The Prince's Legacy and Sincere Gifts

Come to think of it, it made sense. The monsters had prolonged their lives by turning into Chimeras, and Pelmarne was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠holding out as a ghost. What kind of trick could the Prince have possibly used to stay alive all this time? If he didn't become a Chimera or an undead, he had to die!

As if he had no lingering attachments, the Prince had cleanly died of old age without even becoming undead.

"Don't tell me, Your Holiness... were you trying to save the Prince? As expected of Your Holiness. However, the Prince passed away a long time ago... He lived a comfortable life without any complaints before he passed, so it should be fine."

"I-I see..."

Tae-hyun's mind grew complicated. Should he tell the prisoners upstairs about this or not?

'Since we tore down the front gate anyway, it's only a matter of time before the prisoners find this place. Wouldn't it be better to just tell them and get a reward?'

He didn't know how the Chimera prisoners would react, but hiding it for no reason might only result in an affinity penalty. It would be better to tell them the truth and get rewarded.

'Even if those Chimera bastards go wild, as long as my affinity with them is high, I'll be fine.'

Even Tae-hyun hadn't expected the Prince to have died of old age!

'I want to grab the items... but will it be okay?'

Tae-hyun minded Pelmarne's gaze. Until he safely brought Pelmarne into the order, he had to pretend to be a good person! He couldn't have Pelmarne running away halfway through...!

"Is something the matter?"

"Since the Prince's body must be inside, I wanted to retrieve it and give him a proper funeral."

And grab the items while he was at it!

"Ah... Your Holiness. You are truly a benevolent soul. But since he passed away so long ago, is there really a need? You should just take the items the Prince possessed. They will be of help to Your Holiness."

"?"

Wait, did their lines get swapped?

"Is something the matter?"

"A-Ah, no. Is it really alright for me to take the Prince's items?"

"Shouldn't the living keep living? If Your Holiness uses the items for the sake of the continent, the Prince will surely be pleased."

What an incredibly flexible ghost bishop!

Tae-hyun didn't think the Prince would be particularly pleased, but he quickly accepted.

"If you say so!"

Awesome!

'I can sell this, I can keep this, this one is probably expensive but not something the kids or I would wear. Hmm...'

Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi put their heads together and quickly appraised the loot. A few useful things emerged.

First, the Cloak of the Ancient Empire's Emperor!

For a piece of cloth armor, its durability and magic defense were monstrous, almost on par with Adamantium Armor! Of course, it was lower compared to actual Adamantium Armor, but the fact that a simple cloak had this much magic defense was insane. Unfortunately, it could only be equipped out of combat, meaning Tae-hyun wouldn't be able to attack while wearing it...

'Actually, the other options are more important than the defense.'

This was a classic ruler's gear. Equipment to wear when proceeding with kingdom-related quests! That alone was an incredible effect, so it didn't matter.

Next was the Ring of the Ancient Empire's Emperor!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

'This is powerful too!'

It was a shame that both had the "Cannot be repaired" option, but for Tae-hyun, it was fine. Thanks to his absurdly high Luck stat, his durability barely ever decreased. Tae-hyun was someone who could stretch out and use even an item with 1 durability for a very long time!

Above all, this one wasn't restricted to out-of-combat use, making it even easier to use.

'By the way, just how much did this Prince bastard steal?'

Now he knew why the guy had been locked up in this freezing basement. He got locked up because he stole this much!

"Lately, strange things have been happening, Kim Tae-hyun."

"?"

When Cain seriously asked for a consultation, Tae-hyun looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Beside them, Choi Sang-yun and Jeong Su-hyeok, who were munching on the kimchi stew Tae-hyun had made, chimed in with their mouths full.

"Is it more useless nonsense?"

"Did you get malicious comments on your stream? Telling you to do some chores?"

"I told you you should've done the chores."

"Maybe it's about the mistake you made in the last match."

Normally, even if they won, fans would harshly criticize players if they made a mistake. Cain was someone who got cursed out for that every single day!

Especially since Pan-On was a game where the perspective of the player and the spectator differed vastly. The person playing was too frantic and made all kinds of mistakes, while the spectators became instant experts, offering all kinds of backseat coaching!

"It's not that, okay?! This is serious."

"What is it?"

"Someone keeps sending me gifts."

"......"

"......"

The expressions of the listeners turned subtle.

"Gifts...?"

"High-end gifts, like Hanwoo beef sets, keep arriving at my parents' house."

"Isn't that... a good thing?"

"Did your parents do some good deed?"

"No! It's coming from someone I don't even know. Doesn't that creep you guys out?!"

