Chapter 897. Vacation (15)
‘I’m so angry.’
“I’m so annoyed, damn it,” I said.
“What are you so annoyed about?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.
“...”
“I guess it’s pretty obvious,” Lee Ji-Hye said.
‘Jin Cheong, that bastard.’
I got angry again when I recalled his delighted voice. I was sure he was more happy about backstabbing me than getting money. He was clearly mocking me. His behavior was strange, and I was sure he had laughed out loud on purpose to provoke me.
Even if that wasn’t his goal, he still obtained two million gold, so he was definitely happy about that. It was an unexpected boon, so he was definitely on cloud nine right now. I gnashed my teeth when I remembered how he thanked me.
‘No, Kim Hyun-Sung is more problematic than him. What kind of crazy bastard hands over two million gold because of someone he had met long ago? Where did you even get that money from? Did you write an IOU or something? Weren’t you going to give me the profits you've earned from the black market?’
I had no idea how much gold they had stored here, but two million gold was a ridiculously large amount.
It’d be a different story if Kim Hyun-Sung managed to sell all the stolen goods here, but there was no way he could do that. In addition to the one million gold that Jin Cheong had paid the black market, there was still the remaining one million gold. I couldn't help but wonder where he had obtained that amount.
To make matters worse, the money was supposed to belong to the Continental Protection Management Committee, so it felt like I lost double the amount, making me feel even more bitter.
‘Jin Cheong isn’t the problem. He’s the root of all evil.’
I was sure that if Jin Cheong wanted to get more, he could have gotten more than just two million gold.
I wondered how he was going to complete the quest that I had given him and why he even did that without thinking it through.
'The fox—I mean, that fox was me, but I really wanted to hold a hearing.'
“I guess Kim Hyun-Sung is still a man in the end. He looked at Lee Ki-Yeon as if she was someone special. He’s a good person, and it's proven by the fact that he’s cheering her on...” Lee Ji-Hye said.
“...”
“It was fun, right? Let’s end this on a good note,” Lee Ji-Hye said.
‘Well, we can’t end it on a good note.’
“It’s not like we didn’t profit. We resolved the potion addiction crisis in Colorado. Of course, there are still many things that we need to handle," Lee Ji-Hye said.
“What's going to happen afterward is more important. In less than a week, there will be an uproar from the people complaining about their addiction.
"I need to declare Colorado as a special management region and track the distribution route of the potions. Han Sora will take care of the Magic Tower. I think it’s best if we leave Lindel alone.
"Jin Cheong had also promised to take care of the Republic side. We should consider restoring the Federation to its original state as our top priority,” I suggested.
If one only looked at the results, then it looked great. The only problem was the financial loss. Designating a place as a special management area was expensive, but how could the Honorary Cardinal of the Sacred Democratic Country leave the addicts to suffer?
The Federation was famous for being broke, so they’d obviously request funds from the Committee.
Even quick maths on the cost of a rehabilitation center, a counseling center, and a living assistance system for the Adventurers of the Federation and Colorado said that the amount would be astronomical.
Obviously, I wouldn't pay for all of this, but the Committee’s funds were closely tied to me, so I felt bitter about this incident.
‘Kim Hyun-Sung, you jerk.’
“Are you sure there’s one at the Magic Tower?” I asked.
“Yeah, there’s a warp gate there, so it's pretty obvious. One just has to fall, and they'll fall one by one like dominoes. If we let the Black Swan Guild handle it, it’ll only take a few days,” Lee Ji-Hye answered.
Fortunately, we could confiscate the assets of the villains. However, it didn't change the fact that Kim Hyun-Sung was still a jerk.
“By the way, you look good, Ji-Hye noona,” I said.
“Of course. It feels like I enjoyed my vacation for the first time in a while. Yeon-Soo was there to record, so I can watch it every day,” Lee Ji-Hye said.
“What did she record?” I asked.
“Everything. Once the video is edited, it’ll be pretty fun to watch,” Lee Ji-Hye answered.
‘Everything?’
“...”
“...”
“Anyway, I’m going to spend the rest of my vacation with Yeon-Soo. My staffer worked really hard, and it resulted in a great piece. I need to make sure that Yeon-Soo gets to make great memories as well, as it would be the reward for her hard work.
"Ah, now that I think about it, aren’t you supposed to meet Kim Hyun-Sung? You have less than thirty minutes left. What are you going to do?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.
“I wasn’t planning on meeting him anyway. Ah, I should send him a message,” I said.
Sure enough, I had already received a message.
I wanted to write something nice, but I couldn’t do it.
- Mr. Ki-Young, where are you right now? I’m almost there.
'He’s not even apologizing to me.'
- I need to cancel our plan today. You seem busy... take care of your work. ^^ I feel like I’m bothering you when you’re working so hard. ^^ You’re so busy that you can’t even contact me, right?
- That’s not true. I have my reasons for not contacting you back... I was actually going to contact you, Mr. Ki-Young, but there was a pretty important matter...
- But you did not contact me. You seem busy right now, so you can just stop replying, Guild Master. I believe you’ll do a great job at the task that I’ve given you, as you’ve been working so hard. ^^;;
‘You still can’t tell?’
