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Chapter 199
“The Golden Sovereign and Golden-Horned Dokkaebi. Are they related in any way to your life?”
The moment I said those words, the room we were in, the CEO office, completely changed. The rectangular room became a golden space made entirely of gold.
[The Guardian ‘Golden-Horned Dokkaebi’ declares a Guardian Exclusive Space.]
CEO Song’s irises turned slightly golden.
‘This is
’
It couldn’t exactly be called ‘descent’. So what was an apt way to describe his state?
‘Half
 descent?’
I couldn’t determine exactly what it was from a single glance, but I could approximate what it was.
“You must have made a contract with a Guardian named the Golden-Horned Dokkaebi.”
“That’s right, I did.”
This contract might be one that used CEO Song’s life as collateral. For example, a contract where immense sponsorship was offered in exchange for his lifeforce.
‘It’s because of that contract that the 68-year-old CEO Song could grow this much.’
“Since when have you known?” he asked.
“From the very beginning.”
“The very beginning?” He laughed. “Surely not. I wasn’t the Golden Sovereign from the very beginning, and certainly not when we first met.”
This old gent. He was sharp.
“When we first met, your level was 11, and you had the innate abilities Charisma and Pressure. Which you used to pressure me.”
“...”
“Am I wrong?”
“You’re exactly right.”
“When we met the second time, your level was 31. Your class and contracted Guardian were already decided at that time.”
CEO Song only stared at me with his golden eyes. Hm. Why was this field established, and why were we talking within it?
“At that time, I was sure of it. That the Golden-Horned Dokkaebi, the Golden Sovereign class, and you, these three key words, were closely connected.”
“What kind of connection are you talking about?”
“There’s no doubt that you gave something in exchange for levels, for your growth as a Player. Because that is what the System seeks.”
“An interesting deduction.”
“That something may have been something physical.”
I gave CEO Song a close look. He was maintaining a perfect poker face—his face betrayed no emotion. But when I observed with Observer’s Eye, I could see that those golden eyes were trembling ever so slightly. Because my level was higher than his, and because Observer’s Eye was more powerful than his poker face, I could read him a little more precisely.
“Your life may have even been taken as collateral.”
“...”
CEO Song gazed at me wordlessly, then said with a laugh, “You’re exactly right.”
“I will not ask why you made such a contract, sir.” CEO Song surely had thoughts and plans of his own. “It’s just that I want to help you.”
“You want to help me? How come?”
“Because I want Sungshin’s backing, of course?”
“Isn’t my quick departure from this world actually better for you? Kiyeol would inherit Sungshin. Aren’t you and Kiyeol close?”
“Only if you gave Guildmaster Song Sungshin in its entirety.”
“You think otherwise?”
“I think you wouldn’t have pitted the two siblings against each other if that was your plan.”
CEO Song had no intention of passing on all of Sungshin to Song Kiyeol. In the past, he passed at least half to Song Junghye and returned the rest to the country
 or so it was said. Naturally, there was a lot of gossip about it, but that was the public story.
CEO Song smiled lightly in amusement. “An excellent analysis. You’re almost like my darn son.”
By son, he was referring to President Song Kicheon, who died in a plane crash several years ago. I remembered him as someone who was renowned as an outstanding individual and a genius who would inherit Sungshin as CEO Song’s only son. It was a little inappropriate for me to say anything after the deceased was brought up, so I just kept my mouth shut.
CEO Song seemed to pick up on the awkward mood, because he changed the topic a little.
“Right. You’ve figured me out exactly and have perfectly read the current situation.”
“...”
“I’m sure you didn’t make this meeting just between us in order to show off your insight.”
His eyes darkened. He had already clearly noticed why I asked to talk to him alone.
“You have a precise understanding of the situation and have said you want to help me, so I’ll speak honestly. I currently have [Red Flower Tears] buried in my chest.”
“...”
“It’s lodged in my heart. Even I don’t know when it will act up. If it ever will.”
“You will die within three years.”
CEO Song’s eyes widened, showing that he was finally surprised.
“You know about Red Flower Tears?”
“Yes.”
“Hoh.”
Most people in the future I was from didn’t know about it.
