Chapter 206
Since running away would mean they'd destroy the world, the faction the demon army hated most was naturally our party. Of course, both sides poured the bulk of their forces into the main frontlines, which made it even harder for them to deal with us rampaging right in the heart of demon territory. From the demons' perspective, they'd thrown everything they had at trying to take us out, launching suicide attacks whenever they could, throwing away their lives like it was nothing. That was just daily life for us.
Our party leader and former Hero, Doyun hyung, handled those ambushes without batting an eye, always responding perfectly.
"...Indie games cost a few thousand per project, so 1 billion..."
But even the master of composure couldn't hide his shock at Lee Seo-yeon's immediate response. She seemed to think she'd put real thought into it, but the answer came too easily.
Lee Seo-yeon, on the other hand, calmly shook her head.
"...No, oppa. My sense of money isn't that off. 1 billion is still huge to me."
"......"
I turned my head without thinking and locked eyes with Yoo Seol-ah, who had a slightly dumbstruck look on her face.
...Probably the same as mine right now.
Yoo Seol-ah was still in her maid outfit, which was cute as hell, but I was too distracted by something else to care. Honestly, wasn't 1 billion chump change to Lee Seo-yeon? Yoo Seol-ah looked like she had a lot to say but was holding back. And who could blame her? Lee Seo-yeon's family conglomerate operated in the trillions, blowing past hundreds of billions like it was nothing.
Yoo Seol-ah, who'd been quietly listening while eyeing the steak in front of her, finally popped a piece into her mouth and spoke up.
"...But what's this about two banks?"
"Daily transfer limits are 500 million per bank, right? Probably."
The fact that she even knew that meant she'd transferred over 500 million at some point. For people our age, living independently, even house-related deals rarely involved that kind of money...
Everyone's faces turned weird the moment Lee Seo-yeon answered. Everyone except one.
"...Whoa, this meat is insane."
Maybe Yuna unnie had the most experience with big money among us, excluding Lee Seo-yeon. I remembered she hadn't freaked out that much when we first learned who Lee Seo-yeon really was.
"It's melting in my mouth..."
...Or maybe she was just blown away by the premium steak Lee Seo-yeon grilled herself.
"If it's that much money, at least hear me out first. What if I take it and run?"
The borrower telling the lender to listen up—it was a hilarious reversal. Watching from the sidelines was pretty entertaining.
But Lee Seo-yeon just pouted a little.
"...Run away?"
"Not that I would, but you never know with people."
She probably meant there were no guarantees even with investment, so hear her out first.
But Lee Seo-yeon wasn't backing down either.
"...Of course I'll listen, but I've been thinking about this seriously for a while, okay?"
Her voice was rising just a bit, and Yoo Seol-ah and I started looking even more awkward. What was this, the start of a couple's spat? If anything, Doyun hyung seemed a tad flustered, while Lee Seo-yeon was starting to sound a little hurt.
From a spectator's view, it was a mix of scary and fun. Watching them flirt was great, but adding couple's quarrel voyeurism? Unbeatable.
"This is the first time you've brought up a real number, so of course you put a ton of thought into it, right?"
Unlike me or Yoo Seol-ah, those two felt way more mature despite being the same age. Freshmen straight out of high school barely differed from high schoolers anyway.
My take might be off, but I got why Lee Seo-yeon felt slighted. She wanted him to trust her judgment more—her feelings for Doyun hyung. She wasn't agreeing thoughtlessly just because 1 billion was pocket change to her.
After a deep breath to calm her tone, Lee Seo-yeon kept staring at Doyun hyung and continued.
"And if you run, I'll destroy the world. Got it?"
"Gasp."
Yoo Seol-ah, who'd been watching with rapt fascination, let out a startled noise.
...It was half-joking, sure, but not entirely a joke. Kinda scary. A fallen saintess made the perfect world-destroying mastermind.
Doyun hyung, who'd been mulling it over, gave a surprisingly straightforward reply.
"Yeah. I'll pay it back for sure."
