Chapter 48

Chapter 48. The First Hero (42)

Park Seokdu had lost to Vice Guild Master Lee Na-ye.

I can't believe it.

Pien was sitting across from him.

She had come to collect the seventy platinum he owed her.

"Here. Sign this."

She pushed a document toward him.

"I've even left out the price of the intermediate recovery potion as a special favor. You should be grateful."

"It would've been better to get healed by a guild member with a recovery skill."

The effectiveness of a recovery potion depended on the abilities of the person drinking it.

An intermediate recovery potion increased recovery speed by one hundred percent.

In other words, Park Seokdu's recovery had become approximately twice as fast.

"And you expect me to be grateful for some intermediate recovery potion?"

Park Seokdu glared at her.

"You only healed me so you could make me sign this!"

"Then you'd prefer to add another hundred gold to your debt and make it seventy platinum and one hundred gold?"

Pien smiled.

"That's fine with me. I'll earn more money."

"Hey! What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Hero Park Seokdu. Do you think this is a joking matter?"

Pien and Park Seokdu weren't alone.

There was a third person in the reception room of the Highs Merchant Company's building.

Count Thornjer, the head of the Highs Merchant Company, was watching Park Seokdu.

But Park Seokdu had plenty to say himself.

"If we'd started the duel right there, it wouldn't have ended like this! You kept talking about bets and money, and that's how things turned out."

He raised his voice.

"Besides, you must've made plenty of money from the festival because of me. Shouldn't you be thanking me?"

"How can you say something like that in front of Count Thornjer?!"

"What? I'm not accepting this!"

Park Seokdu stood.

"Tell me honestly. What have you actually done to help? I did everything you told me to do, and what did we accomplish? Every single plan failed!"

He turned away.

"I'm leaving. You can deal with the rest yourselves!"

"Hey! You can't just storm out like that! Come back here!"

Park Seokdu looked at Count Thornjer, who remained seated.

The furniture had been arranged so that he had to walk past Thornjer to leave the reception room.

Normally, you'd arrange the room so people could just turn around and leave.

What a nasty hobby.

The furniture made leaving unnecessarily difficult.

Park Seokdu snorted and walked past Thornjer.

"Are you certain we made money from the festival?"

"Of course. How could merchants not make money?"

"We did make money. But not enough to cover seventy platinum."

"Then you made money. That's all that matters."

Park Seokdu opened the door.

He stood there with the door open, as though challenging Thornjer to stop him.

Go ahead. Try to stop me.

If you don't, this whole debt never happened.

He waited for Thornjer's next words.

He's reaching his own ridiculous conclusion and picking a fight.

Thornjer possessed See the Other's Plan.

Even without Park Seokdu speaking, he could understand why the man was standing there.

But how many people would interpret someone's silence and refusal to stop him as an agreement to cancel a seventy-platinum debt?

"From what I've heard, my plans failed because of Hero Kim Seongchan."

Thornjer spoke calmly.

"And you suffered at his hands too, Hero Park Seokdu. Whether it's a coincidence or not, we have the same enemy."

"Stop making everything sound complicated. Tell me what you want."

Thornjer reached into his highest-grade Rethion Subspace Pouch and took out a Fear Mana Stone.

"I'll waive the interest if you use this power to capture Hero Kim Seongchan."

"Don't be ridiculous. You expect me to swallow a Fear Mana Stone myself?"

"Are you afraid?"

"What? Did you just call me afraid?"

Park Seokdu sneered.

"You're really going to use such a childish trick? If I fell for things like that, I never would've become the Rice Ball Guild Master!"

But he didn't leave.

Instead, he leaned against the doorframe and looked down at the seated Thornjer.

Seventy platinum and another hundred gold? After I lost?

This whole thing should've ended with just thirty platinum.

Park Seokdu had never expected to lose.

His defeat had cost him the entire forty platinum he possessed.

At the last moment, that bastard Kim Seongchan had added the condition that the loser must pay another ten platinum.

With Pien joining the discussion, Park Seokdu hadn't managed to correct the terms.

That was how he'd ended up in this situation.

I agreed immediately because I thought winning was guaranteed.

If I'd known this would happen, I never would've agreed.

He had acted because he was certain of victory.

Reality had been merciless.

He had lost.

