The Crazy Woman (3)
“If I die, do you really think our Heera noona will just sit there and do nothing?!”
The old man’s mouth closed in plain sight.
Of course, it was a lie no one in their right mind would swallow.
If Cha Heera had been sitting here, she would have laughed out loud.
It was the first time Cha Heera and I had ever met, and we hadn’t even exchanged anything resembling a real conversation.
It was absurd bullshit, but bullshit could still work—without question.
There would probably be an image lodged somewhere in the old man’s memory.
There should be. It has to be there.
Whether I’d meant it or not, I’d created a point of contact between myself and Cha Heera.
Judging by the fact that he’d gone quiet, it seemed he had thought of something.
Maybe, to a bent old fossil like him, it was a scene too provocative to ignore.
“What… kind of bullshit….”
“Whether it’s bullshit or not, we can leave that for later. Your eyes aren’t just holes bored through a knot, are they?”
“…….”
He’d become remarkably docile.
For a bluff I’d made on a whim, it had worked far better than expected.
That only showed how heavy the name Cha Heera carried in the Red Mercenary Guild.
All I’d really done was poke at him on the assumption that Cha Heera and the Blue Guild had almost no connection, but it seemed my guess had been right.
Who in their right mind would want to pick a fight with that monster with a Strength of 97?
And it wasn’t just a matter of stats.
She was one of the largest guild masters in the Holy Empire, and one of the strongest humans in both raw stats and combat ability anyone had seen.
If she was behaving according to her nature, then before he could even decide whether my claim was true or false, the mere fact that her name had come up was enough to make him hesitate.
The Blue Guild, as it stood now, looked no different from a candle waiting for the wind to snuff it out.
That’s how it is.
The dog that’s scared the most barks the loudest.
That applied to both that old bastard and me.
“Cha Heera and I….”
“That’s none of your business. Whether we knew each other from Earth, or whether we were secretly in love, or whether there was some other connection—that’s not the point. The point is that the Blue Guild, which holds the right to negotiate here, threatened a newcomer who’d only just arrived with force, and this can’t be allowed to get out. So even the glorious Blue Guild flinches when Heera noona’s name comes up, huh?”
“…….”
“I don’t know how things work here, but it doesn’t look like you’re without enemies. You probably don’t want to hand over the one thing you do have—your right to negotiate—to another guild, either. But I can’t begin to understand why you’re acting like this. I didn’t come here to fight. I came here to negotiate. Even if you’re drunk on your former glory, isn’t it a problem to act like this and ignore your superior’s words? Or have you become so useless at reading the situation that you can’t even recognize that anymore?”
“You little….”
I caught myself grinning again, almost by habit.
That was because the faint pressure of mana that had been filling the room had loosened the moment Cha Heera’s name came out.
Still, I kept my expression as blank as possible and spoke slowly.
Calming him down was the important part.
I knew that in a meaningless exchange like this, the one who lost their head first was the one who lost.
“Hoo… If you wanted to show me the Blue Guild is the kind of place where everyone’s all family-like and free and full of shit, then congratulations—no, I should say you’ve absolutely succeeded.”
“…….”
“People like you are what destroy a group.”
“What?”
“Stagnant water.”
“What would you know that makes you think you can run your mouth….”
“There are things you can see even without looking. Mr. Lee Seolho. Whatever judgment you pass on me, I don’t really care. I’m perfectly aware that Kim Hyunsung and Jung Hayan are the valuable ones here. I also understand why you dislike me. Yes, that’s right. I understand perfectly.”
“…….”
“But you should have known better than to go that far. No matter how much this continent runs on the law of the strong, your behavior is still rude enough to be called out. I am not your subordinate yet.”
“And this punk still…!”
The moment the agitated old man tried to rise from his seat—
Bang!
the sound made me turn my head.
Lee Sanghee, who seemed just as irritated, was staring toward the source of the noise too.
It was obvious what had happened. Unable to stand watching her underling act like a dog, she had slammed her fist into the desk.
“Lee Seolho.”
“L-Lee Sanghee-nim….”
“Do you understand what you’re doing right now?”
“That is….”
“You are being placed under restriction.”
“Pardon?”
“I said you are being placed under restriction. Right now. Leave this room and return to the guild. Of course, only after apologizing to Kiyoung.”
I’d more or less expected it to go this way.
When an old fossil drunk on past glory throws a fit, there’s only one thing the person at the center of the guild can do.
“I was just trying to act for the good of the guild….”
“I told you to apologize. I won’t repeat myself a second time, Mr. Lee Seolho.”
He’d probably lower his head.
Those types usually bend quickly in front of the strong.
As expected, I saw the old man’s face twist in frustration.
It was a complicated expression—betrayal, maybe, and disbelief, too.
But whether Lee Seolho understood the situation or not had nothing to do with me.
Just as I expected, his face turned slowly toward me.
And, of course, I saw him lower his head.
“For my rude words… I… apologize.”
