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Chapter 19. Show them what you've got

Translator: Leyy

"Milord!"

As Timothy was at a loss for words, Lucia who had been quiet until then stepped forward and called Kang Chul-In.

"That Goblin, as the advisor for the enemy Lord has volunteered himself as a diplomat and visited this land, but in actuality has tried to undermine you and fool you. I believe that he needs to receive adequate punishment for this?"

Lucia's opinion was fair.

Timothy up until a couple of seconds ago was a diplomat, but now was currently a key player in the enemy's movements. It would not have been excessive to behead him this instant.

However, Kang Chul-In's opinion was different.

"There is reason to what you are saying."

"Then the guillotine…"

Lucia spoke cruelly. She had no intention of forgiving those who had been disrespectful to Kang Chul-In.

"Not yet."

Kang Chul-In shook his head.

"Lucia, your opinion is rightful and proper, but there is no significance in killing the Goblin right now. It would not be too late to do it after the battle has ended."

"I sir, do not understand what you are saying."

"Look at the Goblin."

At Lucia's question, Kang Chul-In pointed with his chin to Timothy, who had frozen on the spot. Timothy was unaware of the conversations happening between Kang Chul-In and Lucia, and was just broken.

"That advisor was abandoned by his Lord."

And Lucia's eyes opened wide as she understood Kang Chul-In.

'It's true!'

Lucia's head formed a picture of Timothy's situation.

'That advisor did not know his Lord was invading our land! If he knew, he would not have that kind of response! Ah… the Lord does not miss out on the details as well!'

What crazy bastard will wage war not even a full day after he has sent a diplomat with not even a declaration? Violent and uncivilized diplomacy aside, it was a cruel and heartless decision made without even the smallest consideration of the diplomat sent.

"Yes, milord. The enemy Lord does not care whether his advisor dies or not. He was abandoned."

As Lucia looked at Timothy, her eyes filled with sympathy.

She, too, was an advisor.

She knew better than anyone what being abandoned by a Lord meant. Lucia too, had been uncertain and afraid that she was of no use to Kang Chul-In and would be abandoned. Although she couldn't know for sure, she felt that Timothy's heart would be burned to nothing right now.

"Yes. What is the use of taking the life of someone who has already lost all?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"But he still must pay for undermining me."

"Huh? My Lord, what do you mean…"

"I will give him pain worse than death."

Kang Chul-In had a profound smile.

"Timothy, you said?"

"Yes… Lord…"

Timothy's voice had no strength as he answered. His ears were sagging as well, and he could not get any more pitiful.

"Follow me."

"Wouldn't you need to see how the one who abandoned you gets ruined?"

In that moment, Timothy saw in the face of this man called Kang Chul-In, the image of the greatest evil and the image of a benevolent leader overlap.

In Kang Chul-In's previous statement, there were two meanings.

"James."

Kang Chul-In called his Commander James, not caring about Timothy's thoughts.

"Yes, my Lord."

"Go and show that arrogant 'jap' his place."

"Yes, Lord!"

James answered loudly and saluted Kang Chul-In. And… he carefully asked a question as if he was bothered by something.

"But… Lord."

"What does jap mean…"

"…There is something like that where I'm from."

"Yes, sire!"

Kang Chul-In did not answer. He was too lazy to give an explanation.

Kang Chul-In took Lucia and Timothy to the watchtower.

In Laputa, there was a 40km high watchtower called the 'Watcher's Tower' which made it possible to look over the land and the surrounding areas in one look.

The reason for climbing the tower was simple.

Kang Chul-In was not going to participate in this battle.

It was not

an urgent situation, nor was it a war big enough for him to go out into battle himself.

All he had done was order a few things previously, and those orders would be the key to determining the tide of battle. Kimura and Timothy would have no idea, but Kang Chul-In had used a two scout hawks of his own, as well as. sending his scouts to gain intel on the Burrow's current status.

Therefore, Laputa's soldiers had already completed all preparations for war before Timothy had arrived and were just waiting for the soldiers of the Burrow lands to invade.

It was like a spider, waiting for its prey after spinning its web.

"Timothy."

Kang Chul-In looked at the soldiers of the Burrow lands that were approaching from afar and called to Timothy.

"Yes… Lord…"

Timothy was still sullen. The thought of being abandoned was too much for the old goblin.

"What do you expect the outcome would be?"

Kang Chul-In asked.

"…if you compare just the armies, it is expected that the Burrow lands will make a grand victory."

"Really?"

"The military power of the Burrows is strong. There are 300 ants, 4 Giant centipedes, and the Shogun has a Flammable toad as well."

"Those are some powerful troops."

Kang Chul-In nodded.

It was the truth.

Military power meant economic power.

Because Laputa was so expensive, Kang Chul-In did not have extra money to spend on the store. It was a bit embarrassing, but the current financial status of Laputa was destitute and sparse. Kimura's military was clearly better.

However, Kang Chul-In did not bat an eye after hearing Timothy. He smiled a leisurely smile.

"So, you think your Lord can conquer this land?"

"That…"

Timothy could not give an answer quickly.

'We definitely have a better military. We have the upper hand… but why do I feel so uneasy?"

The incompetence of the Lord, Kimura was that, but Kang Chul-In's confident demeanor got to him. How could he be so relaxed when he was extremely disadvantaged? Timothy could not guess the outcome of this battle.

"I'll give you the answer."

Kang Chul-In spoke.

"We will win."

It was a straight-forward, confident statement without an ounce of doubt.

"Today, your land will fall."

"No!"

Before anyone could blink, Timothy shouted and disagreed.

'So, he is still an advisor, I see.'

Kang Chul-In looked at Timothy and was a bit in awe of the old Goblin's loyalty.

Timothy, as seen through Kang Chul-In's eyes, looked as if although abandoned, he did not lose his loyalty towards his Lord.

"Alth-although the Shogun is inexperienced, he will not lose!"

"Hm… really?"

"Of course! Although your Grace seems extraordinary, you will not be able to easy overcome the difference in the milit…"

"Well, if you wait, you'll see."

Kang Chul-In cut Timothy off and spoke to Lucia.

"The megaphone."

"Yes, milord."

Lucia politely handed Kang Chul-In a megaphone bewitched with a sound amplifier.

"An offering of surrender is the virtue of the strong."

Kang Chul-In looked below and spoke. And there was Kimura and the soldiers of the Burrow who had almost reached Laputa.

Beep–!!

-Hello, hello, Can you hear me?

Kang Chul-In did a mic test of sorts.

"Are you the Lord of this land?"

Kimura yelled to answer Kang Chul-In. Kimura, who hadn't brought a megaphone, had no choice but to yell as loud as he could.

"Surrende…"

-Surrender, jap.

-Then I will spare you your life.

Kang Chul-In beat him to the punch.

"J…jap?"

Kimura's eyes burned up with rage.

"Y-you… Joseon bug (Joseon was an ancient kingdom in Korea, that was conquered by the japanese)!"

As Koreans knew of the insult "jap", the japanese also knew their insult.

"How dare you call me Ja…"

-I call a jap a jap, what else would I call you. Stop talking nonsense and surrender.

"Y-you…!"

Kimura shook with rage.

Kang Chul-In's voice was so detestable and it felt as if his rage would bubble and fill into his bone marrows.

-If you don't surrender nicely…

Kang Chul-In, with a smirking voice sent Kimura the final punch.

-I will let you feel what it feels like to be hit with an atomic bomb. Wait, that is your japs' specialty. You are the only people in the world who got hit with one. Two at that… you people can really take it though. Bunch of undying cockroaches."

Kimura could not muster a comeback.

Although Kang Chul-In was pushing at all his buttons and enraging him, it was fact that no one could deny.

Japan was the first to ever be hit with an atomic bomb in the world, and it was also the last to be hit with an atomic bomb.

'Little Boy', the atomic bomb made from uranium and 'Fat Man', the bomb made from Plutonium, was one of the biggest humiliations for the japanese people.

"I will, kill you!"

Kimura, who was angered to the point of bursting, roared.

-Well, try it then.

Kang Chul-In sneered.

-Don't know if you are capable of doing so, though.

And in that moment, Kimura felt something snap in his head. He had flipped.

"Attack!"

Kimura roared the command.

"Now! Go bring him to me! Attack, I said!"

And that was the start.

The soldiers of the Burrows, under the leadership of Kimura all began to charge towards Laputa's castle walls. The siege had started.

"Ah, Shogun!"

Timothy shut his eyes tightly at the dismal situation.

Even if he had lost in the verbal battle, the Lord had fallen easily by Kang Chul-In's taunts. For Timothy who was in the center of enemy territory, he was so embarrassed he wanted to hide in a hole.

"Are you still loyal to a stupid idiot like him?"

Kang Chul-In who had seen this, threw Timothy a question.

"Lord, please be watchful of your language. This Timothy, although he has been abandoned by the Shogun, still has his loyalty."

"Really?"

Kang Chul-In said, as if he was intrigued.

"Then…"

And he smiled. It was the devil's smile.

"Enjoy watching."

And it was then that the soldiers of the Burrows began to climb the castle walls.

Chapter 20. Got you, little bug!

Editor:

Translator: Leyy

The Ants were masters of siege warfare, or more accurately, masters of wall climbing.

It was expected, seeing that the Ants were basically enlarged ants. Although they preferred to walk on two feet like humans, their foundations were ants. It was no effort to climb walls.

Therefore, the time that the ants took to climb the walls of Laputa was almost none at all.

'If the ants climb the walls and make it over, my Lord will win!'

Timothy watched and clenched his fists.

The current state of the battle was the 300 ants that were almost about to take over Laputa's castle walls. If the ants were to safely climb the castle walls, the victory would belong to Kimura. Although the soldiers were well trained, there was no way a hundred troops would be able to hold off 300 ants. Ants were extremely strong and able to hold up 20 times its weight.

