Chapter 68 (1/2)
(TL: Sorry about the delay. This chapter should've been posted a few hours earlier.)
”This can't go on.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
These were the first words to leave Kim Hahn-Nah's lips in a while. She reached into her bag.
”I really, honestly didn't want to interfere with your life here in the Paradise. So, I was in a bit of dilemma, wondering whether I should give you this or not. But now, I can't let you carry on like this.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
She spoke firmly as if to make the final announcement and placed something on the table. It was a palm-sized round, clear crystal.
”It's a communication crystal. It's made out of top-quality base crystal, so it'll work even when you're in Haramark. In the future, when you need to go somewhere, anywhere, you gimme a call first. Did you hear me?!” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seol Ji-Hu almost spat out ”Are you my mother?” but seeing the murderous glare on her face, he couldn't make his complaints known. Unfortunately for him, Kim Hahn-Nah wasn't someone who would take silence as an acceptable reply.
”Why aren't you taking the crystal already?!” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Shake, shake.
”Uh? Uhh?? How dare you shake your head at me?? You think you're in any position to do that??” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Well, this is a bit too much, don't you think? You're not my mom, so to get your permission every time I wanna do something, that's a bit…..” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu cautiously voiced his dissatisfaction, but then….
”No, hang on. I'm not saying I won't take it, you know.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
He hurriedly pocketed the communication crystal as soon as Kim Hahn-Nah's fury-filled face slowly tilted to her side.
”….Don't think I'm being unfair here. It's you who broke the promise first.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seol Ji-Hu didn't know what to say, then.
”You really scared me half to death, you know?! I wouldn't have been this mad if you were going to ‘Ramman'. But, the Forest of Denial? Arden Valley?!” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah's complexion alternated between red and blue as if she still couldn't believe what happened the longer she dwelt on it.
”Not only the farthest point South, you actually went to the border region! It's a miracle that you actually came back alive, you dumb idiot!!” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seo Yu-Hui nodded her head constantly in agreement as she brought the cup of iced water.
‘What the…. You too?' (Seol Ji-Hu)
Wasn't she angry because they were making a commotion here? Kinda feeling like the old idiom of hating the sister-in-law more as she dissuaded the mother-in-law beating you up, Seol Ji-Hu began pouting a bit.
”You better suck your lips in, mkayyyy?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah growled menacingly. She then began gulping down the cold water to cool the rage in her heart burning as hotly as molten metal.
What the youth couldn't understand at the moment was, ignoring Kim Hahn-Nah's temper for now, why on earth Seo Yu-Hui was also gulping down her own cup of iced water?
She gulped and gulped, and then…
”….Hah….”
She softly sighed out, and….
Gulp, gulp!!
”…Fuu-woo….”
She sighed out again.
Both women seemed to be trying their utmost to swallow something back down and suppress whatever it was. So, all he could do now was to keep his mouth shut and quietly wait.
That meant that the interior was now filled with the grunts and groans of two women trying to calm themselves down.
She must've been trying to fill herself up with iced water, because Kim Hahn-Nah proceeded to empty out six gla.s.ses. Only then did she open her mouth to speak.
”…….Okay, so. Why did you come here to see me?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Finally, they got to the main topic at hand. Fearing that he'd get nagged to death if he took his time, Seol Ji-Hu hurriedly pulled out the tree-shaped jewellery.
”Take a look at this. What do you think?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Kim Hahn-Nah's eyes opened up real wide.
”It's pretty big and so…. pretty.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
She studied it from this angle and that, before nodding her head, evidently finding it to her liking.
”It's pretty big, but more than that, I can't spot any impurities in it, either. From the purity perspective, this is a top-notch item. Also, what with this amazing craftsmans.h.i.+p, any enthusiast will lose their sh*t as soon as clapping their eyes on it.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”How much do you think it'll go for?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”If you're talking about its value in the Paradise currency, then at the bare minimum, 300 Silver coins, easy. If you're lucky, you can even aim for 500 Silver coins, too.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Okay, what about in Earth money, then?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”It'd be absolutely enormous, that's for sure. However, you need to spend a huge amount of your ‘achievement points' if you want to take this over there, so I won't recommend it.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah s.h.i.+fted her gaze back to him.
”Is this why you came to see me?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Yeah.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Very good. Gimme. I'll take care of it.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah quickly pocketed the jewellery.
