The Art of Overworking Angels

Yohas doubted his ears for a moment. "Y-Your Majesty. You're joking, right?"

"Joking? Yohas, I trust you so much that I'm trying to entrust all these positions to you..."

Tae-hyun put on a deeply sorrowful expression. Yohas had barely just converted from the Phytos Church, yet Tae-hyun was already trying to dump over ten administrative positions of the Capital onto him! It was a level of trust that was frankly terrifying.

"I guess my trust didn't mean much to you."

"N-No! I'll do it! I'll do it!"

An overwork warning message! Tae-hyun promptly pretended not to see it.

If Yohas is really struggling, he'll speak up.

"Yohas. Could you upgrade the Stables too?"

"Huh? What??"

"Hmm? You'd love to? Great. Thanks."

Standing nearby, Galakpad watched the exchange with deep admiration. "I didn't trust him at first since he was a believer of Phytos, but seeing him now, he works like an ox, Your Majesty."

"Haha. I've had my eye on Yohas for a long time."

The two of them shared a warm, satisfied smile.

"Your Majesty. According to lore, there is an anecdote like this. When Archisus was walking down the road, he saw two working angels. One was a black-haired angel, and the other was a yellow-haired angel."

"?"

Wait, this sounds incredibly familiar.

"Archisus approached the two angels and asked, 'Which of you two is better at working?' The two angels began to argue, claiming they were better, and Archisus used that opportunity to steal what he wanted."

"..."

That's just a scam!

"Do you know the moral of this story, Your Majesty?"

"If you're going to steal something, don't get caught?"

"No, Your Majesty. The moral is that angels look wonderful working when you put several of them together."

"...Angels aren't pets. You can't just get them that easily."

"It is possible for you, Your Majesty. If they are angels of the same Phytos Church, it will be even easier to persuade them. We will teach those ignorant angels true faith!"

"That's all well and good... but where do we find angels in the first place?"

"Can't we just ask those guys locked up downstairs?"

"Huh?"

This is actually quite convenient.

There was no more relationship left to ruin!

"Your Majesty! How could you do this!"

"Well~ you guys tried to kill Yohas."

"That is an internal matter of our church!"

"No, Yohas has joined the Archisus Church now."

"?!?!"

"Huh?"

What was that last message?

Hey...

Tae-hyun stopped messing around with Carbanog and turned his gaze back to the captives.

"Anyway, I'm planning to release you..."

"!"

The Phytos group let out a sigh of relief. So Kim Tae-hyun wasn't a completely heartless tyrant after all!

"But Galakpad said not to release you unless you convert..."

"Your Majesty!! How could you say that!"

"Hey, I actually don't have the authority. Galakpad is running everything."

Tae-hyun smoothly shifted the blame. The Phytos priests felt like they were going to lose their minds.

"So, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if you don't want to convert, I can accept your sincerity in other ways."

"...What is it?"

Everyone looked at Tae-hyun with deep suspicion.

"Well, let's see..."

Tae-hyun began to list the options one by one.

"First, bless the walls of this territory in the name of Phytos..."

"Absolutely not!"

Their church had been completely kicked out of the kingdom; they couldn't possibly perform such a blessing.

"Fine. Next, give us weapons and equipment imbued with the power of Phytos..."

"Never!"

"No to this, no to that. What gives? I'm just trying to help you here. Hmph. Now my feelings are hurt."

Tae-hyun turned away dramatically. The priests panicked and called out to him.

"N-No! It's not that we wanted to... it's just that those are unacceptable conditions..."

"Tsk. Fine. I'll let it slide. Then, do you know the location of any angels who worship Phytos?"

"...Why do you ask for the location of angels?"

"Yohas is lonely, so I wanted to find him a friend."

Technically, it wasn't a lie. At Tae-hyun's words, the Phytos priests and paladins began to whisper among themselves.

- Isn't that better than the other options?

- True...

- What could he possibly do just by knowing an angel's location?

"Your Majesty. We will do that."

"Excellent decision."

Tae-hyun nodded in satisfaction.

The quest window wasn't even trying to hide its true colors anymore.

Now, I should go to the Valley of Despair and Sorrow to make the armor... No, wait. I should clear the Archisus Authority Quest first.

He had been so busy defeating Mosrak and freeing Esla that he hadn't cleared the Archisus Authority Quest yet.

