Chapter 29

“Damn, why’s the door so weak?”

Stepping past the broken door into the office, I found three guild members staring at us, startled by the noise. Ignoring their intense stares, I got straight to the point.

“I’m here to pay off some debt.”

For a moment, the whole situation struck me as kind of funny. Like an older brother showing up to beat up some elementary school kids who picked on his little sibling. Except these bastards weren’t kids—they were much worse.

And yet, even though I’d come to give them money, the idiots just frowned and gawked at me.

'What, don’t want the money? If you’re going to play gangster, at least do it right.'

Meanwhile, Do Yehyun—whose face had been tight since before we walked in—looked like he was about to pass out.

“Fuck. Who the hell are you?”

One of them finally got up and walked toward me.

Checking the status window I’d left open, I confirmed it was the oldest and highest-ranked of the three—Oh Hyunsu. Beside him stood Kim Jitae and Park Eunhyeok, in that order. ...Not that their names really mattered.

Oh Hyunsu, already half-bald despite being young, stood like the leader while the other two flanked him like lackeys. The setup looked straight out of some cheap kids’ cartoon villain squad.

“I said I’m here to pay off debt.”

Hyunsu didn’t get it, so I repeated myself slowly for the bald man’s sake.

Instead of answering, Baldy shoved both hands into his pockets and gave me the lazy once-over like a third-rate thug.

Then, from his left, Lackey #1—Kim Jitae—suddenly grabbed Do Yehyun’s chin and forced it up.

'The fuck is this clown doing?'

“Hyung, this guy brought our Yehyun here.”

“What? Do Yehyun?”

Hearing the report, Baldy turned his gaze toward Yehyun. Meanwhile, Lackey #1 released his chin and tapped his cheek with the back of his hand.

“Hey, Yehyun. Why’d you come? I heard when Seokgyung-hyung sent people after you, you hid real well and slipped away.”

So now they were ignoring my offer to pay and just picking a fight with Yehyun?

Regardless of me staring in disbelief, they kept pestering him, acting like I wasn’t even there.

“Must’ve been rough making money outside, huh? I get it.”

“Shit, world’s a bitch again after living out there? You should’ve just stayed here, getting treated like a kid. Weren’t we good to you?”

“Shut up, assholes. Yehyun, what’ve you been doing? Why’d you come back, huh?”

Listening to this circus was absurd. I’d already said multiple times that I was here to settle debt, but they kept running their mouths. So I said it again.

“I told you. I’m here to pay off his debt.”

“Hah, funny. Yehyun, you scared? Looks like you’ve been eating well outside. Face looks even prettier now.”

'Been a while since I got treated like I was invisible.'

The two lackeys kept harassing Yehyun, completely ignoring me. My patience was wearing thin.

Thankfully, Baldy finally turned back to me.

“...So you broke down our door just to pay Yehyun’s debt?”

“Yes.”

“Name?”

“Seo Jehyun. Je from ‘ritual offering’ in ancestral rites.”

Baldy studied my face, then suddenly laughed through his nose.

“Hey, do you even know how much debt Yehyun owes?”

“Eight hundred sixty million, last I heard.”

Finally, we were having a real conversation. If he’d said anything else, I might’ve wanted to beat the crap out of them just to stay sane.

It wasn’t Yehyun’s own debt, but since I was here to pay it, I answered politely. Of course, politeness was wasted on gangsters.

Hearing my answer, Lackey #1 grinned and stepped forward to block Baldy.

“That’s a funny joke.”

“...What?”

“Eight hundred sixty? That’s before interest, dumbass.”

Interest?

“Not only that. He missed last month’s interest too, and he skipped out on shop duties. We lost a shitload of money. How are you going to cover that?”

“....”

'Unbelievable.'

These guys had leeched off a twenty-year-old kid like parasites, bleeding him dry, making him do crap he didn’t want to do. And now they were whining about their ‘losses’? I couldn’t even be mad—it was almost impressive in its stupidity.

