Ch.130130. America’s Courtship

“Finally, I meet you, Suhyun.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Pleo. An SS-rank hunter from the American Hunters Association.”

“Ah.”

There were a total of 4 bidders in the auction.

Two people who purchased the hair loss treatment, Samut who bought the Greatsword of Madness, and Kellin who purchased the Elixir.

I decided to give the auction participants a chance to meet with me privately if they wished.

It’s a VIP auction, after all.

This VIP auction is, in a way, quite an exceptional situation.

About 4 days ago, I suddenly announced the creation of a VIP tier and told people they could join by paying 10 billion won.

I even told them I didn’t have enough items to justify the 10 billion, so they’d only get 9 billion in mileage—a 10% loss—but they could still participate if they wanted.

Despite creating such an unreasonable system, these valuable customers willingly joined and participated in the VIP auction, creating record-breaking winning bids.

The reason I hadn’t met with previous auction bidders was simply because there were no restrictions on entry, even though they had paid for tickets.

These people are important clients who will continue to use Gwangjin Distribution and, by extension, Farming Company in the future, so I’m meeting them to make acquaintances.

Besides, I’ve now somewhat publicly revealed that I’m the one supplying items to Gwangjin Distribution.

“So you were the second buyer.”

Pleo lost both the Greatsword of Madness to Samut and the Elixir to Kellin.

Normally, he wouldn’t have had a chance to meet me, but he was the one who purchased the second hair loss treatment.

Nearly 30 billion won.

“I understand you haven’t joined a guild yet.”

“That’s correct.”

“Does that mean America still has a chance? May I interpret it that way?”

Pleo threw out quite a sharp question.

Full of confidence, as expected of an American SS-rank hunter.

Still, something felt a bit awkward.

“How much would you offer to convince an SS-rank hunter to join, if I were to consider this approach?”

“…I received a signing bonus of about 500 billion won.”

At first, I was somewhat excited.

Team Leader Kim Jin-hyeop had said America would make an offer I couldn’t refuse, but nothing had come after that.

How much should I expect?

What if they really surprised me with an offer I couldn’t turn down?

My expectations had grown to the point where I couldn’t even trust myself.

Honestly, hearing it now was a bit disappointing.

All this vague talk about “having a chance” was just empty words.

His tone seemed to suggest, “You’ve been waiting for me, haven’t you?”

In fact, hearing him speak that way made whatever little interest I had disappear out of spite.

It felt like he was treating me as his subordinate.

“Isn’t that amount a bit too small to leave for?”

“…”

“Do you know how much I just earned?”

“Over 2 trillion won. Congratulations.”

“I was honestly curious. What kind of amazing offers does America make that causes S-rank and SS-rank hunters from all over the world to naturalize there? Do SS-rank items somehow reproduce through some kind of magic? I wondered what precious items they would offer me. You haven’t presented your actual offer yet, have you?”

“…”

Pleo’s expression hardened slightly, as if realizing something had gone wrong.

“America’s infrastructure and benefits…”

“SS-rank items. Just tell me how many you’re offering. Oh, by the way, I’ve already obtained an SS-rank ring through my deal with Kellin.”

“…”

“Nothing more to say?”

It might seem rude, but I needed to make my position clear from the start.

Maybe if this were me just after discovering the Rift Dimension, things might have been different.

With the full support of a global superpower like America, I might have more easily built a system to sell Rift Dimension resources to the world.

But at this point, when I’m making money as easily as typing numbers on a keyboard, there’s absolutely no need to seek America’s help or protection.

Today’s auction made me realize something clearly.

Just by sitting still and putting items up for auction, the world’s top hunters and wealthy individuals come begging me to sell them resources and items.

Pleo, having nothing more to say, stood up.

But he didn’t simply retreat.

“It seems our association’s experts severely underestimated your value, Suhyun. Far, far too low. I apologize for any discomfort caused by our lack of understanding. I’ll return with a proposal more aligned with what you want.”

His slight smile revealed Pleo’s character.

He is an SS-rank hunter after all.

