Chapter 364. Conduit Company
"Senior Ahn Yoonseung, if life's been so tough that you're walking around in a daze, how about just smoking a cigarette...?"
"What did you just say? Surely you're not advising to dare use a product that my senior personally warned about its harmful effects, are you?"
"Y, yeah."
"Is that what you're saying?"
"I'm sorry."
"Wow, it's blown up. Forget it. This person is even more extre than fans of Jung Haseong at his pri."
"Co to think of it, they say if there are no crazies around you, then maybe you're the strange one. But watching our Hunter Yoonseung, I'm reassured, thinking at least I must be normal—what a relief!"
Light chatter flowed casually. The Neo Sisters guild had worried that their ace-level awakened mber might be headhunted, but in reality, that wasn't the case.
"Wait a minute."
But he still couldn't completely relax.
"Co to think of it, I think I heard not long ago that [Garion] was winding down its business."
Then, another guild mber raised a different topic.
"Wasn't that just a rumor?"
"Ah. Well, judging by how it just fizzled out without any official statent, either that's what happened, or the governnt intervened and encouraged it to be scrapped."
Their focus was no different from before.
"Thinking about it again, the timing was pretty perfect, don't you think?"
"What?"
"The timing of the rumors."
"Aha."
"I saw on the news that S-ranks seem to stay in touch with each other pretty often. And yet, under those circumstances, a rumor about Garion disbanding pops up."
The founding of a guild by an S-rank Awakened—news like that was bound to have a huge impact across the entire industry.
"Yeah, right. Then maybe Hunter Haseong also got the news and was planning to wrap up his company?"
"Put that way, it also explains why Garion is still up and running."
"Right. That K-it's Hyung said he had no intention of expanding the corporation."
It wasn't just Neo Sisters—many hunters around the world were paying close attention to the matter. Though he had declared he would run a one-man guild, life is unpredictable, and no one could say for certain what might happen.
The new wave that had arrived was powerful enough to overturn every tradition ingrained in the industry at any mont. Thus, most of the influential figures began preparing themselves for an uncertain future.
***
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■Dictionary
Paper company
• aning
A corporation without a physical entity.
It refers to a nominal corporation.
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A peaceful afternoon. The sound of tapping on a phone screen is heard.
"Anyway, I did decide to establish a company... but what should I na it?"
It was now 9 a.m. on a weekday—truly the perfect ti to head to work.
"Just like what I just looked up, my guild is going to end up being a nominal organization. Honestly, there's no need to put much effort into the na."
But I wasn't actually going out anywhere; I was just absorbed in sothing. In any case, it didn't last long. The topics I'd been mulling over while lying on the sofa weren't of much importance anyway.
"Then maybe I'll just settle this matter as sothing like "Kim Giryeo Guild." Like "Soonhee's Gukbap" or whatever. After all, on Earth it's common for businesses to be nad after a person."
I finished naming the corporation that was soon to be born.
Then, from here on out, I had to solve a real problem. How would I make money in the future, and which dungeon should I go to in order to pay off my debts more easily?
"Hmm."
Rustle.
I reached out toward the glass table—left stranded in the spacious living room, a survivor from the secondhand market that never managed to sell. Then, I felt the texture of paper. After all, I had piled various docunts on top of this piece of furniture.
"Let's put this on hold for now."
The [Prophecy Book] I had obtained during my trip to the U.S... I once again went over the translated scroll. But, just as I had thought from the very beginning when I first acquired it, this wasn't really information I could make use of right now.
"Aside from the elixir of immortality, most of it is just prophecies about dragons. And above all, the tilines are way too far apart!"
Well, it was unreasonable from the start to think a single thin scroll could reveal the location of every rare dungeon.
"The next guaranteed rare monster set to appear in South Korea is scheduled for a whole two years from now. How am I supposed to pay off the additional taxes until then?"
Anyway, whichever way I looked at it, the conclusion was the sa. I had to start working this winter. But whenever this subject ca up, so kind of headache inevitably surfaced along with it.
"Honestly, closing a gate isn't even a problem for anymore..."
I rolled my eyes for a mont.
"The real issue is earning the maximum profit with the least amount of labor. But those high-grade empty gates that even a freelancer like could easily grab have suddenly disappeared from the country."
Magic. Strength. Or even charisma I thought I had long forgotten. Even after regaining so much, why won't my life fall back into place so easily? With the power I have now, I could—half jokingly—throw down the gauntlet to every hunter in Korea. But instead, I chose to complicate sothing that could have been solved simply.
"If I can just solve this funding issue, then truly, truly, truly, all that's left a retirent. I really don't want to get into any conflicts with people in the industry."
Even now, just thinking about the 40 billion makes my blood run cold and my hands tremble. Honestly, it's not like I'm completely out of options either.
"Maybe I'll just have plain rice with the kimchi I bought in advance today..."
Hahaha.
I swallowed a smile that was seventy percent bitterness and stood up from my seat. But it was at the very mont I had just shifted my posture.
"Hmm."
A guest had arrived at the extraterrestrial's mansion.
[Ding-dong.]
Except for the food deliveryman, this was the first visitor I'd ever seen.
"Excuse —"
It hadn't been long since I sensed the other person's magical power. I followed the sound coming from the intercom. And I'd marvelled at how artfully functional this Earthly device was—it allowed to see the visitor's appearance with just a single machine.
"Are you inside—?"
The person who had arrived here was Esther.
"Ah, here cos trouble number one."
The one who, hand in hand with the nation's hero—trouble number two—had smashed every gate in sight sohow managed to arrive here with such composure.
"Wait a minute, but this is... the far end of the beach?"
