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< Preparations >
When we arrived at the guild building, Baek Young-hee, who had contacted me in advance, was waiting for us in the lobby.
“Team Leader!”
Baek Young-hee, who discovered us, walked over and waved.
She looked gorgeous today as well. She wore a black V-neck that revealed her collarbone and chest line, and matched it with a red-toned suit.
Here, makeup and accessories that add a touch of understated style.
She had a sophisticated yet elegant look, and it was easy to see why so many men were drawn to her.
But today, I think I put in more effort than usual?
Baek Young-hee, who approached me with her shoes clicking, smiled brightly and spoke to me.
“It’s been a while! Did you have a good rest?”
Long time no see.
I said, shaking my head.
“Not at all. It was three days that felt like three minutes.”
Baek Young-hee smiled faintly and smiled with her eyes.
“That’s too much~ Did you not want to see me?”
All the men passing by the lobby glanced at her as she slowly melted away at her charm.
Anyway, I said it’s a fox.
Baek Young-hee bowed and greeted Lily as well.
“Hello, Lily?”
The little boy said with a very displeased expression, pointing to Baek Yeong-hee’s chest.
“Chest Monster!”
Baek Young-hee laughed brightly at those words.
“I know. It means pretty sister, right? Thanks!”
It seems like he still remembered what I interpreted for him last time.
I said, coughing slightly.
“Ahem. Now that we’ve said hello, let’s go up quickly.”
“Yes! I’ll take you straight to the office.”
We took the elevator together.
While the elevator was going up, Baek Young-hee asked me a bunch of questions about how I was doing, but I just let it go in one ear and gave half-hearted answers.
Team 7’s office was on the 11th floor.
Tiing!
The elevator doors opened and a moment later, I couldn’t help but let out an exclamation.
“wow.”
It was a space that felt more like a high-class mansion than an office.
There wasn’t a single thing that didn’t look expensive. The space was airy and open overall, and the interior was equipped with all the amenities you might need.
Honestly, it’s more than enough for me and my little one.
“That’s the team leader’s seat.”
My desk was where Baek Young-hee’s hand was pointing.
And on top of it was a nameplate.
[Team Leader 7, Landlord]
I sat down on the chair. It felt soft and fluffy, much more comfortable than the bed in my tent.
“···Honestly, it’s more than I expected.”
It was so perfect that I couldn’t find anything to nitpick about.
Baek Young-hee smiled proudly.
“I paid special attention to it. The interior, the furniture, even the tapes in the drawers, everything was prepared with the best quality. Even Team 1’s office is not like this.”
Then she put her finger to her lips and winked.
“You can’t tell anyone about this. It’s a secret between the two of us.”
It was a typical sales pitch, but this time I was able to laugh it off.
Baek Young-hee also provided Lily with a children’s desk.
“This is Lily’s desk. Do you want to sit down?”
It was a cute teddy bear character desk that had an adjustable height.
The little boy seemed to like having his own desk, as he sat on his chair and kicked his feet in the air.
There were also a few empty desks.
“The vacant positions are ready to be used as soon as team members are added. Oh, and about the newly hired employees···”
“You look a little different today.”
Baek Young-hee tilted her head in confusion at my words.
“Huh? What is it?”
Honestly, I thought she only had a pretty face, but I didn’t think she would be this good at work.
Well, all I knew about her was the scandalous articles I saw before I returned.
I said with a snicker.
“It looks cool how you work.”
At that moment, Baek Young-hee’s eyes sparkled.
“Oh, you want to ask me out on a date? But today… I don’t know if I can make time….”
···What I saw was not wrong.
I tried to ease Baek Yeong-hee’s worries by trying to make time somehow.
“Just keep busy. This isn’t a date request.”
“Tch···.”
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Baek Young-hee, her lips pursed, continued talking about what she had been saying earlier.
“You know the staff I mentioned last time? We hired the team leader’s personal driver and the new operator for Team 7 yesterday.”
“Did they go to work too?”
Then Baek Young-hee glanced at me and said.
“Of course. Unlike others who arrive at work after 3pm, I arrived early in the morning and am currently receiving a handover of duties.”
I shrugged my shoulders as if to ask if there was any problem.
“And?”
“···The field support team leaders will be coming to work starting tomorrow due to some circumstances. We weren’t planning on assigning tasks to Team 7 today anyway. You don’t have to worry about that.”
It takes more people than you might think to run a team of superhumans.
The field support team alone provides filming, medical, and equipment support.
The headquarters support team includes operators, secretaries, and sometimes even lawyers.
Baek Young-hee, who was able to handle that personnel composition in just three days, clearly had outstanding abilities.
···wait for a sec.
As I listened to this quietly, Baek Young-hee seemed like me···.
I asked with some anxiety.
“What about our team secretary?”
“For now, it’s me.”
“yes?”
Baek Young-hee said, pushing her hair behind her ear.
