Chapter 603: Private Interview (3)

As soon as I entered the company, I was guided to the CEO’s office by a guild employee, and even after arriving on the 17th floor of the building, I was still filled with questions.

I couldn’t possibly fathom the reason for being called again, as less than a week had passed since the day the CEO-nim last called me.

Did something arise that needs rewriting among the documents I submitted last time? Or perhaps, did I do something wrong within the past week?

If not that, perhaps she’s calling me to inform me that there’s a part regarding the S-class Hunter evaluation that didn’t meet the criteria?

Several unpleasant thoughts flashed through my mind, but I couldn’t be sure of any of them, as most were just speculation.

Without a direct meeting with the CEO-nim, the reason she called me seemed impossible to know.

If possible, rather than bad news, I should hope for good news.

For example, that the S-class promotion evaluation passed smoothly, so she’s informing me I’m an S-class Hunter starting today, things like that.

With those thoughts, I stood before the CEO’s office and knocked three times.

Compared to the CEO-nim from a week ago, a slightly calmer-sounding voice came from inside.

-Knock, knock, knock.

“CEO-nim, it’s Sung Taekyung.”

“…Come in.”

Upon opening the door and entering, directly in front of me was the CEO’s table, and the CEO-nim.

Compared to a week ago, she had not only grown a bit taller but also, though very slightly, appeared to have developed curves, so it was clear her growth spurt was still ongoing.

Still, thanks to her always being in the same spot and wearing the same suit, mistaking her for someone else did not occur.

To converse, as I took steps closer from the entrance towards the CEO-nim, her slightly urgent voice followed.

-Thump, thump.

“Wait, just a moment.”

“Yes?”

“…You don’t need to come too close. Talk from there.”

“…From here?”

“Yeah, from there.”

Even just estimating, it seemed to put me at a distance of about 5 meters, keeping me far away.

For some reason, the CEO-nim stopped me midway as I approached.

The CEO-nim, who had stopped me, didn’t even make eye contact with me and had turned her reddened face away.

Seeing CEO Seo Ok-hee’s reaction, one particular feeling inevitably surfaced in my mind.

“…CEO-nim?”

“…Uh, yeah.”

“Perhaps, have I made any mistakes towards you these past few days?”

“Huh?”

“Your reaction seems a bit different from how you’ve treated me until now….”

“……”

At my words, CEO Seo Ok-hee quietly closed her mouth and avoided my gaze.

Then, with a still awkward reaction, she shook her head and replied.

“…Not really?”

“……”

“Stop worrying about pointless things. Just get to the point. That’s why I called you.”

“……Yes.”

It seemed like something had happened during the time I hadn’t seen her, but since the CEO-nim wasn’t going to mention it, there was no way I could bring it up.

As I found out later, it was nothing significant, so I just had to imagine and move on.

As if to break the slightly awkward atmosphere, the reason she called me today naturally followed from the CEO’s mouth.

“First off, let’s talk about the materials related to the Three-Headed Basilisk from last time.”

“Yes? Wasn’t it concluded last time that the company would handle the settlement?”

“That’s correct. That was strictly about the Three-Headed Basilisk’s own materials. The materials inside its belly needed separate handling.”

“…Inside its belly?”

“Orichalcum was discovered inside the Basilisk’s body. Though in small quantities.”

“…What?”

“Literally a tiny amount. At most, only about 1kg, and even then, one piece…”

At the mention of Orichalcum, my heart raced, and I immediately ran to the table where she was sitting and grabbed her hands with both of mine.

Surprised by my reaction, CEO Seo Ok-hee reacted with a startled gasp.

“C-CEO-nim!”

“Hiyak?!”

“I, I need that, CEO-nim! Although we decided to dispose of all the materials last time, somehow, that Orichalcum…!”

“I’ll explain properly, so just get away for now!”

Suddenly grabbing her hands, she shook off my grip and moved away from me.

…No. To be precise, it wasn’t that the CEO-nim herself moved away, but rather that she had thrown me far away.

A slight current flowing from her hand seemed to control my body as it sent me flying backward. That was the moment.

-Kuuung!

“Keuh-eup?!”

