Chapter 45

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 45

Chapter Title: Kwon Yena, Here We Go!

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Kwon Yena, here we go!

Things had gone even better than I'd imagined. What a relief.

I reflected on how I'd wrongly pegged him as a stubborn hardliner in the past.

"Haha! That a friend of Miss Kwon Yena... no, that such an incredible person emerged from our Twilight Orphanage—I'm truly delighted!"

"It's all thanks to you managing the orphanage so well~"

The atmosphere turned warm and friendly in an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠instant.

To begin with, I had no reason whatsoever to antagonize Um Taesu.

Of course I felt gratitude toward him as the owner of the orphanage where Yena and I had grown up, and maintaining good relations with an S-Rank Awakener was naturally a huge plus.

The same went for Um Taesu.

He might have missed out on exploiting an EX-Grade Blacksmith for a year, but what could he do about it now?

He'd have to normalize the orphanage to prevent anything like this from happening again, but that wasn't reason enough to turn hostile toward me.

If anything, there was plenty of room to view it positively—he'd been spared from forcibly tying himself to the Twilight Guild, eliminating even the slightest grudge.

"Hahaha! To think you're crafting A-Grade gear! They say no one's made even B-Grade equipment yet except that Boastful Blacksmith guy!"

"My job is literally Blacksmith, so maybe it's only natural."

"Hahaha! Now I can hold my head high at the World Hunter Association's regular meetings! Any chance I could get a sneak peek at a sword that suits me?!"

"Haha... The sword's still in production, so not right now."

"Haha..."

The mood turned awkward again in a flash.

All those swords I'd had? Unfortunately, they'd all been destroyed in equipment synthesis.

"Then when might..."

Honestly, even I had no idea when it'd be ready.

For all I knew, it could be done by the end of today—or if luck was against me, delayed for months.

"Roughly six months..."

So I quoted a generous timeline and handed it over as soon as it was complete. Perfect.

If he waited thinking it'd take six months and got it in just one, he'd be even more grateful.

"...Somehow I knew something was off from the start. No matter that you're Miss Kwon Yena's friend, this humiliation is something I could never..."

"I'm Boastful Blacksmith. I'll send you a message, so give me your nickname."

"...It's Moonlit Blade."

He seemed embarrassed by his own nickname too, so why hadn't he changed it...

He must really like it enough to stick with it despite the shame.

'What an oddly unique guy.'

I immediately logged into the Gallery, sent him a simple greeting with my name, and messaged him.

"You see it?"

"...The moment I saw you enjoying that black tea, I knew you were no ordinary person."

"..."

"Sorry."

I wanted to flick this Taesu jerk on the forehead, but as an S-Rank Swordsman, it probably wouldn't even tickle.

Besides, after that last exchange, he'd be watching his step anyway, so things would go my way. I'd let him off one last time.

"Um... But wasn't Boastful Blacksmith's max B-Grade...?"

"Agh, Taesu."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Yes? What?"

"Lurk on the Gallery more. Guild management is all about info warfare, you know?"

Hadn't he seen the post about me making A-Grade? It'd been up a while...

'Oh, it was recent.'

Um Taesu immediately checked the Gallery at my words and spaced out.

Soon enough, he looked back at me and continued.

"A-Grade dagger too... Truth be told, from the moment I first saw you, a strong sense of trust welled up from deep inside me. My instincts were spot on."

"Sigh... Yeah, okay. Anyway, my proposal meets your approval?"

"Yes, I... You haven't specified the exact terms yet..."

"Heh~ Scared our Twilight Guild Master might get ripped off? Or do you still have doubts...?"

"Haha! Of course not! It was a most satisfactory deal. Thank you."

Of course I planned to negotiate hard.

For starters, neither an A-Grade item nor 100 billion was ready right now.

I didn't even know when the A-Grade sword would be done, and the 100 billion couldn't be paid until the guild was established first.

In other words, Twilight Guild releasing Yena, and Yena joining as a founding member of my guild—that had to happen first.

"Smart thinking~ Gear isn't like game items you can mass-produce. With supply so scarce compared to demand, I can't just sell to the highest bidder."

"Haha, fair enough. Wise call~"

"If this deal goes smoothly, why would I hesitate to sell to Twilight Guild?"

"Haha! Just trust me! Who am I? Guild Master of Twilight Guild! Their one and only S-Rank Awakener!"

Um Taesu had already fully accepted that Yena was no longer his guild member.

"I'll send the details and contract my way later."

"Leaving already?"

"Got to craft and select gear for Twilight Guild delivery. Busy times. Please handle the contract termination with Yena ASAP, Guild Master."

"Got it!!!"

The moment I stepped out, I opened the forge and requested Um Taesu as a regular customer.

Since I'd already laid most of the groundwork, he accepted immediately and was registered as a regular.

"Guild Master Um Taesu."

"...Mr. Shin Yujun?!!"

"I'll craft a fitting sword right away, so please proceed with terminating the contract with Yena immediately."

"Ah, got it!!"

"One of my abilities. Disclosing it to build even stronger trust. Then I'll end the connection."

...

"Aah!!... I belie"

This was our first conversation, first meeting—but Um Taesu seemed like someone I could maintain a long-term partnership with.

His shameless attitude shift and situational judgment were jaw-dropping, followed by him immediately bowing his head deeply.

If I steadily supplied him A-Grade gear, he'd probably hand over his liver and gall bladder ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠without a second thought.

'But they check each other's gear at World Hunter Association meetings, huh.'

I really had to hold off on equipment synthesis for a while.

It hurt my heart knowing even the B-Grade Crimson Flame Staff—which he'd been so thrilled about—would be dismissed there.

Yena and I headed straight back to my place—the top-floor suite at Crimson Lotus Hotel.

More precisely, Yena had scooped me up and flown us back.

"...How'd it go?"

Yena only asked once we were fully settled in.

She hadn't shown it, but she'd obviously been super expectant.

"Good."

"Huh?! Really?!!"

"Seems like it went well."

"For real?!?!"

"Yeah. You'll probably get a call about it soon."

Since terminating her guild contract was the condition, she'd hear first.

Poke—

"That happy?"

"...Thank youuu..."

"..."

"Really... thank youuu..."

Yena buried in my arms repeated her thanks in a sniffling baby voice.

I hadn't expected it to hit her this hard. She must've really hated Twilight Guild.

From how he'd acted today, Um Taesu probably hadn't been rude or a nuisance to her.

"Why the tears~?"

"I wanted to be an early guild member too..."

She'd genuinely wanted to build a guild with just me.

It made me so grateful, but also heartbroken thinking of all she'd endured.

And it made me want to wrap everything up fast.

"Sniff..."

For that, time for some so-called public opinion play?

Make sure Twilight's Guild Master hurried up and contacted Yena about terminating the contract.

Thanks to the A-Grade gear post I'd uploaded earlier, "Boastful Blacksmith" was rolling as Gallery bait again.

The place was flooded with speculative posts about me.

The theory that the Holy Nation tackling S-Grade gates no-delay was because I was supplying them A-Grade gear had the most upvotes and agreement so far.

Anyway, the Gallery was spinning around me more than ever.

Time to harness that momentum with a post of my own.

I quickly drafted and uploaded the one I'd prepared for when I brought Yena over.

This ought to light a fire under Taesu to handle things quick.

Come on, Taesu—might as well wrap it up on a high note!

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