The Chairman's Secret Bow
While Jung Da-yeon and the butler were making calls left and right, Kim Hwang-je was starting to feel hungry.
He was beginning to miss Gaya Hotel, where room service was always within reach.
Ah, he wanted something delicious.
Just then, Seo Jun-seo returned after finishing his call.
“Boss. We’ve made contact with Gaya Group. Chairman Jo Chun-ki says he wants to greet you personally.”
Kim Hwang-je swallowed hard.
That villainous old man was inviting him directly.
“When does he want to meet?”
“They were originally planning a simple family meal, but he wants to invite you as well. This evening.”
“Evening?”
Kim Hwang-je checked the time. It was already 2 p.m.
That man wasn’t from Gaya—he was Korean through and through!
The kind of fellow who’d grill steak in a lightning storm.
Well, at least he’d get a good dinner out of it.
Then a thought struck him.
He hadn’t slept at all, so why wasn’t he tired?
Kim Hwang-je opened his status window.
[Stamina 22.91544323]
[+10 Stamina from the Emperor’s Talisman, +10 to all stats from the Emperor’s Gold Crown]
“Whoa…”
Kim Hwang-je’s mouth fell open.
That was absurdly high.
Even his base stamina of ‘2’ had been honed through manual labor, but the items had pushed it up by 20, and the kingdom inside his body, the talisman spirits, the fisherman, and Bahu had added another 0.9 through their hard work.
Since he didn’t feel tired at all, his confidence surged.
“Sounds good. Where are we supposed to go?”
“He said to come to his residence in Hannam-dong.”
“Then let’s fly over there on time!”
With Kim Hwang-je radiating energy, Seo Jun-seo pulled out a red potion and drank it behind him.
It was the [Office Worker Stamina Potion] provided by [Seoul Magic Tower].
Stay strong, office workers!
***
They walked without running into anyone.
Was it because of the snow?
Strangely, snow had piled up on the walls, but none had accumulated in the alleyways.
This neighborhood had heating wires installed in the ground that melted all the snow.
“Do you take walks in the courtyard as well?”
There were naturally no people on the street.
Nothing to see but the tall mansion walls and CCTV cameras.
There wasn’t even a single car on the road.
The only people around were Kim Hwang-je, Seo Jun-seo, and Benedict sitting on the belly of the sleeping Poyu.
“After the monster incident, civilians barely approach Hannam-dong.”
Seo Jun-seo raised his hand and pointed at the CCTV.
“If you pass through here without reason, you’ll be investigated afterward.”
“That’s not good. Sounds like something only ruffians would do.”
“Sir Benedict. Would you like something like this?”
Seo Jun-seo tried to soothe Benedict and pulled out a candy from his pocket.
“Hmm, what’s this? It looks like a colorful, pretty club. I remember now. The temple sisters used to carry pink maces like this.”
“It’s a simple snack. If you unwrap it like this and eat it, it should taste good.”
Seo Jun-seo said.
Since the boss could fly off in any direction at any moment, it was important to eliminate all other sources of anxiety as much as possible.
And ‘bribes’ always worked well for that kind of task.
Benedict cracked the candy, which was as big as his face, with his cane.
Crack!
Crunch.
The crumbs were ticklish.
He put a piece of candy in his mouth.
“Good heavens, it tastes like orange sweetness!”
Benedict’s eyes widened.
Then, hesitating, he said,
“Give me another one.”
“Ah, of course. Would you entrust today’s deal to us?”
Seo Jun-seo handed Benedict a generous amount of candy from his pocket while watching the knight’s delighted expression.
Though to the CCTV, it would only look like a man in a crown placing candy on his own head.
They had no idea.
“Of course. Politics is His Majesty the Emperor’s domain, so this humble knight shall follow.”
After saying that, Benedict tore open the candy and put it in Poyu’s mouth.
“Young dragon friend, try this! It’s delicious!”
“Hehe… Ahjussi is nice, thank you!”
Poyu leaned back against the crown, hugged Benedict, and sucked on the candy.
Benedict held the candy like a club in his side pocket while being embraced and sucking on his own piece.
The sound of candy being sucked on above his head was strangely distracting.
‘Thank goodness.’
Kim Hwang-je had actually been worried that Benedict might start swinging his sword around.
Of course, in his current 2-heads-tall state, the other side might just laugh it off,
but who knew what might come out of that sword? Or whether this Benedict could shoot eye beams for real?
