A Stone-Like Exterior

"If we just slap something stone-like on the outside and station them around the building, people probably won't notice."

"...It would be better to hide them inside the Valley of Despair and Sorrow instead."

"The truth is, even the Valley of Despair and Sorrow isn't perfect."

"Pardon? Who would even look there?"

"I'm thinking of bringing some people into the territory."

At this point, Kim Tae-hyun figured he might as well make fuller use of it.

"If you mean the employees of our merchant group, then Lady McCraney will naturally do everything she can to support us..."

Even McCraney had been dumbfounded by the idea of raiding another kingdom's territory, then using the gold and items looted there to develop his own land, but what was done was done.

Sending the ship meant she was in this to the end.

And after this, it was obvious the McCraney Merchant Group would be helping a great deal with the territory's development.

"No, that's a given."

"It's really not a given... Lady McCraney is taking on quite a bit of risk too..."

"Hey. Who went through more danger? Me, the guy who personally led demons into another kingdom and looted the place, or McCraney, who sent a ship from far away?"

"This whole mess started because of you, Tae-hyun!"

"The cause doesn't matter. Anyway, when I say I'm bringing people in, I don't mean for territory development."

"...?"

"I'm planning to bring in players. Gotta make some gold."

"Why would you bring adventurers here?"

Tae-hyun grinned.

There were more items he'd acquired besides the loot plundered from Bardo City.

The items he'd won by PKing guilds in Abalab City!

He was already wearing the better ones, but there had been so many items that he couldn't use them all himself.

Tae-hyun intended to get rid of them.

By holding an auction in his territory!

An ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠external site auction would be nice too, but an in-game auction has its own advantages.

The biggest one being that actual players would come to his territory.

Build up the sect facilities, gather players, raise my Divine stat some more, turn useless items into gold...

A three-birds-with-one-stone plan.

"Guess I'll announce during the broadcast that people should come visit the territory. Tell them I'm holding an auction."

"He got on a ship?! What do you mean, how?!"

"A-a pirate ship..."

"What pirate?"

"Didn't Kim Tae-hyun clear a pirate questline ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or something? If he can mobilize pirates..."

"How many bodies does that bastard even have? He already did all that in the meantime...?"

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

The players who had rushed to Bardo City ended up looking like dogs who'd chased a chicken only to lose it.

Who would've guessed Tae-hyun would really loot only the important stuff, board a ship, and vanish?

What kind of lunatic even does that?!

They'd never imagined Tae-hyun, who'd built up such a reputation through the broadcasts, would stab them in the back like this.

Everyone stared at each other with hollow expressions.

Damage messages were popping up all over the streets.

Tae-hyun really had picked out nothing but the juiciest valuables and taken them all, enough to make a person curse out loud.

"Isn't there any way to chase him?! That bastard can't have gotten far yet!"

"There aren't even any ships left in the harbor. How are we supposed to chase him?"

"Grrrk...! Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Hope your ship sinks on the way, you bastard!"

While the players in Bardo City vented their rage and frustration, the demons that had been attacking the outskirts of the city slowly began to flee.

They had split up to attack and nearly been wiped out, but the players rushing back into the city had given them room to breathe.

"Kantacha, Demon of Mace and Axe. Shall we join forces?"

"Barka, Demon of Roar and Shout. Fine. I accept your proposal."

"Where did that devil of a human go? If we're forming an alliance, then..."

"Don't say something so stupid! That's the kind of bastard who might stab us in the back at any moment!"

"True enough. No matter how dire things are, we can't call in someone like that."

Now even the demons didn't trust Tae-hyun.

"For now, we should withdraw and think of another way. That city is impossible to take by force."

"Agreed!"

The demons, once scattered, combined their forces and began moving elsewhere.

The butterfly effect caused by Tae-hyun's looting.

Without the slightest clue what was happening in the Espa Kingdom, Tae-hyun hummed away atop the ship.

"This isn't it!"

During the spare time aboard ship, Tae-hyun was trying to use his blacksmithing skill to make camouflage armor for the winged demons.

"M-master... do we really have to wear something like that...? We're strong anyway..."

When Longtail 1 spoke hesitantly, Tae-hyun raised his eyes.

"So you're saying you don't want to wear something I personally made for you?"

"T-that's not what I meant..."

Among the demons, Tae-hyun was pure charisma incarnate.

Longtail 1 included, none of the demons could even meet his gaze.

Murmur, murmur—

"Why's it so noisy?"

They looked like pirates, but everyone aboard was actually an employee of the McCraney Merchant Group.

Naturally, it caught his attention when those people started getting agitated.

"Tae-hyun, over there on the horizon... I think that's a pirate ship."

Tae-hyun narrowed his eyes.

Just as the man said, there was indeed a ship far off on the horizon.

A black flag. A skull. A very stereotypical pirate ship.

"So? Do we need to get ready to fight?"

"N-no. Since we're technically pirates too, I figured we might just ignore each other and pass by..."

"Ah. Right?"

Only then did Tae-hyun remember they were still flying the flag of the Caterand Pirates.

"So they're giving fellow businessmen a pass?"

"It's probably less that and more that there's no profit in attacking each other, don't you think?"

"Whatever. If they don't attack first, then fine. And if they do, that's fine too. It's only one ship, right? Looks like we'd win if it comes down to it."

"...Huh?"

What Great Pirate?

Shwaaaaaaash!

Even from that distance, the sound came through clearly.

