Ch.3312. Short Business Trip (3)

Yuri hurriedly spoke.

“Minsu! I could have ordered the drinks myself. I’m sorry. I’d like black tea…”

Perhaps Yuri, who had been too absorbed in the polar bear, finally came to her senses and felt embarrassed.

But Pyotr, having heard my words, had already spoken to the employee. The employee took out a whole bottle of vodka.

Glancing at me nervously, Yuri said shyly.

“That, that’s vodka, isn’t it? No matter what, we’re still on duty… huh?”

Suddenly, Yuri’s eyes changed.

“That label…?”

I was confused for a moment. I don’t drink alcohol, so I didn’t know much about vodka.

If Yuri had liked vodka during her time at Eins, she might have mastered vodkas from around the world. But that wasn’t the case now.

And after confirming Yuri’s reaction, Pyotr said.

“You recognize it. It’s Snow Vodka, which our Russian Federation has export restrictions on. Moreover, this is an even more special limited edition.”

For a moment, I thought I heard Yuri gulping.

Whether it was the Russian Federation or the Slavic Kingdom, vodka was a common drink in both countries. But Russian Federation’s alcohol was considered more premium.

‘They say distillation technology is more advanced in the Russian Federation.’

Seeing Yuri’s reaction, the female employee named Eunhye quickly poured the vodka into a glass. She said.

“This is a vodka we don’t normally serve to regular customers at our café. It’s only offered to special guests. Would your companion like some too?”

“Ah, no thank you. Just for her.”

I declined when she tried to pour a glass for me as well.

“Really? It’s a rare drink among enthusiasts. That’s too bad. Then just for the lady. Oh, would you like it as a cocktail since it’s high proof?”

“No! Straight!”

Yuri answered reflexively. She glanced at me and blushed.

“Well, well. We shouldn’t be standing at the counter like this. Let’s move to a table.”

Pyotr placed all the drinks on a tray. The three of them moved to a quiet corner of the café.

“Whether in Russia or the Slavic Kingdom, a glass of vodka during work hours is just for refreshment, isn’t it? It’s no different from office workers drinking coffee or energy drinks.”

Yet Pyotr’s own drink was ordinary coffee, just like mine.

Yuri looked at me once more, embarrassed, but I reassured her.

“I’ll be driving anyway. It’s fine, Guild Master.”

“…Okay. If they’ve brought out such a precious drink… I suppose this means you have business to discuss. With him too.”

Still, Yuri hadn’t forgotten her duty. Today, the two of them had come to discuss a contract with Pyotr’s company.

After Yuri drank a glass of vodka straight and I sipped my coffee, Pyotr spoke.

“Anyway, it’s nice to meet you, Yuri Tarkovskaya. Thanks to Minsu, I have this opportunity to discuss a contract with an S-rank hunter. And Flame Guild isn’t completely unconnected to our Solaris. I’m Pyotr Kim.”

“You’re that Pyotr from Solaris, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. I serve as a director at Solaris. Well, even though it’s Solaris, in the Far East we’re just a struggling small company.”

Solaris. It was a famous magical beast industry company in Europe. A distribution company that dealt with magical beast harvests and items needed by hunters.

Since Yuri was both an S-rank hunter and a CEO of a company, it was natural that she already knew the name.

‘When I casually asked the finance and operations teams, they said Flame had already had contract discussions with Solaris.’

But the negotiations had broken down at the working level, not between the CEOs.

That meant they couldn’t reach terms satisfactory to both sides.

‘It’s not surprising. Pyotr is a thorough businessman. Flame before I arrived probably didn’t think it was necessary to push for a contract.’

Although Flame was an S-rank guild, that was like a credit rating from the Association. In terms of pure revenue, there were many smaller guilds in Korea that generated more profit than Flame.

Nevertheless, the reason Pyotr had come running like this was for one reason only.

‘It must be because of me.’

I had put my name down as the person in charge of today’s contract inquiry. To make sure he wouldn’t confuse my name, I had asked for a special note identifying me as Lee Minsu, formerly of Eins.

