While John and the employees were grinding themselves to the bone, I wasn’t exactly lounging around either.
“Been a while, Rick.”
“I was starting to think you got shot somewhere and died quietly.”
“Why would I get shot?”
“You didn’t seem to fear guns, so I figured you’d take one eventually.”
“Anyone who takes a bullet dies without even screaming—how could that not be scary?”
Midday on a café terrace.
Rick and I traded meaningless banter over coffee.
I watched him dissolve sugar into his espresso and spoke.
“That’s why I’ve been hustling to raise the business funds.”
“So you’re finally ready?”
“Tell me where to start. I’ll work through them in order.”
Rick tilted his chin.
The hulking man behind him stepped forward and handed me a document envelope.
Inside were five sheets.
Rick downed his espresso in one gulp.
“Start with those.”
“Outskirts of New York.”
“I need to see what you’re actually capable of first.”
A pilot case.
Nothing bad for me.
It’s better to start small, accumulate capital gradually, rather than swing for a huge building right away.
“Fine. We’ll do it that way.”
“Did you look into construction companies?”
“I’m in the middle of it. Several have recently been on the verge of bankruptcy. I’m willing to invest in or acquire them.”
“You move fast.”
“If I’m slow and end up shot, who do I blame?”
“Klk klk, fair point.”
Rick stared at the road for a moment, then said,
“I know a guy who runs a construction firm. Want it?”
…This bastard.
He’s telling me to swallow a company run by one of his own subordinates?
Is he insane? That’s obviously poisoned.
“Unfortunately, that won’t work.”
“And if I say you have to?”
“Then everything might go to hell.”
“Ho?”
“Rick Edman.”
I looked him straight in the eye.
“If you think I only made money these past few days, you’re gravely mistaken.”
Rick is greedy and has a tendency to dominate people.
He won’t like treating me as an equal, and I already know he wants to control me.
“Individually they won’t be fatal blows, but they’ll make you extremely tired.”
“A threat?”
“I’m telling you it’s the minimum safety measure.”
Right now, Rick is my business partner.
As long as we’re doing business, we are equals.
Neither of us can be the superior party.
“Things built by force can collapse by force. Things built with money, however, are solid.”
I gave Rick a firm warning.
Our relationship is an equal transaction.
Never cross the line.
Rick finished the rest of his coffee and stood.
“You’ve got a sharp mind. And you’ve set up those little tricks too.”
“I’m glad you noticed.”
“We’ll talk about whether to keep using that construction company after I see the results.
If the buildings you raise are half-assed, our conversation changes.”
Look at this guy.
He’s planning to nitpick any flaw to force me to use his company.
I had a bad feeling there would be a lot of noise.
“Do whatever you want. But sabotaging it even if you like the result won’t end well for either of us.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Rick climbed into the limousine waiting ahead and left.
I watched him go, then slowly exhaled.
“Nothing ever goes easy, does it?”
Dealing with Rick felt like walking a tightrope the entire time—my lifespan probably shortened a few years.
I’ll wait and take him down in one clean hit.
Rick isn’t someone to keep around long.
Use him just enough, then the moment he becomes unnecessary—pull him down.
Preparations and countermeasures for that were already in progress.
One step at a time.
Until the rope tightens around his neck, I just have to do my job.
I left the untouched coffee, took only the documents, and stood up.
On the walk back to the office, I carefully reviewed them.
“Two buildings that are basically ruins, two rundown apartment complexes, and one usable office building.”
How I redevelop these five properties will shape everything moving forward.
***
It’s nighttime here and I’m off work, you know that?
“Then you come work here too. It’s daytime on this side.”
You’ve lost it. Our president has completely lost it!
“Shut up. You slept in this morning instead of me.”
Hehe, how did you know?
Ugh, that infuriating woman.
Yuha had temporarily shifted her schedule for communication with me.
She handled Ribbon Corporation internal reports and tasks in the afternoon, then talked to me in the evening to sort out things on my end.
I’m taking a massive vacation once this is over, just so you know.
“Do whatever. We have plenty of money—come to the U.S. if you want.”
If I go there I’ll just end up working, so I’m going to Europe. It’ll be quiet there.
“We’ll see when you get there. Did you check the documents?”
We finished the small talk and moved to business.
As someone who reads the room well, she switched to serious mode instantly.
I reviewed them.
The owner names on the buildings aren’t Rick Edman.
He probably put them under other people’s names.
“Preparing for when something goes wrong.”
According to the lawyer’s report, he actually owns around 20 buildings.
Real estate rich.
“Most of them are probably falling apart, right?”
Yep. King of the beggars, king of the beggars.
If Rick heard that, he’d put a nice clean hole through Yuha’s head.
I smirked and moved on.
“Compile that info neatly. We’ll need it later to screw him over.”
Already collecting everything.
If we’re going to smash the back of his head, we have to be thorough.
This would be part of the material to trip Rick up and bring him down.
