Chapter 3. Barsha Grand Festival (1)
Chapter 3. Barsha Grand Festival (1)
"Branch Manager-nim. That woman... Is she really worth that much?"
The men left the pub and strolled along Moonlight Lake.
The women they occasionally encountered held their breath, gazing at Barco's face as if enchanted.
Barco silently pulled off his leather gloves.
Wearing gloves was an action he took whenever there was a major deal. Moonlight Lake Pub was a major client with 3 million Elne at stake. Of course, it was on the verge of ruin, but it was Barco's own way of showing courtesy.
"Still, her face and figure look like they're worth a pretty penny. Man, if I could just get a nice, thorough feel of that bitch's perky tits, keuhu!"
"Right? If I could just sleep with that bitch once, I'd have no regrets."
The mercenaries snickered and giggled.
"Were you interested in women like that too, Branch Manager-nim? If I'd known, I would've long ago—"
Pause. Barco stopped in his tracks.
"300 million Elne."
Before the mercenary could finish his sentence, Barco continued speaking.
"That woman is worth 300 million Elne."
"Say what? I mean... she looks hot as hell, but to that extent...?"
"How much are you worth?"
Barco asked back. The mercenaries seemed to ponder deeply for a moment to figure out his intent, then blurted out their thoughts. Apparently, they thought it was some kind of test.
"Huh? Well, we don't really know, obviously..."
"Our monthly salary is 200,000 Elne, so maybe around that much?"
Barco's brow twitched.
"That is the difference between you and that woman. So."
Barco turned around and stood in front of the mercenaries.
Naturally, he forcefully grabbed and yanked the mercenaries' snouts.
"Do not carelessly spout such trash."
Hik! The mercenaries gasped and held their breath.
Overwhelmed by his imposing aura, they trembled like puppies that had pissed themselves.
"Ah, Barco-ssi! There you are!"
Striking red hair that descended to her rear despite her short stature, and blazing red eyes.
Irregular, small cat-like footsteps could be heard nearby.
"Gabi."
"Looks like our boys did something wrong?"
"No, it's fine."
"Did things go well at Moonlight Lake Pub? That's a place you must collect from if you want to head to headquarters, right Branch Manager-nim?"
"That matter..."
"Well, it didn't go well, which is why you're like this, right?"
As Gabi babbled, saying, "That's why to our boys...", Barco quietly stared at her.
"It's a 14-day extension."
"Huh? A 14-day extension?"
Gabi's eyes widened.
Barco had never extended a deadline before.
Placing expectations on someone was even more unheard of.
"The evaluation date is in 15 days, though? Won't that be tight?"
"No, it is a place worth that much."
"Heeh..."
Gabi let out a sly smile. She lightly stared at him as if demanding an explanation.
"They can never pay it back within 3 days."
"So you just extended it simply because they couldn't pay it back?"
"No, it is nearly impossible within 14 days as well."
"Then why..."
"Under normal circumstances, that is. However, ten days from now."
Barco lightly patted Gabi's head and continued.
Gabi purred as if enjoying it.
"The Barsha Grand Festival takes place. Once the festival passes, the pub's value will multiply several times over."
"Then you can just foreclose on it then, right?"
"Yes. If they fail, I gain the pub. If they succeed, I receive 3.3 million Elne. Either way."
A short silence followed.
"There is no loss."
"Even considering that, isn't it too big of a risk? What if it, like, completely plummets into total ruin?"
"Let's end today's lesson here."
"Don't tell me, Branch Manager-nim."
"......."
"You didn't fall in love at first sight with that woman, did you?"
Instead of answering, Barco tapped Gabi's head with a document folder.
"Ouch!"
"Do your useless daydreaming after work hours."
"There really is something, right?! I knew it... That guy isn't the type to just make rash moves! What are you hiding!"
Ignoring Gabi as she flailed her arms, Barco walked away.
'If that really was all, I wouldn't have agreed to the deal either.'
Hans.
This fellow had truly changed.
If it had been the old Hans, he wouldn't even have been able to make eye contact with me.
Today, he proposed a trade to me.
And... the Hans I saw with my own eyes.
He had the exact same eyes as mine.
Even though Trait Awakening clearly never happens after reaching adulthood.
It was as if he had become a completely different person.
'An interesting fellow, Hans.'
He was the man who resembled him the most since he was reassigned from headquarters to the countryside.
"Just what kind of person is he for the Branch Manager to extend the deal?"
She muttered while watching Barco's receding back.
It was full of mysteries. That man, Barco, had never shown such a side since being reassigned here.
"Hey, boys."
""...Ah, yes!""
"Tail him."
"Is it surveillance?"
"No."
"Just report back. On how that guy plans to pull off 3.3 million Elne."
Barco wasn't the only one who had taken an interest in Hans.
*
The Golden Spider Guild.
One of the continent's four mega-banks.
A place rumored to circulate hundreds of billions of Elne.
In a way, borrowing money from the Golden Spider Guild for the tutorial quest was the luckiest outcome.
