[Chapter 177]
[The Period of Reconstruction (8)]
Currently, the Pandora Clan headquarters was only located at Sadang Station.
But Pandora Clan, which had become the representative of Jung-gu and Yongsan-gu, couldn't just have a clan headquarters in Sadang.
Now that the army's invasion is over...
We should slowly make one in Gangbuk too.
The clan headquarters at Sadang Station had satisfactory infrastructure.
Nevertheless, clan members had to cross the Han River to go to their jurisdiction areas.
So it took time to move, and some clan members just commuted from home instead.
The location was inconvenient in many ways.
The clan headquarters in Sadang Station will probably be used when Pandora Clan operates in Gangnam and below Gangnam someday.
Anyway, the clan headquarters in Sadang Station fulfilled its role of preparing for the army's invasion.
Now we had to build a clan headquarters to manage the two administrative districts.
"Seoul Station...
"I know. He seemed to subtly hope we'd build in Itaewon every time we went to work. Dominic oppa will be disappointed too."
"Huh? Dominic oppa? Euna, when did you start calling that person oppa?"
"He's 1 year older than us so of course he's oppa. Why? Changjin, do you want me to call you oppa too? Changjin oppa? Why? Do you like this?"
"...!!"
"Papa, bibi bibi papa papa pupu pu!"
"Yes, yes, Buldak oppa."
And so, Jung-gu Seoul Station.
Eunha was looking at potential sites for the clan headquarters with Mok Minho, Noh Euna, and Han Changjin.
Jung-gu was the area that suffered the most damage in this calamity.
So wherever they went, they could find sites where buildings had disappeared.
It's quite fortunate.
Seoul Station will be rebuilt, which means we can decide the surrounding landscape as we please.
Currently, Pandora Clan was receiving enthusiastic welcome from people in Gangbuk, especially people in Jung-gu and Yongsan-gu.
As such, people trying to build new buildings in the area had no choice but to be mindful of Eunha.
If Eunha were to ask them not to build buildings around the clan headquarters taller than the headquarters, they would have to comply reluctantly.
"Sirius, Alice, Luminous, Yeongwon, Donghae Group also said they would buy land nearby... Should we consider that too when deciding?"
"We don't really need to consider it. They'll handle it well on their own."
"Well, I guess that's true."
Mok Minho pointed out.
Soon Eunha agreed too.
Whether they realized something after experiencing this calamity.
The five groups sponsoring Pandora Clan expressed their intention to move in around the headquarters that would be built in Gangbuk.
They said they would specifically set up branch offices of affiliates that would be helpful to Pandora Clan in the surrounding area.
From Pandora Clan's standpoint, it was something to welcome.
"If possible, it would be good if Sirius Group's market, Alice Group's pharmaceuticals, Donghae Group's drones, Yeongwon Group's bank, and Luminous Group's restaurant business came in. Then it would be convenient to work, right?"
"It will probably be possible. Those groups probably lost a lot of branch offices in this calamity too."
Noh Euna listed her wishes.
Eunha decided to convey what she said to the messengers of each group, remembering it.
Eventually, the place they arrived at was terrain with no buildings around, completely open.
"─This place seems most suitable, what do you all think?"
"""..."
It even has the advantage of being near the station.
Eunha giggled and asked the opinions of the sub-lords and Han Changjin who somehow had free time and came along.
They were silent with hardened faces.
"You, why are you really like this."
"Huh? Me? What?"
"Are you really doing this because you don't know, or are you doing it on purpose while knowing?"
"I'm doing it on purpose while knowing."
"To think this guy is the Clan Lord..."
The first person to open their mouth was Mok Minho.
Mok Minho openly sighed.
He had reason to.
Because─.
"─What's wrong with it? The dungeon here will only decrease in influence after you conquer it anyway, it won't increase. Wouldn't it be good to build the clan headquarters on top of this?"
"""Ha...."""
The land Eunha pointed to was a red dungeon.
It was an area that had been completely cleared by a construction company after Pandora Clan conquered the dungeon recently.
So the land was quite flat, and no monsters were visible around.
However, there was a hole in the middle of the land, and it was surrounded by various protective magic.
It was the entrance to a red dungeon.
"A red dungeon is fine. Honestly, a yellow dungeon isn't very suitable as a training place for clan members of our skill level, right?"
"So you mean to make a red dungeon in the basement of the clan headquarters and use it for training purposes?"
"Yes, noona's right."
"""..."
Eunha answered confidently and.
The three were at a loss for words again.
"The Regulus Clan headquarters in Gyeonggi-do also has a red dungeon on the lower floor..."
"That's right. In the case of high-grade clans, they sometimes set up dungeons in the basement of the headquarters to use as a regular source of income and for training clan members."
"Right. That's true, but... No one thought of building headquarters on a dungeon in the middle of Seoul."
