Ch.277272 – Substitute

“When starting a business, having a large initial investment might seem good at first glance, but behind that lies the risk of losing management control.”

“So Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (RCPS) is the solution that protects the founder’s management rights while finding ways to grow? It certainly helps avoid hostile takeovers, and from an investor’s perspective, they can expect high-yield dividends.”

NoName took a spoonful of whipped cream from her waffle and wiggled her empty spoon.

“Our DuWorld will take on the role of lead investor in Bio-Akashic’s Series A funding. So we’re aiming to start with raising 20 million dollars.”

20 million dollars, about 37 billion won at the current exchange rate.

NyangsterCall’s Executive Director Lee Hyun-seo removed his glasses, placing them on the table, and lowered his head to match NoName’s eye level.

The bright café lighting illuminated NoName’s baby-like skin even more clearly.

“Isn’t that too much for a Series A round?”

But NoName’s curt reply came back.

NoName knew that initial Series A investments were usually around 5 billion won, so it was a reasonable question.

In fact, considering they were angel investors, the Katsuhata school’s investment amount was already quite large.

“That’s not true, streamer. These days, hot startups raise 20-30 billion won right from the start. And I always told you to only invest in areas you know best, right?”

“Is that so?”

NyangsterCall was a fan who had observed NoName more closely than anyone else.

“Even if Bio-Akashic completely fails, I have no doubt that our streamer’s skills are genuine.”

No matter how much the media tried to promote NoName, he thought her abilities were always underestimated.

“I still can’t forget the moment you saved Adella. Thanks to that, it was like… a kind of enlightenment, I guess. It’s my eternal regret that I couldn’t watch the final scene live.”

“You must really like games.”

“Yes, I love them very much. Though I’ve been too busy to play lately.”

“Then may I ask NyangsterCall one more thing?”

“Of course.”

“Is Executive Director Lee on my side, not just NyangsterCall?”

NoName leaned forward and asked in a serious tone.

“It’s nothing major, but the specific conditions you mentioned, like interest rates and maturity dates, are extremely favorable to our company. Beyond our streaming connection, I’d like to ask why you decided to become the lead investor.”

“Ah…”

Lee Hyun-seo was greatly surprised inside.

Money was such that the same amount could seem ridiculously large to some people and trivial to others.

But right now, NoName was assessing the value of money very objectively and accurately in relation to her situation.

Lee Hyun-seo cleared his throat lightly and revealed his true feelings.

“Even if you asked other investors, they would all give similar answers. That they recognized the value of NoName’s intangible assets. All business people are merchants. They do it simply because it makes a profit.”

“I see.”

“But I!”

Lee Hyun-seo emphasized. He looked at NoName with incredibly serious eyes.

“As a business person, I won’t say I’m different from them. Still, I’ve wanted to repay you for a long time.”

“Repay?”

“Yes, my family were victims of the Banghwa Bridge disaster. I was lucky enough to survive, but… I lost my beloved family overnight. I sincerely wanted to thank you for helping uncover the truth behind that tragedy. I’m truly grateful…”

The man bowed his head deeply.

A long silence followed.

As the grown man continued to bow to the young girl, whispers from middle-aged women nearby could be heard.

Feeling awkward about the situation, NoName finally helped NyangsterCall sit up.

“NyangsterCall, my role ends here. I hope you’ll discuss the rest with CEO Baek Ho-chan.”

NoName seemed to deliberately avoid mentioning the Banghwa Bridge disaster.

Lee Hyun-seo drew in a sharp breath.

He had momentarily forgotten that the child before him was an 8-year-old with a painful past.

‘Did I unnecessarily bring up something traumatic?’

As regret washed over him, NoName reached out her tiny hand and held his scarred hand.

“Mr. Executive Director, is there anything else I can help with? Raising 20 million dollars can’t be an easy task.”

Lee Hyun-seo’s face brightened when NoName showed a positive response.

“Is this really okay… streamer?”

“I didn’t really do anything special. I don’t think I deserve to be treated as a benefactor. So let’s forget about repaying favors and establish our relationship anew from now on. You said merchants speak with money, so I can expect sufficient trust going forward, right? I usually have a hard time trusting people.”

Her bright smile revealed childlike innocence.

But NyangsterCall thought this aspect of her was rather monstrous.

She showed bold decisiveness by eliminating the common ground between them for the future constructive growth of the company.

It was a bonus that she demonstrated she wouldn’t be swayed by personal feelings.

‘Show trust with money… she’s not 8 years old but more like a 50-year-old cunning executive from our company.’

Lee Hyun-seo stared at the handshake NoName offered.

He couldn’t imagine how big the company would be when those small hands fully grew.

‘Not just the company. The world will definitely change.’

* * *

The goodwill NyangsterCall showed me was almost bewildering.

There were no lies throughout our conversation, so I guess I can trust him for now.

