Choi Jian (4)

"Th-this is..."

Choi Jian stared at me with dazed eyes, the look on her face making it plain she couldn't quite believe what had just happened to her.

"Th-that's impossible!"

"I'd have to agree with you there."

By any reasonable measure, what Awakened in the world ranked up just from making a single cup out of ice? If I hadn't seen it on the status window myself, I wouldn't have believed it either.

"That's how extraordinary your talent is, Jian."

At least, that was how I saw it. She had the potential to climb all the way to SSS-Rank, after all — of course something this simple would be enough to raise her grade in no time.

Put another way, it might also mean Choi Jian had never paid the slightest attention to developing her own abilities.

Puzzled, I asked her about it.

"...W-well, I had to run as many Gates as I could instead of training. I had debts to pay."

"Haa..."

Her answer pulled a sigh out of me before I could stop it.

"Just so I know — are you still planning to pay those debts off? After you rank up, I mean."

At that, Choi Jian dipped her head slightly. She fidgeted with the ice cup in her hands and gave a small nod.

"...She's still family. Once I have some breathing room, I want to help her."

Worried I might take that the wrong way, she rushed to tack on an excuse.

"B-but if you tell me not to, I won't!"

"...No. It's not my place to tell you what to do. If that's what it takes for you to feel at peace, then that's what you should do."

Forcing her to cut ties only to have it gnaw at her afterward would be worse.

"Just keep the part about helping her after you have breathing room of your own. That's all I ask. It's your money anyway — spend it however you like."

"Ah...!"

Choi Jian's face lit up, and she nodded so hard her head bounced.

"I will! I promise!"

"Right. Well."

Which meant it was about time we talked contracts.

Not that I know the first thing about this. Maybe I should find a lawyer and get some advice.

The lawyer I'd met last time came to mind — that face of his, the one that had looked like it would light up the moment Apex Guild started operating again.

For some reason, I had a feeling that if it was him, he'd throw himself into helping with this contract.

Once morning comes, I'll take Jian to see him.

For now, it seemed settled that Choi Jian would be sleeping at my place.

...She's the guild's first and most precious member. I can't exactly make her sleep on the floor.

I'd have to give her the bed. My back was going to hate me tomorrow.

Bzzzzzt—!

A vibration cut through my thoughts from somewhere nearby.

"Ah, that's my phone."

Choi Jian pulled out her cell, and her expression darkened.

"...It's my mother."

She looked like she'd rather do anything than pick up. I gave her a nod.

"You're not going to spend the rest of your life avoiding her. Might as well settle this properly."

"You're right, aren't you?"

Choi Jian brought the phone to her ear with a sigh.

"...Hello?"

The voice on the other end was loud enough to make both of us flinch.

"...I told you I didn't want to."

After that small protest, Choi Jian glanced at me and gave a slight nod.

"...?"

I had no idea what she meant, so I nodded back. Whatever she took that for, she smiled faintly and spoke into the phone.

"And I've decided which guild I'm signing with."

"I won't drag this out. I'm hanging up."

Something enormous came through the speaker, a sound closer to a scream than a voice, but Choi Jian hung up without so much as a flicker of concern.

Then she turned to me, looking very pleased with herself.

"I did well, didn't I?"

"Yes. You did great."

Why she felt the need to fish for a compliment from me, I had no idea.

"That's enough for today. Get some sleep. You can take the bed."

"Ah— I'll sleep on the floor...!"

"You're my precious first guild member. I ought to treat you properly. I can survive a night on the floor."

"B-but still...!"

Before she could get another word out, I grabbed a blanket and lay down on the floor.

"The floor's mine. I won't give it up even if you ask, so get up there and lie down."

"Ah, I really can't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just..."

"I used to sleep on newspaper out on the street, so I'll be fine. Go on, get up there."

"What?!"

In the end, Choi Jian had no choice but to climb onto the bed, hesitating the whole way.

"Th-thank you."

"Sleep well."

That was the last thing I said. The moment I closed my eyes, I was gone.

When I woke, Choi Jian was on the bed, watching me with careful, intent eyes.

"...What is it?"

"Euh— ah, nothing! I-I was just wondering when you'd wake up!"

"I'm up. Did something happen?"

"Um, well..."

Choi Jian held her phone out to me, gingerly, as if it might bite.

The screen was buried in messages from a contact labeled Mom.

"This is..."

"W-what do we do...?"

"What a piece of work."

It was a problem we were going to have to deal with sooner or later anyway.

"Send your mother a message. Tell her to meet us at a café near here — just to talk, face to face."

"W-what?!"

"We could ignore her, and it'd be fine, but then it'd look like we ran away. And besides..."

I pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen and set them on the desk.

I'd originally planned to find a lawyer and get proper help, but with things moving this fast, even a rough contract would be better than nothing.

"First of all, Jian — I've said it before, but I can't pay you much. At the start, I might not be able to pay you at all."

"Ah..."

"So here's what I came up with."

I wrote 15% on the contract.

"Fifteen percent of the guild. How does that sound?"

"F-fifteen?!"

Fifteen percent of Apex Guild.

"I figured locking you in with a salary or a signing bonus would be the wrong move. Better to give you an actual stake in the guild. And..."

Beneath the 15%, I wrote another figure: 1:9.

"I'm the one. You're the nine. That's your cut of Gate revenue."

"Whaaaaat?!"

The industry standard was 3:7 — three for the guild, seven for the Awakened. Guilds took that 30% as a fee for booking Gates, handling the sale of byproducts, and running the rest of the busywork, and that was just how the business worked.

"You're a future SSS-Rank, aren't you? And I can't even offer you a signing bonus. Cutting my take on the split is the least I can do."

"B-but then you won't make any money either!"

"I'll be fine."

If I'd been serious about running a guild for profit, it might have been a different story. Right now, all I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wanted was to raise Choi Jian properly.

"And anything less than this, I'd never be able to keep you for life."

"..."

Choi Jian looked at me — and then she huffed out a little laugh.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ah, and also..."

There was plenty more I could have added to the contract.

"That's enough."

"Sorry?"

"I'll sign. Just one more thing."

Choi Jian snatched the pen out of my hand, scribbled something down, and dashed her name across the page.

"Here. You sign too, Guild Master."

"H-hold on."

I looked at the sentence she had written.

"...What is this?"

"Hm?"

"A lifetime term is a bit much, even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for—"

I was happy about it, of course, but there were still limits to what the law actually allowed.

"We'll have a lawyer come in and clean up the details, but still..."

"I don't know about any of that."

"Sorry?"

Choi Jian shoved the contract at me, her lower lip pushed out in a pout.

"Just sign it already. You said you wanted a contract."

"...Yes, ma'am."

There was something in her intensity that told me not to argue. I nodded meekly and signed.

Still — it's good to see she's found some confidence.

She'd taken at least one step forward from the timid girl she'd been until now.

"Shall we head out, then?"

"Yes. My mother's on her way over right now, actually."

"Oh, is she?"

Instead of answering, Choi Jian held up a pair of texts that had just come in.

"She's intense."

"Hehe. Right?"

"Not scared anymore?"

"Mmm. Honestly, I still dread it a little..."

"If you'd rather not, you don't have to. I can go meet her myself."

It was only a preliminary contract, but a contract was a contract. There was no reason I couldn't handle this as her manager.

Choi Jian hesitated, then shook her head.

"...No. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠want to face her properly. And I want to tell her myself, with my head held high."

"Alright then."

If that was how she felt, I had no reason to stop her.

"Let's go."

I led her out of the house — to tell Choi Jian's mother that I would be taking her with me.