Chapter 50

“We’ll conduct joint research, but the Mage Tower will take the lead on the direction.”

As he finished speaking, the expressions of the Imperial City’s mages soured a bit.

In contrast, the Mage Tower folks were muted but cheering wildly.

They must have been dying to dive into gate research.

“But if monsters that can use magic come out of the gates, then the offensive magic research should be handled by us…”

The head of the Imperial City’s mages couldn’t let go, piping up anyway.

I later learned that the Imperial City’s mages specialized more in offensive magic, while the Mage Tower mages focused on natural magical phenomena.

“That’s fine.”

Maybe because of that, the Mage Tower side agreed right away.

The Imperial City mages’ faces brightened up.

Seemed like a win-win.

“And for the temple side?”

Shin Jae-heon turned to Joo Yian.

They’d been quiet so far, probably since there were no mages among them.

As their eyes met, Joo Yian opened his mouth in that soft, gentle voice of his.

Whoever was running the ‘Joo Yian ASMR’ YouTube channel back in Korea was probably losing it right now.

Couldn’t upload new videos and all.

Blame the Hunter Association bastards who dumped us here!

“Our Sinxian Order places the protection of life above all else.”

His calm voice echoed through the meeting hall.

“Should a gate go unmanaged and monsters spill out,”

He struck the floor with the long, ornate staff he carried.

“The blades of Sinxian shall be the first to strike them down.”

In short, the order’s holy knights would mainly guard the outside of the gates.

Shin Jae-heon nodded.

“Then we’ll handle the inside.”

“Of course, we’ll also send priests inside as needed for healing.”

The temple and the Imperial House were already cooperating on monster hunts, so hammering out the details was easy.

“Then, Protector Knight Captain, Countess Edelweiss.”

The mood was good, but suddenly Shin Jae-heon called my name.

I could feel the nobles behind him all turning to stare at once.

Hey, I’m not even a tank—why spotlight me like this?

I panicked for a second and replied in hunter chat. Then, belatedly, out loud.

“Yes.”

“I’ve heard that Edelweiss has the best gate management in the empire. And that you’ve formed a united front with nearby nobles.”

I bowed my head at his words.

“We’re doing our best, but it’s hardly perfect.”

The nobles started murmuring.

“United front?”

“I heard they gathered troops separately… Did they report to His Majesty?”

“If they didn’t report… Hmph.”

Their eyes were gleaming. Trying to catch me in something?

“It’s solely for dealing with monsters and gates.”

No way! I shut it down immediately.

Shin Jae-heon nodded readily.

“I know. You reported it when you first formed the group.”

The nobles looked a bit disappointed.

Kids, can’t you hide your thoughts a little?

“That said, now that you’re Protector Knight Captain, I’d like you to share Edelweiss’s gate management methods across the entire empire.”

That’s when Shin Jae-heon laid out his long request.

“Management methods, you say…?”

I froze.

I saw Shin Jae-heon’s gaze flicker ever so slightly to the corner.

That jerk definitely saw the hunter chat!

“Draft a gate response manual by the end of the week and report back.”

And he says it even after seeing!

I nearly glared at him.

I can’t do stuff like this! I hate paperwork!

Even back in Korea, Joo Yian handled all the paperwork related to me.

He tried teaching me, but I’d turn small tasks into avalanches.

True, but! As I mentally banged my head,

An angel descended into the hunter chat.

That was reassuring… but the pope himself couldn’t come, so how would he help via hunter chat?

“…Understood.”

But I couldn’t back out unless Shin Jae-heon withdrew it.

No matter how much I hated paperwork, it couldn’t be worse than RP dungeon penalties.

Shin Jae-heon, you just wait!

“Then we’ll need closer consultations. Better after the meal.”

He rose from his seat.

This was the noble way: broad strokes together, details later.

Among our quartet, only social butterfly So Yeri was thrilled as we gradually moved to the banquet hall.

The hall had a simple spread prepared.

Like a buffet back home, but no one was actually eating.

Just nobles buzzing around.

“Cooperation like this between the Mage Tower, temple—hasn’t happened in decades, has it?”

“Wonder if it’ll work out…”

“The mood’s still pretty tense, though.”

Shin Jae-heon must’ve overheard, because chat exploded.

The teasing of Joo Yian had begun.

Poor healer Joo Yian.

He even offered to help with paperwork, but they were overdoing the roast, so I sat this one out.

“…”

Glancing at Joo Yian while checking chat, he looked slightly troubled.

Only we, who’d teamed up long-term, could spot it.

Then he slowly closed and opened his eyes, starting to sharply scan the Imperial House side.

That’s…

I couldn’t hold back and jumped in.

Chat filled with laughter. Joo Yian’s face flushed with embarrassment again.

A few seconds later, his message slipped in slyly.

For real?!

Hunter chat went silent for a moment.

Purified by the teasing backfire, we stopped poking at Joo Yian.

“Still, His Holiness seems a bit more relaxed now…”

“He’s still watching the Imperial House sharply, though.”

“Hope the gate crisis ends soon.”

The nobles’ reactions came right back.

I definitely saw it—Joo Yian…

For a split second, flashing a proud smile.

This would be 10 years of roast material in chat!

My instincts screamed, but I held back for Joo Yian’s future.

Ugh, so cute.

Once the three factions truly pooled their strength, clearing gates became a breeze.

With DPS, healers, mages, and the holy knights’ frequent tanks added, raid stability skyrocketed.

Manpower shortages eased up too.

No more support classes freezing low-rank gates and whittling with sticks, or DPS dueling to the death over damage parses.

Of course, this was only possible because I, on the command team, knew gate response tactics.

Not that anyone here appreciated my efforts.

“Whoa, the workload’s insane.”

I’d dumped most of Edelweiss affairs on steward Helen.

Lucky that Shin Jae-heon didn’t stick me with incompetents.

Helen hesitated briefly, then slashed the workload, bringing only final approvals to me.

Meanwhile, I focused on forming gate squads.

Pairing hunters—no, troops—from each class into squads like this.

Thanks to our hunter team rotating to assess their hunter ranks firsthand.

“B-ranks and up probably need tanks.”

We cleared SS-gates without, but these folks weren’t gate-savvy.

As I scribbled squads with my quill, I frowned.

Stats getting out of hand? Quills snapping more lately from poor control.

Holding the broken one, I pondered.

“With all this work, when do I write the manual?”

Instant reply.

Coming in with that info-desk tone…

As I hesitated,

A knock echoed in the room. Knocking was fine, but it was ridiculous.

“What idiot…?”

It came from the window side.

Casually turning, my jaw dropped.

Is he nuts?! What if someone sees?!

No time to think—I flung the window open.

“Phew.”

In brushed Shin Jae-heon, dusting his hands.