"Wow, Uncle!" Sae-ah shouted as soon as they entered the penthouse. "I was itching to say this… but I can't believe they're offering 10% of the guild's shares!"
She showed him the messages she'd exchanged with Sofia, and his eyes widened at the offer.
"They're offering 10%?" he asked. He'd been expecting Robert Gates to make a tempting offer other than appointing him as the head of the guild, but he never imagined something like 10% of the guild's shares.
"Shouldn't... you consider this offer? America First is the world's top guild, and the shares are unbelievably valuable…" She looked up how much the shares were worth, and her jaw dropped at the astronomical value. Just how many zeroes was that?
"I won't be going to the United States," he said. The offer was definitely surprising, but he had no intention of going.
"Even though they're offering 10%?"
"Yes. I need to feed the World Tree's leaf to the Sword King, and getting a match against Japan will be almost impossible if I go to the United States."
The USA and Japan were in different leagues, so the only way for them to face each other was in the World Champions League. If he wanted to meet the Sword King as quickly as possible, then staying in a country that shared the same league, such as South Korea, would be best.
"Aah... I must be crazy! Uncle, I can't believe you'd refuse the offer just because of Dad while I was losing my mind over it…"
"Well, 10% is a huge offer," he said.
"Thank you so much, Uncle... you're amazing for turning such an offer away for my dad's sake..." Sae-ah seemed moved, but JiHan only managed to make a bitter smile.
'Well, I originally only intended to stay in South Korea for the nationality bonus, but I don't need that now that I have Martial Soul.'
He was confident he could become the world's top player without such a bonus if he could properly develop Martial Soul, but there was still something else that bothered him about the thought of switching to the United States.
'I'll always be a foreigner there.' He'd personally experienced how hard it was for a foreigner to fully integrate into American society. He was already living a good life in his home country, so there was no need to go abroad.
'The Korean team is an issue... but things will improve once Sae-ah grows and the Sword King returns.' Once they resolved the situation with Shizuru, everything would be okay with the team.
He decided he wouldn't go to the United States, but he still had an idea.
"Sae-ah, don't you think it'd be a pity to just turn the offer aside?"
"Why do you ask? Did you come up with an idea?"
"Before I explain… Do you still get stressed by this place?" he asked as he broadly indicated the penthouse.
Sae-ah looked around for a moment and then shook her head from side to side. The place often felt suffocating and depressing to her in the past due to all of the traces it still contained of the dad who'd abandoned her.
"No. Not anymore. I found out he only left because of Enchantment, after all."
"In that case, we should take back the building," he said.
"Take it back?" she asked. "Didn't we already donate it?"
"Well, the situation is different now."
Sae-ah faced blame and defamation after the Sword King abandoned his family and left for Japan, but JiHan becoming the Korean team's sole hope changed the situation completely.
JiHan smiled and said, "I'll make them beg me to take the building back."
Within the Battle Net Administration's General Manager Office, Gyu-seung frowned and said, "The Americans are trying to recruit JiHan again?"
"Yes. They even offered him a position as the guild master."
"Haa... They went that far...?"
It was true that JiHan's performance in the Battle Net team games was amazing, but wasn't that a bit excessive?
"Isn't Oliver, the world's top ranker, the guild master? Would he give up his position so easily?"
"The America First Guild is strongly influenced by the Gates family and the USA's government. Even if he opposes it, the guild master can be replaced at any time."
"Wouldn't JiHan have gone to the United States if he wanted to? He already rejected an offer for $300 million while he was in Silver, after all."
No country could compete with the United States when it came to spending money, but Gyu-seung harbored some hope since JiHan hadn't gone to the United States when given the opportunity in the past.
"Should we just watch for now?"
"Hmm... Contact whoever's in charge of his case," he said.
"Are you talking about Manager Park Yoon-sik?"
"Right. Ask him to figure out JiHan's thoughts on the matter."
"Yoon-sik is on vacation..."
"Do you think that's more important? Tell him to go right now! I'll just give him another vacation afterward!"
Yoon-sik had to return from his vacation to the East Sea and find JiHan, and when he finally reported back…
"Mr. Sung said he hasn't heard the details of the offer yet," he said.
"That makes sense. Sofia is still on her way, right? Maybe we were too hasty," Gyu-seung replied.
"Maybe… but he did suddenly ask me when he was supposed to leave the Sword Palace."
"Why'd he bring that up...?"
"He seemed curious about when we were going to repossess it."
It was a weird time to bring that up…
"He was wondering if we were really going to go through with the donation process."
"Ah…" General Manager Gyu-seung finally understood. "Hmm! What do you think? Does he want the Sword Palace back?"
"I'd say he does."
"Really? I'd like to return it immediately, but... it isn't under our jurisdiction."
The Sword Palace was too big of a building for the Administration Office to return without discussing it with the government.
"Just in case… Would I be able to keep my position if the government didn't give it back soon enough and JiHan went to the United States?
Yoon-sik remained silent at Gyu-seung's question. Though he didn't say anything, the answer was pretty clear.
