Chapter 2. Netorase Tavern Opening (2)
Chapter 2. Netorase Tavern Opening (2)
Moonlight Lake Pub.
Prime land located in the heart of Barsha, the second capital.
Right in front of the pub sits a natural lake, and next to it is the largest academy in the empire. Just a five-minute walk from that academy.
Yet, despite having all those advantages wrapped together, this very Moonlight Lake Pub went completely bankrupt.
According to the lore, it's land and property handed down by the father who died working as a mercenary. Though right now, there's nothing left but debt.
[Tutorial Quest - Private Loan Repayment]
- Debt Amount: 3,000,000 Elne
- Time Remaining: 3 days (72 hours)
- Creditor: Golden Spider Guild Branch Manager 'Barco'
- On Failure: Pub seizure, you will be subjugated by the Golden Spider Guild.
Even considering that, I assert that this quest is absolutely impossible to clear.
Even as a veteran player who could twist and contort to clear things, there's a limit; Hell difficulty was 100,000 Elne, and he's demanding three times that amount. Is this crazy bastard out of his mind? In real-life terms, that's 300 million!
And what does being subjugated even mean? In the game, it was originally just a game over screen and that was it!
"Ah, my head..."
Holding my forehead, I barely managed to push my body up. Old wooden tables, greasy candlesticks, and trash oak barrels piled in the corner.
A stale stench of alcohol and even mice occasionally scurrying around.
This was the starting point of the adult game that I had watched to the point of sick exhaustion for three years, and the interior of the Moonlight Lake Pub, the worst debt-ridden pub in the second capital, the Barsha domain.
"It's garbage."
It was full of questions starting from how on earth a place like this has been operating until now. It was a worst-case scenario even worse than Hell difficulty.
Right now, mice are running around the dining area, and why are there only 3 wooden tables? Are you not going to receive customers?
If you were going to transmigrate me into an adult game, you should've at least given me cheat abilities so I could live a happy Netorase life.... Now I'm just bound to suffer real hardship and kick the bucket.
"Traits!"
Something flashed in my mind.
In NeJuJu, you start with 6 random traits given to you.
The current me is someone who chose 3.
Right, I'm the owner of 3 cheat traits. There might be at least one trait that can resolve this crisis right now.
Of course, true to a system with heavy randomness, if traits like [Small Penis], [Weakling], [Terminally Ill], or [Erectile Dysfunction] pop out, I could just hang myself by the neck and die.
"Status window."
[Name: Hyunsu Kang (Hans)]
[Job: Pub Owner (Pimp)]
[Assets Owned: 0 Elne / 0 Netorase Point]
[Traits Possessed]
[Pimp (EX)]: Secret pub operations are activated. You can make heroines entertain guests. Job is fixed to Pimp.
[Netorase (S)]: If you view an H-scene without direct sexual contact, you acquire Netorase Points or Gold. Unlocks access to the Netorase Shop.
[Alchemy (A)]: Acquire additional alcoholic beverage recipes.
[Midas's Eye (S)]: Can verify the exact value of everything.
[Large Member (S)]: Owner of a large penis. Capable of competing well with a small-penis ogre.
[Negotiator (B)]: Grants a slight advantage in all negotiations.
<Pub>
[Rating: 0]
[Facility Status: Main Hall (Deteriorated), Tables (Deteriorated), Rat Swarm Infestation]
[Next Upgrade] - Entertainment Room [Unbuilt - Required Elne: 300,000]
[Overall Evaluation: Yuck, nobody will go to a pub like this.]
No, you were the one who transmigrated me, you crazy bastard. Anyway, what a relief. This Midas's Eye is a crazy trait that only pops out at a 1% chance when you choose the Pimp trait.
It evaluates the exact value of objects, and can even be used on people.
For example. If I quietly gaze at an old chair.
[Old Chair]
[Current Value - 3 Elne]
[Potential Value - 25 Elne]
It goes like this.
Just then, the rustling sound of something behind me reached my ears.
"Nngh... Hyunsu-ya...? Where... is this...?"
Hyunsu? My name in this world is Hans.
Knowing the name Hyunsu means....
From a straw pile in the corner of the pub, a beautiful girl wearing a dirty maid dress woke up sluggishly.
Pure white silver hair falling neatly above her shoulder lines. Beneath it, white pupils exuded unrealistic sensuality.
"Ahrin Yoo...?"
"Hyunsu...?
"How are you here?"
"That's what I want to ask!"
Ahrin Yoo looked around her attire and the interior of the old pub with dazed eyes, then soon saw my face and opened her eyes wide.
"Mm...? These old wooden tables and oak barrels... Don't tell me we're inside that crazy adult game of yours, outsider?! Crazy.... Is this a dream?"
Ahrin Yoo yelled while covering her body as if embarrassed.
"Pinch your cheek then."
"Your cheek?"
"No, your cheek."
"Why mine..."
Ahrin Yoo muttered as if unable to believe it.
I couldn't miss an opportunity like this.
-Jjuuuk
"Ueee, this is real?"
"Yeah. That's how it turned out."
I answered Ahrin Yoo's question bluntly.
Is this also the power of the Negotiator trait... I'm excessively calm.
"Are you crazy?! Why am I inside a perverted game like this with you?!"
Ahrin screamed loudly as if feeling utterly wronged.
"Calm down first since I'm also assessing the situation..."
