Chapter 100

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: A Lesson in Microtransactions
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Breakfast time.

“Seol-ah, say ‘ah’...”

While feeding Seol-i, Kang-jun glanced back and forth between Crabslie and Iriel, his face filled with disapproval.

- Congrats! Three doubles in a row!

- Moving to World Tour!

Crabslie, chewing on the food in his mouth, seemed completely engrossed in playing ‘Everybody’s Marble’.

“Oops, I shaved off too much of my chin by mistake, and now even the background is warped...”

Iriel was barely touching her food, picking at it while editing a few selfies she took yesterday.

Unable to hold back any longer, Kang-jun let out a deep sigh. “Haa,” he breathed, finally speaking up.

“When you're eating, you should just eat. What are you all doing, staring at your smartphones?”

Then, he declared firmly.

“Both of you, give me your phones.”

“H-How could you...”

“I'm confiscating them for a while, so just accept it.”

At his words, Crabslie and Iriel immediately clutched their smartphones and began to plead.

“I-I-I am truly sorry...”

“P-Please, just one more chance...”

Kang-jun, however, was resolute.

“No. I can't change my mind. Go away.”

If he didn't correct their poor ‘smartphone habits’ now...

He judged it could have a negative influence on Seol-i's upbringing in the future.

“You two were on your phones all night, weren't you? And even at the table, you're not eating, just staring holes into your screens...”

Kang-jun asked Seol-i.

“Seol-ah, what do we do when we eat?”

“We jus’ eat our food.”

“Should we do other things? Or not?”

“We shoudn't.”

After asking, “You heard that?” Kang-jun took the surrendered smartphones, tucked them securely into his pocket, and added.

“You two are basically addicted.”

At that, Seol-i asked.

“Dada, wha's 'ddicted?”

Kang-jun pondered for a moment, “Hmm...” before starting to explain in simple terms so Seol-i could understand.

“When you keep thinking about something all day and can't do what you're supposed to do, we call that 'being addicted'.”

At Kang-jun's explanation, Seol-i's expression suddenly grew sullen.

“Den does Seol-i need to be scowded?”

“Huh?”

“Acshully, Seol-i is 'ddicted too.”

Just as Kang-jun asked, “Huh?”

“Phew...”

Seol-i sighed and answered.

“Acshully, Seol-i always thinks 'bout Dada. I'm sposed to study hawd at daycawe, but I always wanna pway with Dada, and da other day...”

For a moment, Seol-i folded her tiny fingers one by one, confessing her own ‘cases of addiction’.

“Hmph, Seol-i doesn't wike being scowded...”

It was then.

“Ugh....”

Kang-jun dropped his spoon...

“M-My Lord! Are you alright-?”

“My Lord!”

“Lady Iriel, water first...”

Chaos erupted.

Lee Su-bin took a piece of paper with several ‘rules’ written on it and secured it to the refrigerator with a magnet.

“Alright...”

It was none other than a list of smartphone usage rules, handwritten by Lee Su-bin herself.

1. Refrain from use as much as possible in front of Seol-i!

2. Absolutely forbidden during meal times and family meetings!

3. No smartphone use after midnight!

After scanning the contents, Lee Su-bin nodded and muttered, “Perfect.”

At the very bottom of the paper were even the thumbprints of Crabslie and Iriel.

Lee Su-bin then turned her head slightly to look at the two standing restlessly behind her.

“You promised, so you will keep it, right?”

Lee Su-bin asked...

“Yes, Your Highness. Of course.”

“I will protect it with my life.”

As Crabslie and Iriel answered in unison as if singing in a choir, Lee Su-bin returned the smartphones she had been holding.

“I'll trust you all.”

And so, Lee Su-bin returned the ‘smartphones’ she had temporarily confiscated...

“If you break the rules even once, I'll permanently confiscate them with no exceptions, so you'd better remember that.”

Kang-jun added, his tone a warning.

“Noona, I'm going to take Seol-i to daycare.”

Just as Kang-jun, holding Seol-i's hand tightly, opened the front door to leave.

“What, Bong-gu?”

Bong-gu, who happened to be coming up the stairs, spotted Kang-jun and immediately spoke to him.

“Hyung-nim, good timing.”

“What's up? Is something wrong?”

“Is the Elder inside by any chance?”

“He's inside right now.”

“Then may I see him for a moment?”

“Sure, go ahead...”

With a quick “Excuse me, then...” Bong-gu passed Kang-jun and stepped straight into the house...

“Elder, this is really too much...”

As Bong-gu spoke, his eyes filled with resentment fixed on Crabslie, everyone exchanged puzzled glances...

“What's wrong? What happened?”

Bong-gu answered Kang-jun's question.

“Of course, it's my fault for not blocking 'microtransactions' in case he needed to make a small payment, but how on earth, in just one night...”

Kang-jun shot a glare at Crabslie and asked.

“What, you made microtransactions?”

Crabslie frantically waved his hands as if it were a huge misunderstanding and began to ramble.

“M-My Lord. Forgive my presumption, but this servant does not even know what this 'microtransaction' is...”

Kang-jun pressed him again.

“Did you do anything strange?”

To that, Crabslie replied.

“W-Well, if you mean duplicating money, then yes...”

Muttering, “Duplicating money?” Kang-jun sensed that some trouble had occurred and quietly asked Lee Su-bin.

