Chapter 817: Stormy Island (5)

After defeating the Storm Spirit through a four-person party hunt, the hunt on Storm Island, where the weather had stabilized, continued for about another hour.

Since an S-class monster like the Storm Spirit takes quite some time to regenerate, I actually wanted to stay a bit longer. Firstly, the very opportunity to ‘go to work’ at the Foundation was rare, and secondly, opportunities to tackle Storm Island in such a stable environment don’t come around often.

I had planned to continue exploring the dungeon with the intention of completely filling the remaining space in my subspace pocket, but unfortunately, it seemed the others didn’t share the same idea. During the process of subjugating the S-class monster, everyone except me appeared to have accumulated quite a bit of fatigue.

In the end, we just finished by descending the mountain and taking down a few monsters that caught our eye along the way. Three black-furred wolves that fearlessly charged despite the clear weather, a pair of mountain moles that suddenly popped out from below the mountain path to attack, and numerous unique dungeon raw stones discovered by Do Yehee using her Mud Golems.

After recovering what could be considered a modest amount of spoils, we returned to the Foundation Guild. Although I felt a slight regret about the remaining hunting time, the most important thing was people, not the hunt, after all.

The three party members of Golden Trajectory, upon returning to the Foundation, collapsed completely exhausted.

“Haaa~. I’m completely worn out~.”

“…It feels like we moved twice as much as during a normal business trip. I’m sure we rested enough inside the dungeon, so why is it that every time I get involved with Taekyung-ssi, things always turn out to be this exhausting…”

“…I usually don’t want to agree with your opinions, but it’s true that Sungchul-ssi tends to be a bit harsh as a party leader.”

If even Sihee is saying this, it seems I really pushed the three of them hard today.

Of course, the reason I could push them to their limits like this was also because I satisfied their sexual urges once midway through. The amount accumulated might have differed for each, but by releasing everyone’s urges, I helped readjust their physical condition. Plus, we even took a short break in Belle’s dungeon before coming out.

Whether or not sexual urges are accumulated really seems to affect hunter activities; I could definitely feel a noticeable difference in their movements between when we entered the cave and when we came out.

In Do Yehee’s case, being a mage, I felt her magical output increased more than before satisfying her urges. And for Sihee, the amount of internal energy contained in each arrow seemed to increase.

Lulusia is a support type, so there wasn’t a huge noticeable change, but as a hunter, satisfying her urges must have had some effect on her ability to unleash her awakened powers.

I had a general idea of this until now, but witnessing firsthand women who grow stronger immediately after having sex with me felt quite profound. It might be an awkward comparison, but it truly felt like I had become their ‘Master’.

‘…Actually, Sihee and Do Yehee are already halfway into that kind of relationship.’

And Eunbyul, though not present here. Looking at them gathered like this, all three were from the Foundation.

Is it just a coincidence, or do only women like this tend to gather at the Foundation? Thinking about Lulusia, it doesn’t seem entirely like that, but she’s technically affiliated with Vatican City rather than the Foundation, so maybe she’s an exception.

Well, whether it’s a lover relationship or a master-servant one, what does it matter? The important thing is that I will continue to satisfy their urges and work alongside them in the future.

As long as they don’t decide they need to leave my side, I intend to never let go of the women who have come into my embrace.

“Sihee-ssi, Lulusia, if you’ve rested enough, could you come over here for a moment?”

“Yeees~?”

“…What is it, Sungchul-ssi?”

“Actually, I have something to discuss regarding the subjugation reward money from the Three-Headed Basilisk hunt the other day.”

Mentioning the Three-Headed Basilisk made both of them tilt their heads as if something came to mind.

“Yes? Ah, you mean that from back then? But I recall already signing a contract to transfer it on my end?”

“Me too~. In my case, I didn’t come on a business trip to Korea specifically to earn money anyway~. And in the case of the State… Ah, oopsie.”

“Hm? The State?”

“Ah, it’s nothing~!”

…It seemed that Sihee, much like Do Yehee, truly didn’t have much attachment to money itself. However, Lulusia’s response indirectly indicated that something other than money was involved.

Well, regarding Lulusia’s decision, the President and I had already discussed it once. Even if I don’t know Lulusia’s personal intentions, I still don’t know what intentions Vatican City might have towards me.

Anyway, Lulusia and Vatican City’s objectives weren’t important right now. The reason I called the two of them was about the construction plan for the Chuncheon City Guild, which was slowly starting to take shape.

“First and foremost, let me state this: I have no intention of accepting the Three-Headed Basilisk subjugation rewards from the two of you for free.”

“Huh?”

“Yeees~?”

“Even though you two signed a contract transferring the Three-Headed Basilisk subjugation rewards to me, I can’t just overlook an amount like this. Do you even know how much the subjugation reward was in the first place?”

“Hmm~? The priests back home mentioned it was roughly a few billion, I think~?”

“…Even generously estimating, it wouldn’t exceed 10 billion won. Though, honestly, even that amount would be fine.”

“……”

It seemed both of them hadn’t handed over the transfer contract just to curry favor with me without knowing the amount.

I never expected to experience the financial sense of the wealthy like this again. Still, I was relieved to know they hadn’t signed the transfer contract blindly.

“…Anyway, 6 billion won isn’t pocket change. Even as Foundation hunters, this amount is by no means small, right? No matter how I think about it, it seems to exceed the scope of what one could simply give out of ‘goodwill’.”

“…Hmm, is that so? Considering my feelings for Sungchul-ssi, I actually thought it might be a little insufficient.”

While Sihee’s generous assessment was somewhat appreciated, I still needed to settle things properly. After all, this was something I had already discussed and settled with people like Hye-eun and Min-ah, whom I’ve known for much longer than Sihee.

I had even exchanged contracts once with her own older sister, Do Yehee, so I couldn’t make an exception for Sihee and Lulusia.

“Here, this is the investment contract for my new guild.”

As I handed one investment contract each to them, both looked at me with a peculiar gaze, so I added a sufficient explanation.

“The reason I insist on writing an investment contract isn’t because I don’t want to accept your goodwill, but because I consider the relationship I’ll have with you both to be long-lasting.”

“……”

“……”

“And besides Sihee-ssi and Lulusia, everyone else has already signed it. All the personnel who participated in the Three-Headed Basilisk hunt that day signed contracts in the form of investing in the guild I’m creating.”

Although the specific details of each contract varied slightly, the core content was the same: investing their subjugation rewards into my guild.

Clauses like staying at my house until the investment contract ends, investing only until Hye-eun is retained as a guild member without being fired, or requesting anonymity for the investor were just extras.

“If Sihee-ssi or Lulusia wishes, you can add supplementary clauses to the contract. Conditions that must be met in return for the investment, things you desire from me, or even requests for investor anonymity-I can accommodate those as well.”

“…Alright. In any case, signing this contract means I’ll have a stake in the guild you’re creating, Sungchul-ssi?”

“Yes, Sihee-ssi.”

“Okay. Since everyone else is doing it, it feels wrong for me to be the only one not participating. …I had hoped the first contract I’d sign with Sungchul-ssi would be something different, but I guess this counts as our first joint venture as lovers, so I’ll accept it.”

Sihee inscribed her conditions onto the contract while muttering various things.

Meanwhile, Lulusia, who immediately started writing something upon hearing she could add extra clauses, soon showed me the additional content she had written on the contract.

「During the investment period, ‘B’ [the investor] shall visit ‘Vatican City’ at least once a year whenever ‘A’ [Sungchul] desires.」

“Is something like this permissible, Taekyung~?”