The conversation with Chairman Kang Ryuseong ended there.
Even if I wanted to talk more, his worsening health made it impossible.
“The doctor says one month is the critical point.”
“Not much time left, then.”
“Considering how conservatively doctors speak, I’d say the real time left is probably two to three months.”
Two to three months.
In the worst case, one month.
After Chairman Kang Ryuseong dies, the shares he holds will be absorbed by me.
To avoid any backlash afterward, I need to prepare now.
I have to perfectly stabilize Kangseong Foods.
I need to enter new businesses and secure enough funds.
I must also prepare to redirect the iron ore currently supplied to Kangseong Steel elsewhere.
I cannot show them even a single weakness.
I was thinking about all the things I needed to do the moment I got back to the company when—
“What did you talk about with Grandfather?”
Han Yeri, sitting beside me, stared straight into my face and asked.
Well, of course she’d ask.
“The deal I mentioned before.”
“What did he offer you?”
“The remaining shares of Kangseong Foods that Kangseong Group holds. To be precise, it’s a sale at market price rather than a full transfer.”
It would have been nice if it were a complete transfer, but he didn’t seem willing to go that far.
He’s basically telling me to prepare that much stake money as an ante.
“That’s going to cost quite a lot.”
“Yes, so I need to earn like crazy right now.”
“Don’t you have a lot of places money is going out to right now? Can you handle it?”
“I have to make it work even if I can’t. If I fail, I can’t move on to the next step.”
And no matter how conservatively I calculate, I’ll still have plenty left after devouring everything.
Han Yeri looked at me for a while, then spoke.
“President Kang.”
“Yes.”
“Would you ever consider joining hands with me?”
Joining hands.
I could tell the scale of the “joining hands” she was talking about this time was on a completely different level from before.
She’s someone with huge ambitions.
The Han Yeri I’d observed was a true businessperson.
She harbored intense greed inside her, and that greed could never be satisfied with something like Kangseong Hotel or Shinsegae Department Store.
“We have the same goal. So how exactly would we join hands?”
In that sense, joining hands with her held no real meaning for me.
No, in the future she would be an enemy I’d have to stab in the back, so joining hands now was actually carried more risk than not doing it.
Perhaps sensing my wariness, Han Yeri shrugged and said,
“President Kang, it seems there’s one misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Yes.”
Han Yeri spoke firmly.
“It’s true I want Kangseong Group. But the reason I want it is what matters.”
“And what is that reason?”
“Revenge.”
The word that came out of her mouth was quite unexpected.
At the same time, it piqued my curiosity.
I shifted my posture, and she drew a line at an appropriate point.
“I can’t tell you everything. But I can say this clearly: I hate that family. I want to see that family torn to pieces.”
What she wanted was the downfall and destruction of the Kangseong Group—the Han clan itself.
“Taking Kangseong Group was just one method of that revenge.”
“I understand what you mean.”
If she gained control of Kangseong Group, she could do whatever she wanted with it.
Separate affiliates, sell them off—whatever.
She could shake the entire group in her hands.
“So that’s why you stayed quiet when I swallowed Kangseong Foods.”
That’s why she had been pleased when I crushed former president Han Kyungsook.
“Yes. I didn’t show it at the time, but I was very satisfied. And this time, I became certain.”
“Certain of what?”
“That it might be impossible alone… but with you, President Kang, it is absolutely possible.”
Something that was impossible with her power alone becomes possible with me.
That realization led Han Yeri to make this offer.
That much I could accept.
“I understand. But I still don’t see what benefit I would gain from it.”
“Isn’t there one very obvious benefit? If we work together, you can move Kangseong Hotel and Shinsegae Department Store however you want.”
Han Yeri, who until now had only played a supporting role, would now actively operate those businesses to help me.
That alone was certainly a big merit.
But it still wasn’t enough for me.
“In the current situation, the one in need isn’t me.”
“You really are insanely greedy.”
“That greed is exactly what brought me this far. And even if my greed were smaller, the result would have been similar.”
Kangseong Hotel and the department store would probably have moved for her goal whether I asked them to or not.
So saying that operating those two companies is a big return for me is a little lacking.
Han Yeri thought a bit longer, then placed one more thing on the negotiation table.
“How about putting both companies under Ribbon Corporation? Would that be enough?”
“…You’d hand them over completely?”
“Yes.”
Having Han Yeri actively run them for me is similar to putting them under me, but also different.
Because it would allow me to expand the businesses much faster.
“As long as I get my revenge, I don’t need these companies. I already have more than enough money anyway!”
“Is it really that much?”
“Yes. That much.”
Han Yeri said resolutely.
“Nothing else matters to me except driving Kangseong Group to ruin.”
***
Walking into the house, I mulled over Han Yeri’s proposal.
Take your time to think about it. Just know that I’m completely serious.
“Kangseong Hotel and Shinsegae Department Store…”
If I put both under me, I could grow Ribbon Corporation at a much faster pace.
Of course there are concerns.
If the scale suddenly becomes too large, there will be many openings for attack from all sides.
“There’s a lot more to think about now.”
