Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Maestro's Statement
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"Hehehe."
This is fun.
I'd already been sprawled out on the sofa in the training hall for hours, glued to my phone screen.
"Money Ghost Sis, what're you staring at?"
"Oh, Cheong-su. No, check this out. The comments are hilarious."
"That kid's secretly such an attention hog."
Jang Su-ho, who'd been sitting next to me for hours watching me scroll through comments, clicked his tongue.
"Hey! Tch!"
Secretly? Totally!
"Oh? There's something about you too, Sis."
Lee Yu-eul had snuck over and was scrolling through my phone, pointing at something.
"Huh? About me?"
"Yeah, right here."
Who was trash-talking me now?
But there my name really was, at the tip of Lee Yu-eul's finger.
"Why are they talking about me? Pointlessly."
"How's it pointless? You're in Justice Guild too, Sis."
Smart Lee Yu-chan chimed in.
"Oh, right?"
Come to think of it, yeah.
"Heh heh heh."
"Ah, Sis is laughing like that again."
"Chills."
These brats.
I was just thinking it was time to cut their lunch budgets to assert some guild leader authority when...
"What? Maestro dropped an official statement."
Jang Su-ho said that and quickly cranked up the TV volume.
[ "Breaking news. Maestro, at the center of the controversy, has just released an official statement. They've been sticking to a no-comment policy, but... Ah, sorry. Correction: This statement is issued in the name of Maestro Guild Master, Master." ]
What got into that guy?
I set my phone aside for a moment and sat up.
The news channel had switched from the anchor to broadcasting the full statement.
The statement, stamped prominently with Maestro's gear emblem, read as follows:
"Whoa. Wasn't Master in hiding?"
"The internet's exploding. Says Master emerged from his cave."
"But doesn't this put the Association in a tough spot?"
"Everyone knew they were lying from the start anyway."
As they chattered, I read the statement.
And double-checked the name at the bottom.
'Jackpot.'
I'd been the one setting up the clash between the Association and Maestro from the beginning.
But I hadn't expected Jeong Je-hwa to put his own name on the line like this.
An unexpected windfall.
"Heh heh heh heh."
Whether Jeong Je-hwa really wrote it or not, the statement was brutally straightforward.
It nailed the heart of the controversy so precisely that no one could misunderstand it even if they tried.
And that finger pointed straight at the Association's lie.
"Perfect. It's perfect."
People's trust in the prediction system, plus the reputation of the world's top craftsman, Master.
"Whoa, people are ripping into the Association."
"They're asking why the president lied. Total chaos."
Success.
In planting solid distrust toward the Association—especially its president.
Jo Gye-young, whose image was already poor, now teetered like a reed in the wind from just those three letters: 'Master'.
"Kids, I'm heading out for a bit..."
I was packing up to head to Jamsil when...
Thud!
A heavy crash echoed from Han Ji-seong's workshop.
Bang!
"What? Im Cheong-su!"
I flung open the door to find Im Cheong-su pinned under a massive black cauldron, and Han Ji-seong straining to lift it.
"Hyung, get out."
Jang Su-ho rushed in and effortlessly hoisted the cauldron.
"Hey, Im Cheong-su. You okay?"
"M-my knee..."
Im Cheong-su grimaced, clutching his left knee.
If even this patient guy was like this, it had to be bad.
"Let me see."
Strengthen Body and Mind
(Physical Healing)
Once I fully healed him, my stamina plummeted straight to 70.
If I'd left it, he'd have been in a cast for weeks at least.
This damn skill.
Gotta level it up quick.
"You idiot! That's why I told you not to touch that heavy thing!"
"B-but I need to make potions! I only have the cauldron I brought from home!"
Im Cheong-su yelled, feeling wronged.
"Cauldron? Isn't that the one for burning firewood?"
"I was gonna make it work somehow with the mana stone furnace..."
"Sigh, you burn victim."
Mana furnaces are like induction burners, not gas flames.
Putting that thick cauldron on it to brew potions? Efficiency aside, it wouldn't produce proper results.
"And I usually move it alone just fine! I just tripped over a book!"
Sure enough, a dozen books were scattered at his feet.
"Sorry, Cheong-su. I should've cleaned up better."
"No, it's not your fault, hyung..."
"Still a problem."
I scanned Han Ji-seong's workshop.
The space Seong Yona had made was roomy.
For one person, anyway.
But with that cauldron and storage for herbs and dungeon materials, it was way too cramped for two.
"How about using the recovery room instead?"
I thought of the room set up for guild members to recover stamina fast after training.
"I tried it at dawn today, but no dice. The regeneration system in there undoes the material processing."
"Ah, right."
"Then maybe I move my workshop to the recovery room..."
"How am I supposed to research with people coming and going after training?"
The guy's sensitive enough already.
I sorted my thoughts and held up two fingers.
"Two problems. One: no space. I'll line up a space ability user ASAP. Until then, share it. Two: the cauldron."
Im Cheong-su was poised to be Justice Guild's cash cow.
Couldn't have him working that beast on a mana furnace.
"I'll handle that."
I was headed to Jamsil anyway.
Im Cheong-su, raised in the mountains, had used a regular cauldron till now, but he needed proper gear going forward.
Items cost money.
Crafting items cost even more.
"Cash is a bit tight."
But there's always a way.
Me, Nayeo-ju, rubber check queen? No way.
After boldly promising the guildies, I arrived at the item shop on the 4th floor of Maestro.
"Here to sell some monster drops from Justice Guild."
"Yes, ma'am. Room 15 is open."
Like the mana stone shop, someone comes once you're in the room.
I followed the staff to room 15 and sat obediently.
Table, two chairs.
That was it in the snug space.
Sitting, I tapped my foot, pondering.
'How to squeeze out max cash?'
Last time with the ice mana stones, I got lucky.
Summer was coming.
No such boost this time.
But to get Im Cheong-su a proper cauldron setup, regular prices wouldn't cut it.
Still, I had my ace.
Even if Justice Guild was hot right now, it was still just a small guild.
Hence the tiny room.
The staff coming out would probably be low-level.
'Hope it's a total newbie.'
As my thoughts deepened...
"What?"
Noise outside.
Should I check? I half-stood when the door to room 15 flew open.
"Ah, hello!"
What.
Why's she here.
"F-First time meeting you, Nayeo-ju-ssi. I'm Geum Eun-dong, Maestro's vice guild leader!"
Expecting a flustered newbie, the vice guild leader showed up instead.