- I’d really appreciate it if you could send a performance report by tomorrow, Guild Master. I would like you to focus on the budget, in particular, Guild Master.
‘I’m angry. I’m actually angry.’
Kim Hyun-Sung had to be disciplined.
I realized that I had been going too easy on him.
I knew he was slow-witted, but he'd definitely understand what I was trying to say here, right? I specifically called him "Guild Master," so he'd definitely realize that something was wrong.
It was proven by the fact that he didn’t reply right away.
I was sure he had finally realized that the emoticons I sent in my first message weren't my way of expressing my kindness to him.
As expected, my hand mirror started ringing. I was sure he wanted to talk over the phone, as he had no idea what to say. Of course, I didn’t answer his call.
My hand mirror rang a few more times, but I didn’t answer him.
- Please stop calling me, Guild Master. I can’t talk on the phone right now.
- Mr. Ki-Young, there’s something that I really want to tell you today.
'He’s getting impatient.'
- Please call me later.
I couldn't even smile, as I already knew what he was going to say. He was probably going to explain his situation, say that he needed to save someone in danger, and make excuses. I’d have to compliment him if I were to hear him out, so it was better not to respond to his calls.
- How about focusing more on your task rather than talking about useless things? ^^;; I’m kind of busy right now.
“It’s pretty obvious. I’m sorry. I’m sowwy... blah, blah, blah,” I said.
- If I insulted you in any way... I’m really sorry.
‘Sorry, my ass.’
- I got you a gift. It’s Michaelaria’s Necklace. I wanted to give it to you in person... If you can make some time for me...
Kim Hyun-Sung even sent a picture of it. For some reason, the name sounded familiar.
‘It’s that item.’
The final item that was supposed to be sold on the black market. It had a pretty simple design. I didn’t like it, but it was definitely an excellent item, as it was being sold in an auction house.
‘I can probably sell this to Jin Cheong.’
He seemed pretty sad about it, so I could probably sell it to him for two million gold.
If its effects weren't bad, I could equip it myself.
It wasn’t so bad, but I wasn’t happy about the fact that he wanted to meet me. He’d probably go on and on about how sorry he was. I felt bad, but I needed to discipline him.
Of course, I was still going to accept the necklace.
- I’d appreciate it if you could just mail the necklace. I don’t want to see you right now.
- Okay... I’ll send it right away.
- If you have nothing else to say, I’ll be signing off, Guild Master.
- Excuse me, Mr. Ki-Young...
- Yes?
- There was an unavoidable reason why I had to be late to the place you invited me.
- I’m telling you this because I’m in an avoidable situation right now. ^^;;
- I’m sorry, but...
I didn’t reply to his last message and messaged someone else instead.
Soon, I heard a voice outside.
“Mr. Ki-Young? You have a guest.”
“Tell them to come in. Actually, I’ll head out,” I answered.
“Okay.”
When I walked out, I saw a face I hadn’t seen in a while.
“Have you been doing well?” I asked.
He hadn't dyed his hair, so he still had blond hair. Perhaps it was because of the influence of mana, but his appearance hadn't really changed. He was smiling at me, so I was sure he was happy about the fact that I had messaged him.
Judging by his flushed face, he had to have run here the moment he received my message.
'This is what I’m talking about... This is more like it.'
“Am I late, hyung? I’m sorry. I was in the middle of training...” Rafael said.
“It’s fine, Mr. Rafael,” I said.
“I-Is something wrong?” Rafael asked.
“It’s nothing serious. Do I need to have a reason to contact you?” I questioned.
“Not really...” Rafael replied.
'Yeah, I’ve neglected you too much. I also understand that this is too sudden.'
“I contacted you because I wanted to catch up over a meal. I was wondering what you’ve been up to these days... and I have a favor to ask as well. I’d like to talk to you about what's happening on the continent these days. Are you available?” I asked.
“Yes, I’m available, hyung,” Rafael replied.
“Can you... make a reservation at that restaurant?” I requested.
“A-actually, I know a better place. Let’s go there, hyung,” Rafael suggested.
“What?”
“It’s actually dinner time... and I thought something like this might happen...” Rafael said.
“How about we take a picture?” I suggested.
“What? But that's so sudden...” Rafael questioned.
“Let’s take one together, Mr. Rafael,” I said.
“Ah... okay.”
I felt like we took a pretty good picture. I ignored Rafael’s awkward smile and immediately posted it on Benigoa Net. I rarely made posts, but I immediately logged into my personal account and soon uploaded the picture.
I was curious about the comments that the people were going to make. It had been a while since I posted on Benigoagram, so I decided to post the picture with the following caption.
[It’s been a while since I met the Gray Warrior.]
'It's pretty good, but obviously, I didn’t stop there.'
[#I don’t care anymore #With my lovely little bro #An overdue outing #Restaurant #Honorary Cardinal and the Gray Warrior #Holy Sword Warrior # Rafael #Goodbye stress #Finally free #We understand each other #Unbroken promise #A sincere friend]
In addition...
[#A new friend]
'I really needed to discipline him. Seriously.'