[Hah. He asked for an aircraft carrier?]
[Yes, that is what he said. The British Monarchy and the Parliament went over the decision. They came to the conclusion that the Dimensional Fragment was a very important Item, but they decided the aircraft carrier as a payment was an unreasonable. Instead, we propose dispatching an aircraft carrier to the East Sea for 5 years. It will shore up your defense...]
It was such an enormous offer that Soonghoon's mouth dropped open.
He had never thought about this before. He couldn't keep the surprise and confusion off of his face. He had lost the pace of the negotiations through his own fault. He had basically gave up the upper hand in the negotiation.
[We can come to an agreement on the money it takes to operate the aircraft carrier. If we split the cost down the middle, we'll agree to station it here for the next 5 years.]
[This isn't something I can make the call on. I'll have to meet the king later on, then...]
As Soonghoon was speaking, the door suddenly opened, so he shut his mouth. The person he had been waiting for had appeared.
“I guess everyone's here.”
“Welcome back.”
Jung-minchan greeted Woojin in a welcoming manner.
An aircraft carrier wasn't a child's toy, yet he was asking for it so matter of factly. He wondered how valuable this Dimensional Fragment was...
When Woojin saw the negotiation group from Britain, he immediately asked a question.
“Do you speak Korean?”
“I can.”
Soonghoon had on a shocked expression when the blonde British man started to speak eloquently in Korean. Of course, the man knew how to speak English, but he never expected his counterpart to know how to speak Korean.
“If you give me what I want, I'll give you this.”
Woojin took out the Dimensional Fragment from his Inventory, and he held it out. The gem was letting out a brilliant purple light, and it was emitting so much magical energy that normal people could feel something was off.
“Mmmm. It takes several thousand people to maintain and operate an aircraft carrier. To my knowledge, Alandal doesn't have that many people.”
“That's my business. Just give me the boat and everything within it. I don't need the people.”
“……?”
Did Alandal have enough people to pull this off? There weren't that many people that knew how to operate an aircraft carrier amongst the entire population of Korea. This small country had never even owned a aircraft carrier before, so why was he coveting it so much...
“I'll take care of it myself. Will you buy it or not?”
“…we want the Dimensional Fragment for the purpose of research, but we have no idea what it can do...”
“You can purchase a Dimensional Gate that leads to another planet. Basically, with this one Item, you will be able to own a Dungeon.”
“…….”
At Woojin's words, the negotiation group and the people from the US and Japanese guild became surprised. It wasn't known to outsiders, but each of them had also gained a Dimensional Fragment. Currently, there were researches going on...
“Will you buy it or not. If you don't want it, I'll sell it to someone else.”
The negotiation group expressed their dismay at Woojin's unreasonableness.
“I have to discuss it with my home country. Do you mind if we give our final decision tomorrow?”
“I have to wait until tomorrow? Are you willing to purchase the time that I'll waste?”
How much was a single day of Kahng-woojin' life worth? He was able to clear a Dungeon in few hours. How many Dungeons did he crush during his trip around the world? Yet they dared to keep him waiting for a whole day?
“Can you handle that?”
“P...please give me thirty minutes.”
Woojin turned his head.
“Kaneda and Bad Sector? If this isn't resolved within 30 minutes, I'll sell it to you guys. Ah, does Japan have any aircraft carriers?”
Woojin asked the question as he looked at the man from the Bad Sector guild.
When the man from the Bad Sector guild quickly took out his phone, the negotiator from Britain suddenly stood up.
“We'll buy it!”
Woojin smirked.
In the end, they were going to buy it no matter what, yet they had acted as if they weren't interested.
“Bring me the aircraft carrier.”
Woojin placed the Dimensional Fragment on the negotiation table.
“…….”
The man didn't know what to do as he looked at Woojin. Woojin shrugged his shoulders.
“Take it.”
“…just like this?”
What kind of a dealing was this?
The decision had just been made, and there were still uncertainties surrounding the deal. Was it really ok to just hand over something so valuable?
Woojin eradicated the negotiator's worries.
“If you guys plan on reneging on the deal, I'll erase Britain off the map.”
“…….”
“All of you can all leave. No, you guys come with me to the president's room.”
Woojin spoke as he looked at Minchan and Soonghoon. Then he exited the prime minister's office.
“…….”
