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“No. There’s no way our Hye-Jin will ever look at him like that. I’m talking about the old elf. He should act his age. He’s just getting in the way of her bright future," I added.

"You know there are already rumors about it, right? Something about Elias… and the Blue Guild’s Goddess of Spear. There are even articles… stating that there’s nothing wrong with their love life,” Lee Ji-Hye replied.

“...”

“He’s really getting in the way of her future. I guarantee that the old elf was aiming for this. It’s been years since the elves were ignorant of human life. Do you know how weak the elves are these days? I’m sure all of this is calculated,” Lee Ji-Hye remarked.

“So he’s trying to utilize the press first. It also seems like he’s trying to get rid of any potential rivals around him… and the timing fits. Did I get it right, noona?” I asked.

“You’re right. How dare an expired old man like him try to make a move on her,” Lee Ji-Hye complained.

‘That was kind of harsh. You shouldn’t use the word "expired" on anyone.’

“Seriously. He should be ashamed. He took just one hit from Spirit Gelk and immediately lost consciousness, so how dare he drink coffee with her? Doesn’t he have work to do? Is he drinking coffee after taking care of everything?” I questioned.

“I looked into it just in case, but I didn’t see any issues. I\'m not trying to be stereotypical here, but elves are old-fashioned people. I’m embarrassed to say this because it seems like we’re digging our own grave…but it’s actually us that’ll have problems,” she said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Did I not tell you? We\'re not done with the cleanup,” Lee Ji-Hye explained.

“How is that possible? Actually, the dungeon is pretty big… so it makes sense…” I said.

Despite that, it didn’t make sense that we weren\'t done with the cleanup just yet.

“So you’re saying that there are more items than the ones listed here?” I asked.

“Yes. Of course, we got the important ones, but I don\'t think we\'re done yet. It’s safe to assume that there are items we have yet to discover,” Lee Ji-Hye answered.

“Didn’t Ha-Yan set up a warp gate? Is that why it slowed down?” I asked.

“She set up the warp gate on the first day,” Lee Ji-Hye replied.

“So what’s the problem?” I asked.

“Everyone is eyeing the situation. Even if the Committee tries to mediate, they won’t be able to do so. It’s not within their jurisdiction in the first place, so they must’ve wanted a piece of the action.

"Even if they try to meditate, they won’t be able to understand and will try to figure things out on their own… It was hard contacting the clean-up company after every meeting,” Lee Ji-Hye replied.

“There’s the company we use often,” I said.

“It\'s pretty big, so one company isn\'t enough. People have been keeping each other in check because they\'re worried that the companies might alter the results for their own profit.

"There were lobbyists, too. When we had to use too many companies, they started saying that we needed a supervisory committee and that we needed the power of the Continental Protection Management Committee.

"They even asked people to volunteer to keep an eye on people so that they won\'t take the items away,” she continued.

“Maybe it’s because the pie is big…” I mumbled.

‘This is pretty bad.’

“Maybe it’s because they all know how to fight, but they’re stubborn… and the results are clear. There are many people who have decided to stay quiet, but more and more people are starting to show their greed, so things are becoming a mess. There are people who are grouping up using their connections…” Lee Ji-Hye added.

“And the Blue Guild?” I asked.

“Why are you mentioning the Blue Guild here? We\'re talking about the dungeon raid, not the continental crisis,” she said.

“Ah!”

I finally realized how this happened.

‘The dungeon does not belong to the Blue Guild.’

It was a fact that I had forgotten.

Even with the continental law, the ownership of a dungeon had always been a controversial topic. The more I looked into it, the more complicated it became in my eyes, but to make things simple, the owner of the land where the dungeon was discovered and the first discoverer of the dungeon would have the biggest share of the pie.

The Sacred Democratic Country was a pro-adventurer state, so they gave the first discoverer the biggest share, and the Republic gave the biggest share to the owner of the land. Except for the minor details, it wasn’t all that different.

Of course, this applied to the Mole Saint’s Sanctuary as well. The dungeon was discovered inside the Vatican. There was room for controversy, but if we were to look into the first discoverer, I\'d have to say that it was Rafael’s party.

They were the first ones to investigate the strange phenomenon in the dungeon, but they had gathered a ton of information as well. In the end, they discovered the dungeon, so it wouldn’t be right to exclude his party when they had made a great contribution.

My name was included in the list, but I didn’t participate under the Blue Guild’s name.

I was working with the Continental Protection Management Committee, the Vatican’s Heretic Inquisitors, and other groups, but the first two didn’t have the same interests as me, so they were excluded.

In the end, if I were asked who deserved to have the biggest share, I\'d say Rafael’s party, me, and then the Vatican.

‘Things have gotten complicated.’

The Vatican would be satisfied with owning the empty and cleared dungeon, as it was a religious symbol…

‘Things are going to get crazy.’

However, it meant that Rafael’s party would have ownership of the dungeon.

Of course, the owner of the dungeon would not necessarily own all the treasures.

However, it wasn\'t like they wouldn\'t get anything at all, but it was written in the contract that the rewards would be given based on the contribution levels.

Honestly, it wasn\'t that much of a problem because it had already been confirmed that Rafael’s party would have a much bigger reward, as they owned the dungeon.

The problem was that it was Rafael’s party that would be getting the rewards. The former baby party could not possibly take control of the situation when many powerful groups were already kicking up a fuss.

Their power and reputation had grown significantly, but there was a reason they were called the Holy Sword Warrior Party. They knew nothing except for fighting; they could not do any administrative work, and they also had no experience in resolving issues like this one.

