Chapter 33. The First Hero (27)
"Stop changing the subject and give me one platinum."
"I told you. We got played."
Pien's head was beginning to ache.
She was trying to think, but Park Seokdu kept demanding one platinum without stopping.
She wished he would stay quiet for even a moment.
Instead, he became more agitated.
"What do you mean we got played?! I'm the one who paid one platinum! Why are you talking like I'm the one who did something wrong?! Do you even know whose fault this is?!"
To Park Seokdu, Pien's repeated frown-and-relax expression simply looked like strange facial exercises.
He could tell she was trying not to frown.
And Park Seokdu knew exactly when people tried to hide irritation.
Is she trying to come up with an excuse because she doesn't want to pay me?
Park Seokdu hadn't originally wanted to make the Wild Pig Soup bet.
There had been no reason to create unnecessary conflict.
He had personally watched Seongchan butcher Wild Pigs and make Wild Pig Soup.
There was no real reason to pick a fight.
But Pien had been watching and stepped in.
The memory of that bad decision returned.
[Why pay eighty-five gold when it normally costs one silver?]
[I'm already annoyed, so could you not say that?]
[I think it might actually be worth it. Let me taste it.]
Pien had taken a spoon from her inventory and tasted the Wild Pig Soup.
[Wow. What is this? Is this really Wild Pig?]
[The eighty-five gold isn't the problem. The person Na-ye noona brought here is giving me a headache. How did she even find a hero who can make something like this?]
[Then it's simple. Try this...]
Pien's plan had sounded convincing.
The goal had been to humiliate Seongchan after he charged eighty-five gold for delivery.
Instead, they had been humiliated.
"I almost let it go because his skill was beyond expectations and the taste fooled me."
Pien's voice dragged Park Seokdu back to the present.
"But I kept watching."
"I don't want to hear it. This was a fight we never should've started! Look what happened! What are you going to say now just to avoid paying me?!"
"Stop whining!"
"What?! Did you just say whining?!"
"Yes. You're showing too much emotion."
Pien adjusted her glasses.
"You still haven't absorbed all the guild members to your side. You know that, right?"
"Ha..."
Park Seokdu stared at her.
"You seriously think that's the problem?"
"Then what else is there?"
"Have you ever participated in a war?"
"Why would I need to? I'm a hero, but I don't have any reason to fight, do I? I support from the rear like this."
Pien tilted her head.
"But why are you suddenly talking about war?"
In other words, Pien had only worked in support roles rather than fighting personally.
Park Seokdu didn't know how to explain it to someone who had never truly experienced battle.
If she'd fought even once, she wouldn't say something like that.
Actually, maybe she has fought once or twice?
The value of a shield hero revealed itself in a crisis.
Someone who had never experienced that kind of situation couldn't understand how incredible Na-ye really was.
How dependable she felt.
Whenever a serious battle began, everyone wanted to fight beside Na-ye.
She was that strong.
But Park Seokdu wasn't good enough with words to explain it properly.
"If you don't understand, forget it."
"You're acting smug and it's annoying, but that's not what's important."
Pien continued.
"Do you know what the cauldron looked like when it was almost empty?"
"You know I didn't watch until the end. Stop asking questions you already know the answer to. What are you trying to say?"
Talking with Pien was exhausting.
She always acted as though she owned all the information, releasing it one piece at a time.
"Do you have no intention of thinking for yourself?"
The lost platinum hovered in Park Seokdu's mind.
They'd made a ridiculous bet and lost one platinum.
The fact Pien was talking this much probably meant something really had gone wrong.
"I don't care. Give me one platinum. We lost because of that stupid bet."
"I only ate one spoonful."
Pien looked serious.
"Something felt strange, so I stopped. And I was right."
Kim Seongchan, who could make Wild Pig Soup, was different from ordinary heroes.
That was why Pien had become curious.
If he accepted a one-platinum bet without thinking, he would've been just a reckless hero.
Seongchan had accepted.
But if he won that one-platinum bet, he'd become someone worth recruiting and placing in an important position.
That had been as far as Pien originally thought.
But Seongchan had gone beyond even that.
He knew how to use skills.
He knew how to control a situation.
And he had produced unexpectedly excellent Wild Pig Soup.
He behaved as though he already knew how every part of the situation would unfold.
Surely even Park Seokdu, who led a large guild, should've recognized that.
"What?"
"The Wild Pig Soup tasted good. So good you couldn't even imagine it had been made from spoiled meat."
"Then you're saying we ate spoiled meat?"
"No."
Pien shook her head.
"I don't know how he did it. But after everyone had eaten, I clearly saw that the meat was spoiled."
She continued.
"It's difficult to call the bet invalid, and he erased all the evidence by putting it into his high-grade subspace pouch. There isn't much we can do."
She looked at Park Seokdu.
"And to begin with, we were the ones who gave him Wild Pigs that were almost rotten."
Park Seokdu looked unimpressed.
"So after all that, you're saying we lost. Fine. We made a bet I didn't even want. Give me one platinum."
Did he truly not understand?
Pien had assumed he'd notice at least this much.
She had intended to stop after explaining the soup.
But Park Seokdu continued talking about nothing except getting his platinum back.
"How can you not see it? Don't you want to recruit him?"
"How am I supposed to recruit someone Na-ye noona is following?"
Park Seokdu frowned.
"Whatever. I originally wanted to charge him eighty-five gold for rent. So give me one platinum and eighty-five gold."
"Are you not hearing anything I'm saying?"
"I said put the money in."
Pien sighed.
"Who do you think helped you learn what kind of ability he has?"
Park Seokdu disliked her lecturing tone.
The longer he listened, the more his head hurt.
Recruiting someone wasn't as easy as saying the word.
And if Kim Seongchan, who had arrived with Kosdal, joined the Rice Ball Guild, Na-ye's faction would become stronger.
There were already guild members starting to move closer to Na-ye over the last few days.
Park Seokdu was still deciding how to handle that.
Hearing Pien say this only made his forehead feel hotter.
"Ability? Is that seriously what this is about?"
"What else would it be? If someone has ability, isn't it better to recruit them and increase your influence?"
"Are you seriously saying that?"
"Do you think I'm lying?"
Pien was genuinely thinking only about recruitment.
If she weren't a member of the Highs Merchant Company...!
Park Seokdu finally lost his temper and slammed the table.
BANG! CRACK!
The table shattered.
The remaining Wild Pig Soup in the bowl spilled across the floor.
The wooden bowl rolled away.
Park Seokdu glared at Pien.
Even after he'd shown that much anger, her eyes behind the glasses didn't waver.
Her eyes aren't even shaking.
She's actually serious, so I can't even tell her she's talking nonsense!
There wasn't the slightest hesitation in her gaze.
Her voice also carried complete sincerity.