The pile of things I have to do is mountainous, truly mountainous.
Just thinking about the mountain of tasks ahead made me desperately want a break.
[The 1st Apostle is seeking the Master of the Dimension.]
“Alright, alright. Wait just a little longer.”
But this damn system doesn’t even consider its master’s feelings.
It just keeps rushing me.
[Because the time dilation ratio remains the same, nearly one year has already passed in that dimension.]
“So you’re saying it’s been almost a year since you last called.”
[Correct.]
“If it’s not urgent, then it’s not another problem… Is it about the other race?”
My guess was spot on.
We have secured all information regarding the alien race that previously invaded us.
“Good work. Was there anything particularly special?”
We have data on their racial characteristics that we have closely analyzed. Would you like to review it?
“Summarize it for me. I’m a bit too tired right now to go through everything one by one.”
Understood. We have tentatively named this race the Aquatic Folk.
So they’re called Aquatic Folk because they live in water.
While the Aquatic Folk can live on land, they generally live in water. Their bodies are also structured to be suitable for aquatic life.
“Water, water…”
In our dimension, the ocean takes up a considerable portion of the map.
But until now that ocean has only existed; we had almost never utilized it.
At most, villages near the coast secure food by fishing.
“If we can control that race, we can also utilize the underwater area, right?”
Anyone who knows knows—underwater resources are enormous.
Just harvesting kelp or seaweed would yield a huge amount, and beyond that… there’s oil.
Oil. Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.
“So? Did it look like we could bring them over to our side?”
After speaking with the apostle of that race, it seems possible if certain conditions are met.
“What are the conditions?”
That their race be treated without discrimination and that they be granted the right to act freely.
Those are things I can grant.
I was about to say we should make a peace treaty when—
And that their religion be recognized.
“…Recognize their religion?”
Yes. They say they worship a God of Water.
Looks like the apostle of the Aquatic Folk, like the blood demons in the past, arose naturally.
It’s fortunate they haven’t met a master from another dimension yet.
Recognizing their religion, huh.
“That one’s going to be difficult.”
Recognizing a new religion is the same as letting them escape my control.
Since an apostle can wield new authority, there’s always the risk of rebellion if things go wrong.
“Let’s renegotiate that point.”
Understood. If negotiations fail, what should we do?
“Hmm.”
The utility value of the Aquatic Folk seems high enough.
It would be a waste to just wipe them all out.
Then…
“They’re not on my side yet, are they?”
They haven’t entered the boundary of “us.”
So they’re enemies.
No need to show mercy.
“Cut off the apostle’s head, brand the rest as slaves until they swear to serve me, and work them. You may feed them poison so they can be killed at any time, or strike them with divine punishment to subdue them—whatever works.”
M-Master of the Dimension?
“But treat those who serve me exactly the same as the Tinyfolk. That will solve everything.”
We sow internal discord among them.
This method plants the seeds of discontent and anger.
But after a few years, a few decades, a few hundred years—across generations—their thinking will change.
Those who believe in and follow me will live in abundance, while those who cling only to their own god will eventually writhe and die in darkness.
In the end, only those who believe in me will remain.
We shall obey your command.
The Tinyfolk apostle was momentarily taken aback, but only for a moment.
They are always on my side, my loyal subjects.
[The Tinyfolk have eliminated all apostles of the alien race (Aquatic Folk).]
[A portion of the dimensional energy has been acquired by the Tinyfolk.]
[A special change is occurring in the Tinyfolk.]
[Dimensional Farmer is being selected.]
Not long after I gave the order, every apostle of the Aquatic Folk was dead.
That part was within expectations, but what came next was not.
“Dimensional energy… flowing into the Tinyfolk?”
[It has been confirmed that part of the energy possessed by the apostles has flowed in.]
“Huh, so that’s how the Dimensional Farmer profession was born?”
[Correct.]
Dimensional Farmer.
The second special profession after Apostle.
I immediately activated Dimension Observation and unfolded the map.
On the wide map, a pillar of green light rose from the ground.
The Apostle’s pillar came down from the sky, but the Dimensional Farmer’s light rises from the earth.
The Tinyfolk who became the Dimensional Farmer immediately raised prayers toward the sky repeatedly.
“That’s probably their way of saying thank you, right?”
It’s a pity I can’t speak with anyone who isn’t an apostle.
I’ll just accept the sentiment.
“System, what can a Dimensional Farmer do?”
A special profession should come with special abilities befitting the title.
My heart pounding with anticipation, the system brought up the relevant information.
[Only one Dimensional Farmer can exist at present. The maximum number can be increased by spending additional funds.]
[When a Dimensional Farmer is nearby, the quality and yield of surrounding crops increase.]
“So it’s a special unit specialized in food production.”
Still, this feels… a little plain.
Have my standards gotten too high after seeing Apostles and High Apostles?
“No, this is still really good. Producing more food than now means…”
[Additionally,
The system added belatedly,
[Plants personally cultivated by the Dimensional Farmer are imbued with a blessing and are not restricted by dimensional travel.]
And finally revealed the most important fact.