Chapter 20 -The Luxury of a Cup of Coffee (2)

Translator: HH

Hmm. You got guts.

Count slightly lifted a corner of her mouth.

And you dont seem to be that surprised that a cat turned into a humanyoure not like young folks these days. Ah, this is a compliment.

Thank you. I do have guts. I even see ghosts and stuff.

Ahahaha. Youre even relaxed enough to joke. Amazing.

Count started to wave her fan and laughed. Even though he didnt say that as a joke.

Uh

Um

The hunters all peeked at each other. Only the Count laughed. The team leaders who had been loudly shouting prices became quiet as mice with the arrival of the Count.

Uh, maam. Pardon me, but

The large blond hunter carefully spoke up.

Pardon yourself.

Isnt 50,000 Gold and the vice guild mastertoo much? O, Of course, subjugating the 10th floor is amazing. Butthe skills of Kim Gong-jaarenot known

As he went on, he stuttered more. It was because he suddenly forgot out to speak. The Count was covering her mouth with her fan and looking at him. She smiled with her eyes past the fan.

Are you done pardoning?

Yes.

Then before you pardon yourself more, bring your bosses. Sorry, you guys wont understand me. Ah, it doesnt matter if you can bet higher than 50,000 Gold. Just sit here comfortably.

She was politely telling them to p.i.s.s off.

And since they were being told to p.i.s.s off, there was nothing else they could do. They left one by one.

And after 10 minutes, like they handed the baton over to someone else, new hunters entered the cafe.

f.u.c.king Sangryun!

Rank 5. Venomous Snake, Guild Master of Chen Mu-mun.

Mm. Im a step behind. I admit its our mistake.

Rank 4. Guild Master of Ten Thousand Temple, heretic questioner.

Mistake isnt the right word. Our job isnt to welcome a new hero, but to stop the existing hunters from being confused. You were too excessive.

Rank 8. Vice Guild Master of Civil Militia, Crusader.

Rank 2. And even the Guild Master of Black Dragon, Black Witch.

Wow.

I exclaimed to myself.

Theyre all a.s.sembled.

I was proud of myself. They were the highest rankers that I only saw in interview videos and such. They all sat down in front of me. I was able to realize how much more expensive my body was now.

Welcome.

Count cupped her chin and laughed.

I dont know how long its been since we gathered like this. It feels like yesterday when we subjugated the 2nd floor together. Now were all old.

Ssangryun. [TN: An extra S on Sangryun sounds like b.i.t.c.h in Korean.] Before I boil you in soup, shut up.

Venomous Snake growled.

Chen Mu-muns Guild Master, the one-eyed hunter. The person known to be the one to successfully clear the 2nd floor had an eye patch on his eye.

They said it was a scar after challenging Sword Saint.

I heard on the way here. What, 50,000 Gold? Vice Guild Master? You always cosplay a beast and even your IQs been reduced to a beasts? The 50,000 Gold I could understand since thats Ssangryuns specialty, throwing money around, but Vice Guild Master my as

Alright! Lets order coffee!

Heretic Questioner spoke brightly.

Its rude to enter a cafe and not even order. Should the people who lead the greatest clans in the tower be like this? Ill order a cafe mocha. Everyone?

Ah, Id like a warm americano.

A cool cafe latte sounds nice.

hazelnut latte. Hot. Additional shots. Grande.

The Guild Masters spoke one by one like they had been waiting. The only person to be surprised was Venomous Snake.

What? Coffee? Hey. The worlds been turned upside down because the 10th floor was cleared, and coffee goes down your throats? Are these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds suckers for caffeine or

Chen Mu-mun would like a dark espresso, I see. Understood.

This f.u.c.king religious guy?

Store owner-nim! Please take our orders!

Heretic Questioner ignored the Venomous Snake and shouted. Flinch. The barista at the counter trembled. She became pale at the fact that she would be making coffee for the highest rankers.

W, Wouldyou like to.order?

Yes!

Heretic Questioner beamed.

