Chapter 459: Cho Hyejin’s Instruction Manual (4)
Very little time had passed since then.
The wizards, including Jung Hayan and Han Sora, were forced into a brutal schedule. However, as a result, Crack Land began to look as planned.
There were at that time more buildings after completion than buildings before completion. It was possible to see how much power the workers, including the wizards, used.
Of course, they weren’t the only busy ones.
Naturally, I didn’t have time to breathe properly either, since I had to continue with the administrative processes.
Manager Kim Mi-young, Lee Jihye, and Park Deokgu’s woman, the mage scholar Hwang Jeong-yeon, and even Sun Hee-young, were invited to stay up all night.
The Blue’s newcomer Elena took charge of the elves and the different races who found the Crack Land, and Yoo Ahyoung, the only blacksmith in the guild, never stopped hammering all day.
That was because she had to give the Crack Museum items that could be used as a reward.
At that moment, Yoo Ahyoung, who was brought as a blacksmith and sub-tanker, shined. The armor made of Salit’s bones and Dialugia’s scales were high-quality enough to be classified as high-end items. Those who reached the legendary-grade and the heroic-grade showed great interest in Yoo Ahyoung’s collection.
Along with the potion business, a new business made out of one of the Blue’s pillars was being born.
Due to her explosive growth, I became even busier.
When recruiting a usable blacksmith as guild staff, there was no choice but to establish a new factory system like what was done for the alchemy workshop.
Sub-equipments that Yoo Ahyoung didn’t make herself also took the emblem and exported them to her collection.
The target was rare adventurers.
Profits from high-end equipment were substantial, but the profits from sub-items were also sufficient. No, at some point, it was rather higher than the former.
In fact, it was low-cost equipment, but with the Blue emblem, it succeeded in opening the wallets of lower adventurers.
The initial investment cost of entering the Crack Land was recovered with the Yoo Ahyoung Collection.
Of course, she wasn’t the only one who benefited from the new market. Originally, the potion collection, which had been sold like fire, was also heavily established and made great profits.
Having to put the guild staff and the party members into work was exhausting but joyful. The guilds operating the Crack Land with Blue were no different.
I didn’t even see Cha Hee-ra’s face except during her occasional night visits, and I couldn’t figure out where and what Park Yeon-joo was doing.
According to Lee Jihye, who could be thought of as her lieutenant, she seemed to be looking for the pregnant woman who suddenly appeared, but she hadn’t yet found a clue due to the false information Lee Jihye had dropped.
I had always been grateful to Lee Jihye, but I appreciated her even more due to her help with the recent incident.
She was the one who confused the police dragnet of the Black Swan that could be classified as an information guild.
The visible things were working out so well that I was dumbfounded.
However, the problems of the continent were still at large.
Adventurers were immersed in the sudden peace, and the gathering of divinity seemed to be slow to progress.
Although Pope Basel offered larger worship services than before, Benignore, the icon of incompetence, hadn’t recovered her divinity yet.
Personally, I thought it could simply be because of the quality of prayer.
Unlike in the past, when people prayed desperately because they were in a situation where their lives were at risk, I felt that they now only prayed formally since their bellies were full and had a rooftop over their heads.
‘You have to put your sincerity in your prayers, sincerity!’
Still…
‘Everything’s going to be fixed someday.’
It couldn’t be treated as the top priority to be addressed.
The Demon Dungeon Series and the Crack Museum Series couldn’t replace everything we had lost due to the lack of divinity, but they still covered the basics.
It meant that we could withstand a little more time.
Against such a situation, there were only two tasks that should be prioritized. The first was to think of a way to roll the pigs being cooked in peace a little more passionately. The other was to solve internal matters that weren’t going well.
I thought about the former from time to time, but there was no solution for it yet.
Hence, I thought it would be better to solve the immediate second problem right.
Of course, it was quite obvious what the problem was.
‘Hyunsung…’
It was related to the lovely returner.
Of course, we hadn’t fallen out or anything. In fact, the reunion was quite touching, and as usual, I was able to receive numerous gifts and attention.
Was that how a pushover would look like, bringing a gift to his sponsored woman?
He kept asking how I was still the same. He also continued to participate in meetings such as meals and drinking parties, as well as gathering of all guild members.
However, that was it.
I couldn’t get the truthful stories he had in mind or the information I would require afterward.
It wasn’t as if a wall had been built, that there was a slight sense of distance.
Of course, I might just be overthinking things.
Actually, Kim Hyunsung didn’t act much different from before. It seemed that I had cleared up some of the doubts I had, and it was worth saying that our relationship had become stronger.
However, my desire to develop our bond far enough for us to be able to open up all of our thoughts hadn’t made progress yet.
For example, a relationship that was strong enough to reveal the facts of regression casually.
It meant that we hadn’t yet reached that level.
I wasn’t sure if he knew that I was anxious, but it didn’t matter. He was busy finding the owner of the shoes that bitch-erella dropped.
‘I didn’t even imagine he wouldn’t tell me about this either.’
From my perspective, I thought he would at least ask me to find a person. It felt a bit disappointing.
