Contracts Must Be Handled Carefully
“[…and opinions like these continue to pour in. We’ve invited a video analysis expert to join us. Hello.]”
The lounge TV was blathering on about me nonstop.
“Not CGI~ Not CGI~”
“[…it completely violates the laws of physics, so I don’t see any realism here. It’s far more likely to be a meticulously crafted composite video.]”
“Not physics~ Not physics~”
“[But footage of her flying through the sky has been captured, and the government has essentially acknowledged it as fact. Since that doesn’t align with the laws of physics either, we’re looking at a new form of…]”
“It’s magic~ It’s magic~”
“…Quiet. Shut that mouth of yours.”
In the end the political prisoner next to me, who’d been watching the news, scolded me into silence.
“Tch.”
Barely a week had passed since the firepower demonstration, and I never expected the popularity to explode this fast.
No—actually, I had known it would. I just hadn’t expected it this soon.
Crunch, crunch.
I was on my third soft, chewy snack from the table, watching myself blast magic on the screen, when an agent approached from behind.
“Miss Yuria? Could you come this way for a moment?”
“Mmff. Mm. Gulp!”
I followed the agent and ended up in a reception room. It was the weekend—I’d thought I had no appointments today?
Knock-knock. Creeeak.
Beyond the opened door sat a man in a suit.
“A pleasure to meet you.”
The man of unknown affiliation offered me a seat without revealing his identity. With no real option to refuse, I sat.
“What brings you here on a weekend?”
“Ah, this won’t take long. I’d like to discuss the previous arrangement.”
Arrangement?
Ah—he’d come about the things I’d demanded in exchange for participating in the firepower demonstration.
Honestly, I’d half-erased it from my mind. No contract had been signed, so I’d figured they’d try the “perform first, pay later” approach that put me at a disadvantage.
If it came to that, I could just throw a proper tantrum. I wasn’t some thousand-year-old nine-tailed fox—I was a three-thousand-year-old Hero. One taste of that and they’d scramble to bring money or whatever else I wanted.
“First, regarding the reward money, we intend to provide the following.”
The man held out a bundle of papers.
Immediate payment: 30,000,000 won
Thereafter: 2,000,000 won per month for 10 years
No additional allowances, financial support, or private-sector assistance
“…”
As I flipped through the pages, I felt my thoughts grow colder and my expression harden.
Once you stripped away the endless Ministry of Justice foreigner-protection legalese, the remaining content was simple.
Thirty million won paid immediately, then two million a month for ten years.
No other allowances, financial aid, or private support of any kind.
After reading that far, I calmly looked up at the man who had handed me the contract. His face stiffened in an instant, and a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.
That’s right… think carefully.
People who work for the government being generous with money? At least in the other world, no one like that existed. Everyone haggled and took what they could get.
I hadn’t been completely without hope that this world—specifically the South Korean government holding me—might turn out stingy.
But damn. The terms were so bad I seriously considered flipping the table.
If I openly slammed the table and shouted, “You call this money?!” would I end up face-first in a washbasin, thrashing around?
Sometimes when I walked the facility corridors, I’d catch a glimpse through an open door of a bathtub or iron bars.
Mm-hmm. I preferred to believe those rooms were no longer in use. Relics of the old days of dictatorship and oppression. Mm-hmm-hmm.
“Um, just a moment…”
The man in front of me called out carefully, then pulled another bundle of papers from his briefcase.
“What you’ve seen so far is merely the contract led by the Ministry of Justice, which handles refugee reception and the like. This next contract is the one the state is actually proposing—the terms that will genuinely apply.”
…the sum of 2,000,000,000 won (two billion won exactly) to be paid in a lump sum immediately upon opening of Party A’s account…
…an additional 3,000,000 won (three million won exactly) to be added daily according to the period of protection within the facility…
…compensation to be calculated in proportion to tangible and intangible assets possessed—items, information, etc.—with standards as follows…
If this one also listed some measly amount, I wasn’t going to sit still—
…wasn’t going to…
…I should sit still.
Thank you, Koreans. I’m so moved by the excellent treatment.
But showing how pleased you are is the mark of an amateur.
Bargaining is intermediate level.
“What’s the intention behind showing me that first contract and only later revealing this one?”
Pointing out the other party’s fault first and then acting bold—that’s expert-level play.
“…”
“What are you, some marketplace huckster? What if I’d signed the first contract? Were you hoping to snag an easy mark and got surprised that I actually know how the world works?”
I clicked my tongue. He flinched so hard it was obvious even he knew how unpleasant that must have felt.
Separately from that, the terms themselves were excellent.
