[Chapter 145]
[Things Money Can't Buy (3)]
"─How much can you be bought for?"
When he heard those words,
Eunha looked at an old tiger who had ambition but couldn't actually unfold it, endlessly pushed out by the flow of the times.
His eyes sparkled with ambition.
But drooping eyebrows that couldn't overcome the years covered more than half of that ambition.
"There's exactly one absolute truth I've realized living to this age. Do you know what it is?" "..."
"There's nothing in this world that can't be bought with money. In a world where even a filial child can kill their own parents in front of money."
While lighting a cigarette,
The old tiger speaks in a gruff voice, as if it's only natural.
A tone imbued with years of experience.
His words seemed to contain a life deposited over several decades.
In other words─
─He's a fossil.
Eunha immediately grasped his essence upon facing the KK Group chairman.
He's a fossil trapped in the past.
"I really hate beating around the bush. So I'll ask directly. How much can you be bought for? How much should I give for you to come under me?"
An attitude oozing absolute confidence.
The world said it was overflowing with arrogance.
But by continuously proving his skills to the world until now,
He made it so no one could deny his arrogance.
That's why his arrogance must have soared endlessly to the sky.
Not knowing that giraffe sons were rising up from below.
"Your ability is really amazing. Probably even those old men called living legends will be no match for you in the distant future. So I want to buy your confirmed future with money." "..." "It doesn't matter if you're already entangled with other groups. I'll pay more than what they offer."
"..."
"So how much do you want? Tell me. Would giving you half the group be enough? Or should I give you the entire group? Nothing's impossible. Unlike those guys, I can pay even the group I've built up until now as the price."
Eunha quietly listened to Kim Geon's words.
The more he listened, the more ridiculous it was.
He clicked his tongue at the words saying he'd give him shares in the group by having him marry KK Group's direct descendant.
It was a bold proposal.
It was groundbreaking.
The Sirius Group, the Alice Group.
It was surely a condition they couldn't propose to him.
"─KK Group has ambition. Before long, we'll cover this country in KK's name. When that time comes, the world will be in your hands." "..."
"I'll put half the world, no, the entire world in your hands. So hurry and come under me."
The ambition is certainly great.
But it's an ambition that won't be realized.
Eunha inwardly mocked his boasting.
Then he silently looked down at the blank check placed on the table.
Suddenly he had such a thought.
How much is my worth?
As KK Group Chairman Kim Geon said,
If everything in the world can be bought with money,
How much would his worth be if converted to money?
"..."
Right now the old tiger is assuming his worth can be obtained by giving the entire group.
An amount that becomes trillions when calculated by market capitalization.
It was too large an amount to put a price on one person.
Would there be anyone who wouldn't be tempted?
"..."
"Not to your liking?"
The reason the old tiger in front of him is smiling so confidently now is probably because he's certain he won't be able to refuse.
If I could control an entire group as I wish...
It would be helpful to me.
Eunha was also inwardly shaken by Kim Geon's groundbreaking proposal.
"─That's right. There may be nothing in the world that can't be bought with money."
"Yes, you've thought well."
"Then let me ask one thing."
Eunha reached out his hand.
He grabs the blank check.
Then the old tiger put on a sardonic smile.
He must have thought he'd been won over.
But─
"─Can you buy time with money?" "...What?"
"If you think you can buy me with money, why don't you try turning back time?"
"What are you saying? Are you joking with me now?"
"I'm not joking."
─Eunha decided not to waver.
When he tried to think of his own worth, he couldn't help but recall Lee Yu-jeong.
A companion from his previous life who stayed by his side, who could never be expressed by any words existing in the world.
The self living this life now─
─If Yu-jeong wasn't there, I probably wouldn't exist now.
Cannot be defined without mentioning Lee Yu-jeong's existence.
Noh Eunha living his second life gained the opportunity to live a new life through Lee Yu-jeong.
So if you want to buy me─
"─Do you think that's possible?"
"Then there are things that can't be bought with money after all." "Are you joking with me now..." "That's good. You've finally gained the realization that absolute truths don't exist at the end of your life." "...What? Y-you bastard─"
"─Who are you to evaluate my life and make a fuss?"
"..."
"Chairman, have you lived your life in vain?"
If you want to buy me,
Why don't you try turning back time?
Eunha pressured the old tiger by putting internal mana into his voice.
He tears the blank check to shreds.
Kim Geon's small eyes widen.
"What are you doing!!"
"I'm showing you the truth that there are things that can't be bought with money."
"Wh-what... what?"
"What."
Kim Geon shouts with bulging eyes.
But Eunha calmly retorted.
Kim Geon could only stutter.
"I'll be getting up now."
Bullying an old man isn't fun either.
It just ruined his mood.
Eunha briefly clicked his tongue and stood up from his seat.
Kim Geon couldn't stop him from leaving as he pleased.
He only squeezed out words in a dejected tone just before he opened the door and left.
"...You. Do you have the confidence... not to regret saying those words and leaving like this?" "..." "...Think carefully. Do you really... have the confidence to handle making me your enemy?"
The lines were full of threats.
But his voice was trembling.
Eunha looked back at the old man curling up as if shrinking.
A laugh burst out.
"─What's a toothless tiger saying? Can you handle me, grandfather?"
"...!"
The old tiger is mistaken.
He's fallen into the great delusion that his era will continue.
The times had already left his hands and were passing to the next and next generations.
So don't be mistaken.
Noh Eunha sneered with his eyes at the tiger who had now retired to the back room until the moment he closed the door.