At that sight, as I tried to approach her, my footsteps paused momentarily.
Why is she so pretty?
She's clearly my childhood friend of 20 years, yet an insane sexiness oozes from her neckline slightly revealed between her hair strands.
'Was she originally this pretty?'
I quietly activated [Midas's Eye].
[Target cannot be accurately evaluated. Displayed briefly.]
[Target: Ahrin Yoo (Erin) (Childhood Friend)]
Traits Possessed: [Masochism (A)], [Pure Love (A)], [Deadly Fascination (S)], [Devoted (B)], [Maiden (EX)], [???]
Inner Thoughts: [Can be viewed by using 100 Netorase Points.]
Total Value: [Unestimable]
"W-What are you staring at like that?"
"No, just because you're pretty."
"W-What... N-No... Well, I know that, but...!"
This crazy bitch picked only traits that match her exact self.
Letting Ahrin Yoo's rambling go in one ear and out the other, I focused.
Surely with traits of that level, she would be worth at least a few million Elne.
With stats like that, making her do entertainment work without the actual main act would yield at least tens of thousands.
'Unestimable?'
I've never seen a numerical value like this. Right off the bat, even the Saintess was exactly three million Elne. No matter how expensive, it always gave the exact number, but even for me, this case was a first.
But now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. Right at that moment.
-Kwang!
The old wooden door of the pub blew open.
A man draped in a jet-black fur coat, possessing sharp, handsome features cold enough to chill. An overwhelmingly cold-blooded impression reminiscent of a northern grand duke.
"Barco."
The remote branch manager of the Golden Spider Guild, Marco Bardo.
"3 days, Hans."
Barco lowed softly in a cold mid-low tone.
"3,000,000 Elne. If you can't pay it back, you know better than anyone what happens afterward, don't you?"
The two large mercenaries standing next to Barco exuded a terrifying momentum. Ahrin Yoo trembled violently and pulled closely at the hem of my clothes.
"...That guy's vibe is fucking terrifying..."
Ahrin Yoo whispered.
Barco's cold gaze landed on Ahrin hiding behind me.
Ahrin Yoo gasped -hik- and clung even closer to me, but as if Barco couldn't care less about that, he scanned Ahrin Yoo from top to bottom.
Rather than a greasy look, it was a gaze treating a person like a commodity.
A chill naturally ran down my spine.
"Hoo... You were hiding a gem that doesn't fit a trashy pub like this."
Barco's handsome eyes narrowed dangerously.
He recognized the value of the charm emanating from Ahrin all at once. As expected, the branch manager wasn't just appointed through nepotism.
"Branch Manager Barco."
[Negotiator (B) activates.]
Identifying the factors the opponent deems important.
[Profit]
[Prestige]
[Possessiveness]
[Valuable Item]
[Politeness]
'What I need to use here is...'
My cooled-down head spins rapidly.
Greed. This man is weaker to valuable items than money.
I opened my mouth calmly, staring into Barco's hawk-like eyes.
"3 million Elne in 3 days is impossible. Let's renegotiate."
"Why should I? It's enough for me to seize this pub right now."
-Tak
-Tak
-Tak
Barco tapped on the old table as if waiting for an answer.
"Please extend the deadline to 14 days. In return, I will add 300,000 Elne to the repayment amount, paying a total of 3,300,000 Elne."
Barco let out a cold smirk.
The large mercenaries standing behind him also laughed in sync with the mood.
"A guy who can't even pay in 3 days is going to make 3.3 million Elne in 14 days? Are you making fun of me?"
"I'll add one more condition."
Lightly wrapping my hand around Ahrin's shoulder, I looked straight into Barco's eyes.
"If I fail, I will hand over the pub, my life, and the full ownership of this girl to you, Branch Manager. Entirely in her maiden state."
"...!"
"You... things like that, hey! What about my permission?! I'll seriously kill you...!"
Ahrin Yoo behind me opened her eyes wide in surprise and glared at me, but I deliberately ignored her.
Barco's pupils shook violently. Even through Barco's discerning eye, the value of a maiden heroine was a national treasure-level commodity worth at least several million Elne.
And he must have been hooked on the word 'Branch Manager'.
14 days later, either holding 3.3 million Elne in his hands, or getting a woman like the continent's finest jewel for free. A proposal where Barco could never lose.
"Hoo...."
Barco lightly scanned me with the same eyes as before, then soon opened his mouth.
"Hans."
Barco's mid-low voice echoed.
'Did I fail?'
"You are the first debtor to propose a deal to me."
-Seueuk.
Barco took out the existing 3-day promissory note from inside his coat.
"So I will specially oblige."
"Branch Manager!"
As if not listening to the mercenaries, he struck a lighter and burned it up hwareureuk without hesitation.
"Then. Let's rewrite the contract."
The corners of Barco's mouth subtly curled into an arc.
While pulling out a new promissory note and an elegant pen from inside his coat.
"It's 14 days, Hans. I shall look forward to it."
[Quest has been updated.]
[Main Quest: Barco]
- Debt Amount: 3,300,000 Elne
- Time Remaining: 14 days
- Creditor: Golden Spider Guild Branch Manager Barco
- On Failure: Pub will be seized. Heroine Ahrin Yoo's Maiden trait will be permanently lost.
As Barco left the pub, I added a final word.
"Let me see who wins 14 days from now."