The Giants' Business Mind

It was only natural. Simply entering a Demon Duke's territory, releasing plague and poison, and driving all the spirits into a frenzy was already an incredible feat... yet that was the smallest of his achievements. Ambushing and attacking Furneus, instigating a fight between him and Adad, and finally, seizing Furneus's castle! It was a magnificent achievement that no Shadow Elf had ever accomplished, a legendary feat that would likely never be repeated. The eyes of the Shadow Elves were filled with excitement and deep respect.

There were so many message windows that it was impossible to read them all. But one thing was certain: from now on, he would receive VIP treatment among the Shadow Elves!

Kim Tae-hyun should have come with me! Cain lamented inwardly. If they treated Cain this well when he was alone, what would it have been like if Tae-hyun were here? The Shadow Elves would have practically offered up their own organs. Besides, the real experts at dealing with these NPCs were Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi. Cain had no idea how to squeeze anything more out of them.

Sigh. Let's just maintain the status quo.

"So, we're still allies going forward, right?"

"Of course. It is an honor for us to ally with brave warriors like you and your companions. From now on, we will not harm the adventurers."

"Uh, no. You can go ahead and harm them."

"...??"

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

"Were they not your companions?"

"Nope. I don't know those people," Cain replied instantly. Why should he care about the rankers and high-level players in the fortress? "Just because we're humans doesn't mean we're all friends. They're a bunch of nobodies, so feel free to capture them as much as you want."

"I see. Hm. We refrained from attacking them because we thought they were your allies."

"We shall capture them from now on."

"Yeah. Especially the ones who call themselves 'rankers' or 'elites'—they're incredibly obnoxious, so feel free to target them mercilessly! They're the ones who always mock elves behind your backs!"

If Tae-hyun had been there, he and Carbanog would have marveled together. Cain had truly grown so much! Of course, Cain was simply burning with personal spite. Those arrogant bastards who always looked down on me!

In truth, no ranker looked down on Cain anymore. Although they mocked him for his past as the Red Zone guild leader or gossiped that he only succeeded by riding Kim Tae-hyun's coattails, the results Cain had shown were too formidable for anyone to ignore his skills. While they might curse him outwardly, saying, "That bastard Cain...", most of them acknowledged him deep down. But there was no way Cain knew that. From his perspective, it was more like: Those jerks... Sure, maybe I lack skill and got lucky by following Kim Tae-hyun around, but saying it out loud still hurts my feelings!

After all, nothing hurts more than the truth. That deep-seated grudge was now stabbing right at the elite parties currently in the Demon Realm. Thanks to that, other guild members were dragged into the mess without even knowing why!

"To mock elves... they must have a death wish!"

"We shall shoot and kill them on sight."

"Exactly!"

"However, we must be able to distinguish them from your actual companions, should we not?"

"Hmm. Now that you mention it, that makes sense..."

"Then we shall give you this token. We will not attack any adventurers who possess this token."

The token given by the Shadow Elves was an accessory to be pinned onto clothing. It had no special stats, but the fact that it prevented attacks from the Shadow Elves was more than enough! The giants standing nearby marveled at this.

"Excellent! Truly excellent!"

"We also know exactly how to use that!"

The giants, who had recently developed a taste for commerce, immediately realized how to exploit the token given by the elves. Cain nodded at the giants' words.

"Of course it's great. It means the Shadow Elves have recognized us."

"Indeed! Therefore, we must..."

"...cherish it and keep it safe, right? To repay the sincerity of the Shadow Elves?"

"...???"

"What on earth are you talking about?"

It was a level of stupidity that left even the giants flabbergasted! Cain, flustered, asked in return.

"I mean... it's a token the Shadow Elves gave us as their friends, right? If we treat it carelessly, they might get angry."

"Foolish! Utterly foolish!"

"We should sell it for money! What are you going to do with a token, boil it for soup?!"

"!!!"

Cain was shocked. When on earth had these giants changed so much? Not long ago, they were having primitive arguments like, "This lava is delicious!" "No, this lava is way better! You don't know what real spice is!" But once they got a taste of business, they became terrifying. At this rate, they'd probably sell their own weapons in no time!

Thump, thump! The giants beat their chests in frustration.

"Our leader is too stupid! He cannot lead us like this!"

"The Avatar must return! The slave is a fool!"

"N-No! I can do a good job too!"

"Are you sure?"

The giants stared at him with deeply skeptical eyes. Cain hurriedly replied, "You mean we should replicate this token in large quantities and sell it to the players in the fortress at a high price, right?"

"Is that all?"

"Is... Is there more?"

"There must be a time limit! That way, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they have to buy it again!"

"It must break easily!"

"We must charge an even higher price to anyone who rejects it once!"

"Y-Yeah. I'll do that. We can just do that."

Even without Tae-hyun, the giants were putting what they had learned to excellent use on their own.

"Huh. The Sky Castle really develops even if we just leave it alone."

"It's the exact opposite of the Salz Kingdom."

"......"

Whenever Yu Ji-soo spoke of the Salz Kingdom, her voice was thick with emotion. It was a sentiment very similar to when Tae-hyun spoke of Lee Se-yeon, or when Lee Da-bi spoke of the Power Warrior guild members!

"But you managed to leave the Salz Kingdom, didn't you?"

"I'll probably have to go back eventually if I want to complete my class quests..."

"Do you want to change your class to the Archisus path?"

"...!"