The Guild Master of Ten Thousand Temple. The blonde hunter. The young man who was in charge of making sure religious fights didnt occur in this place where people from all over the tower were gathered was famous for speaking formally to everyone.

I heard he even spoke politely to terrorists he questioned.

One tall iced cafe mocha. One tall warm americano. One tall iced caffe latte. One grande warm hazelnut latte, with a shot. And one espresso! Thats my order1

Yes! Uh, yes!

Ah, right-

Heretic Questioner turned his gaze.

-what would hunter Kim Gong-ja-nim like?

All kinds of gazes landed on me. The table instantly became quiet. An amused gaze. A bright gaze. A violent gaze. A cold gaze. An indifferent gaze. Five faces and 10 eyeb.a.l.l.s silently looked at me.

Like they were testing my reaction.

-Dont be scared.

Then, Bae Hu-ryeong, who had been quiet all this time, spoke up.

-Theyre not much. Just think that theyre not that much! You were even killed by grandpops Marcus. None of them are better than grandpops.

I know.

I knew well.

Its just a mind game.

And it was a twisted, tricky mind game.

I shrugged my shoulders.

Store owner-nim. Do you have a menu?

Sorry?

Maybe because I have a macchiato earlier, I dont really feel coffee right now. I want to decide after seeing a menumm. Never mind. Please give me a hot chocolate if you have one.

A, Alright.

Composure.

I had to show a composed att.i.tude right now.

These people didnt randomly come here at once.

Earlier, when the team leaders came, and now, the hunters all arrived at the same time.

Was this a coincidence?

Never!

A strategy hidden behind coincidence.

They were acting.

This is a strategy to make me lose my composure.

It was a high-cla.s.s strategy, kind of like how gangsters ganged up on one person to threaten them.

Well. Even if theyre a bit more scarier than hunters

It was a frozen and tense atmosphere.

Its nothing compared to being burned alive.

In other words, it was just a little ice.

Before I was killed by the Flame Emperor, I wouldve trembled in fear seeing these peoplebut not anymore. I wasnt scared at all.

The reason was ridiculously simple.

Try to kill me if you want.

Even if they killed me, I would be fine!

Bae Hu-ryeong nodded his head.

-Yeah. Like I said. That talent is your strength! Glare at them like they can try to kill you if they want. Put power behind your eyes! Like these losers who cant even kill you are acting tough!

Uh, thanks for the support. But Im not going to let you off the hook.

-This d.a.m.ned!

Bae Hu-ryeong grabbed his head in despair.

Mm.

On the other hand, the Heretic Questioners expression changed.

Interesting. It seems like you didnt do much before subjugating the 10th floor. A sudden changeI guess you cant tell whats gonna happen to anyone!

He did do something.

The Count covered her mouth with her fan and smiled with her eyes.

That youngster was chosen as my guilds lottery winner. Hes got luck. And guts. And I dont know how, but seeing as he cleared the 10th floor, hes got skills. Luck. Guts. Skills. If a youngster has those 3, theyll succeed.

Haaso thats why I said earlier!

Venomous Snake sighed from across the table.

Dont do this and that and just scout him! Would the person who cracked the 10th floor be a newbie who doesnt know anything? Tsk. We put on an act even though it didnt work

Thats not important.

The Guild Master of Black Dragon, who had been sitting quietly stood up.

Just because some of our reputations were hurt doesnt mean all of ours were. Were all busy. Lets push back blaming others.

Grunt

Hunter Kim Gong-ja.

The Witch looked at me.

Ill ask directly. Which guild are you planning on signing up for?

A steady gaze.

If youre planning on not registering in any guild like the Sword Saint, let us know in advance. We have to discuss how to handle the media if that happens.

And if Im planning on applying?

An intense auction will start.

The Witch calmly spoke.

Weve stayed too long on the 9th floor. It was just tough. But since you cleared the 10th floor, the chance to advertise the value of the Tower to the outside world has come again.

A chance, you say.

Yes. Chance. A chance to bring people from the outside who arent just war refugees.