The Highs Merchant Company existed in practically every kingdom of this world.

It even operated outside the kingdoms.

I'll wipe out the debt completely.

I've already lost all my money. I'm not becoming a debtor on top of that!

Thornjer could read Park Seokdu's intentions.

He thought for a moment.

He has no intention of building trust.

He's trying to make the entire debt of seventy platinum and one hundred gold disappear.

Thornjer began reassessing Park Seokdu's value.

Not his former value as Guild Master of the Rice Ball Guild.

His current value as Hero Park Seokdu.

"If you capture Kim Seongchan, I'll deduct sixty platinum from your debt."

"Seventy platinum."

"You could earn ten platinum quite quickly by hunting a few high-grade monsters."

"That's true, but I'd have to find and hunt them first."

Park Seokdu frowned.

"I'd probably have to travel all the way to the Rethion Empire."

"Sometimes they come in large groups. You could simply hunt them when that happens."

Park Seokdu hadn't managed to eliminate the entire seventy-platinum debt.

Still, he was reasonably satisfied.

I'll kill Kim Seongchan.

Merely thinking of Seongchan made his anger boil.

He remembered all the times Seongchan had interfered with him.

"Fine. We'll do that."

He glanced at the Fear Mana Stone.

"But I don't need it. I can just go and capture him myself."

"It would be easier to control him with the Fear Mana Stone."

Thornjer began putting it back into his pouch.

"But if you don't want it, very well."

"Wait. Give it to me."

Park Seokdu had been thinking only about swallowing the Fear Mana Stone himself to gain enough power to fight Seongchan.

It hadn't occurred to him that he could force Seongchan to swallow it and control him like a servant.

"Do your best."

Thornjer handed it over.

Park Seokdu took the Fear Mana Stone and left the Highs Merchant Company's building.

I'll force Kim Seongchan to swallow the Fear Mana Stone and make him obey me.

Then I'll use him as a living shield while hunting monsters.

Once I've earned the remaining ten platinum, I'll kill him.

"Director Hae-reun, did something bad happen?"

"Not at all."

Hae-reun tried to smile.

"Vice Guild Master Lee Na-ye defeated Park Seokdu, the knights of the Terk Kingdom are working hard to maintain public order, and most importantly, we don't have to worry about food supplies anymore."

She said everything was wonderful.

But Seongchan could see the shadow on her face.

And Hae-reun wasn't the only one.

Most of the children looked gloomy too.

"Everyone seems tired."

Chew. Chew.

Malko was happily eating the snacks his friends had left behind.

His face was filled with satisfaction.

Malko had spent most of his life feeling hungry.

As far as he was concerned, this year was overflowing with good fortune.

"Hey, can't you read the mood?"

"The mood?"

At Dean's question, Malko looked around.

Then he blinked.

"Are they upset because I ate all their snacks? They deliberately saved them for me..."

"Finish what's already in your mouth."

Malko obediently chewed and swallowed.

Thump! Thump!

Dean smacked him on the back.

"Do you seriously think that's the problem?!"

"No! Then what is it?"

"Just go to the bathroom."

"No! Tell me what it is! I'll go after I finish eating!"

Dean and Malko began arguing.

The nearby children hurried over to separate them.

"The children seem to be strongly influenced by you, Director Hae-reun."

"I never intended for that to happen. I don't really understand it myself."

"Peuten was always there to help when things were difficult. Now that he's gone, the children are probably worried, just like you."

Peuten was no longer at the Original Wild Pig Soup restaurant.

He had left for the Fossick Kingdom immediately after the duel between Na-ye and Park Seokdu ended.

Hae-reun fell silent.

She seemed to be thinking carefully.

"Why don't you take the children outside until I finish cooking?"

"Is that really okay?"

"Go and clear your heads."

Seongchan gestured toward the door.

"You and the children look so gloomy right now. We can't have the customers becoming gloomy too. Go get some fresh air."

He deliberately made a gloomy expression.

Hae-reun immediately froze.

When Seongchan relaxed his face, Hae-reun's frozen expression relaxed too.

"I thought I was going to stop breathing."

"Malko!"

"What?!"

"Children, let's go outside."

"Come back after you've had a chance to calm yourselves."

Hae-reun led the children out of the Original Wild Pig Soup restaurant.

