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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Proposal
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“Honestly, using the government warehouse would be the easiest.”
“The government warehouse?”
“The equipment warehouse.”
“Ah.”
Kwon Wook waved his hand in the air, seemingly looking into his inventory. He continued speaking fluently while searching through the system window.
“For the time being, Ms. Ha-ra's abilities are confidential, so we can't use the government warehouse. If I were to pull something out on my authority, I'd have to justify its use, and the government is already watching our team's equipment list like a hawk.”
A suffocating bureaucracy. Since the government monopolized dungeon management, any decent equipment that dropped would almost always end up in a government warehouse. Dungeon raid teams could borrow equipment suited to them, but since it was ultimately government property, they had to justify its use.
Team K was no exception. The team had a total of twelve members. All of their equipment was recorded in the Hunter Agency's warehouse ledger, and any additional gear required records of who would use it and for how long before it could be taken.
“There's a piece of equipment in the government warehouse right now that would be perfect for you, Ms. Ha-ra. Such a shame, really.”
“What is it?”
“When was that... I think it was about two years ago. A Seven-Branched Sword popped out of the Buyeo Dungeon. Everyone thought it was an artifact dug up from the wrong place, but when we appraised it, we were shocked to find it was Hunter equipment.”
Ah. Ha-ra vaguely remembered it too. It was a Gate that had opened in a small rice paddy on the outskirts of Buyeo. She thought she'd seen an article titled something like, ['Thought to be an Artifact... 'Seven-Branched Sword' Emerges from a Dungeon'].
“None of the S-ranks in the country right now can use it, so it's just been kept in storage. Ah, well. No point thinking about something we can't use.”
Still, Team K happened to have a Hunter with an item crafting skill. The unfortunate part was that the Hunter was A-rank, so their skills weren't a good match for Ha-ra's. But what could they do? They had to work with what they had.
“Crafted items are the problem. I guess we'll have to raid the Sangam Dungeon. Crafting materials don't drop that easily... Should I check the Hunter Market?”
“Um, what about these?”
While Kwon Wook was pondering, Ha-ra cautiously presented the beak and talons she had obtained from Georg. Kwon Wook's eyes widened.
“You harvested materials from that dungeon?”
“Well... I guess I did.”
*You harvested materials in the middle of all that? You're really something.* It sounded like a criticism, and Ha-ra felt unnecessarily embarrassed.
But Kwon Wook waved his hand.
“No need to be embarrassed. It's a very good quality. We only had five minutes left after taking down the dungeon boss, right? I wasn't expecting anything. Leave the beak and talons with me. I'll see if I can make good use of them.”
“Um, then this too...”
Ha-ra carefully took out the magic stone.
She had already spoken to Jeong Yu-jin about it. After all, she couldn't just dispose of the magic stone in secret.
Chief Jeong had mulled over how to handle the magic stone before telling her, "Leave it to Kwon Wook."
Hearing this, Kwon Wook grinned, his eyes crinkling.
“Our dear Chief, she loves me so much, doesn't she?”
“Oh, is that not okay?”
“No, it's fine. I'll buy them. You said there were two, right?”
“Huh?”
As Ha-ra blinked, Kwon Wook crawled under his office desk. He spun the dial on a safe underneath, opened it, and pulled out stacks of cash, which he began to pile up in front of her.
They were 50,000-won bills, and judging by how they stuck together, they were brand new. One, two, three. After piling up several dozen stacks, Kwon Wook tapped them with a *thud*.
“That's 300 million won.”
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. *Seriously, who in the world just pulls out 300 million won and plops it on a table like that?*
Seeing Ha-ra gaping, Kwon Wook shrugged.
“The fact that she told you to leave it to me means she decided to give the magic stones to you. You can't sell them on the open market anyway. And for our team, it's more convenient to just buy them like this than to always be walking on eggshells with the Magic Stone Management Division to get the stones we need for raids.”
As someone who worked in the Magic Stone Management Division, Ha-ra was roughly aware of this.
Dungeon raid teams typically start by embedding magic stones in a circle around a Gate to prevent it from expanding.
However, for high-rank dungeons, those embedded stones would often shatter. Since the Sangam District Dungeon that Team K was in charge of was S-rank, they naturally needed dozens of magic stones.
“I know the market price is usually 200 million per stone, but this is a black market purchase, so let's call it 150 million each. That's the going rate. If you don't believe me, you can go check the prices outside.”
*Could you please not talk about black market deals so cheerfully...* Still, it was a staggering amount of money.
As Ha-ra dazedly nodded her head, Kwon Wook beamed and collected the magic stones.
“Let's deal with the rest slowly. It's not like you can do much with more money anyway. It's not cash you can put in a bank account.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Why? Next month is November.”
Kwon Wook's eyes went wide.
“Don't you have to file a public official's property declaration?”
“Ah.”
“Besides, you're originally from the Magic Stone Management Division.”
“Aah.”
Ha-ra made a sound like her head was splitting open. She hadn't thought about the annual property declaration for public officials. The very one that combed through all your bank account details. Since Ha-ra had always lived paycheck to paycheck, she'd never paid it any mind.
In fact, on top of the official property declaration, the Magic Stone Management Division also randomly audited its employees' accounts once a year as if they were public property. This was because cases of employees embezzling expensive magic stones were not uncommon.
“If a large sum of money moving through your account gets flagged, you'll have to explain its source. I believe you have to justify anything over 100 million won.”
“You seem to know a lot about it...”
“You know how it is. S-ranks get audited far more often.”
*You get audited far more often, and you're giving this money to me?* As Ha-ra stared blankly at the 300 million won on the table, Kwon Wook gave her a sly grin.