No matter how many legal safeguards there are, I shouldn’t carelessly let my guard down.

The younger I am, the more people will come after me with burning ambition.

[DuWorld is taking the lead investor role? Why would they go that far for us…? You’re not leaving for another company, are you, NoName?]

“Stop talking nonsense and start working on the security for the Demon King’s Horn.”

A company’s innate magic released as a ‘product’ shouldn’t be completely open-sourced like Adella.

To briefly explain the security principle: certain circuit formulas that don’t require variable input are made invisible, and all runes used are encrypted.

Then users can cast the innate magic by receiving a decryption key from the company.

The security is so thorough that even our own employees can’t know the structure of the innate magic.

The only drawback of this system is that if I suddenly change my mind and declare I’m giving up on registering the innate magic, the entire company could collapse.

So I understood why Baek Ho-chan had been anxiously trying to please me lately.

[Your role is more important than anything right now, NoName. The lifelines of our 30 employees depend on you alone.]

“Don’t worry. If you’re that anxious, should I add RGB lighting to the horns before going out?”

[Hey, that’s actually a great idea! It would appeal to the younger generation!]

“No, I was just joking. I’d be too embarrassed. I need to go now, so let’s end the call.”

[What’s there to be embarrassed about? NoName, in this industry, everyone has to have thick skin-]

Click-

The selected team roster will be revealed in the lobby of the Aquila Hotel at 6 PM tonight, so I need to hurry back to check.

The slowly revolving door took forever to pass through.

The lobby was already packed with students.

If I tried to squeeze through that crowd with my body, I’d obviously get trampled.

“Want a piggyback ride?”

A nonchalant voice came from beside me. I turned to see Student Council President Shin Jin-ho.

“No thanks. I’ll just wait here for a bit.”

We decided to sit on a sofa in a corner of the lobby and wait until the children dispersed.

“Did your outing go well? No problems?”

“Yeah… I just went to a café nearby, nothing special.”

“I saw your rehearsal interview the day before yesterday. Even the Altair Academy student council members were all praising you.”

“Really? What did they say?”

“That you’re very bright and cute.”

“I wasn’t trying to appear cute…”

“What can you do if you were born cute? Just accept it.”

I got goosebumps from the student council president who spoke like an emotionless machine from beginning to end with a constant tone.

This wasn’t even sarcasm. What did he mean?

I blinked and stared at his face intently.

“Oh, that was a compliment.”

“Don’t talk to my friends like that. You’ll make them cry.”

“Really? Our vice president says the same thing.”

“Anyway, Student Council President, your face is kind of scary-looking, isn’t it?”

“Me?”

“You didn’t know?”

“No.”

Shin Jin-ho might be popular among his peers, but sensitive friends like Ma Ji-hye might find him a bit intimidating because of his eyes.

Silence again.

Sitting with people who are this bad at conversation makes me acutely aware of how socially inept I am.

In this life, I’ve just been especially cared for by kind-hearted people.

Thinking that I haven’t improved at all compared to my previous life made me feel a bit depressed.

“‘Wanting someone to acknowledge the path you’ve walked.’ That’s really beautiful.”

“What?”

“What you said in the interview. Do you always think like that?”

“Ah. It didn’t mean much. Just thoughts that come to mind in the moment.”

“When you attend the Academy for a long time, you often see wandering children. Everyone enters with dreams of becoming a great mage, but not everyone can achieve that.”

“That seems inevitable in a competitive system. But just because they wander doesn’t mean they’re on the wrong path.”

“You’re right. But our society doesn’t tolerate deviation at all, does it? The competition that was initially held for harmony has now become an event for only a select few students. Students always get hurt during every Academy competition.”

“That’s a bit sad.”

“I’m not saying the competition should be abolished, but… sigh, now I don’t even know what I want…”

Student Council President Shin Jin-ho let out a deep sigh.

“I think we can think about that after winning.”

The students who had been gathered started heading back to their rooms.

I moved toward the large announcement board.

“By the way, NoName, you’ve been selected. A middle school student got food poisoning and their parent took them home yesterday.”

“What? Why are you telling me this now! Did you know from the beginning? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You didn’t ask.”

“Sigh…”

On second thought, I think I have better social skills than this person.

I walked briskly toward the announcement board to check the list.

Middle School Year 1… not there.

Middle School Year 2… not there either.

“Middle School Year 3?”

“Regarding you substituting for a third-year middle schooler, we really have nothing to say, but I’ll talk to the teacher in charge to try to place you later in the lineup-“

“No. Thank you so much, Student Council President. In a match where everyone gives their all, it’s natural that someone might get hurt, right?”

Middle School Year 3… how old is that? 15 years old?

That’s about when Klaus betrayed me and left.

And it was when hitting someone felt the best.

“The reason you have such concerns is because you haven’t won recently. I bet if you win just once, you’ll want to keep holding the Academy competition?”