chapter_0660

660 – Asset Management Team

660 – Asset Management Team

After sending Ensia off, we returned to the park.

As we passed by the convenience store with Levinas, we spotted Gaeul inside.

“What is Gaeul doing alone?”

Gaeul was staring intently at the milk in the refrigerated section.

Just from her back, I could tell that Gaeul was deep in thought.

“Levinas, Gaeul is in the convenience store. Should we go in for a moment?”

“Yeah!”

I entered the convenience store with Levinas.

Until we got right next to her, Gaeul continued to gaze at the milk.

“Gaeul, what are you doing?”

“Chuin!”

Gaeul wagged her tail in excitement and pointed at the milk.

Specifically, she was pointing at the price tag under the milk.

“Ju-in Ikgumu-yak?”

“Huh? What?”

“Iggu.”

The price of the 200ml white milk that Gaeul was pointing at was 600 won.

It was originally 1200 won, but now it was half price.

All the other milk sizes were also on a half-price sale.

‘Closing sale?’

The milk was being sold at half price because it only had one day left before its expiration date.

I wondered why Gaeul was staring at the milk, and it seemed to be because of the price change.

“Gaeul, are you curious why this milk is so cheap?”

“Hek…”

“This is cheap because it has to be consumed by today.”

“Gu-ae?”

“Yeah. After today, you can’t drink it.”

With her ears perked up, Gaeul reached out for the milk.

Surprisingly, Gaeul picked up all the remaining milk.

Three 200ml bottles, two 600ml bottles, and one 1200ml bottle.

“Gaeul, are you going to buy all that milk? You have to drink it all today!”

“Naeng! Gaeuri damukkuya!”

Was Gaeul happy to buy the milk at half price?

Her spending was quite considerable.

There was a lot of milk, but there were also many in our family.

I decided not to discourage Gaeul from her purchase.

“Ju-in, Ikguba.”

“That’s a lot of milk, isn’t it?”

“Naeng!”

After buying the milk, we returned home as evening fell.

On the way home, Gaeul drank one of the 200ml bottles.

“Wow, you’ve already drunk one.”

“Ekhem.”

With white milk smeared on her mouth, Gaeul puffed out her chest.

It was her way of expressing pride in being able to finish all the milk today.

‘Can she really do it?’

After dinner, Gaeul drank more milk and shared some with her family.

Thanks to that, we managed to finish one of the 1200ml and one of the 600ml bottles.

Now, only one 200ml and one 600ml bottle remained.

However, Gaeul’s expression in front of the milk didn’t look good.

“Gaeul, can’t you finish all the milk?”

“Hek…”

“Then…”

I thought about asking the kids to drink it for her, but that didn’t seem possible.

Thanks to the delicious dinner we had just eaten, the kids were all full.

It seemed unlikely that they could fit milk in their stomachs now.

‘Should we throw it away?’

If Gaeul learned about proper consumption habits from today, it wouldn’t be a waste to throw the milk away.

I decided to stop Gaeul from pushing herself.

“Gaeul, if you’re full, you don’t have to drink it all.”

“······.”

Disappointed at the thought of having to throw the milk away, Gaeul’s tail drooped.

As I tried to comfort her, Bom approached first and spoke up.

“Gaeul, you only have to eat it by today, right?”

“Hek…”

“You still have four hours left today. How about waiting and drinking it later? By then, you might be hungry again?”

“······!”

Did she think it was a good idea?

Gaeul’s tail perked up again.

But unfortunately, there was one problem.

“We should be getting ready for bed soon, right?”

“Anya, Gaeuri anjakkuyak.”

“Really?”

She must be very sleepy.

I wondered if Gaeul could really hold out.

Just in case, I decided to try to stay up with Gaeul.

**

“Master, Gaeul, aren’t you going to sleep…?”

When it became nine o’clock, Haneul peeked her head out from behind the bedroom door.

Haneul looked half-asleep, her eyes half-closed.

“We’ll sleep a little later. Do you want to go to bed first?”

“Yes, but you should sleep early, okay?”

“Yeah. Got it.”

Haneul went to bed, leaving only me, Gaeul, and the adults in the living room.

Sofia, sitting in the massage chair, was watching us with a worried expression.

“Staying up late is only for today. Got it?”

“Yes.”

As I answered, I noticed that Gaeul’s voice was missing.

When I turned to look, Gaeul was dozing off.

She kept closing her eyes and then suddenly opening them wide.

Gaeul was desperately trying not to fall asleep.

“Gaeul, hang in there…”

Watching Gaeul nod off, I started to feel sleepy too.

As I drifted in and out of sleep, I suddenly heard a voice from beside me.

“Ju-in…!”

“Uh, yeah…?”

It was ten o’clock at night.

