Chapter 85
"A perfectly ordinary B-class hunter."
"……."
"Though I do have a gifted little sister and a friend."
"……."
At my answer, the people from Ildae Group all looked blankly offended, as if they wanted to snap, That’s not what we asked!
I made a point of shrugging my shoulders wide, letting them know I had no intention of saying anything else.
"…Could it be."
The first to speak was Woo Chae-yeon.
Everyone present, myself included, turned to look at her.
"……?"
"Did you make the World Tree bloom?"
Woo Chae-yeon asked, stressing the word oppa.
Her gaze wasn’t on me, either, but on Yu Jae-i.
She was the one asking me the question, so why was she checking her reaction?
Apparently Yu Jae-i didn’t like that look much, because she lifted one eyebrow.
What are you two doing…?
Woo Yeon-hoo, who seemed to have the exact same thought as I did, shook his head slowly.
Ignoring his sister’s question, I said, "I’d been told something urgent came up and that I needed to prepare 150 billion won as soon as possible, and I was wondering what in the world that was about…"
I looked at Shim Yoon-jin.
When his gaze reached her, she smiled and flashed a V sign.
"I’m really glad we decided to meet today."
"So you’re making the purchase?"
"Of course. It’s worth that much."
"That’s good. How do you plan to pay?"
No matter how wealthy Woo Yeon-hoo was, he couldn’t possibly pay 150 billion won in cash all at once.
At my question, Woo Yeon-hoo and his sister both broke into soft laughter.
What was that about, all of a sudden?
"Why do you think I called you here, Mr. Do-woon?"
"Huh? Well…"
Without even waiting for my answer, Woo Yeon-hoo tapped the floor twice with his foot.
"This. 150 billion won."
"…Hic!"
At that completely unexpected answer, I hiccuped in shock.
Well, damn. Look at this guy’s class.
"…Are you sure this is all right?"
I directed the question at Woo Yeon-hoo.
According to Shim Yoon-jin, he’d originally planned to use this building for something else—
as a place to gather the companies affiliated with Ildae Group.
And he was offering that up as payment?
I wondered if he was stretching himself thin just to buy the pinecone.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"This building. Weren’t you planning to use it?"
"Ah…."
Woo Yeon-hoo’s eyes widened a little.
Then he smiled faintly.
Judging by his expression, he wasn’t forcing anything after all.
"You don’t need to worry about that."
"Really?"
"Yes. I was actually torn between this place and another one anyway."
"Ah, come to think of it…."
I remembered what Shim Yoon-jin had said when she’d mentioned the building.
She’d said Woo Yeon-hoo had been going back and forth between this place and another.
So the place he’d finally decided to use wasn’t this Coincidence Who building after all, but some other property.
Woo Yeon-hoo turned his head.
"Then there’s only one problem left."
"A problem?"
I followed his gaze and looked over.
There, people were gathered around the World Tree pinecone.
Before I knew it, three A-class hunters from Ildae Guild were listening to two appraisers from Ptah as they explained the pinecone’s details.
Kim Ji-yeon and Shim Yoon-jin already knew the relevant information from the quality assurance certificate, but they still listened along with Oh Ju-han.
"……."
"……."
The other two were staring intently at each other.
Yu Jae-i stood beside me, while Woo Chae-yeon stood beside Woo Yeon-hoo.
Seriously, what have you two been doing all this time…?
"I mean that the pinecone has to be split into exactly one-third."
"Ah."
Woo Yeon-hoo was right.
This contract hadn’t been for the entire pinecone in the first place.
It had been agreed that I would take one-third, and he would take the remaining two-thirds.
So the pinecone of the World Tree had to be cut with exact precision.
Given that its outer skin was as hard as the shell of a giant tortoise, it wasn’t going to be an easy job.
There was one more issue, too.
To measure and cut it accurately, they’d need specialized equipment.
And if it was Ptah Blacksmith under Ildae Group, they’d have that kind of equipment.
"I’d like to take it to Ptah Blacksmith, if that’s all right."
Woo Yeon-hoo asked as if he’d read my mind.
