Chapter 91

Chapter 91

“Hey, Dojae, you there?”

“Yes, boss. How have you been?”

Dojae greeted CEO Choi Woosuk of Do-Somae warmly, despite their past haggling.

“Actually, those people who claimed to be your friends came by talking about treatments and such, and after that, my mind cleared up like before and the fatigue disappeared.”

“That’s truly a relief.”

Choi Woo-seok’s face had improved significantly.

Kim Soo-kyung had been put in charge of Choi Woo-seok’s mental treatment, and it seemed to have worked well.

“Hello! I’m Song Ji-yoon from the Guardian Guild!”

Ji-yoon greeted Choi Woo-seok with a cheerful voice.

“Welcome. I’m Choi Woo-seok, owner of Heungjeong Mangjeong.”

“What a fun name for the shop! Does it mean ‘Spend freely and leave’?”

“No. ‘Hyeongjeong’ means buying and selling goods, and ‘mangjeong’ means something is okay or went well. So combining the two creates the meaning of buying and selling goods well.”

Choi Woo-seok scratched his sideburns and answered awkwardly.

“I thought that too, but I didn’t know. It doesn’t seem like the kind of idea that would come from the boss’s head…”

“Damn it! Yeah! Actually, at first, I named it to mean ‘splurge wildly and spend money freely!’ But giving it meaning is what matters, right? The meaning!”

“Hahaha, you’re something else. Still, it ended up with a pretty decent meaning.”

“Alright! Let’s go see what you’ve prepared.”

Choi Woo-seok said coyly and walked deeper into the store.

“They seem pretty close, huh?”

“Yeah, he’s one of the few good people I have.”

“Huh? Wait, why would Bu-gil-ma-nim say she doesn’t have many good people? You have me now, and there’s Jung-gyu oppa, the members of Class 3, and Manager Young-jin. And I’m here too…!”

“Oh, right. More than I thought?”

“Tsk. Anyway, let’s go inside first. Since you’re so confidently declaring he’s trustworthy, I’m looking forward to it.”

Ji-yoon scurried ahead, chasing after Choi Woo-seok and disappearing inside.

Do-jae slowly followed behind, picturing the faces of the people she mentioned.

***

“Well, it’s not as extensive as a weapons dealer’s, but there are still some decent pieces here. Take a look.”

Stepping inside, a row of swords laid flat appeared in one corner of the empty space.

“When did you get all these…”

“I got them ready as soon as I got your call.”

“But you must have been short on time.”

“Damn it, don’t you know the customer is king?”

It took less than 30 minutes from the moment Dojae called Choi Woosuk until he arrived at the shop.

Dojae felt Choi Woo-seok was truly remarkable for emptying out all those items packed into that short space of time and making it look so neat and tidy.

Thud.

“Ah, I was a bit rushed clearing things out.”

A large box fell, spilling its contents onto the floor.

They were stiff, dried tree branches, objects whose purpose was unclear.

“Well then, you watch, Dojae. You help me clean this up for a moment.”

Do-jae went over to Choi Woo-seok’s side and began picking up the branches.

But then Choi Woo-seok crept closer and whispered softly into his ear.

“She’s pretty. Is she your girlfriend?”

Do-jae glanced at Choi Woo-seok.

His serious expression was the kind that begged to be teased.

“Yes.”

“Really? How long has it been?”

“Not quite half a year.”

“What? So you were already dating when you came last time?”

Choi Woo-seok patted Do-jae on the back.

Then, with a satisfied look, he asked again.

“What about marriage? You’re at that age now, aren’t you?”

“I plan to have a baby first.”

“A baby? You have a baby? Look at this?”

Choi Woo-seok’s eyes widened in surprise.

Then he began to speak to himself in a contented voice.

Heh heh heh. Pretended not to care, but you went and did everything anyway. Oh dear, what should I buy for our Dojae when he has a baby? Wait, hold on. I can’t even do anything for my own kid, and now I have to worry about someone else’s baby too? But why would someone with a child even need black?