“Well then, let’s move.”
Kim Hwang-je walked ahead first.
He had never been to this neighborhood before, so he had flown here via Jung Da-yeon’s teleportation spell.
“We’ve arrived. This is the place.”
Seo Jun-seo pressed the call bell.
Chiiiiiik.
Why did rich people’s call bells all sound like this?
He didn’t understand why it made an alarm-like sound instead of something cheerful.
“Who is it?”
“This is Seo Jun-seo from Empire Corporation, as previously mentioned. I’ve brought the boss as well.”
“Did you not bring a car?”
“We came via teleportation.”
“Understood. The master is waiting.”
Click.
Beeeeeeeep—
Another loud alarm-like sound rang out before the gate opened.
Kim Hwang-je passed through the gate and stepped into the courtyard…
“…?”
He had expected a swimming pool, but instead there was a bamboo forest.
Kim Hwang-je walked through the bamboo forest, climbed the hill stairs, crossed a stream flowing on both sides, and discovered what looked like a Kim Su-ro theme park… no, a grand hanok.
“What kind of person lives in a palace that belongs on a movie set?”
“Haha… It’s the Gaya Group, after all.”
Soon, someone came out and guided Kim Hwang-je and Seo Jun-seo to the reception room.
“This way, please.”
Kim Hwang-je walked down the corridor cast in bamboo shadows and stood before a large sliding door.
The staff member bowed deeply and left.
As he approached the sliding door, it slid open smoothly.
After passing through five sections, they finally reached the reception room.
Click.
The door opened, Kim Hwang-je entered, and the gold crown on his head radiated light.
Immediately, sighs as if someone had spilled hot soup spread throughout the room.
“Good heavens, that…”
“He came wearing the gold crown…”
“Huuuh…”
The uncles’ atmosphere was ominous.
The members of the Garak Clan were seated in two rows on either side, centered around the clan head sitting in the middle.
The long table was Western-style, and the man at the end sat higher than the others.
You could almost believe it was a yakuza meeting.
The soft sound of string instruments could be heard.
Looking back, musicians were playing live music behind a curtain.
“Could it be that you… performed the Gujiga dance?”
A heavy voice spoke.
It was Jo Chun-ki, head of the Garak Clan.
His hair was a mix of gray and white, his face looked stern, yet he was smiling.
Contrary to what Seo Jun-seo had said, he somehow looked like a nice person.
“Dance? Ah, that was just…”
Unable to lie, Kim Hwang-je nodded.
It was true that he had danced naked with the gold crown spirits in front of Katima.
“You achieved a perfect execution of the Gujiga ritual?”
“…That’s impossible. I never imagined in my life that someone would wear the gold crown…”
“Just how high a level…”
“To steal it by waiting for an opportunity…”
“…Maybe they’re in cahoots?”
A quiet shock spread.
But when Jo Chun-ki placed his hand on the table, the commotion stopped instantly.
He gently opened his hand and pointed to the chair across from him.
“Have a seat first.”
“Is it okay to sit here?”
“Yes. There isn’t much prepared, but I’d appreciate it if you’d partake.”
Indeed, the table was laden with mountains of Korean food. Magic had been cast on each dish to keep the food in its best condition.
However, there was only one chair at the seat he indicated.
Seo Jun-seo wasn’t even given a place to sit.
‘So they can’t allow us to share the same table.’
That was only natural from their perspective.
How dare a servant join the elders’ meal?
Moreover, looking at the table arrangement, this wasn’t a seat for an equal guest.
Behind the retainers seated in a line on both sides, Jo Chun-ki sat at the head, and Kim Hwang-je’s seat was subtly positioned lower.
Even the chair Kim Hwang-je was to sit in was small and uneven, designed to make the sitter feel insecure.
This kind of protocol was a battle of wills.
And in a way that inflicted humiliation.
Seo Jun-seo grasped the situation and rolled his eyes.
‘Are they testing the wrath of the great mage who came with goodwill?’
In Seo Jun-seo’s opinion, Kim Hwang-je might be kind to orphans, but he was terrifying in business relationships.
He had even fed loneliness to a cooperative partner like Lost and made them swear eternal loyalty—what kind of deep schemer was he?
Let alone these people bound by interests, how dare they try something on the boss here?
What if the boss couldn’t hold back and blew them all away?
