Even a Third-Generation Chaebol Heir Can't Resist This (2)

Food is restocked every day in the safe zone.

Even so, Awakeners always bring plenty of food when climbing.

I was no exception.

'Because that stuff tastes insanely awful.'

Dried-out jerky that smelled rancid.

Bread that was impossible to swallow without water.

It wasn't fit for human consumption.

Was it even fit as animal feed?

No, even Dohwa took one bite and spat it out.

And this was an animal that happily ate convenience-store chicken breast nearing its expiration date in a buy-one-get-one deal.

That's how disgusting the safe-zone food was…

'How long has he been eating that? A year?'

Hyunseo, the third-generation chaebol heir trapped in the Floor 39 safe zone.

He'd survived on it.

While waiting for hopeless salvation, he had chewed on sawdust-like bread and stiff jerky.

For someone like him, the meal I'd prepared must have been impossible to resist.

'Even a third-generation chaebol heir can't resist this.'

A pot filled to the brim with crimson broth.

Kimchi braised just right until slightly translucent, glistening with melted pork fat.

Pork ribs piled generously on top.

This alone would be enough to make his mind go blank, but

"I brought some rice, too."

Soft, jiggly steamed egg.

Steamed rice topped with a fried egg.

And finally, seasoned seaweed.

With the savory smell of rice and the spicy scent of braised kimchi spreading through the warm air, how could even a third-generation chaebol heir endure it?

Hyunseo's eyes grew hazy.

This was a legal drug to him.

"Whoa…."

"I made it in my safe zone. Please enjoy it."

"…Yes, sir!!!"

And then, clatter—!!

He picked up his spoon.

The hand lifting a large spoonful of rice trembled with anticipation and excitement.

"T-tear it apart with your hands…."

He grabbed a strip of kimchi and tore it lengthwise.

When he placed it on his spoon, the pure-white rice was dyed red by the pork-fat-laced kimchi broth.

Hyunseo stared down at it as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, then brought the bowl to his mouth and…

"…Thank you for the meal!!"

He shoved it straight into his mouth.

The amount of rice seemed excessive for a single bite, but it vanished into his mouth.

Chew, chew… chew.

Hyunseo began chewing his food thoroughly.

Gulp.

When he swallowed every last bit,

he finally threw decorum aside.

"……!!!!"

He immediately picked up a pork rib and bit into it.

With his bare hands, without even using chopsticks.

The well-seasoned meat slid smoothly off the bone.

One, two. Three.

Only after devouring three ribs in a row did he return to the rice.

"Mmph!! Mmmph!!!"

He stuffed the bright-red, oil-soaked kimchi into his mouth without even tearing it apart.

As if he could simply eat more rice if it was too salty, he shoveled spoonful after spoonful of white rice into his mouth.

Then he picked up two sheets of freshly opened seaweed.

He placed them over the rice stained with kimchi broth and poured it into his mouth as if he were drinking it.

Crunch.

Before the seaweed could even become moist, a crumbling sound rang out from his mouth.

-Slurp.

"Mmmph!!!"

The complimentary steamed egg was gone in three seconds flat.

He slurped up even the broth as if he were eating pudding, probably resetting his mouth just as it was about to grow a little too spicy.

He charged his spoon at the rice bowl again, but

-Clunk.

"…Ah."

The rice bowl was already completely empty.

That was only natural, considering he'd eaten like a starving ghost.

Desperate, he scraped the bowl furiously with his spoon, trying to eat even the last remaining grain, and…

-Swish.

"Would you like another bowl?"

I took out another rice bowl and handed it to him.

At that moment, the look Hyunseo gave me was, well.

I really hated to say it, but…

Even compared to that sword pervert who'd been watching me on Floor 39, he didn't lose out at all.

"Mmm-hmm!!!"

Snatch—!!

After snatching the rice bowl away,

he resumed his battle-like meal.

I watched awkwardly for a while, then leaned my back against the wall.

