“Darling, I know you’re still recovering, so I’m sorry for making you come all the way here,” Cha Hee-Ra said.

“Stop teasing me. I’m sure you already know everything. By the way, I didn’t think I’d be able to come back here… it feels different. Thanks for calling for me, noona,” I told her.

“Right? Almost everyone that comes back here has the same reaction,” she commented.

Cha Hee-Ra looked at me as if she had expected it. She was still the same Cha Hee-Ra that I knew. She still looked confident, and her eyes and red lips were still intimidating. The biggest part that stood out the most was her messy hair. I guess it had been a long time since we had seen each other because her hair was already down to her chest, and excluding the last time when I saw her briefly, this was the first time we saw each other face-to-face. I had an idea as to why she had been avoiding me all this time, so I didn’t bother bringing up that incident, but it was surprising to see Cha Hee-Ra pretending as if nothing had happened.

‘Maybe she’s really trying to pretend like nothing had happened…’

That was a possibility, but based on her personality, I didn’t think she was just going to let it pass so easily. Regardless of the reason, the damage Cha Hee-Ra had caused at Castle Rock was a huge mistake, and since I had been affected, I was sure I would get something out of it. Maybe the reason she called me here was to compensate me for what happened back then.

The Red Mercenary Guild was in charge of this tutorial dungeon and even though the Red Mercenary and the Blue Guild were allies, revealing the dungeon to me first was more like a special favor.

‘She might even give me a few priority negotiation rights…’

I wasn’t sure about that, but I couldn’t help but think that I would benefit from this, as she had invited me here.

“Ahem. I’d like to hear the details, if you don’t mind,” I suggested.

“Sure. I was going to get right into it anyway. Have you had dinner yet?” Cha Hee-Ra asked.

“Not yet,” I replied.

“Then, let’s talk while eating. The conversation won’t be that complicated anyway,” she said.

“Okay…”

“Hey! Can you bring us something to eat? Bring us something simple. Oh! You know the dish we ate last time? Bring us that,” she ordered.

“Okay, Guild Master,” a member answered.

The Red Mercenary was definitely different. It was different from the time when the Blue Guild had been in charge of the tutorial dungeon. It was also interesting how unlike Lee Sang-Hee, who was the former guild master, Cha Hee-Ra herself didn’t go out to greet the attack parties. It was here when I realized that when Lee Sang-Hee came out to greet Jung Ha-Yan and I—it was a once in a blue moon moment.

‘She did say we cleared the dungeon the fastest…’

The meaning of being unique wasn’t limited to that sentence alone.

It was hard to believe that the location I was in right now was the same location Lee Sang-Hee had used, and the training camp I saw outside the window had been completely decorated and was now waiting for the new recruits. As I stared out the window, the food Cha Hee-Ra had ordered finally arrived. I wasn’t the type to enjoy food, so I wasn’t all that interested, but the food was obviously of high quality.

‘Even the food is unique...’

“Try this, darling. I tried it last time, and it was delicious,” Cha Hee-Ra recommended.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Do you want some wine?” she asked.

“No, I don’t want any since I’m technically still a patient,” I answered.

“That’s kind of unfortunate. So, what do you think about this place?” she asked.

“Want my honest opinion?” I asked.

“Yeah…”

“I’m really surprised,” I told her.

“I want to hear the details,” she requested.

“I understand why people talk about the Red Mercenary Guild a lot. When I first arrived here, the Blue Guild looked pretty amazing, but your guild is on another level. Everything here is high-quality, and even the guild members are great… They all seem very energetic. People might think it’s the guild members that are getting trained, not the new recruits. You’re trying to show that off, right?” I asked.

“You’re right. The new recruits are important, but this event is only held once a year, so it’s a chance for us to show our guild’s strength to the other guilds. The transfer window will open up soon, and we can also discourage the recruiters of other guilds, so it’s a great opportunity,” Cha Hee-Ra explained.

“You have a bad habit,” I remarked.

“People who are at the top need to show off their powers once in a while, darling. If you don’t do that, foolish people will continue to challenge you,” she explained.