But…

The ants that seemed as if they would make it over the castle walls at any minute, had to endure the humiliation of not even one making it over.

"Ready!"

James ordered, and the soldiers of Laputa made suspicious movements.

What the soldiers had in hand were not swords, spears, bows, or muskets. Instead, they carried buckets filled with an unknown liquid.

And the liquid in the buckets were letting off warm steam as if it was boiling up until just a moment ago.

"Is it hot water? Ants can deal with hot water…"

Timothy tilted his head and mumbled. Then, Lucia stepped forward and shook her head.

"No."

"Ah, it isn't?"

"Yes, it isn't. It is hot water, but there is no way we can win against the ants with just water."

"Then, what is…"

"It is water infused with mint."

Timothy's face hardened.

"Ants do not like mint. These Ants are no exception. Of course, they probably will have more endurance against it, but they similarly do not like it. We specially put a high concentration, so it will be effective. Look."

Lucia pointed to the castle walls, where the battle was taking place.

"Eat this!"

"Here, drink some mint tea!"

"How dare you crawl up here!"

Kang Chul-In's soldiers shouted and poured the mint infused water on the ants who were climbing the walls.

When about a hundred pails of mint infused water were poured, a strong mint scent filled the battleground. It was so heavily concentrated that Timothy, who had been watching the battle from the watchtower, felt as if his nose was paralyzed.

The reaction was instant.

The ants that were crawling up the walls with dangerous speed, could not use any of their power and began to fall from the walls, one by one. There were also ants who were shaking and convulsing amongst the fallen.

"How can this be…!"

Timothy mumbled to himself, full of grief.

"With… just this simple strategy…"

"It is simple but clever. Well, we have used all our mint in our inventory but…"

Lucia beamed with pride.

"Timothy, you said? The Lord you serve will not win. Our Lord had previously already figured out your land's main military forces and came up with a solution. This battle will end with Laputa's overwhelming victory."

"But…!"

"Of course, with only mint-infused water, it is not enough. But!"

Timothy began to protest, but Lucia shook her head as if to tell him that it was not the end.

"Do you think this is it? My Lord is much greater than what you believe. Observe with your eyes wide open—and see how great He is!"

Lucia said proudly. And Kang Chul-In had to tightly shut his mouth of embarrassment.

'Crap, I don't know why she is making such a big fuss about nothing. How can I live off embarrassment?'

Ants were powerful organisms, but most Lords would know that they had a clear weakness. Of course, there would still be a few who could think of these things in situations like these.

And while this was happening, the tide of the war was turning towards the favor of Laputa.

"Aha! You ants! Try and climb!"

"How does mint tea taste?"

"Come, try and come! I'll kill you all!"

As the ants fell one by one, Laputa's soldiers who were pumped with

adrenaline showed amazing skill as they protected the castle.

Boom! Boom!

The musket soldiers pulled the triggers…

Swoosh!

And the soldiers with long spears threw them towards the bottom of the castle walls.

"Ah, ah!"

"Aah!"

The ants yelled.

The ants who lost their energy from the mint scent crumbled like dried leaves, and were all falling from the castle walls.

"This… this!!"

Kimura, watching this, was grinding his teeth.

"Hey, you incompetent idiots! Climb the damn walls! Get over, I said!"

Kimura yelled from the top of his lungs, demanding the ants to move. His tone seemed like he did not care at all whether the ants died or not.

However, what was not, could not be.

No matter how much Kimura yelled, cursed, and roared, Laputa's castle walls held solid.

As more and more time passed, only more and more ants were dying.

"Go! Go fast and kill all of those!"

And Kimura finally pulled out the giant centipedes that he had been saving.

Shhhh!

As the order fell from Kimura, four giant centipedes that were standing ready began to charge towards the castle walls.

"It's coming!"

"Tell them to come! Nasty centipedes!"

"Let's kill all of them!"

Giant centipedes were almost 10m long and were powerful enough to chew on a couple of Orcs, but Kang Chul-In's soldiers shouted without fear, fired up for battle.

It was because the certainty of their victory had hindered them from fear.

It was then.

As the four giant centipedes were just about to climb the castle walls, Kang Chul-In picked up the megaphone.

-Hey, monkey.

After jap, it was monkey this time.

-This is your last warning. Surrender now, if you don't want to be taught a lesson.

It was a final warning of sorts, but Kimura completely ignored Kang Chul-In's offer.

"You arrogant Joseon bug! You surrender! Say something that makes sense!"

Kimura was far from surrendering, and was going to send in more troops. The giant centipedes were just about to join in on the battle. He had no intentions of surrendering in the first place, but in a moment like this, there was no way he could.

"You go too! Go now, and bring that arrogant bastard to me!"

And finally, Kimura sent the leftover 50 troops that were guarding him. It was a display of how determined he was to capture Kang Chul-In.

And that decision acted as a signal to Kimura's fall.

Kang Chul-In called to James.

"Yes, Lord!"

James who had been leading the troops as Commander roared, answering Kang Chul-In.

-Teach him a lesson.

"Yes, I will show him what we have got! Did you all hear that! The Lord has ordered us to teach them a lesson!"

As James repeated Kang Chul-In's order, Laputa's soldiers all chimed in and brought out the secret weapon.

"He said to show them all we have got!"

"Let's grill them!"

"Let's make them nice and brown!"

In the hands of the soldiers, there were not pails with mint infused water, but with something different.

"Mint infused again…!"

"No."

Lucia disagreed with Timothy.

"Then…"

"It's oil. Extremely high in combustibility."

Timothy then finally realized the outcome of this battle.

Attack with fire.

Ants or giant centipedes, both were in essence, insects. Anyone knew that insects' weakness was fire. The Burrow land's main power was most susceptible to an attack with fire. And if they were all dangling on the castle wall like they were now… it was obvious that the fire would spread in a flash. The effectiveness of fire was going to amplify.

"Ah, Shogun!"

Timothy, overcome with grief, called out to Kimura and helplessly fell to the ground.

And as this was happening, the soldiers of Laputa were busy pouring buckets filled to the brim with oil.

"Light the fire!"

James ordered, and the soldiers all grabbed the torches hanging on the castle walls, and threw it towards the soldiers of the Burrow.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The flames caught in an instant.

"Ahh!"

"Help… help me!"

The ants who were engulfed in flames unexpectedly began to scream as they caught fire.

Keek!

The giant centipedes were no exception. All those who had absorbed large amounts of oil were all engulfed in giant flames.

A battle with fire began to show greater effectiveness as time passed. Because they were all tangled up right below the castle walls, the fire spread extremely quickly. Before Kimura could order his troops to retreat, over half were consumed in flames.

"My… my soldiers!"

Kimura could not hide his horror as he witnessed his soldiers becoming roasted in an instant. He had been so confident… and the result was a brutal defeat, complete annihilation.

'I must run away!'

Kimura who realized that he had lost, finally accepted reality and decided to run away to save his foolish life. It was obvious that he would experience horrendous things the moment he was captured.

"R-run away! Now! Let's go!"

Kimura urged the Flame Toad that he was on.

But… Kang Chul-In was not nice enough, nor dumb enough to allow Kimura to run away.

Clip clop, clip clop!

10 cavalry appeared from nowhere and galloped towards Kimura.

"You stop right there!"

"You! Where are you going?"

"The Lord is waiting for you! Hahaha!"

"Where are you running to! You will die when you are caught!"

These men were set aside by Kang Chul-In to capture Kimura in advance. They had been waiting quietly and watching the situation and appeared when they had seen the opportunity to capture Kimura.

"A-ATTACK!"

Kimura ordered the Flame Toad. Because he had poured all his troops towards the battle, he had only the toad to protect him now.

The toad opened its mouth and let out a huge flame.

"Fire!"

"Spread out!"

The cavalry did not sit still and watch.

"The flame toad has strong fire power, but the distance is short and has slow movements. You will be able to overpower it easily if you spread out."

The cavalry was already informed of the traits of the Flame Toad by Kang Chul-In prior.

Clip clop, clip clop!

The cavalry that had spread out according to orders avoided the flames of the toad and made their way to Kimura's blind spots.

Swish!

A couple of the cavalry fastened snares to the toad.

"Ah!"

Kimura, who was taken aback, swayed and fell to the ground.

"Go, go away! Go away!"

Kimura who was now alone screamed, afraid, but Kang Chul-In's soldiers had no mercy.

"Get lost, get lost now! … ARGHHH!"

Kimura clenched his neck and screamed. His neck had gotten caught in the snare thrown by one of the men. The soldier, whose name was Podolski had caught Kimura, and laughed and roared in delight.

"Got you, little bug!"

Chapter 21. Initiated mental training

Editor:

Translator: Leyy

"Victory! We won!"

"Yeah!!"

Laputa's soldiers who had been watching Kimura being caught atop the castle walls, roared in delight.

They had won.

It was not just a victory, but it was a grand victory in a situation where they were in an extreme disadvantage. It was a complete victory.

It was an inspiring achievement.

"Are any injured, or dead? Report!"

Commander James as soon as the battle ended, sought to quickly check the status of his soldiers.

"Platoon 1, None, sir!"

"Platoon 2, two injured!"

"Platoon 3, None, sir!"

Amazingly, there were no deaths.

Two soldiers who had suffered minor injuries were all the setbacks that Laputa suffered in the entire battle.

'My Lord, did you predict this would happen?'

James looked towards the watchtower that Kang Chul-In would have been in, and could not hide his awe.

"With the combination of troops that the enemy has, they will not win against us, no matter what they do."

Kang Chul-In, who had gained intel on the Burrow's troops, assured them. That they would lose, and that they would make an overwhelming victory.

And that had come true, right in front of his eyes.

"Walk faster!"

Meanwhile, Podolski and the other cavalrymen bound Kimura tightly with rope and returned to Laputa.

"Ugh…!"

