Chapter 466: Elixir (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 466: Elixir (4)
For better or for worse.
People sometimes face moments so overwhelming they are difficult to even process.
In Baek Hyeon-a’s life, there had been exactly two such moments.
The first was when she heard the news of her parents’ deaths.
The second was when she was told that her only remaining family, her younger brother, was suffering from a congenital mana deficiency.
And today, the third moment arrived.
The only difference from the previous two was that this time, it was a good thing.
No, she couldn't be sure of that yet.
“…Why would you do that?”
And so, she asked.
“I’m asking you why you would use such a precious elixir to save my brother, a complete stranger to you, Student Do-jin.”
It was incredibly hard to understand.
Why was he going to such lengths for her?
It was undoubtedly a good thing.
But her life had been too harsh for her to accept it so easily.
Every person who had approached her with a kind face had harbored dark intentions.
That was why she was afraid.
What could he possibly want from her that he would use such an expensive elixir to bind her to him?
To this, Kim Do-jin replied.
“I already told you.”
Unlike Baek Hyeon-a, who had snapped at him with a fierce tone, his attitude was dry and emotionless.
“It’s a life debt.”
“That’s a lie…!”
“…It might seem that way, but it’s the truth.”
A deep-seated disbelief settled in her eyes, which trembled violently as if in an earthquake.
Kim Do-jin felt a pang of sympathy for her.
‘I used to be like that, too.’
He had been the same in the past.
Thrown into society with nothing to his name, people had tried to use him.
Disgusted by them, he had pushed everyone away with prickly words and actions, like a hedgehog.
Not just those who approached him with malicious intent, but even those who showed him kindness.
He wasn't perfect now, but back then, he had been even less skilled at discerning people's intentions.
So he had made a choice.
Rather than get hurt by carelessly letting people in, he chose to be alone.
In the current Baek Hyeon-a, Kim Do-jin saw his past self.
He felt sorry for her. Unlike him, who had eventually opened his closed heart thanks to the good people who broke through his thorns, she still kept her heart under lock and key.
Therefore, Kim Do-jin decided to replicate what those who had opened his heart had done for him.
“If you don’t believe me, then don’t.”
“……”
“I was simply acting to repay a debt.”
What did a debtor’s trust matter when repaying a debt?
Most of the people who had opened his heart in the past had been like this.
Their attitude was that they were giving because they wanted to, repaying because they had received something, and that his trust was irrelevant.
And this method had been remarkably effective.
Because it left no discomfort in the hearts of either the giver or the receiver.
Baek Hyeon-a stared, dumbfounded.
A pleased smile graced Kim Do-jin’s lips as he watched her.
He wondered if this was how he had looked in the eyes of those who had opened his heart.
“Why… why are you smiling?”
This only deepened the suspicion in her eyes.
“…Anyway, the debt is all paid, so just know that.”
He pointed to the hospital room door where Baek Hyeon-jin was lying and continued.
“He might be waking up soon, so you should go watch over him.”
“……”
Imagining her brother finally opening his eyes, she quietly turned away.
“…Let’s talk about this again later.”
“Yep, yep. I’ll be going then.”
Kim Do-jin turned without a second thought and walked away down the opposite end of the hall.
Baek Hyeon-a, who had been watching him blankly, belatedly shouted.
“Th-thank you!”
Kim Do-jin didn’t reply.
He simply waved his hand dismissively as if to say ‘it’s nothing’ and kept walking.
Finding that gesture so very much like him, Baek Hyeon-a couldn't help but smile.
* * *
Performing an already intense secret art at an even higher difficulty had left me completely exhausted.
So, I just slept.
After eating the meal Jeong-hee prepared for me, I slept for nearly twelve hours straight, then summoned the guild members.
Shin Yu-jeong, Elena, Im Na-eun, Son Seo-yeon, and Han Ju-yeon.
Plus the two apprentices.
Including the guild leader, it was a small group of only eight members.
There was only one reason I had gathered them.
“I’m thinking it’s about time we start running the guild in earnest.”
At that, the impatient Shin Yu-jeong immediately raised her hand and asked.
“In earnest? How?”
“It means we’re not going to be cooped up in the club room anymore. We’re going out.”
“So you’re saying we’re going to get a proper base?”
“That would be the first priority if we’re going to operate properly.”
For a guild, a base of operations was an indispensable element.
How could you call yourself a guild without even a space to welcome guests or prospective members?