For a while, the office was silent as a grave. The air was heavy as it was sucked into Woo-soonghoon's lungs.
‘What the hell just happened now?’
The aircraft carrier had been thrown back and forth in the negotiations... In a flash, an item worth billions of dollars had exchanged hands.
Is this how it feels to have the world at one's beck and call? Soonghoon had stood at the center of the negotiations. He felt afraid, and thrilled at the same time.
“Well, let's conclude the negotiations with the Bad Sector guild tomorrow.”
Minchan tidied up the situation as he sent away the other delegations.
Afterwards, Soonghoon and Minchan walked the corridor together.
“Whew. I wonder what the king wants to do with that aircraft carrier.”
“Maybe he just wants one?”
“Mmm.”
Soonghoon had just tossed that idea out there, but somehow there was a ring of truth to it. Minchan let out a groan.
Well, they could just go ask him right now.
“Uh. You guys are finally here.”
Woojin buried his body into sofa as he greeted them.
“The other party members didn't come with you?”
“They are still rolling along. I thought we were going to do a Guild General Assembly? Why is it being put off from day to day?”
“The size of assembly got too large.”
“What do you mean?”
“All the guilds of the world showed interest in it. They are all hoping to attend.”
“Tsk. Is that so?”
“The Hammer guild is doing their best. It is scheduled to be in 15 days.”
“That is way too late.”
He had planned on going to Alphen after the general assembly ended.
“This is why you don't outsource tasks like this.”
Woojin looked at his dependable subordinate Jung-minchan.
Woojin didn’t want any constraints on his work. This was why he had founded a country, and he chose Jung-minchan as the prime minister.
“We'll have it in 6 days. I'll talk to all of the guilds before I head towards Alphen. If they can come, they'll be there. The ones that can't attend can watch it on the news.”
“…if you suddenly propose such a tight schedule….”
“I've waited this long. That's enough. Those people from Hammer are too slow. You take over.”
“…….”
If he was told to do it, he would do it. However, the thought about doing it made Minchan's head hurt.
“So why do you need the aircraft carrier?”
“Ah. I have something I want to test.”
“Are you trying to make a Golem?”
“Huh? I can give Dolsae scrap metals, so why would I buy an aircraft carrier for him?”
There was no good reason to buy such an expensive aircraft carrier for the purpose of using it as ingredients for his Golem.
Minchan's eyes turned round.
“What can we do with just the aircraft carrier? We really need a lot of people to move that big thing....”
Woojin grinned.
“You'll have to fill it up.”
Woojin didn't have to worry about the task, since he had someone else that would be doing the worrying for him.
“…….”
Minchan's head was hurting already.
“Or I might fill it up in some other way.”
“Perhaps? From the Dimensional Domain?”
“Yes. It'll be beyond our ability to fight the war with only people from earth.”
“…….”
Woojin looked at Soonghoon.
“Do you know how to do the SNS? Sign me up.”
“What? You want me to register president's SNS?”
Soonghoon was surprised.
“Bring me my hand phone.”
“Yes, sir.”
Songhoon fiddled with Woojin's handphone, and he registered Woojin to the SNS. The country of Alandal wasn't even available at registration. As a dual citizen, Soonghoon registered Woojin as a Korean citizen.
“…so that is how you put up a post.”
“Mmm. All right.”
“I'll put up on the official Alandal account that president has joined the SNS.”
Woo-soonghoon worked quickly, and suddenly, Woojin's hand phone kept vibrating.
Ddi-ring, ddi-ring.
<TheLight-nim just followed you.>
<Asdf-nim just followed you.>
…….
“What’s going on?”
“Ah. I'll turn off the notification.”
Woojin’s followers were increasing rapidly, and he was jumping the total followers ranking several dozen spots at a time.
‘He'll pass me by in a flash.’
Woo-soonghoon had a lot of followers. He had as many followers as famous actors. However, it seemed Kahng-woojin was going to pass him by at any moment..
“I'll use this later. Is there any Dungeons that are about to Break? Do we have any requests that are already in?”
“Mmm. That's....”
Minchan's face darkened.
“There are several imminent Breaks, yet none of the governments are asking for help.”
“So they want to take care of it through their own efforts.”
“Yes. I don't know the exact reason behind it, but I would hazard to guess it has something to do with the Dimensional Fragment you showed earlier.”
