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Looking at this guildmaster standing arbitrarily in the middle of another person’s guild, Jiho snapped.

“Why are you in another person’s guild without their permission?”

“Are we ‘others’?”

“We’re… not others.”

Jiho, who fell for the pitiful expression on Joo Yiwon’s face for a second, immediately softened his tone. But then, he refocused. 

“No, here, we are others. How did you come in here? Are you trespassing?”

“No, when I told them I came to see you, they just let me in.”

“…”

Jiho never told them to let Yiwon in; just how is their security system running right now? While Jiho decided to take a look at the security again, Yiwon pulled Jiho in by the waist. 

“You said you were going to rest…. Why are you here, you liar.”

“I wasn’t working. Something good came up….”

Though the guild’s security is slightly concerning, it’s a good thing Yiwon came. Jiho pushed Yiwon, who was still hugging him, away and poured a new bowl of what was left of Lee Nam Yoon’s elixir for Yiwon.

“Hey, drink this.”

“What is this?”

“Nutrition.”

Yiwon frowned, despite having been the one to bring up investing in monster meat just now.

“It looks like poison….”

“Are you not going to drink it?”

“No…. Even if my Honey were to give me poison, I would still drink it.”

“Don’t drink poison.”

What if someone disguises themselves as him to feed Yiwon poison? Of course, there’s no way Joo Yiwon would fall for such a shoddy trick like that, but…. After seeing that hole in Yiwon’s chest, Jiho doesn’t feel as assured as before. 

“Eung~, alright.”

Yiwon answered obediently before downing the elixir at once.

“How is it? It’s good, right?”

“Hm, it is good, but…. Wouldn’t it have been better to share this amongst your guildmembers instead? It’s a rare opportunity to boost their power, after all.”

Despite not having access to a system window, Yiwon seems to know what kind of effect the elixir has. Jiho shook his head. 

“Well, at your level, the elixir’s probably a drop in the bucket, but…. that’s still good. Eat up.”

Though Jiho doesn’t know what Yiwon’s stats look like, even if the elixir barely manages to raise his stats by an inch, Jiho would be satisfied. 

Hearing this, Yiwon’s eyes narrowed into crescents and he pulled Jiho by the waist again. Then, Yiwon whispered into Jiho’s ear.

“Are you telling me to eat this and work hard tonight?”

Jiho’s face darkened, and he pushed Yiwon away, to which Yiwon obediently allowed.

“Don’t do this kind of stuff in the guild.”

“But no one’s listening anyways.”

“…”

When Jiho turned around, he saw the guildmembers buzzing with excitement as a result of the words that Yiwon had tossed earlier. The guildmembers were having a serious discussion over buying stocks in monster meat companies, which Yiwon promised would rise.

“Is it okay if I go all in now?”

“But what monster meat company?”

“There should be a few well-known ones. We can look into that….”

“From what I know, Chungram Food is in the middle of researching monster meat right now too.”

“Ah, really? Then I’m definitely putting it into Chungram.”

“Max 10 years…. I think it’d be better to think carefully and not rush into it. We should do some research….”

“No, just put it all in. Where else can you find a more reliable source than this? This person has a 100% success rate when it comes to hunter-related businesses.”

“It probably wouldn’t be 100%. Maybe 95%….”

“That’s basically 100. I don’t even have half that rate.”

“Haa…. The only money I have right now is the money I was saving for my marriage, what should I do?”

“Is marriage important right now? You need to be ready to sell your soul for it.”

“That is right. It is not too late to start living day-by-day. Let’s put all of the money we’ve saved up until now into those stocks.”

“I don’t have any money….”

“Let’s take out a loan to invest together.”

“Are you crazy? Don’t take out a loan just to invest in something, use the money you have on hand.”

“But this is quality information that I’ll probably never get again….”

“Isn’t there a chance that he’s wrong?”

“Minimal.”

“What are you going to do if this falls into that minimal chance? Would you be able to handle that?”

Everyone was fully absorbed in the conversation, as if that great return was already just around the corner. Heo Sori was passionately involved, and even though Lim Seung Joo acted like he didn’t care, he was attentively listening in. Even Park Geon Ho, who shouldn’t have any money saved up at this moment, was talking nonsense about taking out a loan and whatnot.

As long as Joo Yiwon doesn’t say anything more about stocks, it doesn’t look like anyone will pay attention to this side of the room.

There actually are quite a few experts who claim that monster meat will become a food source in the future. But because of the public’s reluctance to eat monsters that kill humans, as well as the couple of instances where people had abnormal reactions after eating monsters that were poisonous, most of the ordinary public is highly against it.

If something goes wrong, all of the guildmembers could be wrung dry. Jiho worries that if that happens, the guildmembers will start clamoring about measuring the temperature of the water in the Han River or something. 

Nervous, Jiho poked Yiwon on the side.

“Did you really invest in that? Are you sure about this information?”

