‘What is she talking about…’
Cha Hee-Ra looked like she was having a lot of fun. She looked curious, but more than that, it felt like she was smacking her lips.
“There hasn’t been a person who dares to speak to me so bluntly…I guess you’re confident. Honestly, I like your appearance, but…I like people that kind of look like a snake. I like your slightly slit eyes and if I were to be blunt about it, you’re not good-looking, but you seem charming,” she said.
“That’s…”
“It’s not that I don’t have any desire to buy you at all, but I should at least test you out to see if you’re useful…how about it?” she asked.
When Cha Hee-Ra crossed her leg and she patted the space next to her, I realized how she had taken my proposal. My face turned red in an instant.
‘What…’
I thought that the word sponsor caused the misunderstanding, but she didn’t seem like a stupid woman that wouldn’t be able to understand what I said.
‘Is she not taking this seriously?’
There was a good chance that she wasn’t.
“That’s not what I meant,” I told her.
“Then what did you mean…
“That’s…”
“Lee Ki-Young. When I mentioned that I wanted to invest in you, that’s under the condition that you join our guild. Of course, your wonderful girlfriend needs to join as well. Honestly, even if you come by yourself, I’m willing to accept you even though your stats don't seem that great…I don’t think that badly about alchemists. I also think that maintaining a good relationship between us isn’t a bad idea either,” she explained.
“Oh.”
“However, it doesn’t make sense for you to continue receiving my support even after you transfer to a different guild because supporting you isn’t my job. It’s the job of the guild you’re affiliated with. Investing in a nobody? All I’m saying is that it’s more profitable for me to play with you a few times a month and give you money in return. Doing that is more profitable for us…understand?” Cha Hee-Ra explained.
‘Damn it.’
Her facts hit me really hard.
She was thinking that rather than investing in Lee Ki-Young’s personal growth, it was more profitable to invest in the time we would spend in bed. Of course, the fact that she thought of me that way wasn’t bad.
I wasn’t sure if she was acting or not, but she looked as if she wanted me right now. It felt like she simply discovered a fun toy rather than actually having feelings for me. Regardless of my pride, I didn’t want to nitpick about whether it was profitable for me to act like a puppy that listened to her well.
However…
‘I can’t do that.’
I couldn’t lower my value like that because she would end up getting tired of the toy she got and that wasn’t what I wanted.
“Of course I understand, Miss Cha Hee-Ra. I wasn’t asking you to personally sponsor me. I was asking you to become a sponsor of my party since we were the first one to complete the tutorial dungeon this round. I’m certain that both Kim Hyun-Sung and Jung Ha-Yan will grow. They may even grow up to be one of the strongest players on the continent,” I explained.
“So?” she asked.
“Sorry?” I asked.
“What about it? It doesn’t matter to me whether they will grow or not because I’m already one of the strongest people. Our guild members are all talented people and even though I want the mage, I can hire a mage anytime as long as I throw some gold around. The Red Mercenary Guild has enough funding power that we can immediately hire the Devil’s Guild or the mages of the mage tower. Even if Jung Ha-Yan grows, it’ll take at least three years…is there a reason for me to sponsor you until then?” she asked.
“...”
“What I need are mages that are affiliated with the Red Mercenary Guild. I don’t need what others have. If you’re going to keep talking nonsense, just quietly come next to me and entertain me. I’ll make sure to pay you handsomely and give you gifts from time to time,” she said.
‘Da…’
Telling me that she was going to give me money for sex was really shocking. No matter how I looked at it, it felt like she wasn’t taking what I said seriously.
I slowly took out the artifact that I was holding to my chest. Cha Hee-Ra looked like she was curious and even though it was only for a moment, it caught her attention. Of course, she was curious because it was the same item that she gave me when we first met.
[Magic Pendant - Rare Rank]
[It’s a pendant that increases one’s magic by three points. It has the ability to amplify the magic’s effect. The exact location of where it was found is unknown.]
“I don’t need an item like this,” I told her.
After looking at the pendant that landed right next to her bed, it only took her a moment to look at me with a flustered look. It seemed like she didn’t really understand the situation right now.
“You…” she started.
Maybe I went too far by throwing it on her bed, but I was able to have a serious conversation with her.
“It’s not even gold,” I said.
“...”
“What I need is your fame and power - the brand of Cha Hee-Ra the Mercenary Queen. I'm not interested in these things either,” I said.
“Do you even understand what you’re doing right now? Not hitting a rookie member is something that everyone implicitly agrees to, but acting this way won’t be beneficial for you. I guess you don’t know your place since you’re constantly receiving good offers…” she said.
“I know my place very well and I know that with one word, you can make me disappear right from this spot without a trace and I also know very well that I can get killed one day while walking and be abandoned in the middle of nowhere…” I told her.
“...”
“That’s why you…no, that’s the reason why I need you,” I said politely.
After carefully explaining, I looked at Cha Hee-Ra.
The room was filled with bloodthirstiness and magic. The pressure that I immediately felt couldn’t be compared to that senile old man.