Dojae watched Choi Woosuk and stifled a laugh.

Clatter-clatter-clatter-.

When the box filled with branches was placed on the top shelf, another box slid out, creating space.

Though it seemed like it could pour down again at any moment, Choi Woo-seok just nodded and smiled.

“So, anything you like?”

Do-jae approached Ji-yoon, who was deep in thought, and asked.

Ji-yoon, seemingly unable to decide, just shook her head repeatedly.

“I don’t know. They all look good to me. Please pick one for me, Madam Bugil.”

Ji-yoon gave up choosing and stood up from her seat.

But then, Choi Woo-seok looked at her strangely and said.

“Ms. Bugil? What’s that supposed to mean? If it still feels awkward, just call him ‘oppa’ warmly. Dojae looks old enough anyway.”

“Bro? What are you talking about?”

“Why? Everyone calls each other oppa and dongsaeng these days… Ugh!”

Dojae immediately covered Choi Wooseok’s mouth.

This time, Dojae whispered quietly into his ear.

“Boss, that was a joke…”

“Mmmph!”

With his mouth covered, Choi Woo-seok glared fiercely and screamed.

Only after dragging him outside could he finally remove his hand from his mouth.

“Dammit! You made all these jokes you never make normally. I thought you were serious!”

“I’m sorry.”

“You must be feeling pretty good about yourself? Every time I see you, you look more and more cheerful.”

“Is that how it looks to you?”

“Yeah! Every time I see you lately, it feels like my insides are being pierced through.”

Choi Woo-seok shouted loudly, then patted Do Jae’s shoulder as if his anger had finally subsided.

“Ji-yoon and I are just colleagues. She’s been my subordinate since we were in the expeditionary force.”

“Is that so? But earlier, someone called you ‘Deputy Guildmaster.’ Did you join a guild too?”

“Yes, I’m also a deputy guildmaster in the Guardian Guild.”

“You’ve made it big! Good for you, man.”

Choi Woo-seok was genuinely happy.

Dojae felt truly grateful to Choi Woosuk.

“It’s a small guild with only seven members total.”

“Still, man. Anyway, since it’s come to this, just do your best.”

“Huh? What’s gotten this way? I’m telling you, we’re just colleagues.”

“I get it. Let’s go inside.”

Dojae and Wooseok returned to the room where the swords lay laid out.

Ji-yoon looked at them with a puzzled expression.

***

“What’s going on, you two?”

“Nothing. If you really can’t decide, I’ll pick for you.”

“Yes!”

Do-jae scanned them one by one with his piercing gaze.

Some were utterly useless, ordinary swords, while others immediately caught his eye.

Of the thirty-two swords, only three passed Dojae’s inspection.

Dojae set those aside and placed only two of them before Ji-yun.

“These two should suit you well.”

One resembled the heavy sword Ji-yun had originally used.

When Dojae picked it up, its weight felt roughly the same.

The other was a rapier, slightly shorter in length and lighter in weight.

The left black supply sword is almost identical in form. You’ll get used to it quickly without much trouble. The right sword, however, is much lighter, completely different in shape, and slimmer. But the reason I recommend this sword is because you’re no longer part of the extermination force—you’re a hunter now.

Dojae placed the rapier in Ji-yoon’s hand and had her swing it.

Whoosh-!

“Wow…”

Ji-yoon gasped in awe at the sound of the sword cutting through the air, creating a gust of wind.

“It’s light, right? You won’t feel much burden carrying it around. It’s easy to equip and less cumbersome. As a hunter who moves around frequently, I think that sword is better.”

Dojae’s reasoning was that Ji-yoon, who would be tackling dungeons going forward, would be better off carrying a light, portable sword rather than a bulky, heavy one.

