Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: The Golden Dragon Repays His Debt (1)
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I had originally planned to talk on the first floor, but with guild members coming and going, we moved to my room on the fifth floor.
“I don’t normally eat things like this, but it’s not bad having it after so long.”
As if he doesn’t.
He shook out every last crumb with a look of utter regret on his face.
“At this rate, you’re going to climb right into the bag.”
“It’s just been a while… Ung-jjang, you wouldn’t happen to have any more, would you?”
Calling me Ung-jjang so freely just because we’re alone was a bit much, but…
“Kyaru-chan, the Military-Veteran Schoolgirl, you’ve had plenty already.”
“*Cough—cough—*”
It seemed my taste-of-your-own-medicine scolding made him choke.
He once told me his daughter came up with that nickname, but seeing his reaction, I was starting to think he made it up himself…
“Hey, what if someone hears you?”
“You called me Ung-jjang in front of everyone.”
“…I’ll be more careful. But seriously, do you have any more?”
Thinking he was truly hopeless, I pulled out another bag of snacks for him.
“Whoa, is this a Matdongba! You should have given me this from the start.”
“That’s the absolute last one… No, sir, we didn’t come here to eat snacks, did we? Eat it later.”
“Ah… understood.”
“What on earth is Kang Hwa-yeon thinking, saying she won’t join a guild?”
Knowing Chairman Lee, he wouldn’t have lowballed the offer, so I didn’t get it.
“It’s not just her. The principal and all the teachers said they won’t join a guild either.”
Ah, I could guess what was happening.
“Did they say they’re going to make a guild of their own?”
“Well, they didn’t say it outright, but that seems to be the gist of it. It came up during the first meeting, remember?”
Since the entire school was summoned as a group, it was only natural for them to feel a sense of camaraderie.
But that was just talk from people who had no idea how Elsia really worked.
“And where are they going to get the deposit to establish a guild?”
The requirements for creating a guild weren’t terribly strict, but you had to pay a deposit when you registered with the administration office.
30 gold wasn’t a huge amount for me, but it was no small sum for others.
It was the same as the tax for ten summoners who’d been here less than a year.
Of course, they could just stick together like a temporary party without registering, but then they wouldn’t receive any benefits from the system or the territory.
“Doesn’t the principal have the same trait as me? I heard he has about 100,000 jewels. He’ll probably use them to draw equipment and exchange it for gold.”
“Ah… I see.”
The principal’s trait was Generous Sponsor.
With 100,000 jewels, getting 30 gold wouldn’t be difficult, but…
“I doubt a guild made up of only beginners will run smoothly.”
Well, I couldn’t stop them from sticking together, but it felt a bit futile.
Even if I didn’t recruit her myself, I was hoping she’d join the Golden Lion Guild so I could ask her for favors now and then…
This made the contract I prepared useless.
“I suppose so. But honestly, I’m not too worried.”
“Huh?”
“It’s their first day of training, and they don’t know anything, so of course they’d say that. They might have been from the same school with all their teachers, but will it work? Not a chance. That’s why I didn’t even mention it.”
Ah, now that I thought about it, he was right.
“Besides, didn’t my younger brother here show them the vivid reality of Elsia today? Everyone’s minds will have changed, so don’t you worry.”
He had a point.
They must have faced reality during last night’s training.
“Let’s put those worries aside and come to an agreement on the scouting.”
“An agreement…?”
“The Golden Lion Guild would like to recruit them both, but if you want them, my brother, I’ll gladly yield.”
“Huh?”
“Forget the younger sister for a second. We’re not actually that crazy about the older one, either.”
“Isn’t she a hidden class?”
Doll Queen, or something like that, I think.
“A hidden class is powerful, sure, but it’s not a guarantee. She just gets the class change quest, right? Besides, no one in Kramis can beat you when it comes to money, my brother.”
He must have taken the joke I made last time seriously.
“The Golden Lion Guild should take them both.”
“Hm? Are you serious?”
He looked completely shocked.
“Yes. I’m serious.”
