Chapter 321
Chapter 321
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 321
Chapter Title: 72. Special Grade Planet (3)
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Condolence money.
The unexpected idea left every Earthling in the room with their mouths agape.
“You’re going to collect condolence money at a time like this...?”
―Is he out of his mind or what?
Jeong-gu and Ji-seon, the very couple getting married, were especially stunned, but Yeong-woo just tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand their reaction.
“What, you’re going to pass up an opportunity like this?”
―What opportunity?
“A chance to collect extra tribute. My parents are getting married... That’s a huge justification, right?”
“...Yeong-woo, even so, you can’t call condolence money ‘tribute.’”
Jeong-gu cautiously raised an objection, but Yeong-woo was already checking with Kubu.
“Kubu, is it okay if I take money from the guests? Is that a thing in space?”
Kubu glanced back and forth between the still-troubled Jeong-gu and Ji-seon, whose face had turned pale blue.
Then.
―...Yes.
He spoke in a somewhat resigned tone.
―Depending on the status of the agreers or ceremony hosts, it’s sometimes the case that blessers bring a modest congratulatory gift. However, it’s not legally required...
“Aa, if that’s the culture, that’s good enough. Collecting it is my job.”
Yeong-woo’s eyes lit up at the answer he wanted, and Bangtu Bangtong, who had been quietly listening to it all, tossed out a question.
-Condolence money? On Earth, you take money from guests?
“Of course? Don’t brothers bring condolence money to another brother’s wedding?”
Yeong-woo countered with a question of his own, and Bangtu Bangtong’s expression grew complicated.
-We have wedding customs too, but we don’t give or take money. We just exchange feelings.
“...!”
A culture befitting these eternally warm-hearted brothers.
Yeong-woo approached Bangtu Bangtong, feeling a chill deep in his chest.
Clank, clank.
He placed a hand on the orc warlord’s shoulder and spoke earnestly.
“Then learn a new culture this time.”
-...?
“Go back to Australia and bring money. Brother Bang doesn’t know our customs well, so we’ll go with a fixed rate. Bring 20 million karma.”
In other words, a total of 120 million.
-20... 20 million?
“This is a bargain. Hurry up before I raise the price.”
Yeong-woo pointed to the hyper-speed travel route and urged him on. Bangtu Bangtong set off with a reluctant expression.
Now all that was left was...
“...”
Self-proclaimed Gyeongbuk First Spear, Kang Ye-chan.
Swoosh.
As Yeong-woo naturally turned to Ye-chan after seeing Brother Bang off, Ye-chan’s eyes went wide.
“No way, me too?”
“Of course. It’s our parents’ wedding. You’re not coming?”
“That’s not...”
Yeong-woo immediately brought up his parents, leaving Ye-chan speechless.
It didn’t quite add up, but still, this guy’s parents really were getting married.
So in the end.
“...How much do I have to pay?”
Ye-chan asked about the attendance fee rate, and Yeong-woo placed a hand on his shoulder just like before.
Thud!
“You don’t have to pay. What kind of condolence money between us?”
“...Really?”
“But spread the word about the wedding as much as you can today, hitting every city.”
“...You mean spread the word about collecting condolence money while doing it?”
No tyrant in the world could match this guy’s antics.
“I’d probably get stabbed if I did that.”
“That’s why I’m sending you. I trust you’ll come back safe.”
Yeong-woo shifted his gaze back to Kubu.
“Kubu, when’s the wedding? Can we set the time?”
Kubu blinked his large eyes and looked up at the sky.
―The agreement ceremony will take place 24 hours after the decision point, Earth standard time.
That meant the ceremony would be around 3 p.m. tomorrow.
“Perfect. By then, the mutants and issues in each city should be sorted out...”
But anywhere beyond a certain distance from the Korean Peninsula, and people might not make it on time, so he’d need to consider lifting user restrictions on the hyper-speed routes for the day.
‘I might actually rake in a fortune.’
As Yeong-woo made a money-grubbing face, Kubu quickly added an explanation.
―However, the agreement ceremony requires betrothal gifts equal in number to the agreers.
“Betrothal gifts equal to the number of agreers? What does that mean? Can there be more than two agreers... multiple partners?”