What on earth is happening? I tried to estimate the distance from the Korean Mage Tower headquarters to this place, but my thoughts didn't linger long. Soon, I recalled the locations of the Mage Tower guild branches in my mind, and through the intercom, I saw a woman watching , her face bright and veins standing out.
.
.
.
A few minutes later.
"Oh my--"
A sound I hadn't heard before echoed through my residence.
"Kim Giryeo-ssi~ Hello. It's been a while since we last t in person, hasn't it?"
I was just distracted by the tax paynt incident.
Esther appeared, saying she didn't expect to throw a housewarming party, and ca in carrying a surprisingly large bundle of gifts. The items she held were everyday necessities like tissues and towels.
From what I heard next, it seed that the tissues were extrely high-end, costing several thousand won per sheet.
Eco-friendly. Naturally derived. High-temperature sterilized. Pure...
No matter how many good qualities it has, it feels too pricey to buy with my own money. But if soone gives it to , that's a different story—so I'll accept it for now.
But the mont I accepted this housewarming gift, the trouble began.
"Sorry for dropping by all of a sudden today!~"
She began speaking with an air that was anything but apologetic.
"Well, considering we cleaned out the dungeons so thoroughly, it's only natural that you, Kim Giryeo, returning to work, must be an absolute perfectionist."
"Hmm?"
"Wow, you keep such a spacious house incredibly clean. It's so spotless that it hardly even feels like a human ho! But if you're always worrying about everything around you like this, logically, it can't be good for your health, right?"
The curse sorcerer's magic surged violently. Every ti I saw that person swaying rely with emotions, I was struck by the reality that I truly was in a primitive alien world.
"How could I just stand by while you, sick as you are, try to return to the industry?"
But just for a brief mont, as my mind wandered elsewhere, an unusually strong tone burst from the curse mage.
"Moreover, on top of everything, what on earth is this about founding a guild?"
It was only now that the problem beca clear. From her perspective, running a massive guild, this thoughtless establishnt of a corporation on my part must have been a considerable threat.
"Miss."
"Is this person really obsessed with work? Anyway, just so you know, no matter how much you try to persuade with that tone today, I'm simply not going to go along with it!"
If Seonwoo Yeon has the grip strength to tear a lion apart, then Esther is soone who could break concrete with a single knuckle. Knowing this, I felt a reflexive tension despite the power to overwhelm her. My mind raced, searching frantically for a way through.
"Please, have a seat for a mont."
I restrained myself from using the mind-control magic and hurriedly moved. After a mont's thought, I realized there happened to be an item in the house that could be used in this situation.
"Thank you, Seonwoo Yeon."
Green tea. I couldn't recall the exact chanism, but in any case, Earthlings tend to calm down a bit when they drink sothing warm.
"Huh."
After receiving the help of this earthly substance, I imdiately moved to address the situation. I spoke to the industry colleague standing before .
"But I have no intention of competing with the Korean Mage Tower..."
Honestly, there was no need to lie even in such trivial small talk.
"The corporation I'm establishing this ti is exactly like Garion, which Jung Haseong runs. I'll manage it in precisely the sa way, so there's naturally no way it will cause any harm to Esther's company."
I conveyed to her that there was no need to worry. But at this point, a certain purple mammal pointed out sothing I had forgotten.
"You hated the idea of working in a company so much. Didn't you want to remain a freelancer forever? You turned down all those amazing scout offers, and now suddenly you're setting up a corporation? I just don't understand."
Sure, in the early days after my reincarnation, it seems like I was just busy refusing any offers from any organization without thinking.
"Hmm."
I pondered the matter briefly. But no matter how I tried to dress it up, it wouldn't be better than the truth. So, I decided to reveal the hidden truth right then and there.
"If I put it this way, you might understand from now on."
"What did you say?"
"Actually, it's not that I dislike the idea of a company itself."
"Then why all this ti?"
"The situation I truly dislike is when there's... sothing above ."
Sssk.
As I moved deliberately, one of my arms made a gesture that looked sowhat human-like.
"I don't really like it when soone bossily gives orders. On the other, it's a position where I can make the decisions myself, like being the head of a company, well, I don't see any reason to avoid it."
"-_-"
"But the thing is, I'm not so kind of saint like you might think. I don't even like it when soone is on equal footing with ."
"-_-"
"I feel at ease only if they're under , and I want everything to go according to my own plans."
"-_-"
"Anyway, how do you think soone like could accept a scouting offer from the Korean Mage Tower? And by now, it makes sense that a hunter who supposedly disliked companies ended up starting one themselves, right?"
From the curse mage's perspective, the situation was full of expressions that would make her uncomfortable. I poured out my long-held thoughts about guilds. Having regained my strength, it was also the first ti I tried to confirm sothing for myself.
"A cursed talent born on a remote planet at the far reaches of the universe."
However, contrary to what soone as an archmage had intended, the awakened being before them responded with an unexpectedly peaceful deanor.
"Yes, that makes sense!"
"Huh?"
Slurp.
With an air of nonchalant acceptance, Esther answered and took a sip of her green tea. Her behavior was completely different from that of the curse mage of Alphauri.
"But... there's still one thing I'm curious about."
Moreover, she kept a casual expression while even asking a question of concern for others.
"First of all, I understand that you don't have any ill feelings toward corporations, Giryeo-ssi. But even so, was there really a need to go out of your way to create a guild now, after all this ti? Especially a small-scale business like a one-person guild..."
Why suddenly set up a guild? To answer that, I need to go back to the fundantal issue.
Taxes. Taxes. Taxes.
In fact, if I revealed that I'm an alien struggling to fulfill my civic duties, what kind of reaction would she have? I pause for a mont, pondering how to explain the current situation. No matter how much I thought about it, I didn't want to reveal that I'm an extraterrestrial again, and so I was at a complete loss for words.
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