Loyalty Test (5)
We returned to Eden Camp at once.
Hyun Si-woon finished the cleanup with brisk efficiency.
Only two partners left now.
Owl.
And Midas's Hand.
Originally I planned to recruit another partner guild after the tests were over.
He decided against it.
Honestly, he was tired. Tired of being dragged into these emotional power plays… and above all, he had no time to waste on trivialities. Training alone kept him busy, and the sixth floor preparations were already looming.
"We're stopping at these two partner guilds."
Si-woon made the declaration to the members gathered in the conference room.
"One information guild, one merchant guild. Perfect balance."
He laid out the new distribution structure. From now on, every supply of goods would flow exclusively through Midas's Hand. As for the profits those goods generated—the total that five partner guilds would once have split—he would divide it cleanly in half. Half to Midas's Hand, half to the Owl Guild. Stable funding to help both grow, nothing more. How they built and ran their guilds was entirely their own business.
"And Yeon-ho."
"Yeah?"
"With Midas's Hand, let's just invite them straight to Eden Camp."
"Oh, really?"
"They passed the test, so… we can trust them."
Midas's Hand had no combat capability to speak of. They were pure merchants. Only three members total. Leaving them in the middle of Seoul risked pointless trouble—or worse, a Ranker taking an interest. Better to keep them close.
"Okay. I actually wanted that myself. I'll go pick them up."
Baek Yeon-ho answered readily. The affection he felt for a partner he had personally scouted ran deep.
Around the same time.
Deep inside the abandoned electronics market of Yongsan, Seoul.
"Hoo."
The God of Market Price, Park Du-shik, exhaled a long stream of cigarette smoke.
"Whoa, boss, you're actually smoking the good stuff?"
Behind him, a young man half-sprawled in a computer chair grumbled. His name was Seo Jun-young, thirty-five. Alias: Money Manipulator. Before the world ended he had been a fund manager of some renown—gifted at reading the flow of numbers and weaponizing human greed and fear to move markets.
"I thought you quit…"
A decent pack of cigarettes went for 100 TC. One stick was five Tower Coins.
"What, you look restless."
"Yeah. No word."
Two full days had passed since they reported that the Owl Guild had approached them as fellow partners. Since then, silence from the Wandering Merchant's side. Today was even a scheduled supply day—and the appointed hour had long since come and gone.
"Something actually happen to them?"
"Come on, oppa. Don't get so jumpy."
From a corner, a woman carefully polishing a worn luxury handbag lifted her head. Hong Yu-ra, thirty-four. An art dealer and luxury authenticator who had once worked the VIP circuit of Cheongdam. She excelled at seeing the true value of an object and wrapping it in a story that set desire ablaze.
"If something happened, we just figure out our next move. Why are you so wound up?"
"Still…"
Park Du-shik stared out at the ash-gray city. In this ruined world he wanted to build his own board one more time. Those absurd goods the Wandering Merchant carried… looking at them had made his heart race, ridiculously enough. They had been the only hope left for him to exercise his talent. And now that hope might be in danger.
"Please be safe…"
He was still forcing down the anxiety that burned as black as the cigarette when it happened.
Ding!
Mail has arrived.
The mailbox icon in the upper right sparkled with a clear chime.
Huh?
He had the community board open; his eyes snapped wide.
"It's here!"
Park Du-shik shot to his feet.
"What?"
"Eek—!"
Startled, Seo Jun-young toppled backward with his chair; Hong Yu-ra dropped the bag.
Reading the contents carefully, Park Du-shik shouted,
"Get up. Everyone follow me!"
"Boss, where are we suddenly—?"
"New contract."
Seo Jun-young and Hong Yu-ra exchanged a look. The same emotion rose in both pairs of eyes. The anxious waiting was over.
A few hours later.
When they reached the appointed suburban garden, Baek Yeon-ho appeared.
Gulp.
Park Du-shik swallowed dryly. The other party was the Wandering Merchant's proxy. Caution was always required. He hurried to bow his head.
"Sorry we're late."
"Not at all. I'm the one who should apologize for summoning you out to the suburbs on short notice."
Baek Yeon-ho's voice was even. But Park Du-shik did not dive straight into business. Carefully, voice thick with concern, he asked first,
"Are you all right, by the way?"
"…?"
"The Owl. We heard the Wandering Merchant's safety might be compromised… if there's anything we can do to help—"
"No need to worry about that. First I should offer an explanation. Recently we ran a small test on our partner guilds."
"A test?"
Park Du-shik's eyes went wide.
Baek Yeon-ho explained that the Owl Guild had been on their side all along, and that every recent upheaval had been a trap designed to root out traitors.
"…!"
"…Huh."
"Good lord…"
All three stood with mouths agape. Scattered puzzle pieces in their heads snapped together in an instant. Owl's sudden approach. The Wandering Merchant's notice that supplies would stop. Goosebumps raced down their spines. Even the Owl—hot on the community boards—had been the Wandering Merchant's agent?
