Bahu's Debt Collection
“Negotiate your ransom, or fight each other to the death. Is that what you’re saying?”
“You vile wretch! Don’t tell me you’re the one who stole our crown and murdered our father!”
Eyes bulging. Throats bobbing. Veins standing out like cords. They looked ready to burst a temple.
Exactly the scene Kim Hwang-je had expected.
Once a common enemy was declared, people always found a way to unite as one.
“How entertaining. Keep going.”
Kim Hwang-je smiled.
The vice chairmen, sensing the strange atmosphere, slowly closed their mouths. Running a conglomerate wasn’t something done on luck alone. Reading the room and knowing who held the power was part of their job.
‘Damn it…’
‘Hmm…’
Both men sealed their lips. Too many unknowns hung in the air. On top of that, the needle of the internal compass embedded in their bodies pointed straight at Kim Hwang-je. Hundreds of monster eyes glared silently from every direction.
“Well? Is that all?”
Kim Hwang-je sat upon the throne framed by the imposing black wooden carvings. The sheer presence of the woodwork was overwhelming. The vice chairmen’s subordinates exchanged glances.
‘Team Leader, this isn’t the time for us to fight each other.’
‘Escape route on the right?’
‘Wait for the signal.’
‘Understood.’
The signal came from Cho Young-bae’s team leader. He drew a dagger from his coat and hurled it at Kim Hwang-je.
A-Class Throwing Technique — Blue Short
The thin blade flew straight for Kim Hwang-je’s Adam’s apple. What had looked like one dagger multiplied into several in an instant. Noticing Kim Hwang-je’s eyes widen, the team leader grinned in triumph.
My dagger is faster than the eye!
“KUUUUUUUUUURGH!”
A terrible roar erupted. What everyone had mistaken for decorative wood suddenly shook its leaf-laden branches and rose. Clang, clang, clang! Metal rang against metal. The flying daggers struck the iron-like leaves and clattered to the floor.
The trees had awakened. The evil spirit trees swung their massive leaves like hands, gripping the railings and bellowing.
“KUUUUUURGH!”
“Shoot! Shoot them dead! Kill Kim Hwang-je and it’s over!”
Cho Jin-hwi screamed. At once, his hunters drew Uzi submachine guns from their coats. The guns spat fire.
Tatatatatatatatang!
Bullets ricocheted off the evil spirit trees’ bodies. While Kim Hwang-je watched with interest, the escort team began their desperate escape.
“Vice Chairman! Get on my back! There’s a path to the right!”
“Covering fire! Don’t let the orcs and trolls through!”
“Uzis won’t stop trolls!”
“Less talking, more shooting! Run! Shoot!”
“Move! Move!”
Utter chaos.
“KUUUURGH!”
A bullet-riddled evil spirit tree opened its maw and vomited ectoplasm. Thick green spirit matter splattered behind the fleeing men. Several were struck and collapsed, screaming.
Yet the escape proved easier than expected. Kim Hwang-je merely watched in silence. The cheering orcs and goblins shouted, but few actually gave chase.
“Is he letting us go?”
“No idea. Just break through and get out!”
Thanks to that, Cho Young-bae’s escort team smashed through a lone door and sprinted into the corridor.
“Wait, why are there so many doors here? Which way do we go?”
Cho Jin-hwi shouted. Cho Young-bae frowned at his brother’s words but kept his composure.
The colosseum ceiling had been glass, revealing a blue sea. This was an underwater dungeon.
“This appears to be a seabed-type dungeon. If we go up, there should be a submarine or some escape route. Smash through walls or doors and head upward.”
“How did he even bring us here?”
“Now’s not the time for that, you idiot! From the looks of it, Kim Hwang-je killed Father and set this trap from the beginning!”
“Got it, hyung. Smash every door! Find the way out!”
The brothers gnashed their teeth, battering doors and racing onward. The thunderous destruction echoed through the prison.