I couldn't say 100%, but if the ultra-meticulous Doyun hyung was asking for investment, he had to be confident. He wasn't the type to treat money from friends—or someone who liked him—lightly. If anything, the opposite.
"By next summer at the latest, winter for sure, we'll have the basics done. Then we can ease into promotions."
Next summer or winter—that was a year and a half to two years. Compared to our initial talk of not launching until after graduation, this was a huge speedup. Factoring in Yoo Seol-ah's magic, the club's various talents, and outsourcing after investment? Made sense.
"Promo costs and extras aren't factored in, so we'll talk later."
I'd heard this from Doyun hyung before: No matter the game's scale, aiming for real success meant fixed promo budgets. And they were only getting bigger. Every mobile game we knew dumped insane cash into marketing alone.
Yuna unnie, devouring meat and seafood but still following along, grinned after finishing a buttered scallop.
"Got it. Careful not to end the world, Doyun. It's on you."
"...Unnie, it's a joke..."
Maybe embarrassed from the earlier heat, Lee Seo-yeon shyly fed Yuna unnie another piece.
Looked like feeding a pet.
"How's the taste?"
"Mmmph..."
Yuna unnie nodded vigorously instead of answering. As Lee Seo-yeon's "daily butler" today, she was getting the full service. Suited her surprisingly well.
"Alright, shall we crack open some wine?"
"Yeah, plenty of wine. Other stuff too."
True to Lee Seo-yeon's house—never short on anything—the icebox on the floor had several bottles ready. Price tags? Better not ask; shock incoming.
"...Wine's been forever."
Yoo Seol-ah, who loved booze but sucked at holding it, couldn't hide her excitement. She usually stuck to fruit wine like juice when we drank.
...She'd get wrecked on wine, but indoors? Fine.
"Cheers~"
Yuna unnie poured with practiced ease. I lifted my glass slowly.
As the mood mellowed with wine, steak, and seafood, I regretted not stopping Yoo Seol-ah's refills sooner.
"...Hurryyy, not eating?"
Should've cut her off earlier. Yoo Seol-ah's speech was slurring a bit as she kept stabbing meat with her fork and holding it out to me.
"Hurry, ah~"
...I just ate.
But excuses didn't work on her—I'd learned that—so I obediently opened wide.
At least Lee Seo-yeon and Doyun hyung were chatting off to the side, so only Yuna unnie was watching.
"Pfft."
...This unnie had a real talent for pissing people off.
Wonder if she honed it in online communities.
"Must be paradise? Cute maid feeding you tasty meat."
Cute maid? Check. Tasty meat? Check. That was the infuriating part.
But six straight meat pieces in? My mouth was getting heavy watching her skewer another.
At least some salad from over there...
No chance with Yoo Seol-ah, who called greens "grass fodder."
Please, anything but meat...
"Hey, why the face? She's nailing the maid duties..."
Probably remembered Lee Seo-yeon feeding Yuna unnie in butler mode earlier. Booze loosened her shame, and now she was into it.
Actually enjoying the maid role?
"Feeding's a maid duty...?"
Assisting with meals? Sure. But feeding? Never seen that.
As I tore my eyes from smirking Yuna unnie, Yoo Seol-ah spoke innocently.
"The last maid I saw did. Or was it sex service?"
"......"
"Kek!"
...What the hell did I just hear?
Lucky I swallowed first—just froze. Poor Yuna unnie spat her wine.
"Th-the name was... Oh, Plang!"
"...Ah, yeah..."
Hearing the character name calmed us both. Plang was the beastkin maid from a hot comedy manhwa—siege-engine strong, smashed walls solo in battle. Hence the "sex service maid" nickname. Her intro in the story was basically that.
"...Phew."
Yuna unnie sipped water to recover. Drunk Yoo Seol-ah seemed way more dangerous now—pure but reckless. She'd never say that sober, even joking.
I legit thought she was talking doujinshi for a sec...
Yoo Seol-ah once brazenly lied about never reading that stuff while leaving a doujin site open in her browser.