Countdown to Purgatory || Solo Leveling

『1.3』The Orchestrator, the Admirer and the Conceited

Was it all worth it?

♱

The tension in the air was palpable. On one side of the table sat three incredibly talented hunters, and on the other side sat two gentlemen with turbulence barely hidden behind their calm eyes.

"I didn't quite catch that, could you please repeat your request?" One of the hunters tilted her head innocently, "What did you want with our precious (Y/n)?"

"We would like to borrow him for the upcoming Jeju Island Raid," said a man with hair a color as cool as his voice. "With his consent, of course. But we thought to run it by you just in case." Despite the smile on his face, there was no room for debate. "Miss Emi, we hope you understand. Our duty is to serve at the forefront of conflict between hunters and the uninvited guests from another world."

The other woman at the table snorted. "Uninvited guests from another world," she rolled her eyes, "They're monsters, end of story. I will never understand why you –(Y/n) included, for that matter– insists on giving them fancy names."

"Mayuri." Emi raised a hand to stop the Vice-Guildmaster from adding gasoline to the fire. "I do understand, and you'll have our full support regarding (Y/n); however," She clasped her hands together on the table. "Mr Jung. You do know that the Draw Sword Guild is in charge of this operation, right?"

"Please, just Shiyoon is alright," the man corrected. "Of course, we are aware of that. But you should know that we operate independently of any guilds or political parties. Plus, (Y/n) is one of our best agents in the entire Commission. It would be unwise to not include him in such a critical operation."

"They're going to throw a fit." Mayuri grumbled next to Emi, "They're definitely going to throw a fit." She sighed, "By they, I mean Goto Ryuji. Maybe the Hunters Association, too."

"That has been factored into our decision," The man next to Shiyoon explained, "If anything happens, the Japanese Imperial Guild will not be to blame. Should (Y/n) agree to participate, he will act under the command of the International Hunters Commission."

"I mean, whatever. That's all fine and okay with us, but you'll need his agreement." Mayuri huffed, satisfied with the answer, "Right, Emi?"

Emi had a look of contemplation on her face, but she ultimately relented. "Yes, yes, that's fine. Since the IHC has enough resources to back an operation like this, and they've never led (Y/n) astray, I have no reason to believe otherwise this time..." She tapped the table rhythmically, "It's not like I'm particularly worried about him, that guy is built like Godzilla and Kong combined. Hmm." She nodded to herself, looking up at the two gentlemen. "Very well. We'll lend you (Y/n) as long as he agrees. On that note, Mr Lingyu," Her gaze flicked to the young man next to her, "Any reason why you need Haru to hear this conversation?"

♱

The newly reawakened S-ranker had been fidgeting throughout the entire discussion, nervously looking up at the two branch directors of the International Hunters Commission. He was essentially sitting in a room full of senior S-rank hunters and his superiors, no wonder he wanted to get out of here. When Emi mentioned him, he jumped and stared at his Guildmaster with panicked eyes.

"Mr Sakuragi Haru, look this way, please." Lingyu snapped his fingers to get the hunter's attention, "You are not in trouble, I promise. In fact, I have good news for you."

"Really?" Haru's anxiety immediately dissolved as he sat up straight, "Mr Chen, did I...?"

"You did," The director gave him a small smile, "You were the first person (Y/n) endorsed, after all. We have high hopes for you."