The barista brought a tray over and served coffee. No one spoke. The Witch just took a sip of her hazelnut latte.

And most of all. The hunters who were living comfortably on the 1st floor will have a renewed sense of adventure with the 10th floor open. What kind of world will be waiting there? Even the realists will wonder.

The shortage of food will be solved.

The Witch looked at me like she didnt expect what I said.

youre quick to understand. Thats right. Its hard to manage the supply of food with just 9 floors.

Ive been opening a pathway from the outside world to here 24/7.

The Count smiled.

Im not as strong as I used to be. Its a bit tiring with my age.

We need a new product.

The Witch continued to speak.

We need to bring adventurers to the land beyond the 10th floor. And we need to find things that can only be found past the 10th floor.

Then we need a way to positively appeal to the outside world. Something like [Start of a New Era!]. And youre saying thats me, right?

Right. Exactly on point.

They were all things that would happen in the future.

That was also the reason why the Guild Masters couldnt touch the Flame Emperor. To be a hero. Being the new icon of the new era. It was because for the tower to keep growing, there needed to be new heroes!

But the Black Dragon still tried to a.s.sa.s.sinate the Flame Emperor.

I thought of the conversation I overheard in the slums.

-Who ordered you to kill me? Just answer that.

-Was it the Witch of Black Dragon?

The Saintess had nodded her head back then.

If she was telling the truth, then the Witch in front of me had tried to poison the Flame Emperor. I couldnt know the reason why now but

Well get along.

Why?

Someone who hated the Flame Emperor cant be a bad person!

Like the enemy of my enemy was my friend. I felt a camaraderie with her.

I understand what youre saying. Youre saying the guild that successfully catches me can be the new symbol of the towers growth. And other guilds will probably have to act as lackeys.

Yeah.

Ill feel bad if that happensso lets do this.

The hunters focused on my words.

I pulled out the trump card I had.

a trump card?

The Witch tilted her head.

Are you saying we should choose by playing a game? The guild youll be in?

Yes.

Ill join the guild of the winner. I dont even need a position or contract fee. However!

I grinned.

If I win, Ill apply simultaneously to all your guilds.

Ah. Ill only be a guild member on the outside. In reality, you have to treat me like Im on the same level as you all. And you can sell my image, so its good for you. Ill be on the same level as the leaders of all the greatest guilds. Hows that sound?

At that moment, the eyes of the Guild Masters changed.

Hahahah.

Count burst out in laughter.

A youngster who just subjugated a single floor wants to be treated like us?

Yes. If I win.

Amusing. Im fine with that.

The Count put her coffee down and looked around.

What about you guys?

As long as theres no tricks, Im fine as well!

The Heretic Questioner agreed first.

lets not use our skills. Then you all have the advantage. If you get caught using your skill, that persons automatically disqualified.

Next was the Venomous Snake.

Our guild is poor anyway so if we bid on you well lose. Even if I lose the game, I wont lose anything else, and if I win, Ill gain a lot. Sounds good.

And the Crusader agreed.

Lastly, the Witch nodded her head.

Fine. Ill accept your suggestion.

The gamble was on.

We decided the rules of poker. The rules itself were simple. The highest rankers neatly checked whether there were any tricks on the cards.

Sword Emperor.

And when the cards were distributed.

-Huh?

You dont really want to call me Gong-ja-nim, right?

I called out to Bae Hu-ryeong, who was still in despair.

Lets do this.

-Do what?

Just call me that until the end of this game.

Bae Hu-ryeongs eyes widened.

-Huh? Can I really do that?!

Yes. Of course.

I grinned.

Instead, you have to tell me what cards each of these players are holding.

-Yes! Yes! Alright!

Bae Hu-ryeong jumped up and down.

-Thats f.u.c.king easy! As expected of Gong-ja-nim! Look at this generous guy! I dont know how someone can be this nice! You want to know what cards these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds have? Yup, dont worry. Ill even tell you if theyre cheating or not! Sir!

Alright.

Time to begin.