Later we just tip off the IRS and it’s over.
“I’ll let you know the timing. We’ll clean it up then.”
They say in America the IRS is scarier than the police or the military.
Hide assets or evade taxes and you’re on a one-way trip to the afterlife courtesy of their bullets.
No wonder even drug traffickers pay their taxes diligently.
“How about the construction companies? Did you check their willingness?”
Yes, I looked.
“What about their project histories?”
I can’t confirm if they’re real, but they’re definitely not amateurs. Whether they’re scammers is for you to judge in person. You’re good at that.
“True.”
I can tell at a glance whether someone plans to stab me in the back.
But President.
“Yeah.”
The stone, steel, and concrete needed for construction… can we really get them that cheap?
Yuha’s tone was full of doubt.
Where exactly is the company getting money to source those?
“Don’t worry. It’s the same place we got wheat from.”
…I’ll trust you to handle it, but if it looks like we’re going into the red, pull out fast. We can always remake the program.
“No worries.”
I’m saying this because I’m worried.
Do you even realize how many hundreds of people are riding on your shoulders right now?
We never meant for you to stay this long! Do you know how busy it is here?!
Just Ribbon Corporation alone has dozens, but after swallowing Kangseong Foods, there are really hundreds of employees under me now.
I suddenly realized—damn, I’ve been working my ass off.
“I’ll wrap it up cleanly and come back.”
I’ll reorganize the construction company list one more time and send the materials.
Finish the contracts, then start construction immediately.
“Thanks.”
If you know, raise my salary.
“You already have the highest salary in the company.”
I hung up and rubbed my eyes.
So far everything had gone exactly as planned.
For it to keep rolling smoothly, it was time to manage the dimension I’d left alone for a while.
“System.”
[Do you have orders?]
“Gather the First Apostles and enter dimension observation.”
[Summoning the Apostles.]
The land of the dimension I hadn’t seen in ages had developed tremendously.
It was incomparably larger than before, and the cities had expanded to at least 1.5 times their previous size, with visible farmland growth.
And one thing stood out even more.
“What the hell are those?”
In the First City, the Academy, and the Holy Land—three massive statues had been erected in each city.
One gazed down upon the world.
One held the three races on its open palm.
The last sat on a throne, preaching something.
They were solemn and majestic statues, but since the model was me, they were incredibly embarrassing.
“When did they build these?”
I knew the Tinyfolk were dexterous, but I never imagined they’d use it here.
With spare time and freedom, they must have gained the leisure to create art.
While I was examining each statue, the voices of the First Apostles rang out.
We greet the Master of the Dimension.
“Yeah, been a while. No major incidents?”
Thanks to the Master’s constant care, there have been none.
“Good to hear.”
It felt like over a hundred years since I last checked, so I’d been worried.
But seeing them grow so well on their own made me proud.
Still, there were things to confirm.
“How are the Aquatic Folk doing?”
As per the Master’s previous instructions, we spread the faith to them.
Now all Aquatic Folk believe in and follow the Master of the Dimension.
“There must have been some who resisted?”
We heard there were some generations ago, but none exist now.
The gap between harsh punishment for resisters and sweet rewards for followers was huge.
And since they had no reason not to follow me, their old religion had died out.
“So how are the Aquatic Folk living now?”
Most have settled beneath the seas of One Direction.
“What about their original dimension?”
They say the water quality was worse than One Direction, so they migrated.
One Direction is constantly managed by me, but their old dimension only has naturally spawned apostles.
I suspect the dimensional energy has been steadily depleting, leaving it barren.
“That worked out well. So the Aquatic Folk follow me too?”
Yes.
“System, appoint a deeply faithful Aquatic Folk as an apostle.”
[Appointing an apostle.]
A pillar of light fell into the sea.
Once that process ends, a new First Apostle will be born among the Aquatic Folk, and control over them will grow stronger through that apostle.
“The Aquatic First Apostle is equal to your First Apostles. Treat them as such.”
We receive your command.
There’s a lot to learn about the Aquatic Folk and much to discuss with the First Apostles, but I moved to the next topic.
“Blood-Noble First Apostle.”
Speak.
“Explain the current level of advancement in steel and construction technology.”
Understood.
Most of the Academy is occupied by the Blood Nobles.
Their learning ability has gradually advanced technology.
As a result—
We have developed techniques to smelt iron and create objects from it.
These technologies include…
They had developed casting and forging.
They could now separately produce pure iron, wrought iron, and steel.
And alloy research was underway.
“Impressive.”
Not at all. We merely follow fragments of the knowledge possessed by the Master of the Dimension.
“Well… sure.”
It’s the world’s knowledge, not mine personally.
But since it was transmitted through me, from their perspective it looks that way.
At this rate of progress…
Maybe, just maybe.
I can reach the desired level without pouring in massive funds?
A new calculation formed in my head.
And that calculation showed considerable profit.
My mouth is watering.
With this project—
I might just achieve the greatest profit of all time.