Chapter 18
Chapter 18
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Money Poured into Justice Guild
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Damn, so she's an A-rank healer who's rich enough to drop hundreds of billions?
I was dead sure Maestro would snag her... Their staff chug potions while working. Willingly.
Recruiting her doesn't mean it's over, right? Maestro's still gonna drool over her.
I'm the one who said my hand would shake lol What, no one thinks there's gotta be something wrong with that girl for her to join Justice Guild? lololol
"These bastards are sneakily sharp."
I smacked my lips as I read the forum post about me.
"Flawed healer, yeah, sure."
A-rank, but I still couldn't unleash full A-rank power.
I couldn't do anything about my skills stuck at 'Beginner I' level right now, but that didn't stop the impatience from creeping in.
A few days had passed since the Jamsil trip.
The twins headed to school, and Kang Han and Jang Su-ho left early for training.
They definitely didn't go to the Association.
With the guild's training hall in that state, they must've gone to some private hunter gym.
In the end, today it was just me and Han Ji-seong left in the office.
More precisely, Han Ji-seong was working, and I was lounging on the sofa, browsing the hunter community.
Ding~
A cheerful notification rang from Han Ji-seong's phone.
Moments later, I heard a gasp from behind him.
"What's up?"
Han Ji-seong showed me his phone screen with slightly trembling hands.
"Even if you shove it in my face, it's too far to see."
"Money... money's come into the guild account."
"Oh, tax refund or something?"
"No, not that... It's about 300 million... What is this money?"
300 million.
"Ah! That's gotta be from selling the mana stones. Yeah, it's about time."
I thought it was something big.
I tried to flop back down to browse the community again, but Han Ji-seong's shock hadn't worn off.
"It's too much. Way too much. Ice mana stones couldn't have sold for this much..."
"Normally, yeah."
I finally sat up fully and took a sip of the coffee on the table.
"But I sold them at auction. Ice mana stones are hot right now for the season."
"Hot season... Ah, summer's coming soon."
Han Ji-seong, true to his Justice Guild brain, nailed the point instantly.
Right now in spring, it was prime time for ice mana stones to make mana stone AC units that would sell like crazy in summer.
"Ice mana stones don't hit the market much anyway."
Not many guilds bother with glacier dungeons—hard to mine, and the payout's meh compared to others.
"Still, it's more profitable than I thought. Oh, Maestro bought them all, huh."
Checking the mana stone exchange app, there was the receipt showing Maestro Guild had snapped up every ice mana stone I'd put up for auction.
Even paying a premium before the bidding started.
Maker guilds and their money.
Even so, an image flashed in my mind of Jeong Je-hwa, owner of Maestro, moping sadly in some underground corner.
"Nayeo-ju-ssi has it all planned out."
"Of course. Just follow me and you're golden."
Han Ji-seong, back to his composed self, asked me.
"So, out of this, how much do you plan to recover as investment capital?"
"Recover?"
What the hell was that?
"I'm not recovering any."
"Pardon?"
"The guild's got more places than we can count that need cash. Why recover? Reinvest."
I shrugged as his blue eyes shook like there was an earthquake.
"Let's put out the most urgent fires first."
"Yawn, what's all this on a weekend morning?"
Lee Yu-eul came down, still rubbing sleep from her eyes.
For an awakener with sharp senses, the noise of dismantling the shoddy gym equipment in the training hall must've been impossible to ignore.
"Perfect timing. Move that treadmill outside for me."
"The treadmill? Uh? Where'd all the other stuff go?"
"Starting renovations on the training hall today. We don't need any of this junk anymore."
"For real? Awesome!"
"Hey, Yu-eul. Come help with this side. Can't get the stairs up alone—bad angle."
Jang Su-ho, who'd come down first and was already hauling weights, grinned brightly.
Not just talkin' A-rank—he lifted and carried like it was nothing.
The big treadmill needed backup, though.
"Got it! Grab here?"
Lee Yu-eul, now wide awake, rushed over.
After the Eu-su duo huffed their way up the narrow stairs, a woman timidly descended into the basement.