Kimura was dragged along by the soldier named Podolski.

But… he looked a bit strange.

'What, what is that method of…?'

'Scary…'

'How in the world did he tie it like that?'

In the minds of those looking, lots of questions arose.

Kimura was bound tightly in a very complicated and strange rope-tie, and was tied so well that it did not allow for any movement from the head to toes. It was enough to make everyone startled.

Kang Chul-In too, was taken aback.

'Ha… this is driving me crazy.'

Kang Chul-In hid his face in his hands, as if he was tired.

Where Podolski learned this was unknown, but the rope-tie that was used on Kimura was a technique similar to the tortoise shell tie, commonly found in japanese AVs (adult video).

A japanese Lord bound with a tie found in japanese pornography… it was ironic.

"Lord, it is a complete victory. But why do you seem…"

"No, nothing."

Kang Chul-In waved his hand at Lucia's question.

"I probably did not sleep well last night."

Kang Chul-In who could not say that the tie method was lewd, just avoided the question saying that he was tired and moved his eyes towards Timothy.

"Timothy."

"Yes… Lord"

Timothy looked as if he had lost his country. In reality, he did lose a country. From today, the Burrows would fall to Kang Chul-In's leadership.

"Your Lord is incompetent and foolish."

Timothy did not answer.

Although Kimura was incompetent and foolish, he was, up until a moment ago, still Timothy's owner whom he had pledged all of his loyalty to. He could not turn his back the moment Kimura had lost.

"And he abandoned you. If you still have loyalty to pledge to a leader like him, pledge it to me."

Timothy opened his eyes wide.

"So…Lord…!"

"I don't know how it looks in your perspective, but I value men of talent. I don't know of your capacity, but I like your loyalty. What do you think, would you grow this land together with me?"

It was an unforeseen proposal, but it was also an attractive proposal.

'Me, me… does he want this Timothy?'

Timothy could not speak, confused and jumbled at the sudden conciliation.

"You must need time. There, the sun sets."

Kang Chul-In pointed at the mountains.

"Decide before the sun sets and darkness comes. I am not that laid-back. Now, I will go see that arrogant monkey."

Kang Chul-In left, giving Timothy less than an hour to make a choice.

"Timothy."

Lucia called to Timothy, who was staring blankly.

"What are you contemplating?"

"What do you mean…"

"You have hit the jackpot right now. You have the opportunity of a lifetime right in front of you, but why are you not taking it?"

Lucia spoke in a serious tone. It was not the tone of treating a loser's advisor, but an advisor to an advisor.

"Us advisors, all of the land's service people have waited an infinite amount of time between the dimensions. For our Lord to come and lead us!"

"But we cannot choose Lords. Only the Lords make a choice. Only God knows what Lord will lead us. Am I wrong?"

"You.. you are right…"

"And a chance has been given to you to choose your Lord. Are you going to choose that incompetent Lord…"

Lucia raised her arm and pointed at the doors of Laputa. There was Kimura, who was being dragged and humiliated all tied up with the tie of Podolski.

"Or choose an extraordinary Lord like mine. This time, the choice is entirely yours. However, the Lord's right hand is my spot so do not dare!"

Lucia's eyes burned.

"Anyways, the Lord has given you time, so think wisely. Also… the Lord has already granted you a pardon once."

"That… is true."

It was true.

If it was any other Lord, they would have had Timothy's head at the start of dawn.

"Do not disappoint him. Although he has shown mercy, he is blood and iron at the core. This… is probably the last chance you will be given."

Lucia was saying, "there is no second chance". Timothy's choice was either to serve Kang Chul-In, or die.

"Then, I hope you make a wise decision."

Lucia with those words, quickly left the watchtower.

"Ah… Gods… what is this Timothy to do?"

Timothy who was now left alone, thought again and again.

Was he to remain loyal as an advisor to the end, or was he going to serve a new master? It was hard to decide. It was a problem too difficult to solve before the sunset.

When everyone was celebrating the victory, one person, Kang Chul-In was not rejoicing.

No, he was happy, but the material of his happiness differed.

If the others were purely celebrating the victory, Kang Chul-In was celebrating the rewards of the victory. He had won in the battle, and he had captured the leader of the enemy, Kimura. From today, the gold and surviving troops of the Burrows would fall into Kang Chul-In's hands. And…

'Timothy, he will prove useful.'

The old goblin was the biggest harvest.

Kang Chul-In wanted Timothy to pledge his loyalty to him. Because Timothy was too, an advisor. Like the 300 Lords, there were also 300 advisors. Therefore, for each advisor, there was a [specialty]. A specialty usually for internal affairs. Maybe she was a special case, but he could not see Lucia's specialty.

However, Timothy was different.

Timothy in the eyes of Kang Chul-In had the skill of [Administration Master]. The capabilities of that skill were as follows:

-[Administration Master]

Level: 1 (Maximum Level 5)

Effect: Administration work performed, Efficiency +20%

Effect: Night shift performed, efficiency +70%

Effect: Administration work performed, stamina +30%

It was a skill perfect to put to work on a desk. For Kang Chul-In, who's head spun just hearing the A of administration, Timothy was an extremely needed asset. If Timothy pledged himself to Kang Chul-In, he would for the rest of his life, until his death, be in front of a desk with papers. Kang Chul-In, thinking of this and that, arrived at the Lord hall where his throne was. In the Lord Hall, there were Commander James and ten soldiers, the cavalryman Podolski, and Kimura waiting for him.

"My Lord, my congratulations on the victory."

"Congratulations, my Lord!"

His soldiers sent awestruck congratulations, but Kang Chul-In was not satisfied with this boring win, so he did not show happiness.

It was an easy win.

Kimura was an idiot too stupid to even call Lord, and trash not worthy of dealing with. Kang Chul-In was not a man who would be satisfied with a victory over an incompetent leader.

Think about it.

Would a professional boxer be happy that he had won against an elementary school child? Would a strong, fit man celebrate a victory after twisting a chicken's neck?

If there was one who was happy, that person would be the true trash that laughed after stepping on the weak. It would not be an overstatement to say all those who enjoyed massacres of innocent people, were crazy.

"Enough congratulating. Now, I will teach this one a lesson so if you have a club that's suitable, bring it."

"Yes, Lord!"

At Kang Chul-In's orders, a soldier quickly went to fetch for a club.

"Are you Podolski?"

Kang Chul-In called for the cavalryman who had captured Kimura.

"Yes, my Lord. I am Podolski."

"…do you like handcuffs, by any chance?"

"Huh? That… Handcuffs are a wonderful catalyst that makes boring sex life more interesting…"

Podolski was about to explain something, albeit embarrassedly, but Kang Chul-In waved his hand and cut him off.

"Stop! Do not speak further."

"Yes. How do you know, my Lord, that I like handcuffs?"

"… don't ask me."

Kang Chul-In turned away.

The reason why Kang Chul-In asked such a question… was that Podolski looked just like the mascot of the Police Force of a certain country (translator note: spoiler-alert, it's South Korea's). The round eyes, short haircut, the M shaped forehead like a monkey, the excessively large ears, and the brown hair. If he had worn the uniform, no one could deny that it was the mascot.

'A guy like that, used that crude rope-tie? You have to live long to see certain things.'

Kang Chul-In pressed his aching head tenderly and shook his head.

"…Anyways, you captured the enemy's leader, so you have done well. I will appoint you to Laputa's Director General."

"Thank you, my Lord!"

Podolski bowed to Kang Chul-In in gratitude of his unexpected raise in position.

"I, always wanted to be a cop ever since I was young!"

"…Seemed like it."

"How, how do you know that, my Lord!"

"Just… don't ask. You'll get hurt."

"Yes, Lord!"

Anyways, Podolski who said he wanted to be a cop since he was little, was given a position of determining Laputa's safety. Kang Chul-In looked at Podolski and thought that maybe a person's destiny was predetermined.

"James."

"Yes, my Lord."

"You did a good job as well. I will reward five gold."

"Oh, thank you my Lord!"

Five gold was about 2,000 dollars. James' smile reached his ears.

"I will postpone detailed rewards to a later time."

Kang Chul-In looked down at Kimura and spoke.

"Uh…Uh! Mmm.."

Kimura bound with Poldorski's rope and with a gag in his mouth was trying to say something. Although he could not understand it, he was almost a 100% sure Kimura was begging for him to spare his life.

"Young."

Kang Chul-In who had seen Kimura's face grimaced, as if to say the little boy was nothing.

"About a high-schooler? Well, I have no intentions of going easy anyway."

Kang Chul-In was not someone to go easy because the other was young.

"Mmmm! Mrmmmm!! Mmm!!!"

Kimura, overcome with horror yelled. He must have felt his life in danger looking at Kang Chul-In's eyes. It was that moment when the soldier who was looking for a club ran into the Lord Hall and handed Kang Chul-In an iron club.

"My Lord, here it is."

Coincidentally, the iron club resembled the shape of a baseball bat, making it perfect to hit someone. There was not a club better to teach someone a lesson.

"Undo that idiot's rope and make him lay in front of me."

Kang Chul-In ordered.

It was time to train the monkey.

Chapter 22. The Weight of War, the Weight of Order

Editor:

Translator: Leyy

Kang Chul-In silently swung the metal bat.

He did not swing it with everything he had. If he did, Kimura's hip bones would break after two or three hits, and would die after ten blows. He controlled his strength as well as he could and hit as much as Kimura would be able to endure. However, even that was too much for Kimura.

"Ugh Mmmm!"

Every time the metal club swung, Kimura screamed, but the gag in his mouth muffled the sound.

Crack, crack!

Kang Chul-In hit like a machine. He looked so emotionless that, for those who were watching, the hairs on their backs rose.

And this lasted for about 30 minutes.

When Kimura had received about 50 blows, Kang Chul-In spoke.

"Untie him."

