Chapter 45: Betting Broadcast (3)

After finishing the first broadcast with Scarlet, Cheon Hwi, who happened to have some free time, tapped away at his smartphone.

Leaving behind Scarlet, who was grumbling that she didn’t like playing the clown, he called Seo Ye-rin and Choa—whose numbers he had gotten earlier.

He was planning to give Scarlet, his newest disciple, something good to eat, but it felt a bit awkward to leave out the two who had become his students before her.

“I’m off-stream today, so I’m good to go.”

“Hmm, unfortunately, I’m still on the clock.”

It was currently 3 p.m.

Choa, having a break from streaming, readily agreed, but Seo Ye-rin, still tied down at the Association, said it’d be hard to come along since her shift wasn’t over yet.

‘Should I ask the Association President to let her go for a bit?’

Borrowing one team leader for a short while shouldn’t be a big deal.

Cheon Hwi considered it and was about to contact the Association President, but then shook his head and put the phone away.

‘In an organization, rules must be strictly followed.’

Taking Seo Ye-rin wouldn’t be a problem, but it might cause friction among others.

Since it wasn’t anything urgent, he decided he could just pass her share along later.

Changing his mind, Cheon Hwi reached out and grabbed Scarlet by the scruff of her neck as her sharp eyes flashed.

“Kyaaak! Hey! What are you, catching me like some kind of cat or something…?!”

The more you looked at her, the more she really did resemble a cat-like Constellation.

Cheon Hwi kept that thought to himself as he began walking toward the entrance of the Association, where he was set to meet Choa.

Scarlet’s hissing and flailing echoed pitifully behind him.

In an era where combat power equates to personal worth and social status, even being a C-rank Hunter is enough to make the average office worker’s salary look like pocket change.

From B-rank onward, one can earn an income rivaling that of a corporate executive—or even a one-person enterprise.

Just look at Seo Ye-rin.

She may not stand out because she always wears similar suits, but she earns a massive salary fitting for an A-rank Hunter.

And when it comes to S-rank Hunters—of whom only a handful exist worldwide—there’s no need to even mention it.

And now.

“Th-this is Master’s house………?!”

“Not bad, right? I did my best to decorate it according to my taste.”

For the first time, Choa and Scarlet stepped into Cheon Hwi’s home, and their jaws dropped open—so wide it seemed like a bug could fly in.

“Y-you really live here?”

“This is… way more unexpected than I thought…?”

As they turned their heads and glanced around the inside of Cheon Hwi’s house, their eyes wavered.

It was a similar reaction to being impressed, but the truth was, Choa and Scarlet were much closer to being at a loss for words at the completely unexpected sight before them.

The reason for their shock was simple.

“You’re telling me you live in this cramped little place? Someone like you?”

“Y-yeah… This place is even smaller than my apartment…”

A living room with one wall fitted for a kitchen, and one bedroom just slightly smaller than the living room.

And the bathroom was immediately to the side of the entrance.

Contrary to what they had imagined, Cheon Hwi’s home was no different from a typical two-room rental unit.

“Isn’t it just the perfect size for one guy to live in?”

“W-well, I guess…?”

Even Choa, who’s just a popular internet streamer, lived in a better place than this. Let alone Scarlet, a Constellation.

Before descending to Earth, Scarlet had treated the grand divine temple and the surrounding cities of her original world as if they were her own home.

And she hadn’t done that without reason.

It was simply because she had the means and the dignity that made it fitting for her to live there.

It’s not just them—most people are like that.

Humans, by nature, tend to seek wider and more comfortable living environments if given the chance.

So then… why?

“Do you have some reason for living in a place this cramped?”

Just as Choa hesitated, Scarlet stepped forward and spoke the question they both shared.

If he wanted to make money, he clearly could—easily.

And if he announced he was going to live in a massive luxury mansion, people would only nod in agreement.

As a Constellation—an exalted celestial being who had always received the reverence of the masses—Scarlet simply couldn’t understand Cheon Hwi’s mindset.

“With your power, you could not only own this city, but probably claim this whole country as your property, couldn’t you?”

If he had enough strength to completely overwhelm her, then it would be justified.

In fact, to chase away the bothersome wolves and uphold his dignity as a powerful being, he should live like that.

It’s something clearly shown by countless rulers and Constellations who have been known throughout history.

They live in palaces that anyone would admire, surrounded by numerous attendants, dining on the finest delicacies, and getting anything they desire with ease.

It’s the kind of happiness anyone would wish for.

Which is why only the most noble and exceptional beings were ever able to enjoy such luxury.