“I’m sure there isn’t a person in Lindel crazy enough to challenge you, noona,” I said.

“I’m not doing this because of the people in Lindel. This may not apply to the Japanese who are in Celia, but it may apply to the Taiwanese players in Dawan. As you can see, our guild went kind of overboard. Since we’re going to show off to everyone, we decided to go all out by replacing the members’ badges and equipment with new ones and starting the construction a few months in advance to replace the equipment at the training camp with new ones,” she added.

“Does that have to do something with you calling me here?” I asked.

“Hm… I guess you could say there’s somewhat of a connection. Being able to show that our alliance with the Blue Guild is strong is a good thing, but I have a different reason for calling you here,” she replied.

“Hm…”

“You already know, right?” she asked.

“I don’t know if my assumption is correct, but is it regarding the workers?” I asked.

‘That’s right,” she answered.

“I was worried that I was wrong…”

“I wasn’t all that interested in production work before you came, and to be honest, I was almost indifferent about it,” Cha Hee-Ra started.

“I understand that,” I said.

“Alchemists are usually recruited to a party when there’s no priest, but recruiting an alchemist is a pretty ridiculous thing to do. There’s no point in recruiting a non-combatant member when they can just buy potions. Alchemists can only join a party when that party doesn’t have a mage or a priest, and they have no other choice,” she continued.

“You’re being pretty blunt,” I told her.

“I’m not talking about you, darling. It’s the same thing for blacksmiths. There are already a lot of talented blacksmiths in the Holy Empire, so there’s no reason for people to go on adventures just to visit a rookie blacksmith. Other than that, I don’t even think that I need to mention the end of non-combatant and production-type jobs that the system is regulating. They can’t join guilds, and if they spend the night in the slums, they will end up getting killed,” she added.

“That’s until I came, right?” I asked.

“That’s correct. It had always been like that before you came. No one has shown how valuable a production-type job can be with the support of a guild and with enough materials. Of course, that doesn’t mean that other guilds haven’t tried to invest in production-type jobs. Before you came, a few guilds tried to make it work, but they all failed,” Cha Hee-Ra explained.

“I understand what you’re talking about…”

“Considering the situation, I think the city has started to think what it would be like if they supported the production field,” she added.

“That’s a bit surprising,” I remarked.

“Aside from you, some guy claiming to be a starlight or sunlight engraver appeared in a small village. I don’t think he’s that efficient, but it’s one of the production facilities that has been receiving the support of a guild. The guild hasn’t made a lot of profit with it, but the potential is there. I invited you here out of my personal greed, but the guild and the clan masters of the city had also made a request,” she continued.

“Hm… so that’s what happened,” I mumbled.

“It doesn’t matter if you ignore it, but I’m also in favor of increasing the quality of the city’s production-type jobs. Even the empire seems like they want it to happen, so now you know,” she added.

I completely understood what was going on.

Basically, everyone’s expectations of the production field had increased because of me. Out of the potions I had made, the effects of the high-quality ones were so good that they provided a similar healing effect from a priest. People wouldn’t usually use many high-quality potions because they were consumables, but a party going out on a hunt would usually carry a few with them.

Even though it was only for a moment, there was a production boom within Lindel, and a few guilds and clans continued to invest in the production field. In a situation like this, it was obvious what kind of request the guilds and clans had made to the Red Mercenary Guild. I was certain they had suggested adding a production course to their training. The guild could have simply ignored the request of a few guilds, but as the king reigning over Lindel, there were too many things the Red Mercenary Guild would have to worry about if they decided to ignore their people’s pleas. It was understandable for Cha Hee-Ra to make this kind of decision because even the empire somewhat wanted it to happen as well.

‘She’s trying to be a wise king…’

Cha Hee-Ra wanted to use this opportunity to show her authority and mercy at the same time because that was what an ideal king was like.

“So they thought you would call for me if they continued to file requests to the Red Mercenary Guild. They’re pretty smart…” I told her.