"Yes, Lord."

One of the soldiers quickly did as he ordered.

"Please spare, spare me!!"

Kimura, who had been untied from Podolski's rope-tie and gag, begged and pleaded until his hands became his feet. He was crying and making a big commotion. Kimura looked like a young boy who just had gotten in serious trouble by his father.

"I-I will never do that again!! Please, please spare me my life! Don't kill me!"

Kimura, who was begging on his knees, had lost any last sense of dignity he had as a Lord. He was so servile and desolate that even those looking clicked their tongues.

"What have you done wrong?"

Kang Chul-In asked.

"I am sorry for causing the war. I am sorry. I'm sorry for cursing."

"Wrong."

Kang Chul-In shook his head.

"Put the gag back on him."

The gag went back on Kimura's mouth.

"Mmmm…Mmmm!!!"

The metal club swung again.

"Speak. What did you do wrong?"

Kang Chul-In who had delivered the second blow, asked Kimura again.

"I-I'm sorry… I was in the wrong."

"So, what did you do wrong?"

"I don't know, but I'm sorry for everything! Please just spare my life…"

"Put it back on."

Kang Chul-In seemed unsatisfied, as if the answer was again not what he was looking for.

Crack!

After the blows landed again for the third time and Kimura was almost unconscious, the iron club finally stopped.

"Urgh."

"Do you still not know what you did wrong?"

"Please if you could tell… if you tell me"

Kimura seemed like he did not even have the strength to beg anymore. Indeed, since although Kang Chul-In controlled his strength, he had been hit almost a hundred times.

"Lord, why don't you just take his head instead?"

James came forward, unable to watch further. Kimura was in so much pain that James had asked for a comfortable death.

"No, I am not going to kill him."

Kang Chul-In shook his head.

"Feed him the potion."

When the order fell, Kang Chul-In's subordinates shook in terror. It had sounded like he would heal him, then hit Kimura some more.

"The person who you should be begging to is not me but over there."

Kang Chul-In went against everyone's predictions and put down his iron club.

"Since you ask to be taught, I will teach you."

Kang Chul-In's finger pointed outside.

"The one you should apologize to is not me but your soldiers. Those who died for nothing because of the orders you gave with your incompetence."

"You have the authority to give orders, no matter how incompetent of a Lord you are, but have you ever thought of the weight of those orders? Have you ever thought of the things that were going to happen because of your orders?"

At Kang Chul-In's criticism, Kimura could not say anything. It was even more so because they were all true.

"Of course, you are extremely young and you probably were not able to completely figure out the Grand Calling that suddenly happened. This situation may have felt like it was a dream, or a game. It's not that I cannot understand. But."

Kimura flinched at his loud voice.

"No matter how ignorant and incompetent you were, what you did is not easily forgivable. Giant centipedes, sure, but ants are a kind that has emotion and intelligence. And over two hundred of those ants are dead. Because of your orders."

The Lord's Hall fell silent at Kang Chul-In's words.

"If you are in a high position, you need to be able to carry responsibility.

How could you not, for the lives of your soldiers depend on your decision?"

It was not for Kang Chul-In to say, since he was the prime example of a conquest Lord, but it was also something that only Kang Chul-In could say. How many had their life or death dependent on his orders? Kang Chul-In was once, a man who controlled thousands of lives. There were probably few who knew better than him, the weight of a Lord, and the weight of a war.

"If even one of my soldiers died, I would have killed you without hesitation. But I guess you are quite lucky, seeing that not one of my soldiers died in this battle. But even if I forgive you, who will listen to the cries of your soldiers who died today? How about the emotional state of your loyal Timothy who you abandoned?"

"Ah, ah!"

It seemed like Kimura finally understood Kang Chul-In.

"Beg for forgiveness, to those who died because of your foolishness."

"I am sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Kimura kneeled towards the front and bowed his head.

"I am sorry… I'm so sorry…"

The apology lasted for a long while.

'I changed a lot too.'

Kang Chul-In silently looked at Kimura and realized he too, had changed. If it was him before, he would have cut the throats of every man and woman, as well as the lives of the people of the enemy Lord. Although it was not often, there were a couple of times when he had.

However, after his return, he himself could feel that he was different from before. Maybe it was because of that day's defeat that he had changed.

'Well, let's just call it circumstance.'

Underage, foolishness, lack of realization that it is reality, etc it was okay to show mercy once considering it was shortly after the Grand Calling.

Of course, as previously mentioned, it was also because there were no casualties on his side. As time passed and Kimura apologized again and again to a point where he was almost unconscious, Kang Chul-In spoke.

"That is enough apologizing in front of me. I don't know if the apology that you showed right now is sincere or a sly trick to save yourself from this situation. I don't have a way of knowing nor do I care. But, if you truly feel sorry, then you must never forget what you did today. That is dependent on your humanistic qualities, and I will not intervene."

Kang Chul-In paused briefly, and then continued.

"My lecturing stops here. Like I said, I will spare you, so return home as soon as your throat gets better. Ah, before that, we must finish what we were doing. Lucia!"

Lucia who had come into the Lord Hall and was watching the event unfold, answered when she heard her name be called.

"Yes, Lord. What do you need?"

"Bring the Soul Core."

"Yes, my Lord!"

Lucia disappeared somewhere, and then reappeared with a fancy sword that she held with two hands.

The 'Soul Core'.

It was a sword that had no use as an actual weapon and was purely for ceremonial purposes, but it was a key controller that symbolized the Lord and controlled the land. Therefore, the Soul Core was something that only the Lord and his advisor could touch. Kang Chul-In was able to control Laputa's facilities and the magic engineered satellite in space only with the Soul Core. The Soul Core for a Lord was like a royal decree; a God-Given gift.

"You do not have the right to be a Lord. Also, the responsibility of defeat falls solely on the Lord. Therefore, I will take away your position here as Lord."

"How…?"

Kimura answered with a quivering voice.

"The thing you are wearing on your waist, that is the Soul Core. You need to make a vow to me holding it."

Kimura took out the Burrow's Soul Core at Kang Chul-In's orders.

"Get on your knees and touch your sword to mine. Repeat after me. I"

"I."

"Pledge my troops and my land-"

"to the one who was victorious over me,"

"Laputa's Lord, Kang Chul-In."

"Leaving nothing,"

As the vow continued, the Soul Cores of Laputa and the Burrow began to radiate an energy.

"and give up my status as Lord."

As soon as Kimura finished reciting the vow, the Burrow land's Soul Core burned bright red. And

Crack!

Broke into a million pieces.

In the remains of the broken Soul Core of the Burrow lands, magic energy flowed into Kang Chul-In's Soul Core.

And messages popped up in front of Kang Chul-In.

[You have gained control of the Burrow territory.] [You have gained 5 levels with the conquest of an enemy Lord.] [You have gained 50 Lord Points with the conquest of an enemy Lord.] [Level 14 Reached!] [Tutorial 1 Quest Complete!] [Reward in Quest Completion: Experience +500/ 20 Gold/ Warp Gate unlocked (unlimited)]

Because it was brief information it was not in detail, it was definite that the ownership of the Burrow fell to Kang Chul-In. The ants who survived as well as the gold that Kimura had would have also transferred to Kang Chul-In. Aside from the advisor Timothy of course.

Also, because he cleared the Tutorial 1 Quest, the reward that followed was also given. Even if it was a boring win, the reward was clear.

"Is, is it over now?"

Kimura spoke weakly.

"Yes, it is over."

"I-I am sorry… I am sorry to everyone. I apologize…"

And Kimura fainted, falling to the ground. He could not finish.

"Take him and tend to him."

As soon as Kang Chul-In ordered, two soldiers took Kimura and disappeared to somewhere.

'Now, will I have some time to return to Earth?'

Compared to the three or four days he had predicted in the beginning, he was in Pangaea for two weeks, so he had postponed for an extremely long time.

However, he could not go right away.

He needed to take care of the ants who survived, the fire toad that he took from Kimura, reward for his troops, as well as dealing with what to do with the Burrow land. In order for him to return to Earth, he needed at least two or three more days.

'Also, was it time for me to pay the interest?'

Kang Chul-In remembered the borrowed money and had a bitter smile. He probably had to tell Lucia from the privy purse. But, there probably would be quite a bit of gold from Kimura, so there would be plenty after the debt was paid. If there was a bit more, he maybe would be able to give his mother some allowance and find her a good apartment for rent.

It was true.

The Lord Kang Chul-In, too, could not escape worrying about debt and apartment rent. Of course, if more time passed, he could claw in heaps of money ranging in the millions instead of the thousands, but that would be at least a year later.

Chapter 23. Timothy's loyalty, Kimura's disappearance

Editor:

Translator: Leyy

Kang Chul-In dove straight to post-war management. But as soon as he started, the veins in Kang Chul-In's forehead bulged. It had happened after he checked the amount of gold.

'What is this idiot?'

Unfortunately, the gold that he had taken from Kimura was only 2 thousand gold.

Two thousand gold.

If you had estimated 1 gold to be about 400 dollars, two thousand gold would be about $800,000. It was a lot of money.

However, that was not enough. It was incomparable to the amount that Kang Chul-In had imagined previously.

'Control yourself, calm down!'

Kang Chul-In had to fight the urge to run to Kimura and grab him by the collar and mustered up all his patience to calm himself.

It was too little.

The price of the Burrow land would be at most 4,000 gold, but aside from the two thousand that he had acquired, where had the remaining four thousand gone?

"Lord."

Lucia, who was holding Laputa's Soul Core gingerly, asked carefully when she noticed Kang Chul-In shaking in anger.

"Is there something wrong?"

"There is too little."

"What? What do you mean?"

"The gold that we took from him it's too little. There is only 2 thousand gold."

Lucia was also surprised at what Kang Chul-In said.

"Two thousand? There is no way! There needs to be at least four thousand!"