"Was there nothing written on the gifts?" Tae-hyun asked seriously. No matter how good a gift was, if there was nothing written on it, it was highly suspicious.

"There is, but no matter how I look at it, it's a joke."

"What does it say?"

"It says it was sent by LK Electronics. Does that make any sense?"

"......"

"......"

LK Electronics, one of the nation's leading conglomerates! There was no way a place like that would send gifts to Cain's parents. Thinking it was a prank, Cain fumed.

"Who is impersonating them like that?! And it's not just my parents—they even sent a brand-new laptop and smartphone to my younger sibling. What kind of bastard keeps doing these creepy things?!"

Even if it was a good deed, doing it like this felt unpleasant. Cain gnashed his teeth in anger. 'Just let me catch whoever it is! Playing a prank like this!'

"Maybe it's a fan?"

"Could be an anti-fan rather than a fan."

"An anti-fan sending Hanwoo beef sets and laptops?"

While the teammates whispered among themselves, Tae-hyun fell into thought.

"Could it actually be from LK Electronics?"

"Come on, Senior. Does that make sense? Why would a giant like LK care about Cain?"

"I think you guys are overthinking this. If it says it's from LK, then it's probably from LK. There's no reason to impersonate LK. If they wanted to hide their identity, they just wouldn't have put a name."

"N-Now that you mention it, the laptop and smartphone were indeed LK Electronics products..."

"Aren't Yuseong smartphones better, though?"

"LK smartphones are kind of meh."

"Hmm. Hold on. Let me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠call and ask. It's better to just contact them and check."

Tae-hyun pulled out his phone.

Having returned from the charity auction, President Yoon of LK Electronics chewed on his sense of defeat and began watching Pan-On matches one by one. 'Let's see just how fun this is!'

President Yoon excused himself like that as he pushed to recruit Kim Tae-hyun. However, the LK Galaxy PR team expressed reluctance.

"This isn't something that can be solved with money."

"Player Kim Tae-hyun isn't someone who can be recruited like that, Mr. President."

'Why is he suddenly doing this after leaving us to rot all this time?' 'Is he doing this because of some article he read?' When the employees opposed, President Yoon flared up. How could his employees lack a spirit of challenge!

President Yoon bypassed the esports team and called the PR team of LK Electronics instead. Managing Director Choi of the PR team was brimming with confidence.

"How is the work progressing?"

"Yes, Mr. President. You don't have to worry. I have a firm grasp on what the young folks like these days."

"Haha. I trust you, of course. But you mustn't make the same mistake as last time."

"T-That was... because I listened to the young employees... I should have pushed forward with more grit."

The nickname of the LK Electronics PR team was "The Madmen." They were famous for promoting through bizarre and eccentric advertisements! The most recent ad that had caused a stir was this:

...A crazy ad! It was a legendary advertisement where every single person responsible had to write a formal apology letter. President Yoon believed this wasn't Managing Director Choi's fault, but rather the fault of the employees under him. But would such an ad have aired if Managing Director Choi hadn't approved it?

"As you know, the LK Galaxy PR team was reluctant to recruit Kim Tae-hyun. They said it was absolutely impossible."

"Haha. Those guys still have a long way to go. To make such weak excuses. Just trust me."

"I only trust you. You've always been outstanding since the old days..." President Yoon paused mid-sentence. Come to think of it, the departments where Managing Director Choi had excelled were all different. Had he ever actually achieved anything since moving to the PR team?

'Well, he'll do fine. He's Managing Director Choi, after all.' Normally, people called that a nepotism hire, but President Yoon failed to notice.

"So, how are you approaching him?"

"Mr. President. I will give you just two words: 'Sincerity' and 'Emotion'."

"Oh...!" It sounded somewhat plausible! Was this the wisdom of a PR veteran?

"A player like Kim Tae-hyun is bound to be more moved by sincerity shown to his teammates rather than himself. I will persuade the player who seems the easiest to sway."

"Yes, I trust you! If we bring in player Kim Tae-hyun to coach, LK Galaxy's performance should improve a bit." And I can meet him too while we're at it!

"As expected of you, Mr. President. To show interest in such trivial content like esports..."

"...It's not that trivial."

"Pardon?"

"No, it's nothing."

"???" Tae-hyun was shocked by the answer he received.

"Uh... so it really was sent by LK?"

"Yes, that is correct, Player Kim Tae-hyun."

"...P-People don't usually send gifts for no reason, do they? Even if you do, shouldn't you state the reason...?"

"Haha. Sincerity is bound to get through."

"No, I don't think this is a matter of sincerity...?"