18. Colosseum.

Yu-eun smacked his lips and returned to his seat.

It seemed the ladies were in a bad mood because he brought Lara along.

 

 

No, they just haven’t been in a good mood lately.

It felt strange to see them react like this even with a favorability of 100.

 

 

Still, it didn’t particularly bother him. It was a bit annoying, but he felt like he was dealing with real people, so he could even say he liked it.

 

 

“But you see.”

As he sat down, the Chairman opened his mouth.

Personally, Yu-eun had as much interest in middle-aged men as he did in the nucleus of an atom, so he wasn’t thrilled. Still, he figured he should at least save face for a man who was more powerful than most presidents, so he turned his gaze to him.

 

 

Of course, if he rubbed him the wrong way, there would be no mercy.

 

 

“I heard that Yu-eun-ssi has only been an adventurer for a few months. If you don’t mind me asking, could you tell me the secret to building such a strong force? Ah, I’m just curious. I may be the chairman of the Dungeon Cooperation Organization, but I don’t sell information or anything.”

“That’s rude.”

“….”

 

 

He asked a rather lengthy question, but all he got in return was a simple, curt answer.

The Chairman’s patience cracked a little.

 

 

But he couldn’t afford to lose his temper. The other party was not someone to be trifled with.

No, not just someone to be trifled with, but if he assumed Yu-eun had over 5 million in both attack and defense, he was someone you shouldn’t make an enemy of. He’d be five times stronger than Agnes, who had the highest defense known to exist. And that was just in terms of attack power.

 

 

Of course, in reality, it wasn’t quite five times as much.

 

 

In any case, he managed to hold back his anger and smiled.

When dealing with someone who acted so recklessly, it was important to maintain a poker face. You never knew where things might go wrong.

 

 

 

Just as he was about to say something new, Yu-eun spoke first this time.

 

 

“Hey, you over there, you don’t look so good. Should I call a healer for you? Or a potion? They can even cure diseases like cancer, so something as simple as not feeling well would be a piece of cake.”

 

 

However, he wasn’t talking to the Chairman. He was talking to his secretary, Hera.

It was a natural result, in a way. Yu-eun wasn’t interested in men at all.

 

 

“I, I’m fine.”

 

Hera didn’t want to get involved with Yu-eun, so she refused as politely as possible.

She didn’t want to get involved with him in any way. It was only natural if she wanted to live a normal life.

 

 

“Haha. Hera-yang is a bit shy. Please understand.”

The Chairman chimed in again.

Yu-eun stared at him silently before letting out a deep sigh.

 

 

“Hey, old man.”

“O, old man?”

“I have a question for you. Will you answer it?”

“…What is it?”

“I got a bill in the name of the Dungeon Cooperation Organization the other day. What was that for?”

“A bill?”

 

The Chairman looked at his secretary, Hera.

She cautiously replied, “Could it be the membership fee?” Even as she said that, she was watching Yu-eun’s reaction like a frightened rabbit.

 

 

“Ah, the membership fee….”

 

 

All profits from dungeons and dungeon cities are taxed under the guise of ‘world peace and prosperity.’ That tax doesn’t go to the national or local governments, but to each branch of the Dungeon Cooperation Organization. In the case of the Harem Palace, it earns enormous profits in Gangnam, several places in Seoul, and Tokyo, so the membership fee to be paid is astronomical.

 

 

As he declared when he appeared on Japanese television, Yu-eun had no intention of paying at all. Was he crazy to pay over a hundred billion won? Especially when there were no benefits to be gained.

 

 

 

The Chairman had heard his declaration, so he opened his mouth rather cautiously.

 

 

“As you know, there are still many people living in hellish conditions around the world because they can’t suppress the monsters. Enormous funds and power are needed to save them and stabilize each country. To cover these costs, we collect membership fees from the relatively stable dungeon cities in developed countries. Please understand.”

“Oh, is that so? Then I’ll do that rescue work, so let’s just forget about the membership fee.”

“…Pardon?”

“You haven’t done much in the last three years anyway. I’d rather use that money to suppress the monsters in the ruined countries, drive them into dungeons, save people, stabilize the country, build centers, and so on. No problem, right?”

“Well….”

His words flowed like a clear stream.

 

 

It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it, but that was precisely the problem. Yu-eun’s power was already growing to the point where a single branch couldn’t handle it (even though the Korean branch was a very large one), and if he was dispatched to countries around the world and secured legitimacy, he could become a major obstacle for D10.

 

No, even what he had already declared was undermining D10’s prestige in real time.

 

“Now that you mention it, I can do it.”

 

 

Yu-eun gestured to one of the maids standing at the edge of the VIP seats.

 

“Yes, Master.”

“Call Seo-hyun for me.”

“Yes.”