" I think he spent a lot. He probably spent excessively seeing the money."

"Oh my God!"

"There is nothing we can do. We can't tell him to return gold he has already spent."

"That is true."

"Lucia."

"Yes, Lord."

"That's why."

"Please speak."

"Can you give me 500 gold from my private pocket?"

Kang Chul-In said, a little embarrassed.

Private pocket.

It was personal money only for a Lord. More simply put, it was an allowance of sorts for the Lord. It was usually decided after consulting the advisor, but Kang Chul-In was embarrassed because the financial state of Laputa was quite bad. They were very close to being in financial trouble, but as soon as some money came in, he had asked for personal money.

"Sigh."

Lucia sighed.

Kang Chul-In, a bit embarrassed, pretended to do something else.

"Lord."

"Speak."

"I would have given you a thousand gold, if you have asked without hesitation."

"There is a saying, a man is able to be proud if his wallet is full."

"Yes."

"If you were to maintain your dignity, you would need at least a thousand gold. I will give you a thousand."

Lucia had big hands.

"This Lucia, even if we have to save and go without, will give you enough allowance! Even if all the people have to eat boiled cattle feed instead of bread!"

But she must also have known how to apply pressure.

"Give me only 500 gold."

"Is that enough?"

"it is more than enough."

Kang Chul-In succeeded in getting 500 gold in allowance.

It was then.

From far away, Timothy ran with his short legs towards him and kneeled in front of Kang Chul-In.

"Lord!"

"This Timothy, after much thought has decided to serve you, Lord! Although I am an unfaithful body that has changed Lords, I will give all I have to serve you! Please take me!"

"Stand, Timothy."

Kang Chul-In smiled widely and stood Timothy up.

"You are an important asset that will take care of my land's administrative duties and distributions."

"I will appoint you the land's executive official. Also, I will also entrust you with the military distributions. Your title…"

Kang Chul-In who was in thought for a moment turned his head and smirked widely.

"…is administrative supply officer."

"Administrative supply officer!"

"Yes."

"Entrusting such an important task to me; I am truly grateful!"

Timothy was crying as he thanked Kang Chul-In again and again. However, Kang Chul-In's intentions were black and evil.

'Heh heh. I will bury you in papers.'

Timothy had the skill of being more and more effective the more and more he was overworked. In order to make him the most productive, night shifts were a must.

"I will go attend to post-war management, so you rest well for the time being."

"Yes, Lord!"

Kang Chul-In, who had sent Timothy away, went immediately to his Royal Guard to reward them for their contributions.

"Hooray! Hooray!"

"Glory to the Lord!"

"Congratulations for the win!"

Laputa's soldiers congratulated Kang Chul-In and celebrated their victory.

"Tonight, I will send beer and sausages, so everyone eat and drink to your heart's content!"

Kang Chul-In suggested a meal to

comfort the soldiers and reward them for their hard work.

"Woah!!!"

"This is the best!"

As young, energetic men, the soldiers were extremely happy at the news of beer.

He met the people of the land as well.

A couple of the women of the land, gifted Kang Chul-In bouquets of flowers or necklaces made from flowers. Amongst them was Lana, Rustler's daughter as well.

"Milord"

Lana who was not yet of age, blushed and looked embarrassed.

'What the. What's wrong with her?'

Kang Chul-In was taken aback by Lana, who was twisting her body, but he did not show it.

"Lord… Lana is"

Rustler's only daughter spoke and lowered her eyes to the ground. Her ears were so red that it seemed like it would explode at any moment.

It was then.

Commander James ran to him quickly and yelled to Kang Chul-In, covering Lana's voice.

"Lord! Lord!"

"What is it, James?"

"I have gathered the surviving Ants and the fire toad in the drill grounds!"

"Right. I will go now."

Kang Chul-In turned towards the drill grounds right away. It was important to deal with the enemy troops.

Lana, who could not finish her sentence, blew air in her cheeks and glared at James, but no one noticed.

Kang Chul-In, who arrived in the drill grounds, looked at the enemy troops from the reviewing stand. They looked horrible, all of them horribly burned.

"Lucia!"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Bring all the honey from storage and feed it to them."

"Yes, Lord!"

Honey for ants were the best health food, and the medicine that cures all. For them who were insects, sugar was the most nutritious.

"James!"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Give them potions. Take care of them so their wounds will heal well."

"Yes, my Lord!"

After giving the orders, Kang Chul-In left the stand and headed towards the leader of the Ants.

"You are probably hurting a lot, and also very sad."

"….!"

Verna, the leader of the Ants, opened its eyes wide at Kang Chul-In's comforting words.

"I feel sorry."

"N-no…"

"But what can we do? War is all like this. If I did not want to die, I had to kill you guys instead."

"I know…."

Verna lowered her head.

"You must hate me and despise me… but what can we do. The Burrows are under my leadership now."

"Yes, Lord."

"I wish to entrust you with the architecture of this land."

"….!"

Listening to the tempting offer, Verna opened its eyes wide.

"I will not send you to battle. Building, I will only ask you to build. Would you help me and build grand buildings in this land?"

"D-do you mean that, Lord?"

"I know that your happiness is work, and only work. I do not need anything else. I want only work, and not fighting power from you."

"Then!"

"Will you do it?"

"Yes, Lord! No, yes milord! I will serve you!"

Verna bent her six legs as best as she could and bowed as best as she could.

"I will serve you to the best of my ability!"

All the ants all vowed their loyalty to Kang Chul-In.

'Simpletons.'

Kang Chul-In smiled in the inside.

Honestly, this kind of show was not needed, for he was able to control them, but there was a big difference in doing it and not. There was a difference in loyalty.

[Gained +30 Favorability from the Ants] [Loyalty of the Ants from 60 to 75]

It was effective, as expected.

'Ants are great for labor.'

Kang Chul-In wanted the ants a lot.

There were dwarves who specialized in architecture, but dwarves were more useful in craftsmanship or as blacksmiths. For simply building architecture, ants were the best in construction sites. They were manual laborers down to the bone and were a great labor force, so they would be extremely helpful in internal affairs.

Also, they enjoyed doing manual labor, so he did not need to feel guilty in putting them to work. They would not complain no matter how hard he worked them.

"James."

"Yes, Lord."

"Follow me with the flame toad."

Kang Chul-In, who had left the drill grounds, finally went to the place where the land's blacksmith worked.

"Oh, welcome, my Lord!"

The old man who worked as the blacksmith of the land was called Vulkanos.

"This guy, can you raise him well?"

Kang Chul-In handed the flame toad's leash to the old man.

"This guy!"

"This place is the foundation that determines our land's military force. The blacksmith's workshop needs to be well stocked so good weapons can be made."

"T-thank you my Lord! Gifting me with such a good monster!"

The old man Vulkanos kneeled and bowed.

For a blacksmith who worked with metal, a fire toad would be extremely helpful. A flame toad would be a great asset and friend.

"I will support you well from now on."

Kang Chul-In was a conquest Lord. There was no way he would be stingy in his support where the weapons were made.

"This old man, will pay back with twice, no ten times more than what you have supported me with!"

With that, the post-war administration was finished. Night had fallen, and torches were hung all over the land.

'I can finally go home.'

Kang Chul-In was planning to return to Earth as soon as the sun rose tomorrow. He would visit his mother and also check on the status of finding Kwak Jung.

The next morning, Kang Chul-In stood in the magic square that lied in the center of the Lord Hall. However he could not see the person that he was supposed to see.

"This idiot, where did he go?"

Kang Chul-In asked, and James' face hardened.

"It's that…"

"Speak."

"It seems, like he hid somewhere."

"What?"

The person that Kang Chul-In was looking for was no other than Kimura. He was going to take him along when he was returning to earth.

"There were a couple people who heard him whining that he did not want to go home."

"He doesn't want to go home?"

"Apparently he is scared of his house and has said he would much rather stay here."

"what is he?"

Kang Chul-In put his face in his hands, as if he was annoyed. He had spared Kimura's life, yet he didn't want to go home. He could not understand what kind of a messed up situation this was.

"Find him, before I get back."

Kang Chul-In ordered. Then, a man who seemed like he would be handy with a pair of handcuffs answered.

"Yes, milord."

Podolski smiled widely and answered. On his waist were a pair of silver handcuffs that gleamed in the light.

"Leave it to me, milord!"

Was it just him that felt assured that it would get done when Podolski answered?

Kang Chul-In shook his head and activated the Warp Gate. Returning to Earth was priority.

Chapter 24. Making a deal (1)

Editor:

Translator: Leyy

[The UN has launched an investigation on the posts of light that has been appearing on the landmarks around the world, meanwhile from witness accounts and first-hand accounts, there have been official reports that these posts are Gates that lead to a different world.] [There have been supernatural beings found around the world.] [From the reports of those who are traveling through the gate, this other world has all sorts of monsters.] [While mysterious medicines and items are one by one emerging, the United States has announced that they will actively recruit American 'Dimension travelers' in order to gain intel on this other world.]

The news was noisy.

There were some who had gained special abilities from Pangaea who then went on an American talk show (although it was simple magic), and videos of healing serious wounds with a red liquid in a glass jar was all over YouTube.

And articles of an animal that looked like a mixture of a squirrel and rabbit that was able to resist a 5.56 NATO bullet flooded social media. The January of 2021 was noisy and filled with news of findings of a new world.

"Sigh."

Kang Chul-In, who had almost been watching the news for three hours, turned off the TV while letting out a sigh.

'Habit.'

A bitter smile formed on his lips.

The reason for watching the news was simple.

It was a way of sorts to lessen the gap between Pangaea and Earth.

Different from Earth, where the supernatural did not exist and only pure science existed, Pangaea was a world where advanced magic, martial arts, and monsters existed simultaneously. If you lived in such a place for a while, one's mind to the way one speaks were prone to becoming like that of Pangaea. In order to lessen this, watching TV for long periods of time helped. Then, at least in reality, one would not use corny things like 'Shakespeare tone' and diction. Of course, when one returned to Pangaea, it would all become useless.