Unlike an expeditionary force setting up camp in a specific area and only moving short distances back and forth, hunters frequently traveled to remote locations and often moved by car. The chronic inconvenience for hunters carrying large weapons was the issue of mobility.

In that regard, Dojae had recommended the right sword.

“Then I’ll take this one, as you suggested, Master Bugil.”

“It’s a sword that won’t be outdone by those thousand-dollar blades you saw in Fernando. The only difference is whether it has the eagle logo as decoration or not.”

Dojae gathered the remaining two swords and went to Choi Woo-seok.

“Boss, how much is everything Ji-yoon is holding too?”

“All A-grade items? That’s 100 per piece, totaling 300.”

Do-jae was a bit surprised by the ridiculously low price.

His eyes never deceived him, yet it was bewildering that three swords of this caliber cost less than a tenth of the price of a single sword from Fernando.

“Huh? Did you miscalculate?”

“What? A-grade is 100, B-grade is 50, C-grade and below is 10. That’s the price I set. No haggling. I need to keep at least a minimal margin.”

That’s right.

Choi Woo-seok was a merchant, not a blacksmith or an appraiser.

He could only tell how clean a sword was or how good its condition was; he didn’t know its true value.

It was highly likely that the hunter or whoever sold these had bundled them with other spoils without knowing the swords’ true capabilities either.

“No. Let’s make it 300.”

“Installments?”

“This is a debit card.”

“Wow, you’ve gotten fancy, huh?”

Beep.

Choi Woo-seok took Dojae’s card and swiftly completed the payment with practiced ease.

Choi Woo-seok brought over three long boxes and wrapped each sword in cloth before placing them inside.

“Oh, right—do you happen to have a low-grade magic stone?”

“Magic stone? I think we got one this morning.”

Choi Woo-seok stepped inside briefly and soon returned with a magic stone the size of a pill.

“Give me this one too.”

“I’ll just give this one to you. But next time we trade, sell it to me a bit cheaper.”

“Well, that seems like I’d be losing out more… Anyway, I understand.”

Do-jae took the magic stone and picked up the rapier, still in its sheath.

Then, along with a small piece of iron that had been lying around, he attached a small ornament to the end of the rapier’s hilt using golem summoning.

“And this too.”

Dojae grabbed a notepad and pen from beside the card reader, turned on his smartphone, found a number, and wrote it down.

He also wrote down the name ‘Jung Hoon-hyun’.

“Who is it?”

“He’s our guildmaster. From now on, all transactions will be handled by the boss, so if he contacts you at this number, make sure to answer.”

“Whoa! Wow, I never thought I’d see the day I’d owe you one.”

Choi Woo-seok was delighted and immediately copied the contact information into his ledger.

“I’ll stop by again soon.”

“Alright, take care on your way!”

Leaving Choi Woo-seok waving until they were out the door, Do-jae and Ji-yoon stepped onto the street.

“What should we name this child?”

Ji-yoon asked, cradling the box containing the sword close to her chest.

“It does have a name. But it wouldn’t hurt to give it a new one.”

“What is it?”

“The Cape of Judgment.”

“Ooooh…”

Hearing the name, her eyes shone even brighter.

She was already completely captivated by the charm of the new sword.

This sword is incomparably better than the one I used before. You’ll see the difference clearly once you try it yourself.

“Wow. I’m so reluctant to take it out.”

“If you find a better sword later, I’ll swap it out for you, so don’t fret too much. Besides, I bought it for you to use—what’s the point of changing swords if you’re just going to keep it locked away?”

“Yes…! Thank you, Master Bugil…”

Ji-yoon stopped in her tracks and bowed deeply to Do-jae.

Dojae tapped her shoulder and walked ahead first.

“Since we’re out, let’s grab a bite to eat before heading back.”

Ji-yoon smiled brightly and followed after Do-jae.

Then, she overtook Dojae, turned back, and said.

“But earlier, President Choi Woo-seok said… Is it okay if I call you oppa?”