บท 531: Chapter 531
"Th-This is..."
"Sword King! This is legitimate coverage. You shouldn't interfere like this!"
"Even for coverage, you shouldn't block someone's path."
Swoosh.
With those words, the pressure intensified.
Seong Jihan watched this with interest.
'He hasn't just been playing around for 5 years.'
The Sword King was clearly stronger than when he last saw him.
Of course, even with this improvement, he still hadn't reached the level of a Constellation candidate.
But now he understood why he still maintained his position as the #1 Warrior.
As Seong Jihan walked along the cleared path,
"Thank you for granting my request."
"It's nothing. Of course I should."
Seong Jiah, who was behind Yoon Sejin, slightly bowed her head to him.
'Did sis ask her ex-husband... no, Yoon Sejin for this favor?'
Why did she ask her divorced ex-husband for help?
But while sis used formal speech after the divorce, Yoon Sejin was still speaking informally.
'And that guy... why is he looking at her like that? He's clearly still attached.'
Yoon Sejin was smiling, looking at Seong Jiah with warm eyes.
His expression was 180 degrees different from when he pushed away the reporters earlier, drawing people's attention.
"Those two have been divorced for a while... but they're often seen together?"
"I heard there was quite a scene at the national team's after-party last time."
"Didn't Yoon Jeonghyun slap Seong Jiah, calling her an old hag who should get lost?"
"I heard it wasn't Seong Jiah who hit her, but the Sword King..."
"They say if she wasn't a half-elf, her teeth would have fallen out."
The stories the reporters were whispering about were ones Seong Jihan knew as well.
'I heard it directly from sis on the day I returned.'
Seong Jiah had worried it might become news, but
Fortunately, it only circulated as rumors and never became an official article.
Still, the rumors must have spread, as all the reporters seemed to know about it.
Click. Click.
Seeing some reporters turn to take pictures of them,
Seong Jihan inwardly sighed and approached where Yoon Sejin was standing.
"Thank you for clearing the way, Sword King."
"We'll be in the same guild from today, so it's only natural. I look forward to working with you, Mr. Kim Jihun."
After shaking hands with Yoon Sejin, who extended his hand,
Seong Jihan also greeted Seong Jiah behind him.
"Saintess, I've been a long-time fan. I look forward to working with you."
[I'll pretend to be sis's fan. As Kim Jihun, I'll need an excuse like this to meet her.]
Since there was no connection between Kim Jihun and Seong Jiah,
Seong Jihan sent a mental message to Seong Jiah saying he would pretend to be a fan of the Saintess.
Hearing this, Seong Jiah smiled brightly and nodded slightly.
"Ah...! I'm glad to hear you're my fan. I look forward to working with you too."
As they exchanged greetings in this friendly atmosphere, Seong Jihan felt Yoon Sejin's gaze intently watching from behind, but,
He didn't attach much meaning to it.
He just said he was a fan and shook hands.
What could be the problem with that?
"Well then, I'll be going in."
As Seong Jihan entered the guild,
He could faintly hear Yoon Sejin and Seong Jiah's conversation.
"Did you two know each other?"
"No, I just met him today."
"Really? You looked so happy when shaking hands earlier. And you asked me to clear the way for him."
"...He said he was my fan, should I have frowned? I asked earlier because I was worried today's work might end late."
"I see... is that so?"
No way.
Was he acting like this just because of a handshake and a smile?
Seong Jihan slightly furrowed his brow as he went inside.
'Geez... after I was erased from records, did the memory of why they divorced become vague too?'
Not only did he cheat, but he abandoned his daughter and went to Japan, leading to the divorce.
It was absurd how he seemed to have completely forgotten about that and was now showing such obsession.
If this continued, he might need to teach him a proper lesson.
As Seong Jihan was thinking this,
"Ah, Mr. Kim Jihun. You're here? We've just finished preparations...!"
Lee Hayeon greeted him with a flushed face.
She was holding a stack of documents in her arms.
"Is that the contract?"
"Yes. Please take your time to review it."
Lee Hayeon carefully handed over the contract as she guided Kim Jihun to his seat, but,
Flip. Flip.
After briefly flipping through the pages,
"Looks good. I'll sign it."
He immediately took out the pen provided at the desk.
"But... you should review it more carefully..."
"I'm sure you've arranged everything well."
Even as Lee Hayeon tried to persuade Kim Jihun to look at the contract more closely,
Scribble. Scribble.
Seong Jihan had already finished signing as Kim Jihun.
"Is there going to be a press conference or something?"
"Ah... yes, since so many people came."
Lee Hayeon bowed her head apologetically.
"I'm sorry. We tried to keep it quiet, but it seems some staff members talked about this outside."
"I was wondering why there were so many people."
"If you're uncomfortable, I can answer the reporters' questions on your behalf."
"No, they'll ask why I joined here, so I should answer. I'll keep it brief though."
"Ah... I see! Then we'll move as soon as the preparations are complete."
Thanks to Kim Jihun signing so quickly, the press conference room wasn't fully set up yet.
Lee Hayeon carefully spoke while looking at Kim Jihun.
"And... as mentioned in the contract, you now own 5% of the Daegi Guild's shares."
"Oh, really? You've given me quite a lot."
The total shares of the Daegi Guild that were given to Lee Hayeon were about 40%, right?
Giving 5% from that is a huge sacrifice.
"Not at all. We'd like to give you more, but some shares are tied up as collateral... This was the best I could do. I'm sorry."
"If that's the case, it's even more than enough. Just give me 1% instead."
"We can't do that! Even so, when recruiting a 'special management target', we need to show our sincerity as much as possible."
