Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Contract
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“No, that's not it... Could you possibly supply this to our guild on a steady basis?”
“...?”
Her tone had changed. It was an extremely polite attitude, different from before.
Supply? I tilted my head. Did she mean to bring it here every time one was made?
“W-well... if you just... give me the materials...”
Her eyes lit up at my response. Then, as if she'd made up her mind, she put on a serious expression.
“B-but suddenly... why...”
“Please wait just a moment!”
She jumped up from her seat before I could even finish speaking.
“This isn't something I can decide on my own. I'll consult with the guild members for a second. It'll really, really be quick!”
She spoke urgently, as if some huge crisis had arisen, then snatched her smartphone and dashed into the bedroom.
In an instant, I was left alone in the living room.
“...What?”
I couldn't for the life of me understand what had gotten into her. Sure, even in the game she sometimes acted strangely, but seeing it in real life felt completely different.
...Whatever, it's not like this is the first day or anything.
I sat there blankly, staring at the door she'd disappeared through, lost in thought for a moment.
Bang!
The door flew open with a deafening crash, nearly breaking off its hinges.
“All good. Everyone agreed.”
Her face was filled with grim determination.
Agreed? To what?
I stared at her in utter bewilderment, completely clueless.
She grabbed her laptop, sat down at the table in front of me, and immediately began typing something furiously.
“May I have your real name, by the way? Oh, my name is Choi Yuna.”
“...Seha... Park Seha... B-but your speech...”
“Got it. Mr. Park Seha.”
She finished typing, then turned the laptop toward me to show the screen.
'Normal Operations' Guild
Exclusive Supply Partnership Contract
Her expression looked as desperate as a vassal submitting a petition to the king.
“Mr. Seha. First off, let me say this: the potion you made... it's an utterly ridiculous item. Famous hunters, major guilds, even major nations are showing interest in it.”
She took a moment to catch her breath, then continued.
“To be honest, I know it's far too grand an opportunity for a mid-tier guild like ours to monopolize. But... for the future of the guild, as its leader, I'm shamelessly asking you. Please, won't you partner with our guild?”
I just blinked at her. What the hell was going on here?
“I, I'm not great with contracts and stuff...”
As I mumbled, Yuna's face went pale white.
“N-no! There's nothing complicated at all! Material procurement, distribution, taxes, blocking external pressure...! We'll handle everything so you can just focus comfortably on your work. We've kept the contract term short too, so you can cancel anytime if you're not satisfied!”
She looked ready to grab the hem of my pants, utterly desperate.
“Please take a look at the terms first!”
Yuna frantically pointed to the key clauses in the contract with her finger.
[...Article 2, Advance Payment and Investment: 'Party A' shall provide 'Party B' with full material costs and 50 million won in investment for production environment setup...]
My head throbbed from the complex details, but I could grasp the essentials somehow.
The guild would handle all the annoying stuff on my behalf and even give me an advance.
And later, they'd give me 90% of the profits from selling the potions.
This was basically a slave contract in my favor.
Isn't this way too advantageous for me?
Reading the bewilderment on my face, Yuna desperately added,
“If the terms aren't to your liking, please say the word! I'll call all the guild members right now and...”
“No, it's not that bad... And, uh, that speech...”
“We've known each other for years in the game! I know how amazing you are, Seha! So this is an investment, an investment! It's a bet on our guild's future—no, my entire future!”
Yuna jumped to her feet and bowed at a perfect 90 degrees.
“I beg you, Seha! Please contract with us...”
“O-okay, okay... Uh, talk casually like before...”
At my words, Yuna snapped her head up.
“Yep—no, yeah! Please, Kim Talky! Contract with us, I beg you!”
“...”
When I came to, I was already scrawling my shaky signature in the electronic signature field.
It was the only way to end this overwhelming situation.
Ding—!
From: Normal Operations
Amount: 50,000,000 KRW
“Thank you so much!”
Yuna beamed at the completed signature screen, looking like she'd conquered the world.
She clutched the laptop to her chest, basking in the moment, then snapped back to reality upon seeing me sitting there dazed and opened her mouth.
“Oh, right, I didn't finish earlier—what if we make up a pseudonym for public use? Kim Talky feels a bit off. We'll protect your identity thoroughly, but anonymity might be more comfortable for you.”
A pseudonym. My brain was already overloaded, too fried for complex thinking.
As my mind went blank, one word barely surfaced.
“...Rabbitfoot?”
It slipped out reflexively.
“You really love rabbits, huh. Symbol of luck. Not bad.”
Yuna smiled in satisfaction and added (Rabbitfoot) next to the name in the contract.
And just like that, I officially became Rabbitfoot.
The moment everything wrapped up, I shot to my feet.
I was exhausted. Mentally especially. I wanted to escape this place and get home as fast as possible.
“W-well then... I'll be going...!”
“Hold on.”
Yuna grabbed me as I bolted for the front door.
“Thanks. For the antidote. You saved my life. For real.”
“...”
I nodded awkwardly and fled her house like my life depended on it.
Click, thud.
The front door locked behind me, and the tension squeezing my body melted away like a lie.
I threw myself onto the bed. I panted raggedly for a long while.
As my sense of reality slowly returned bit by bit, I pulled out my smartphone with trembling hands.
[Balance: 50,034,340 KRW]
Fifty million won...
It was the largest sum I'd ever touched in my 22 years of life.
“...”
Along with the money, the image of Yuna fully recovered flashed in my mind.
The miraculous sight of her faint trembling stopping and color returning to her face.
That was the result of the potion I made, informed by the [Alchemy Gallery].
This is real.
The old me, full of doubt, was gone.
I rolled over to stare at the ceiling.
“Hoo.”
Now was the time to properly dig into this mysterious community.
[Alchemy Gallery]
A gallery for sharing information on alchemy.
I first tapped the top [Notice] tab, where the community's core info would be gathered.
[Notice] Alchemy Gallery Rules [47]
[Notice] Petition Board
[Notice] !! Follow Post Intensity Guidelines !!
[Notice] Ongoing Elixir Research Compilation [73]
“...Elixir?”
The word sparked a forgotten memory like a flash.
“If you ever want to go back to normal, just drink an elixir. The legendary elixir said to cure all abnormalities...”
“Shit.”
I'd forgotten something this crucial again.
I knew my body had changed and my head wasn't quite right, but I didn't realize it was this bad.
A sense of crisis crept in that I might never recover if this kept up.
My mind sharpened. The one hope to escape this wretched body.
Title: Ongoing Elixir Research Compilation
I've compiled everything the fellow researchers have diligently worked on so far. If there are any posts that haven't been included, please let me know.
My vision spun for a moment.
[Dimensional constant (α) fluctuations due to mutual interference of mana particle spins...]
[Catalyst stabilization simulation based on fluid dynamics theory...]
I quietly scrolled all the way down.
“Hm.”
Fortunately, at the bottom was a list of all confirmed elixir materials so far.
I picked up my smartphone.
Among names straight out of a fantasy novel, one caught my eye, so I searched it online.
Ancient... Spirit... Tear.
After a brief loading, the search engine spat out a single wiki page.
Tear of the Ancient Spirit
A crystal imbued with spirit power. It has a 'mana stabilization' effect and is used as a material for top-tier hunter equipment.
Very rarely obtained by defeating upper spirits.
Current market estimate: approx. 5 billion KRW.
“...Huh?”
I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I'd misread.
But the text on the screen hadn't changed a single letter.
“F-five... billion...?”
It was a hundred times the money in my bank account.