The question wasn’t directed at me.
His gaze, too, had turned toward Yu Jae-i beside me.
If Woo Yeon-hoo’s smiths were the people from Ptah, then my blacksmith was Yu Jae-i.
And she would absolutely say she wanted to work at Jae-i's Blacksmith.
"That’s fine."
"Hm?"
Huh? That’s fine?
I looked at Yu Jae-i, startled by the answer I hadn’t expected at all.
She gave a slow nod, her face as expressionless as ever.
"Let’s do it that way. We’ll work at Ptah Blacksmith."
"Yu Jae-i?"
"…Why?"
"You’re really saying you’ll work at Ptah Blacksmith? Really?"
"……."
I stared at her with my eyes wide, unable to believe it.
The Yu Jae-i I knew should have insisted on working at her own smithy.
Was the person standing beside me really Yu Jae-i?
That thought crossed my mind as I looked at her.
She reached out and gave my chin a light push.
My head turned with the gentle force, and then she withdrew her hand.
After that, she curled one finger toward herself, signaling me to come closer.
"Why? What is it?"
"You don’t know what kind of place Ptah Blacksmith is, do you?"
When I leaned in, she whispered in a small voice.
A place of what kind?
Of course I didn’t know.
All I knew was that it was a blacksmith facility under Ildae Group.
And that, to add one more thing, Ildae Guild members were being used as the promotion models.
My only point of contact was the wrist guard Woo Yeon-hoo had once given me as a gift.
Even that, I’d never properly used.
Yu Jae-i let out a soft breath before explaining.
"Ptah Blacksmith is currently called the best blacksmith facility in Korea. Not just because it selected one of the top hundred smiths like me, but because its skill is recognized as the best in Korea—and even in the world."
"…That much? It only opened not long ago."
It had been built after Ildae Guild was founded.
In terms of time, it was barely a five-year-old company.
And yet Yu Jae-i was saying Ptah Blacksmith was recognized as Korea’s best.
"When they first established it, they hired some of the most renowned blacksmiths in Korea. Naturally, the facilities are all top of the line, too."
"Huh…."
There were two essential ingredients for a smithy to become famous.
The presence of a blacksmith with exceptional skill.
And high-quality facilities capable of drawing out that blacksmith’s full ability.
Ildae Group had solved both of those essentials with capital and marketing.
They hired talented smiths and bought the best equipment.
Do that, and a newly opened smithy could be transformed into a nation’s best in the blink of an eye.
Honestly, I couldn’t help admiring Ildae Group’s sheer financial muscle and sales power.
As I marveled, Yu Jae-i added one more thing.
"Why don’t you come and take a look while you’re at it?"
"So that’s it… you were planning that."
I understood now why Yu Jae-i had agreed to Woo Yeon-hoo’s suggestion.
As a blacksmith, she probably wanted to see a smithy built with the best infrastructure with her own eyes.
Of course, saying Why don’t you come and take a look? was her way of acting cool.
Being a blacksmith whose name was already well known, she couldn’t quite bring herself to say, I’d like to visit and see it.
I said to Woo Yeon-hoo, who had been quietly watching us whisper back and forth, "We’re done talking. Let’s do it, Yeon-hoo."
"That’s good to hear. Then shall we finish the contract?"
With that, Woo Yeon-hoo snapped his fingers.
One of the appraisers who had been examining the pinecone immediately walked over.
Coincidence Who Building was currently worth exactly 153 billion won.
Since the pinecone was being sold for 150 billion won, all I had to do was pay the remaining 3 billion.
I paid the 3 billion at once and received ownership of the building.
This building was mine now.
Something I could do with as I pleased.
"I’ll call you once the pinecone’s been fully cut."
With that said, Yu Jae-i left for Ptah Blacksmith with the people from Ptah.
The three from Ildae Guild went along as well—to escort her and to transport the pinecone.
"We should be heading off too. We’ve got a Gate we need to get back to today."
"Ah, you go on ahead, oppa. I’ll stay with Do-woon op—"
"No."
"Why not!"
"Did you already forget the promise you made with oppa?"
"Ugh…."