“To run a team, you have to embezzle a little, do some black market deals. Skimming a little off the top is unavoidable.”
*Is that so.*
“Yes...”
Still, she felt hesitant. Ha-ra was an ordinary citizen. This wasn't 300 won; it was 300 million won that she couldn't even deposit into her bank account. When she just had the two magic stones, she felt like she could sell them anytime, but seeing the stacks of cash in front of her made her feel a little strange.
“What's wrong? Is something bothering you?”
Kwon Wook, noticing her hesitation as if he were psychic, put the magic stones back on the table.
“It's fine with me. You can sell them later if you want. Do whatever you feel comfortable with.”
“Yes...”
*I thought he'd call me a fool.* While Ha-ra dithered, Kwon Wook left two stacks of bills on the table.
“This is for the beak and talons.”
“You said you were going to sell them to an herbal medicine shop anyway,” he said with a grin, which flustered Ha-ra. He had clearly said he would use the beak and talons to make a weapon for her.
But Kwon Wook shook his head.
“I might not be able to make a weapon for you. Well, just think of it as a bribe.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Well, I've been thinking.”
Kwon Wook grinned.
“In any case, you have to date Yoon Se-heon to become an S-rank, right?”
“Ah, yes...”
“But to be honest, I'm very interested in you.”
Ha-ra didn't understand what he meant and listened blankly.
Kwon Wook explained his plan, saying he'd had a great idea.
The plan was quite bewildering to Ha-ra, but it also sounded plausible. After all, as long as Yoon Se-heon was her designated quest user, she had to maintain some kind of connection with him.
＊ ＊ ＊
Se-heon had been swamped since morning. Being swept into a dungeon and coming out felt like a dream.
The broadcasting station where he worked was in chaos because the annex had collapsed. With the radio department and all sorts of other broadcast teams temporarily evacuated to the main building, the lobby resembled a refugee camp, and he received dozens of greetings as he passed through.
Normally, since he anchored the weekday 9 PM news, he could come in in the afternoon, but he had a lot to do after being away. He monitored the news broadcasts from his absence and submitted a leave request for the days he missed after being sucked into the dungeon. It was absurd. A person gets into an accident, and they have to use their vacation days!
On his way back from buying coffee at the first-floor lobby cafe to catch his breath, he got a call from his father.
[Assemblyman Yoon]
He looked at the contact name, saved not as 'Father' but as 'Assemblyman Yoon', and was about to end the call.
“Se-heon.”
“Ah, Gyun-jong.”
Bang Gyun-jong. He was the main anchor for the weekend news, one class junior to Se-heon. He was also the junior who had filled in for him on the weekday news during his absence.
“Thanks for holding down the fort while I was gone. Was it tough?”
“It's just the daily news, what's so tough about it? Are you feeling okay, senior?”
Se-heon's lips curved into a smile.
“You only work weekends, so what do you mean 'daily'? I'm fine. I'm the one who should be sorry for making the guy who works two days a week suffer.”
Gyun-jong's eyebrow twitched.
That was him. A junior who had clashed with Se-heon since their days in the city desk department, always picking fights. He was older than Se-heon, but had joined the company later, so he was forced to use honorifics with him.
While that was just how things were in this industry, he was particularly hostile toward Se-heon. It was so bad that when it came time to pick a 'side' after joining the company, he deliberately chose a different faction from Se-heon. Considering their family backgrounds, they should have been allies, if anything.
Of course, Se-heon would have refused anyway.
“Want some coffee?”
“I'm fine. I've had plenty.”
They weren't on good enough terms to share a friendly coffee, but his polite offer was immediately rejected. Se-heon's eyes weren't smiling either.
“So, how was it, working weekdays?”
“I found myself respecting you, senior.”
“Then you should have just left it to Min-young.”
The weekday main anchor position could have easily been filled by the sub-anchor, another junior. The station wasn't run that tightly to begin with. But the fact that the weekend main anchor had insisted on covering the weekdays as well showed Gyun-jong's ambition.
“Come on. Min-young's having a hard time too, so I had to help out.”
“I had no idea you were so considerate of Min-young. She's getting married soon, so be careful.”
Gyun-jong, who had a history of pursuing Min-young, the weekday news sub-anchor, for three years only to be grandly rejected in front of everyone at a company dinner, scowled.
“Ah, senior. I'm afraid someone might hear you.”
“It's a joke. I just came back from the dead. Can't you let me have this one?”
On the surface, it looked like a pleasant scene of two young anchors laughing together. But between them, sparks only they could see were flying.
From Se-heon's perspective, there was no reason to even entertain Gyun-jong's rivalry. Over twenty 'Reporter of the Month' awards, a 'Reporter of the Year' award, an unprecedented appointment as the weekday 9 PM main anchor, and so on.
Based on their track records alone, Bang Gyun-jong was in no position to pick a fight with Yoon Se-heon. But since he kept stubbornly nipping at his heels and being a nuisance, Se-heon would deliberately provoke him from time to time.
But Gyun-jong suddenly broke into a wide smile.
“Well, sure. I guess you need a chance to relax and have a laugh too, senior.”
This was unusual. Normally, when provoked this much, Gyun-jong's pattern was to snap in irritation before belatedly collecting himself and leaving. Se-heon narrowed his eyes.
“Take it easy. I'll help you out. Okay?”
Then he added.
“Oh, and be careful with fire.”
The last part was something Gyun-jong always said to Se-heon, so it could be ignored. But to be so sarcastic about it...
He either had some ulterior motive, or something else was going on. And Se-heon would soon find out what it was.
