The Power of Money (5)
In the end, Seong Hyun-jin turned down Giovanni's offer to scout him, and the first round of negotiations fell through. Giovanni let out a deep sigh, one so heavy that even the regret hidden beneath his mask seemed visible.
After a moment of contemplation, as if he couldn't quite give up, Giovanni spoke to Seong Hyun-jin in a voice tinged with lingering reluctance.
"…Then what if the people you need to keep meeting come along with you to our merchant guild? Would you accept then?"
"Well, I wouldn't say no. If Serena and Master agree…"
"Then I'll arrange another meeting."
Giovanni rose from his seat first and confirmed with Seong Hyun-jin.
"Serena Eldark and Hakodate Karin. As long as I can convince those two, that should be enough, right?"
"Yeah, pretty much…"
Seong Hyun-jin shrugged.
"But can you really convince Master?"
"…I'll have to try."
Giovanni spoke as if it were a mission he was determined to complete.
"I'm the type who can't rest easy unless I snag the talents that catch my eye."
"…I'm a bit embarrassed by the high praise."
"It's the truth, so feel free to take pride in it. Among the talents I've seen, you're the second most tantalizing one."
Giovanni grabbed his overcoat and headed out of the cafe first.
"Oh, and since I've rented this place out for the day, feel free to order whatever you want and enjoy. Their desserts are supposed to be pretty good too."
With that, Giovanni departed briskly.
Seong Hyun-jin turned to Ciela Teraport beside him.
"Senior, want to grab something to drink before we go? If we head back now, they'll be in the middle of eating, so we can join without being too late."
Ciela nodded slightly, but her expression looked strangely shadowed.
"…?"
Seong Hyun-jin stared at her curiously, wondering what had come over her so suddenly.
Sensing his gaze, Ciela quietly spoke up.
"…Hey, junior."
"Yeah?"
"Why does it only take convincing Serena?"
Seong Hyun-jin tilted his head.
Of course Serena was his lover, so it made sense for Giovanni to focus on persuading her.
"It's not just Serena—Master too…"
"I know you can't leave out your master. That's not what I'm saying."
Ciela glanced away briefly before locking eyes with him.
"But why say it only takes convincing Serena?"
"…Huh? Because Serena's my girlfriend…?"
"…Me too."
Ciela's cheeks flushed red without her even realizing it, but she confessed her honest feelings to Seong Hyun-jin anyway.
"I, I don't like not being able to see you freely either."
"……."
Seong Hyun-jin's eyes widened round at her frank words. Reading his reaction, Ciela hurriedly added more as her face grew hotter.
"O-Of course, I'm not the only one! Yeonhui senior would feel the same, and Clarice junior wouldn't want to miss out on seeing you either, right?"
"Oh, is that what you meant?"
Even knowing he might not get it, Ciela nodded, overcome with embarrassment.
"Yeah, that's definitely true."
"…Gold Star's offer is incredibly generous, but if you prefer the freedom to meet people, there are some tough parts to that deal."
"You said earlier it'd be good to accept."
"That was assuming you wouldn't mind who I meet."
Ciela recalled Seong Hyun-jin's usual behavior as she spoke.
"You're so unpredictable, you might dash off anywhere… and you don't worry much about the people with you."
"When have I ever been unpredictable? And I've always been careful."
It was absurd—Seong Hyun-jin spoke as if he'd never done such a thing. Was he shameless, or just oblivious?
"…You locked the carriage door with everyone inside and went off to handle the mana beasts alone?"
"……."
Under her pointed remark, Seong Hyun-jin averted his gaze, seemingly at a loss for words. Ciela let out a soft chuckle, feeling a bit relieved.
"So you do realize it?"
"…I'll be more careful."
"Pfft."
Ciela couldn't hold back her laughter at his sheepish response. He was always so adorably cute.
"I'll go grab the coffee."
"Sure, thanks."
Seong Hyun-jin stood and headed to the cafe counter. Watching his retreating figure, Ciela murmured to herself, recalling Giovanni's earlier proposal.
"…You're not uninterested in making money either, huh."
Ciela knew that if Seong Hyun-jin hadn't spotted the flaw in Giovanni's offer, he would've jumped on it right away. His intrigued expression had been obvious, and by the end, he'd even seemed resolved.
Yeah, he's human after all.
Like anyone, Seong Hyun-jin couldn't help but waver before the power of money. As that thought crossed her mind, a light idea flickered through Ciela's head.
"……Ah."
