After the event, Jaeho returned home and immediately went looking for Wooram.
“Hmm? Capsule?”
When he asked how much Wooram had bought the Capsule for, Wooram took a while to recall.
“Was it about 500? Why?”
Jaeho frowned, letting out a groan.
According to what he’d heard from the two vendors, there wasn’t even a new product on the market, and even if you got a used one, 200 would have been more than enough.
But Wooram said he paid 500…
“It was Changho, right.”
Wooram had bought the Capsule from a member who went to the Gym.
Jaeho knew the guy well, too.
“I’ll have to talk to him.”
Even though he often bickered with Wooram, he couldn’t just sit back and watch his family get ripped off.
So that weekend, Jaeho went to find Changho at the Gym.
“Changho hyung.”
“Oh? Jaeho. You never show up on weekends these days, too busy gaming. What brings you here?”
“I just wanted to have a quick chat with you, hyung.”
Pause—
At those words, Changho’s face turned a little stiff.
He looked like he’d just been asked the scariest thing in the world—having a private chat with Jaeho.
“Alright.”
But perhaps he had something on his mind too, because in the end, he relented and followed Jaeho outside.
***
Jaeho stepped out onto the rooftop and got straight to the point.
“I heard you sold a used Capsule to my dad.”
“…I did.”
“But I found out recently—it’s an extremely old model.”
“That’s right. I’m not exactly sure, but it’s probably one of the first models ever made.”
Changho admitted it readily.
“A specialist told me the price was…”
Plop—
Thud—
Suddenly, Changho dropped to his knees in front of Jaeho, slamming his forehead to the ground.
“I—I’m sorry!”
“Uh, what…?”
Changho’s straightforward admission left Jaeho feeling confused.
If this was how he was going to react, why did he lie about the price in the first place?
“I wanted to get a better one for him, but there was nothing I could do! The director kept nagging, ‘Why spend that much money on a piece of junk like that…’”
“W-wait a minute.”
Jaeho hurriedly cut him off, caught off guard by the unexpected story.
“What are you talking about?”
“Huh? Weren’t you going to complain that I sold you a cheap Capsule?”
Would anyone really complain to the seller about selling them a cheap product?
“.…By the way, how much did you actually sell it for?”
Jaeho started to feel inexplicably uneasy.
Had he taken Wooram’s story too seriously…?
“I sold it for 500,000 won.”
“…Not 5 million?”
“What? Are you crazy?!”
It was such a ridiculous thing to say that Changho even called him crazy to his face.
“That’s something even a scammer wouldn’t do! Besides, no one else even wanted that thing.”
“…Ha.”
Finally, Jaeho realized.
The 5 million was just an exaggerated number made up by Wooram’s bluster and desire to look good.
Jaeho decided not to bother Wooram about it.
After all, he had made an effort to get something so they could play the game together.
As for Changho, who’d been dragged here and threatened, Jaeho considered buying him dinner as an apology, but he had a different request.
“Let me join the Jerluck Association.”
“…What? Why that place?”
“Huh? It’s the hottest Guild these days. Do you know how hard it is to get in?”
“…No way.”
But in truth, it was Jaeho who was mistaken.
Recently, the Jerluck Association’s reputation was soaring.
The Guild wasn’t especially big in terms of numbers.
Three hundred members was a lot, but in the New World, there were plenty of Guilds even larger.
But what mattered was that those three hundred belonged to a place not just anyone could enter.
Elysia Garden!
The country ruled by the very first Player King, and city of Elves and Spirits.
Just being able to stroll around there (if you could call it strolling) was a form of power in itself—a strange city where status was everything.
If you could step foot into that forbidden sanctuary, joining the Jerluck Association was worth it.
But the requirements for joining were rather tough.
There were several conditions…
- Luxi Forest starting point
- One month living in Luxi Forest
- Completion of Breeze’s Elf special lecture
You had to satisfy all three steps before you could become a member.
“But I’m stuck on the first one.”
Unless you were a complete newbie with no clue, no one would want to join such a crazy Guild as the Jerluck Association.
Asking to get in through connections didn’t make sense to Jaeho.
Besides, he didn’t actually run the Jerluck Association, so he couldn’t just invite people as he pleased.
“I feel like if I ask, they’ll let you in right away, but…”
He didn’t want to abuse his power like that.
“By the way, if you know any good people, could you introduce them?”
In the end, Jaeho decided to find Breeze.
After all, he’d seen Changho stumble down the stairs with a mild concussion.
“If you’re a real ex-thug, why’d you slam your head that hard…?”
Since Changho got hurt because of his misunderstanding, he figured he owed him at least that much.
“Of course! The only reason we even exist is thanks to Alicia-nim! We’d be happy to grant such a request!”
As expected, Breeze accepted without a second thought.
Such terrifying loyalty!
“But if he turns out weird, just kick him out.”
“Huh? How could we do that? Shouldn’t we treat him like a VIP?”
“No, absolutely not. Just kick him out if he doesn’t meet your standards. No need to keep him around if you’re not satisfied.”
“Hmm… Understood.”
Breeze looked puzzled, but it was too embarrassing for Jaeho to explain the situation in detail.
***
The groundwork for building the human residential area in Elysia Garden was complete.
But just as they were about to start construction, a problem arose.