"As a result of that test, the only partners left standing are you and Owl. Just two."
"…"
"And our leader has decided to entrust the entire distribution of the Wandering Merchant's goods to Midas's Hand from now on."
Thud.
Park Du-shik felt his heart drop. Full authority over all distribution? In this ruined world, that meant handing them the exclusive wholesale rights to the most powerful, most monopolistic merchandise in existence.
"W-wait. Then… the other partners are all…?"
Hong Yu-ra asked in a trembling voice.
Baek Yeon-ho merely shrugged.
"They simply paid the price for breach of contract."
That offhand remark made the three of them swallow hard again. The board they had wanted—no, a board so vast they had never even imagined it—was unfolding before their eyes. And they had been given the chance to become its sole players.
"Ah, and one more thing."
Snap!
Baek Yeon-ho flicked his fingers. On the roof of a large nearby building, a giant form appeared.
Whoosh—!
A violent wind slammed through the park, sending tree branches thrashing wildly.
"Aaah!"
"Wh-what is that?!"
"Eek!"
The three instinctively hunched down. Before their eyes a massive bird out of myth lowered its heavy body and landed.
Pungjo.
Faced with that noble, overwhelming presence, Park Du-shik's party lost the power of speech. In that moment they understood, bone-deep, just how far beyond their dimension the beings they were dealing with truly were.
"Climb on. We'll draw up the new contract at our base."
"R-ride… this?"
"…Base?"
"Where are we going?"
Baek Yeon-ho smirked at their dazed questions.
"To Eden."
After Baek Yeon-ho left, the members each began their martial training. Hyun Si-woon moved off on his own as well. It was time to teach Yoon Seo-a in earnest. Naturally, Ha-wol's spirit form floated above him with arms crossed.
"Come here."
Yoon Seo-a hurried over with quick little steps. Color had returned to the child's face; her eyes were bright with life—thanks to the tiny amount of Moon Spirit Divine Art energy he had given her.
"Starting today, you become my disciple and will receive transmission of the martial art called Moon Spirit Divine Art."
—Hold it right there, you brat.
Hm?
Si-woon asked inwardly at Ha-wol's sudden interruption.
—Stop for a moment. Since you have chosen to become a master, receive the Nine Bows of Courtesy from that child. It is the most sacred rite for forging the master-disciple bond, and a tradition of our Wol-ryeong.
Eh?
Nine Bows of Courtesy? Bowing nine times?
Do we have to? I never even did that for you.
—You insolent little—!
Ha-wol's face flushed scarlet in an instant.
—Have you forgotten how you first met this lady? You ignored me for days after discovering me, dared to threaten me, and stuffed me into your inventory! After such rudeness, of course the Nine Bows had to be skipped!
Ah.
Ahh.
Right. He remembered.
—In any case, that is between you and me. This child is different! As the legitimate successor of Wol-ryeong, she must observe proper courtesy!
So I'm not a successor of Wol-ryeong?
—You were planning to use weapons other than the sword anyway, were you not?
Well, yeah.
Hoo.
Si-woon sighed inwardly. Fine.
I may not want to bow to Ha-wol, but receiving bows from someone else… I can manage that.
"Seo-a."
"Yes, Master!"
Yoon Seo-a answered stoutly.
Hm.
The address "Master" left Si-woon with a strange feeling—an unexpected, heavy sense of responsibility.
"From this moment we begin the rite that binds master and disciple. Offer the Nine Bows of Courtesy with proper form."
"Nine Bows of Courtesy?"
"Each time I nod, you bow once. Nine times in total."
"Yes, understood."
It was a ceremony that would seem bizarre to any modern person, yet Yoon Seo-a did not complain. He was the only one who could make the pain stop. Her father had said so: you can trust him completely and follow.
Swoosh.
Yoon Seo-a lowered her small head until her forehead touched the earth in a deep bow.
—Hear me, Heaven and Earth: this child becomes the successor of Wol-ryeong this day…
Ha-wol murmured, watching the bowing girl with solemn eyes.
Si-woon did not simply stand idle either. With every bow Yoon Seo-a's expression grew more earnest, and a strange solemnity settled over his own heart as well.
Right. I never had a family.
Si-woon pressed a hand to his chest. That hollow space—meant to be filled by the word "family," yet one that had never once known warmth…
Bow.
Each time she bowed, the three syllables of Yoon Seo-a's name settled clearly into that place. It was responsibility, and at the same time a warmth of an unfamiliar kind.
Now Hyun Si-woon had one more thing to protect. His teammates. The residents of Eden Camp. And this small disciple who had only just entered his world.
Not bad.
A faint smile found its way onto Si-woon's lips without him noticing. In this hellish world, he was experiencing for the first time what it meant to become someone's adult.