Experiencing this bewildering sensation for the first time, startled, I lost my balance and fell to the floor.

Lying on my back, looking up, my gaze met the CEO-nim, whose face was flushed with embarrassment, looking at me.

“S-sorry. I panicked for a moment.”

“…No, it’s fine. I did rush at you unexpectedly.”

Still, after hitting my butt on the floor once, my heart gradually calmed down. Clearly, just hearing the words “Orichalcum material” must have made me overly excited for a moment.

The CEO’s words sounded like a chance to repair the Mithril Greatsword, so I couldn’t control myself. That’s how important Orichalcum itself was to me, unbelievably so.

Fortunately, seeing my reaction just now, the CEO-nim inferred the situation to some extent and said to me with a faint smile.

“Seeing that reaction, it seems I did well to keep this aside.”

“Yes?”

“I had considered selling it and settling the accounts since there was already a contract, but it’s not mine anyway, it’s your item. Since Orichalcum is a material that’s not easily obtained, I told them not to dispose of it and to keep it.”

“C-CEO-ni…!”

“…Try coming closer just one more time. This time, I’ll make you smash your head against the wall until you come to your senses.”

“……”

“Don’t move a single step from there, just listen.”

Hearing the CEO’s warning, which sounded absolutely serious, my steps faltered for a moment and stopped.

She cast a wary glance towards me for a moment, then handed me a stack of documents from the table.

“Here. This is the related contract for additional processing when unexpected materials are found during the dismantling process, so read it and sign it.”

“…CEO-nim.”

“Why? You have to sign this. It’s adding an exception clause to a previously signed contract, so if it’s not processed, it’ll get complicated later…”

“That’s not it. My hand can’t reach from here to where you are, CEO-nim.”

“…Ah.”

As if remembering that she had told me not to move a single step, the CEO-nim blushed slightly and avoided my gaze.

Then, thrusting the documents in her hand towards me again, she spoke to me in a brazen tone, as if it were obvious.

“You should have the sense to come and get it. Are you going to stand there forever until you die just because I told you to?”

“But earlier you said you’d make me smash my head against the wall…”

“Fine if you don’t want to sign. 5, 4, 3…”

“Ah, no! I’m sorry!”

Having unnecessarily brought it up, I almost lost out completely, so I quickly took the documents regarding the retrieval of the Orichalcum material from her.

After quickly reading and confirming the contents of the documents, I wrote my name and signature and immediately returned them to the CEO-nim.

“H-here you go, CEO-nim.”

“As I said before, there isn’t that much material. You won’t be able to make a massive weapon like your greatsword with this.”

“Yes. That’s fine.”

“And just in case, if you take it but don’t know how to use it, you can sell it back to the company, so keep that in mind too.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Of course, for me, who planned to ask Areum to process the alloy materials, this wasn’t particularly relevant.

I didn’t know exactly how much 1kg of material was, but it was probably enough to fill the lost parts of the Mithril Greatsword. Even if it wasn’t a large chunk, since it would be used as an alloy material, it wasn’t a significant issue.

“Just in case, I’m telling you again, this is something I specifically set aside for you.”

“Yes! Thank you for your consideration!”

“Yes, you should be grateful. Now, for this time…”

“…Are there more documents I need to sign?”

“This is something I couldn’t give you last time. …Anyway, I was trying to give you this when I ended up seeing you do something strange…”

“Yes?”

“…Ah, it’s nothing, just take it quickly.”

As if recalling something in her mind, the CEO-nim spoke, her face flushing, and I took a single-paged document from her hand.

On the paper I received from her, the very top line read “Mystery Dungeon Exploration Report” as the title.

“Mystery Dungeon Exploration Report…?”

“You thanked me earlier, didn’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“Then let’s go on one, a Mystery Dungeon exploration.”

“…Here?”

“Yeah.”

“Me?”

“Then who else is here besides you?”

“That’s true, but…”

“You thanked me earlier for leaving the Orichalcum material, right? Surely it wasn’t just lip service?”

“…Of course not.”

Since the Orichalcum material was half-held as collateral, it seemed difficult to easily refuse the situation.

…This is my first time exploring a Mystery Dungeon, I wonder if this will be okay.