The Crazy Woman (1)

I couldn’t hide the crooked grin tugging at my mouth.

The one holding out her hand was a woman with striking red hair.

I wasn’t sure if she believed that exposure was the same thing as armor, but her outfit was bold enough that my eyes drifted there before I could stop myself.

Ah…

I realized almost at once that it was a mistake.

Jung Hayan was standing there, staring straight at me and Cha Heera.

I’d usually been careful about this sort of thing, but this was too unavoidable for me to do anything about it.

Well…

Her chest and stomach were practically on display, and between her looks and her figure she had every right to be confident. I didn’t know whether her red hair and red lips came from dye or some magical effect, but together they gave her a strangely provocative air.

She was attractive. That was the plain truth.

I shook my head slightly and looked at her with Mind’s Eye, and a flood of information immediately filled my vision.

Her class was Mercenary Queen, a Heroic-class title. Her nickname was Blood-Mad Witch.

Obviously, none of that sounded particularly pleasant. The disposition called Unpredictable Innovator was the worst part of all.

What kind of stats are these…

Her 97 Strength and 90 Durability were especially impressive.

She was stronger than Lee Sanghee.

That said, since she seemed to be roughly on the same level as the others I’d seen, I figured the top-tier benchmark probably had to be set with women like her in mind.

There were probably other minimum requirements as well—stats above the nineties, Heroic-grade classes and items, and who knew what else—but that was likely the bare minimum.

The sight of her smiling with her hand outstretched for a handshake was, if I were being honest, rather charming.

But I couldn’t let it show.

Jung Hayan looked displeased.

Of course, she wasn’t showing it openly.

She had clearly realized by now that she couldn’t do anything to this woman.

I’d thought she might have matured a little, but the hand gripping my arm so tightly looked very much like it didn’t want me to take that other hand.

Still…

She was an honored guest of a major guild.

Just let go of me for a second, Hayan…

I couldn’t exactly embarrass her in a place like this.

It was a little hard to shift my position with Jung Hayan clinging to my arm, but asking her to bear with me for just a moment, I gently pulled her hand loose and firmly took Cha Heera’s hand instead.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Lee Kiyoung.”

“It’s such an honor to see the stars of this round in person.”

“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Jung Hayan.”

“That demonstration just now was truly impressive.”

“Th-thank you.”

Her breathing seemed a little rough.

The moment I loosened my hold on the hand we’d been clasping, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she finally relaxed and grabbed my arm again, as if only then did she feel safe.

“You two really seem close. Have you been that way since before you came here?”

“Ah, no. We met in the Tutorial Dungeon, and after that we gradually grew closer and formed a good bond.”

“I’m genuinely jealous.”

It was hard, very hard, to know where to put my eyes.

Isn’t she even embarrassed?

It was obvious that the source of her confidence wasn’t just her looks.

Walking around with more than half her chest exposed might have been her taste, but the thing behind that kind of behavior was probably the confidence of Cha Heera the player.

She was that strong.

The strongest person I’d seen so far.

I wasn’t just talking about raw stats.

The fact that not a single person was approaching her while she talked to us made that clear enough.

“Ah, I suppose I should introduce myself properly. I’m the head of the Red Mercenary Guild, and my class is Mercenary Queen—Cha Heera.”

Of course.

“So you came here in person.”

“Yes. I’m rather interested in talent. Especially since I’d heard this time would bring in a lot of gifted people… and fortunately, I had some free time as well.”

“I see. Thank you very much for thinking so highly of us.”

“Not at all. It’s only natural.”

“Still, I’m not sure it’s appropriate for us to be speaking like this. As far as I know, the Blue Guild still has the first right of negotiation….”

“Oh, no, no. This isn’t negotiation. We’re only talking. Of course I’ll be speaking with you about recruitment, but the Red Mercenary Guild respects the Blue Guild’s right of negotiation. Think of me as nothing more than an advisor helping you make a rational choice.”

“Ahhh.”

In other words, she was planning to blindfold us and wave us along as if nothing were happening.

We still weren’t officially at the negotiating table.

She was simply telling us how far she was willing to go.

It wasn’t just us.

Park Deokgu was over there talking to a man who’d approached him from somewhere, and Kim Hyunsung was being surrounded very openly by a crowd.

The Blue Guild could only stand there and fume helplessly.

It was a perfect display of what a powerless guild looked like.

If they’d had the strength to control their honored guests, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.

Of course, I didn’t feel sorry for them.

It wasn’t really my problem, since I was unaffiliated, and it made far more sense to build connections here while I could.

“You may not know this, but guilds with first rights of negotiation usually try very hard to control information about other guilds… As for the Red Mercenary Guild I manage….”

“Yes, I haven’t heard much.”

“Well, I’ll have to explain a bit then. The Red Mercenary Guild is a guild formed by close-combat specialists. As the name suggests, we have a mercenary bent, which means we take all sorts of requests—dungeon delving, monster hunting, even small-scale battles and war contracts.”

