6. Liyue Branch (4)
Snezhnaya, the land of snow and ice, possessed two powers. The first is the military force represented by the ‘executive officer’, that is, the ‘Wooindan’. They carry out the will of the Queen, the god and ruler of Snezhnaya, throughout the Tivat continent. In particular, the ‘executors’, who are called the pinnacle of them all, are beings who have been given power directly by God, and their strength is enough to make even national armed forces groups nervous.
And the second power that Snezhnaya has is ‘capital’. The representative of this is the ‘Bukkuk Bank’, and they are encroaching on markets in various parts of the Tivat continent through their enormous capital power. Liyue is also one of the representative places where such work is in progress. Liyue’s small business owners were still losing their positions moment by moment to the Northern Bank, which was backed by overwhelming capital.
The reason why Snezhnaya is called a ‘gangster state’ and yet the Wooindan can operate freely is because these two forces are in balance. It was a tragedy for the countries other than Snezhnaya, but that is not what I would say when I came to meet one of the leaders of that ‘rogue state’.
Beukuk Bank’s Liyue branch is located in the continent’s best trading port, so its capital is also beyond imagination. The reason Tartaglia was able to immediately prepare hundreds of millions of mora worth of cash during the last commercial trip was because the cash mobilization power of the North Bank Bank’s Liyue branch served as the foundation. The so-called ‘gateway of capital’ where a lot of money flows in and out.
Now I was being treated coldly in front of the entrance of the Northern Bank. It was an exceptional treatment for the Northern Bank, which does not discriminate against people when it comes to money, for one reason.
It was because the security guard of the Northern Bank who blocked me was a person who was under Signora in Mond. I couldn’t even remember my name. However, with the large-scale withdrawal of the Uindan from Mond, they were scattered throughout the Tivat continent, and one of them appears to have been assigned to Liyue.
“No, you said you were invited?”
“What shameless words…… ! Do you know how much damage the Woindan suffered in Mond because of you? “You can’t turn it off right now!”
Just like that, the young man belonging to the Wooin Dan made her body tremble. Because she was wearing a mask covering her eyes, I couldn’t read her facial expression in detail, but she looked quite indignant. It was surprising that Signora had such loyal subordinates.
There is no way Signora would let go of such a subordinate without any reason. Is he planning to do some trick in Liyue? I thought to myself and sighed.
“Since when did North Korea Bank receive money indiscriminately? “I don’t know what to say, but I am a wealthy merchant with capital worth hundreds of millions of mora.”
“Those hundreds of millions of mora are the money stolen from the Wooin Dan! Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk…… !”
The member of the Wooin group shouted like that and immediately grabbed the back of his neck. It seemed like my blood pressure was rising.
For me, it was just unfair. The 1.2 Billion mora I received from Wooindan was the product of a legitimate transaction. Of course I was joking. They raised the price of a new product worth 400 million Mora to 800 million Mora, and destroyed one of the greatest values of the new product called ‘uniqueness’. In fact, the moment Signora was offered 800 million mora, she probably had no intention of actually paying that amount.
You can just steal it anyway. Then, since there was only one new item, the sales contract was automatically canceled and 400 million mora was taken from me. But what the Signora could not have imagined was that she was not the only one who had the means to break her rules.
Two new things. This was nonsense according to the common sense of the Tivat continent. New objects accumulate history and mystery because they have uniqueness. The reason why objects with mysterious power called ‘relics’ have that ability is because history and mystery are accumulated within them.
But there are two identical divine objects. There was no way even the Signora could have predicted this. It is not easy to pay a penalty of 400 million mora and completely cancel the contract. Hundreds of notaries were watching in the main square of Mond.
At that time, anyone can see that the transaction was not concluded due to Wooindan’s fault? If I have lost my passion, this is something that cannot be helped. Because no matter what I do, I can’t create something new. But Wooindan was different. All you had to do was prepare cash.
