Chapter 390 – Part 2 – The Windfall That Rolled In

Choi Seong-min, who entered the association president’s office, encountered an unexpected guest.

“Kwak Min-cheol?”

Following the high-pitched voice, he turned his head to see a blonde woman.

‘Melissa Ramos?’

33 years old.

The lowest-ranking of Westland’s 4 Heroes.

The youngest and only female among the 8 Heroes.

She was right before his eyes.

With an annoyed expression.

“Where did you go and only now return? Hm?”

As she stood up abruptly and moved, the men beside her moved along with her.

Looking at the men with truly wall-like massive builds, Choi Seong-min narrowed his eyes.

‘These are the guys who guard Melissa.’

Melissa had 2 million combat power, making her the weakest Great Hero in Westland, but.

‘She always has guards attached to her like shadows.’

Collectively called the Barrier.

They were the four big men he was looking at now.

‘Every single one of them is an S-rank hunter with combat power exceeding 1.5 million.’

This was revealed through his Discerning Eye trait.

That the guards Melissa carried around weren’t simply for tanking.

“Can an association president leave his post empty for so long? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?”

Seeing Melissa raise her voice as if annoyed, there was only one attitude Choi Seong-min could take.

“I-I’m sorry. Miss Melissa.”

Bowing his head and showing the attitude of the weak.

That was the attitude Kwak Min-cheol should take toward a Westland Great Hero.

After all, Melissa was the one with higher combat power.

No matter how much they were packaged as colleagues and fellow 8 Heroes, hierarchy existed between them.

“Look, Kwak Min-cheol. We’re acquaintances, right?”

For Choi Seong-min acting as Kwak Min-cheol, this was their first meeting.

He had no memory of meeting her.

But since he had already finished all preliminary research, he knew clearly what to answer.

“…Yes. We’re acquaintances.”

“How many times have we met? We ran into each other once or twice during boss raids before? Met a couple times during video conferences?”

In the past 10 years, they had met few enough times to count on fingers.

There had been that little interaction between Kwak Min-cheol and Melissa.

Though they were fellow 8 Heroes, since they were from different continents, this was natural.

“We’ve only seen each other’s faces by chance, this is the first time we’re having a conversation like this, and I know we’re not close.”

“……”

“But even so, if you ignore calls all day, wouldn’t that make me feel bad?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I couldn’t reach you and waited for a long time. Where were you doing what to only come now?”

“I went through some dungeons.”

“Dungeons? So that’s why calls couldn’t get through?”

Though she heard the reason, Melissa still had a displeased expression.

“But what A-rank dungeon takes all day? With 1.8 million combat power, you should be able to clear it in less than half a day?”

“……”

“You deliberately ignored my calls, didn’t you?”

“No.”

“What do you mean no? A guy who says he came back from dungeons doesn’t even have a speck of dust on his clothes.”

“The place I entered was an S-rank dungeon.”

“S-rank?”

Melissa’s eyes widened.

“Is there an S-rank dungeon you can clear in one day?”

“There’s one called the Obsidian Castle.”

“You went there?”

The Obsidian Castle was a place that wouldn’t be easy to conquer even if Melissa and her guards entered together.

“You’re annoyingly lying again.”

“It’s true.”

“You know what? You don’t know yet how damn nasty my personality is, do you?”

I know.

How persistent and picky Melissa’s personality is.

That’s why I also know how to handle this situation.

“I’m sorry.”

Choi Seong-min bowed his head deeply.

“I didn’t mean to go against Miss Melissa’s wishes. Please calm your anger.”

“……”

Now was the timing to apologize seriously.

Whether his words were lies or not, making excuses would be useless.

‘What this woman wants to hear is an apology.’

Until she heard an apology, Melissa would keep grilling him.

Rather than that, it was better to bow his head and tell her what she wanted to hear.

“You’re quite perceptive? Good judgment.”

Melissa had a personality that always wanted to keep men under her feet.

This could be seen just from how she used sturdy men as guards.

“Sit. We have a lot to talk about.”

“Should I bring something to drink? Grapefruit juice? Orange juice?”

“You have grapefruit juice?”

“Of course.”

“How did you know I like grapefruit?”

“I didn’t know. I just prepare various kinds.”

“Bring the grapefruit juice. Also bring some canned coffee for the guards to drink.”

“I’ll bring them right away.”

Choi Seong-min, who was ordering drinks from the secretary waiting outside, bit his lip slightly.

‘For Melissa to suddenly visit…’

It wasn’t an unexpected event.

Since two Great Heroes had died, Westland would have held a strategy meeting too.

Given their personalities, they wouldn’t let Kwak Min-cheol rule Eastland alone.

‘I knew this. But I didn’t know she’d come this quickly. Moreover, I didn’t know they’d send Melissa.’

An unexpected variable.

But variables don’t necessarily mean only negative situations.

Smirk-

One corner of Choi Seong-min’s mouth curved up.

‘Prey has rolled in on its own.’

For Choi Seong-min who had to assassinate Great Heroes, this was like a windfall.

Though Melissa had no idea of this fact.

‘First, I need to humor her a bit and gather some information.’

Choi Seong-min, who received the drinks prepared by the secretary, personally placed them in front of Melissa.

Thud-

“Here you are, Miss Melissa. I also brought some for the other guards.”

“Good. Boys, take a can of coffee each and drink.”