Twenty billion won as a lump sum for shooting a few magic blasts, three million won a day just for staying in the facility, and if they put a price on all the items, techniques, and information I’d brought from the other world, I was looking at hundreds of billions at least.
Still, if there was a chance to squeeze out more, you had to take it.
“I believed the government wouldn’t pull such a cheap trick. Interesting.”
“That wasn’t the intention…”
“Then.”
“…”
“Then would you care to explain what the intention was?”
I leaned back in the chair, crossed my legs, and calmly locked eyes with him.
“…”
A man whose expression had frozen solid, eyeballs darting with nowhere to go, and me waiting for whatever words might come out of his mouth.
Who would win was obvious.
Scrape.
“I apologize.”
In the end he stood and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees. I held up a single index finger toward him.
“Exactly one hour. I’ll sit right here quietly for one hour.”
“…Pardon?”
I was about to teach him how to make money without lifting a finger.
“If you bring a new contract in one hour, I’ll read the terms with a fresh mind.”
At those words his pupils shook violently, but—
“You understand what I mean, right?”
Not my problem.
“…I’ll step out and make a call.”
The man hurried out of the interrogation room, and the male agent who had brought me earlier entered as if taking over the shift.
“You heard everything, didn’t you?”
“Yes, well. It’s our job.”
The agent scratched his head. Through the earpiece in his ear, every word of my bargaining had surely been transmitted.
To loosen the stiff atmosphere that had made even the agent look rigid, I curled the corners of my mouth into a grin.
“So? Did I look like a shrewd genius mage?”
“…Pardon?”
“You didn’t actually think I was genuinely angry, did you? How boring.”
The agent looked like his soul had left his body. I plucked a white hair from the shoulder of his suit and continued.
“I want to be a good person. Being a good person and being a pushover are clearly different, right? Today I’m a good person who also looks after her own interests.”
“Is that so.”
“But… if you keep trying these shallow power games…”
I brushed the lapel of his suit where the white hair had been and flashed another smile.
“It won’t be fun. Not for me, and not for you.”
I mouthed Message received? and the agent pressed a hand to his forehead and nodded.
Honestly, because I’d gotten a little shorter, looking up while brushing dust off someone’s clothes made me lose a bit of dignity, but I decided not to show it.
I missed that 190-centimeter ultra-massive muscle-bound Hero body!
“Haa.”
At least twenty centimeters had vanished. It felt like every bit of that height had drained straight into my chest and hips.
I’d adapted quickly enough, but every time I noticed it, a wave of melancholy soaked through my whole body.
Why did the heavens have to take my little buddy, and my height, and my muscles, and so on and so forth…
I’d been wrestling with that gloomy feeling for about thirty minutes when—
Knock-knock.
“Come in.”
The man whose entire face was soaked in sweat entered. The same man who’d gotten an earful from me earlier and gone to make a call now held a crisp new bundle of contracts.
“I’ll wait outside.”
The agent stepped aside, the contract was spread open again…
[Blank field for amount]
“Pass.”
At last I was able to shake the man’s hand.
…
…
“So, aside from the money, about sharing the plans and establishing a magic-related agency…?”
“Ah. Other people will be preparing that. Each section is handled by a different department…”
“Aha.”
Civil-servant technique number one: the departmental runaround!
“When are those people coming?”
“They’ll come up as soon as I leave.”
“Ah.”
My weekend!
An involuntary weekend surrender—this kind of treatment simply cannot stand.
Guarantee the 52-hour workweek! Support the five-day work system!
…I swallowed those words and simply nodded.
“Anyway, I’m glad we could reach an agreement under satisfactory terms.”
“Haha… that’s what I should be saying. Thank you.”
We shook hands once more, and the man turned and hurried out. For a brief moment I glimpsed a face that looked like some evil spirit had possessed him, but—
Probably just my imagination. Even if it was real, what could I do about it?
Knock-knock.
Soon another suit walked in…
“Whisper whisper.”
“Grumble grumble.”
After a great deal of talk…
“…and so, in the near future, you will have a VIP audience at Cheongwadae to share and gather detailed opinions…”
The creation of a magic-related ministry had been confirmed, but its structure and system would be decided through discussions with the president and others.
“The schedule of plans will be provided to you on a weekly basis every Monday. However, please understand that sudden cancellations or changes are inevitable; in such cases we will notify you the moment any change occurs.”
I was also briefed on the detention plan concerning me, and we reached an agreement.
“Additionally, the higher-ups are currently reviewing the possibility of outings outside the facility. It should be implemented soon.”
“Nice!”
Having received even a hint about possible outings, how could I not be delighted?
For the first time in a while I pulled the blanket over my head and slept like a log.