“I accept. I was a little too worked up myself. I should apologize as well.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
That didn’t look like the face of a man who’d apologized.
The way he practically scurried out of the room was rather spectacular.
His expression looked a little complicated, which made me uneasy for a moment, but there was no point showing it.
When I smiled faintly and looked at Lee Sanghee, she too bowed her head.
“I’m truly sorry. This was my carelessness for failing to properly control the guild member. I’m really… truly sorry.”
“…….”
A decent person.
Lee Sanghee was a decent person.
And it wasn’t just for show.
She was bowing so deeply that I almost felt embarrassed for her. Naturally, there was no reason for the Blue Guild to make an enemy of me.
Pressing any further wouldn’t get me anything.
It was a shame, but ending it here was the rational decision.
“No. If anything, I should be the one apologizing.”
“You’d have every right to blame us, but… please….”
“If it’s about the contract, don’t worry.”
“Pardon?”
“I was the one being rude.”
“Ah….”
“I brought up the matter without properly considering the pride the Blue Guild’s members would have. Even if it was for the sake of negotiation, I shouldn’t have dug into the guild’s wounds like that. Lee Seolho’s behavior can’t be justified no matter how you look at it, but I can’t say I handled it well either.”
“Ah… then perhaps with Cha Heera-nim….”
“I happened to make a small connection with her by luck. My relationship with her should also be of help to the Blue Guild.”
“Does that mean… I can take this as a sign you’re inclined to accept the contract?”
“Of course. I’d also like to settle on 10,000 gold rather than 15,000 for the contract terms. However….”
“Yes?”
“I’d appreciate it if you would consider a key executive position within the Blue Guild.”
“Ah….”
“I’m sure you can understand why I’m making such a request.”
There was no guarantee that the same damn situation wouldn’t happen again.
Nor was there any guarantee that old bastards like that existed only as one lonely specimen.
They might even be organized, working together to screw me over on purpose.
That was how vested interests usually behaved.
I had no intention of groveling.
If anything, I’d welcome a political struggle.
What I was offering was the power needed to establish that foundation.
“Even if it’s only a position in name, I won’t object.”
They’d probably accept.
My value had gone up since before, and they knew it.
First and foremost, the biggest reason was that I had a connection to that mercenary queen, Cha Heera.
If they brought our party into the fold, the Blue Guild would have a way to get under the Red Mercenary Guild’s skin.
Of course, that was a complete and utter lie.
They might even have been wondering whether I was some sort of mole for the Red Mercenary Guild, but it seemed they’d reached the conclusion that the Red Mercenary Guild had no particular reason to bother with the Blue Guild.
If that was the case, then joining hands was an advantage you couldn’t easily put a price on.
And that wasn’t all.
Stagnant water….
They might also have decided that we were the sort of force they could use to keep the corrupt, stagnant elements within the guild in check.
To her, those uncontrollable old coots were probably a serious headache.
Given what had just happened, this guild clearly had more than one problem.
Not a problem of force, but something else entirely.
My suggestion that they offer a key executive post was for my benefit, yes—but also for hers, and for the guild’s.
It was no different from saying, I’ll solve it for you.
Of course, there would be a difference between the outcome she wanted and the outcome I wanted, but I thought there was no disagreement that the rotten water needed to be cleansed.
“Actually….”
“Yes?”
“As for the contract fee, we can do our best to match your request. We haven’t completely ruled out a key executive position either, but… it sounds like you’re asking for something a little higher than I’d expected, so I’m being careful. Am I right…?”
There was no reason to lie.
I nodded as if it were only natural.
“That’s right.”
“And… I’d also like to say in advance that items of heroic grade may be difficult to provide immediately. If you give us some time, it should be possible, but right now….”
“Ah.”
More valuable than I thought.
Heroic-grade items seemed to be worth a bit more than I’d assumed.
Maybe it was because of The Alchemy Primer that had casually come flying out of Kim Hyunsung’s magic bag, but I’d apparently underestimated high-grade items a little too much.
“You don’t need to pay out the item right away. If it isn’t equipment we can use immediately….”
“Ah! In that case, would it be all right if I gave you an answer after an internal meeting? It won’t take long.”
“Of course. Since it’s not an easy decision, you can take all the time you need.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
That probably wasn’t a meeting about whether to accept us.
That part was already more or less settled.
The real issue would be what kind of item they should offer, and what level of status they ought to guarantee.
As much as I wanted to listen in on that discussion, unfortunately I didn’t have the time or the room to spare.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
“Yes. Thank you, Kiyoung. And once again, I apologize for the rudeness earlier.”
“No, really, it’s fine. I’m the one who should apologize.”
Because I still had to turn the nonsense I’d spouted today into truth.
Cha Heera….
I really had underestimated the old coot.
In this continent, there was no telling what might happen.
The brilliant Kim Hyunsung could suddenly drop dead, and a deranged old man might already be plotting against me.
There were too many threats to rely on our party alone.
I need backup.
I decided this was the time to secure a backer who could cover us if things went wrong.