After that exchange, the Woo siblings also left at once.
Woo Chae-yeon looked reluctant to go, but the moment her brother brought up their promise, she obediently shut her mouth and followed him out.
What on earth had they promised each other to make her go without a single protest?
Well, it was the sort of thing I couldn’t figure out no matter how much I thought about it, so I decided not to dwell on it.
Once everyone had gone and I was left alone, I headed up to the building’s rooftop.
When I stepped out onto the roof, I saw the sunset blazing red in the sky.
"To think I’m now the owner of a twenty-one-story building…."
As I muttered that to myself, I perched on the railing.
The sounds of cars speeding past and horns blaring drifted up from below.
Looking down, I could see cars no bigger than my fingernails and the rooftops of other buildings.
It really hit me then just how tall a twenty-one-story building was.
To be a building owner… honestly, it was moving.
I spread both arms wide.
I wanted to feel the emotion swelling in my chest even more strongly.
Buzz.
"……."
Instead of emotion, a faint vibration rippled through the arms I’d thrown open.
My smartphone was ringing.
I stared at the screen, wondering who had the nerve to interrupt such a moment of triumph.
"Tae-cheon…?"
My one and only friend’s name was displayed on the screen.
Monday, June 7, 7:13 p.m.
He should’ve been in the middle of a Baekwooncheon executive meeting.
He was calling me during the executive meeting?
That alone meant something had happened.
For example, Baek Do-woon might have quit the guild on a whim.
"Hello?"
"Do-woon, where are you?"
Tae-cheon skipped the greeting and went straight to the question.
Urgency was clear in his voice.
Something definitely had happened.
"Sinnonhyeon."
"Sinnonhyeon? What are you doing over there?"
"I had something to handle. Why?"
"What the hell did you do?"
"What do you mean, what did I do?"
So it was because of me, after all.
He was calling because something had happened, and the reason that something happened seemed to be me.
Hmm. In that case…
"Think carefully. You definitely did something."
"Yeah, I did do something. I’ve done so many things lately, though, I’m not sure which one you mean."
"What, you punk?"
"That’s the problem. I don’t know which thing you’re talking about."
"Hoooo…."
I could hear Tae-cheon let out a deep sigh.
While he was sighing, I quickly ran through the things I’d done.
It couldn’t be anything related to Crowd or the potion matter.
We’d already talked those over and explained them.
The Balance Guild… no, that didn’t seem likely either.
Seo Ji-hyeok had only been approaching me so far.
There was no way he’d suddenly show up to see Tae-cheon instead of me.
If he did that, Tae-cheon would probably smash him to pieces along with any alliance he hoped to make.
I had met the elves today, but Tae-cheon had no way of knowing that.
"…I really don’t know."
"Listen carefully. Han Jin-hwan came looking for you. Right here at our guild."
A name I knew well, and yet didn’t know well, reached my ears.
Han Jin-hwan…?
"You mean Han Jin-hwan, the Thunder Emperor?"
"Yeah. That guy."
"Why the hell would he come looking for me?"
"How would I know? You should know."
"Hmm."
That did make sense.
If he’d come looking for me, then I should know why.
I had only met Han Jin-hwan once through Choi Hee-seok.
And even then, it had been while he was wearing a mask to hide his identity.
Could he have noticed that I’d seen through his disguise…?
No.
Even if he had, there was still no reason for him to come all the way here personally.
Besides, if he wanted to see me, he could’ve just asked Choi Hee-seok to arrange a meeting.
There was no reason to go to Baekwooncheon in person.
"I still can’t figure out why he’d come all the way there."
"Anyway, get over to Baekwooncheon right now."
"Right now?"
"Yeah. That old man says he’ll wait until you get here."
"Until I get there?"
"Yeah."
"Hmmm… It’ll probably take me about thirty minutes if I leave now."
"Thirty minutes? Got it. Come straight up to my office. I’ll tell the staff."
With that, Tae-cheon hung up.
When the call ended, Saessak appeared on the screen.
The elves were there too.
They were still sweating and bustling around with all their might.
What in the world is going on now?
---