“I’ve been temporarily appointed as the secretary for Team 7. It’s a newly formed team, so we need someone who knows the guild well, right?”
At that moment, I squinted my eyes and asked.
“Are you sure this is temporary? You’ll find a real secretary later, right?”
Baek Young-hee avoided my gaze and kept tucking her hair behind her ears.
“Of course. Do I look that idle? My work alone isn’t enough for a day.”
“······.”
I don’t believe it at all?
I sighed and nodded for a moment.
“Then, I will ask you to take care of me for a while, temporary secretary.”
“Yes! Understood, Team Leader!”
···I think I just saw a meaningful smile.
Baek Young-hee opened the file she was holding, took out the documents inside, and placed them in front of me.
“Team 7’s regular work will begin tomorrow. So please familiarize yourself with the contents here today.”
I sighed at the thickness of the document, which seemed to be at least 1 cm.
*
*
*
I read through the documents Baek Yeong-hee gave me, and then stopped at one point.
“Gate destruction mission?”
Baek Young-hee, who was playing with Lily, turned to me and said, “Oh, that one?”
Didn’t he say he was busy earlier?
“Two days ago, the government requested our side to destroy the gate. The operation was five days later. At that time, our team was the only one who could move due to the schedule…”
The gates that appear on Earth are divided into two types.
Type A.
A type that disappears on its own after spewing out monsters.
Type B.
If the monsters do not disappear after being poured out, or if the gate opens but the monsters do not come out.
The gate destruction mission involved entering the B-type gate, killing the monsters inside, destroying the ‘core’, and returning.
A gate that has been destroyed by a nuclear attack will disappear on its own after about 48 hours on average.
The mission to destroy the gate was several times more difficult than fighting on Earth, as it basically involved entering an unfamiliar environment.
Besides, it takes a long time.
I crossed my arms with a displeased expression.
“I think my contract had a clause that said I had the right to refuse long-term assignments···.”
As I muttered like that, Baek Young-hee looked at me and said.
“It won’t take that long. It’s an operation involving four guilds, and the government estimates that it will be completed in two days.”
That damn government prediction.
I’ve rarely seen anything like that hit the mark in my life.
It’s better to trust the weather forecast.
“What type is inside the gate? What kind of monsters appear?”
Baek Young-hee looked slightly surprised at my question.
It’s like the expression on your face when a student who doesn’t look like he’s good at studying asks a surprisingly sharp question.
“The inside of the gate is a dungeon type, and the monsters that appear are… If you turn a few pages, you’ll see more details.”
I turned the papers over.
A few pages later, there were printed photos of the exterior and interior of the dungeon, as well as the monsters that appeared.
Valuable information captured by the investigation team dispatched in advance.
The moment I saw that picture, I couldn’t help but open my eyes wide.
“This is···.”
Dozens of stakes are placed around the dungeon entrance, and crimson chains are wrapped around them.
The photo taken from a high place with a bird’s eye view looked like the gaping mouth of a devil.
It is clearly the ‘Labyrinth of Fallen Souls’.
“Team Leader? Why are you looking like that?”
“······.”
I have never been inside it myself.
If I had gone in, I probably would have died without being able to return.
But I knew that place all too well.
It’s also a place I covered a lot in the lecture materials I made to show to my students when I briefly worked as an instructor at a superhuman training school a few years ago due to an injury.
The title of the lecture at that time was usually like this.
“The Worst Dungeons Since the First Gate”
The super-human kids who listened to my lectures were amused at first because of the provocative titles, but later, after seeing the survivor interviews or footage, their faces would turn pale.
There were a few guys who threw up in the classroom.
“···Are you telling me to come in here now?”
Because my expression was so stiff, Baek Young-hee asked back timidly.
“If you really don’t want to go, should I cancel? I guess I could just hand it over to another guild…”
“······.”
“Then I’ll hand it over to another guild…”
The moment Baek Young-hee picked up her cell phone to make a call to someone, I pushed my chair back and jumped up.
Drrrrrr!
And then he grabbed Baek Young-hee’s hand.
“What are you talking about? I have to go! I have to go!”
“yes yes?”
I smiled brightly at Baek Young-hee, who looked bewildered by my dramatic change.
“I’m sorry. I just needed to gather my thoughts for a moment.”
The worst dungeons.
One of them is ‘The Labyrinth of Fallen Souls.’
Of course, at that time it was a symbol of fear and death.
But later on, it was also a dungeon that was analyzed and studied a lot.
Even in my head right now, methods that would later be presented as strategies by researchers were coming to mind.
And when I think about what I can get out of it…
I let go of Baek Young-hee’s hand and asked.
“You said the operation was a few days away?”
“Yes? Five days later.”
5 days.
A smile slowly spread across my lips.
“That should give us enough time to prepare our supplies.”
< Preparation > End
ⓒ Ganjjajang