I already knew he was reluctant to make personal requests, but the means to use my hand had disappeared completely. I felt like he couldn’t be at ease and that he couldn’t rest his mind properly.
In order to get closer to Kim Hyunsung and move on to the next step, he had to solve his chronic problem first.
And so, I chose Cho Hyejin.
Although that was a way to inject nutritional supplements into Kim Hyunsung’s worn-out mind as well as stripping off his curiosity for bitch-erella, I knew it would benefit her as well.
I could say I caught both rabbits, so I was naturally satisfied.
The story itself was very successful.
I first analyzed the relationship between Cho Hyejin and Kim Hyunsung and what Kim Hyunsung thought of Cho Hyejin.
‘She is someone you can trust. She is also someone I trust.’
It was the inner feelings of the guy who asked me quietly.
Anyone could tell that Hyunsung didn’t have romantic feelings for Cho Hyejin. She was the one who spent the most time with the lovely returner.
I had to be separated from Kim Hyunsung because of the different tasks that need to be handled. However, they were almost always together since they took care of the same matters.
They trained together, they worked together, they rested together, and they even ate together.
It wasn’t unreasonable to say that she was in a position that can give him the best support.
If they were normal, it would’ve been stranger not having feelings for each other.
It wouldn’t be strange to say that they secretly coveted each other’s bodies during their spare time.
‘They are coveting each other’s bodies.’
They were sparring every day.
Cho Hyejin should’ve accomplished more even without my help. Her position was more than enough for her to do it.
There wasn’t much age difference like Kim Ye-ri, and she wasn’t in the same position as Park Yeon-joo.
Nevertheless, it seemed to be right to think that it wasn’t because of Kim Hyunsung but Cho Hyejin that nothing had happened.
She had no intention of looking like a woman first. She held the position of a competent subordinate, reliable friend, and trustworthy colleague, so it’s no wonder that the dull guy couldn’t have such indecent desires toward Cho Hyejin.
I could even say that they had created an unknown comradeship, so the situation itself wasn’t that great.
What I was able to realize from the Bitch-erella Incident was that our lovely returner wasn’t a eunuch. Even after going through the first round, he was no different from other young men in their twenties.
So…
“I think the most important task is to make him look at you as a woman.”
At this, Cho Hyejin’s face darkened.
We had gone through a few meetings like it, but she still had doubts in her head. It was natural to look like that since the results were still yet to be revealed.
“As a woman?”
“Yes. As a woman. Our top priority is to make Hyunsung recognize Hyejin as a woman. He probably had only ever thought of you as a coworker, friend, subordinate, or junior at work. That’s because whenever he looks at you, he sees a warrior, not a woman.”
“I see.”
“Yes. It doesn’t mean you’re not charming. The problem is that you put yourself in that position first. To put it extremely, I even think it’s better to stay away if it keeps going like this.”
“What?”
“You don’t have to be too surprised because I’m talking about extreme directions. Still, in the case of the shared schedule, it seems that management is necessary.”
“I don’t know what kind of management is needed…”
“The training time is out.”
“What?!”
“It’s exactly as I said. After giving an excuse, like you’re not feeling well, take away your training time together.”
“But that’s-“
“And also reduce the outdoor work a bit. No, take that all out. For the time being, I think it would be better to deal with only administrative work together. And even that ugly armor is banned for the time being.”
“To say it’s ugly…”
“Do you ever take off that armor?”
“What an absurd question. Of course, I do when I sleep. Asking me to take off the armor is a ridiculous suggestion. You know what I do, yet you still say that…”
“I told you. For the time being, exclude all training, outdoor work, and missions. Additionally, you won’t have to wear that armor. Hyunsung will surely like you if you wear the same armor 365 days a year.”
“It isn’t the same armor 365 days a year. I also use an extra armor properly.”
‘This woman…’
That was why he couldn’t see Cho Hyejin as a member of the opposite sex.
I realized that the situation was a little more serious when I thought he had never seen her femininity, even during the first round.
A little more powerful prescription was needed.
“Haven’t we agreed on listening to me?”
“Unless it is a logical request, I will not accept it.”
“It’s a fairly logical request. It doesn’t matter anyway. Just don’t wear armor from now on. For the time being, you will wear casual clothes. It’s embarrassing to say, but frankly, Hyejin is pretty and attractive enough. It’ll get much better just by taking off that armor that reminds me of Bonobono. Take it off from this moment on.”
“…”
“Now, give me the armor.”
“…”
“It’s much better with that taken off.”
“What should I wear?”
“I will prepare that from now. I have a bright friend in that regard. Let’s change everything from makeup to dress.”
“I feel like it’s getting too real… I’m getting nervous.”
“Of course it’s real. The young woman can’t take the precious Hyunsung from you. Aren’t you doing this with me right now because you don’t want that either? This is also for the guild.”
“…”
“Okay, then. Jihye, you can come in.”
I saw her coming through the door right after I said that.
Cho Hyejin looked startled.
She probably never thought she would be where we were. Even though she knew she was close to me, she probably didn’t know it was that much.
“Why did you make me wait for so long?”
She was a specialist in that certain industry. I could see Lee Jihye with a lot of luggage.
At this, unwanted facts began to rain in the sky.