"Should I slowly get moving?"

Kang Chul-In mumbled and left his house.

In the hands of Kang Chul-In who was stepping out the door, there was a full bag, and in it was the 500 gold that Lucia had given him. Kang Chul-In was planning to sell this gold and get some money.

Broom!

The Mustang let out a heavy sound as it left the parking lot. The destination was Yongsan, in old terms called 'The Northern Gan Islands' (translator note: though it's not even an island, lol), 21st street of an old business district. With the boom of online shopping from the 2000s and the opening of the 2016 HDC Shilla Duty Free, there were almost no natives in Yongsan, and everyone here was almost all Chinese tourists. The glory of the electronic district long ago had become ancient history.

"We are not in business."

The 40-year-old man who was playing a card game on his computer with a cigarette in his mouth, said that when Kang Chul-In entered the old, shabby store filled with old, dusty computer parts.

"We don't buy things here."

He seemed like he got some cigarette smoke in his eyes, because he did not even look at Kang Chul-In and just crinkled his brow.

"I didn't come here to sell, I came here to buy. Don't pretend to do other things, and open the shutters."

Kang Chul-In spoke.

Then, the man turned his head slowly and looked at Kang Chul-In up and down.

'What is this, young little boy?'

The man's eyebrows came together. In his memory, Kang Chul-In's face did not exist. It was a face he had never seen before.

'Open the shutter? That means he does know something cop? Oh crap!'

The man was wary of Kang Chul-In and was put in a difficult place. For those who made a living dealing illegally, strange faces were always dangerous.

"I don't know what you are talking about, but we don't sell or buy. Okay? So, don't be annoying and go do your business somewhere else."

The man glared and said in a threatening tone. It seemed like he would throw a punch if he did not leave nicely.

"I came to see the old man Kwon, so open the shutter."

"I'm not police, nor do I work for the government. I came to sell this."

With a thud, the bag with the gold fell on top of the laptop which the man was playing his card games.

"Ha. You bastard."

The man with an annoyed face stood up suddenly. And he stepped close towards Kang Chul-In and put on a threatening face.

"Hey, what are you? What do you think this place is"

"What do you mean, what is this place? It's the old man Kwon's store. Korea's greatest money bug, old man Kwon."

Kang Chul-In spoke.

"You rude little bastard!"

In that moment, the man swung a fist towards Kang Chul-In.

The result was unfortunate.

"URGHH!"

The man grabbed his stomach and

groaned, and threw up his lunch that he had eaten about an hour ago.

"Boss!"

"What is that!"

"Get him!"

Just in time, the other gangsters who had stepped outside for a smoke came back inside and lunged towards Kang Chul-In.

The result was the same.

There was not one who was able to touch even Kang Chul-In's clothes. With one blow, all of them fell to the ground.

Kang Chul-In was a man who's fighting power surpassed that of a professional boxer with no additional abilities. If he was Level 14 or even if it was a lower level, these gangsters were elementary schoolers to his eyes at most.

"Y-you bastard! Who sent you here? Tell me before I make a hole in your head"

The man who fell first spoke menacingly. Before anyone noticed, his hand was in the inside pocket of his jacket.

'This idiot?'

Kang Chul-In knew what was in that inside pocket.

Old man Kwon was a money thirsty man who would deal anything that would bring in money, like drugs, guns, or stolen goods. And for a gangster protecting old man Kwon's store (although this was just one of the many), they would carry at least one gun. However, Kang Chul-In did not seem at all scared even when he knew his opponent was carrying a gun. Of course, if he was hit with a bullet now, in nine cases out of ten, he would die, but he was confident he would not be hit in the first place, so there was no reason to be afraid.

'I'll break your neck.'

It was when Kang Chul-In smiled a bitter smile and decided to lunge at the man.

[Put the toy away. Nothing good comes of making a commotion.]

An old voice flowed out of the speakers that hung at the corner of the ceiling.

[I don't know where you are from but you've got some fists.]

It was the voice of old man Kwon.

'He's still the same.'

Kang Chul-In smiled quickly at the familiar voice of old man Kwon.

Old man Kwon had often made deals with Kang Chul-In in the past.

Kang Chul-In had sold items that were difficult to sell legally and purchased items as well. It was quite the nice business partnership.

[Open the shutter and bring him downstairs. I want to see his face.]

Kang Chul-In was able to meet old man Kwon, who was surrounded by eight bodyguards, when he passed the shutter and went down a secret tunnel leading to a bottom floor.

"You are not a familiar face, who introduced you?"

Old man Kwon formed a sort of approachable smile and asked.

"No comment."

Kang Chul-In answered.

"That won't do. Although it may seem that in this line of work, you just do whatever, but there is no after-trouble if both sides are clean."

The old man seemed reluctant.

"You won't get an upset stomach even if you eat this, so let's just make a deal."

"Let's just make a deal?"

In the bald forehead of Old man Kwon, veins bulged.

"Haha! Hey, young man. Have you never heard of respecting your elders? You will go with one blow like that."

"The old man Kwon that I know likes money more than talking about petty formalities."

Kang Chul-In responded back.

"?"

"First, this."

Kang Chul-In put the bag with 500 gold on Kwon's table.

"500 gold that are 10g each. 97.8% purity. Market price is about 200,000? 10% commission is enough?"

"Ho… Business right away. Fine, money over formality. So, origin? Stolen? Illegal mining?"

"The noisy place these days."

Old man Kwon's face hardened.

"You must know that in any business, it is beneficial to start in the early stages, yes?"

Kang Chul-In slyly threw bait.

"Very, beneficial. The early bird catches the worm. Yes, of course. However, entering a new market has also big risks."

Old man Kwon said pretending not to pay attention. He was an experienced old man, so he did take the bait right away.

'It is appealing, but he means that there is no reason to jump into it if the money is good right now.'

Kang Chul-In could understand what old man Kwon was intending.

'However, old man, you are going to decide to work with me.'

There was a critical weakness in what old man Kwon said, and old man Kwon too would be played by Kang Chul-In's speech.

"Seems like the risk is big enough, even now?"

"Hm?"

"Guns, drugs, fake IDs, money laundering, etc. If you get caught with one, 20 years is minimum. That's your lifeline, and talking about risk, it doesn't make sense."

"Ehem…!"

An uncomfortable dry cough came from the old man's mouth.

To speak the truth, old man Kwon was a criminal.

No matter how powerful Kwon was in the underworld, it would be complete annihilation once he got caught by the authorities. The old man had come this far with luck and good resources, but it was still like walking on eggshells.

Like a man dancing on the edge of a sword, it wouldn't strange if the old man was sent to prison suddenly.

"Hey, young friend. What you say isn't false, but if you push me like this, nothing will be beneficial to you. If I put my mind to it…"

"You think you can do something to me with those gangsters?"

Kang Chul-In snorted and pointed to the the old man's guards with his chin.

"No matter how strong your fist is, there is no use in front of a bullet."

The old man spoke coldly. It meant he will kill him if he fooled around further.

"I'm disappointed, old man."

"Disappointed?"

"I thought you wanted to come out to the bright side."

Upon hearing those words, old man Kwon's wrinkled eyes opened wide.

"Old man, your money is like a prize beyond your reach. You can't even buy a building under your name, and how long do you think you can live under an assumed one? What are you saying, that you don't have too long to live anyways?"

"Of course you deal in cash, profit must be large but considering how much it costs to silence mouths and risks, isn't living that kind of life not that great either? There isn't a country like Korea that is so sensitive to guns and drugs either. But I guess to change businesses now, you are probably afraid of all the negative responses from all sorts of places. It's obvious you can't fold your business because you cannot do this or that. Am I wrong?"

Kang Chul-In's speech was sharp and painful, enough to rip the old man's heart to shreds, but not one part of it was untrue.

"Old man, this is a chance. A chance for you to leave the dark side and come up to the light."

"I'll give you a bit of information. Of course, it will spread everywhere but it is quite a good piece of information right now."

"Talk."

It seemed like the old man agreed with what Kang Chul-In was saying.

"The other world, more precisely, in Pangaea, you cannot take items from this world. You can only bring things from there. Think about it well, what this means."

The old man slowly thought of the information that Kang Chul-In gave him.

'Cannot take in can only bring out Pangaea? Those who go back and forth are the select few can only bring out. Hmm… wait, it seems like he is saying there is no need to invest a big amount of money.'

In that moment, the old man's eyes sparkled.

'Distribution!'

Although it was illegal, he had lived doing business for tens of years. Even with a little bit of a hint, his head spun fast, and a way to profit had come to him.

"Still smart."

Kang Chul-In smiled a satisfied smile, as if he knew what the old man had thought of.

"You need to just secure a distribution network. Just sit still and wait until the dimension travelers of Pangaea bring the items for you to distribute, and all you need to do is profit off the commission."

That was the key.

"But, but what? What do I know what they can bring from there? In detail, what kind of items?"

Old man Kwon asked.

"For example…"

Kang Chul-In answered.

Chapter 25. Making a deal (2)

Editor:

Translator: Leyy

"Something like this?" The thing that he handed towards the old man was a plain looking ring.

"What is this?"

Meanwhile, old man Kwon's tone was quite different now.

This was a green light.

It meant that he would treat Kang Chul-In as a business partner, instead of some little kid of unknown origin.

"A ring of strength."

"A ring of strength?"

"It will increase the strength of the one wearing it of about 10kg. It is cheap, but the effect is apparent."

"Are you telling me to believe…"

"Old man."

Kang Chul-In cut him off.

"You think I came to sell drugs?"

The cold question, and the colder eyes. Old man Kwon had to fight the urge to want to faint.

'What kind of a guy's eyes look like that…!'

