The Franchise Gambit
The Mir Guild, which had been at the center of every hot topic while carving out its own legend, finally opened the first page of the off-season.
It was a business announcement.
It wasn’t particularly unusual for a guild to run a business. Anyone who genuinely enjoyed the league knew that the Bureau encouraged guilds to pursue commercial ventures. In that sense, opening a cafe was an extremely safe and ordinary choice.
But a franchise?
At that single word, everyone’s minds filled with question marks.
Did they miswrite it? Come on, stop joking around. Why would a franchise come up here?
What exactly was a franchise?
It was a high-risk, high-return business that required massive capital and distribution infrastructure. This move went completely against the existing trend among guilds, which preferred low-risk, low-return operations.
Naturally, the Mir Guild shot straight to the top of the real-time search rankings.
For reference, Lee Shin himself took second place, and the related search term that popped up was “business mania.”
Business mania.
It referred to the time when Lee Shin wasn’t the Lee Shin of today, but a pure, 100% authentic good-for-nothing. Back then, he had a long list of failed businesses under his belt.
Advertising agencies, entertainment companies, food manufacturing, general trading firms, distribution networks, and more.
They said even businesses that were almost impossible to fail would collapse the moment he touched them. Because of that, he was sometimes called the “Angel of Donations” for returning the Lee Do Group’s money back into society.
Even though fans now called him a god thanks to the massive high from his recent promotion, even those same fans were showing hesitation at this business announcement. And that was exactly why.
As the saying goes, excessive praise creates critics. It was around this time that the antis, who had been quietly waiting for an opportunity, finally bared their teeth at the Mir Guild’s insane move.
For an ordinary person, that would have been the end of it. But because of Lee Shin’s incredible topicality (Charm ‘101’ + Reputation ‘0’), even the attention-hungry experts couldn’t resist jumping in.
“Site selection! Building a distribution network! Marketing strategy! I can say with absolute certainty that Guild Master Lee Shin has none of those abilities!! If he did, at least one of his previous businesses would have succeeded! Am I wrong here?!”
“This could be more dangerous than you think. In his past businesses, only he went down with the ship. But a franchise is fundamentally different in scale. Everyone goes down together. Even a successful guild could collapse.”
And they issued a stern warning.
“This is a hopeless business. Franchise owners, please think carefully. Are you perhaps blinded by the Mir Guild name and boarding this runaway train? I stake my entire career as a professor on this: it will fail. It has no choice but to fail!”
And so, amid everyone’s concerns, the business briefing for the franchise cafe ‘Lair’ was held.
Ten minutes before the briefing, in the waiting room.
Lee Shin was humming along to the music playing on the TV, loosening up his voice.
While he hummed cheerfully, Chae Dong-ha just sat there staring at his tablet as if checking something.
For some reason, that sight felt a little disappointing.
“Dong-ha hyung. Dong-ha hyung.”
“……Yes?”
“Dong-ha hyung, I think you’ve lost your original spirit.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“No, look. In the beginning, whenever I did something, you’d widen your eyes and go, ‘Have you lost your mind? Are you crazy?’ But today? You’re so calm. It’s no fun.”
Ah! Was that it?
“Are you sulking? Because I kept it from you too?”
“N-no, that’s not it?!”
“Yeah, you’re definitely sulking.”
“Don’t accuse innocent people. Why would I be sulking? I’m just here.”
It had only been two weeks since they held the meeting about financial soundness.
The period was ridiculously short to plan a franchise business, something far beyond running a simple neighborhood shop. Yet surprisingly, the cafe ‘Lair’ project had progressed much further than expected.
In fact, even at this very moment during the business briefing, the interior construction of the main Yeongdo branch was almost complete.
An absurdly fast pace.
There was only one way to explain it.
He had been preparing it for a long time.
That’s right.
Lee Shin had been sketching out this franchise business ever since the guild was promoted to League 3. Naturally, that was back when the words “financial soundness” hadn’t even entered the conversation.
“I am curious. Did you plan for this? The financial soundness issue, I mean.”
“Intention: No. Problem: Yes. Not exactly like this, but I knew it would blow up at some point. If we measure it in the percentages you like so much, I’d say 95%.”
“That’s practically a certainty.”
“It’s a reasonable inference. Since the Bureau doesn’t pay much attention to League 4, somewhat reckless management is possible. No, it’s not just possible. You have no choice but to manage recklessly.”
Because it was the 4th Division, after all.
“But when a League 4 guild gets promoted to League 3, what’s the first thing they’ll nitpick? Something easy to attack without risk, and once they latch on, they can make it an issue with 100% certainty.”
“……Finances?”
Lee Shin nodded.
“We have a lot, a lot, a looooot of enemies. We made them ourselves. Do you really think our enemies would miss such an easy opening? It’s only lo-gi-cal.”
Chae Dong-ha nodded.
When he thought about it, every word made sense. It was an extremely high-probability inference. He felt ashamed that he hadn’t been able to come up with such a reasonable conclusion himself.
On the other hand, he was stunned by Lee Shin’s drive and self-confidence in pushing forward with such certainty.
Was this what genius looked like?
‘Certainly… when it comes to guild management…’
But he didn’t know.
This wasn’t genius. It was empirical reasoning built up through countless repetitions.
‘When you get promoted to League 3, the financial soundness event triggers with about 95% probability.’
If you did it 100 times, it happened 95 times. 1,000 times meant 950. 10,000 times meant 9,500.
Lee Shin was a veteran who had experienced this ten thousand times, if not more.
That was why, the moment he reached League 3, he had instinctively started thinking about what business to run.
During that process, he had discovered interesting facts and welcome items, which was why he had expanded the project.
“Anyway, I was going to do it eventually. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Since you always produce results, I can’t really say anything as your subordinate. But please tell me next time.”
“See? You are sulking.”
“……”
“Alright, alright. I won’t tease you anymore.”
Chae Dong-ha, who had been glaring daggers at him, let out a deep sigh and changed the subject.
“By the way, sir. When are you going to show me that secret weapon you mentioned during the last business meeting?”
“Ah! That. I guess I never showed you. That’s exactly what’s coming on right now.”
“……??”
Lee Shin jerked his chin toward the TV. The TV all of a sudden? Was he going to run an ad or something?
Just as Chae Dong-ha was about to ask again, the door opened and the business team leader walked in.
“Sir, it’s time.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
“I’ll go ahead and prepare.”
It was time.
As Lee Shin stepped out the door, Chae Dong-ha straightened his clothes and fell into step beside him.
They walked up onto the stage in the auditorium.
“Hello, everyone. Thank you for coming. I am Lee Shin, Guild Master of the Mir Guild, and I will be conducting today’s business briefing for our new franchise cafe ‘Lair.’”
When he bowed, the attendees clapped.
Despite hearing every insult imaginable, the guild auditorium was still half full. A considerable number of people had shown up.
See? Even if their mouths said no, their bodies were honest. It looked like everyone in this industry who could smell money had gathered here.
“Let’s get started right away.”
The lights dimmed, and a PPT appeared on the screen behind Lee Shin.
The large letters that filled the massive screen read:
Sangsaeng (Mutual Prosperity).
In the dictionary, it meant to live and grow together.
“The franchise cafe ‘Lair’ begins with the concept of mutual prosperity.”
In Guild Master, the business segment was a rather ambiguous piece of content.
If you found it annoying, you could easily ignore it and still play the game just fine. Since it required paying attention to so many things, many players quietly gave up on it.
It was far too deep if you only wanted to make money.
The game was already headache-inducing enough with all the studying involved. Who wanted to deal with this on top of everything? Most concluded it was better to spend that time raising hunters and making money through transfer fees. And since that wasn’t wrong, the business content was ultimately neglected.
A tragic piece of content.
But according to veteran teacher Lee Shin, there was no such thing as bad content in this world.
If you slightly twisted your perspective on this business content, you could achieve surprisingly powerful results.
‘If you don’t obsess over money and instead view it as a means to increase recognition and attract new fans, there’s nothing better.’
Sangsaeng had emerged from exactly that calculation.