“It is information I gained when I cleared the Predator Tree Colony with the Barrier Magician Ahn Seohye.”
“Predator Tree Colony?”
“There, I met [Rapundel’s Grievance], who gave me the information.”
The CEO’s eyes suddenly returned to normal, and the room that had become a golden field went back to its original office form. When I mentioned the ‘Predator Tree Colony’, the ‘half-descent’ state was automatically dispelled. I didn’t know how they were connected.
I continued. “Red Flower Tears is a disease where the afflicted weeps tears of blood and dries out, eventually dying.”
“...Exactly.”
“Since there’s no cure, the afflicted person dies within three years. It’s a terrifying disease.”
“I see that you truly know many things and are acquainted with a world I do not know. I am sincerely surprised. I’m being sincere right now. The more I come to know you, the more you amaze me. To the point that I myself scorn my pathetic discernment when underestimating you in the past.”
At least from the future I was from, Red Flower Tears was a disease with no cure. But I had a clue regarding the treatment.
[Map of the Predator Tree Colony, Addended]
A Predator Tree Colony is a forest with many Predator Trees. Rapundel’s father made a Predator Tree Colony for his daughter because ‘Predator Tree Seeds’ were known to be effective against ‘Red Flower Tears’. An artificially created ‘Predator Tree Colony’ has a lifespan of three hundred years at most. The Predator Trees are unable to maintain the ecosystem for longer than that and perish.
‘Predator Tree Seeds
 are very effective against Red Flower Tears.’
It didn’t mean the seeds were a full cure.
‘But maybe if the disease hasn’t even fully awakened yet
’
With colds, you could avoid most symptoms by catching them early. With cancer as well, early diagnosis and treatment often led to a good prognosis. Maybe Red Flower Tears was the same?
‘I think it should be possible to treat the disease with Predator Tree Seeds somehow.’
I showed the CEO the Map of the Predator Tree Colony. The gleam returned to CEO Song’s eyes. I could see he was greedy for it. I stowed the map back in my Inventory.
“I have shown you all of my cards.”
There was no such thing as free. I wanted to help CEO Song, but I had no intention of doing volunteer service.
“What kind of contract did you make with the Golden-Horned Dokkaebi? Why did you go forward with this contract, even at the cost of your life?”
“Well
”
“Are you bound to secrecy?”
“No, it’s not that.”
After a moment of thought, CEO Song began to speak.
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Lei
Proofreader - Ash
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* * *
Song Junghye bit her lips. As soon as she left the executive office and got in the elevator, she rounded on her brother, Song Kiyeol.
“That jerk, just what the hell is he?”
“...”
“Who does he think he is, to put me down like this? Did you put him up to it?” She already knew the answer.
“No. I didn’t know he’d do that, either.”
“Do you hear yourself? You’re the one who set that meeting up! You’re gonna deal such a low blow?”
“...”
Kiyeol didn’t say anything. In terms of the result, it was true that this was a low blow.
‘This situation
 was drawn out by Kim Hyukjin.’
Kim Hyukjin purposefully created and directed this scenario. He knew exactly what he, Kiyeol, could not do, and did his duty for him. Junghye was his little sister, but she was also his competitor. And in this war, he could not always be good and kind.
‘He also
 knows that I’m weak towards Junghye.’
That was why Hyukjin implemented such a drastic measure.
“...to me?!”
Lost in his thoughts, Kiyeol had zoned out for a moment. He heard Junghye’s piercing voice again.
“I said, are you listening to me?!”
“I’m listening. Lower your voice. The elevator door will open soon.”
“So this is how you’re going to do things? Then I have plans of my own.”
“Overly extreme conflict and methods aren’t right.”
“Do you think you have the right to say that to me right now?”
“...”
Kim Hyukjin probably knew Junghye would be this enraged. Junghye was dancing on Hyukjin’s palm right now. Kiyeol believed that his little sister was absolutely no match for that man.
‘Junghye.’
He gazed at his sister not with the eyes of a competitor, but the eyes of an older brother.
“That look. It disgusts me.” The elevator door opened. Song Junghye continued under her breath. “I’m your competitor. Not your fucking sister.”
