreed, the chairman gave instructions to Caroline. 

“You’ll have to work a bit harder. I feel sorry for not being able to call you directly to headquarters right after you finished the inspection at the Korean branch so well.” 

“How about sending someone else as a monitor instead?” 

The chairman shook his head at the young director’s words. 

“Setting aside that the two have become close, we can’t use someone else because the Summoners have tied Caroline to Summoned Sun-woo’s support team. And we didn’t attach her as a monitor but left her as a link to the association.” 

But the young man didn’t seem to agree with the chairman’s words. 

“Let’s conclude that matter there. The story we heard from Summoned Min Sun-woo isn’t light. It seems everyone needs to move quickly. If necessary, we’ll need to cooperate with other dimensions too.” 

With those words, the meeting concluded. 

When the meeting ended, everyone began moving busily. 

The young director rushed to the information team to find the recorded file, and the chairman headed straight to his office. 

And Caroline was dragged away by Director Garcia. 

“It’s been so long. I was really lonely without Carol.” 

“Wait, I need to tell Mr. Sun-woo something…” 

“Hohoho, right. I need to hear about that too. A man who takes risks for his comrades, you said?” 

“No, that’s not…” 

Caroline’s flustered voice and Director Garcia’s mischievous tone gradually faded away. 

When voices could no longer be heard in the hallway, the chairman firmly closed the door that had been slightly open. 

When all sounds disappeared, the chairman’s private office was enveloped in silence. 

Standing in the center of the office for a moment, he opened his mouth. 

“Do you need any additional information?” 

He spoke to someone, but the room was completely empty. 

[All necessary information has been acquired. The mission is complete. From now on, we are adding the elimination of the group using the so-called contamination spreading agent to the mission objectives.] 

[This is a new mission. Please identify the group using the contamination spreading agent in the current dimension.] 

Douglas smiled bitterly at the new mission. No matter how he looked at it, he looked like a middle manager receiving instructions from above rather than a chairman. 

“Well, are all summoned the same?” 

In any case, all summoned received missions from the Summoner and handled them. The fact that the entire association’s operation received instructions from the Summoner was different from other summoned, but thanks to that he became the CEO of this massive multinational corporation, so that was just the burden he had to bear. 

He brushed off the self-deprecation trying to take root in his heart and pressed the call button on his desk. 

“Tell the team leaders to gather. It’s a meeting.” 

Now it was time to work. 

***

Sun-woo, who had been waiting in the lounge, also received compensation for the mission. 

650 points. 

It was just a mission of coming to America and talking, but the points weren’t bad. Perhaps there was meaning to filling in the insufficient compensation from the previous mission. 

Sun-woo first used 700 points to empty one skill slot. He didn’t know when he might urgently need a skill like in the previous mission. He needed to be as prepared as possible. 

And with about 10 points he purchased water and bread and filled up on potions too. 

Now the remaining points were 320. He kept the remaining points in reserve for when he would purchase skills later. 

After that, Sun-woo left the company without seeing Caroline. 

On the phone, it seemed she was caught by company colleagues and couldn’t escape. 

Sun-woo also toured Cleanse’s headquarters building under Sally’s guidance, but when Sally was summoned midway, the brief tour ended. 

Sun-woo declined another person’s guidance and left the company. The time to meet Michael was approaching. 

And shortly after, Sun-woo was entering a bar in an entertainment district a little away from the association building. 

The bar looked a bit old and cluttered. It probably seemed like one of those comfortable bars where local regulars gathered. 

“Hey! Over here!” 

When Sun-woo looked around at the entrance, Michael waved his hand from one side. 

Sun-woo immediately walked to Michael and sat down. On the table was a beer bottle that seemed to have been drunk while waiting. 

“What do you want to drink?” 

“I’ll have the same thing.” 

At Sun-woo’s words, Michael ordered the same beer as himself from the server. 

When the server took the order and left, Sun-woo spoke first. 

“I never thought you’d be here.” 

Michael was a mercenary. Moreover, a mercenary who had worked in civil war countries. He couldn’t have imagined Michael would be here in San Francisco. 

“Well, from the moment I was summoned, the mercenary work was closed. Or should I say I became Cleanse’s mercenary?” 

“Still, there must have been a reason?” 

“Well, I guess various annoying things happened when I quit mercenary work? There were many guys who annoyed me, so after going back and forth with them, a deportation order came down, so I just came back.” 

It seemed he had caused quite a few incidents after being summoned. Since he quit mercenary work, his shield disappeared too, so that country apparently sent him back to his home country. 

“Since you returned to America, did you just settle down at association headquarters?” 

“If you’re going somewhere, going to the best place is the right answer.” 

Michael answered while spinning the half-empty beer bottle. 

“Well, I haven’t been here long, but it’s not bad living here. Besides missions, there are various jobs so the pay isn’t bad, and I can see curvy beauties every day.” 

Michael waved his hand toward a female bartender standing on one side, but only a raised middle finger came back as a reply from her. 

“Hehe, there are one or two things I don’t like, but I’m living reasonably well.” 

Sun-woo nodded at Michael’s story. Fortunately, he seemed to be adapting well here too. 

“But how did you end up coming here, Sun-woo? And coming into the lobby with witch Sally’s guidance. At that moment I wanted to look up to you.” 

“I came because a mission to visit headquarters arrived. It’s a role of conveying the contents seen in the previous mission.” 

“If Sally guided you, it must not be ordinary information.” 

In Sun-woo’s opinion too, it was quite important information. But he couldn’t tell Michael the contents. Because he had been earnestly told to keep it secret from others after finishing the meeting. 

Fortunately, Michael wasn’t curious about the mission contents either. Rather, he was more curious about something else. 

“But how did you come with Summoned Caroline? You seemed quite close. Don’t tell me you’re two-timing?” 

“Not even one-timing. And Caroline came because of the same mission too.” 

Michael’s eyes sparkled at Sun-woo’s words. 

“Then, phone number! Give me Caroline’s phone number.” 

As expected, Michael’s goal was obvious. 

Shortly after, when Sun-woo was about to give the phone number under Michael’s pressure. 

The bar entrance became noisy and someone called for Michael loudly. 

“Michael! Human trash! Where are you?” 

At the loud voice, Sun-woo and Michael turned their heads, and Michael let out a sigh at the sight of the man who called him. 

“Besides Sally, another annoying guy has arrived. When I’m with summoned, he won’t even make eye contact and runs away, but now does he think he can take me on?” 

Michael’s muttering was by no means quiet. The opposing man who heard Michael’s words shouted in an angry voice. 

“Have you erased all the soldiers you abandoned from your memory! Don’t think you’ll leave here unharmed!” 

Along with his words, several men approached the two. 

“In the end, I’m getting caught up in this again.” 

Sun-woo naturally sighed at the fight that was about to start again.