11. A Man Who Doesn't Get Screwed Over
11. A Man Who Doesn't Get Screwed Over
"...That person came too?"
A sudden visit.
Ryu Si-hwan lived here, so of course that made sense, but Ha So-ri coming along too?
Tae-hee's expression twisted up mid-conversation.
"..."
Yu Ina's face wasn't looking too hot either.
She knew Ha So-ri's personality all too well.
Beolgeok.
The door flew open before anyone even said come in.
Probably either Ryu Si-hwan or Ha So-ri who did it.
Both of them were rude enough to pull that kind of stunt.
"Hey. Long time no see."
The culprit was Si-hwan.
He swung the door open and strode right in, plopping down next to Yu Ina and naturally wrapping an arm around her waist.
Of course, Bari was stuck right to his other side.
"W-What are you doing!"
"What?"
"Let go."
"What's the big deal between husband and wife."
"Grandma's right here!"
"It's fine."
"No, I'm not fine."
As they bickered, Ha So-ri swept in too, her long hair swishing dramatically.
She gave Tae-hee a quick hand wave and scanned the seats.
Tae-hee's other side was already packed: Yu Ina, Ryu Si-hwan, Bari.
Without hesitation, she marched over and claimed the head seat.
"Man, it's been forever since I've been in this house."
She tapped the armrests pang pang, lost in memories(?).
A dark shadow fell over Tae-hee's eyes as she watched.
Yu Ina, Ryu Si-hwan, Ha So-ri.
What the hell kind of lineup was this?
Yu Ina was pretty tomboyish herself, but next to Ryu Si-hwan and Ha So-ri, she looked like the picture of innocence.
"Haa."
Just looking at them made her sigh.
She swept her bobbed hair back behind one ear, like she was steadying herself.
"Why'd you come?"
"Me? Well, I figured I'd drop by while seeing our Yeonseo and Soyoung too."
"No, why'd you come to this house? You could've just stayed at Yeonseo-ssi's place."
"What's with the ice? You're hurting your big sis's feelings?"
"Tut... Just get to the point already."
"Hey, you think we're the type to have some 'point'? You wouldn't even see me without one?"
"Obviously."
"..."
"Even with one, I'd rather not see you if I can help it."
"Wow, check out this cold shoulder. You can't live like that, girl. Gotta live warm and fuzzy."
"Not something I wanna hear from So-ri-nim."
The woman who turned violent as hell on anyone lower rank than her, like Ju Ye-ji or Eun-jeong—who was she to preach living warm?
It was absurd and ridiculous.
"Yeah, you're right. Time for you to head out now."
"......And you should go hang somewhere else too."
"Why should I?"
"...I'm talking to Yu Ina-ssi right now. You two barged in without permission and crashed the convo. Got some special business or what?"
"Nah. Just heard you were here and wanted to see your face."
"Haa...."
What the hell.
"Both of you, out."
"Harsh much? Here, take this at least."
Si-hwan took a smartphone from Bari and handed it to her.
"What's this now?"
"That's—"
"Oh! I know what that is. A smartphone, right?"
"How'd you know?"
"Saw Yeonseo with one. You can send letters with it?"
"You can send letters with this?"
"Letters are just the start. Everything your civilization's built so far? This one gadget covers it all."
"...?"
Bari gave her a demo, as usual, to the head-tilting girl.
She made a call right there from her seat and chatted, then stepped out and called to chat some more.
Two shocked reactions.
Tae-hee might be a martial artist to her bones, but she wasn't dumb.
Considering she was at the pinnacle of Coding Type Nobling, she was a genius among geniuses.
So she grasped the device's value in a flash.
Hundreds of uses popped into her head already—nothing like some dumb cigarette to compare.
Ha So-ri was the same. Sure, her personality was trashed and she was a lewd perv, but she'd once led the continent's forces against the Angels, so her skills were top-notch.
Of course she saw the value.
"How'd you make something like this? No traces of magic or Nobling at all."
