11. A Man Who Doesn't Get Screwed Over
11. A Man Who Doesn't Get Screwed Over
"..."
A deep silence flowed for a while.
Because he couldn't understand a single word of what she'd said.
That said, it didn't seem like she was just spouting random nonsense—there appeared to be some kind of logic to it.
In the end, all he could do was blankly nod his head.
"Got it for now. Well... the important thing is performance and how you use it. Is production capacity sufficient?"
"Now we just need resources. But we have to expand the city, extend the bus routes across the entire 1st floor, and all sorts of other stuff, so resources are a bit short."
"Bus... I've heard roughly about that. Still, wouldn't focusing on phones be more profitable?"
Her point was spot on.
Considering the performance and price of the phones, none of the businesses Sihwan was currently thinking about could even compare.
The only thing that might come close would be mass-producing and selling cars.
But...
"From that question earlier too, it seems like you're misunderstanding something. My goal isn't making money or anything like that."
"?"
"Money only has value because it's based on promises, so what meaning does your money have to me?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Do you know what I said in my trainee representative speech?"
Conquering the Tower with a human body, placing the continent's top powers—the Dragonians and Noblesse—beneath him, and finally even gods and Angels.
It was being talked about in society almost like a legend—at least on the negative side—so anyone with the power to gather information had heard that famous speech(?) at least once.
"I do. I thought it was consistently arrogant."
"That's your opinion. Now that I'm here, it's already as good as conquered."
"..."
"I'm selling cigarettes, creating transportation, and distributing phones as part of building a civilization for my people to live in. It's not just business for making money. It's your daily bread, your bridges, your mouths."
"Your dreams are huge. You talk a good game."
"It's just one step. My ultimate goal isn't some planet."
His goal was galactic domination.
Back home, there were hundreds of billions of godlike AIs scattered around, making galactic domination literally impossible.
But this place was a land of opportunity.
Maybe some distant planet had built a plausible civilization, but at least Bari hadn't detected any intelligence on a level that posed a threat.
That's why the moment he acted, it would become reality.
"Starting to get a feel for it? The civilization you live in and the one I come from have an insurmountable gap. Sorry, but what you've achieved looks primitive to my eyes."
"..."
She couldn't refute it.
+++
In the evening, Chief Instructor Yeonseo and Deputy Chief Instructor Soyoung came to visit.
As women of the Ha Family, with Ha Family head Ha So-ri here, they couldn't just be ignored.
"Gathering like this feels kinda fresh."
The huge, elongated dining table was filled with Yu Family and Ha Family members.
Usually, it was just Yu Ina, Ryu Si-hwan, Bari, and Eleonore eating, but today, excluding Eleonore who'd tactfully dipped out, there were 8 people.
Ryu Si-hwan, Bari, Yu Ina, Yoo Tae-hee, Ha So-ri, Ha Yeon-seo, Ha So-young, Phone Eun-jeong.
A lineup of absolute top-tier!
Out of 8, a whopping 6 were Noblesse.
For the record, Eun-jeong absolutely didn't want to join, but she had no choice because of So-ri.
"...But how long are you planning to stay here?"
"Huh? Until you leave? Let's go together. I need to head back to the front lines soon anyway."
"..."
At that distant remark, Tae-hee shot her a slight glare.
Go together, she says.
What a horrifying thought.
"Why the look?"
"Nothing. At least you're thinking of fighting."
"Oh, listen to her. This big sis has more achievements than you."
"Because you're older."
"You've been active since a thousand years ago too."
"But not as head."
"That's why this big sis is even more amazing, right?"
"Age advantage. Duh."
Bicker bicker.
The sight of the two massive family heads squabbling like kids was a refreshing spectacle you couldn't see just anywhere, regardless of whether it was enjoyable or not.
Clap clap.
Sihwan drew everyone's attention.
He was sitting across from Yoo Tae-hee and Ha So-ri with Bari, in the perfect spot to attract all eyes.
"Getting hungry, so let's eat."
With that, he unhesitatingly sliced into his steak.
"Enjoy your meal."