Gaeul, who had woken up, pulled out a 200ml bottle of milk.

She drank about half of it and then handed the other half to me.

“Iggu.”

“Thanks.”

I gulped down the milk that Gaeul handed me.

Now only one 600ml bottle remained.

As long as I drank it before midnight…

“Mmnya…”

Was it because it was so late?

My eyes began to droop.

It might be a good strategy to take a quick nap and then wake up in time.

Just a little bit of sleep…

“Wanga!”

“······?!”

Startled by Levinas’s sudden voice, I jumped up from my spot.

Was it already time to drink the milk? I looked around, but for some reason, I found myself lying on the bed.

“Wang is oversleeping!”

“Me…?”

I hurriedly checked the time.

It was eight o’clock in the morning.

By my standards, that was an incredibly late sleep.

Did I end up sleeping instead of just taking a short nap yesterday?

I shook Gaeul, who was lying next to me.

“Gaeul.”

“Ggaemmi…”

“···Gaeul?”

“······?”

At the sound of my voice, Gaeul slowly opened her eyes.

Just making eye contact with me as she woke up made her smile brightly.

“Gaeul, did you drink the milk and then fall asleep?”

“U-yuk… U-yuk?!”

Gaeul, still half-asleep, suddenly jumped up.

She hurriedly ran to the refrigerator and found the 600ml milk that had passed its expiration date.

“Oh no.”

She couldn’t drink it.

After all, it was too difficult for us to keep it until midnight.

“U-yuk…!”

Gaeul lay flat on the kitchen floor, shocked that she couldn’t drink the milk.

“This is completely kkaekkeudak.”

“···Kkaekkeudak.”

As I said that, Gaeul belatedly repeated “kkaekkeudak.”

It seemed she had forgotten the word due to the shock of not being able to drink the milk.

“Um…”

In fact, it would be okay if the expiration date was just a day past.

But still, if milk is consumed incorrectly, it can cause a serious stomachache.

Sadly, I decided to send the milk to heaven.

**

Drip, drip, drip—

We held a small milk funeral at the sink.

As the milk disappeared, Gaeul wore a rather solemn expression.

It must have been a big shock for her.

Just as I was about to offer some comforting words, Gaeul tugged at my clothes.

“Chuin, Ggaemmi?”

“Ah, yeah. Let’s go see the ants.”

Fortunately, Gaeul was a quick-to-recover child.

Before heading out to see the ants with Gaeul, I decided to meet with the Master for a moment.

‘The Master…’

Following the pheromones, I arrived at a place I had never been before.

‘Treasury Department… Asset Management Team…?’

What does the Asset Management Team do?

Curiosity piqued, I ran toward where the Master was.

“Investment failure?”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

The Master had his usual expressionless face, but there was a somewhat intimidating atmosphere around him.

Should I not approach him now?

Just as I decided to come back later, the Master turned his head and looked at me.

The look in the Master’s eyes was as kind as usual.

“Sir, what is this place?”

“Investment.”

“Investment?”

My tail perked up as I rushed into the Master’s arms.

It reminded me of a recent investment.

“Investment! I also invested in stocks!”

“Really?”

“Yes…!”

Just then, I took out my smartphone to check my stocks.

I had definitely invested in snack stocks…

“Whoa!”

The stocks had risen by an impressive 6%.

With such a significant increase, my ears and tail perked up.

Since my investment was one million won, the profit was sixty thousand won, but it felt different from the money I earned in the dungeon.

“Look, I made sixty thousand won.”

“That’s amazing.”

“······!”

A 6% return is quite impressive.

Maybe I have a talent for stock investment?

Feeling happy, I puffed out my chest.

“Sir, do you also do stock investments here?”

“Yes, that’s what this department does.”

“Then should I teach you about stocks?”

I said it with a bit of pride, then cleared my throat.

I shouldn’t be too arrogant…

“I think you should buy this.”

“I recommend this. The ramen here is really spicy but delicious.”

“Um…”

Our Master nodded at the Treasury Department staff.

It was a clear signal that he intended to make a purchase.

‘Wow.’

I was buying stocks in the Guild’s Asset Management Team.

It felt like I had become an important member of the Guild.

I sincerely hoped that the stocks we bought would rise significantly.

**

The next day.

After returning from the dungeon, I checked the stocks with a bit of hope.

It was the stock that the Master had recommended for purchase yesterday.

-4.3%

“······?”

Is it possible for stocks to drop more than 4% in just one day?

Isn’t it supposed to go up and down gradually?

I sat there with my mouth agape at the numbers dropping in real-time.

A word from the author (Author’s note)

Thank you so much for reading today!

Thank you for the comments and recommendations! They always give me strength!

Stocks seem really difficult…!