It was a horrifying glare that he had never seen in his many years of life.

Could this be?

Due to his line of work, the old man had to meet all sorts of criminals, and amongst them were guns for hire or gangsters who had killed many. However, amongst even those cruel gangsters, there was none who made his hairs stand on edge like this young man. He did not know where this guy had come from.

"I-I'm sorry…. I made a mistake."

Finally, old man Kwon lowered his tail.

Kwon, himself, could not believe it either.

His pride as a man was hurt, for he had gotten scared with eight bulky bodyguards behind him who were all armed.

He thought that there were all sorts of people in this world.

"Well, it's okay."

Kang Chul-In who had scared him without intending to, swatted his hand.

"There is a saying , 'seeing is believing.' It would be easier for you to understand when you use it once than me saying it a thousand times."

"Could I?"

"Of course."

Kang Chul-In nodded, and carefully extended his hand to put the two rings on his finger.

"Hmm….hm…"

The old man coughed softly, as if he was embarrassed.

"This…"

"It has no special feeling?"

"Yes, it's that."

"It's not an expensive item, and it is just a commonplace object. Expect plausible things, old man."

"…how do you use it?"

"Just lift anything. It would be better if it was something you usually could not carry because you did not have enough strength."

"Hm…"

At Kang Chul-In's words, the old man stroked his white beard and picked up a 20kg barbell that was at the corner of the office. It was a dumbbell that one of his bodyguards used often to work out.

"…!"

The old man's eyes opened wide.

"W-What is this?!"

Of course, the old man would have been surprised, seeing that he lifted the dumbbell (which he couldn't picked up with two hands) with one hand.

"You wore two at once so you can lift up 20kg more than usual. It would be possible for you to swing it too."

Kang Chul-In kindly explained.

"Is that true?"

"Of course."

"Can I try?"

"Of course."

As the approval fell, old man Kwon as if he had become young again spread out his shoulders, prepared, and swung the barbells.

Swish!

The 20kg dumbbells danced in the old man's hand.

Well-built men would have strained their joints… for a man who was almost 80, it was surprise-worthy. It was as if he had gone back in time.

"...!"

"What…!"

"No way!"

The bodyguards who had been watching silently also let out awed remarks.

"Amazing… hey, in that Pangaea or whatever it was, are there lots of things like this?"

"I called it cheap."

Kang Chul-In spoke.

"That ring is an extremely small part of the things that one can bring from Pangaea. Some things… are strong enough to bring down entire cities."

"Then… that means…"

"Whether you believe or not, is not important. As time passes, you will come to believe it." "Hm… that is true too."

"First, I want to start our deal by selling off the gold that I brought today. What do you think, can you do it?"

"Well, no reason I couldn't. If what you say is true, I will jump into the business that you suggested, and not this one. This business is a goose that lays golden eggs!"

"Of course. Then you can have a fresh start and be honest to your family. Didn't the daughter you had hate your job?"

"…!"

"I will say this again, but this is an opportunity."

"….seems like there is nothing you do not know about me."

"Do you think I would have come not knowing?" Kang Chul-In knew very well of old man Kwon's desires.

These were desires and hunger that all criminals could not help but have.

Humans, the moment they commit a crime, became engulfed in the grasp and suffering of the laws. The more and more they avoid capture, they needed to live in fear until the day they stand trial in a court of law. Therefore, of course they would want to escape the criminal status and live as a clean member of society.

The mentality and desire was also the same for the old man, no, even

greater, seeing that he was such a powerful figure in the underworld.

It was a last wish for someone who had lived his entire life as a criminal. For Kang Chul-In who knew that better than anyone, he could easily control the old man.

"Your wish, I can make it come true."

"R-r-really?"

The old man's voice shook violently.

"Just wait and see. The world will change after one or two months."

"Sigh… who would have guessed I would hear something like this when I'm in my twilight years?"

"That's why living is so fun. Who knew that a gate to a different world would open?"

"You are right. The world is funny. You have to live long and see."

In no time, there was a large smile plastered on the old man's face.

"Hey, Chief Oh."

"Yes, chairman."

"Take a couple of the kids and take $300,000 out of the safe."

"Yes, sir."

It was a $100,000 more than the actual price of the gold.

"I will not take commission. The $200,000 is for the gold and the $100,000 is for the price of the ring."

"It is not worth that much. Two or three thousand at most."

"Really?"

"You can just have it, old man."

"This, you are just giving this for free?"

"Let's just call it a reception expense for our future deals. I have no use for it even if I carry it around anyways."

"…you go big. But I also cannot take it for free. Take the extra. I need to show at least that much appreciation for my future possible partner."

"Well, if you insist, I will take it."

And like that, the first deal between Kang Chul-In and old man Kwon was done.

It was a deal that both sides would have been satisfied with.

Kang Chul-In was happy that he could get cash, and old man Kwon was happy because he had gained items for business and that he was able to rekindle his old dreams. It was a win-win situation for both sides.

"I will contact you in a month. Be careful with your deals for a while. Even better if you close business for a while. It would be unfortunate if it falls apart before you ride the flower train. It's annoying for me to find a new business too."

Kang Chul-In who checked that the mounds of money were in the trunk, did not forget a request to be careful as he left the office. It would be difficult if old man Kwon had to go to prison even before he had started the new business.

"Of course, I will."

The old man nodded.

"If you are to do some big jobs, you need to watch your safety. Don't worry, I did not live my life in vain, so prepare well for our next deal."

"Of course."

With those final words, Kang Chul-In got in his now heavy mustang and headed to Park Doo-Sik's office.

"Chairman."

Chief Oh called to old man Kwon who was watching the back of Kang Chul-In's car that was speeding away.

"Ah, Chief Oh."

"Even so, don't you think a $100,000 was too much? What part of him do you trust?"

"Intuition."

"Intuition?"

At the strange response, Chief Oh's face fell into a grimace.

Intuition.

Also, a business was an evil that should never be done on intuition, but should only be dealt with by secure information and cold reason. Business was something that would put a person in debt with one wrong step, but the old man had given away a 100,000 on pure intuition. It was not something that the great old man Kwon would have done.

"Chairman, are you by any chance…"

"I haven't gone senile, so don't question me!"

Old man Kwon, who saw right through Chief Oh's thoughts, screamed.

"Oh, Chief Oh… you stupid idiot! Because you have a head like that on your shoulders, I don't nance your business!"

"…"

"This business, you don't need to do anything at all. You know? He said, you cannot take anything from this world into the other one, so in the businessman's perspective, there is no expenditures if you take out labor costs! It means that if you secure the ones who can move from this world to that, you will get filthy rich!"

"Oh, is that true…?"

"And this ring."

Old man Kwon mumbled looking at the cheap strength ring that was on his finger.

"Science and technology aside, I have never seen or heard of something like this. What would happen if I give a professional baseball player something like this, huh?"

"Well, well… crazy play."

"And what if that professional baseball player played in the major league?"

"…the yearly pay would well over the millions?"

"An idiot who knows that complains about a $100,000?"

"Oh!"

Chief Oh clenched the back of his head and looked as if he was going to pass out.

It was not the strength of an old man. The ring of strength had increased his powers, and he was as strong as a fit man.

"From now on, when that friend comes, be good to him. Although I don't know for sure, he isn't ordinary. Huh, where did someone like that come from? Like he said, you need to live long and see! Hahaha!"

Old man Kwon laughed loudly and smiled.

It was really a chance that had come after a long time… an opportunity of a lifetime that came at the age of 80.

———————————-

Kang Chul-In who came to the office of Park Doo-Sik was treated like a king and sat on Park Du-Sik's "Chairman Chair".

"Report."

"It's… it's that…"

"Seems like there isn't too much advancement?"

"…" Park Doo-Sik had no excuses.

"I understand."

"…!"

"I did not think you could nd him with a couple days anyways. It would take at least a couple months."

Kang Chul-In thought of Liu Bei, who waited for a long time to gain the great tactician Zhuge Liang and reminded himself to remain calm.

'You bastard, born with a golden spoon in your mouth. How dare you eat up Lee Gong-Myung too!'

On the other hand, his anger towards Rothschild bubbled. Rothschild was the prime example of being born with a golden spoon and handed things left and right in his life.

Lee Gong-Myung, a Chinese immigrant residing in Korea had been able to study at Harvard because of his smart brain, and Rothschild who too, was studying at Harvard as the student body president and had kept a keen eye on Lee Gong-Myung for his intelligence.

Kang Chul-In tried to calm his anger and placed four stacks of money on the table, each with a hundred 50 dollar bills.

"Aigoo, oh, big boss! Why do you give us something like this?"

"You know what it means?"

"Of course. I will send out three or four more and definitely find him."

Park Doo-Sik clenched his sts tightly, as if to tell Kang Chul-In to trust him.

"But… isn't this a little too much? Two is more than enough…"

"Don't pretend to care for my circumstances."

"… yes, big boss."

Kwak Jung was the key if he wanted to teach Rothschild and Lee Gong-Myung a real lesson. A bit of money was not valuable to him at all. If he could have Kwak Jung, he would try three, no ten more times.

"I'm leaving. I'll come again soon."

Kang Chul-In who was finished with his business left Park Doo-Sik's office right away and headed to Bucheon. It was to visit his mother.

'I am such an unfilial child…'

If he thought back to the last 10 years, aside from the early 2, 3 years, he had almost never seen his mother. To that extent, Kang Chul-In was crazed over Pangaea, and so he had committed the sin of turning his back on his only family. No matter how much money he gave her, he did not massage her shoulders once. As her son, he felt sorry.

'I can't even take care of my own family, so how can I rule Pangaea..'

Kang Chul-In thought and he pledged to be dutiful to his mother.

It was then.

The silent phone vibrated. It was from…

"Agent Lee?"

It was the Lord that he didn't know about, Lee Chae-rin.