* * *
After smashing exactly forty-eight doors—and, just in case, breaking every box they found beyond them—Cho Young-bae collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath. Cho Jin-hwi stood a short distance away, arms crossed, glaring at his exhausted brother. The thunderous voices of orcs echoed from the far end of the passage, making the subordinates flinch and clutch their Uzis tighter. Everyone was pale and drenched in sweat that reeked.
Strangely, no enemies pursued them.
“How long are you planning to sit there? You should’ve built up your stamina.”
“…Huff… huff… With an escort armed with Uzis in this narrow corridor… even the bravest orc won’t just walk in… huff…”
Cho Young-bae panted. Cho Jin-hwi clicked his tongue and stared at his brother’s belly. Watching the man who usually gave orders from comfort now unable to handle physical exertion was repulsive.
Unable to bear the gaze any longer, Cho Young-bae spoke.
“What are you looking at?”
“I was just thinking it might be better to decide the next chairman right now.”
“What did you just say?!”
“Listen carefully, hyung. Every second we waste resting is precious.”
“You disgusting bastard! After everything I’ve done for you!”
Crash!
Fury boiling over, Cho Young-bae slammed his fist into a nearby door. The wood cracked and splintered.
“Huh…?”
At that moment, a cold, mist-like vapor suddenly flowed beneath their feet. A chill ran through everyone’s bodies, and white breath poured from their mouths.
Cho Jin-hwi’s eyes widened.
“What did you touch?!”
“I-I don’t know! It was the same as every other door we broke!”
But excuses were pointless. From the far end of the corridor came an eerie sound of flowing water. As they listened, the sound gradually transformed into a voice.
“…Damage to imperial property… compensation…”
The words themselves were ominous, but the scraping, metallic voice that sent shivers down their spines was far crueler.
“U-Uwaaaah!”
Tatatatatang!
As the mist surged forward and swallowed the corridor in darkness, the terrified soldiers opened fire toward the voice.
“Stop! You idiots! The ricochets!”
“Aaaagh!”
The panicked barrage did not cease. Sparks flew everywhere, yet the mist only grew thicker.
“D-Damn it! My legs won’t move… Carry me! Hurry!”
“Vice Chairman… m-my legs won’t move either!”
“What?!”
Their legs were frozen solid, completely immobile.
A crimson flash suddenly erupted beyond the dense mist. Red light seeped through the fog like blood, dyeing everything crimson. Click, click. Soldiers who had emptied their magazines kept pulling useless triggers.
Then, from within the red mist, a golden mask appeared. The mouth of the terrifying golden mask slowly opened in the silence.
“Pay your debt, or become a slave!”
“Uwaaaagh!”
Screams echoed down the corridor.
* * *
Kim Hwang-je was enjoying the evening meal prepared by the prison’s head chef—an orc. A soup made from sea slime gelatin accompanied a main course of charcoal-grilled baby turtle.
“This dish is quite different from what we serve in the royal castle.”
“Kurook kurook. Thank you, Your Majesty. Kurook kurook.”
“Your voice is rather peculiar.”
“Kurook kurook. Yes, Your Majesty. An orc’s lungs differ from a human’s, so it cannot be helped. Kurook kurook.”
“I see.”
While Kim Hwang-je pondered the anatomical differences between humans and orcs, a refreshing scream echoed from the far end of the corridor.
“Uwaaaah!”
“Oh? Already met the quota?”
Kim Hwang-je set down his spoon and rubbed his hands together. Soon, an ancient necromancer emerged from the mist, accompanied by a swaying shadow.
“Gruuuurgh…”
[The Emaciated Undertaker]
The brainless, sorrowful ancient necromancer floated in midair. He dragged the two vice chairmen behind him, gripping their heads in his skeletal hands. The men, now firmly in the necromancer’s grasp, seemed to have finally accepted their situation.
“P-Please spare us! Shares? Cash? Land? We’ll give you anything! Please, please!”
“I-I can offer more! I have gold bars! How much do you want?!”