“We don’t have enough funds…”
Giant spoke, his face grave.
The 1 million Gold they’d earned from defeating Angler.
And now, only about 300,000 Gold remained.
It was still a lot for a personal fortune, but for a national treasury, it was nothing.
Worse, the human residential area covered an even larger area than Elysia Garden.
They couldn’t even import construction materials from Luxi Forest anymore, so everything had to be purchased, and they simply didn’t have the money for that.
“So I was thinking—how about we try something new?”
“Something new?”
“Yes. As long as Alicia-nim’s Elysia Garden is left untouched, what happens in the human residential area doesn’t matter, right?”
“That’s true, I guess.”
Jaeho had no reason to care what happened there.
The only place he was emotionally invested in was Elysia Garden.
“So, I’m proposing… real estate! We sell land and let buyers build their own buildings.”
“…Yes.”
An idea he never could have imagined!
Who would’ve thought they’d hear about real estate in a game?
No, to be precise, it wasn’t possible.
No one else owned as much land as Jaeho did, and as for the Bear Kingdom, the cities were already fully developed.
Even if the Bear Kingdom played the tyrant, they couldn’t just evict citizens from their homes.
But Jaeho’s situation was different.
It was still empty wilderness.
“But the problem with this plan is that the borders of the territory are unclear.”
“True…”
The territorial dispute with Rasel Kingdom hadn’t been resolved yet, and running a real estate business across the entire Fermasa Desert was impossible.
“…But maybe that’s actually a good thing.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Jaeho spread a map on the table.
“Currently, Elysia Garden has a city-wide Buff active, right?”
[All vegetation growth is enhanced by a Buff.]
[All Elysia Garden residents gain increased status ailment resistance.]
These were the two types of Buffs currently in effect citywide.
Of these, the one with real appeal for Players was the second.
“If the range of this Buff is wider than we think, why not sell the land within its area? We can just ignore the rest.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea.”
Giant agreed.
“And if a dispute with another nation arises…”
Wouldn’t the people who paid for the land defend it themselves?
The ‘meat shield’ joke he’d told the Elves as persuasion was about to become a reality.
“Well, that’s…”
Giant was left speechless.
“Haha. It is a bit much…”
“Actually, it’s brilliant. Ha.”
“?”
Was he always this kind of person?
“Would you like me to handle this matter?”
“Oh, of course. You’re the only one with the skills to properly divide up the land.”
“I promise not to disappoint.”
And so, the first real estate auction in New World history was planned.
“Oh, and those people might be useful too. They may have failed, but they’re still experienced.”
“Huh? Are there other experts?”
“Yes. The NPCs from Kingdom of Deran.”
What to do with them had been a constant dilemma.
They’d been taking lessons from Breeze to settle here, but they weren’t really cut out for the hard labor that the Jerluck Association handled.
Still, they had skills that no one else did.
Experience running a nation!
Even if it was a failed one.
“At least someone like Jul-kan seems quite competent…”
He decided to use this opportunity to put them to use.
***
While Giant prepared the real estate auction, Jaeho gave priority land rights to Mei and Samantha, the Founding Contributors of Elysia Garden.
But the two had an unexpected response.
“I’m fine.”
“I’m the same.”
They refused the land he offered.
“Even if it’s free?”
“Huh? It’s free? In that case…”
“Ahem, then I suppose…”
Their answers changed immediately.
“Hey, what about me?”
Wansik’s protest when he heard the news.
“You can get it if you pay.”
“Why do Mei and Samantha get it for free but I have to pay? I’m your only friend!”
“That’s how countries get ruined. How can you compare yourself to Mei and Samantha?”
Jaeho snorted.
“Be grateful you got your position thanks to your connections. Look at the Jerluck Association folks—they went through hell to get in, and you don’t even have the entry badge.”
“G-geez…”
Wansik was at a loss for words, struck by Jaeho’s harsh truth.
He knew deep down that he’d just gotten a free ride.
“But give me a title someday, alright?!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
After pacifying him, other people rushed over after hearing the news about the land.
It was none other than Kru, Sang, and Master Jukjang.
Each was in the middle of important trades and quests, but they dropped everything and hurried over.
“R-real estate? What do you mean?”
“Real estate in New World…? I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”
Both of them had promised to settle in Elysia Garden.
But now, being told they had to pay for land left them feeling wronged.
“It’s hard for us if you suddenly change the terms…”
Creak—
At that moment, the flower shop door opened, and Giant entered, accompanied by a wrinkled old man.
“Ahem, first, I ask that you both calm down. Once you hear the explanation, you’ll see there’s no need to get upset.”
Giant spoke in a calm voice to the two of them.
“Giant.”
“You’re not saying…”
The two realized it was Giant who had caused Jaeho’s change of heart.
“Ahem, please hear me out. This was specially arranged by Alicia-nim for your sakes.”
Giant showed them a map, with the land divided into sections at regular intervals.
“As you can see on this map, the plan is to sell the land by section. And you two will be given priority, as long as you pay the standard price.”
“But didn’t Alicia-nim already make a promise? If you take that back now, it could be a serious blow to our mutual trust!”
At Kru and Sang’s protests, Giant shook his head.
“There’s something we need to clarify here.”
With that, Giant looked at the old man who had come in with him.
“Then, if you please, Jul-kan-nim.”