"Yeah. You too."
Right after, Bari—the perfect match—started eating too.
The remaining women just stared blankly at them.
"...Cultural difference?"
"No. He's just rude."
As So-ri tilted her head, Yu Ina clicked her tongue in response.
What a consistently shameless human.
Munch.
"I've said it many times, but I'm not rude."
"Yeah, right."
"Just conversing with me like this is an infinite honor. You'll get it later."
"Sure, sure."
Yu Ina appropriately brushing off his words, and Sihwan calmly slicing and eating his meat.
And Tae-hee watching the two of them.
Once upon a time, her ideal type was a man who was confident in everything, never bowed his head, had a reliable back—someone she could lean on, in short.
As she aged, she realized such men were rare, and even if one existed, no one could stand tall without cowering before her, the Yu Family's prized daughter and the era's greatest genius. And reality proved it.
In the end, she married a man who roughly fit the criteria and built a family, but naturally, he couldn't hold his head high in front of her and trembled at every word she said.
Unaware that it only made her more repulsed...
'Sigh.'
She'd been living somewhat peacefully(?) like that, when Ryu Si-hwan suddenly appeared before her.
First impression: a total asshole who ate shit for breakfast.
But soon she learned of his abilities and realized he wasn't just talk, and gradually, the image of her long-forgotten ideal type started overlapping.
The peak was that trainee representative speech she'd heard about secondhand.
Though she hadn't seen it up close, he must have had the same confident expression back then.
Damn...
Up to here, he seemed close to her ideal.
Unfortunately, their fates were massively misaligned.
Because he married her granddaughter, Yu Ina.
No wedding ceremony, but with the Chief Instructor witnessing, they became husband and wife via 'contract' and announced it to the world.
So there's no way she could connect with him—
"Hey. What are you doing?"
"Y-Yes? What?"
"What are you doing? Not eating?"
"Ah... no. I should eat."
Snapped out of her thoughts.
Everyone else was already eating, and only So-ri next to her was looking at her with a sulky face.
"What were you thinking? Oh, a guy maybe?"
"No."
Her expression sharpened like a blade as she deliberately sliced her meat with force.
To not get dragged into So-ri's pace.
'What the hell was I thinking...!'
+++
After the meal, Sihwan secretly pulled Yeonseo aside without anyone noticing.
The terrace under the beautiful moonlit night.
The two met across a small round table, tilting their glasses.
"Something to say? Confessing maybe?"
"Something like that."
"Oh? Really?"
A sudden confession.
What's going on?
"Getting confessed to by that husband at Ina's house~ Feels kinda thrilling."
"But I'm not the one doing it."
"?"
"You are."
"..."
What kind of nonsense was that?
The sparkle of anticipation and taboo in her eyes cooled instantly.
"You have something to give me, right?"
"What are you talking about? All I can think about is what you owe me."
"Heh heh. Look at this sly fox."
He clicked his tongue, stood up, and grabbed her wrist.
"Stand up."
She let herself be pulled along passively.
Sihwan pushed her against the wall.
Perfect blind spot.
Unless they had ray-something like Bari, no one inside the building could see them.
Slide.
In the thick shadows, he slyly placed his hand on her thigh and slipped it under the hem of her short dress.
"...What are you doing at Ina's house."
The two were already entangled before she knew it.
Yeonseo, being touched by Sihwan, pushed at his chest with a mix of annoyance and anticipation on her face.
But there was no real force behind it.
"You like this stuff. Being the villainess and all."
"Why am I the villainess? And you're sneakily groping again?"
She grabbed his wrist as it crept deeper into her inner thigh.
But Sihwan didn't stop there and pressed his body closer.
Her massive, cleavage-baring chest squished softly and warmly against him.
"Hoo."
Hot air contrasting the cold night breeze.
The space between them was already steaming hot.
"How about it? One round here."
"You're insane. This is your confession?"
"Told you. You're the one doing it."
"Ha."
As she let out a disbelieving laugh, Sihwan's lips charged in.
They overlapped, hot breath flowing in—
Clang.
The terrace door burst open.