Chapter 26. Lord 'Lee Chae-rin'

Editor:

Translator: Leyy

"Yes, please speak."

Kang Chul-In answered Lee Chae-rin's phone call.

If Lee Chae-rin was not a Lord, he would not have answered, but if she was someone who had become a Lord, he could answer a phone call any time. A Lord's enemy was a Lord, and a Lord's ally was also a Lord.

[Mr. Chul-In.]

"Yes, Senior assistant Lee. No, I will call you Ms. Lee from now."

[It doesn't matter what you call me. I got fired from the company.]

"Did you return now?"

[Yes.]

It was understandable why she was fired.

For any company, they do not fire accountants very well. There are situations where they mostly quit on their own. The cause would have 100% been, because she did not go to work for a long time, due to the Grand Summoning.

[Mr. Chul-In.]

"Yes, please speak."

[You know something, right? That's why you can be that calm? Right?]

Lee Chae-rin blurted out a series of questions. It seemed like she did not really understand the reality of things.

"I have nothing to say regarding that."

Kang Chul-In drew the line.

If he were to advise Lee Chae-rin, he did not know how he would change the future. He had to try and eliminate any external variables, so he could not give her any advice even if he wanted to.

[Mr. Chul-In]

It was obvious that she was hurt by the cold response.

[I-I am so scared…] [I have never seen such things before… There are dwarves, and crows that I can't understand or accept…. So could you please just hear me out? Please?]

Lee Chae-rin's quivering voice was moist with fear.

'She is only half sane.'

Kang Chul-In could see the psychological state of Lee Chae-rin right away.

Fear of the unknown, the gap between reality, and the responsibility that came from the suddenly given position of Lord, the monster quests, and more honestly, if you were any normal person, it would be difficult to escape from the shock of the Grand Summoning for a while.

Especially if you were not crazy like Hecate and just a plain woman like Lee Chae-rin, she would be even more confused. It would not be strange for her to die at any time with that sort of mental state, whether that was by suicide or murder.

'Hmm…. should I exchange some information just in case?'

Kang Chul-In's mind began to spin.

'If Lee Chae-rin's land is near that of Rothschild, then I would be able to get some intel.'

He then thought that he might gain something just by helping her just enough to not affect the future.

"Ms. Chae-rin."

Kang Chul-In, who had made up his mind, spoke.

[Yes, Mr. Chul-In.]

"I might not be of much help but let's talk face to face. There might be some things we can help each other with. Where are you right now?"

[You can meet right now?]

"Yes."

[Then I will send you the location right now, so please contact me when you arrive. Ah, also…

thank you for meeting me.]

"I'm hanging up."

Kang Chul-In did not know how to respond to those words, so he just hung up. He was not used to someone depending on him.

"Are you here?"

He could meet Lee Chae-rin at a caf near the train station located in front of Seoul University.

"What is the name of your land?"

Kang Chul-In asked the question right away.

"That, its.. Dorado."

Lee Chae-rin answered, taken aback.

'Dorado… Doesn't sound familiar.'

He did not know the name of every land, but he did know any land that had any influence on the big picture. If it was a land that he did not know that meant that it was an insignificant one that did not have any influence on the future.

"What is your specialty?"

"Specialty… I can't remember."

"Repeat after me. Open 'My information'."

"Open 'My information'."

Lee Chae-rin repeated the words and a semi-opaque window popped up, showing her the information.

"T-this is possible too…"

Lee Chae-rin was surprised. Pangaea was understandable because it was a different world, but she did not think she could use it in real life.

"Because it is reality."

Kang Chul-In answered bluntly.

"Anyways, a Lord's information is made so that other people cannot look at it. I can see the window, but I can't see the contents. So, you need to read it out to me."

"Did you ask about the specialty?"

"Yes."

"It is called wealth."

In that moment, Kang Chul-In's eyes widened.

'Oh crap! Wealth?'

It was really something surprising.

Wealth.

It was a specialty that amplified the land's economy.

The cost of

building facilities decreases, and when you develop a gold mine and extract resources, the yield increases exponentially. It is also the same for diamonds and rubies.

In purchasing units using the Lord Store and in collecting booty when hunting monsters, this specialty is useful. Small output, large input. That is the key to this wealth specialty.

"Why are you so surprised all of a sudden?"

Lee Chae-rin asked, but Kang Chul-In did not answer.

'She has the wealth specialty but her name is not known? This does not make sense. What did she do in the past? Lee Chae-rin? I have never seen you before.'

Wealth was almost a cheat specialty that makes the economy of your land boom even with one not doing anything. A woman with such specialty and she is not known? It did not make logical sense.

'Let's think back. It is fair to say that it was not fate for me to meet her at Akan's hall in the past. It is very possible for me to not recognize even a familiar face.'

It was not strange for him to not have ran into Lee Chae-rin in the past. It was very possible.

'But not the first Lord Meeting. Whether I wanted to or not, I would have seen her at least once. The first Lord Meeting Lee Chae-rin was definitely not there.'

He was sure.

No matter how much he dug through his memory, he had no recollection of seeing her during the first Lord Meeting. Then, there could only be two logical explanations.

'The future changed? No, no that can't be. There is nothing that I have interfered or changed for that to have happened. It is either God or Akan that chose Lee Chae-rin, not me. There was no external factor before the Great Summoning. Then…'

Kang Chul-In thought hard.

'Before the first Lord meeting it must mean that she was stripped of her status or had died. Or she gave up going to Pangaea completely.'

The solution came.

"Ms. Chae-rin."

"Yes?"

"Can you tell me by chance where your land is located?"

"Ah, that's not difficult. My land's location…"

Lee Chae-rin looked at the information window briefly and then spoke.

"It is in the South."

'Pandemonium?!'

Lee Chae-rin's words answered all of Kang Chul-In's questions at once.

'I get it now.'

He understood why Lee Chae-rin could not appear in the first Lord Meeting even with a specialty like wealth.

Pandemonium.

A land of hell, filled with the war-crazed.

It was too cruel of a place for someone like Lee Chae-rin, who was so delicate. It would not be strange for her to have left early from the ranking competition.

'Wealth… she could be quite the useful partner.'

Kang Chul-In was overcome with thought as he looked towards Lee Chae-rin.

'Pandemonium does not have an impact on the bigger picture anyways. I can intervene however I want. I can help Lee Chae-rin's survival, and if she supplies me with gold, then we both benefit.'

It was quite a good idea.

For Kang Chul-In who would be struggling financially, no, who would continue to struggle, Lee Chae-rin would be a good source of money.

"Sigh, Mr. Chul-In."

Lee Chae-rin let out a heavy sigh as Kang Chul-In was thinking about the deal.

"I am so confused. I don't know what is what, and I am scared. But there is no one I can talk to, and it seems like the people of the land all look to me so what can I do? I barely completed the monster conquest but I am not confident I can do it again."

It seemed like Lee Chae-rin was struggling quite a bit. It was obvious she wanted to depend on Kang Chul-In. But…

"There is nothing I can do."

Kang Chul-In answered coldly.

"Ms. Chae-rin, you are an adult. Do not ask others how to live your life. Aren't you going to do whatever you want anyways regardless of what I am going to say?"

"That…"

"If I were to give you any advice don't you just need to decide whether you will never return to Pangaea again, or faithfully carry out your role as a Lord?"

No matter how hard she was thought about it, the answer would be black or white. Would she live as a Lord, or would she live a normal life? No matter what she chose, that was Lee Chae-rin's own life, and not his.

"But, if you are willing to live as one's Lord with dignity, I will help you."

"Mr. Chul-In, you?"

"I will not spoon feed you, but yes, to an extent."

"Yes."

"You need to remember only one thing. There is risk in living as a Lord, but there is also great rewards. With your specialty, you will have a building within the year here."

"I don't even want that much. Money isn't everything. But…"

Lee Chae-rin said something quite impressive.

"I am so afraid.."

"But you aren't alone?"

"Ah?"

"If you were not a Lord, I would have advised you not to ever return to Pangaea ever again. However, you are a Lord. You have a loyal advisor, and people of the land who trust you and are loyal to you. What is the problem? Even with the monster conquest, you probably just sat back and watched. Am I wrong?"

"I will end it here. If after a lot of thought, you decided to live as a Lord, then you can contact me then. Then, I will treat you like a Lord then."

"Yes."

Lee Chae-rin lowered her eyes, as if she was confused.

"Let's end it here, and talk next time."

"Are are you leaving?"

"There is nothing else I have left to say."

"But…"

"?"

"How can you be so nonchalant about everything? As if you have been going to Pangaea from the past you are so level-headed and calm it seems like you changed as well. How much do you know about Pangaea?"

"No comment. I don't want, or need tell you anything regarding that. Well, then."

Kang Chul-In, with those words, left the cafe. He had shown all the kindness he could muster.

'No matter how much I babble on, it is no use. The choice is yours, Lee Chae-rin. You can give up, you can but if you decide you want to live as a Lord, we will be great partners.'

It would be a wonderful alliance if Kang Chul-In and Lee Chae-rin were to join hands, because it would be a union of military and economic power. Of course, the current Lee Chae-rin did not know that.

With Kang Chul-In's void, Laputa's governing body was busy with establishing the land's internal affairs. Timothy, as intended by Kang Chul-In, was working into the night trying to establish the land's administration system and was buried underneath paperwork.

And the Director General Podolski searched all over the land looking for Kimura, while Commander James pushed the Royal Guard into intense training.

Lucia was busy training the four servants that she had chosen for Kang Chul-In's comfort, as well as performing interim duties out in the fields.

But a problem arose.

The problem happened in the construction site that was working to dig the land's moat deeper.

"Ah!!!"

A laborer who was working hard amongst the ants shot up into the air.

"Help me!"

Along with a scream…

Splurt!

and blood squirted to the sky.

It was an ambush.

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