In response to Pyotr’s self-deprecating comment about being a small company, Yuri replied.

“A small company? That’s nonsense. It’s just that distribution companies in the Far East are excessively large. Solaris’s parent company is a major European corporation, isn’t it?”

“Thank you for saying so. I understand that contract negotiations with Flame broke down once before. I’m glad you view us favorably.”

As Yuri said, Solaris was by no means a small company—it was just overshadowed by Manseong Group and other large Far Eastern distribution companies.

In the original story, it became a great source of funding for Siwoo. And from what I’d recently checked about Solaris’s Korean branch, its financial statements and company situation were much better than in the original story.

Establishing connections with Solaris now could provide an enormous source of funding.

‘Is this a butterfly effect in a good direction?’

After some ceremonial greetings between the executives, the real reason I had sought out Pyotr Kim—the processing and distribution of dungeon harvests—became the focus of our discussion.

It was time for me to take an active role. The seat beside me grew cold. Yuri seemed tense without realizing it herself.

***

After a long discussion about the contract, Pyotr, his face flushed red, exclaimed to me.

“70-30. I really can’t go beyond that! Minsu, you know too that this commission ratio itself is already very disadvantageous for us.”

“80-20.”

“Good heavens. 80-20, really? Isn’t that pushing it too far?”

“80-20. Nothing but that ratio will work.”

I firmly told Pyotr. He looked extremely flustered.

“Look, Minsu. Even so, we have labor and material costs. At that rate, we’d actually lose money…”

“In the short term, you’d definitely lose money.”

“And you’re still insisting?”

I stubbornly stuck to the 80-20 split. Naturally, the condition was that Flame would take 80 percent of the payment for processing dungeon harvests.

“Wait. You said short term. But you’re not one to speak empty words, so… hmm.”

He scratched his head vigorously, seemingly troubled. It was time to deliver the finishing blow.

“Would you like to hear more of what I have to say?”

I told him about what I had been planning. Pyotr crossed his arms tightly. As he listened to my proposal, his expression grew increasingly serious.

When I finished my explanation, he abruptly stood up.

“I’m going to step out for a cigarette.”

Although indoor smoking was permitted for awakened ones’ special tobacco, what Pyotr smoked was just regular cigarettes. He probably wanted to think more about my proposal.

While he was gone, Yuri spoke to me in an excited voice.

“An 80-20 ratio? That’s unbelievable! We had a 50-50 split with our existing domestic distributors. Is such a ratio really possible?”

Her expression was very excited. As Yuri said, the distribution companies currently working with Flame took an unreasonable cut of the harvest commissions.

Team Leader Seo Duho, who came from Manseong, had mentioned this to me several times.

‘In Manseong’s case, the distribution companies are all subsidiaries of the group, so there’s practically no commission when they circulate the money.’

And smaller guilds like Flame had no choice but to use distribution companies that were subsidiaries of Manseong or other large corporate guilds.

For ordinary guilds already busy with dungeon raids and security dispatches, it was obviously impossible to create their own distribution companies.

Besides, even with such high commissions, it was better than giving up the harvests. They had no choice.

I answered the excited Yuri.

“I think we can be optimistic, Guild Master. That man Pyotr Kim is a proper businessman. If it were truly impossible, he would have walked away immediately.”

“I heard that from the operations team too. They said he’s a man who doesn’t leave even a paper-thin gap for negotiation.”

The fact that Pyotr was deliberating like this meant he knew me well.

During my time at Eins.

The dungeons I sought out and conquered were either undervalued or extremely difficult to clear. And the harvests from those dungeons that I perfectly conquered were at least double those of dungeons of the same rank.

It was through working with me back then that Pyotr’s Solaris was able to gain even a small foothold in the harvest distribution business in Korea.

If not for that, Pyotr would have struggled to secure contracts even with small guilds at that time.

Of course, the original Siwoo also formed a connection with Pyotr in a similar way.