Lee Hayeon glanced around and then spoke quietly to Kim Jihun.
"By the way... did you meet Sophia earlier?"
"Yes. She came to my house earlier. She said she used to live there."
"Ah... yes. She lived there for a while. She came to visit the guild earlier and said it was surprising that you refused their offer of 10 times what we could give."
"Well, I have my reasons."
In truth, it was largely because he had no intention of going to America after leaving Sword Palace.
Seong Jihan chuckled and said to Lee Hayeon,
"The guild's growth rate buff. Is it applied to me now?"
"Ah... no. I'll send you a guild invitation right away."
Lee Hayeon opened her system window and tapped around.
[Do you want to join the Daegi Guild?]
A guild join message appeared before Seong Jihan's eyes.
When he pressed yes,
[A player designated as a 'special management target' has joined the guild.]
[The Colonial Government's evaluation grade for the Daegi Guild rises from B- to A.]
'What's this Colonial Government evaluation grade?'
A message about a grade he hadn't seen before rising appeared.
Was this why all the guilds were so desperate to recruit half-elves?
Seong Jihan looked at this message without much reaction, but,
"Wow... straight to A!"
Lee Hayeon jumped up from her seat in surprise.
"Did it rise a lot?"
"Yes. Yes...! We thought B+ would be the highest possible, but how did it jump four levels at once...!"
Lee Hayeon was almost on the verge of tears, as if the Colonial Government's evaluation was that important.
"That's great. But, has the growth rate buff been applied to me?"
Seong Jihan calmly replied and asked about the guild buff.
"Ah, yes. It's been applied. I'll also give you 'focused growth'!"
['Focused growth' has been designated for you.]
[Your growth rate is greatly amplified.]
[You gain a 1200% experience bonus.]
[The experience bonus has reached its limit.]
"1200 percent..."
A 12-fold increase.
He would breeze through the low-level range in no time.
Seong Jihan smiled as he saw the buff effect.
"Oh. Is your experience buff showing 1200 percent?"
"Yes."
"The limit used to be 1000 percent... I guess the upper limit increased as our evaluation grade rose!"
Lee Hayeon, who gave the buff, was surprised as well.
"I suppose it raises the limit too?"
"Yes... the guild buff performance changes according to the evaluation grade! I didn't expect it to have this much effect...!"
As she excitedly opened the guild window to check the details,
Knock knock.
"Guild Master, the press conference room is ready."
"Ah... I understand."
With news that the press conference was ready, they moved there.
Lee Hayeon with a bright expression and flushed face, and Kim Jihun with a calm face standing next to her.
The reporters in the conference room could guess how the contract went just by looking at their expressions.
"It's been a while since we've had so many reporters gather at our guild."
Lee Hayeon opened with a smile and,
Confidently informed the reporters that they had signed a contract with Kim Jihun.
"...And as a result of contracting with Mr. Kim Jihun, surprisingly, our guild's Colonial Government evaluation grade has risen to A."
When she revealed that the Colonial Government's evaluation grade had risen to A,
"A?"
"The Daegi Guild's evaluation grade should be B-..."
"Even for a male half-elf, can it rise 4 grades just by recruiting one person?"
"Does being designated as a special management target give such a high bonus?"
The gathered reporters started buzzing all at once upon hearing this.
Even if male half-elves get high bonus points,
How could it jump from B- to A?
'For the Colonial Government to raise the evaluation like this...'
'Is Kim Jihun that important of a talent?'
'20% might be a first for Korea, but there are several higher ones globally... This person must have a reason for being a special management target.'
As the reporters were closely observing Kim Jihun, pondering the sudden rise in evaluation grade,
Lee Hayeon's briefing ended, and the microphone was passed to Kim Jihun.
The reporters all tried to ask questions at once, but
Kim Jihun glanced around and said,
"I'll only take three questions."
He held up three fingers.
"Three is too few...!"
"Then I'll just leave. I need to level up."
Kim Jihun started to rise from his seat.
He clearly looked annoyed, not caring at all about the crowd of reporters.
"Wait, don't half-elves level up even while sleeping...!"
"Why does he seem so familiar with this? Was he famous before becoming a half-elf?"
"No, he wasn't known at all..."
As the reporters were talking among themselves,
"Alright. From now on, raise your hands and I'll choose randomly."
Kim Jihun crossed his arms and urged them to ask questions quickly.
Reporters started raising their hands one by one.
"Why did you choose the Daegi Guild without even listening to proposals from numerous other guilds?"
"I've been a fan for a long time, and their growth rate buff is good."
"How were you selected as a special management target?"
"Ah, I'll pass on this one. The Colonial Government designated me."
"American First says they want to proceed with a contract with you even if they have to pay a penalty. Whatever the existing conditions are, they'll offer at least 10 times more..."
"Ah, I'm not going. I'm just going to stay here."
Kim Jihun finished answering rapidly and,
Stood up from his seat.
"Well then, I'm busy leveling up, so I'll be going now."
"But, you passed on the second question...!"
"Passing is an answer too."
He chuckled as he brushed off the reporter's question and
Looked at Lee Hayeon beside him.
"Master, there's a BattleNet connector for half-elves in the guild, right?"
"Ah, yes. I'll guide you there!"
"Let's go."
Kim Jihun walked ahead as if it were his own home, with Lee Hayeon hurriedly following behind.
As the reporters were firing off flashes trying to capture anything they could,
'...Ah. Why do they look so similar?'
Sophia was standing with the guild officials.
Comparing Kim Jihun's smile and Seong Jihan in the photo I received from him earlier.
She had a puzzled expression.
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