“Yeah. It’s a good alternative to meat that doesn’t require any farming. And look.”

Yiwon pointed at the pot that still has a slight golden shine left in it.

“Most importantly, it’s good for the body. There’s still reluctance and talk about poison right now because monsters haven’t been fully researched yet…. They’re also experiencing trial and error because the way of preparing the monsters is different from regular meat. But give it 20, 30 years and everyone will be eating it. Actually, we’d be a little late to it.”

“Late?”

“The only reason we’re not eating it now is because we have the affordance to farm. If it wasn’t for me, we would’ve already been ripping the meat off of monsters in the middle of ruins by now.”

Though he sounds arrogant, Yiwon is right. 

Even though Yiwon worked hard when the fissures first broke out, there’s a limit to what he can do. Many parts of the city collapsed. Most people agree that had Yiwon not been there, over half of the civilization humans achieved would’ve been destroyed within a year. 

On top of that, according to the system, only 9.8% of all worlds were able to enter a state of stability.

In a world where survival is uncertain, it might be normal to hunt and eat monsters.

Though Earth still has the luxury, if a single ingredient can have so many different effects, monsters will definitely become popular, not only among awakened ones, but among normal people too. 

Although the downsides of monsters raises doubts about its consumption…. Based on Yiwon’s assurance and the system’s description, there doesn’t seem to be any side effects. As long as they stay away from the monsters that are poisonous, it’s definitely worth investing in.

“Should I invest too?”

“You don’t have to do anything. Since I already invested in it.”

“What does it matter to me if you’re the one who invested?”

“My fortune is Honey’s fortune.”

“…Then is my fortune also your fortune?”

“No, Honey can keep Honey’s fortune. I’m not so desperate that I need to extort pennies from the poor.”

This annoying bastard.

“Plus, when the time comes, Chungram Food’s stocks will rise. All Jiho needs to do is hold onto his share. Then your money will keep going up.”

From the way Yiwon’s talking, it appears that Chungram Guild and Chungram Food have already joined hands to develop together.

Though monster meat is an industry related to hunters, if it is to become commercially available in ordinary markets, then it’s better for Chungram Food to have control of it. After all, even now, people attack Chungram Guild for holding a monopoly. 

“Now. Let’s go home, Jiho.”

Yiwon insisted, wrapping his arm around Jiho’s shoulders. Seeing Yiwon’s silent question, ‘You’re not going to say that you’re going to do some work while you’re here, right?’ in his stare, Jiho snorted. 

The person who needs to rest is Joo Yiwon, not Shin Jiho. And as long as Jiho is the key to making Yiwon rest, he has no thought of working.

The sun is still high up in the sky. If Joo Yiwon, who’s always busy working, starts resting now, it’d be a good break for him. 

“Ah, sure. Just know that you won’t be getting out of bed today.”

Jiho’s going to make sure Yiwon rests by grabbing him and making sure that he can’t move an inch. Hearing Jiho’s resolute declaration, Yiwon grinned widely.

“Eung~ I’ll be looking forward to it. Ho~ney~.”

What is he looking forward to? Jiho snorted at Yiwon’s nonsense and returned home after saying goodbye to the guildmembers.

---

For a week, Jiho spent a leisurely time with Yiwon.

When he called Shin Jihye, who didn’t seem to know of Yiwon’s circumstances, and asked her to give Chungram’s guildmaster a one week vacation, she readily agreed. Thanks to that, he was able to keep Yiwon at home.

Hanging off of Jiho to stop him from going to work in the morning, sending Jiho a message every five minutes, pulling Jiho into his arms as soon as Jiho comes home and clinging to him to the point that he can’t breathe….

Thanks to Yiwon being a nuisance, Jiho ended up taking a half-vacation as well. He goes to work early to get through all the high-priority tasks, skips lunch to finish the rest, and then, in the early afternoon, gets off of work in order to eat with Yiwon.

At night, they sleep on the same bed. Every once in a while, Jiho checks on Yiwon’s condition. However, he doesn’t really see anything wrong with Yiwon anymore.

‘He should be better now, right?’

Since there’s no way that Joo Yiwon would walk around with a wound like that.

Although Jiho gave up on hearing an explanation from Joo Yiwon himself, because he’s curious, he’s been trying to get into contact with people who might have some information. Though he hasn’t been able to discover anything useful yet.

And as soon as the week-long vacation ended, Yiwon left the country to throw himself into raiding dungeons again.

Around the same time, No Name’s structure, which had been in disarray due to the sudden changes, had somewhat settled down as well.

The newly-recruited guildmembers were adjusted to the work, and the reporters had quieted down.

In other words, the guild Jiho leads, No Name, is officially ready to go on dungeon raids now.

“If it is possible, I think it would be a good idea to tag along another guild’s raid once.”

“I think so too.”

Jiho agreed with Hunter Jang Hyo Joo–or Senior Managing Director Jang Hyo Joo as she’s called within the guild–who has been tirelessly tempering and building a foundation for No Name Guild after entering.