She pushed him aside and strode out. She was mad. She hated Kim Hyukjin, the leading culprit of this situation. But she hated that pitying gaze of her brother even more.
‘How dare he? He’s just a foolish dreamer.’ How dare such a pathetic person pity her? ‘I’m your competitor, damn it.’
She wasn’t his sister. They were supposed to compete. But it infuriated her even more to see her competitor look so half-baked like that all the time. He was like this, yet he schemed with Kim Hyukjin to do such a dirty thing? It was unforgivable, absolutely unforgivable.
She got into the car waiting at the entrance and made a phone call to someone.
“Yes. Kim Hyukjin. From today onwards, record everything that jerk does and where and report it to me. In real time. And call Jung Sangchul. Yes! Do I need to repeat myself?! I said, call Jung Sangchul!”
She called her left arm, the Poisoned Dagger Jung Sangchul.
* * *
I listened to CEO Song’s entire story. I, too, had no idea the CEO cared this much about his grandchildren.
‘Golden Sovereign.’
The Golden Sovereign had the ability to maximize the talent of another person by consuming his ‘fortune’. At the same time, the Golden Sovereign himself could grow quickly, making this an Irregular class.
‘When CEO Song passed away
 there was a rumor of a slush fund.’
At the time, there was no announcement that his death was caused by Red Flower Tears. CEO Song’s funeral was carried out in utmost secrecy.
‘It wasn’t a slush fund
 but money used to nurture his grandsons and granddaughter.’
That seemed to be it. The current Song Kiyeol, Song Junghye, and even the youngest Song Jinchul
 Before CEO Song died, he offered the flames of his life and fortune to nurture the three of them.
‘No wonder.’
Kiyeol was doing admirably, but he was still a little lacking to be called a top-class Ranker.
‘Even more so for Song Junghye.’
The current Song Junghye was basically a fledgling, far short of deserving a moniker like ‘Blood and Iron Queen’. What about Song Jinchul? I heard he recently became a Player, but I had no measure of his skills.
‘I see, he forcibly awakened and enhanced their talent.’
Rather than seeing it as an act of love for his grandchildren, it was because he judged that one’s ability as a Player was very important to lead Sungshin into the future. The CEO of the current time period had already determined that one’s competence as a Player was essentially power in the dawning age, and so, he made a bold investment with his very life on the line.
‘That’s how much he loves Sungshin.’
Okay. I was clear on the situation now. Then the next step was a ‘trade’.
“As I said earlier, I want to help you. If only for the fact that I know of a drug effective against Red Flower Tears.”
“...”
“I also know of a field where many Predator Trees can be found. To be precise, I have a clue about it.”
“Really, just how much do you plan on surprising me? Is there anything you don’t know?”
Originally, the first person to discover the ‘Predator Tree Colony’ wasn’t me, but an Italian Player, the Wargod Salvatore. The reason why I was able to clear the Predator Tree Colony was also because he, the Player who still hadn’t shown up, had cleared it first.
‘The reason why he hasn’t appeared yet
’
It might have a lot to do with me.
‘...is because I became the Conductor of Sound’s favorite.’
The Conductor of Sound either hadn’t discovered Salvatore yet, or the Guardian wasn’t giving him wholehearted support. It was very likely it was one of the two.
‘But I have a close relationship with the Conductor of Sound.’
I even had a map from him.
[Map of the Battlefield]
A once-fierce battlefield. The crossroads of the living and the dead, the victorious and the defeated.
This is a map that guides you to the ‘Battlefield of Crows’.
The Conductor of Sound.
The Wargod Salvatore.
The ‘Predator Colony’ that was first found by Salvatore.
The map the Conductor of Sound gave me.
The ‘crossroads of the living and the dead’ mentioned in the map.
Was there really no connection between them?
‘There might not be, but there also could be.’
It would be best if they were connected, but it was fine if they weren’t. I would be able to draw a new picture if I could make good use of this situation and manage it nicely.
‘I should be able to find
 the Predator Tree Colony Salvatore cleared, too.’
That was up to me. Now that I had charted the path, all I had to do was fill in the lines.
“Let’s make a trade.”
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