The market economy runs on ‘credit’. And the capital backed by Wooindan was coming from ‘Bukguk Bank’. A bank without credit? Something like that cannot exist. Therefore, Signora had no choice but to prepare 1.2 Billion mora even while gritting her teeth.
Because Northern Bank’s credit was more important than maintaining Mond’s supply chain. So, Signora bought two new items worth 400 million mora for 1.2 Billion. Since the new product was not unique, its actual valuation would have been lower, and considering the profits that could have been gained by maintaining Mond’s supply chain, it was a fatal blow.
Thinking like that, perhaps I went a little too far, so I stroked my chin.
“…… Anyway, since I was invited and you are the security guard, let’s stick to each other’s duties. “Please get out of the way quickly and stop arguing.”
At my sighing words, a spark flew from the Wooin member’s eyes. He asked through gritted teeth.
“Who on earth was the person who invited me…?” … !”
“It’s been a while, Siwoo.”
However, the angry questions of the members of the Wooin group could not continue any longer. It was because his body stiffened at the sound of a voice coming from behind me. I swatted away the hand that was naturally placed on his shoulder, as if I was disgusted.
When I turned around, the person I expected was standing there. That auburn hair, and blue eyes. He was a tall man who anyone would say was ‘handsome.’
The epaulettes symbolizing the Wooindan and the ghost mask with the crooked side of his head could easily be said to be his trademark. His identity was ‘Tartalia’, the person who invited me to Bukkuk Bank today and my drinking friend. And she was one of the 11 Executors who stood at the pinnacle of the Iroe Bedouin Dan.
For the Wooin Dan members who had been blocking me, it was as if the general manager of Li Yue had suddenly appeared. A high-ranking figure belonging to the leadership of the country. The WoW members were looking at me and Tartaglia in disbelief.
“Why are you making such a fuss with your hand on your shoulder? Disgusting.”
I scolded Tar Taglia, frowning at her. But this was just a game of guessing and playing. Tartaglia deliberately displays her intimacy, and I casually brush it off to emphasize our closeness. The effect was clear.
The Wooin member’s eyes were shaking violently. Tartaglia spoke in a relaxed voice as always.
“hahahahaha, aren’t you being too cold towards a friend you haven’t seen in a while? However… ….”
Tartalia took a step forward. And she looked at Wooin, whose body was now shaking. His blue eyes sank heavily.
“…… “What do you want to do with my friend?”
“Oh, that, that… ….”
At Tartaglia’s slightly cold voice, the members of the WoW began to tremble. His gaze oscillated between me and Tartaglia. It was the attitude of someone who didn’t even know whether to ask someone for help or how to deal with it.
At that point, I clicked my tongue and decided to step forward. Intimidating someone with one’s status wasn’t my cup of tea. The only people who liked that kind of thing would be people like Signora who had some taste.
“…… It was my first time at the Liyue branch and I was asking for guidance. “It’s not a big deal, so don’t worry about it.”
The Wooin member’s trembling subsided at my words. He looked at me again in disbelief. I don’t know what he thought of me, but I wasn’t such a bad person that I could ruin someone’s life with just one mistake.
Hearing my words, Tartaglia hmmmed and looked at me and the Wooin members in turn. Then he smiled brightly.
“Aha, that’s what it was… Then, I will guide you, so can you please go in?”
“What about palm seeds?”
“It will come soon. From what I heard, he forgot his wallet and asked me to wait until Wang Saengdang comes to repay the credit debt…….”
I clicked my tongue when I heard that. Mr. Jongryeo was knowledgeable and had a great personality, but he was strangely forgetful. In particular, he often left his wallet behind. He seemed to be from a noble family. He probably had a rare experience paying his own money.
As the two of us were about to enter the Bukkuk Bank while having a trivial conversation, the member of the Wooin group seemed relieved and sighed in relief.
However, Tartaglia was not going to pass on like this. If I had planned to move on as if nothing had happened, I would not have intentionally expressed intimacy in the first place.