She poked and prodded the smartphone, trying to figure out how it worked.
Fat chance.
No way she could crack a smartphone's principles without knowing the ABCs of science.
She just fiddled with various apps.
"......You're way more impressive than I thought."
"Probably even more than you're imagining."
"You planning to sell these?"
"Yeah. Device costs 1,000 gold, monthly fee 20 gold. Add 4,000 gold upfront for Premium Membership, and no monthly fees."
"Hmm."
Pretty steep price.
Average joe'd have to save for 10 years just for the device, and even then, the monthly would kill 'em.
But considering the utility, it was a bargain.
Straight up: Issue smartphones just to your army brass, and your tactical options explode. Dungeons or Temples? Teams stay linked no problem.
Endless value.
So Tae-hee pondered.
No matter how she sliced it, letting this hit the market unchecked seemed more loss than gain.
What if it fell into Angel or god hands? Their forces could power up.
"No worries there. Can't use it if you're not in my DB."
"Not sure what DB means, but... can't use without your say-so? That the gist?"
"Yeah. All smartphones are under my control."
Kinda creepy statement, but with their shallow grasp of 'machines,' they bought it easy.
Never dreaming he could track their locations with it.
"Now I get why Yeonseo's so smitten~."
"What."
"Nothing. So total 5,000 gold, right?"
"Premium Membership, yeah."
"Love it. Cheap too."
She set the fiddled-with smartphone on the table, propped her chin, and eyed Si-hwan.
"What's your play?"
"Huh?"
"I'm head of the Ha Family. One word from me, and I could outfit the whole clan. Depending on you, I could buy a thousand or ten thousand."
"What do you want?"
"Dunno~."
A loaded smile.
Sultry enough you could trace Ha Yeon-seo's sex appeal right back to her.
And it was just casual clothes.
But Si-hwan didn't bite.
His pride was world-strongest level.
"Not selling? Don't buy."
"Mercy?"
"Your loss."
"..."
"Plenty of other buyers even without you."
"Talk about a shitty attitude."
For a mere Human.
So arrogant, so haughty.
But with skills like that, she had to respect it.
Just making this thing made him worth more than most Noblesse.
"Got a question. Why show off cigarettes first, not this? This could've raked in way more cash."
Tae-hee asked, mulling over the smartphone's uses.
Maybe an obvious question.
Cigarettes were high-value, sure, but peanuts next to this. Why not lead with it? A few sales would've wiped his debt and then some. Hell, maybe he never needed the loan.
"Couldn't do it any other way."
"...What kinda answer is that?"
"That's legit the only way I could answer."
"..."
Tae-hee bit her lip, pissed.
Come on, even if, that was too much. Show some effort at least.
"Fuuu......Fine. I'll explain, so listen up."
Si-hwan took a deep breath.
"First off, smartphones need radio waves to work. That's how they pass info between each other. But radio waves weaken with walls or obstacles, so you launch satellites or drones to fix that. Problem is, this is The Tower—each floor's blocked by thick materials plus magic & Nobling barriers. So first floor? Fine. Second? Good luck. That's where Quantum Entanglement and Gravitational Waves come in. Quantum Entanglement: even if two systems are light-years apart, set one state's state, and the linked one's snaps to it instantly. Use that, and you connect not just floors 1 and 2, but the whole damn universe. Plus Gravitational Waves—they're the only force that crosses dimensions, unlike the other four fundamentals. So even massive interference? Info punches through.
Obviously, wielding both needs insane computation power. Bari hasn't recovered that much yet, so I had to upgrade her. Upgrading Bari meant expanding the Research Lab and Control Center, which guzzles resources. That's why it took time."
"......Huh?"
He explained hard, but of course, no one got it.
"Anyone catch even one bit so far? Hands."
"..."
No one but Bari raised a hand.
Not even Si-hwan himself.
"That's why I said 'couldn't do it any other way.' Knew y'all wouldn't get it anyway."