Then, all at once, ships began rising up from the horizon.

Even estimating conservatively, there were dozens of them.

They had been concealing the fleet with magic.

At the sight of the pirate armada appearing in an instant, the merchant employees' jaws dropped.

"T-Tae-hyun..."

"We have to run! We have to run!"

"We're not armed at all!"

They had hurried out so fast they hadn't even loaded magical cannons onto the ship.

The only pirate thing about them was the flag.

In the distance, the pirate fleet began advancing rapidly.

Tae-hyun didn't possess any ship-handling skills himself.

Even if the merchant employees had some, there was no way they outclassed the real pirates.

If it came down to speed, they couldn't possibly win.

Trying to flee here was meaningless.

Then what?

Tae-hyun's mind spun rapidly.

Those guys had recognized the flag of the Caterand Pirates. Which meant they knew the Caterand Pirates somehow...

Were they enemies? Or friends?

Tae-hyun decided to bet on the latter.

It was the only option he had right now.

"Hey. If there's any item around that looks like something a pirate captain would wear, bring it here!"

Tae-hyun shouted as he hurriedly altered Marquis Marden's Living Mask.

That wasn't the end of his orders.

"Longtail, you and the other demons get below deck! If even one of you pokes your head out, I'll cut you all down!"

"Y-yes, sir!"

Tae-hyun did his best to make his face resemble that of Denelson, captain of the Caterand Pirates.

It wasn't perfect, but from a distance it'd probably fool them.

"Denelson!"

One of the giant warships came to a stop, and a voice loud enough to sound like a cannon shot boomed down from above.

Tae-hyun cleared his throat and answered.

"Y-yeah."

"What? Denelson, what did you just say?"

"...?"

Tae-hyun picked up the irritation in the other's reaction.

Was Denelson under this Galdu guy?

"I said, 'Have you been well lately, Lord Galdu?'"

"You don't even know how to worry, yet at least your mouth still works. You know why I came all the way here, don't you?"

"..."

He badly wanted to shout, How the hell would I know, you bastard?, but he restrained himself.

"Of course."

"Then why are you still this slow and sluggish? I told you, didn't I? If you failed to bring me the map, I'd personally sail into your den and take your head! And after dragging your feet this whole time, you dare show up so boldly? You brought the map, didn't you?!"

The map. It was one of the items Tae-hyun had obtained on Caterand Island.

He put the situation together instantly.

Galdu must've ordered Denelson to find the map and bring it to him!

From the sound of it, Galdu was positioned high enough to command Denelson.

Of course, pirates were hardly known for faith and trust, so Denelson had probably found it and simply decided to keep it for himself.

The seas of the Espa Kingdom and Caterand Island were very far apart.

And Caterand Island's fortress was sturdy, with the Atali Kingdom navy nearby, so Denelson had probably believed Galdu wouldn't be able to come after him easily.

Then Tae-hyun had the bright idea of passing through the sea flying the Caterand Pirates' flag.

"If I ever catch someone trying to recycle old pirate flags again, I'm gonna beat them senseless."

Tae-hyun muttered.

If they'd just drawn up some random new pirate flag, none of this would've happened.

But no, they had to save money and reuse the Caterand Pirates' flag...

"What was that? So you brought it?"

"...No, Lord Galdu!"

An ordinary person would've just handed over the map and left, but Tae-hyun was not an ordinary person.

If a major NPC like Galdu wanted it, then that only made him want to hand it over even less.

"What?! Have you grown too bold for your own good?!"

The merchant employees trembled all over.

But Tae-hyun pressed on.

"Lord Galdu, please hear me out! Why do you think I dragged a ship all the way here?!"

He hadn't exactly dragged it here, of course.

If Galdu knew the holds were stuffed with looted items, that would be the real shock.

"..."

"I brought this ship here so I could report ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the progress of the job to you personally!"

"Really?"

"Yes! The work of finding the map is nearly complete. If you grant me just a little more time, I will find it and present it to you!"

"Hmm... Fine! If you came all this way yourself, then I suppose you're not lying!"

"Three months! I'll give you three months. Finish the job by then!"

"Thank you!"

"Denelson, don't even think of deceiving me. No matter how sturdy your little island fortress is, before my invincible fleet it'll be reduced to dust. Trick me, and you'll learn what hell tastes like!"

"Would I dare do such a thing? If I have deceived you, then by all means bring your invincible fleet to Caterand Island!"

With the shamelessness of a man spending someone else's money, Tae-hyun ran his mouth freely.

If I report this to the royal palace, would they give me contribution points for it?

He was already planning the backstab before the spit in his mouth had even dried.

"Good. We're leaving!"

"Ah, Lord Galdu!"

"What now?"

"It's just that the navy of the Espa Kingdom has apparently been appearing around these waters often, and I'm concerned they might attack us. As you can see, we rushed here, so we have no proper armaments. If we get caught and fail to present you with the map..."

"Understood. If I see those navy dogs, I'll teach them a lesson."

"Thank you!"

Tae-hyun really did suck people dry down to the marrow whenever he saw an opportunity.

He even waved good-bye as Galdu withdrew.

Snicker, snicker—

"...?"

Lee Da-bi was looking at Tae-hyun with eyes full of admiration.

"Seriously... I think you're absolutely perfect for our guild!"

At her voice brimming with respect, Tae-hyun answered her kindly.

"Do you want me to throw you overboard?"