“Oh, indeed.”
The moment he said that, Wooindan’s eyes widened. His upper body was suddenly pulled and bent in front of Tartaglia. Tartaglia did nothing. She merely placed her hand on his shoulder, but her intangible pressure caused Wuin Dan’s stiff back to bend.
Tartalia whispered in the ear of the member of the Woofin.
“…… Remember, this is Liyue. Your boss isn’t Signora either, it’s me. “If you continue to treat guests as you please, it will not be good for you.”
Cold sweat began to form on the forehead of the member of the Wooin group. He was looking into Tar Taglia’s eyes as if nails were nailed to them, but he could feel the fear shaking her legs. This was because Tartaglia could not bear the power she radiated.
I wonder if I was like that last time. Thinking like that made me feel very bitter.
“Oh, I understand… “I understand, Tartaglia!”
The member of the Wooin group shouted like that. Then, with a huff, Tartaglia took her hand off his shoulder as if to push him. Member Wooin got off his feet and lightly hit his buttocks.
His trembling legs were unable to support his weight. However, even after seeing the scene, Tartaglia just smiled again as if nothing had happened.
“Okay, please take care of me in the future. Now, Siwoo? “Then let’s go.”
Tartalia, as the leader of Liyue’s Wooindan, also had work to do. In other words, he was trying to discipline her by accusing her of treating me poorly, but she decided to hang out with him at least once. Thanks to this, there will be no one among Liyue’s friends who will touch me for a while.
I just asked Tartaglia with some anticipation.
“…… “Have you prepared any snacks?”
“No? “It would be better if you made it anyway, so why?”
…… No, this guy?
I called a guest and didn’t even prepare food, so I was secretly thinking that I would have a word with Jongryeo later when he arrived.
**
North Korea Bank Liyue Branch, its office. In other words, it was a base that could be said to be the heart of the Wooindan active in Liyue. Because it was the place where the executive officer of the Wooindan who led them resided. It was such a gorgeous and spacious space.
There I was talking about how I drove the Wooindan out of Mond. From the first time he met Signora, to selling off her new items. Of course, in the process, I left out my real world stories and stories about the features in the game, but it still turned out to be quite a story worth listening to.
It was a situation where anyone would say I was crazy. You’re telling a story that is hostile to the Woindan in a place that is like the heart of the Woindan. However, the owner of this space was no ordinary person. Tartaglia, the owner of the Liyue branch of the Northern Bank, was very happy to hear my story.
No, he was clutching his stomach and crawling over. The sound of his laughter filled the office.
“Phew, puhahahaha! Did you say that the signora was a ‘trickster’? Tsk tsk tsk… ….”
There were two spectators watching Tartaglia bursting into laughter. One was me, and the other was a tall handsome man with impressive black hair and golden eyes.
His every action was stern, and his name was ‘Jongryeo.’ He was the most knowledgeable guest at Wangsaengdang and also my drinking friend who always had a drink at least once every time I came to Liyue. Mr. Palm smiled softly as he sipped the dandelion wine I brought.
“But it’s quite good. “It must not have been easy to make such a cold judgment in that situation.”
“If I call the Signora a ‘trickster,’ wouldn’t that have been enough? Tsk tsk… ….”
I felt embarrassed as I kept hearing the word ‘trickster’. I blushed a little and cleared my throat with a hmm, showing my discomfort. But Tartaglia wasn’t going to stop just because of that.
He poured alcohol into an empty glass. The glass was filled with alcohol with a clattering sound. And before the scent of the liquor could spread, Tartaglia tipped her glass and downed her drink. In an instant, the glass of alcohol disappeared.
It was always an exciting way to drink. It was surprising that even after all that, his complexion was still intact. Are you saying that Snezhnaya people are really monsters?
It was when I was thinking like that. After taking a sip of her drink, Kintartaglia opened her mouth again. The smile still hadn’t subsided.