There would be a national uproar if JiHan left for the United States. Everyone would question what the Administration Office was doing, and then Gyu-seung would be pressured to resign.
"A player like JiHan is priceless. Not even ten Sword Palaces could match his value, and he's only a Gold! Once he reaches Diamond… He might try to become the world's top ranker."
"I believe that as well," Yoon-sik said.
"We can't let a player like him leave for the United States."
"Then..."
"Let's start a rumor to sway public opinion."
"You want the Administration Office to start a rumor...?"
"Yes. We should make it seem like the rumor came from an employee's negligence."
He'd gone through a lot to become the general manager of the Administration Office, so of course he wanted to maintain the position for as long as possible.
Moreover…
'This is absolutely necessary for South Korea.'
JiHan staying would be best for the country as well. It would be a bargain if it could be solved with the Sword Palace.
"Say that JiHan received an incredible offer from the United States and that we're trying to petition the government to give the Sword Palace back."
"Ah... I understand," Yoon-sik said.
Following their discussion, the Administration Office ensured the rumor spread.
'Since JiHan's been the talk of the town these days, I'm sure it'll spread quickly,' Gyu-seung thought.
Despite his anticipation, he couldn't help but be shocked when he soon saw every news site's front page plastered with the rumor.
"Wh-what…? They already published articles about it?"
[Sung JiHan Moving To America First? He Was Offered The Guild Master Position!]
One breaking news article was posted after the other.
[World's Top Ranker, Oliver, Says, "If Sung JiHan Comes To America First, I Will Gladly Step Down As Guild Master."]
[Robert Gates: "Becoming guild master is just the highlight of this huge offer."]
Even more of a frenzy was stirred up by comments from United States officials.
- What? The guild master position?
- Ah, damn. I was happy Gates hadn't been sending donations lately, but what's this all of a sudden? Damn it!
- He played too well in the game against China... He did such a good job that I got anxious... ㅠㅠ
- America's reaction is crazy. They're practically begging him to go, hahaha.
- For real. He's only a Gold, but he slaughtered Diamond players.
- Some people are modifying their America First uniforms to say 'SUNG', hahaha.
Due to Battle Net's popularity as the world's only true sport, the game between Korea and China, which had only taken place the day before, became the topic of global discussion.
What particularly drew a lot of attention was JiHan's participation as a Mage in match four, and all of the experts praised his strategic potential.
- Did you see the match against China? If JiHan goes to the United States, we're done.
ㅠㅠ
- Damn. The Americans have the world's top guild and player, but they're still picking on the small guy.
[USA Offers Guild Master Position, Korea Snatches Away The Sword Palace.]
[Bloom Guild Temporarily Suspends Player Recruitment. Will The Guild Move To The USA As Well?]
While websites were full of news related to JiHan's potential transfer, Sofia, the one who'd sent the message that plunged South Korea into chaos, finally arrived at the Bloom Guild.
She immediately found HaYeon, and she had a very different expression on her face from her usual smile. "HaYeon, look into my eyes," she said. "Are you dating JiHan?"
Flash—
Sofia's eyes twinkled with a golden light.
"What's up with those eyes...?" HaYeon asked in disbelief. "Did you use a skill?"
"Fufu. These eyes can see the truth. So… what's your answer?"
"Ah, of course we're dating!" HaYeon tried to say it as naturally as possible while looking straight into her eyes, but…
"As I expected, you aren't dating." Sofia's expression brightened, and her golden eyes returned to their original blue.
"When did you get the 'Eyes of Truth'?" HaYeon asked.
That's when JiHan and Sae-ah entered the office.
"JiHan!" Sofia exclaimed as she approached him with a bright smile on her face. "I knew you weren't dating her! I can't picture you dating someone other than me."
"If you were so sure," he said, "then why did you buy the Eyes of Truth?"
"It's always good to be certain."
"What are the 'Eyes of Truth'?" Sae-ah asked.
Sofia took out a glass lens. "It's an item that helps you see whether someone's telling the truth, but it's a one-time-use thing."
"That sounds quite expensive."
"I think it was about five million GP?"
Sae-ah looked at her in disbelief. Had she seriously burned five million on a lie detector? Rather than it being amazing, it was awe-inspiring.
"JiHan, I saw the news on my way to Korea," Sofia said. "It seems you're quite the talk of the town, aren't you?"
"Are you talking about the transfer rumors?" JiHan asked.
"Yes. Would you like to become our guild master? We'll even give you 10% of the shares."
"No. I won't be going to the United States."
"Not even if we give you more shares?"
"Not even then."
"That's too bad..." When she saw his firm answer, Sofia gave up on trying to persuade him further.
"You gave up fast," he said.
"I had a feeling that you wouldn't come. You wouldn't have spread rumors if you had any intention of joining us." She knew JiHan's character to some extent and had guessed the truth behind the noisy rumors.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" she asked.
JiHan smiled. "If you're willing to help, then should we escalate things to the next level?"