 

 

Of course, Yu-eun wasn’t going to do anything himself, so she was the one actually running the event.

Therefore, she was busy.

 

 

But Yu-eun’s call took precedence over everything else, so she ran over in a flash.

 

 

“Select about 200 maids and prepare them for overseas dispatch.”

“Overseas dispatch?”

“Yeah. There are still a lot of neighborhoods that are real-time hellgates.”

“There are more of those places than not.”

“Let’s stabilize them one by one, starting with the cities that have dungeons as bases.”

“You want to expand your power.”

“If you’re an emperor, shouldn’t you have influence over all nations?”

“That’s absolutely right. I’ll start preparing right away.”

“You don’t have to do it right away. Let’s finish the event first. You can do it later. There’s also the problem with Japan. Just set aside a budget for it.”

“Yes.”

 

 

Seo-hyun stepped back, and only then did the Chairman come to his senses.

 

 

“N, no, you can’t just do that!”

“Just do that? Why are you interfering, old man, when I’m just using my own money as I see fit?”

 

The Chairman cursed a million times in his head, but he didn’t show it on the outside.

 

 

‘That arrogant bastard. He’s openly trying to expand his power in front of me?’

 

 

It would be nice if he could at least sugarcoat his words, but there was none of that. Just a straight, blunt attack as if he was ignoring him.

 

 

“Anyway, that’s how it is, so don’t send me any more bills. And don’t even think about trying to take anything from my territory.”

“If the Exchange is suspended, Yu-eun-ssi will suffer a considerable blow, won’t you?”

 

In the end, that was all he could say.

The Exchange was also connected to the world market based on D10’s mediation, so without D10’s help, it would be difficult to obtain or sell items.

 

 

“That’s for me to worry about.”

 

 

But Yu-eun simply ignored him.

If the door closed, he would just have to make the market create a new door.

 

 

Among the businesses Yu-eun owned were companies that made finished products such as weapons and armor, and if he put in a little effort, he could produce products with much higher efficiency than the items currently being produced in the world.

 

And if those items started selling only in the Harem Palace’s territory, people would have no choice but to enter the Harem Palace’s territory, which would be the starting point for another source of revenue.

 

 

In fact, cutting off the Exchange would be more profitable in the long run.

 

 

 

“Oh, and since I’m not paying the membership fee, I’m automatically withdrawing from the Dungeon Cooperation Organization. Got it? I’m done talking now, so you can go. The puking noona can stay, though. You don’t look so good. You should drink a potion before you leave.”

“What the-.”

 

 

Just as the Chairman was about to say something in a fit of anger, Sonya, who was sitting with the Yunas in the back, came up to Yu-eun and whispered to him.

She had to go to work now.

 

 

Yu-eun held her hand tightly and kissed her forehead.

A completely dismissive act towards the Chairman.

 

 

The Chairman was beyond angry; he was dumbfounded.

 

‘Is it okay for me to get angry about this?’

 

 

He asked himself the question and looked at his secretary.

 

 

She shook her head.

 

 

She shook her head desperately.

He looked at the Korean branch manager beyond her, who raised both arms and crossed them.

 

 

As a last hope, he looked at Agnes, the European branch manager, beyond the Yu-eun couple, who were now even making out, and she thought for a moment before quietly shaking her head.

 

 

‘What? It’s not okay to get angry? Isn’t this enough to get angry about??’

 

 

It was an incomprehensible situation.

He could understand Hera being afraid since she had been frightened since the first time she saw Yu-eun, but what were the Korean and European branch managers’ reactions all about?

 

 

No, let’s take a step back and say he could even understand the Korean branch manager. He didn’t understand it, but let’s just say he did.

 

 

What was Agnes’ reaction all about? Wasn’t she the most assertive and domineering person of all?

In any case, she was under the Chairman, and the fact that the Chairman was being ignored was the same as her being ignored.

 

 

She was not a woman who would ever let herself be ignored, yet she was shaking her head, telling him not to get angry.

 

‘…Could it be that she also felt something from Yu-eun? Or did they have some kind of connection in the last month…?’

 

 

Her recent actions had already been strange, and with this situation on top of that, he couldn’t help but be suspicious. But there was nothing he could do about it.

 

 

‘Anyway, three people are saying no… I don’t understand, but I should back down. There must be a reason.’

 

 

Fortunately, he wasn’t an idiot.

Whatever the reason, if a level 5 scout, a national branch manager, and a continental branch manager were all telling him not to do something, he shouldn’t do it.

 

 

In the end, he calmed his uncomfortable feelings and decided to back down.

 

 

“Well… now that we’ve settled that, let’s at least watch the colosseum.”

“Oh, really? Then do as you please.”

Yu-eun, who had just seen Sonya off, answered indifferently.