“Don’t be too offended, Siwoo. That would have been high praise for a signora. Moreover, he even gave Signora a punch, ah! “Today’s drinking session will be worth having just because of this story.”
Tartalia was smiling as if she was happy, but the palm seeds were a little different. He mumbled, and then cautiously asked me.
“But there are two identical new items… “I wonder if something like that is possible.”
Jongryeo’s question had a sharp edge. Always delved into the core. Now that the core was the part I wanted to hide, I had no choice but to swallow my voice. Tar Taglia seemed to be interested as well, and before I knew it, she was looking at me with a filled glass.
In the end, I sighed. It was impossible to lie in front of these two.
“I can’t tell you the details, but… The two new items are definitely the same item. It just wasn’t acquired in the normal way. “I’ll just leave it here.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Hmm, Mr. Palm’s eyes closed. He seemed to think about it a little more, then shook his head and thanked me.
“I understand, this may be a sensitive topic, but I’m sorry I asked for no reason.”
“No, it was something that everyone would be curious about. And I don’t know if it was a stolen product, but if the product I sold was fake, Signora would have been in an uproar right away.”
Tar Taglia nodded her head as if she really agreed with what I said as a joke. Mr. Palm also smiled bitterly. Even though neither of them said it, their faces showed that they knew how hard a fight I had to go through to get to this place.
If you look at the odds of victory, it was a landslide victory for Signora. At best, it was 9:1, but he overturned the odds and won. Of course, it was not a victory achieved through normal means. Signora was not only strong, but also cunning and had excellent action skills. In every way, he was a better person than me.
If I didn’t have the foul power of a function in the game, I would have lost. When I thought about it like that, my heart felt cold for no reason.
“Now that I think about it… Now that your work at Mond is over, what do you plan to do next?”
It was Tartaglia’s question. I took a swig of my drink after hearing those words. And then he put it down on the table with a thud. Tartaglia smiled at the sight and poured her drink into my glass. The glass was almost overflowing.
This made me feel like I was back in college when I was a freshman. I took a sip of alcohol, thinking that next time I would have to find out if there was a hangover cure on the Tivat continent.
“…… “We have to advance to Liyue.”
At those words, Mr. Palm nodded his head. A satisfied glow appeared on his face.
“That’s a good idea. I’m not bragging, but Liyue can be said to be a port on the Tivat continent. Every ship looks for a place to dock for distribution, and a port attracts all ships, so it is inevitable that wealth will gather in Liyue. Since you are now being called a ‘big merchant,’ you should also join the Li Yue merchant world.”
However, unlike the palm seeds, Tartaglia looked a little surprised. He twirled the glass he was holding and asked me with a look of concern.
“Hmm… Are you okay, Siwoo? No matter how much money you stole from Signora, Liyue is not an easy place. “It hasn’t been long since we took over the Mond commercial district.”
Surprisingly, it was Tartaglia who spoke to me about realism. It was a bit refreshing because it was Mr. Palm who always gave me business-related advice. Come to think of it, Tartaglia was also one of the bigwigs who controlled Liyue’s commercial world. There were many things he had no choice but to know, whether he wanted it or not.
Actually, what Tartaglia said was the issue I was most worried about. I sighed deeply. But I couldn’t help it.
“I can’t help it, Lumine is coming to Liyue.”
Yes, Lumine is coming to Liyue. When she moved her area of activity, I, who had to assist her, had no choice but to follow along. It seemed like a very natural thing to me, but Tartaglia and Palm Seed didn’t seem to think so.
The two were silent for a moment, then exchanged glances. Mr. Palm shook his head with a wry smile as if he couldn’t stop him, and in the end, it was Tartaglia who opened his mouth.
“So… Does ‘Rumi ne’ refer to the woman she was talking about last time?”
“That’s right.”
Tartalia was silent for a moment. He tapped his fingers on the table and eventually took a drink. He said with his eyes becoming a little more serious.