There was even a subtle jab about abandoning India for America.

Despite being essentially rebuked to his face, he smiled, apologized, and withdrew gracefully.

A personality I could never possess.

Is this how America manages to entice so many hunters?

Even someone like me, who has no intention of going there, might think “America doesn’t sound so bad” after meeting someone like him. Imagine what a hunter who’s already considering it might think.

And if their home country happens to make a blunder during such considerations, they’d probably stamp those immigration papers immediately.

Anyway, that’s how my first meeting with America ended.

It seemed to take quite a long time, but not much came of it.

The second meeting was with George Wilren.

He was a businessman.

Despite being in his 50s, he had a youthful face, tall stature, and sturdy build.

His straightforward personality was evident as he immediately smiled and offered his hand.

“So you’re Suhyun. Currently the hottest man in the world.”

“Congratulations on escaping baldness.”

“Hahaha! Thank you, my savior. Thanks to you, I won’t have to endure mockery about my hair on social media anymore. Hair transplants and medications are actually meaningless. Hair loss is the worst disease that destroys hair.”

George Wilren sprayed the hair loss treatment on his head right there.

“Is this the right way to do it?”

“Make sure to spray every drop.”

“According to the video, my hair should grow by tomorrow morning when I board my plane.”

“That would look even funnier. Why not just shave it all off first?”

“Oh! That’s a good suggestion.”

Smiling, he told his secretary to prepare clippers.

“Suhyun. I do a lot of business.”

“Yes, I’ve heard.”

“Your hair loss treatment. This isn’t the end, is it?”

George Wilren asked, as if testing the waters.

I played along.

“Of course not. But the value of your permanent hair won’t decrease. Unless it’s the hair loss treatment from the auction, people will need to apply the product every year.”

“Oh my God! I knew it… I want to invest. I can help you. For decades, I’ve been saying I would create a hair loss treatment to save all bald people, and I’ve been investing in it. You just need to join forces with me. Shares, investment funds, everything will be tailored to you. I just want my name on your hair loss treatment.”

Wilren spoke almost pleadingly.

It was almost ridiculous how transparently he revealed what he wanted.

“You want to be the savior of bald people?”

“I want to be the John to your Messiah.”

Well, it might not be a bad deal to let him put his name on it in exchange for worldwide recognition and distribution through George Wilren, a global billionaire.

He would promote it worldwide without me having to do anything, and he would open distribution channels all over the world without me having to build the infrastructure.

But Farming Company didn’t need that.

“I met with the Hunters Association before coming here.”

“Oh. Did they make you an offer?”

“Do you know what I told them?”

“That you’ll go to America?”

“No. I said, ‘Bring as many SS-rank items as you can first. If I like what I see, I’ll accept your offer.'”

“…”

“The hair loss treatment seems like it will sell well without your help. Seeing as you came all the way to Korea to buy it. So if you want something, bring SS-rank items too.”

“…”

George Wilren laughed heartily.

“Hahaha! As expected of an SSS+ rank hunter!”

He seemed to have some lingering regrets, but quickly cleared them away and stood up to offer a handshake.

“I’ll try to procure some and contact you.”

A clean exit.

Next was Samut, the new owner of the Greatsword of Madness.

A Middle Eastern prince.

Owner of oil money.

Surprisingly, he appeared to be in his early 30s, and as soon as he entered, he showed more interest in the greatsword than in me.

“Wow. Amazing. Perfect. From the options to the design. Exactly my style.”

“…”

Why did he want to see me if this was all he cared about? If he just wanted to receive the item, he could have done it through the Hunters Association.

After about 10 minutes of caressing the greatsword like a lover, Samut finally looked at me and asked seriously:

“Do you have anything else?”

“…Pardon?”

“S-rank or higher armor. I don’t mind if it has magical properties. Same goes for accessories. I really wanted the Elixir too, but do you plan to put more up for auction if you have extras?”

“…”

“I think we’ll be good friends. I’ll be visiting Korea often from now on. I should learn Korean.”

Samut.

This guy seemed even more eccentric than me.