Yu Ji-soo's face lit up with immense interest at those words. Not only could she escape the Salz Kingdom, but she could also get closer to Tae-hyun! However, after a moment of agonizing deliberation, she shook her head.

"Everything I've done so far... it would be... such a waste..."

"I completely understand!" Tae-hyun nodded.

Before he knew it, Yu Ji-soo had become an excellent Pan-On player. When he first met her, she was just a fresh newbie who had barely started the game...! Now, she exuded the fierce determination that only those who staked their lives on Pan-On could show.

"Hyung, as I said earlier, rather than trying to do repairs in the Salz Kingdom, it would be much better to go to the Auston Kingdom to get what you need."

Yu Ji-soo emphasized this for the second time! Tae-hyun nodded.

"If it's hard to get in the Salz Kingdom, I'll just have to extort... I mean, borrow it from the Auston Kingdom."

"Yes! If you're going to extort... I mean, borrow it from the Auston Kingdom, Hyung, I'll do my absolute best to lead the way!"

Clenching her fists as she spoke, Yu Ji-soo looked incomparably more reliable than Cain.

By the way, I'm a bit worried about Cain. Was he managing the fortress well? If it were anywhere else, it would be fine, but since it was the Demon Realm, his worries were doubled. Though the message windows seemed quiet enough...

"K-K-Kim Tae-hyun!"

"?"

Tae-hyun turned his head. The rankers who had been riding inside the castle came running out, their faces pale.

"What's wrong? Did the Tyrum Hunters infiltrate the castle?"

"??"

"What are you... No! Some of the rankers have gone missing!"

"Whew. So it was nothing major."

"......"

"......"

The rankers doubted their own ears.

"What do you mean it's nothing major?!"

"I told you, people can get lost during transit. We're lucky this many of us are still here. Even if they went missing, they're probably somewhere on the continent. Since they're rankers, they'll find their own way back."

"Y-You demon!"

"You have no blood or tears!"

"Come on, haven't I been caring enough? What more do you want me to do? I can lend you some of my subordinates, so do you want to go rescue them?"

At Tae-hyun's question, the rankers hesitated.

"...Now that I think about it, if they're rankers, they should be able to handle their own business, right?"

"Indeed. A person must handle their own affairs."

"If we go to rescue them, it might actually hurt their pride and make them angry."

"......"

Tae-hyun stared at them, dumbfounded. A friendship that dissolved in a mere ten seconds! It seemed whatever camaraderie they had forged in the Demon Realm had been left behind there.

"So, who went missing?"

"Suana... and Johansson..."

What bet? Oh, whether those two are dating or not? Come on, there's no way they're dating. Tae-hyun thought firmly. He didn't know what had gotten into Carbanog lately, but the rabbit kept making bizarre remarks. No matter how much it wanted a giant rabbit statue, this was too much!

"Your Majesty, if you plan to gather materials for the repairs, we shall accompany you."

The Underground Alliance Goblins swarmed out in a crowd. They insisted on personally inspecting and selecting the materials for the castle's repairs! The Chimeras of Archisus also emerged alongside them, blinking their eyes.

"Don't we need people to guard the castle?"

"Aren't the spirits more than enough?" the goblins replied as if it were obvious.

Come to think of it, they were right. The Cold Spirits currently guarding the castle might look unassuming, but their levels were no joke. They were only treated like common foot soldiers because they were in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Demon Realm; if they were on the continent, each and every one of them would be a semi-boss monster!

The only disappointing part was that he couldn't take the spirits outside to fight. The spirits' power was maintained by the energy of the Sky Castle. Actually, that was a relief. Otherwise, they would have turned into parasites constantly draining Tae-hyun's MP.

"Well, with the spirits..."

"And don't we also have the heroes of the Church?"

"...Suddenly, I'm feeling very uneasy."

They were a liability, not an asset! The heroes of the Church were currently fast asleep in a corner of the castle. As people got older, they tended to sleep more. Even while the castle was flying, they had simply said, "Well, we're going to take a quick nap~" and retired to their quarters. Tae-hyun had no desire to say, "No! Please don't sleep, stay awake and cause more trouble!" It was much better for them to sleep!

"Spirits. If they wake up and try to do anything weird, just freeze them."

"Is... Is that really alright?"

The innocent spirits were bewildered by Tae-hyun's command. Aren't they our allies?

"They were frozen to begin with, so what difference does it make if they get frozen a bit more? Freeze them."

"Anyway, to get the materials, I suppose we have to go to a mine? The Salz Kingdom has plenty of mines, but..."

Since the kingdom itself was a mountainous nation, there were several mines located in the mountain ranges. Some were within the Salz Kingdom, while others sat on the border between the Salz Kingdom and the Auston Kingdom, and these mines were among the few popular spots in the region. Of course, no sane person chose the Salz Kingdom just because it had a few mines. Other kingdoms had mines too, and if worst came to worst, players could just travel to the Salz Kingdom to use them!

"How much do we need for the repairs?"

"Actually, repairs are one thing, but we also want to complete the reinforcements that we couldn't finish due to the rushed work in the Demon Realm."

The hastily modified Sky Castle had revealed weaknesses in its durability and defense. The Underground Alliance Goblins couldn't bear to leave their masterpiece like this...

"Alright. Do whatever you want."

Tae-hyun agreed immediately. He didn't even feel the need to read through the details.

"Really? Are you sure you can obtain all those materials..."

"...Wait a minute."

Tae-hyun checked his quest window.

"Quest canceled."

"N-No! Please don't do that!"

"Your Majesty! Please don't! Sob, sob, sob!"