☆
The threat of making KK Group an enemy.
It might have been something he would have taken seriously before.
But Eunha no longer felt any fear from such threats.
He knows the reason.
Because there are people behind me.
Eunha gave a wry smile.
Of course his father's power.
Sirius, Alice, Yeongwon.
Perhaps even Luminous and Donghae.
And also─
─Since I said I'd become the Fairy Lady's sword, Lim Ga-eul will be a strong background from now on too.
─Even Fairy Lady Lim Ga-eul.
Their influence was not something KK Group's name could handle.
Above all─
─There's just a little over 2 years left now...
Though not a Player yet, he also had his own influence.
Though it's an insignificantly small influence now, it will grow endlessly as time passes.
Therefore, it's unlikely KK Group will be able to act recklessly towards him.
"And I even saved his grandson, can he really treat me like that? I haven't even received the price for saving Kim Geon-ung's life yet..."
"Pipipi."
"Right?" "Pipi!"
It's nothing more than simple bluffing.
Eunha walked down the corridor snickering.
Soon Fire Chicken, connected by the pass, responded to his emotions.
And so when he was about to go down after passing through the corridor,
As he turned the corner─
─Growl!
A beast large enough to fill the corridor from left to right jumped out.
Eunha immediately stopped walking before it could threaten him.
"Papa!"
"..."
While pulling back the startled Fire Chicken,
Eunha noticed another beast that looked exactly the same appear behind the first one.
Grrrr...
A beast reminiscent of a tiger with thick blue fur.
He could tell immediately upon seeing them.
They were monster companions.
At the same time, Eunha could infer the owner of the monster companions.
"─I thought there was an intruder since I sensed an unfamiliar presence... It seems my monster companions made a mistake. I apologize. This is my apology."
Twelve Seats
Eunha glared at the man who walked up behind the monster companions.
A man with a bear-like build.
Hwang San-gun briefly apologized after making eye contact with Eunha.
But Eunha could tell.
He did it on purpose.
It seemed Hwang San-gun knew who he was.
He probably knew roughly about the argument he just had with Kim Geon too.
Yet he acts as if seeing him for the first time.
While subtly and naturally having his beasts intimidate him.
"Monster companions that rush at people without properly checking, really... At this rate, you can't even properly distinguish whether they're monsters or not." "..." "You should put leashes on their necks when you take them out from now on."
Threat for threat.
Eunha sneered.
Since Hwang San-gun knew him and he also knew Hwang San-gun,
Introductions were unnecessary between them.
They only checked each other with their eyes.
Hwang San-gun's face hardened.
"Of course these kids would get excited when you're wandering around the house alone without being accompanied by a servant."
"I came here as a guest though?" "If you came as a guest, shouldn't you be walking around with a servant's guidance even more?" "What about you?"
"I'm fine. I'm no different from a person of this house."
"Is that so?"
Childish argument.
The two exchanged words while glaring at each other.
Then Eunha raised the corners of his mouth.
"─This works out well. I was just wandering around not knowing the way out..."
"..."
"If you're a person of this house, why don't you guide me to the way out?"
"...What?"
Just before, Hwang San-gun said.
When walking around inside this mansion, one should walk around with a servant.
And Hwang San-gun himself said,
He's a person of this mansion.
In other words, Eunha was saying he'd use Hwang San-gun simply as a servant of this mansion.
Hwang San-gun's face immediately crumpled.
Eunha just grinned.
"...Follow me. I'll guide you to the entrance."
In the end, it was Hwang San-gun's defeat.
Hwang San-gun turned around with a whoosh.
Eunha quietly followed him.
"Pupu." "Be patient."
"Pupu."
Fire Chicken in his arms seemed displeased the whole time.
It didn't seem to like them after being threatened by Hwang San-gun's monster companions earlier.
Meanwhile, the monster companions walking as if guarding him kept looking back.
To Eunha, it looked like they were sneering at Fire Chicken.
"─There, go."
Not long after,
Eunha was able to come out to the entrance.
Hwang San-gun standing in front of the entrance opened the door, essentially telling him to leave.
Eunha walked towards the door without a word.
"─Let me give you one piece of advice as a senior in the industry."
"..."
"It would be better not to act arrogantly relying only on your skills. Do you know how many Players have received as much attention as you until now?"
Just before going out the door,
Hwang San-gun spoke towards his back.
Eunha's steps stopped abruptly.
"Most of those guys died first, and most of the survivors became disabled and left the industry miserably."
"..."
"So if you want to survive for a long time... it would be better to fix that personality first."
The door closed with a bang.
Eunha looked back.
Hwang San-gun was glaring at him with a stern gaze.
And Eunha also─
"─You should take good care of your pets instead. What will you do if the kids die from retaliation after trying to attack people without knowing better?"
"..." "Don't regret after losing partners you've shared your life with since they were young." "...You're cheeky."
"You too."
Through the iron bars,
The two glared at each other.
And the monster companions connected to them by passes were the same.
Grrrr!
The two beasts roared.
They crashed against the iron bars trying to somehow reach out to Eunha.
Then one bird of prey─
─Flare!
It scattered sparks all over.
The monster companion that had shown off its wings soon finished its job and landed on Eunha's head.
Eunha snickered.
"─I told you to be careful."
The beasts' backs were on fire.
Hwang San-gun tried to create pressure by manifesting his internal mana.
Eunha responded in kind, not backing down.
The meeting between the two was the worst.