“It’s not something an outsider would say, but… ….”
I looked at Tartaglia with eyes asking what I would refuse now. Then Tartaglia continued her words with her shocked face.
“…… “Aren’t you really into that woman?”
“Oh, no.”
She stuttered. Then Mr. Palm burst out into a light laugh, and Tartaglia ended up giggling as well. I didn’t know why these two were so interested in other people’s love lives.
I was grumbling and sipping my drink, and it was around this time that I had a few more drinks.
As if something suddenly occurred to me, Mr. Palm asked me.
“Now that I think about it… In order to advance into Liyue, there would need to be a building to use as a branch office. “How was that problem resolved?”
I groaned at Mr. Palm’s words. I was slowly getting drunk, but as soon as I heard those words, the calculator started pounding in my head. No matter how much I thought, there was no answer. I shook my head with a slightly downcast face.
“No, actually, that’s the biggest problem.”
No matter how branch it is, choosing a building to move into was something that had to be done with great care. This was especially true for Li Yue. Because Liyue people value prestige and respect, in order to do business in Liyue, you always have to worry about how you look on the outside.
So, the bigger the building, the better. So that no one can ignore it as a new top company. At first, you might hear that it wasn’t practical, but that was a problem that had to be solved over time. The urgent priority was to find a building that large, right in the middle of Liyue.
Liyue was the best trading port on the Tivat continent. There were many people who wanted to move into the building. Moreover, it was rare for a building of that size to come up for sale. Of course, if you wait, you will have to wait, and if you spend more time, you may be able to negotiate the conditions and sign a good contract. Because people who wanted to buy a large building were as rare as people who wanted to sell it.
But the problem was that I had to establish a base in Liyue before Lumine came. There were only a few months left until the Cheongsin Ceremony, and every second was a waste to settle down in Liyue within that time.
My head couldn’t help but be complicated. As it was, the only options available to me were to forcefully purchase the building, even if it meant paying a huge amount of money, or to start with a small building and increase its size. In the former, the losses were severe, and in the latter, it was obvious that it would have a negative impact on the speed at which the top was growing. Putting aside the issue of prestige, the size of the building also reflected the number of employees that could be hired and the amount of cargo that could be moved.
Tartalia looked at my distressed expression and just looked away for a moment. She seemed to be thinking about something, and then her mouth opened. However, his face was slightly flushed, as if he was slowly getting drunk. Even though it was only slightly.
“…… “I think I can solve that problem.”
I was intrigued by those words and immediately looked at Tartaglia’s face. He looked like he had thought of something interesting, and I liked it. At least Tartaglia was a person who didn’t lie.
“How? “How much time do you need?”
“Whoa, calm down. To be precise, all I can do is introduce you to someone who can solve the problem.”
Tartaglia was uncharacteristically humble, but it didn’t change the fact that she would be of help to me either way. I spoke in a slightly excited tone, perhaps because I was drunk.
“No, that’s enough! Hey, as I live, I see all your virtues.”
“…… Mr. Palm, is this a compliment?”
Mr. Palm just shook his head as if he couldn’t stop him. Tartaglia looked shocked for a moment, but then, as if she thought it didn’t matter, she smiled again.
“Okay, then I’ll prepare a place for you…” “Look forward to it.”
It was rewarding to have drinks from the first day I came to Liyue. I thought about just telling him what I was up to and complaining, but I clinked my glasses with a satisfied smile.
That night, I drank until I was drunk again. The next morning, Tartaglia and I were found sprawled out in the office of Northern Bank, reeking of alcohol. It is said that until then, Mr. Palm was sipping alcohol with an undisturbed posture and only a slightly flushed face.
I didn’t know if the real palm seed was a monster or even a god.
**
And a few days later, I arrived at ‘Yurijeong’ to meet the person Tartaglia had introduced. Speaking of ‘Yurijeong’, it is one of the best restaurants in Liyue where reservations have to be made half a year in advance. I thought I would like to visit it someday, but I never imagined it would come to this.