Kang Hwa-yeon’s trait was appealing, but the burden that was her older sister cut that appeal in half.
Setting aside the trade-off efficiency, it wasn’t like I’d die if I couldn’t eat snacks or modern food.
Besides, if she joined the Golden Lion Guild, it wouldn’t be hard to ask her for favors.
“Why? Did you talk to her? Was her personality that bad?”
“It’s not that, but it seems a bit much to create a whole guild just for one person. If she joins your guild, sir, it’ll be easier to ask for favors when I need something, right?”
I was being honest, but Chairman Lee suddenly bowed his head.
“Sir…?”
“Ung-jjang! That’s my Ung-jjang. To think you’d yield on this as well…”
He said this with such a deeply moved expression that it was flustering.
To be blunt, I was just dumping them on him because managing them would be a pain and a burden.
“Ah… no. Sir, that’s…”
“You don’t have to say another word. I know your heart, Ung-jjang. I just don’t know if I can keep accepting so much from you…”
Haha, with him saying all this, there was no need to spoil the mood by telling him the truth.
“I’m glad you’re okay with it, sir. If another guild makes a better offer, I’ll chip in a little.”
“No need. As long as you’re not in the running, Ung-jjang, no other guild is a match for us. Meeting you was the greatest fortune of my life.”
It was good that it was resolved, but…
“Your gratitude is overwhelming, Kyaru-chan, the Military-Veteran Schoolgirl.”
“…It’s become a habit… I’ll be careful. Well, you must be tired, so get some rest.”
He left the room quickly, perhaps worried I might change my mind.
Ah, and of course, he didn’t forget to take the snacks with him.
****
When I opened my eyes, my body felt a little stiff.
I really need to get a better bed, I thought as I headed to the communal shower.
After my shower, I returned to my room to find Geum-yong and Nyx awake.
I fed them some gold and mana and was about to leave, but both of them hopped onto my shoulders and refused to get off.
“Kkyuing!”
“Ppoyo! Ppoyo!”
It was as if they were telling me to take them with me.
Well, Kabisa’s room was spacious, but this one was tiny, so they must feel cooped up.
“Alright, you two. But there are a lot of people here, so you have to be quiet.”
“Ppoyo! Ppoyo!”
“Kkyuing?”
Nyx seemed to understand, but that rascal Geum-yong just tilted his head.
“Don’t play innocent. I’m talking to you.”
I’d already figured out he couldn’t control himself around girls.
“Kkyuiing!”
“I’ll be watching you.”
I patted his backside as another warning and went down to the first floor.
“Good morning, Hyeon-ung.”
“Good morning.”
It was still a bit early, and the Golden Lion guild members were bustling about, preparing to serve food.
“It’s almost ready, so just wait a little bit.”
The guild members serving the food, including Jeong-ho, were the same as yesterday.
“Is the meal duty fixed?”
“Yeah. We’re on it until tomorrow.”
“You’re working hard.”
They must have to wake up incredibly early to prepare meals for over 150 people…
“Preparing meals is better, believe me. I heard everyone was nodding off and not listening during the new member training yesterday. It was super stressful.”
“Well, after the night training, it should be a little better today.”
“Night training?”
He looked like he didn’t know what I was talking about, but he said he went to bed early because of meal prep and hadn’t heard. I gave him a brief explanation.
“It’ll be a bit different starting today.”
“I hope so.”
I got my food and sat at the same table as yesterday.
Today’s breakfast was similar to yesterday’s lunch, but with the addition of a Mendo, a fruit similar to an apple, and a fried egg.
You’d have to pay at least one silver to eat this well at most restaurants.
Besides, things like fried eggs were a lot of work. Back in my day, we only got them once, on the very last day.
That’s the Golden Lion Guild for you, I thought, as the new summoners started trickling down.
The Golden Lion members also began to appear one by one, and Chairman Lee waved when he saw me.
He looked cheerful, probably because I’d yielded to him yesterday.
“Good morning, my brother. Did you sleep well… Why did you bring that magic dragon out…?”
