Ch.24Salary Thief (2)

“Trying to beat me with forum posts? Not a chance.”

Despite having a lot to do, I couldn’t forgive her for delegating the top administrator position without considering the consequences.

Even though it was essentially close to hiring me, using money to force me into submission was unforgivable.

‘This will teach that woman just how crazy her actions were.’

She acted without thinking about the consequences, so why should I have to consider them?

Fine then, let’s go ahead and advertise how close we are to everyone.

I boldly sent Eterna a proposal asking whether she would accept the remaining administrator position, threatening to maintain the ban until she accepted.

In other words, it’s called “press ganging.”

What? You don’t want to be an administrator? Then live with being banned.

It was a powerful threat that only I, as the top administrator, could make.

I closed my MagicPad with a huff.

“M-Midir…”

Seeing Razak’s expression that seemed to ask what on earth was going on, I let out a deep sigh.

How should I explain this?

‘I can’t exactly explain that she just tossed me the admin role because she had nothing better to do…’

Would he even believe me if I said that?

I’d be fortunate if he didn’t look at me strangely.

“I’d like to meet Dmitri.”

“…Yes, understood.”

The amount of money I’d extracted from Eterna this time was substantial.

Simply handing over this money to the children who manage the Blood Magic Tower’s funds would be tantamount to disrespecting the Council of Elders.

It would be best to at least consult with Dmitri about this matter.

After all, he holds the highest position in the Council of Elders.

Nodding at my request to meet Dmitri, Razak guided me to the Council of Elders.

He seemed to think it wasn’t appropriate to ask for an explanation about what had just happened on the forum.

He probably believed I would inform everyone later through an announcement or something.

Yes, that’s better.

I was planning to tell them later anyway.

Even if it wouldn’t be the whole truth.

…

“W-Welcome, Blood Tower Master.”

“I heard you called for me…”

As soon as I arrived at the Council of Elders, the elders who were already seated welcomed me.

Dmitri in particular was looking at me with a mixture of curiosity about my sudden visit and a strange sense of anticipation.

‘What’s with this speed…’

I hadn’t come up slowly; I’d taken the elevator straight up following Razak, but when did they all take their seats?

Surely they couldn’t have used teleportation magic the moment they heard I wanted to meet the elders?

Blood Mages can’t use that kind of magic.

The only other conclusion was that they spent most of their time sitting in this room.

‘No way.’

How could anyone spend all day sitting at this dreary round table?

Well, from my perspective, it was fine since I didn’t have to wait, but still.

“Ahem, it’s been a while. I’m glad to see everyone looking healthy.”

“Hehehe… It’s all thanks to Midir’s boundless grace.”

“If it weren’t for Midir, I wouldn’t be living this second life. I’m truly grateful…”

Is that so?

I turned my head toward the direction of the voice I’d just heard.

There was an elder I didn’t recognize…

‘No, is that Vlad?’

Looking closer, I could still see traces of Vlad’s face.

He must have lost a significant amount of weight in the past month. The last time I saw him, he was quite plump, but now he had transformed into a trim, robust middle-aged man.

‘Was he always this handsome?’

He always had that distinctive middle-aged man charm, but Vlad’s was particularly pronounced.

If he hadn’t continued his unhealthy habit of excessively drawing blood, would he have always looked like this?

Looking at it now, it seemed many people had damaged their bodies after learning Blood Magic.

‘Indeed, I need to start that plan as soon as possible.’

I thought to myself as I raised my head to look at Dmitri.

“Dmitri.”

I called out to him.

He responded by asking what I needed while maintaining that expectant expression I mentioned earlier.

He probably thought he was hiding it well, but from my perspective, it was quite an annoying expression. I briefly considered not showing him, but…

It didn’t seem right to hide this.

After all, I couldn’t just use the money at my discretion simply because I was the Tower Master, especially since I wasn’t familiar with the current market rates.

I had already set aside my personal share and separated the funds meant for the Magic Tower.

I smoothly took out my MagicPad and showed it to Dmitri.

Unlike in the past, he should be able to see things from a distance now, but out of habit, Dmitri raised his monocle and examined the MagicPad I showed him.

“…T-This is…”

And then, as if he understood what he was looking at, his eyes began to tremble.

“What’s the matter, Grand Elder Dmitri? You look so surprised…”

The elder sitting next to him, who had expressed curiosity at Dmitri’s reaction, glanced at the MagicPad I was showing and froze on the spot.

I grinned.

‘How about that? It’s probably more money than you’ll ever touch in your lifetime.’

I chuckled inwardly.

While it’s true that Magic Towers generally have more money than other places, the Blood Magic Tower is exceptionally poor among them.

Naturally, these elders who had dedicated their lives to this impoverished Magic Tower would never have handled such a large sum.

Of course, I’ve never handled such a large amount either, and showing it to elders who probably have no memory of handling money might not change anything, but…

At least with this much money, it’s only common sense to show it to those in the highest positions like myself.

“W-Where did this money come from…?”

“I received it as a grant.”

“A-A grant?!”

“It’s a grant bestowed upon the Blood Magic Tower by Eterna. It seems like some kind of retroactive application.”

It’s true that the amount of money supported from the Aether Tower to the Blood Magic Tower had decreased, but this amount was beyond explanation.

Of course, it wasn’t retroactive application but simply Eterna giving more support because she liked me, but…

‘I can’t explain what happened then…’

Like how Eterna becomes just like any other girl when she’s with me.

How she likes me to a suspicious degree.

How she got angry at the fact that I barely do any work and forcibly handed over the top administrator position to me.

And then, saying it was payment for working in her place, I ended up in the unprecedented position of a paid forum administrator, defying common sense.

How I succumbed to the enormous amount of money and called her “big sister.”

‘I want to maintain my dignity at least here…’

I cried tears of blood inwardly.

I had appeared confidently with all this money, but if they found out the circumstances under which I obtained it…

If they learned it was payment for calling Eterna “big sister” and acting cute, how would they react?

Of course, given the sheer amount of money, they wouldn’t openly disrespect or criticize me, but…

‘Ah… um… we won’t forget the Tower Master’s sacrifice… pfft… hahaha!’

‘A-Ahem… I didn’t see anything…’

‘How cute.’

Fuck, that absolutely cannot happen.

I will never let it slip.

I clenched my teeth, determined not to show any weakness.

After clearing my throat with a “ahem,” I spoke with an expression devoid of any guilt.

“I apologize for not doing anything for a month. But I think you’ll understand by now… I have a request for you all.”

An amount of money that even the Iron Tower, which has the most money among regular towers, couldn’t easily surpass.

Facing the Council of Elders who were drooling at the sight of this money, I smiled with my lips while keeping my eyes serious.

“I want all of you to take on the role of administrators… and catch all those Blood Mages who are causing trouble.”

I’m sorry for not doing anything for a month, but you should all understand by now.

If there are any troublemakers left, catch them.

These two statements, which might seem incomprehensible at first glance, actually conveyed a single meaning:

Capture and purge all those who are engaging in activities that diminish the status of the Blood Magic Tower.

*Gulp*

“All this money… will go towards the welfare and improvement of the Blood Magic Tower.”

They would enjoy luxury incomparable to anything they had experienced before.

Naturally, the elders who had lived in terrible poverty for a long time couldn’t refuse.

They reached out for the lifeline.

Fortunately, it was a lifeline of brilliant gold.