"Well, times were different then, so it couldn't be helped."
Han Changjin said glumly.
Eunha shrugged.
Before the army invaded Seoul, large-scale dungeons weren't often found in the Gangbuk area.
Moreover, the Academy-style construction technique of building on top of dungeons wasn't widespread either.
The Fairy Government and Mana Management Organization were wary of clans monopolizing dungeons by owning them, and thereby strengthening their own forces.
But how is it now?
"Don't worry. The Fairy Lady gave permission. From the start, dungeons have sprung up like mushrooms in Gangbuk, so there's no other choice. Other clans building new headquarters will probably do this too?"
Many things changed when monsters invaded Gangbuk.
If there was a boom in pioneering dungeons in Gangnam a few years ago, now there will be a boom in pioneering dungeons in Gangbuk.
Clans that privatize dungeons will slowly appear too.
So Eunha decided to preemptively occupy a good location.
As the dungeon pioneering boom occurs, more clans than now will appear in Gangbuk.
The power of clans that come to own dungeons will continue to grow.
The Fairy Government and Mana Management Organization were all located in Gangbuk.
If a dungeon pioneering boom occurs in Gangbuk, the influence of clans and groups will strengthen, and the government's influence will inevitably weaken relatively.
Eunha was keeping in mind the situation that would unfold 5, 10 years later.
I, Pandora Clan, have to prevent that situation from happening. I have to play the role of preventing other clans from increasing their influence beyond a certain level.
The location Eunha chose for the clan headquarters was highly strategic.
Nearby was Seoul Station where Line 4 and Line 1 intersect.
Seoul Station was a transportation hub that could spread in any direction, left and right, up and down.
By holding this place, we can greatly reduce the growth and influence of clans that will appear riding the pioneering boom.
Seize control of the transportation flow to restrict their movements and extort the profits they will gain as tolls.
It was a strategy taken by Dangun Clan and Changhae Clan in the process of inflating their influence excessively before the regression.
That's not all. If Sirius, Yeongwon, Luminous, Alice, Donghae Group place player-related affiliates here in Jung-gu...
We can also extort some of their profits in the name of jurisdiction fees.
Not just the five groups sponsoring Pandora Clan.
We can extort all the profits of groups that will soon realize the advantages of Jung-gu and advance here.
I don't know how effective it will be, but it should be able to slightly reduce the groups' growth rate.
To do that─.
"─I wonder if it will all be built by next year? For now, I should lock up clan members who don't meet my standards in the dungeon and train them."
"""...!!"""
Pandora Clan needs to become stronger.
The clans and groups won't leave Pandora Clan alone.
They'll frequently challenge us to clan wars to take Jung-gu's influence.
That was also why Eunha chose the dungeon with the widest influence among the dungeons in Jung-gu.
☆
Jeong Geumjeon, direct descendant of Donghae Group.
One day, Jeong Geumjeon, who became a special advisor to Donghae Clan by his grandfather's coercion, was in a good mood lately.
"Hehehe!!"
Because he had completed the task his grandfather gave him a few years ago.
Make Donghae Clan an S-grade clan so it's not inferior to KK Clan.
But due to this calamity, Donghae Clan will be promoted to S-grade next year.
That's not all.
"As expected, my intuition wasn't wrong!! I thought I smelled money at the Academy cultural festival back then!? Hehe!!"
Donghae Clan's
He became a Twelve Seat.
They did all the lobbying they could, but they inevitably fell short of KK Group which already had a Twelve Seat.
So Jeong Geumjeon and the Donghae Clan Lord had almost given up on nominating Seon Gijun as a Twelve Seat.
But Seon Gijun was nominated as a Twelve Seat, raising Donghae Clan's status.
"Young master, I believe I told you before not to laugh so improperly."
"Ah, I'm just laughing because I'm happy! Why are you interfering with even my laughter?"
"Because I don't like seeing you laugh like that."
"If someone heard, they'd think you were the master, tch."
"Who was it that told me to be the master the other night..."
"Ahem, ahem."
So he couldn't help but be in a good mood.
Jeong Geumjeon was now only thinking about quitting as special advisor and lazing around at home.
His secretary who had assisted him for several years didn't seem to like that, but Jeong Geumjeon was just happy.
"I should quit as special advisor and live playing games to my heart's content. Hehehe! I even pre-ordered the game that was released this time knowing this would happen."
"Young master, it's a call from the Chairman."
"What?"
At that moment.
The secretary answered an incoming call.
She emphasized it was a call from Donghae Group Chairman Jeong Jiman as she held out the phone to Jeong Geumjeon.
Jeong Geumjeon, who had been going back and forth to heaven, came to his senses and gripped the receiver.
This old man can't say anything to me now.
He was nervous but.
Jeong Geumjeon was confident.
After taking a deep breath, he answered the Donghae Group Chairman's call.
[─Hey, