“Faith…… those are truly precious words. I, too, while leading the Taeseong Guild, consider trust and faith to be more important than anything else.”
Kyung Taeyoung spoke with sincere respect.
“As Sang-woong-ssi has given us the first opportunity, I promise here that our Taeseong Guild will repay you with the utmost trust and faith.”
The deal was concluded in a perfectly pleasant manner.
With this, Sang-woong was able to completely escape the problem of the enormous cost of procuring food and supplies due to the population increase of Earth.
After that, the two continued their pleasant drinking session.
Since Sang-woong had prepared a place to stay for the night anyway, the siblings Kyung Taeyoung and Kyung Yoon-seul enjoyed the Elf Liquor without any burden.
“Really. This is a truly delicious liquor. I only learned today that such a drink exists in the world.”
Kyung Taeyoung marveled again and again at the Elf Liquor.
The mysterious effect of fatigue disappearing and the mind becoming clear the more one drank was a bonus.
As the pleasant drinking session continued and everyone was feeling a nice buzz, Kyung Taeyoung carefully brought up a question he had kept in his heart for a long time.
”Excuse me… Sang-woong-ssi. It might be rude to ask a Hunter such a personal question… but may I ask how strong Sang-woong-ssi is?”
Kyung Taeyoung had always been curious about Sang-woong’s overwhelming skill, having suppressed dozens of Lee Dojin’s gang members single-handedly.
The strength of Sang-woong, who was young and whose daily life consisted only of running a restaurant, was a mystery in itself.
Sang-woong fell into thought for a moment.
There was no need to reveal everything about himself, but there was no reason to lie either.
Kyung Taeyoung must have had some idea after the incident with Lee Dojin’s organization.
“Perhaps… I would be among the top ten Hunters in the Republic of Korea?”
Sang-woong answered calmly.
In fact, Kyung Taeyoung was not greatly surprised by Sang-woong’s unexpectedly calm answer.
This was because it was a level he had already anticipated to some extent.
“As expected…… I see. I roughly expected as much.”
Kyung Taeyoung nodded and carefully asked Sang-woong the next question.
This question was a request that was by no means easy for him either.
“By any chance, Sang-woong-ssi, do you have any intention of working as a mercenary?”
In a situation where he had to receive a stable supply of highly valuable Potions, it was a very delicate matter to request a dangerous Dungeon raid from Sang-woong, the supplier of the Potions.
If he offended Sang-woong, even the precious business relationship they had just established could vanish.
However, Sang-woong was not offended at all by Kyung Taeyoung’s proposal.
Rather, he looked at Kyung Taeyoung, who made such a proposal, with eyes full of respect.
As a veteran Hunter in the Hunter industry, Sang-woong knew better than anyone.
The peaceful daily life that people enjoy now was never free.
It stood precariously upon the blood, Earth, and sacrifice of Hunters who blocked Dungeons that were like time bombs that could explode at any moment.
Most Hunters earned money in exchange for risking their lives to enter Dungeons.
Naturally, the most important things to them were profit and safety.
It was a natural phenomenon that Hunters flocked only to Dungeons where the rewards were certain compared to the risk level.
Hunting monsters efficiently there and recovering Mana Stones and Dungeon byproducts became the main purpose of the profession of Hunter.
But the world did not only have such safe and profitable Dungeons.
There were also Dungeons where the monsters’ strength was more powerful than their rank, or where the terrain was harsh and the climate was extreme, making the clearing difficulty ridiculously high and resulting in constant casualties.
Furthermore, many of these Dungeons were ‘unprofitable’ because the value of the Mana Stones obtained from the monsters was low or rare byproducts did not appear.
This was exactly where the problem lay.
Dungeons that were only dangerous and not profitable were bound to be thoroughly ignored by Hunters.
The Association tried to manage them somehow, but since Hunters were extremely reluctant to enter and the budget to be invested was limited, these Dungeons were virtually left neglected.
The monster density of Dungeons that were not cleared in that way reached a saturation state, eventually leading to an unavoidable Dungeon Break.
But not everyone ignored it and ran away.
As Sang-woong had in the past, and as Kyung Taeyoung before him was doing now, someone had been risking their life and being prepared for sacrifice to block these dangerous Dungeons.
Kyung Taeyoung carefully revealed to Sang-woong that he was one of those few Hunters, and as a Guild Master, it was his duty to ask an overwhelmingly strong Hunter like Sang-woong to clear a truly difficult Dungeon that everyone else ignored.
His eyes contained a sincerity and a sense of responsibility as a Hunter to take responsibility for the safety of citizens, beyond the profits of the guild.
Sang-woong fell into deep thought for a moment while receiving Kyung Taeyoung’s sincere gaze.
In his head, the days he lived fiercely as a veteran Hunter in the past, the tragic death he met while blocking a Dungeon Break that everyone ignored, and his current goal of reclaiming a peaceful life and protecting Earth after his Regression quickly flashed by.
When he first returned to this world, he hadn’t the slightest intention of ever setting foot in those tedious and horrific Dungeons again.
But now the situation has changed.
Through the power of ‘Earth’, he gained an overwhelming power that he could not even imagine in his previous life.
And that power was becoming stronger at a phenomenal speed even at this very moment.
With that power, he was protecting his ‘Earth’ and its residents.
But suddenly, a fundamental question arose as to whether it was right to use this immense power only to protect his own territory.