”Something like this, you'd actually be making a loss if you decide to sell it at its face value.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”You mean, you'll be able to use it in some other way?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”That's right. Don't you worry, though. I'll make sure that you don't lose out on anything.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
He wasn't worried about that. She was someone who readily handed out hundreds of millions of Won as pocket money, so she wouldn't take the jewellery and run away, leaving him in the lurch. Also, the Kim Hahn-Nah he knew was one h.e.l.l of a smart cookie as well.
”Looks like I might be able to change the dangerous situation into an opportunity. Okay, fine. That's that. What about stopping by at a temple?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”I'm a Level 2 now.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
As if he was waiting for this moment, he proudly formed a ‘V' sign with his fingers.
”Yeah, sure. You're so cool, ain't you.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah's less-than-impressed tone of voice promptly shot him down, though.
”You did all of that, so of course you should get a level-up. Did you spend your points?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”No, I haven't. I want to use them all up later.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Good. Ah, what's your new Job t.i.tle, then?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”The Arcane Spearman.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”I knew it, a spearman…. What was that?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah frowned slightly.
”It's supposed to be a unique Job.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”A unique Job? Oh, my. What skills did you learn, then?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”I didn't learn anything. I thought that it'd be better to figure it out myself rather than spending some of my points to artificially learn them.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Kim Hahn-Nah slowly chewed on her lower lip. Her expression implied how dubious she felt right now.
”A unique Job, a unique Job, is it….” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
She lightly tapped the table with her index finger, before opening her mouth.
”I can't figure out what your Job is supposed to be. Hey, you know, it'll be fine if it happens later, so you should stop by the temple again and check out what skills you can actually learn.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”But….” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”I know what you're going to say. Here's what I'm saying, though. You should at least take a look at those skills so you can use them as a guideline. These skills are designed to match your level, so surely, you should be able to get yourself an inspiration or two in that way.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
What she said certainly made sense.
”I get the reason why you want to h.o.a.rd your points, but skills are a different kettle of fish altogether. I mean, if you don't spend your points and don't even learn a single skill, then is there a meaning in levelling up in the first place?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah easily pointed out something Seol Ji-Hu had completely failed to consider. She then quickly reached into her bag again. Her communication crystal was emitting light once more.
”They are going absolutely mad over there. Seriously now.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
She clicked her tongue in annoyance, before continuing on.
”Is there anything else you want to talk to me about?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”No, I don't. If you're that busy, you can go ahead, you know.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”You don't need more money?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Nah, I'm fine.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”How much do you still have left?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”100 Silver coins you gave me, plus 270 Silver coins I got as the mission rewards, so it's 370 Silver coins in total.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Heh~eh.”
Kim Hahn-Nah showed how surprised she was.
”For a reward from a single scouting mission, as well as partic.i.p.ating in a minor skirmish, they really gave you a lot, didn't they?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”You think so? I can't wrap my head around it, actually.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Now let's see. The current exchange rate should be around 505 Won for a single Copper coin. So, let's round it off to 500 Won, and then….” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah calculated for a second or two and then opened her mouth again.
”135,000,000 Won.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seol Ji-Hu's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
”It was that much?!” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Well, you were putting your life on the line, so of course you should get at least that much. I mean, a team like Carpe Diem that has a high-rank ranker in their midst should easily earn around 100-200 million per mission, you know?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Only then did he truly understand why Cho Hong was in such a celebratory mood.
”Even then, you shouldn't just wastefully spend your money, okay? As your level climbs up, so does the price of the equipment designed for your level. Not to forget, the Lost Paradise has been embroiled in war for a long time now, so the ridiculous spike in prices of some stuff is really something else, too.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
After Seol Ji-Hu nodded to show that he accepted her explanations, Kim Hahn-Nah, too, slowly got up from her seat.
”Thank you for the delicious tea, ma'am. Lady Seo Yu-Hui, I'd also like to apologise for making that racket earlier on when you were gracious enough to invite us in.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Oh, no, it's fine. You did well. You seem to have suffered enough.” (Seo Yu-Hui)
”Oh, no, Not at all, ma'am.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seol Ji-Hu narrowed his eyes and stared at Kim Hahn-Nah and her soft, prim giggles. He kind of understood why some people took to calling her ‘Miss Foxy' now.
A short while later….