"Are you the one who commissioned the training hall remodel?"
She had long, waist-length curly hair and a gentle face, speaking in a soft voice.
"Yes. Gu A-ri-ssi?"
"Y-yes. I'm Gu A-ri."
So this is what she looked like.
Pretending to guide her inside the training hall, I checked her out in the mirror.
Finding a contractor for the remodel mattered for cost-effectiveness, sure, but the real goal was getting familiar with Gu A-ri.
She was mouthwatering potential.
"Construction costs as we discussed over the phone. How long will it take?"
"Hmm, for this size..."
Gu A-ri looked around the training hall before answering.
"About a week, I think."
"A week."
With what I knew of Gu A-ri's skills, she could finish in a day.
But she was dragging it out to hide her true abilities.
"Um, if that's too long... maybe five days..."
Misreading my reaction, she peeked nervously.
So soft.
Going through all that crap with a personality this squishy.
No wonder I worried about this twenty-year-old's future.
"No, a week's fine. Just make sure it's thorough."
Well, if my plan worked, she wouldn't have to walk that thorny path.
"Yes! Of course! I'll do a solid job!"
Her clenched fists were small too.
I left her with a "please take care" and turned to Jang Su-ho and Lee Yu-eul, who stood blankly.
"Wake Yu-chan. We're training outside today."
We arrived at Cheonggyecheon Stream right out front.
"Training... here?"
"No better spot to run nearby."
I wasn't even surprised anymore.
"What about the guild master? Kang Han coming too?"
"Nah."
Lee Yu-chan shook his head.
"Han-i hyung and Su-ho hyung head to the mountains."
"Mountains?"
Lee Yu-chan's callused finger pointed to the tall peaks nearby.
"Like Bukhansan or Bukaksan—running up unmarked trails and junk."
Jang Su-ho shuddered at the words.
"Ugh, that's rough for me too. Heart races every time Han-i hyung says 'training.'"
But why are you smiling?
As I eyed him suspiciously, Jang Su-ho finished warming up and grinned confidently.
"Nayeo-ju's here today, so let's just do light stamina training."
He looked reliable enough as he addressed the twins.
"Warm-up jog?"
"Nah, more than that."
"Aw, went to bed late last night—I'm beat."
Lee Yu-chan grumbled but followed Jang Su-ho's lead obediently.
A glimpse of their usual training dynamic.
"Let's start then."
I did jumping jacks to warm up too.
Because I had a plan, Nayeo-ju style.
Until I knew what their idea of 'light jogging' was.
"Huff, huff—damn, ugh! How long we running?!"
"Sis, tired already?"
"We haven't even done a third of a third yet."
"Noona, your stamina's trash as it looks."
"You guys are the weird ones!"
Monster hunters, these kids.
Over 15 minutes in, not a drop of sweat on their foreheads.
"Hold up—stop."
"Aw, heart rate's dropping."
Jang Su-ho whined, but my life-flashed-before-my-eyes ears weren't listening.
"I'll follow on that."
I pointed to the city-shared bikes, Ttareung.
"Oh, cool. You on that, we can really cut loose."
...Friggin' infuriating monsters.
I thought it was a bold countermeasure, hopping on the bike all confident—but it didn't last.
"What kind of maniacs lap Cheonggyecheon five times."
I ditched the bike and collapsed on a bench.
"We'll do one more lap to finish up."
Not even shocking anymore.
They finally panted a bit—looked almost human.
Even beagles tire at that pace.
Hellhounds, that's what they were. Hellhounds.
"Y-yeah, go for it."
No strength to wave, so I mumbled.
I must've dozed off briefly when Lee Yu-eul shook my shoulder.
"Sis, we're done."
"Ow, my legs are killing me."
But the short nap restored enough strength to walk.
"Ugh, starving to death."
"Me too."
"Don't say dying. But yeah, famished."
The growing teens and big-eater Jang Su-ho clutched their stomachs, faces pitiful.
They're hungry—gotta feed 'em something.
I pointed to Gwangjang Market that caught my eye.
"Dinner there before heading back?"