Who on earth could I introduce, but Tartaglia had left to go to work, leaving only one word for me to take care of myself. In the end, I had no choice but to nervously follow the guidance of the Yurijeong clerk.
I don’t know how many times I climbed the stairs, but before I knew it, I had arrived at a place where there was a solitary confinement room. I felt like my doubts were becoming deeper and deeper. Yurijeong was a place where it was difficult even to eat on the first floor. But who exactly are the people you have to meet in a solitary confinement in such a place?
When it came to Tartaglia, making a reservation at Yurijeong wasn’t even a task. Even he had to use a little effort to reserve a private room on the third floor. Therefore, it was correct to think that the opponent was at least on a similar level to Tartaglia or higher.
In front of the door, an old-fashioned Liyue traditional-style door made of paper, the waiter who guided me bowed his head politely. And then she began to walk down the stairs again at a brisk pace. I cleared my throat and opened her mouth.
“I will go in.”
There was no answer. It was tacit approval. I slowly opened the sliding door. It opened cleanly without even a creaking sound. It was a luxury product.
And inside, in a spacious, luxurious and old-fashioned room, there was a girl. Pouring sunlight, and a huge dining table. The girl sitting on her side was sipping her tea with her eyes closed, as if she had been waiting for me.
Light purple hair caught my eye first. Her hair was braided into two braids, and the knot was tied with string like cat ears. It was difficult to guess her age just by looking at her face. He looked to be around late teens to early 20s. Although her youthful spirit had not completely disappeared, she still had the air of a mature woman.
She quietly put down the teacup. A small sound rang out. And only then did her eyes open.
The eyes were a mixture of purple and pink. If the sun shines on the wine in the glass, it will glow like that. Those eyes were calm and deep. Her eyes darted across me. It was a skillful and natural response, as if he was exploring me.
He was a person who was used to seeing and judging others. This was a characteristic that only those in high positions had. There was no hesitation in evaluating someone. For this girl, such actions seemed very natural, and even showed a kind of skill.
I was silent. It was because I couldn’t guess her identity. He looks like he’s in his late teens or early 20s, but he gives off the air of a seasoned politician. I felt confused by the strange contrast.
As if she had taken my silence to mean something, she finally opened her mouth.
“My name is ‘Gakcheong’.”
A proud yet simple voice. As soon as I heard that name, I felt someone’s name passing through my head.
Yes, I have heard of it. Any merchant active in Liyue, or rather, anyone with any knowledge of the Tivat continent, was bound to hear that name.
“I am in charge of the ‘prison sentence’ for Liyue Chilseong.”
Liyue Chilseong, seven leaders who rule Liyue on behalf of the divine power. I swallowed dry saliva.
He was a big man. It was so big that it was bigger than I could imagine, so much so that my thoughts stopped for a moment.
Then, suddenly, I felt a thought strike me like a thunderbolt.
“…… Are you the ‘Siwoo’ that the executioner of the Wooindan mentioned?”
The eyes of each office were clearly wary of me. Yes, I did. I should have realized this from the last time I saw Gamwoo’s reaction.
Liyue Chilseong hated the Wooindan. This was something that not only Li Yue, but also the leaders of most countries except Snezhnaya had in common.
And the person who introduced me to each office was Tartaglia, the executive officer who could be said to be the flower of the Wooindan and the core of the core.
Furthermore, now I am a merchant from a foreign country with no ties to Liyue. At this point, I couldn’t help but think of Tartaglia’s smile that I had seen the night before.
You bastard, I gritted my teeth inwardly, thinking of Tartaglia laughing somewhere. But it was already too late.
I bowed my head and showed courtesy in front of each office looking at me with wary eyes.
“…… Yes, I am ‘Siwoo’. Although he is lacking, he is leading the top team.”
The place has been prepared and the die has already been cast. Now all that was left was to place a bet.