The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 47

Was it because he was relaxed?

Or was it because he had confirmed that Lee Shin had no hostility?

Lee Hyun-seok, who was telling various stories while eating snacks, looked like a student of that age with a slightly shadowed face.

On top of that, since he was surprisingly good with words, Lee Shin was able to listen to his story without getting bored.

Since there were also snacks, his hands and mouth were not bored.

"Hoo, this is the end."

"Hmm~"

Lee Shin, who had heard all of Lee Hyun-seok's story, opened his mouth to simply summarize it.

"Originally, your family's financial situation was not good, and your parents were scammed and got into debt. Your parents worked themselves to death to pay off that debt, got sick from overwork, and eventually passed away."

Nod-

"The loan sharks who found out about that used the contract and your younger sister as weapons to work you like a slave and made you work in their Pantheon workshop."

Nod-

"And the ones who attacked us now are those loan sharks, and you were forced to come because of threats, is that right?"

"As dungeons appeared, perhaps smelling money, the guys who were gangsters also changed their names to Black Guilds and started businesses related to dungeons."

"Hmm..."

Hearing all of that, Lee Shin nodded and summarized the story.

"In other words, you only played the roles of a slave, a porter, and a cleaner in the Black Guild, so you don't know anything, right?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Lee Hyun-seok said, clicking his tongue.

He had a face that said he wanted to sell them out, but he was frustrated because he had nothing to sell.

"If I could get revenge on those guys, I would cooperate with all my might, but I really don't know anything. I know where they are, but I don't know if they're still there now..."

"Ah, it's fine, it's fine. Actually, that part is a problem that will be solved on its own, so I wasn't worried about it. So it doesn't really matter. It's enough just to have a rough idea of what kind of guy you are."

Lee Hyun-seok spoke in a voice dripping with desperation, but Lee Shin waved his hand lightly as if it didn't matter.

"Wh-why?"

At that, Lee Hyun-seok's face was colored with bewilderment, and Lee Shin said, putting a snack in his mouth.

"Because the guys they messed with aren't ordinary guys."

At Lee Shin's words, Lee Hyun-seok was finally able to recall the astonishment he had felt when Lee Shin had called his name.

"Well, I don't know the details either, but they didn't seem like the type to let it go after being attacked. It's not like they don't have the power to pay them back."

Saying so, Lee Shin recalled the appearance that Cheon Yuhwa and Kim Jae-hyun had shown against the Chaotic Players.

'Neither of them seemed to have any particular hesitation about murder, so they'll probably clean it up neatly.'

"They'll probably disappear before today is over."

"Th-that much?"

"Because it's the number one guild in Korea."

After concluding that this part would be solved on its own, Lee Shin stood up and approached where Eun Yeon-woo was.

"Yeon-woo, let's stop at a large mart on the way."

"Suddenly?"

Lee Shin said, glancing at Lee Hyun-seok.

"Because your younger brother has also come. I'm just going to buy a welcome party gift for the youngest."

"Younger brother?"

"Youngest?"

At Lee Shin's words, Eun Yeon-woo and Lee Hyun-seok reacted in the same way.

***

The expressions of the people shopping at the mart are usually similar.

A smiling face.

The faces of people who purely enjoy shopping.

A contemplating face.

The faces of people who are contemplating various things such as price, freshness, and nutrition.

A face holding back annoyance.

The faces of people who are annoyed by something but are shopping regardless.

All of them are faces that can often be seen at the mart, but.

"Is it really okay to buy everything without worrying about the price?"

"Yeah, a lot of money will come in from completing the [Wonderland] request this time, so it doesn't really matter. By the way, what do little kids like?"

"......"

It was a rare sight to see people with each of those faces shopping together.

At the fact that he could shop with Lee Shin's money, Eun Yeon-woo put expensive things that he would not have imagined in his cart, as if he were going to sweep up everything in the mart.

Lee Shin thought about what an elementary school girl would like, and then just put everything that the clerk said was popular and sold well into the cart.

Roll, roll, roll-

And Lee Hyun-seok followed the two, pulling a cart in each hand.

"Um... I'm just asking just in case, but are you planning to go to my house now?"

"Huh? But?"

Lee Shin answered as if asking such an obvious thing.

"It's a little... to come to my house."

"What, don't tell me you want to go to a restaurant and have a steak when you have a younger sister at home who can't even eat properly?"

"No, that's not it!"

At Lee Shin's words, Lee Hyun-seok was about to react violently, but he realized that they were in a large mart and shut his mouth.

Seeing Lee Hyun-seok like that, Lee Shin laughed out loud.

"Well, I can roughly guess what you're thinking, but don't look at me with such a displeased expression. It's a pure act of kindness that I'm giving because I think it's admirable that you're thinking of your family."

"How can I believe that?"

Seeing Lee Hyun-seok's wary eyes like before, Lee Shin said as if it were simple.

"Don't believe me."

"Excuse me?"

"Didn't you hear me? I said don't believe me. How long have we known each other for you to try to believe me? You even swung a knife at me to kill me when we first met."

"That's..."

Flustered by Lee Shin's words, Lee Hyun-seok tried to say something, but no words came out, so he just opened and closed his mouth.

"Take it."

Seeing Lee Hyun-seok like that, Lee Shin picked up an item from the shelf and threw it at Lee Hyun-seok, and Lee Hyun-seok, while catching the item Lee Shin had thrown, came out of his bewildered state.

"Well, think simply. Whether it's goodwill or malice, I'm trying to give you something, right? Then you just have to smile and try to get something out of me as much as possible."