“So you’re saying you’ll cover all that too?”

'Ha...'

Being shaken down was bad enough, but watching them drag their feet and dodge a straight answer was even more irritating. Forcing my twitching lips into a smile, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} I asked one last time,

“So how much is it?”

Even then, they dragged it out, staring me down like punks until finally spitting out,

“Ten billion.”

Ten billion? Ten billion... Sure, it wasn’t a dog’s name, but whether it was 860 million or ten billion, both were insane. They’d wasted so much time.

'Then why not just say that earlier, you dumb fuck?'

I nodded calmly.

“Fine. I’ll pay it.”

“...You’ll pay?”

“Yes. Bring the contract.”

“You’re saying you’ll pay ten billion?”

“Yes.”

'Making me repeat myself like a broken record.'

Even after hearing me, Lackey #1 just scratched his eyebrow and stared blankly.

“Guess Yehyun made a good friend. Or maybe a sugar daddy. Even offering to pay his debt.”

Baldy now gave me a once-over, suspicion in his eyes.

“You a hunter? Walking around paying billions just like that?”

“Hunter? Him? He looks more like a gigolo to me...”

“Shut it. Where’d you get the money?”

Different world, different priorities. Used to be they’d ask about your parents. Now it was, “Are you a hunter?”

Anyway... could I say I was one? I hadn’t exactly cleared dungeons properly.

“I am a hunter, but...”

“...Hunter, huh?”

Baldy’s expression darkened. I added,

“F-rank. So I didn’t make the money in dungeons.”

I’d only ever gone into a dungeon once, and I hadn’t earned a single coin there. Not that I was complaining.

But Baldy latched onto something else entirely. His expression lightened, and he started sneering.

“Ah... F-rank?”

“Yes.”

“Then where’s the money from? What kind of spoiled brat are you, throwing around ten billion like pocket change? Rich family?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

To be precise, not the family but me. Getting sick of the chatter, I answered dryly. Baldy’s face hardened, and he let out a mocking chuckle.

At that, pale-faced Yehyun suddenly grabbed my arm tightly.

“Hyungnim. Maybe... let’s just do this another time...”

“....”

What the hell was he saying? Did he want me to go through this circus again? That was one hell of a curse.

There’s an old saying: stay among bastards long enough and even a good man’s character rots. If I kept hanging around thugs like this, who knows what would happen to my saintly nature. Best to just clean it up quickly.

Right then, Baldy spat on the floor and tilted his head up at me.

“But hey, rich boy. You can’t just break our property like that door. What’re you gonna do about it, huh?”

Ah, the door.

I’d forgotten about busting it down thanks to all their bullshit.

“Bill me.”

“....”

“Or just leave it open and use it like that. Works too.”

It wasn’t even winter yet. Letting some fresh air in wouldn’t kill them. I’d kindly given two options, but Baldy still looked pissed.

And then...

“Ha, unbelievable. Kid, no one ever tell you you’ve got no manners?”

Suddenly he shrugged off his jacket, like he was about to start a strip show, and cracked his neck.

'Seriously?'

For the record, I’d never been told I lacked manners. Well, maybe a few times, but I didn’t agree, so I erased those from memory.

Caught off guard by the nonsense, I just stared while Baldy smirked, clenched his fist, and—out of nowhere—swung at my chin.

Whoosh!

“....”

'What the fuck, did he just lose his mind?'

If I hadn’t reflexively dodged, his fist would’ve landed square on my face. And the bastard even looked pissed that I avoided it.

'Is he actually insane?'

While I was wondering, he twisted his wrist and suddenly slammed his fist into my stomach.

Thud—!

“Urgh...!”

For the record, that wasn’t me groaning. That was Do Yehyun.

I was too busy sucking in the blow to even make a sound.

The pain was bad enough, but then—

Body Reinforcement (D) activated.

A status window notification popped up.

'Wait, doesn’t that usually only show up inside dungeons?'