Chapter 225
Chapter 225. Guild (2)
The consistent attitude that Jang Sa-im showed during his first meeting with Kkuljaem and Mongdang as a transaction counterpart was enough to earn his trust.
Accordingly, the acquisition process of Mongdang proceeded very swiftly.
The only difference from Nam Ho-yeol, who fully joined the guild, was that they decided to continue using the company name as a subsidiary.
Jang Sa-im decided to continue the corpse disposal work of another guild while Yoo Ji-han was not in Korea.
—I’ll handle this acquisition work on my own.
And while Kim Si-hu was carrying out the acquisition process of Mongdang.
Yoo Ji-han met someone he had only communicated with through messages until now.
“It’s been a while since we faced each other, Hyun-jae.”
“It’s literally been a while… but seeing Ji-han’s face often in the news lately, it doesn’t feel that unfamiliar.”
“You’ve gotten new glasses?”
“My vision suddenly got worse recently.”
A man adjusting his glasses, which had slightly slipped down his nose, with a finger.
Yoo Ji-han looked at him and smiled lightly.
He was Lee Hyun-jae, the Head of Management Department at Keroes.
During the time Yoo Ji-han was at Keroes, he had more conversations for health management than with the party members.
—Those are some funny-looking glasses!
“It seems the Spirit likes them, so I’m glad.”
—Hehe!
The Sylph giggled as she looked at the round glasses frame.
Yoo Ji-han caught the one flying in front of Lee Hyun-jae with his hand.
“Thanks to you, Hyun-jae, I was able to get this far.”
“Well, even sweet words aren’t bad.”
Lee Hyun-jae nodded at the expression of gratitude.
He thought he hadn’t really done anything for Yoo Ji-han, who had been expelled from Keroes.
However, Yoo Ji-han actually felt a tremendous gratitude toward him.
‘It would have been much harder without this person back then.’
At the time when the entry of Kkuljaem’s party into the MA was restricted due to career issues.
If it hadn’t been for the recommendation letter that Lee Hyun-jae wrote through another guild’s connections, Yoo Ji-han might have had an entirely different future.
No matter how well things are going, it wouldn’t have been better than now.
“This is a gift.”
“A gift? For me?”
“You liked collecting fountain pens, right?”
Yoo Ji-han presented Lee Hyun-jae with a fountain pen wrapped in a paper bag.
Lee Hyun-jae’s eyes widened at the sight of the pen.
It was a rare item that was completely discontinued and hard to find now.
“Wow, what did you bring! This one is really hard to find, isn’t it?”
“I’ve been doing quite well lately.”
Yoo Ji-han’s account balance was pretty solid after receiving dividends equal to the shares he held not too long ago.
Giving gifts to those who helped him was just a light expenditure.
Looking at Lee Hyun-jae happily holding the fountain pen, Yoo Ji-han asked, “How’s Keroes lately?”
“It’s neither good nor bad, honestly.”
“And Kim Hyun-tae’s party?”
“A month ago, the member to replace Lee Mi-a was confirmed, and they’re practicing together until we go to another world.”
Kim Hyun-tae’s party was also included in the group heading to another world.
The reason for their absence from the previously held OT was due to personal scheduling.
Their destination wasn’t Kallem, though…
‘Should I call that fortunate?’
Perhaps because he went through some trouble while with Kim Hyun-tae.
Yoo Ji-han felt relieved at the fact that their paths had diverged.
“How about you, Hyun-jae?”
“I’m just as usual.”
“Still often clashing with Guild Master Park Joong-seob?”
“Uh… Yeah.”
Yoo Ji-han knew that while Lee Hyun-jae and Park Joong-seob, a founding member of Keroes, frequently interacted on work issues, their relationship wasn’t particularly good.
Seeing Lee Hyun-jae smiling awkwardly, Yoo Ji-han spoke with a serious expression.
“The doors of our guild will be open to you for the time being.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means exactly what it says.”
“Hmmm, that sounds significant.”
Lee Hyun-jae, after staring at Yoo Ji-han for a moment, lowered his head and sighed.
It wouldn’t be hard for the sharp-eyed Lee Hyun-jae to understand that he could openly transfer to their guild.
In short, the open-door policy meant that if Keroes didn’t suit him, they would prepare a spot for him in Kkuljaem, so he could come over anytime.
“But why ‘for the time being’?”
“We can’t always keep it open. Kkuljaem will grow in size like a large guild moving forward.”
“That’s confidence. I’ll think about it.”
“You can take your time until I return to Earth.”
“…….”
Looking at Yoo Ji-han, who wore a relaxed expression, Lee Hyun-jae kept his mouth shut.
The hero who had left Keroes in a pitiful state offered to recruit him upon returning in great success.
It seemed that the gentleman, who used to be dignified and reticent, had changed a lot.
‘This may be the real Ji-han’s personality.’
It’s possible that the environment at Keroes suppressed Yoo Ji-han’s potential.
Looking at his steps now, it was a fitting assumption.
‘And honestly, it’s really tempting…!’
Kkuljaem, a guild with explosive potential despite its small size.
Given that only Yoo Ji-han’s party existed there, he could establish fundamental rules and systems from scratch in that free-spirited place.
This seemed like a very attractive condition for Lee Hyun-jae, who often clashed with Park Joong-seob.
*
“Fran, please gather the laundry!”
“I’m on it!”
Flap!
In the Sky Shelter where younger members of different races stay.
Fran Fager gathered the laundry hanging in the hallway at the request of his younger sister, Lixis.