‘All they have are their bodies.’

They had also never been involved in a political issue like this.

Rafael’s party was just a party that enjoyed going on adventures. Their wanderlust was so strong that they didn’t need a guild house. They traveled all over the continent without thinking about complicated issues like profits and ownership.

A group like theirs was easy to subdue, so I was sure that people would come at them as if they were prey.

“That’s why I\'ve been waiting for you. You’re the honorary cardinal of the Vatican, and you helped Rafael’s party discover the dungeon. In other words, you’re in the perfect position to mediate. As the Saint of Sacrifice and Light, not only are you symbolic, but you have the justification to mediate as well,” Lee Ji-Hye said.

“...”

“I thought Commander Jin was going to help, but I was wrong. He must be upset. I’m sure he wants to get a piece of the action, but he’s just watching the situation like he\'s protesting in silence…” Lee Ji-Hye added.

“He’s always been like that… Anyway, I’m sure they’re in a desperate situation,” I said.

“Rafael? Of course. He didn’t even visit you, did he?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.

‘Come to think of it, she’s right.’

Speak of the devil…

“Sub Guild Master, Mr. Rafael is here.”

I had no choice but to look at Ji-Hye noona.

I asked her quietly if I could let Rafael into the meeting room.

“Tell him to come in. Those with a brain will be here soon, anyway,” Lee Ji-Hye said.

“Please let him in,” I ordered.

Rafael looked really haggard as he walked into the meeting room.

“H-Hyung…” Rafael mumbled.

‘Looks like he’s been suffering a lot.’

“I haven’t been able to… visit you… I’m really glad that you’re safe, hyung,” Rafael said.

‘Why did he lose so much weight…’

“You heard… what happened, right? I’m sorry. If… I was a bit smarter… this wouldn’t have happened…” Rafael mumbled.

‘Look at those dark circles.’

He looked fine on the outside, but that was it. He looked as if he were under a powerful black mage\'s curse. It was like his soul had become corrupted, and he was feeling an indescribable sense of self-doubt.

I couldn’t imagine how hard it had to have been for him to be thrown into the vortex of politics when he had never been involved in politics all his life.

“It’s just…” Rafael paused.

“...”

“I tried to do my best… I didn’t want to cause trouble… but it didn’t work out… like I had thought,” Rafael continued.

‘Yeah, I understand it all. What can you do?’

Muddying the waters, avoiding the crux of the matter, and talking nonsense as if it were the truth. No, they didn’t even need to go that far.

Rafael wouldn’t be able to do anything if a few groups joined hands and oppressed them. What could he do in a meeting room once everyone raised their swords against him? He’d just stutter and ask them to calm down.

“You brought the logs of the last meeting and the requests of each guild, right?” I asked.

“Yes, hyung. I don’t know if it has the information you’re looking for… but Marian worked hard on it,” Rafael replied.

\'Miracle Priest Marian. It’s pretty obvious. Having a lot of data doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good thing, so why is this so heavy?’

Marian had to have thought that she organized the data pretty well, but for this type of report, each guild had their own standards and rules. Just listing everything wasn\'t useful enough. The report was poorly made by a rookie who never had a life in a guild.

‘It’s really messy.’

The meeting logs were even worse.

There were people who spoke up even though they didn’t have the right to do so, and many of them directly ignored the moderator. It was true that Rafael’s party was easily influenced, but there were people who ignored basic procedures and manners.

Of course, I could not blame them for doing so.

‘I would do the same if I were in their shoes, after all.’

Actually, it was natural for them to act that way. There was a reason why dungeons were put up for auction. Even if small parties broke through their limits or recruited mercenaries to clear a dungeon, they’d still end up like Rafael’s party.

Those weak would be torn to shreds and eaten by the strong—the world had always been like that.

‘The others who attended the meeting must’ve felt really frustrated.’

“I didn’t ask for help in case it would become a problem… and everyone seemed on edge about it…” Rafael said.

“The solution they came up with in the recent meeting was to send two members from each guild and have them join Rafael’s party. Of course, there were many complaints because of the spots,” Lee Ji-Hye chimed in.

“And the Red Mercenary Guild?” I asked.

“The guild master of that guild has actually retired, so Mr. Choi Young-Ki attended in her place… but he’s inexperienced in politics as well… and it looks like our Yeon-Joo unni has decided to just remain quiet. You know that obvious dialogue that’s bound to be said? I’m trying to prevent it in advance,” Lee Ji-Hye replied.

“What dialogue?” I asked.

“This is too much. Of course, we understand where you’re coming from… but we didn’t participate in the expedition just to watch as the three major guilds of Lindel take away all the items like this,” Lee Ji-Hye answered.

I knew it…

“This is too much. Of course, we understand where you’re coming from… but we didn’t participate in the expedition just to watch as the three major guilds of Lindel take away all the items like this,” said one of the expedition members, repeating after Ji-Hye noona ad verbum.

“Of course, we acknowledge the achievements of the three guilds, but it’s an undeniable fact that we should get what we deserve,” they said.

“...”

“Didn’t we confirm through this incident that the continent is still under threat? The death rate in the Federation, the Union, and the Kingdom of Others is soaring as we speak. It\'s all because the small to mid-sized guilds there are in dire need of people and equipment. To resolve the unequal power distribution throughout the continent, the item distribution has to be fair. It\'s all for the sake of making the continent a safer place.”

‘What the hell is this bastard talking about?’

“What do you think about the current state of the continent, Father Lee Ki-Young?” someone asked.

‘What do you mean?’

I couldn’t help but gnash my teeth.