Chapter 73
“Ugh… ughhh…”
The branch manager groaned. It almost sounded like sobbing.
Then he scrubbed his dry face as if trying to peel off the skin, before shuffling over to the poorly drawn blinds covering the window.
Beams of light pierced through the gaps, striping his face like a zebra.
Click.
Only after blocking out the outside light did the branch manager slump back into his seat.
I spoke up.
“I’d like to see my insurance payout in cash right now.”
“……Just a moment, please.”
The branch manager left the VIP room.
Namgung Hyuni grumbled.
“Maybe I should’ve said something too.”
“If he had to bring that much money, the branch manager would’ve been crushed under the weight.”
“Yeah, fair point.”
Namgung Hyuni seemed pleased enough not to snap back.
Sorry, but your money… has other uses.
It was too soon to ease worries about rent.
“Oh, sorry to keep you waiting so long.”
The branch manager finally returned after quite a while.
He carried a tray stacked high with bundles of cash in both hands.
My money.
Shuffle.
I picked up one bundle and sniffed it. Subtle. The metallic scent wasn’t half bad.
I rubbed the stack against my face. Time to assert dominance. Let’s play the part of a rich man who never asked for it.
“Looks like the full amount.”
“……Y-yes……”
“But our contract has continuity, right?”
Article 2 of the special clause.
The payout doubles every time a gate is cleared.
If I cleared the next gate under the conditions too, the amount I’d receive would be…
Hmm.
Too much to calculate mentally.
Suffice to say, a lot.
“……”
The branch manager practically wailed.
This was a contract he’d stamped on his own authority. This cash probably came from his personal safe. He must’ve prayed desperately in front of it, hating to part with his hard-earned blood money.
He scanned us up and down intensely. But we were perfectly fine. Not a single scratch.
The branch manager’s eyes dulled.
Who knew the Geomdan Gate being ∅∅-grade would play out like this.
If it had been a brute-force monster-slaying gate, either Namgung Hyuni or I would’ve come out with at least a few scrapes.
The Geomdan Gate was a rule-based gate. And thanks to the golden die rolling a 1, I hadn’t even fought.
Back then, it felt suffocating…
Thanks to avoiding combat with monsters, I was unscathed. At least on the surface.
“We got lucky this time.”
I spoke again.
“I have a feeling our luck will hold.”
“……Th-that’s… good.”
His eyes pleaded for me to get hurt, making the words feel off.
“That’s fine for me, but can the Namdaemun branch really handle the payout to Bukgeukhae Corp?”
“……”
“It already looks tough.”
“Th-that’s……”
An elite like the branch manager kept stammering.
Made sense.
The amount already owed to Bukgeukhae Corp exceeded his personal fortune.
The branch manager.
His ill-gotten gains from corruption and embezzlement were evaporating, and now he faced debt.
The Hunter Bank showed no mercy, even to insiders.
That’s why they were called reapers.
They’d show their true colors to their own without hesitation.
Easier to deal with an insider.
The branch manager was a walking corpse.
If word reaches the higher-ups…
Maybe I’d give him a chance.
I crossed my legs.
“Neither I nor Guild Master Namgung will take this amount right now.”
“Who do you think you are…!”
I shot Namgung Hyuni a glance, and he lowered his eyes.
Not because I had an intimidating presence.
Someone hot-blooded like Namgung Hyuni would charge in without thinking.
This time, I gazed into empty space.
A red thread only I could see floated lazily in the air.
Well done.
〔Hmph! I didn’t do it just for praise or anything like that!〕
That’s right.
Sparkle, cloaked in stealth magic, was emanating fear.
My precaution against Namgung Hyuni’s temper.
The VIP room fell silent.
I stared at the branch manager.
“You never know. We might fail the conditions next gate.”
I tapped the stack of cash on the tray.
“Then you won’t have to pay us this—or anything.”
The branch manager’s face brightened slightly. Like an undead turning human.
He tried hiding his hope.
“What are you saying…?”
“I hope our contract keeps extending.”
“……!!!”
“But.”
“But?”
“From what I’ve seen today, I doubt the Namdaemun branch’s vault has enough to cover the debt.”
“Th-that’s……”
His shoulders slumped.
I nodded slowly.
It wasn’t the Hunter Bank’s money—it was coming from the branch manager’s pocket.
He’d pray for me to lose a finger, but I’d already proven otherwise.