“I’m sure they visited the Blue Guild a few times as well. It was around the time when you were stuck in your laboratory. I’m sure many people bothered the guild and the receptionist must have received a lot of requests. They were being considerate by not directly going to you so that their lovely alchemist can focus on his research,” she informed me.

“I’m grateful for that,” I commented.

“How sweet. By the way, are you two dating?” Cha Hee-Ra asked.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“There are strange rumors and books going around the city…” she replied.

“They’re false rumors,” I interrupted her.

“That’s a relief, but anyway, that’s what happened. I did tell the guilds and clans not to worry, but if you don’t want to do it, I won’t force you,” she spoke.

“No, it’s not that I don’t want to,” I started.

“Is there a reason?” she asked.

“I’m in favor of increasing the quality of the production field itself,” I said.

“That’s a surprise…,” she mumbled.

“Of course, not participating in this may be beneficial for me since I’m dominating the market, but that’s not really the case. To be honest, a proper market hasn’t been set up yet. I’m the only well-known seller, and my potions are pretty expensive. Basically, only those with money will use my potions,” I continued.

“Ohh…”

“Poor parties and clans don’t have the luxury to purchase my potions. The people dying by going out to hunt without priests wouldn’t have been able to use my potion anyway, and that’s why I created samples that are cheaper. However, that would cause issues with the brand’s image. Moreover, using factories still wouldn’t matter as the production of high-quality potions would still be more beneficial to me,” I explained.

“Hm… I understand. So you need people to lay the foundation so that the market will be more active,” she said.

“That’s right. People aren’t fond of potions because they’re consumables. There could be people who had never drank potions, but those that had drunk it before didn’t just drink it once and stopped. What do you think will happen if low-level players get good results after coming back from a hunt, and then they start to grow more and more? Don’t you think they’ll continue using the cheaper version of the potions they had been drinking? Their life's on the line, after all,” I continued.

“Are you saying that it doesn’t matter as long as it’s made by Lee Ki-Young?” she asked.

“That’s right. People here and on Earth like luxury goods, and buyers want a company they can trust. I’m not trying to show off, but I’m a unique alchemist, and while I’m alive, the chance of a competitor is zero. In many ways, it isn’t that bad because of the reason I had mentioned just now: the city’s welfare issue and my image. What I’m curious about is the profit I can get from all this. I’m sure they had offered something while making the request,” I explained.

“Of course, you’ll get something out of it. You’ll receive personal compensation. The guilds and clans will give you gold, and they’ll mark it as an education expense,” Cha Hee-Ra responded.

“Nice!” I cheered.

“You like it?” she asked.

“I have a need for money recently. Will the Red Mercenary Guild give me anything?” I asked.

“Don’t you think you’re being too straightforward, darling?”.

“Ahem…”

Cha Hee-Ra knocked on the table as if she was expressing her sadness, but I wasn’t going to give a lecture for free.

“The Red Mercenary Guild will also compensate you, and I personally want to give you a few things. I was thinking about giving this to you even if you reject the offer. Also…” she started.

“Also?”

“I’m thinking about giving the Blue Guild a few priority negotiation rights,” she replied.

“How many?” I asked.

“Shouldn’t you ask how many parties there are before asking that?” she pointed out.

“Oh, you’re right,” I agreed.

“There are a total of 14 players that will conquer this tutorial dungeon, and we can give you five priority negotiation rights. That’s too many even for us, you know,” she emphasized.

“There are 14 people?” I asked.

“It’s normal to have that many people. Your party was just special. So… are you going to do it?” she asked.

“You’re not overdoing it, right noona?” I asked.

“I told you it’s too many even for us. But, this is also my way of apologizing, so don’t worry about it,” she assured.

“Apologizing for what I wonder…” I teased.

“Stop provoking me when you already know and stop looking at me with that kind of look on your face. Just hurry up and answer. Are you going to do it or not?” she asked once again.

When I smiled brightly while looking at Cha Hee-Ra, she urged me to give her an answer. She was pretty cute and obviously, I already had an answer in mind.