“Hmm. Gold. That’s nice.”
Right on cue, the orc chef approached and sprinkled gold dust over Kim Hwang-je’s turtle steak. Cho Jin-hwi’s eyes widened at the absurd sight. Kim Hwang-je savored a bite of the steak and spoke.
“Bahu. How much did you say those doors were worth?”
“…Most esteemed Your Majesty…”
Another golden mask peeked out from behind him. The two vice chairmen’s faces twisted in horror at the sight. Bahu, however, looked genuinely delighted. His junior had arrived.
“…They have damaged the precious property of this ancient prison… All of it is irreplaceable… the legacy of the ancient empire…”
Half truth, half lie. After all, only Kim Hwang-je could decide the value of this dilapidated facility. If he called it free, it was free. If he called it expensive, it was expensive. In the end, it was whatever the seller wanted.
“…Please forgive this one’s foolishness, Your Majesty… In my humble opinion… even the door handles alone are worth at least a hundred billion won each.”
Bahu could not hide the laughter in his voice. Having always been on the receiving end, he was now in the position to take, and the feeling was simply too good to conceal.
The two vice chairmen turned deathly pale and began to tremble.
“W-What did you say?!”
“What nonsense is this?! A hundred billion for a door handle?!”
It had to be a joke. Surely it was a joke. But the next words were even more outrageous.
“…Door handles… hinges… iron bars… scratches on the floor… All of them are worth over a hundred billion won… Moreover, the compensation for attacking Your Majesty… even a trillion would not suffice…”
Right on cue, the undertaker bellowed.
“Until the debt is paid, even death shall avoid you!”
Bahu lifted his mask at the perfect moment. Beneath it was a cheerfully grinning skull. Every horrifying possibility raced through the brothers’ minds.
Become undead? Because they couldn’t pay? That couldn’t happen. They were on the verge of seizing the Gaya Group—how could they let it end like this?!
The desperate will to survive surged within them like a storm. The first to speak was the ambitious younger brother, Cho Jin-hwi.
“Your Majesty! I shall repay the full trillion won! Grant me ownership of the Gaya Group!”
“Oh?”
Kim Hwang-je was genuinely surprised. Of course. With that level of quick thinking, one could at least attempt a coup.
Cho Young-bae’s eyes widened at his brother’s sudden declaration. He muttered hollowly.
“You’ll repay a trillion? A trillion?”
Cho Jin-hwi pressed his advantage.
“Your Majesty! If we liquidate all current assets and gradually reorganize the Gaya Group, it is possible! Or, if Your Majesty entrusts the group to me, I shall return it with a value of one trillion—nay, far more!”
Only then did Cho Young-bae understand his brother’s plan. Cho Jin-hwi was turning the deal from an immediate lump sum into an installment plan—one that was actually quite reasonable.
How? The absurd scale of the Gaya Group. Its combined assets easily exceeded four hundred trillion won. Furthermore, the total assets of Korea’s major corporations surpassed three thousand trillion won. In other words, if they survived and devoured other companies, it might be difficult at first, but looking a hundred years ahead?
“I-It’s possible! It can be done!”
They could transfer a trillion won in assets into Kim Hwang-je’s name. Real estate, physical assets—everything could be converted. They would become professional managers, but living was far better than dying. When survival was at stake, what words couldn’t be spoken?
Kim Hwang-je was genuinely taken aback by the resolve in their eyes.
What… what is this? They’re actually going to repay it? Should I have asked for more?
Kim Hwang-je blinked in disbelief. Bahu was forced to work because of a mere three million gold, yet these two were boldly declaring they would repay a trillion won.
Finally, swallowing hard, Kim Hwang-je spoke.
“I’ll lock you both up for now. Come up with a plan and submit it in writing.”
Even a blank page was easier to handle with two people. With two heads, they would surely propose a better method.
Kim Hwang-je leaned back deeply into his chair.
Benedict had been right.
Kim Hwang-je had an awful lot of (other people’s) money.