Chapter 86 086

"Holy cow…"

Odie scanned through the community pages to see how things were going and soon nodded. Haydall and Roth looked at her with grim expressions, but Odie didn't care one bit.

"He's the best. How did he plan this?"

"I thought you would've charged in to save him."

"Do you really think I'm such a party pooper?"

"You looked like one. Remember how badly you bit your nails as you were watching?"

"He's right. I would have stopped you if this was real life."

Odie shook her head in frustration.

"I'm still part of the audience. What would you think if an audience member stepped in because the main character was in danger? I have no choice but to watch nervously. I'm just glad that it all led to a happy ending."

"…Audience member?"

"Am I not? Gosh, I want to get to Level 100 already!"

"Will that make any difference?"

"It'll make a lot of difference," Odie said with a bright smile on her face. "I'll finally be able to join the show. Oh my God! I can't believe that I'll be on the same screen as the hero I've been admiring. To be honest, it's much more fun than filming a movie because I don't know how it will end!"

"What if it's a sad ending?"

"Well, I'll just have to cry and shake it off. What else I can do?"

Haydall was relieved by that reply, knowing that Seojin's demise wouldn't affect Hyesun back in reality.

'She looks totally different when talking about acting…'

Hyesun's acting skills and attitude were the main weapon that had brought her to this position, her good looks were just an added bonus.

"At least she'll enjoy it if she thinks that it's her stage… our boss is taking it positively too."

Odie had been rather lethargic. Even though she smiled brightly in front of the camera, the tiredness and exhaustion almost made her end her career. Haydall was well aware of how dangerous the situation was.

'She has so much money yet so few things to do. If she got into the likes of gambling, drugs, or whatever…'

Just imagining it made him cringe in fear.

'You were right, boss! Games are the best. Especially VRMMOs, which blow away the stress without having to think about others.'

"Let's go hunting."

"Again?"

Haydall and Roth frowned simultaneously.

"Uh… we only rested for ten minutes after three hours of hunting."

"So? That's enough, let's go. You should eat and sleep soon, so it's best to cut break time short. Let's hurry up and go!"

Their boss was absolutely right, and that made Haydall want to cry.

* * *

As Odie was heading to the hunting ground, Seojin was replying to a flood of messages.

-No, I'm okay, really.

-Please bring us next time! You don't know how useful wizards can be in those kinds of situations, but as the guildmaster…

Seojin was already sick of the endless PR for the usefulness of spellcasters.

-Okay, okay. Oh, sorry, I've got a job to do!

-Seojin! Seojin…

<Red Tower> - Kiri is temporarily blocked.

First one dealt with.

-Hey, Seojin! Why didn't you tell us in advance? Quite a few of my guys are around there. You could have at least given me a chance to punch that damned Henrite…

<Résistance> - Bigfoot is temporarily blocked.

And another one…

Kiri and Bigfoot were persistent when it came to confronting Ironblood.

'They're quite something alright.'

It seemed like they'd already forgotten they were playing a damn game. Of course, they must have been playing Midgard for a living, so perhaps that was a given.

'They don't know even me… it's not even like Merhen has called me either.'

Seojin laughed playfully, knowing that Merhen would have called him first if he thought that he was in a real crisis. That was how Merhen and Seojin played together.

-BunnyRabbit?

He contacted BunnyRabbit again.

-Yes! You're using the messenger. Are you outside?

Seojin had bought add-on gear and was able to contact her whilst still connected to the game.

-I just arrived at my office. I was having a meeting with my manager.

-Oh, you must be busy.

-Not at all!

Seojin grinned at Bunnys' instant reaction as she continued.

-The general manager left as soon as he realized it was you. He said you can take your time. Oh, I'm not lying! Really!

That certainly wasn't a usual case, which caused Seojin to once again realized how much profit they were making thanks to him. However, he couldn't deny that he was also provided with various conveniences thanks to them.

-I'll be heading to Shahav after sorting out things on the Churai Islands.

-…Shahav? Is there a reason for that?

-Yes, but kinda vague… the city is called Oasis, so I'd like to take a look at it.

-Ah, sure!

-Tell your manager that it looks like I'll be taking a week off. I'll see things through and sort it out. You should have a rest too.

-Okay! But I can't rest… I'm working really hard and will continue to do so! Thank you for having me as your companion!

It sounded like she was excited because her supervisor was treating her well. Seojin could easily understand without having to see it for himself.

'I still have plenty of time… and I'll have to start thinking about her once she becomes an expert blacksmith.'

Seojin left for the Lord's castle.

'I have to keep my word.'