“Noona, I'm really sorry, but could you please take Seol-i to daycare for me today?”

Lee Su-bin replied, “Oh? Sure...” and, glancing back repeatedly, led Seol-i out of the house...

“Hey, what kind of bullshit is that?”

At that, Crabslie immediately launched the game installed on his smartphone, ‘Everybody's Marble!’, and brought up the payment screen.

“Behold.”

Crabslie then proceeded to press the ‘Purchase’ button repeatedly...

[ KRW 100,000 payment has been completed. ]

[ KRW 100,000 payment has been completed. ]

[ KRW 100,000 payment has been completed. ]

[ KRW 100,000 payment has been completed. ]

After showing the payment completion screen to everyone, he added.

“Ta-da.”

Kang-jun repeated.

“Ta-da?”

Crabslie nodded and explained the ‘money duplication method’ he had discovered.

“As you can see, the in-game currency was all delivered normally, but not a single penny of the 'allowance' I keep in my drawer has disappeared.”

Then, with his eyes fixed on the screen, he wiggled his fingers continuously and spoke, mixing in some new slang he'd learned from the part-timer.

“Why don't you also install 'Everybody's Marble' right away and get in on this sweet deal, my Lord?”

Iriel's eyes were wide as she let out a sound of admiration, “Oh...” heaping praise on Crabslie...

“Truly wise and sagacious...”

Crabslie replied in a triumphant tone, “You flatter me,” and then hummed a tune.

“Everybody's Marble, let's play together-♪”

Just then, Bong-gu let out a deep sigh and stared down at the payment confirmation text that had just arrived.

“Sigh.”

Believing it was his own fault for not warning them about microtransactions beforehand, Kang-jun patted Bong-gu's shoulder and said.

“I'll pay you back, so please try to understand, Bong-gu. It looks like he just bought some game items because he hates losing...”

Then, fumbling for his wallet, he continued speaking as if to reprimand Bong-gu.

“Hey, and it's normal to spend a little money while playing games. Why did you have to come running over here to scold him...”

“Hyung-nim...”

“Geez, I didn't think you were like this, but you're more narrow-minded than I thought. How much could he have possibly spent on a game...”

He then opened his wallet and said.

“How much is it? I'll give it to you right now.”

“In cash?”

“Why? Do I need to wire it to your account?”

To that, Bong-gu mumbled vaguely, “No, it's not necessarily that...” and added.

“The amount is a bit large...”

Kang-jun let out a small laugh and replied.

“It can't be more than a few hundred thousand won, right? Good thing I withdrew a thick stack of cash...”

Then, Bong-gu answered.

“Hyung-nim, it's nine million won.”

“Ninety thousand won?”

“No, nine million won.”

After speaking, Bong-gu added.

“To be honest, it's partly my fault for not setting a limit on microtransactions, and considering the kindness you've shown me, I didn't come here thinking I'd get the money back, but to give a warning...”

For Hunters, who were classified as high-income earners, it was common for high limits to be set when purchasing things like mobile phones or cards.

He considered it a disaster caused by his own failure to pay attention to something he should have, so he hadn't thought about getting the money back...

Still, he felt he needed to give a stern warning about ‘microtransactions’ on this occasion, which was why he had rushed over.

“Nine million...”

For a moment, Kang-jun was at a loss for words, mentally calculating the cash in his wallet before shifting his gaze to Crabslie.

“Everybody's Marble, let's play together-♪”

Crabslie was still completely engrossed in fiddling with his smartphone...

“I'll transfer the money soon.”

“It's really okay...”

“And I'll give him a warning, too.”

Kang-jun added, as if chewing over his words.

“A very stern one.”

Of course, compared to his total balance, it wasn't an enormous expense, but it was clear that an improvement in ‘spending habits’ was urgently needed.

“Lady Iriel, if you go out front, Noona should be there.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Go out with her somewhere for a few hours.”

After replying, “I shall obey your command,” Iriel was just about to step outside.

“For now, just sit comfortably and watch some TV.”

After saying that, Kang-jun suddenly walked over to the dining table and snapped off one of its legs...

“Ack!”

In one hand, he held a table leg that had been turned into a ‘club’, and in the other, he grabbed Crabslie by the scruff of the neck and disappeared into a room.

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

The sound of a thrashing echoed.

“Aaaaargh-!”

Amidst the screams...

“Nine million? Fine. Nine hundred smacks it is.” A furious shout rang out...

“My Lord, it's not like that...”

Crabslie's desperate cry could be heard mixed in. “No, I'm telling you, the money gets duplicated-?”

***

Evening.

“Where's the Elder?”

Kang-jun answered Lee Su-bin's question.

“He won't be coming today.”

“Huh?”

“Something came up.”

Lee Su-bin asked again.

“A chair is missing, too?”

“Yep, something came up.”

“What? What happened?”

Just then, the paper she had handwritten that morning and stuck on the fridge caught her eye.

“Hmm?”

A new rule had been added.

4. All microtransactions, including charging for in-game currency, are strictly forbidden.

Be warned that discovery will result in immediate execution.

It was not only written thickly in a red marker, but several ‘stars’ were drawn next to it as if for emphasis.

“Oh?”

She nodded and muttered to herself.

“Come to think of it, I did forget that one.”

In any case, it was a peaceful evening.