Not only does No Name not have a dungeon that they’re in charge of yet, but the new guildmembers have not yet had a chance to fight as a team in a real situation. If they want a safe way to experience an actual dungeon, joining another guild’s raid is a good idea.

Since the speed at which new dungeons appear is faster than the speed at which they disappear, as well as the recent rising dungeon appearance rate, a lot of guilds have been requesting support.

“We should start with Chungram Guild’s raid.”

“Chungram….”

“Though I understand Guildmaster-nim’s reluctance, Chungram Guild stands at the front of training new guilds or awakened ones in dungeon raids. It is much more organized than any other guild.”

“No, it is not that. I was just thinking about a time that would work.”

They have to avoid Yiwon. Since that guy won’t be any help if he goes.

Hearing no reluctance in Jiho’s voice, Hyo Joo nodded with a bright expression.

“Yes. Then we will join Chungram at a time that works….. Hm, it would be nice if we could tag along one other guild.”

Because No Name won’t be copying everything Chungram does, it’s a good idea to observe multiple guilds. 

“Actually, Mireu Guild sent a request.”

“Hmm, Mireu.”

Mireu Guild, which had helped Jiho during his reassessment, offered their help again. This display of favor, before No Name even asks for it. While this does make things easier… something is suspicious.

On top of that, as long as there’s even the slightest chance that Kim Tae Yong, who might be stronger than Yiwon, was the one to injure Yiwon, Jiho doesn’t really want to meet him face-to-face. Even though Jiho thinks that the chance Kim Tae Yong hurt Yiwon with his own hands is slim, even the slimmest of possibilities makes him unwilling.  

“With Mireu, I will think about it first before deciding. As for Chungram… let me try contacting them.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Hyo Joo left the room, and Jiho called Shin Jihye. 

‘Did Noona go to work today? Since Joo Yiwon isn’t in the guild, she might be there.’

Because the guildmaster took a break for an entire week, she should be in the guild….

Soon, Jihye answered the phone.

“Noona, are you free to talk right now?”

– Sure. What, do you want to tag along one of our guild’s raids?”

“That’s right. I knew you’d get the hint, but I didn’t think you’d get it immediately.”

– Yiwon is out of the country. Based on your personality, I knew you’d reach out right about now.

“He’s too strong, so if he’s there, we can’t gain any experience.”

– You don’t have to explain. Anyways, I understand. We actually have a raid tomorrow. Hunter Yoo Gyung Woo is the raid’s team leader, so it’ll be comfortable for you too. 

“Eung.”

Whenever Jiho hears his older sister call her ex-husband “Hunter Yoo Gyung Woo,” he thinks she’s really chill. Jiho exchanged a few more light words with his sister before ending the call.

When he was young, the two people had a really good relationship…. They got married because they liked each other, but now, their relationship has become one too awkward to even call business partners.

On top of that, though it seems that Yoo Gyung Woo still has some regrets, his sister doesn’t seem to care at all.

Jiho grew up watching an ideal romantic relationship. His parents. The two always loved each other. Although there were times when they fought, the fights never lasted long, and even if they fought, they never said anything that would hurt the other person.

But not everything goes ideally.

Love doesn’t last forever. If it doesn’t last forever, then it would be nice if both sides could end it at the same time, but it’s possible for one side to end it first. Then, the person who’s left ends up being caught and dragged by a hopeless love.

It’s too sad. Jiho wants a love like his parents, perfect and ideal.

‘This is why I won’t be able to date….’

Jiho is also aware that his perspective on dating is close to idealism. All of his friends go through multiple dates and break-ups, but he’s demanding for eternity from his first date. 

But there’s nothing he can do. After the experience of being attacked over the past year, Jiho doesn’t ever want to experience failure again.

Saying so, it doesn’t mean that he’s never going to try dating, but that would be much later, when he has a bit more leisure at hand. Since Jiho doesn’t want to fight or break up with the person he loves.

‘I love you, Jiho-ya.’

Suddenly, a memory from the past appeared.

‘I… love you. Even though I have no right to…. I’m sorry.’

‘…’

‘Jiho-ya, do you want to run away with me? To a place where no one can ever find us.’

When was this? When Jiho was still in the hospital, Yiwon ran up to Jiho with a face so pained that he looked like death, squeezed him tight, and confessed this to him.

Although Yiwon is always joking around, he was different that day. That Yiwon looked so pained that….

‘What happened? Did something happen in a dungeon?’

Jiho remembers that he was extremely worried about Yiwon. It was suspicious that a guy doing so well was suddenly saying weird things like his qualification or running away.

Yiwon didn’t answer him. All he did was hug Jiho’s waist tight and keep silent.

Though that happened a while ago, Jiho still remembers it sometimes.

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LaZ Bird Corner

Jiho you guys are basically married if you’re sleeping on the same bed and everything.

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