'I was originally going to eat with him, too….'

If I suggested eating together, he might really draw his sword.

After all, it was Korean food he hadn't eaten in who knew how long, not to mention the kimchi jjim he'd been singing about for so long.

Even I had no desire to sit down beside him.

And in truth, I had no appetite either.

'It smells strongly of shit.'

…There was no bathroom in the safe zone.

Of course, he hadn't abandoned his humanity entirely. He'd dug a hole in the corner of the cave and covered it with a shield, but

my nose couldn't be fooled. Reporting people who pooped in the middle of construction sites had once been my hobby.

'Still, I'll pretend I didn't notice.'

I didn't go out of my way to show that I'd realized.

Instead, I took something out of my inventory.

It was the hidden piece I'd obtained on Tier Three, 'Baekrihyang's Soul.'

-Ding.

[The skill 'Dragon Eyes'….]

[Baekrihyang's Soul]

(Stat difference from 'Lee Hyunseo': 138)

(Estimated possession time: 20 minutes)

'Twenty minutes. That's been reduced a lot.'

Was it Floor 29 when I first obtained this?

Back then, our stats had been roughly similar.

The possession time has been cut by more than half.

'It's better than Serin, who was outright declared impossible to possess… but why does it change so much?'

Could something besides the stat difference be affecting it?

Had one of my Mythic-grade traits done something again?

"…Ah!"

'The Sword God trait!'

After thinking it over carefully, I found the answer.

The vengeful spirit had been a swordswoman, after all.

Since she had to possess him, it seemed that the possession time varied according to swordsmanship ability.

I have a Mythic-grade trait, so mine lasts longer.

He had something called Sword Flower or whatever, but it was only Legendary-grade, so it was below mine.

Maybe that was the mechanism.

'Come to think of it, his level is 781 right now. Even a level-999 possession lasting twenty minutes is pretty broken.'

I nodded to myself.

That explained why Serin had been judged completely incapable of being possessed.

And just as I finished my deduction,

-Clatter.

"That was delicious…."

The sound of a spoon being set down.

Hyunseo had finished his meal.

Taking a discreet look, I saw that he was sobbing.

"You don't have to cry…."

"It was so delicious… Thank you, thank you so much…."

"…Tsk."

What was the appeal of a grown man crying?

Besides, his blond hair reminded me of the sword pervert, which made it even more unpleasant.

"If you're finished, let's talk business now."

I spoke coldly.

Because I was using a nasal voice so he wouldn't recognize me, it didn't sound quite as heartless.

Still, it was enough to abruptly stop Hyunseo's tears.

"Ah! I'm sorry. I showed you such an ugly side of me. It's just been so long since I last ate something warm."

"No, it's fine. Anyway, this is the item I'm selling. It's called Baekrihyang's Soul…."

I explained the details in my nasal voice.

An absurdly overpowered item that summoned a level-999 wraith to possess him and fight in his place using his stats.

Hyunseo's eyes widened.

"Level 999!? That's a number you don't see until almost the end of Tier Five!!"

"Considering the title, it's probably around the middle of Tier Five."

"Anyway!! Where on earth did you get an item like that…."

"It's a hidden piece."

"A hidden piece!!!"

Hmm, what a delicious reaction.

If he hadn't looked so much like the sword pervert, I might almost have found him likable.

"With this, clearing the Tier-Four boss should be easy. Furthermore, you'll become the strongest Awakener in Korea."

"What an incredible treasure."

"Would I have brought it for no reason?"

I casually held out the orb.

"Are you going to buy it?"

"…Yes!!"

There was no need to ask what Hyunseo would do.

He immediately reached out to grab it, but…

-Whip.

"Then, before we transfer the item!!"

I hid the orb behind my back.

Instead, I summoned a sheet of paper and an ugly ballpoint pen from my inventory and handed them to him.

"…What's this?"

"Let's have you write a promissory note first."

Cheonghwa was trustworthy, sure.