“The mutual prosperity of Cafe Lair begins with hiring local residents from each area.”
Secure fans through employment.
“Additionally, a portion of the profits generated will be used to help underprivileged children, single-parent households, and low-income families in those regions.”
Promote the Mir Guild through good deeds.
Therefore.
“Stylish interiors, comfortable spaces, desserts personally consulted on by the head chef of the five-star Lee Do Hotel, and 100% Arabica coffee beans.”
“We will sell all of this at extremely reasonable prices.”
No matter how much psychological satisfaction there was, if accessibility was poor, the message wouldn’t spread. So they would give up a bit of tangible profit.
Instead, through that process.
“We will also sell goods like figures and mugs. We’re preparing signature goods that can only be purchased at our stores.”
They would promote the guild and its hunters while securing intangible benefits.
“Let’s take a quick look.”
Clap, clap.
At Lee Shin’s applause, the waiting business team members rushed out and handed something to the attendees.
They were prototype goods: sets of mugs with profile photos and autographs, adorable SD figure sets, and various fancy stationery items.
Some people’s eyes widened as they saw the figures’ joints move. Others were amazed as they held the mugs up to the fluorescent lights to examine the printing.
These were on a completely different level from the usual shameless goods designed only to squeeze money out of fans.
“You all know this better than anyone. These are completely different from the crude goods on the market. Even these character figures will appeal not only to fans but also to figure collectors.”
“If you become part of the Lair family, you will be able to sell high-quality goods at the prices shown on screen. Isn’t that surprising?”
Really? For real?
The extremely reasonable prices displayed on the screen.
On top of that, there were membership points, limited-edition goods, various events and promotions tied to the Mir Guild’s performance and records.
Lee Shin spoke with absolute confidence, declaring success.
‘What? This actually sounds normal?’
‘This is… the Destroyer Lee Shin?’
The attendees who had listened this far felt honestly a little excited.
The psychological satisfaction of contributing to the local community, stylish interiors and props, reasonable prices, excellent profit distribution, goods so desirable you’d want to take them home, and the name value of the Mir Guild and Lee Shin.
Although it wasn’t mentioned, there was also the trust that came from the backing of the Lee Do Group.
Everything was far more solid and excellent than expected. That was why they felt more excited than expected.
But.
‘There’s no way it can go this smoothly……’
‘There has to be something. Something he’s leaving out.’
Nevertheless, there was one thing that still made them uneasy.
And that was Lee Shin himself standing right there.
He had caused so many disasters.
The ability to turn even favorable conditions into unfavorable ones. That was the karmic debt Lee Shin had built up over the years.
No matter how good all the conditions presented so far were… even if they were at a level where an ordinary person would succeed without trouble, it still wasn’t enough.
To truly succeed, they needed one final step. Something that could completely flip the atmosphere.
And Lee Shin knew it too.
“I understand your concerns very well. My past is quite colorful, after all. Entertainment, distribution……”
Lee Shin raised his fingers one by one, but even all ten weren’t enough.
He awkwardly lowered his hands.
“I understand completely. This isn’t something you invest pocket change in. Honestly, if I were in your position, I would hesitate to work with me too.”
At this timing, appealing to emotion by saying he had changed would be a mistake.
This was a business briefing. The reason these people had come was ultimately because of the money that would end up in their own wallets.
So he had to show them clearly. His secret weapon.
The means by which they would all rake in a fortune!
“That’s why I prepared this.”
Clap.
At his clap, the screen changed, and exclamations flowed from the attendees.
Even Chae Dong-ha was among them.
“……Ah. So that’s what it was.”
What filled the entire screen was the theme song of the cartoon Lee Shin had been humming in the waiting room earlier.
The cute monsters from Monster Guild, the popular manga that had gone beyond being the president of children’s and middle schoolers’ hearts and was now sweeping even adults, rapidly expanding into a global IP.
“Our franchise Lair plans to release this in collaboration with the popular IP Monster Guild.”
An item that had caused a massive sensation in Lee Shin’s original world, but didn’t exist here.
“Ttibuttibuseal.”
It was the item he was certain would succeed.