The difference was that Siwoo conquered dungeons out of a sense of justice, while I did it for faster mana acquisition and growth.

And my approach brought Pyotr much more money. That’s why in the current reality, Pyotr had no connection with Siwoo at all.

‘Whatever the motivation, my method ended up growing Solaris’s Korean branch more. That’s more beneficial.’

Since it was only about two years ago, it was natural that Pyotr’s heart would be moved even by these ridiculous 80-20 terms.

Finally, after finishing his cigarette, he returned. He took out another glass and offered it to me.

“If we’re going to be in the same boat, we should have a vodka together. That’s the Russian way. What do you say?”

It meant he had finally yielded to my proposal. He had agreed to the 80-20 contract. I glanced at Yuri.

“If it’s about driving, I can do it. It’s fine, Minsu.”

Then there was no problem.

“Хорошо.”

That was my answer. It means “good” in Russian. I don’t drink alcohol, but I couldn’t refuse here.

‘In Russian Federation culture, you must share vodka together when making an important agreement.’

So the three of us shared the vodka together.

***

On the way back.

Yuri drove her car herself. Lost in thought, we had almost reached Seoul.

Despite drinking several glasses of vodka straight, it wasn’t a problem for an A-rank awakened one like Yuri. If she decided to, she could immediately break down weak alcohol.

Just to be sure, Yuri checked with the breathalyzer she always carried. It was issued by the Association, so its performance was reliable. Sure enough, it showed zero.

‘It’s not like I drank to get drunk anyway.’

But despite being able to break down alcohol immediately like this, Yuri had actually been getting drunk often these days.

She had no way to soothe her complicated feelings since Minsu joined the company.

Of course, now in front of Minsu, and at a moment when he had accomplished something remarkable, she absolutely couldn’t get drunk.

’80-20. It’s truly unbelievable.’

In the end, Minsu had secured that impossible contract.

If Solaris really distributed their harvests at that ratio, the financial difficulties that had plagued Flame since last year would essentially disappear at once.

Not only that, Minsu had an even bigger plan. It was because of that business plan that the formidable Pyotr had finally conceded.

‘Expanding Flame’s influence.’

In other words, it meant absorbing subcontractor guilds under Flame.

Naturally, as guild master, Yuri wasn’t against expanding Flame as a business, but she had never thought about it as concretely as Minsu had.

‘I was too preoccupied with just maintaining the Association’s S-rank guild license.’

But Minsu’s plan, which had convinced Pyotr, was very specific and entirely feasible.

Rather than the guild master herself, Minsu had a more accurate understanding of the current structure and dynamics of Korea’s hunter world.

‘He really is amazing… Minsu.’

And Minsu had promised to show proof that this plan wasn’t just a fantasy—at the intern field trip in a few days.

‘If Minsu and the interns accomplish what he told Pyotr, we’ll sign a formal contract.’

If they became official partners with Solaris, Flame would generate unimaginable revenue in future S-rank dungeon cooperation missions.

‘And… if Minsu is by my side, I will definitely succeed in that mission.’

She could hear gentle breathing from beside her. Despite having just one glass of vodka, Minsu had gotten drunk. He had fallen asleep as soon as he sat in the passenger seat.

Lost in thought while driving quietly, it was soon time to drop him off.

Although she couldn’t talk with him on the way back, just being together like this was very exciting for Yuri.

‘It’s already the end of the workday. Time… time is too precious.’

So Yuri didn’t wake Minsu up. But there was no problem dropping him off.

When she had checked his resume, his place was three subway stations away from Flame headquarters. It would be good to take him to that subway station.

No, in fact, Yuri already knew his address. When it came to anything about Minsu, she wanted to know and remember everything.

‘But… if I park the car right below his apartment, he might think I’m a strange woman.’

Of course, Minsu had never directly told Yuri his address.

So Yuri parked in an alley not far from the subway station and waited for Minsu to wake up.

And while she desperately told herself it was unconscious, with a perfectly clear mind, she placed a barrier on the car door.