Thump-

"Got it, kid?"

Lee Hyun-seok lightly stroked his forehead, which Lee Shin had flicked with his fingertip, with a slightly blank expression.

Leaving Lee Hyun-seok like that, the two continued their shopping.

After putting not only food and things that a girl would like, but also cooking utensils and daily necessities, their shopping finally ended.

"One-time payment."

After finishing the payment, the three got back in the car and moved toward their destination.

***

"I'll tell you the facts I've roughly found out."

Kim Jae-hyun opened his mouth, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his hands to relieve the fatigue in his hands from the long torture.

"First, after putting together the words of the guy who was the leader among the guys who attacked us and the words of his subordinates, it seems that five Black Guilds have allied to come after us."

"Really?"

Hearing Kim Jae-hyun's words, Cheon Yuhwa took off the wrapper of a candy, put it in her mouth, and laughed as if in disbelief.

"It seems I was looked down on much more than I thought."

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, Kim Jae-hyun said as if it were obvious.

"When the Dungeon Break occurred, you moved in a big way once and then didn't show any particular movement, so they might have thought so."

"Haa, but I couldn't help it. To make the guild grow big, the growth of you and those five was essential first."

"I know."

At Kim Jae-hyun's simple answer, Cheon Yuhwa glared at him with a displeased look.

"By the way, there was something that bothered me a little."

But Kim Jae-hyun, who was already used to such a gaze, was able to skillfully change the subject.

"...What is it?"

Cheon Yuhwa, knowing that Kim Jae-hyun was trying to change the subject, couldn't help but answer.

If the expression 'bothered' came out of Kim Jae-hyun's mouth, it couldn't be a trivial matter.

"It seems all three Black Guilds have requested and obtained information about us from an information site."

"What? The information about us is managed separately, so it can't be easily known, right? Ah, don't tell me..."

Hearing Kim Jae-hyun's words, Cheon Yuhwa narrowed her brow as if something was bothering her, and at Cheon Yuhwa's reaction, Kim Jae-hyun also nodded.

"I checked, and it was that site you told me about before, miss."

"Really?"

Cheon Yuhwa muttered as if surprised by Kim Jae-hyun's words.

"Blue Moon's movements are faster than I knew."

Cheon Yuhwa, who had been contemplating whether to see this as a green light or a red light for a moment, nodded.

"Well, I was thinking of getting rid of the annoying guilds one by one, so it's not bad news. It'll be easier to gather information. Still, please grasp the general trend."

"I understand."

Cheon Yuhwa looked out the window and asked.

"The press conference preparations are done, right?"

"The preparations are already done, so you just have to go."

"Alright, then I should get ready soon."

The [Wonderland] guild was visible beyond the window.

***

Screech-

Cheon Yuhwa, who had ordered the combat team, including the team leaders, to exterminate the remaining monsters in the dungeon, and the recovery team to recover the usable resources in the dungeon, had returned to the guild a step earlier in an extra-large truck.

It was also for the press conference, but the main purpose was to deal with the Chaotic Players.

Thump, thump-

"You're here."

The moment Cheon Yuhwa and Kim Jae-hyun got out of the truck, someone walked toward them.

It was dark, so his face couldn't be seen well, but even from his simple walking appearance, the unique discipline of a soldier could be felt.

He bowed politely to Cheon Yuhwa and then opened his mouth.

"I have come on an errand from the association head."

The man said, holding out the Player Association's membership card to Cheon Yuhwa.

Cheon Yuhwa, after confirming that it matched the membership card she had received in advance via email, nodded.

"The goods are in there, so you can just move the truck as it is."

"...I'm sorry, but may I ask one thing?"

The man, who had been looking at the truck for a moment, asked Cheon Yuhwa.

"Yes, go ahead."

"The truck looks big, but it doesn't look big enough to hold 100 people..."

"Ah, that."

Cheon Yuhwa answered as if it were nothing.

"I stacked them."

"...You stacked them?"

"Yes, layer by layer, like stacking luggage. Perhaps because of their ambition to kill me, they had gathered only sturdy guys, so there was no problem even if I did that. I could just put the weak ones on top."

Only then did the man understand Cheon Yuhwa's words and his mouth fell open.

But Cheon Yuhwa, as if she had no interest in his reaction, turned her back.

"I'm sorry, but I have a press conference from now on, so I have to go. If you have any other questions, you can talk to my vice guild master."

"Ah, yes, I understand."

The man, even in his dazed state, somehow nodded, and Cheon Yuhwa, after finishing her greeting with a slight nod, went up in the elevator.

Tiring-

"Ah!"

"You're here. Hey! Get a grip!"

"Get the camera! Keep pressing the shutter!"

When Cheon Yuhwa arrived at the press conference venue, the reporters who had been half-dozing moved busily, raised their cameras, and opened their laptops.

In their eyes looking at Cheon Yuhwa, there was a heat that wanted a scoop, and they wanted the turn to ask questions to come quickly.

But Cheon Yuhwa shattered their expectations at once.

"First, in this press conference, I will not take questions from anyone who speaks without being pointed out by me."

Flinch-

"And if you break this rule, you will be escorted out by the bodyguards over there, and you will not be invited to our guild's press conferences in the future."

At Cheon Yuhwa's one sentence, the reporters had a blank expression as if they were frozen, and Cheon Yuhwa stood confidently and endured all their gazes.

It was a statement that effectively turned all the reporters into enemies, but it didn't matter.

Now and in the future, the absolute 'gap' would be her.

(End of Chapter)