―Yes. It’s quite common.
“What?”
This time, even Yeong-woo was surprised.
In space, having only one spouse was apparently the uncommon choice.
According to what Kubu had just said, it was common to marry multiple partners at once.
“What about the betrothal gifts? What do we prepare them with?”
―Betrothal gifts are tokens shared among the agreers, and they must be physical objects.
It wasn’t much different from Earth’s betrothal gifts.
―Once the agreement ceremony ends, the family court imprints a unique code on the gifts, giving them uniqueness. From that point, they become tokens signifying the designated partner as spouse.
“...Hoo. So it doesn’t have to be equipment or anything.”
―Correct. Depending on family traditions, swords or armor might be used, or even body parts.
“...Ugh. Body parts?”
Yeong-woo didn’t want to force that kind of wedding on his parents.
But as the ceremony host—the wedding officiant being their son—he wanted the new family’s identity to shine through.
So the betrothal gift Yeong-woo pulled out was.
Swoosh.
“Can something like this be used as a betrothal gift?”
None other than a commemorative coin stamped with Yeong-woo’s own face.
A currency produced on Earth, bearing the face of the ceremony host and future family head.
“You’re going to use that coin as the betrothal gift...?”
―No way, is that a magic coin? This guy pulls it out for everything.
As expected, the wedding couple voiced their refusal, but the one with authority to proceed was Yeong-woo alone.
“Witnesses, blessers—you can summon them yourself? In the end, it’s all my connections, right? You’re misunderstanding something. I’m the officiant.”
Yeong-woo held out the commemorative coin with his face to his parents.
“And your betrothal gift isn’t the coin.”
“Huh?”
―What’s that mean?
Yeong-woo pulled the face on the coin closer to his cheek.
“I’m your real betrothal gift. Your precious, powerful son. So if you ever want to break up the family, think of me first. Can you handle a son’s wrath?”
“...”
―This crazy bastard... threatening his own parents?
Yeong-woo swung the bastard sword between his parents and shouted.
Shrieeek!
“Quit your whining, you bastards!”
“...Huh?”
―What?
“You’re not my parents yet. So if you want to say something as parents, get through the ceremony first. Then I’ll treat you like parents.”
Tired of the unproductive argument, Yeong-woo huffed and sheathed his sword. Ji-seon, who had been about to retort, closed her mouth.
―Well, a lot has already been set in stone.
The “lot” she mentioned included the “honey” she’d already let slip.
What was the point of quibbling now?
The grand journey had already begun.
“How do I make the guest list... I mean, blesser list?”
As Yeong-woo asked Kubu, a large hologram box appeared in the space between him, Ji-seon, and Jeong-gu.
Flash!
“What’s this?”
―This is the current list of trackable blesser candidates from the family court.
“Candidate list? It’s empty.”
The moment Yeong-woo tilted his head at the blank box.
Ping!
The hologram suddenly flashed, and entries began filling from the top at high speed.
-Mediator Kubu
-Chargo’s Representative Merchant Guild
-Mir Alliance
-Boltak’s Wandering Merchant
-Cheok’s Weapons Merchant
-Shamil Merchant Guild
-Room’s Prisoners
-Pegua’s Potter
-Geopi Special Grade Co., Ltd.
The list kept scrolling downward, and Ji-seon recoiled at the unfamiliar name combinations.
―Wh-what is all this?
“What else? It’s a list of all the aliens I’ve met so far.”
Even Yeong-woo didn’t remember some of them clearly, but with so many familiar names, it was certain.
Wedding invitations could be sent to anyone with even a slight connection.
And crucially.
Flash!
-Dogo Co., Ltd.
-Remu Co., Ltd.
-Toma Co., Ltd.
-Destruction King, Dogo
-Demon King of Ten Thousand Demons, Mara
Starting with Dogo Co., Ltd., names of fairly major space entities appeared, confirming the guess.
Remu and Mara were competitors for Earth’s development rights, weren’t they?
Invitations could be sent to them too.
“Uh... the ceremony hall might get wrecked.”
Yeong-woo spoke in an uncharacteristically worried tone, and Ji-seon quickly asked.
―Who the hell are those guys?