He jumped in surprise at the sight of Geum-yong and took a step back.
“Kkyuing!”
“Sir, our Geum-yong is fine for the time being.”
Though that might change after he gets his reward.
“Right… you said that. I’ll go get my food, so take your time eating.”
A moment later, Chairman Lee sat down across from me.
Yesterday, he’d sat right next to me. It seemed Geum-yong was the reason for the distance.
“He’s really fine, you know.”
“My head knows that, but my body refuses to listen.”
“I guess it can’t be helped then. Anyway, the breakfast menu is fantastic. Aren’t you operating at a loss giving out food like this?”
The food was excellent, and the fruit must have been fresh because it was crisp and tart, waking me right up.
“A loss? It’s cheap when you buy in bulk. Besides, we’re charging 10 silver, so we have to provide at least this much.”
“I don’t think it was this good when I was here.”
“The Silver Wolf Guild was in charge of the 34th batch, right? They’re famous for making a huge profit. A few other guilds do it too, but we don’t profit from this.”
He truly was the head of the Guild Alliance.
And those Silver Wolf bastards… I had my suspicions, but this was too much.
“By the way, scouts from other guilds will be coming around lunchtime today.”
“I see.”
“So I’m going to start the interviews again this morning.”
“What about training?”
“Training? We can do that after we bring them into the guild.”
Well, recruiting talent was more important.
“I hope it goes well for you.”
“About what we discussed yesterday…”
Yesterday’s discussion?
He must mean recruiting the Hwa-yeon sisters.
“I haven’t changed my mind, so just make sure you don’t lose them to another guild.”
“Don’t you worry about that.”
Chairman Lee had a meeting before the interviews, so he quickly finished his meal and went upstairs.
I also finished my meal slowly and went to return my tray. Oh, was this the effect of yesterday’s training?
“Just like you said, Hyeon-ung, there are fewer leftovers today.”
“Not a single one of them complained.”
“I heard you took them to the back alleys yesterday?”
Thinking their attitude in training today would be better, I went up to my room.
Should I sleep a little more?
I drew the curtains and lay down on the bed.
With a full stomach, I felt sleepiness wash over me.
I closed my eyes, and just as I was about to drift off, I felt a sharp poke on my arm.
“Ppoyo! Ppoyo!”
“Nyx, you should sleep a little more too.”
I moved my arm to stop her from pecking me, but this time, Nyx started poking my head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ppoyo! Ppoyo!”
I had no choice but to sit up under the relentless assault.
I didn’t know why Nyx, who was usually so calm, was acting like this today.
She was fine this morning, so it couldn’t be the change in environment…
“Nyx, you should learn from Geum-yong. He’s being so quiet and good…”
What the?
I couldn’t see Geum-yong… Why was he over there?
I saw Geum-yong huddled in a corner of the room.
Nyx flew over to his side. Did she wake me up to show me this?
“Geum-yong? What are you doing over there?”
As I got closer, I saw his body trembling.
“Kkyuiing…”
Even his cry sounded completely listless.
“Geum-yong, what’s wrong?”
Worried he might have bumped into something, I carefully picked him up and examined him, but there were no signs of external injury.
I took out an emergency potion, but he wouldn’t even turn his head and just kept shivering.
Did he catch some kind of disease?
“Kkyuiing!”
Geum-yong, who had been whimpering, suddenly cried out powerfully and flew into the air.
At the same time, a golden light began to pour out from his body.
“Geu… Geum-yong?”
I instinctively closed my eyes against the dazzling light, and when I opened them again… huh?
Geum-yong had vanished without a trace.
“Ppoyo?”
N-no way.
“Geum-yong? Geum-yong! Where are you?”
No, this couldn’t be happening.
I’d grown so attached to him… my foot!
How much have I fed him all this time!
For him to just disappear without a word like this… wait, what?
[The Golden Dragon has traveled to the Golden Valley to retrieve a reward.]
[Time until the Golden Dragon’s return: 47:59:59]