Scarlet couldn’t understand why Cheon Hwi, who could have all of that, chose to live in what felt like a prison.

Choa, who had been quietly darting her eyes around, didn’t voice it, but her thoughts were more or less the same.

“Well, there are people like me too. And after actually living like this, I find that overly big places can be kind of inconvenient, you know? If I had someone to wait on me, maybe it’d be different, but when you live alone, too much space isn’t always a good thing.”

Since his return, Cheon Hwi hadn’t lived in any jaw-droppingly luxurious home.

But back in the Martial World, he’d had more than enough experience living in wide, spacious homes.

That’s why Cheon Hwi, who’d learned firsthand that just being big and fancy didn’t make a home better, let out a short laugh, his lips twitching into a smile.

“There’s a kind of happiness you can only feel in the ordinary, too.”

The size of the house, the furniture inside, the food and drink—it was all ordinary.

So ordinary, in fact, that it didn’t seem to suit someone as extraordinary as Cheon Hwi.

But to Cheon Hwi, who had dreamed of this kind of normalcy for three hundred years, this moment—however plain—was a happiness that felt extraordinary.

“Let’s leave the house talk there and get started, shall we?”

As he spoke, Cheon Hwi rummaged through the wardrobe and pulled out a large plastic container with a thud.

Choa and Scarlet naturally turned their attention to the box, but since it was made with a translucent finish, they couldn’t see what was inside.

Then, Cheon Hwi opened the lid.

The moment the contents were revealed, the two women’s reactions split.

“That’s…!”

“That is…?”

Though they said the same words, the intonation was completely different.

Naturally, it was the result of one knowing and the other not.

Scarlet recognized the contents and gasped, her eyes going wide in shock.

On the other hand, Choa tilted her head in confusion, glancing back and forth between Cheon Hwi and Scarlet.

And Cheon Hwi, as if expecting both reactions, calmly spoke up.

“It seems Miss Scarlet already figured it out, but as you can see, these are Spiritual Tonics. I had a decent stock I made in advance a while back, so I figured it’s time to put them to use.”

A box far larger than a human torso, filled to the brim with Spiritual Tonics.

When he flipped the entire box over and dumped it out onto the floor, Scarlet flinched at the absurd scene.

Round, dark-colored pills.

Transparent bottles filled with colorful liquids.

And translucent crystals that emitted a soft glow.

Items more expensive than gold by weight spilled out like discounted goods at a market stall.

Even though she was watching it happen with her own eyes, Scarlet couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Her lips, which had been slightly parted, finally closed, and as she stared at the mountain of Spiritual Tonics before her, she was left speechless.

“I mean, they don’t really do much for me anyway, so just take whatever you need.”

In the end, Scarlet quietly decided to just help herself to some tonics.

Even with a mountain of Spiritual Tonics boasting a variety of effects, taking them is another matter altogether.

“What kind of tonic is this?”

“Let’s see… That one’s Mokryeongdan. It’s a tonic packed with the vitality and essence of plants. But it doesn’t suit your Blood Sky Demon Technique.”

Just as people have different martial arts suited to them, each person’s constitution and martial technique match differently with various types of tonics.

No matter how exceptional the tonic is, the same rule applies.

If the user’s affinity is poor or if the tonic conflicts with their martial arts, the effects may be reduced—or in the worst case, completely nullified.

In Choa’s case, because she had learned the infamously vicious Blood Sky Demon Technique, Cheon Hwi was having quite a hard time finding a suitable tonic among those he had crafted.

“Wait, are you saying you made all of this yourself?”

“Yup. I originally started because I didn’t want to waste money buying them, but once I began, I realized most people didn’t even have the proper knowledge.”

Even after hearing his answer, Scarlet furrowed her brows like she still couldn’t believe it, rummaging through the pile of tonics.

Then suddenly—flash—she picked up a ruby-gold gem in one hand and a bottle filled with violet liquid in the other, holding both out to Cheon Hwi.

No matter how you looked at them, those two items were clearly not made using any standard tonic-making techniques.

“This is… a Philosopher’s Stone and an Elixir.”

The legendary material said to be able to transmute any substance, and the universal panacea that heals all wounds and restores youth when consumed.

Looking at Cheon Hwi with a face that seemed to ask Why are these even here?

Scarlet watched as Cheon Hwi blinked, lips parting slightly, not knowing how to respond.

“Alchemy and pill refinement… aren’t they basically the same thing?”

Once I actually tried them, there wasn’t much difference.

As Cheon Hwi added that casually, Scarlet felt her intelligence dropping in real time.

“…I should just stop talking.”

That was the wisest response she could come up with.