Typically, even the most minimal guild base would have an office space, a lounge, and so on.
The bases of large guilds had far more facilities.
Training rooms armed with defensive equipment, fitness rooms engraved with gravity magic, and even warehouses to store materials and equipment obtained from dungeon conquests.
Naturally, that required an enormous amount of space.
“What about money? The price of land in Seoul is no joke.”
It all came down to money.
That’s why, at first, I had planned to form a partnership with a corporation, just as other guilds do.
They would support the establishment of the guild base and various operational costs, and in return, we would handle promotions or missions for the company.
But that was no longer necessary.
“Don’t worry about money. I have a plan.”
When I grinned and boasted, Ju-yeon raised her hand.
“How big are you thinking? And what area?”
I had thought about that, too.
“I plan on buying an entire building. At least five stories. As for the area… isn’t Gangnam the best?”
“……”
“……”
“……”
A sudden, chilly silence fell over the room.
Did someone throw cold water on them?
“What’s with all the long faces?”
When I asked in a puzzled tone, Na-eun, the kindest and gentlest of the group, put it delicately.
“Well… it just seems a little unrealistic…? Hehe.”
You should at least make your lies believable.
I sighed.
“Hah… to think the guild members have so little faith in their leader.”
I may have joked around sometimes, but I didn’t think I was one to make jokes like this.
In times like these, proving it with one action is more effective than a hundred words.
“I’ll come back with a building for our guild base within a week, so in the meantime, you all can think about what you’d like to have in it.”
Anyway.
The point of this meeting wasn't whether we could get a building or not.
It was that we were finally leaving this club room and taking our first step as a proper guild.
And what did that mean?
“I’ve already spoken with the university. We’re graduating early this summer.”
“Wow… not even in winter, but in the summer?”
“Is that even possible…?”
“Of course, it is.”
I had struck a deal with the vice president, who was handling affairs in place of the currently absent president.
-“I’d like to graduate.”
-“You can graduate early at the end of this year.”
-“No, let me do it this summer.”
-“???”
-“If you don’t, I’ll just drop out.”
-“……”
Contrary to his stubborn-looking appearance, he turned out to be a very reasonable person.
“Um… Sunbae-nim?”
Jin Ha-rin, who was still more accustomed to the word ‘sunbae’ than ‘guild leader,’ cautiously raised her hand.
“If you all graduate early, what happens to us…?”
It seemed she was curious about what would become of them once the guild left the university.
At first, I wondered what to do, but the answer was closer than I thought.
“We graduate early in the summer. You two will pass the 2nd quarter Hunter qualification exam and graduate early in the winter.”
See? Simple, right?
At that, the two of them turned pale.
“…But we’re only sophomores?”
“Exactly. We passed when we were sophomores, too.”
“……”
Well, I understood how they felt.
They probably thought it was difficult to pass that notoriously difficult qualification exam in a single attempt.
“Don’t worry too much.”
I gave them some encouragement.
“Your sunbaes will help you pass, one way or another.”
Then, the others started to grin.
“Ah, that’s a great idea. If they just get rolled for a couple of months until they’re crying and snotting, they’ll pass for sure.”
“Hehe, that’s right. We did it, so it’s possible.”
“The word ‘failure’ does not exist in the dictionary of Instructor Elena. Understood?”
The others showed their enthusiasm.
Thanks to them, I felt reassured.
The juniors, however, didn't seem to feel the same.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
How much would it cost to build a guild base?
The answer to that question would vary depending on the situation.
If you were just trying to have the bare minimum, you could manage with about ten million won.
But is our guild one that should settle for the bare minimum?
It is not.
We are already a large guild.
If a guild that is the one and only in South Korea to have two S-rank Hunters isn't a large guild, then what is?
But to be treated as such, we need to have the appropriate dignity.
One part of that dignity is the guild base.
So, it needs to be built solidly.
We need to set up a training room, build a fitness room…
“The guild leader’s office must be soundproof.”
And a guild leader’s office with ridiculously good soundproofing.
Anyway.
There’s the building itself, and the cost of constructing all of this would be in the tens of billions, at the very least.
It’s an amount that would be difficult to get all at once, even by partnering with a corporation.
And even if we did get it, they would try to use that money as leverage to control us.
To prevent such a disaster, I chose a third option.
“I need money, Saintess-nim.”
-“…Did you leave some money with me or something?”
Bwaaah!
Help me, Saintess-mon!