Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: The Bigwig's Demand (1)
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"Go ahead and tell me."
Suhyun leaned back in his chair, getting comfortable. It was a clear signal that he had zero interest in Blue Bear's proposal.
"You're probably aware that a new path has opened up in the mountainous region of the Euterpe area, right?"
"That was our team that took down the rock giant. We wrote up a detailed report from the攻略 method on down and shared the intel."
"Right, exactly."
Robert smiled faintly.
"Thanks to that, everyone's rushing in excitedly. The Dragon Slayer Project cooled things off for a bit, but that place is still as alluring as ever."
"Euterpe isn't popular for nothing. It's a land flowing with milk and honey... Anyway, enough beating around the bush—get to the point, will you?"
"People are always in such a hurry. Ah, mind if I smoke?"
"Nope. Go outside if you want to."
"...We're strategically trying to get cozy with the other races at our company."
"So are we."
"Really?"
Robert echoed in surprise. There were a few places in America that strategically cozied up to other races, but he'd never heard of a Korean mercenary company doing the same. At most, they hired or traded with them—that was it.
"Look at our team: orcs, elves, dark elves... Who knows, maybe even a dwarf will join next."
"Ooh..."
It wasn't intentional, but to Robert—who already thought highly of Suhyun—the team makeup looked like it was deliberately designed for other-race affinity.
'Amazing guy!'
Robert believed that befriending other races would be key to dominating Cameron in the future. In fact, one of the opposing votes in the Dragon Slayer Project came from the other races they knew.
-Dragons can't be hunted.
Most dismissed the other races' opinions as backward traditionalism, but he didn't.
The problem was that getting friendly with other races wasn't easy. They had their own thoughts and wariness, so rash approaches often led to misunderstandings. Plus, mercenaries didn't trust other races much. Bringing someone like Suhyun onto a team could wreck team harmony.
"Blue Bear's other-race connection... Ah, that dwarf, right? Muzak, was it?"
"Yeah. Muzak Ulstein. Not just him—we're investing heavily in his entire village. Facilities, study abroad programs. Right now, a dwarf student is studying at a U.S. university on our dime."
"Does that make money?"
"Not right away, but it's a long-term play. When those dwarves come back educated, they'll rise high in their clans. Who do you think they'll favor then? The ones who did nothing for them? Or the ones who supported them fully?"
It was sound logic. But for a mere mercenary company, it was an excessively long-term plan. Farming with no guaranteed harvest wasn't for everyone.
"Blue Bear must have deep pockets."
"About the same as others, but our situation's a bit different."
"?"
"Anyway, that's not the point I came to discuss. Back to the main topic... We're pretty tight with the other races. They know we're not investing blindly, so they try to share as much info as possible with us."
"What came out of Euterpe's mountainous region?"
"Sharp as ever. We got word of a ruin with artifacts."
Suhyun's expression remained nonchalant.
"No interest in artifacts?"
"I'm not in a position to get all excited over one anymore."
If anything, he was agonizing over how to dispose of them. The underground ruin was already piled high with artifacts Luiril had stolen. Suhyun still hadn't figured out what to do with them.
Using them would spread rumors and draw trackers immediately. But shelving them felt like such a waste.
'Ah, this is a real pain... I do need to launder them.'
"Aren't artifacts something you can never have enough of?"
"Well... yeah. Normally I'd go, but things are crazy busy right now. You're not here to suggest we partner up on it, are you?"
"Spot on."
"..."
Suhyun stared at Robert in disbelief. Two companies raiding a ruin with artifacts together? What nonsense was this? Ownership disputes would erupt instantly.
"So that's what this is about..."
"I know it's not a standard proposal. Will you at least hear me out?"
"Go on."
"If we got the info on artifacts, we'd love to monopolize it too. Sneak in quietly, grab them, done. The issue is... it doesn't look like an easy ruin. The intel suggests it, and the four teams we sent to the entrance came back half-dead."
"So you're just giving up?"
A company like Blue Bear had no reason to risk lives for one artifact. Hell, they could buy them outright with cash.
"That's why we're here talking."
"?"
"I mentioned we're well-funded? We really are. Because we've got a bigwig as a backer."
Not just a business investor, but a patron intrigued by Cameron's offerings. Robert meant the latter.
"Lucky you. If we could snag one like that..."
Suhyun's assets were more non-cash than cash, but converted, he could mobilize hundreds of billions. Real tycoons, though, spent that like water. Those managing fortunes since the last century operated on unimaginable scales.