Seongchan was left alone.

"Peuten is so capable that there's nobody who can replace him."

If there had been a suitable replacement, Seongchan would've kept Peuten in the Terk Kingdom.

But Peuten was the only person suited to resolving the problems in the Fossick Kingdom.

[Help me! This is difficult!]

[I want to do it! But my head is spinning!]

Ella and If were complaining about how difficult their work was.

While Seongchan had been talking with Hae-reun and the children, the spirits had been cooking independently.

Without Seongchan's assistance, Ella was controlling streams of water and preparing ingredients.

If was supplying fire to four furnaces beneath four cauldrons designed for intermediate-grade monsters.

It was If's first time controlling the fires beneath four such cauldrons simultaneously.

But this wasn't Ella's first time handling multiple tasks.

Even so, both spirits were struggling.

There was a reason.

It's the sincerity.

This time, their entire approach to making Wild Pig Soup was different.

They were preparing it for people heading into battle.

[How do I put the feeling of caring for someone into it?]

[Isn't it just a matter of breathing fire more carefully?]

Neither Ella nor If knew exactly what to do.

Seongchan had told them to put sincere feelings into the food.

In response, If had simply become more meticulous about controlling the flames.

Ella had done the same with her water.

Imagine defeating your enemies without fear while you cook.

[Is that all we have to do?]

[So we don't need to be so careful?]

If you're not careful, you'll ruin the food. It'll taste terrible.

Ella and If frowned.

Whatever sincerity meant, they couldn't abandon their careful control of water and fire.

Ella sent him a stream of confused thoughts.

If focused entirely on avoiding mistakes and controlling the flames properly.

That's not what I mean.

Seongchan began showing Ella and If vivid images of people fighting demons.

He pictured them one by one.

Since acquiring Vivid Thought Transmission, he had used the skill whenever something was too difficult to explain through ordinary conversation.

He showed them brave warriors defeating demons.

Then he focused on the emotions of those who fought without surrendering to fear.

Seongchan's feelings flowed toward Ella and If.

That was the sincerity they needed to add to their cooking.

"Hey! Where's Kim Seongchan?! Aren't you open for business?!"

At the sound of someone shouting at the top of his lungs, Seongchan sighed.

I was hoping he wouldn't arrive during the cooking process.

At least he came when we're almost finished.

BANG!

Park Seokdu threw open the door and stormed inside.

Then he froze.

What the hell?

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

A fire spirit and a water spirit were moving around Seongchan's body.

Streams of fire and water floated through the air, cooking the food.

The three of them moved as though they were a single being.

While Park Seokdu stood there in a daze, flames suddenly formed in midair.

They rushed toward him.

About the size of a Fireball.

The flames were large enough to engulf his entire body.

Park Seokdu immediately equipped his gloves from his inventory and took a fighting stance.

He threw an aura-covered punch at If's flames.

"This is nothing!"

An ordinary Fireball would've vanished the instant it collided with his aura-covered glove.

Park Seokdu had experienced that countless times.

He naturally assumed If's Fireball-like attack would disappear in the same way.

FWOOSH!

Instead, If's flames swallowed him whole.

If had absorbed an enormous amount of mana accumulated through Seongchan's S-rank skill, the Chaos Dragon's Mana Cultivation Technique.

Its flames were devastating.

Park Seokdu didn't even get a chance to use the Fear Mana Stone.

He was erased from this world.

"Let's focus again."

[Okay! I'll keep the fire burning for the people we're cooking for!]

[I was angry because he kept bothering you, Master. Good job, If! I'll work hard too! I'll carefully wash and prepare the ingredients so there aren't any impurities left!]

There had been a brief disturbance.

But the three of them immediately returned to cooking with all their hearts.

[You have completed Wild Pig Soup of Courage!]

It was exactly the dish Seongchan had wanted.

Now that I've finished cooking for everyone, shall I get moving?

[Where are you going? Aren't we opening the restaurant?]

[Are we going somewhere to start another fire?]

"I'll ask Director Hae-reun to handle serving the Wild Pig Soup."

Seongchan smiled.

"As for whether we'll need to start a fire somewhere else, I'm not sure yet."

That would depend on how the other party behaved.

Time to go.

To the place where the Black Flame Egg was kept.