Because compared to other banks, Golden Spider was the most gentlemanly place.
For instance, if I had borrowed from Red Snake, another one of the mega-banks, mercenaries would have raided the place, smashing the pub to pieces so it couldn't even operate, and chasing away all the customers. Then, unable to pay off the debt, I would've had a wrist chopped off and lost the pub.
In the worst-case scenario, they might have forgiven the debt on the condition of raping Yoo Ahrin.
'Oh... that's fucking hot though. Getting fucked right in front of my eyes because of my debt, with a figure like hers...'
Anyway, their greatest rules were promises and trust. Golden Spider never acted hostile toward their own clients.
Of course, handing Barco what he wanted as part of the trade played a big role in his agreement, too.
While I was thinking about those things...
"Hey, Kang Hyunsu, are you fucking crazy?!"
Yoo Ahrin swung her fists.
A pretty clean one-two combination.
What the hell? Why is her stance so crisp? Did you learn martial arts or something?
"Why?"
"Why? WHY??? You put my Maiden trait up as collateral! Did you plan to hand me over too, after playing those Netorase eroge games or whatever?!"
"I'm sorry about that too."
I lightly wrapped my hands around Yoo Ahrin's swinging hands.
I could feel Yoo Ahrin's body heat.
Yoo Ahrin flinched in surprise as if she hadn't expected it.
Were her hands always this small?
"But if I hadn't done that, both of us would be slaves."
"I... I know that, but...!"
"And don't worry, something like that will never happen."
I'm someone who played this game for 3 years.
Unless I intentionally lose to enjoy a Netorase play style, I'm guaranteed to win, you idiot.
*
I picked up an old piece of parchment rolling around in a corner of the pub.
Lightly dipping a stray pen into ink, I began writing down.
[Remaining Money - None...]
[Debt - 3.3 Million Elne]
[Time Remaining - 14 Days]
I set the parchment down.
"..."
"..."
A brief silence filled the room.
Yoo Ahrin let out a long sigh.
"We're fucked."
"Not yet."
"What do you mean 'not yet'? Look up there."
Yoo Ahrin pointed to the ceiling.
"It's leaking rain, you know?"
[Waterlogged Old Plank - Value 1 Elne]
[Pub Reputation -1]
"Yeah."
"There's a rat passing by over there?"
[Rat - Value 10 Elne]
[Pub Reputation -5]
"Yeah..."
"The window's broken too?"
[Broken Window - Value -1,000 Elne]
[Pub Reputation -5]
"Yeah....."
What the hell? Why does this trait keep turning on? Are you teasing me?
"...We are truly fucked."
Yoo Ahrin threw her hands open in frustration.
"0 Elne in cash. No alcohol. No customers. Debt of 3.3 million."
Unfolding her fingers one by one, she enumerated the list point by point.
"..."
"How are you going to pay it back?"
I raised a single finger, matching Yoo Ahrin.
"Ten days."
"Huh...?"
"We just need to hold out for ten days."
Yoo Ahrin furrowed her brows.
"What are you talking about?"
I searched through my memories.
An event I had played over a hundred times.
Right after clearing the tutorial, the very first branch point where you could make the biggest amount of money.
Normally, it was an event to transform the pub into a functioning establishment. But we are going to exploit it.
"Ten days from now."
"The Barsha Grand Festival takes place."
Yoo Ahrin blinked.
She looked at me with a face that practically screamed, "What the hell is that, you otaku?"
"...A festival?"
"It's the largest festival in the Empire."
I added the explanation that academy entrance ceremonies, graduations, adulthood rites, various fairs, and performances all took place simultaneously.
I could see why it was also called the Festival of Youth.
I mean, they do literally everything. It feels like they were too lazy to celebrate separate anniversaries, so they just crammed everything into one, right?
Anyway, when festival season arrived, the city transformed into a completely different place.
Nobles. Students. Merchants. Adventurers. Tourists.
Crowds ranging from hundreds of thousands to as many as millions flock to Barsha.
Thanks to that, inns and pubs pull in several times—or in extreme cases, dozens of times—their usual revenue.
The segment where newbies in this game taste the sweet flavor of money for the very first time.
"...So."
Yoo Ahrin crossed her arms.
"You're saying we do business during the festival to pay it back?"
"To be precise,"
I gave a faint smirk.
I probably look like a lunatic.
Since we literally have to make 330 million won in a single seasonal rush.
Even so.
"We aim everything at that single festival."
A system window popped up in front of my eyes.
[A new sub-quest has been added.]
[Successfully prepare for the Barsha Grand Festival.]
[Reward - Netorase Shop Unlocked]
[Time Remaining Until Festival: D-10]
"Until then,"
I stood up from my seat and lightly brushed myself off.
"we have to turn this dumpster fire of a pub into a place fit for human living."
3.3 million Elne.
I muttered the number once again.
To be completely honest,
it's an amount of money you could never earn through normal business.
However...
I've never played normally even once.