What was most desperate and regrettable in his previous life was the experience of no one stepping forward at the moment when the help of strong Hunters was needed.
If even one person had joined in at that time, the sacrifice of countless Hunters could have been reduced, and he himself would not have been so lonely and struggled so much.
Kyung Taeyoung’s proposal touched upon Sang-woong’s deep concerns.
“I understand, Guild Master.”
Sang-woong slowly opened his mouth.
His voice was low, but a steady firmness could be felt.
“If there is… a very difficult Dungeon that any other Hunter is reluctant to step into… please contact me then.”
Kyung Taeyoung had a dazed expression for a moment at Sang-woong’s unexpectedly cheerful and heavy acceptance, then was soon unable to continue speaking due to overwhelming joy and emotion.
If a Hunter like Sang-woong, who might even be the strongest in the Republic of Korea, were to help, and especially if he took on the most dangerous and avoided Dungeons, it would be a tremendous help not only to the Taeseong Guild but to the entire Korean Hunter industry.
Sang-woong had essentially made a declaration that he would take responsibility for the worst Dungeons that everyone else ignored, going beyond just being a mercenary.
“Really. Thank you so much, Sang-woong-ssi. I will never forget this favor… for the rest of my life!”
Kyung Taeyoung said in a voice filled with emotion and tightly held Sang-woong’s hand.
Their handshake contained a meaning of deep trust and promise beyond a simple transaction.
***
The next day at noon, the siblings Kyung Taeyoung and Kyung Yoon-seul spent the night in the guest house prepared at Sang-woong’s villa and departed for Seoul.
Kyung Yoon-seul seemed to want to stay for a few more days, but Kyung Taeyoung, who as an older brother would not allow his youngest sister to stay out for long, practically dragged her away.
Instead, Sang-woong specially packed a bottle of Elf Liquor for her, who was feeling regretful.
Kyung Yoon-seul accepted the Elf Liquor with a happy expression as if she had the whole world.
After the Kyung siblings left, Sang-woong left the operation of the restaurant to Lee Miju and rented a large warehouse nearby.
Because of the large number of Elves and the time of Earth flowing ten times faster than Earth time, he required a massive amount of food ingredients and supplies.
Since there were also external eyes, he couldn’t order such a large amount of supplies directly to the restaurant.
Now, he planned to order large quantities of supplies to this warehouse and take them to Earth by storing them in his Inventory whenever necessary.
And another big change occurred at the Gentle Breeze Restaurant.
Half of the restaurant tables were changed to ‘Reserved Seats’ along with new nameplates.
Lee Ji-an, who entered the restaurant for lunch, looked at the reserved seat nameplates on the tables and asked Sang-woong.
“Oh? Ahjussi, do you take reservations at the restaurant too?”
“No, this is… a special place for the children in need around here.”
Sang-woong answered with a benevolent smile.
He had promised Kim Junsu.
That he would provide a warm meal whenever they were hungry and create an open space where children could play comfortably and sometimes even go camping.
However, he encountered an unexpected obstacle in keeping this promise.
It was because as rumors spread that the food at the Gentle Breeze Restaurant was so delicious, the number of customers increased enough to wait in line during lunch time.
If this happened, a situation could arise where the children who were actually hungry might feel self-conscious or have to turn back because there were no seats.
Accordingly, Sang-woong immediately changed half of the restaurant tables into reserved seats for them without hesitation.
It wasn’t a restaurant started to make money in the first place.
It was just a restaurant opened as a hobby and to practice goodwill, but as the number of customers unintentionally increased, it only added more work and hindered the original purpose.
So, he took this opportunity to stay true to the original purpose and completely changed them to reserved seats.
“Wow… Ahjussi. You are truly wonderful!”
Lee Ji-an looked straight at Sang-woong, enough to make him embarrassed, and praised him sincerely.
“No, well… It’s not something I started to get praised for. I just did what I should do as an adult.”
Sang-woong scratched the back of his head as if he were shy.
Even he, who fought wars with monster armies, felt awkward at the innocent praise of a teenage girl without realizing it.
“Ahjussi, by the way, do you know you’ve become a popular star at school?”
Sang-woong tilted his head at Lee Ji-an’s unexpected words.
“A popular star? Me?”
“Yes! You cleaned up all the school bullies back then, and thanks to that, the school atmosphere has become really peaceful! Since you showed such a strong example, even the other kids who said they could fight a bit have all become quiet, and even the teachers who used to act vaguely are now definitely paying attention!”
Lee Ji-an chattered with sparkling eyes.
Come to think of it, Lee Ji-an and Gu Eun-woo were also attending the school that Kim Junsu went to.
No wonder Gu Eun-woo’s eyes had been sparkling when looking at him lately; it was all for this reason.
“Haha, a popular star. I just… did what I naturally had to do as an adult.”
Embarrassment was still evident in Sang-woong’s voice.
“That aside. How is the YouTube going?”
Sang-woong intentionally changed the subject to hide his embarrassment.
However, as if this were a mistake, the corners of Lee Ji-an’s eyes, who had been smiling brightly, sharpened in an instant.
“No way…… Ahjussi, were you not watching our channel?!”
The Minky and Leon Happy Story channel was growing faster than Sang-woong had imagined and was establishing itself as a popular animal YouTube channel with over 200,000 subscribers.