* * *

"Oh, so… it was you…"

The Lord's residence was luxurious and it was more like a super-large manor than a castle. Nevertheless, it still went along with the environment surrounding it, making it less practical but more natural.

"Look at all that money. How the hell the King left you untouched until now?"

Seojin asked as he tapped on a unique-looking statue.

"Well, I-I respected him to a certain degree. Ironblood protected me as well…"

"How much did you pay?"

"About thirty percent to Ironblood and five percent to the royals… the amount wasn't small."

"Your terms were good compared to the other lords. I bet you saved a lot of money."

"…You're right."

"I like your honesty."

Seojin walked back and forth in front of Count Drake, pretending to be thinking about what to do with him. The Count's nervousness only grew stronger as Seojin did so, and he even began to sweat.

"Y-you promised me…"

"Yeah, and I'll keep that promise… well, depending on how loyal you'll be."

"Of course, I promise you absolute loyalty! I made a mistake, but willing to right my wrongs…"

"You're going to put everything you earn into the national treasury? Do you really mean that?"

Count Drake was adamant.

"I mean it. I'll deposit all of the profit I make into the national treasury for the next ten years, well, except for the minimum amount I need to operate this estate. I know that's my duty."

"How tough and honest, you're a real man. Alright, what's the minimum amount of money you'll be needing?"

"Ten percent should be fine for now. I can raise it if you want…"

"If I want?"

"You have to take a reward for your hard work."

The Count cleared his throat as if he was embarrassed to say it so blatantly.

'So… he's trying to bribe me?'

He was, and perhaps Seojin could even get a portion of the estate half-permanently.

Even though it must have been a considerable amount of money, Seojin shook his head.

"The royal family will take care of my reward, so you don't have to worry about it. So, you need around ten percent for the operation of the estate?"

"Yes."

"Offer eighty-five percent regularly, and take five for yourself. That'll make your job worthwhile, at least.'

"…Understood."

Drake accepted the offer more calmly than Seojin thought he would. He didn't have a choice in the first place, but the human brain was not that rational whenever they thought that someone was taking away something that was originally theirs.

'My journal still hasn't updated…'

That meant there was still something to do on the Churai Islands.

"Okay then, that's the official business done with. Let's talk about the unofficial stuff now."

"By unofficial, you mean…?"

"Whatever insurance you've got hidden. You're so calm because you have other means to get by apart from taxes, aren't you?"

The Count flinched before regaining his poker face and shaking his head sullenly.

"There's no such thing. If I had anything, Ironblood would've taken it first. I'm just trying to correct my past mistakes."

"So, you're going to completely give up your income for the next ten years without any additional income?"

"The crime I committed is very big."

"I'll take whatever I find here then. You told me that you're not hiding anything here, right?"

"What? It's not like I'm hiding something, but even if there is anything… shouldn't it belong to our king?"

"How moral you are. Okay, then I'll report everything that I find to the King. Items, gold…"

Stance: Cheeky Threat.

Effective: 10 Minutes.

"Even the ones who are in charge of it… finding the right guy to grill is easier than breathing for me, for your information."

Seojin smiled and Count was almost about to cry.

"…I'll tell you everything."

* * *

"Hey, how much is all of this?"

Seojin looked around with wide eyes.

There was a small port on the corner of the Northern Island. Seojin had no idea how could've hidden that until now.

Discovered: Hidden Location ¬- Cliffside Port.

'This is a hidden location…'

A cliff and a port didn't match up at all in terms of common sense, but Count Drake had inherited a magical item from his ancestors.

"It's called a Fantasm Builder. My father told me that it was the work of an archmage, although, I don't know who that would be exactly. He even said that Royal Wizards can't see through the fantasm it makes, but he didn't expect adventurers to show up.

The illusion was broken, revealing a shabby port inside a perfect cliff. There were three or four small ships, which seemed a bit too small to be trade ships, and there weren't that many sailors either.

"Does this even make money?"

"It's small but very profitable. We exported most of what we needed to, and whatever was left was brought back and sold here for our own needs. It was originally monopolized by royals."

So, basically, it was smuggling. They had sold off the specialties of Valaran and imported other specialties to sell in the kingdom. It was no wonder the revenue was huge as they didn't pay any taxes.

"It's all yours. Name the ratio and I'll follow it. Should've known that I couldn't trick you adventurers in the first place…"

"No, I changed my mind."

Seojin shook his head as his original plan was to ensure that his journal updated. If the Count was selling something, that meant there was a buyer, and that buyer must have been a higher-up considering that he could handle this kind of business.

Seojin had an eye for long-term plans.

"I'll keep this a secret, you don't have to pay me a penny. Show me your client list instead."