“Too complicated to explain in detail. Just think of it as cosmic archenemies gathering in one place.”
―Then... don’t invite them?
Ji-seon made a valid point.
Kubu backed her up too.
―The agreement ceremony is an official rite guaranteed by the family court. Those not invited cannot attend.
“Oh, really?”
Yeong-woo made a surprised face.
Then he scratched his chin cautiously.
“But I’m curious...?”
―What’s there to be curious about? Just don’t invite them, no problem. What’s the issue?
Better the lesser evil than the worst.
Ji-seon now had no choice but to protect her inevitably happening wedding as best she could.
However.
Swoosh.
Her crazy son had already drawn his sword and pointed it at the sky.
“Not curious? What they’ll bring as condolence money.”
―What? Why should I care? It’s all going into your pocket anyway.
“Your pocket? It’s our pocket now.”
As Yeong-woo held up the commemorative coin for the betrothal gift, the candidate list kept growing.
Pipip!
-Five-Colored Credit
-Sadun’s Pilgrimage Group
-Seongsim Dispatch
-Famed One, the Infidel
-Temporary Branch 060II42 Giajol
-Planet Court Promotion Review Team 9
―Are you insane? When does it end?
“It means your son’s been working hard.”
Of course, attendance wouldn’t be 100%, and some on the list were quite dangerous.
But Yeong-woo’s curiosity was piqued; he couldn’t stand it anymore.
What would happen if they all gathered?
What gifts would come?
“No legal issues if I invite them all, right?”
When Yeong-woo asked, Kubu blinked once and replied.
―Correct.
“The planet won’t shatter?”
This time, Kubu didn’t answer immediately.
―...The list includes multiple 4th grade or higher beings under space law. However, official rites receive special oversight from the court, so the feared outcome is unlikely.
“Theoretically the planet could shatter, but low probability.”
―Precisely.
Yeong-woo pondered for about two seconds before deciding.
“Then invite them all. At least three of them want the planet’s development rights, so they’ll hold back somehow.”
―...Understood. Next...
“What else?”
―Two or more agreement guarantors are required. Essential for official rite conditions.
Kubu spoke firmly, so Yeong-woo asked in a softer tone.
“What do agreement guarantors do?”
―They distribute the betrothal gifts to the agreers and oversee the entire agreement ceremony.
“What? That’s basically...”
The role of the officiant.
Yeong-woo immediately thought of his spiritual and material pillar, the successful space businessman Dogo.
The bastard son of the Besedel royal family.
But cosmic weddings required at least two guarantors.
One more was needed.
“One spot’s tricky.”
As Yeong-woo hesitated, Kubu offered advice that wasn’t quite advice.
―It’s customary to have one guarantor per agreer.
In other words, if Dogo stood as Jeong-gu’s guarantor, the remaining spot should ideally be filled by someone connected to Ji-seon.
―What? I don’t know any aliens.
But as Ji-seon said, in this reset world, she had virtually no connections.
“Right. Even if I wanted to, I’m already the officiant.”
So who to choose?
As Yeong-woo scanned candidates across this universe and beyond, something flashed in his mind.
“Oh!”
―What? Who?
To Ji-seon, his mother’s question, Yeong-woo’s eyes sparkled.
“We still have one more family member.”
―Who?
“Second Uncle!”
The other blood relative of Yeong-woo and Ji-seon who hadn’t even arrived in this world yet.
Jin-hyeon family’s second son, Song Jeong-ho.
―What are you talking about? That kid hasn’t even come yet.
“But super high chance he arrives tomorrow? Here, in Seoul.”
Yeong-woo’s eyes filled with madness again.
“Ceremony at 3, Second Uncle arrives at 1.”
―So...?
“Two hours left? Beat the crap out of Uncle during that time, then make him Mom’s guarantor.”
In short, domesticate the wild Second Uncle into a guarantor product.
―...Think that’ll work? That guy’s no ordinary lunatic.
Ji-seon looked at her son as she spoke.
Yeong-woo replied in a meaningful tone.
“If it goes south, shove him in the coffin. Pick anyone as guarantor in a pinch.”
―What if he’s more reasonable than expected?
“Then we get Second Uncle as guarantor. Shove him in the coffin after the ceremony.”