But this was a massive contract.

I needed at least one written promise.

I wanted him to think, 'I'd be in serious trouble if I tried to cheat this guy and got caught.'

"Write this down. Yagada Worker shall be Party A, and Lee Hyunseo and the Cheonghwa Guild shall be Party B."

With my arms folded, I explained what he needed to write in the promissory note.

Of course, I had no legal knowledge whatsoever, so I just made up the wording as I went.

-Scratch, scratch.

"Party B shall, whenever Party A requests, provide a total of one trillion won's worth of goods in installments…."

Hyunseo copied it down without complaint.

Everything had already been discussed on the community, so there didn't seem to be any reason to fuss over it again.

…At least until he reached the final clause of the contract.

"If the above contract is not faithfully fulfilled, Party A may cause Party B financial harm and lodge a complaint."

"……What?"

Hyunseo froze in shock.

His eyes fixed on me, filled with bewilderment.

'Well, that's the obvious reaction.'

I might not know anything about the law, but

a promissory note didn't make just anything legally valid.

I knew that much, at least.

Of course, that clause probably wouldn't work either, but

"It would be best not to make an enemy of me. I have a habit of stirring things up."

The legal effect was irrelevant.

If they tried to cheat me, I would destroy them.

Expressing that intent was all I needed.

'If you don't comply, your market cap will wind up looking like Arirang's, punk.'

I folded my arms ostentatiously.

I made it clear to the third-generation chaebol heir before me that I was absolutely not someone to take lightly.

And how did Hyunseo react?

"How far does 'faithfully' extend?"

"…What?"

"You might request something that's impossible to obtain. Or perhaps an item already has an owner, and we'd have to pay a premium to buy it. Would that also count as failing to faithfully fulfill the contract?"

"Uh, well…."

He really was a third-generation chaebol heir.

He was probing an angle I'd never even considered.

"In that case, just tell me beforehand."

"Then I'd like to ask about the next point. What about items that take time to obtain…."

"……."

Hyunseo continued talking for quite some time after that.

In short, Cheonghwa would do its best, but problems could arise. If they did, they'd tell me in advance, so I should please be understanding.

He expressed this obvious, common-sense point using all sorts of legal jargon.

Just listening to him drained the life out of me.

'I should've just made a verbal agreement… No, this is probably for the best.'

Even so, it gave me confidence.

Cheonghwa would roll over for me like a dog.

Until they paid off their one-trillion-won debt, they would buy me anything I asked for.

My habit of testing even a stone bridge before crossing it melted away.

"That's enough. I think we've built sufficient trust between us."

"Oh, is this really enough? Then, as a deposit, the artifact I'm wearing…."

"There's no need. Mr. Hyunseo, I'll trust Cheonghwa going forward."

Swish—

I held my hand out again.

Only then did Baekrihyang's Soul return to its rightful owner.

"…Thank you for trusting me."

He smiled brightly.

It reminded me of the sword pervert, which made me feel somewhat repulsed.

"How do I use it?"

"It says you need to consume it."

"Then, let's see…."

And then he brought it to his mouth…

Whoosh—!!!

The moment his lips touched it, Baekrihyang's Soul began glowing blue.

-Swoosh—!!

"W-what is this!?"

The orb floated up and began circling Hyunseo.

It inspected him meticulously, as if checking its master from head to toe.

And at the end of its rotation,

the orb charged straight at Hyunseo.

"Huh, huh!?"

Hyunseo hurriedly backed away.

But the orb flew at him like a butterfly, as if his evasion meant nothing.

Swoop.

The orb slipped straight into his mouth.

-Gulp.

"What is th—……"

Hyunseo swallowed it without even having time to react,

-Ding.

[Awakener Lee Hyunseo's trait 'Sword Flower (Legendary)' and Baekrihyang's Soul….]

"…My God?"

"Oh."

Only then did I realize.

Giving this to the third-generation chaebol heir had been an absolutely brilliant choice.