“Mmm….”
Woojin tapped on his armrest.
Greed might burn them, but that was the natural consequence of thier deed.
“They'll get a stomach ache.”
“What?”
“It's nothing. Just leave them be.”
Anyways, Kahng-woojin couldn't shut down all the Dungeons. The places that'll Break will Break. The ones that are able to defend their Dungeons will defend them.
If they were desperate, they'll ask for help. It wasn't a bad idea to give them autonomy.
“How's the recruitment of new Roused for the guild going?”
“The resumes for the recruitment are flooding in. In the end, president will have to make the choice. Please tell me the time, so I can send out a notice.”
Woojin didn't care about resumes. Their current ability to clear a Dungeon had nothing to do with their growth potential. Who would have expected Hong-sunggoo to become one of the top Roused of this world?
Woojin will choose them based on what he saw.
“Then schedule it 3 days from now. I've said all I needed to say, so I'm heading out.”
The future work would be done by the people left behind.
“Where are you going?”
“I'm heading to the Dimensional Domain.”
“Before you do that, could you leave behind a photo?”
“Huh?”
“It's for verifying your identity. No one is posting on the president's SNS bulletin board.”
“All right. Photograph me.”
“Could you tilt your head a little bit this way? Yes, like that.”
Soonghoon put Woojin in the right pose, and he took a photo with the hand phone.
Click.
“You upload it. I'm going.”
“Yes. Take care.”
“Also, you should just give up being the minister of foreign affairs. You should continue your work as my secretary. It feels awkward seeing other people.”
“…….”
“I saw your negotiation skills earlier. You weren't that great. I don't think you have the aptitude for it.”
My king... Didn't you buy a hand phone from this hopeless negotiator? What does that say about you?
“Well, I'm going for real now.”
“Yes.”
He didn't have to go the Seoul station. Woojin opened a portal that connected to his Dimensional Domain, and he disappeared.
“So did I just get promoted or demoted?”
“Mmm…. I think it is a promotion.”
He was the chief secretary directly under the king of Alandal.
Woo-soonghoon uploaded the photo he took with Woojin's hand phone up on the SNS.
***
- Alandal Guild is recruiting new Roused!
- The Noah's Ark of the Modern Age. Your only chance to gain citizenship to Alandal.
- Kingdom of Alandal finalized a deal for an aircraft carrier....
- Nationality doesn't matter. Recruitment for Support Division. Preference given to those with experience aboard an aircraft carrier.
- Breaking News. Kahng-woojin started his SNS!
…….
There were several dozen...no, several hundred articles pouring out. Moreover, the trending search words were all related to Kahng-woojin.
Cindy was holding up her phone as she sighed.
“Ha-ah.”
She had received a big shock from what happened at the reunion. She had stopped working, and she was resting at her home as she received psychiatric treatment.
“Maybe I should apply?”
There was no meaning behind being an entertainer, or having money.
This was a world where one's death could happen at any moment. It was an end to an era where money protected oneself from everything.
Moreover...
“Will I be able to see him more often?”
When she thought about Kahng-woojin, it pulled at her heartstrings.
Cindy scrolled down the address book in her hand phone, and she located Do-jiwon's information. She was about to press the call button. However, she just sighed as she lowered her head.
“Ha-ah. I must have gone mad.”
She was insanely jealous of Do-jiwon.
“Eh-whew. Get a hold of yourself.”
What was the point of pining for a man that is taken?
She just couldn't stop thinking about him. However, it wasn't as if she had fallen for him at first sight. It wasn't to the point where she loved him.
Yearning?
It was a feeling her fans felt when they looked at her. This was the feeling Cindy felt when she looked at Woojin. She had never gave this level of interest and attention to a man before.
She wasn't passionate enough to commit her life to something based on a brief flash of feeling she felt. She was level headed enough to control herself.
“Uh whew. I should start working again.”
There was a limit to how much break she was willing to take. She couldn't take time off for the rest of her life.
He threw her phone on her pillow as she got up. She took out a cold bottle of water from the refrigerator, and she drank it.
“Kyahh.”
Her head felt refreshed when she drank the cold water.
She was picking up her hand phone to call her manager when Cindy's body stiffened.
[Hello? What's up. Speak to me, Cindy.]
Jiwon's voice was heard through the phone, and Cindy had no idea what to do.
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