“This is fun. I think I’m going to feel even more annoyed because you’re intentionally acting this way. I understand what you’re thinking and saying. I know it was only for a moment, but I’m sure you’ve noticed my personality, so that makes it exciting…to be honest, you’re really my type. There aren’t that many men who are able to act confidently in front of me…I don’t know how long it has been since I received this kind of treatment. And from a rookie that recently arrived here…” she said.
“...”
“But you do realize that your actions are a bit too much, right? You know. Alchemists are originally said to be practitioners of equivalent exchange. If you’re going to use me as your meat shield, then I can assume that you’re going to prepare a reward worthy of that, right? If you don’t, then you’re going to have to take responsibility for your actions,” she said.
It was difficult to talk, but I didn’t think of this as a failure because I created an opportunity to talk with her.
“Talk,” she ordered.
“First…it’s regarding the shares of the potion that I’m going to create in the future,” I started.
With my trembling hands, I took out the epic-ranked book from my pocket and threw it on the ground. Her look of interest only lasted for a moment.
“It sounds like you’re saying that you’re going to become that amazing…I don’t know where you managed to get this epic ranked book, but if this all then you’re going to become a bit exhausted,” she said.
“One percent…that’s how much I’ll give you,” I said.
“That’s it?”
“You’re going to be sitting on a pile of money,” I told her.
It was a pure bluff and lie, but my voice may sound trustworthy to her.
Why?
Because I was putting my life on the line.
“Second…having a friendly relationship with my party.”
“I told you earlier, but I don’t have any interest in things that aren’t mine,” she said.
“We’re going to grow beyond your imagination,” I said.
“You deceiving bastard,” Cha Hee-Ra commented.
“I’m not joking. We’re going to become stronger and will become the guild that represents this empire. With the Red Mercenary Guild as a close alliance, we’ll always be by your side. It’s not that big of an investment, but you’ll be able to establish a good relationship with us before any guild and power,” I told her.
“You do realize that what you’re saying is a bunch of bullshit that people say with no regard to how the other person is feeling, right? Even if there’s no cost in the investment, there’s no guarantee that you’ll succeed in making the potions or that your party is going to grow,” she explained.
“Third.”
“...”
“I’ll give you the mage that you need.”
“Bullshit,” she said.
“Out of the people that came out after completing this tutorial, within three years, no two years, I’ll select people who can efficiently use magic. I’ll create a chart and give you the list of names,” I explained.
I saw her staying quiet with her mouth closed.
If the Red Mercenary Guild’s project had just started, then I was sure that my proposal was exceptionally tempting to her.
“It’s exciting, but…is it possible?” she asked.
“My first reason as to why I’m confident is because I’m going to have an executive position within the Blue Guild, who has the first negotiation rights.”
“Hm…”
“My second reason is…”
“...”
“It’s a secret,” I said.
“You…”
“You said that alchemists are originally said to be practitioners of equivalent exchange,” I told her.
The fact that I was able to find those with talent was a secret and although her protection was important, it would put me at a disadvantage if I revealed everything.
Cha Hee-Ra remained quiet. I was certain that she was thinking that my secret and her protection wasn’t an equivalent exchange. I was hoping that she would release a hearty laugh like the characters that appeared in cartoons so that I can wrap this up, however, I didn’t think that it was going to happen. I noticed her in deep thoughts with a very serious expression, so I guess that she was calculating the profit and loss.
‘Damn it.’
Cha Hee-Ra may be trying to guess what my secret was. The certainty that my party was going to grow and finding mages that had the potential to grow. It may not be perfect, but she might have come to somewhat of a conclusion.
‘Did I say too much?’
When I bit my lips…
“Regarding the shares of the potion, I want three percent instead of one percent and regarding the list of mages, I also want a list of people with close-range jobs. And I’ll decide on the method,” she said.
“What…”
“Didn’t you need my protection? No one will be able to touch you and in exchange, I’ll decide on the method,” Cha Hee-Ra said.
“How…”
“You’ll find out at some point today. So, are you going to do it or not?” she asked.
Of course, there wasn’t a reason for me to reject it.
“I look forward to working with you,” I said.
“Let’s talk more about this next time…” she suggested.
As if she was telling me that I should leave, Cha Hee-Ra waved her hand. She looked quite pleased and I realized that she was satisfied with my proposal.
‘It’s done.’
When I turned around and left her room, I saw a group of people running towards her room. They all looked like they had close-range jobs, so when I used Mind’s Eye and looked at them, I noticed that all of them were executives of the Red Mercenary Guild. I was assuming that they were trying to have a meeting regarding the conversation she and I had earlier. I was sure that they were going to ask her opinion about my proposal and about protecting me. The problem was how Cha Hee-Ra was going to protect me.
The moment I exited the Red Mercenary Guild happily, a message suddenly appeared in my status window and I discovered what she thought about me.
[You’ve obtained a title.]
“What?”
[Title - Mercenary Queen’s Lover]
“Damn it.”
This was the first title that I obtained after arriving on this continent.
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