Every time I entered a gate, it’d be hell for him.
To prepare for the worst, he’d need to secure funds. I planned to show him how.
“Audit Gwang-san Corp’s taxes.”
“……Pardon?”
The branch manager’s eyes widened.
Tax management was normally the tax office’s job—for civilians.
Hunter guilds fell under the Hunter Bank’s authority. That’s why they wielded absolute power over guilds.
“Branch Manager.”
“Y-yes.”
“You watch the news, right?”
“Of course. For work…”
“Gwang-san Corp’s been making headlines lately.”
“Y-yes. Something about that apartment where you made your mark… Ah!”
Quick on the uptake.
Makes this easier.
I slid the tray of cash back toward him with my fingertips.
“Shake them down, and something’ll turn up, right?”
“Ah, ah, aha!”
The branch manager exclaimed in awe.
His face lit up like someone spotting an empty seat on a packed hell-train.
“I see. Yes.”
No thought for the consequences.
Making an enemy of Gwang-san Corp, yet grinning ear to ear. Probably delirious at the thought of a big score during the audit.
Of course. With his own neck on the line, he’s in no position to be picky. He’ll strip them bare and play loan shark while he’s at it.
The opposite of Namgung Hyuni, who watched wide-eyed beside me.
I ignored his muffled protests and looked at the branch manager.
“‘If’ you secure funds through a Gwang-san tax audit… then ‘we’ can trust the Namdaemun branch of the Hunter Bank.”
In wuxia novels, the idiom mutual defeat always pops up.
It means two parties fight to a draw, both suffering heavy losses.
Hunter Bank and Gwang-san Corp.
Enemies from my past and present lives.
I wanted them tearing into each other.
* * *
We left the bank amid the branch manager’s profuse bows.
Passing through the revolving doors into the plaza.
“What’s your game?”
Namgung Hyuni glared, grumbling.
“Don’t think we’re on the same side just because we’re bound by the same contract with the Hunter Bank.”
That much was true—we were contracted.
“Bukgeukhae Corp isn’t here to serve you, Seo Wonseok.”
He was pissed.
Laser-like stares pierced his eyepatch, jabbing my cheek.
“Guild Master.”
“What.”
“Don’t you want to get rich?”
“Of course.”
Namgung Hyuni laughed hollowly.
“But you just threw that chance away, Seo Wonseok. Without even consulting Bukgeukhae Corp—on your word alone!”
“Watch your words.”
I stepped forward.
He backpedaled the same distance.
I was equipped with the Surprise Texture Mask and Sparkle’s fear aura.
A small-time guy like me.
But I’d loaded up on artificial intimidation—pure bluff—to corner him.
“The money stamped into your account came from clearing the Geomdan Gate under contract terms, same as mine, right?”
“……”
“I’m not claiming rights to it, but you charging out here yelling isn’t exactly justified.”
Wow, threats are tough. How do Namgung Hyuni and Han Biyeol make it look effortless?
I felt the cool breeze drying my cold sweat as I continued.
“I’ll restore what you and Bukgeukhae Corp lost—honor, money, whatever it takes.”
“How… exactly?”
Curiosity piqued.
Good.
“Gwang-san Corp’s getting a tax audit soon.”
“I was right there. Don’t treat me like I’m invisible.”
“Everyone knows Gwang-san’s loaded. But why are they only fourth in guild rankings?”
“No strong hunters?”
“Money covers that.”
Namgung Hyuni fell silent.
He got the logic of cash.
“It’s because their black money outweighs the clean stuff.”
Clean money: legit earnings.
Black money: otherwise.
Gwang-san Corp’s capital was mostly black.
Knowledge from my past life.
About five years from now.
The Hunter Bank cracked down, using Gwang-san as an example.
The audit took a full year.
They squeezed relentlessly, but the dirt kept flowing.
Gwang-san flattered, soothed, even struck back at the bank.
In the end, the bank settled at a reasonable line.
I went on.
“During the audit, Gwang-san won’t touch their black money.”
“What’s that got to do with Bukgeukhae getting rich?”
“In a few weeks, that Geomdan Apartment we cleared goes to auction. You know that, right?”
Namgung Hyuni’s eyes sharpened.
“Gwang-san planned to snap it up, but the audit’ll tie their hands.”
“No way…”
I nodded.
“We’ll buy it.”