“Ah, close-combat specialists….”

“Yes. To be exact, it used to be a mercenary guild made up entirely of close-combat specialists.”

“So you’re saying you’re pursuing change.”

“Yes. I can’t go into detail, but there’s been a push within the guild to train mages and priests and invest in support classes as well. It’s a bit of a side topic, but a lot of money is going into it right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now. We’re already a little behind the other guilds, so the higher-ups keep nagging me that we need to invest even more. In fact, the reason ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I came here in person was because of those investors of ours….”

“Ahhh. I see.”

I thought I understood what she was getting at.

“I wonder how much you’re planning to invest.”

“Would it be easier if I spoke in won?”

“Yes, that would still be the easier way to understand it….”

Cha Heera smiled faintly and continued.

“Two billion.”

Uh…

“Pardon?”

“Two billion won per person. We’re also setting aside additional funds in case of unforeseen circumstances. And of course, we plan to keep investing after that as well. At the very least, you’d have to put in about five hundred million a year to get proper results, wouldn’t you?”

Roughly translated, that meant an initial contract of more than 2 billion won and an annual salary of 500 million won.

By the standards here, that was 2,000 gold up front and 500 gold a year.

Given that she mentioned additional funds, it seemed she thought she could pay even more than what she’d just said.

I was so shocked I couldn’t even speak properly.

Two billion?

Compared to what the Blue Guild had first offered us, the gap was so absurd that it was almost insulting.

I’d expected the price to rise, sure, but even a rough calculation put it at twenty times more.

As for the annual salary, it was five times higher.

At this point, I was starting to wonder whether those bastard Blue Guild losers had really been treating us like complete fools.

Now I understood why the people who’d gone through the strategy together were breaking apart.

At that price, it made sense to waver.

Two billion won.

An amount a normal person couldn’t save in a lifetime of work.

Even I was already calculating whether it might be better to go with her.

“That said… it might be a little difficult for us to invest heavily in every close-combat specialist. Our own side is already straining a bit as it is….”

“Ah.”

“Our guild has truly talented people, you know. Of course, it’s not like I’m not interested in someone like Kim Hyunsung, but… well, I’d rather focus on one place.”

That was not good.

“I see.”

“I imagine both you and Hayan would be interested in our guild’s current project, so… I’d like to hear what you think.”

What she was really saying was that we should abandon Kim Hyunsung and Park Deokgu and throw our lot in with her instead.

As a guild built around close-combat specialists, they were probably already saturated with swordsmen and tanks.

I could understand why she wouldn’t want to invest in Park Deokgu and Kim Hyunsung.

For now, she herself was probably the perfect shield and sword.

If I were in her position, I’d probably place a little more weight on Jung Hayan too.

“The project itself is certainly interesting, but I’m a little worried whether we’d be able to help. We formed a strong attachment to the friends we cleared the Tutorial Dungeon with, so focusing on one place alone seems….”

“Hmm… that’s surprising.”

She sounded a little intrigued.

For some reason, I felt like a mouse sitting in front of a cat.

“If we had room to invest elsewhere, that would’ve been wonderful… but our guild’s in a rough spot too these days. I do believe in not holding on to people who want to leave, but it’s still really unfortunate. That goes for Jung Hayan here as well… and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for you too, Lee Kiyoung. It’s a pity, you know….”

“What—”

“This is a gift.”

I could feel Cha Heera step close and tuck something into my chest. I couldn’t check it properly, but it seemed to be some kind of item.

A bribe?

No, probably not.

It really did feel like she was giving me a present.

For no good reason, my mood started to lift.

A gift from a woman who could be called the leader of a major guild was probably quite valuable.

“If you change your mind, you can always tell me. Even if you don’t, I’d still like to keep a good relationship with you. Since we’re both part of the same empire, we’ll probably end up entering dungeons together or standing on the front lines a lot, won’t we? And… hmm… Hayan?”

“…….”

“You really should learn how to kill your murderous aura a little.”

“Ah….”

Cha Heera was suddenly right in front of me.

Before I could even properly react, I felt something soft and damp brush my lips.

This crazy bitch…

I was too stunned by the sudden, outrageous move to think straight.

I hurriedly tried to shove her away, but there was no way my frail body could push back a woman with 97 Strength.

And when I felt something slip into my mouth, I was so panicked I couldn’t even make a sound.

I thrashed around and looked at Jung Hayan, but I couldn’t feel any surge of mana or any murderous intent from her.

She looked like she’d had a country stolen from her.

The sheer suddenness of it had frozen her mind in place.

“That’s a gift too. Well then, see you next time.”

Damn it.

At the noise, everyone nearby was staring this way.

Even Park Deokgu was looking utterly shocked.

I had no idea why he, too, looked like the sky had fallen on him, but this was something I needed to clean up immediately.

I’m done for.