“Thank you, Master.”

While the guards were taking their canned coffee, he read Melissa’s thoughts.

‘She thinks of the guards as something like pet dogs.’

Great Heroes drunk on power all think this way.

“Mmm, delicious.”

“Miss Melissa? About what you wanted to say…”

“Don’t interrupt and wait a bit, will you? It’s a rare break, so you want me to annoyingly talk about work?”

“I’m sorry.”

Choi Seong-min, who apologized with a bowed head, waited silently in a stiff posture.

Between the two, only the sound of drinking juice could be heard.

Melissa opened her mouth when she had almost finished her juice.

“You listen well. Since you waited obediently, I’ll tell you. My purpose for coming.”

Slurp, she finished her juice and put down the cup.

“Hand over full authority of Eastland to me.”

“What? What do you mean…”

“Give me the association president position. From now on, I’ll rule Eastland.”

When Choi Seong-min still looked at her with surprised eyes, Melissa let out a small laugh.

“What are you so surprised about? Did you think you’d monopolize this huge territory by yourself? Well, compared to Westland, it’s nothing in size.”

“Th-then what do I do?”

“What do you mean? You’ll have to handle miscellaneous tasks by my side as an assistant. I heard the secretary general position is vacant anyway? It would be perfect if you took it.”

“……”

Though he was making a dejected expression, Choi Seong-min’s inner thoughts were different.

‘As expected, this is how it’s going?’

With two Great Heroes dead, this becoming reality was a foregone conclusion.

It didn’t seem like they’d let Kwak Min-cheol manage alone.

“Do the other heroes also know…?”

“Goodness, did you think I came here making decisions on my own? Of course they know. This is a matter decided by none other than Lord Woo Seong-jae himself. If you want to complain, try telling him directly.”

“……”

Among the Great Heroes, Woo Seong-jae was an untouchable existence.

His words were law, justice, and rules.

Rebelling against Woo Seong-jae was no different from breaking the law.

“If Lord Woo Seong-jae said so… I understand. I’ll transfer full authority.”

“You thought well. We’ll do the handover starting tomorrow, and once the procedures are finished, I’ll officially become the association president. The secretary general position is also available, so think about it.”

“……”

“What’s with that expression? You’re not thinking of rebelling against me, are you?”

“No. I was just spacing out. Rebellion? What rebellion.”

“Right, with only 1.8 million combat power, you wouldn’t have had such thoughts.”

Melissa’s combat power was 2 million, so there wasn’t much difference, but the problem was her guards.

“If you ever dream of rebelling, keep it as just a dream. There’s no way someone like you could break through my guards.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

The guards with 1.5 million combat power weren’t called Barriers for nothing.

‘Melissa’s trait reduces damage received by allies by 99%. Using this, the guards become literally invincible.’

If the guards surrounded Melissa with determination, there would be virtually no way to break through.

“By the way, Kwak Min-cheol.”

“Yes.”

“You know that two Great Heroes from Eastland died, right?”

“I know.”

“Then why didn’t you make any report?”

Melissa asked with a cold expression.

Depending on his answer, she might have to punish Kwak Min-cheol.

Choi Seong-min also knew this was an important timing.

“What exactly happened during that time?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Huh? You don’t know?”

“Yes. Like everyone else, I only found out after looking at the rankings. That Song Chi-hyeon and Kogo had died…”

“You want me to believe that?”

“Whether you believe it or not, I’m only telling the truth.”

Not only his expression but even his voice was serious.

At his appearance that was hard to see as a lie, Melissa’s eyes narrowed.

‘Should I believe this or not?’

She couldn’t distinguish whether it was acting or not.

That would be natural.

Since he was the one who had deceived even other Great Heroes.

“No matter how lowest of the low they were, they were both still revered as Great Heroes. What reason would such people have to suddenly die?”

“I don’t know the details either. However, I did know that their relationship wasn’t very good.”

“What? So they fought each other and mutually destroyed themselves?”

“I don’t know the detailed circumstances, but for now, that’s how I have to see it.”

Melissa, who had been thinking deeply, asked various questions trying to find clues.

Whether they found bodies, when they last made contact, etc.

However, even trying to find other possibilities, there was no solid evidence.

‘Did those two really die fighting each other as this guy says…?’

Since there were instructions from Woo Seong-jae to find out the reason, she couldn’t investigate carelessly.

‘Let me report what I heard for now.’

Melissa nodded.

“Got it, so leave.”

“Yes, then please contact me if anything comes up.”

Thud-

As Kwak Min-cheol withdrew, Melissa picked up her phone.

It was to report to Woo Seong-jae.

* * *

Choi Seong-min, who left the association president’s office, was contemplating.

‘Melissa. What should I do about her?’

Once tomorrow’s handover was completed, he’d inevitably have to give up the association president position.

‘The moment she officially announces receiving delegated authority as association president, Kwak Min-cheol’s life ends.’

Since the handover would be finished in about a day, there was no more time to delay.

He couldn’t let Melissa devour Eastland like this.

‘I have to kill her. Before the sun rises.’

The cleanup would be problematic, but he had a method in mind.

Bzzzz- Bzzzz-

When Kwak Min-cheol’s phone rang, Choi Seong-min answered.

“Yes.”

“It’s me. I have something to say, so come to the association president’s office.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Soon, Choi Seong-min, who hung up the phone, turned his steps with a meaningful smile.