Ciela's own family, the Teraport family, was one of the wealthiest in the world. Not quite on Giovanni's level, but through the Teraport Foundation they operated, they wielded immense influence across the globe.
It wasn't her personal fortune, but the family's wealth was on a scale few could match worldwide. So while they couldn't match Giovanni's sum exactly, they could certainly make an offer worth hiring Seong Hyun-jin for.
Of course, employing him would require approval from the foundation and her father, the family head—but for Ciela, that was easier than lying down and eating rice cakes.
It wasn't for nothing she was called the "precious pearl of Teraport."
She was the family's treasured daughter. With three older brothers and no younger siblings, she was the fourth child—and the long-awaited success after her parents had kept trying for a girl. Naturally, from her parents to her brothers, everyone doted on her every word.
If that's the case…
Ciela had found a legitimate way to keep Seong Hyun-jin by her side.
#
"Senior, here's your coffee."
"…Yeah, thanks."
Seong Hyun-jin returned with two cups, and after a moment of thought, Ciela finally broached the subject.
"…Hey, junior. It's not as much pay as Giovanni offered, but compared to other places, it's pretty good and super flexible."
She cautiously gauged his interest.
"Interested?"
"Something like that exists?"
"Yeah. It's about to open up."
Seong Hyun-jin tilted his head. Not an existing position, but one that was "about to be created"? He looked puzzled, so Ciela got to the point.
"Want to work for the Teraport family after graduating from the academy?"
"Huh? Your family?"
"Yeah."
Ciela explained the offer in detail.
"The pay won't match what Giovanni suggested, but I can guarantee freedom. You can meet people whenever you want and take vacations whenever you need."
"Specifically on pay…"
"Not a thousand gold coins like Giovanni, but… maybe around two hundred per year?"
Two hundred gold coins a year. Far less than Giovanni's offer, but hardly a small sum. Fresh academy graduates wouldn't find that kind of salary anywhere else. Even subjugating massive, dangerous mana beasts topped out at around thirty gold coins at best.
It was an extraordinarily high annual salary. Plus, unlike Giovanni's deal, it came with guaranteed freedom and vacations.
"What would you have me do?"
"Knight."
"Pardon?"
Ciela rested her elbows on the table, clasped her hands, and propped up her chin. With a soft smile in her eyes, she continued.
"A knight working for the family—and for me."
She seemed to emphasize the "me" part, but Seong Hyun-jin didn't dwell on it and asked,
"Like a personal knight?"
"Yeah, though you'd be officially under the family."
Ciela noted that this proposal had a similar vibe to when she'd urged him to accept Giovanni's earlier.
"You know how knights are treated in this world. Depending on what you do, you could raise your fame even higher than guarding a Palstar Hero. Then your background wouldn't pale in comparison to anyone else's."
Seong Hyun-jin let out a soft "oh" of admiration but didn't miss the key point.
"But senior, knights aren't just regular hires… they swear oaths of loyalty, right? I didn't grow up in the Teraport family—would I suddenly feel loyalty to it?"
"Most are like that, but not all knights. You could be a free knight. No need for a full oath to our family."
"Free knight…"
Seong Hyun-jin found himself more drawn to Ciela's offer than Giovanni's. He started asking for specifics.
"As a free knight working for your family, what exactly would I be doing?"
"Stepping in when force is needed. Like if mana beasts show up in our territory… or when families go to war."
Seong Hyun-jin nodded.
"Makes sense. Families do clash like that."
"Of course, no one's crazy enough to mess with us casually, so that won't happen."
Ciela quickly reassured him, worried he might be anxious about wars. But that was a misjudgment on her part.
Seong Hyun-jin immediately raised a question.
"Huh? Then I wouldn't need to join as a free knight at all, would I?"
"…Yeah?"
"Is the Teraport family in a mana beast-infested area like the Levatein family?"
"No, but beasts do pop up occasionally…"
"Don't you have private soldiers or a knight order under Teraport?"
"…We do."
Ciela broke out in a cold sweat. Just like with Giovanni, Seong Hyun-jin was poking holes in the proposal.
"Then you wouldn't need to pay me that much to hire me, right? It doesn't seem like you need me specifically…"
"……."
"Senior?"
As Seong Hyun-jin asked curiously, Ciela's eyes trembled. After agonizing over how to convince him, she finally decided to be honest with her feelings.
"I-It is. I do need you."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because…"
Ciela swallowed dryly. Then,
"B-Because I want you by my side."
Steeling herself, she spoke her heart.