While passing through, the Shelter Director Jung Eun-young joined him to help gather the laundry.
“Fran, you’ll be graduating soon, right?”
“I’ve fulfilled all graduation requirements, so I just need to wait.”
“Take your time thinking about becoming independent from the shelter.”
“Yes!”
Supported by various races, the Sky Shelter was where Fran, a senior in the Hero Academy, was about to become an adult.
Thanks to ample finances, he could stay here a few more years after graduation if he wanted.
“Have you decided which guild to join?”
“I plan to go where Si-hu hyung is!”
“Kkuljaem, huh?”
Now a guild anyone recognized just by its name.
Fran was still planning to join them, who were active as a minority.
“What about the offer from Red Hole?”
Fran had caught the eye of scouts who had visited the Hero Academy by chance and received an invitation to join Red Hole.
It wasn’t just any middle-tier guild, but an offer from a giant guild regarded as number one in Korea!
It was rare for someone obviously from a different race to receive such a good opportunity like that.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ve already turned it down.”
“Oh my.”
Fran rejected that proposal outright.
The only guild he wanted to join was Kkuljaem, founded by Half-Elf Kim Si-hu.
“What will you do if they don’t take you?”
“I’ll knock on their door until they accept me.”
“That’s so like you.”
Knock knock.
Just as Fran was chatting with Jung Eun-young.
They heard a knocking sound from outside.
“Chirp chirp! I’m here!”
“It’s Chilla!”
The visitors were Chilla and Min Yu-ri.
Hearing Chilla’s voice, the children laughed brightly and dashed outside.
“Let me ride on your back!”
“Me too!”
“Hey! Don’t touch my tail!”
The children piled onto Chilla’s back one by one.
Min Yu-ri often visited the Sky Shelter to see how much the children adored Chilla.
But today, her purpose was a bit different.
“Fran!”
“Did you call for me, Sister Yu-ri?”
Thud!
At Min Yu-ri’s call, Fran ran over and knelt on one knee before her.
Seeing his exaggerated action, Min Yu-ri smiled softly.
“We discussed your recruitment at yesterday’s internal meeting.”
“……!”
Fran quickly raised his head.
“What was the outcome of the meeting?”
“If you want, after graduation, you can join our guild.”
“R-really?!”
Fran’s recruitment passed unanimously without a single objection.
It was only natural, considering Yoo Ji-han had had him in mind from the start.
“But you might have to operate solo for a while.”
“That’s totally fine!”
If he could have even a tiny role in the new history that Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu would create, Fran was more than happy.
*
Yoo Ji-han looked at the memo and organized his thoughts.
1. Mongdang acquisition.
2. Attempt to recruit Lee Hyun-jae.
3. Recruit Fran Fager.
……
……
The list written on the notebook contained items he needed to handle before heading to Kallem.
While in Kallem, he had also prepared to hire security personnel and other arrangements to prevent the guild from being vacant.
—Human society is too complex!
“All of this is necessary.”
—Hmph!
Yoo Ji-han scribbled in his notebook with a pen while listening to the Sylph’s grumbling.
Just then, he received a call from his aunt.
“Hello?”
—It’s me.
“What brings you here late at night?”
—Remember the friend of your brother you wanted me to investigate?
At Han Seo-in’s words, Yoo Ji-han stopped his moving hand over the paper.
He set the pen down on the desk and comfortably held the phone again.
“Did you find out something?”
—I got in touch with his family.
The person mentioned by Mun Jeong-hee, whom Yoo Ji-han had met at the Spirit Master gathering, as his father’s friend.
Yoo Ji-han waited for the answer related to him.
—But it seems that person has gone missing.
“What?”
—It seems he disappeared on the day your brother and sister-in-law died.
By coincidence, he had also gone missing from society that very day.
The same day Yoo Ji-han’s parents passed away in the MA.
His family had filed a missing person report with the police long ago, but they had reportedly not found a trace of him.
Upon hearing that news, Yoo Ji-han spoke in an uneasy tone.
“The fact that something happened on the same day… it must be a coincidence, right?”
—I also felt something was off, so I investigated, and I heard he left a note at home before he vanished.
“What does the note say?”
—I’ll send you a photo once our call is over. But did you at least have dinner?
Beginning the nagging from dinner.
As Yoo Ji-han quietly listened to her nagging, he soon ended the call with her.
After a brief wait, he received a message with the photo.
“Is this the person?”
—Ehee! He’s quite handsome!
“Even now, he still looks charming.”
The man known as his father’s close friend.
The handsome man in the photo seemed not to differ much in age from Yoo Ji-han.
Following was a picture of the note he supposedly left before going missing.
“What did he write?”
The note contained many characters that were hard to understand.
A long string of identical characters appearing repeatedly.
At first glance, it looked like some sort of cipher.
[Aunt: I asked a cryptographer to decode it, but they couldn’t.]
[Aunt: It might just be meaningless doodles, so don’t worry too much about it.]
The note had been attempted to be deciphered by multiple experts.
Han Seo-in told him to not give it too much significance.
But Yoo Ji-han couldn’t do that.
“……Wait a minute.”
Yoo Ji-han hurriedly opened the photo album on his phone.
Among the most recently saved photos were plenty of pictures sent by Mun Jeong-hee, a friend of his mother.
Among them, the photo that caught Yoo Ji-han’s eye was the one with him as a baby.
“That’s exactly the same.”
The note left by his father’s friend who reportedly went missing.
It had a symbol that looked just like the mark on young Yoo Ji-han’s neck.