I can craft the armor while doing the quest anyway.

Tae-hyun possessed various skills that allowed him to craft armor without relying on a forge building.

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Hey! Kim Tae-hyun!"

Cain called out brightly. Behind him was a crowd of familiar faces.

Tae-hyun let out a heavy sigh.

If I had run away just one minute earlier, I could have blocked his whispers...

"Player Kim Tae-hyun!!"

"Wow! To think we'd meet like this!"

Celebrities and PDs he had met or talked to before were standing there, fully geared up.

- I wonder what kind of quest we'll do with Kim Tae-hyun!?

- It's bound to be thrilling and awesome, just like on the broadcast!

Their sparkling, expectant eyes were almost overwhelming. Tae-hyun sighed. He had to sort this out.

Look at Cain, his mouth is practically splitting from grinning so hard.

While Tae-hyun had to deal with the celebrities, Cain was having the time of his life playing with Ha-yeon, looking like the happiest man in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the world.

Ah, whatever. Let him be.

Tae-hyun decided not to say anything. When else would Cain have such a happy moment in his life?

Tae-hyun unconsciously assumed Cain would get dumped eventually anyway.

"By the way, the quest I'm going on right now is going to be quite difficult. Is that alright?"

"Yes!!!"

"We welcome it!"

They cheered. A high-difficulty quest! They loved it!

"Hmm... shall we go then?"

Lee Da-bi didn't participate in this quest because she had other work: hatching the stolen Griffin eggs!

Grow big and strong...

If they grew well, each one would sell for the price of a real-life car. She smiled happily at the thought.

"Excuse me. Can I leave this in the stable too?"

"We have plenty of space, so feel free to... Wait, that doesn't look like a living mount?"

Lee Da-bi looked at Daniel in bewilderment. It wasn't a living creature, but a mechanical engineering mount!

"It's not a bomb?!"

"Yes..."

"No, did something happen? You didn't make a bomb!"

A mechanical engineering blacksmith not making a bomb was on par with the sun rising in the west, or Tae-hyun not scamming anyone.

"W-Well, I wanted to try making something other than bombs with mechanical engineering. But as you know, if it's not a bomb, it doesn't sell well..." Daniel said dejectedly.

It was true. Even though they got cursed at for only making bombs, bombs were the best-selling items in mechanical engineering. Other engineering items had no appeal.

Lee Da-bi pondered. A mediocre merchant only sells what sells well, but an excellent merchant must be able to sell what doesn't sell!

"Do you have anything else besides this?"

"Ah! Let me show you!"

Daniel was delighted by her interest and brought out his entire pack.

Items like Clockwork Mouse, Automatic Magnifying Glass, and Noisy Box—basic mechanical engineering items with very subtle effects.

"Hmm... shall we try selling these?"

"R-Really?"

"Yes. We should support things like this instead of just making bombs."

Otherwise, they'd keep digging up the territory's basement to build secret bomb storage! Da-bi swallowed her last thought.

"Is this really the lair of the Black Dragon Hakkarias?"

"Yes!"

Gulp.

The members of the Guild Alliance swallowed hard. Even though they had rankers with them, they were tense.

The reason was the master of this lair: Black Dragon Hakkarias!

An ancient dragon with an estimated level easily exceeding 600–700, a powerful boss monster that players currently had no hope of defeating.

Dragons weren't just high-level boss monsters; they were a superior race that used all kinds of powerful magic and traps.

While some players had met a dragon and exchanged a few words, no player had ever successfully hunted one.

The Guild Alliance was no exception. They weren't here to hunt the dragon.

"O great dragon, Hakkarias... We have come to audience with you."

The player chosen as the envoy was meticulously selected to match Hakkarias's tastes, yet they still had to face various penalties.

"W-We are the envoys of the King who has newly unified the Auston Kingdom."

- Has the master of the Auston Kingdom changed? My, my...

"Yes. We have brought a gift for the great Hakkarias."

Dwarf blacksmiths quickly carried over a heavy treasure chest filled with various gem necklaces. The estimated value easily exceeded a billion.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

- And? What is it you desire?

"W-We simply wished to introduce ourselves to Hakkarias, the true ruler of the Auston Kingdom."

- Do not lie to me. There must be something you want...