Seo Jun-seo looked at Kim Hwang-je with a pounding heart, wondering what would happen.
Of course, Kim Hwang-je didn’t know the first thing about loneliness and hadn’t prepared any magic to blow the place up.
‘Huh, there’s one chair short. Looks like more people came than expected. If I pull out one more, Seo Jun-seo can sit too.’
Thinking this, he innocently asked,
“Excuse me, can I pull out one more chair?”
“If you’re able to, then by all means.”
Jo Chun-ki leaned back in his chair and smiled.
But his eyes soon widened.
Kim Hwang-je had casually summoned a spare chair from the royal palace via [Tribute Trade].
The chair appeared with a gentle breeze.
“Ah, don’t worry. I summoned it simply. No need to bring chairs from far away—we’ll just eat here. Here, have a seat, Seo Jun-seo.”
“Thank you, boss…”
He stood up for me against them!
Kim Hwang-je seated Seo Jun-seo and sat down himself.
A deep silence fell over the table.
Click.
Scrape.
Suddenly, the sound of Kim Hwang-je pushing his chair back and standing up rang like thunder.
Everyone’s gaze turned to Kim Hwang-je once again.
‘Is this chair broken? If I say the chair is uncomfortable, the staff will get scolded, right?’
Look at this kind-hearted commoner Kim Hwang-je.
He summoned another chair and sat on it.
“Ah, it’s not that the chair is too uncomfortable. I have a dedicated chair, so I’ll use this one.”
It was the kind of line a genius with OCD from an American science drama might say, but Kim Hwang-je himself was fairly satisfied with his excuse.
A silence twice as heavy settled over the table.
Their chairs were royal palace items, so splendid that they rivaled Jo Chun-ki’s.
Since the intention was clear, the Garak Clan members’ faces twisted.
“So be it.”
But Jo Chun-ki picked up his chopsticks as if nothing had happened.
Kim Hwang-je also picked up his spoon in a good mood.
Only then did everyone begin eating in silence.
But beneath the silence, it was utter chaos.
It was an explosive scene.
A battlefield of swirling rage through message exchanges.
But a quiet voice that silenced everyone rang out.
All message spells ceased at once upon Jo Chun-ki’s command.
Deathly silence.
Normally, Jo Chun-ki would have pretended not to hear their conversation.
But now, even Jo Chun-ki was somewhat flustered.
Jo Chun-ki used his chopsticks to flake off a large piece of dried fish and put it in his mouth, then smiled.
But his eyes were cold.
He looked straight at Kim Hwang-je.
‘After an extreme battle with Howling, at a time when his mind isn’t fully prepared, we invited him to the deepest, most secret place in the nine-layered palace. And here he provokes us with barrier destruction? Remarkable scheming. Where did such a person come from?’
Kim Hwang-je also met his gaze with calm eyes.
Jo Chun-ki felt a straightforward aura he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
No one had ever looked at him so boldly.
‘The young man is impressive…’
‘Whoa. That dried fish must be incredibly expensive. I’ve never seen such a big piece before. Wow…’
Look at that uncle smiling while eating. It must be so delicious.
Kim Hwang-je also flaked off a piece of the dried fish in front of him and put it in his mouth. Good heavens.
Delicious.
The fish flesh truly melted on his tongue.
While Kim Hwang-je was moved, Jo Chun-ki quietly wrote a message spell.
Not to Kim Hwang-je, but so that all existing channels could hear.
Jo Chun-ki spoke to his subordinates under the assumption that Kim Hwang-je could overhear.
Of course, Kim Hwang-je couldn’t hear any of it.
He simply nodded gently, immersed in happiness.
The chaebol chairman’s taste was correct.
Expensive croaker fish was delicious!
But Jo Chun-ki was impressed by Kim Hwang-je’s generosity.
Those eyes that didn’t waver even after hearing about the attack plan.
He was truly a master of profound depth!
It was time to change strategy.
[Alarm]
Emperor!
A Demon Lord-level figure has secretly expressed respect toward the Emperor.
Since you are now regarded as a worthy rival,
the negotiations will become somewhat rougher.
Cheer up—here’s 3 Dignity Points!
* 3 Dignity Points added
* Current Dignity Points: 104
Why was this thing acting up?
Kim Hwang-je calmed his stomach by drinking cold water.
A rough negotiation acknowledged by the inner court attendant made him very uneasy.