"Everyone's jealous, but it's not all upside. Sure, thanks to Chairman Charles, we can do things others can't..."
Robert explained their backer: Charles Carlos, heir to an American oil dynasty, now focused on Cameron ventures.
"If he funds dwarf study abroad, doesn't he greenlight everything? Like a bottomless money pit."
"You got it. But the flip side is we can't easily turn down his requests."
"Ah."
"Charles just turned 150. He's dead set on reaching 200. I think it's doable—he's got constant healers and scarfs down every health-boosting thing from Cameron."
Robert had mixed feelings about Charles. Gratitude for the full backing that built them up, but annoyance at the man's relentless demands when he fixated on something unreasonable.
'The older he gets, the crankier.'
Without Charles's fuss, they'd have dropped this from the start.
"He wants this artifact?"
"Bingo. The intel says it grants immortality... Can you believe it?"
Robert was a realist. Having dealt closest with superpowered folks, he knew artifacts' and powers' limits well. Immortality was pie-in-the-sky.
"But Charles latched onto it. Said give him whatever support needed, just bring it back. No convincing him otherwise. What choice do we have?"
"Tough break. Good luck. Fighting."
"Hey, don't dismiss it out of hand."
"I've never taken a dollar from the guy, so why should I... Plus, you're asking my team to tackle a place even Blue Bear can't?"
"After Kakrita Valley, I think your skills outshine even our Team 1 in that regard. No joke."
"Give me the coordinates."
"Huh?"
"What, you don't want to?"
"Ah, no... But this is confidential info, even if you turn it down. You get what I mean?"
Robert stressed it several times, clearly terrified of Chairman Charles.
"I'm not that reckless. Hand them over."
Suhyun asked for the coordinates to jog his memory on the artifact. An immortality-related one in Euterpe? He knew it.
'Ah, this place...'
Suhyun suppressed an inward chuckle. The artifact there did relate to health—infusing vitality into the body. But immortality? Miles off.
'It is a tricky spot, though.'
Suhyun's mind raced. Ruins with artifacts were everyone's dream, but the best were easy-entry ones with top-tier goodies.
This vitality ring ruin was near-worst: traps and monsters in a deadly combo. Casualties were inevitable on entry.
But there was always a workaround.
'The distance... If I go under it... Could work?'
"What're you thinking?"
"Just running some calculations. Anyway, if we clear it together, what's in it for me? Your chairman takes the artifacts."
"Anything."
"Really? Anything?"
"...Within reason. I'll guarantee up to two artifacts. If we deliver to Charles, I'll even give you a tour of his artifact vault. He's generous with rewards."
"Nah, pass."
America led artifact analysis. Suhyun had heard rumors of their artificial artifacts.
A Charles Carlos surely had labs and experts on retainer. So...
"Can you handle illegal requests?"
"What?"
Robert blinked in shock. This was unexpected.
"How illegal are we talking? Sorry, but we have limits. We can't risk more danger for Charles's whims. Murder's off the table..."
"Not murder... What do you take me for? You think I'd commission a hit?"
Seeing Suhyun brazenly call him out, Robert apologized sheepishly.
"Ah, sorry. My mistake."
"Artifact laundering—possible?"
"...!"
Far milder than murder. Definitely doable. Top secret, but Blue Bear had bought black-market artifacts and laundered them before.
Laundering required finesse. Botch the appearance tweak, and the artifact could shatter. Billions gone in a slip.
"Got some goods from shady channels, huh?"
"Yeah, something like that."
Laundering meant more than looks—strict trust in the process. If Blue Bear's in-house expert leaked, only they suffered. But for Suhyun's? It'd complicate exponentially, with Blue Bear on the hook.
"Hmm... I'll have to check. Sorry, can't commit right away. The tech's under Charles's direct watch."
"Fair enough. Not an easy ask."
"Thanks. I'll get back soon."
Suhyun waited patiently. They wouldn't refuse. Telling a hoarder like Charles to hold off was near impossible.
It didn't take long.
"Got approval. We can lend the tech. But only after success. Cool?"
"Let's be precise: We just extract the artifacts inside, immortality or not."
"Of course."
Robert was surprised Suhyun agreed so readily. His position should've netted payment just for trying.
But Suhyun had another plan.
'No need to slog through the front.'
"Curious about artifact laundering security. How's it handled?"
"Simple: two ways. Artifact and drug. Tech won't remember what they touched post-job."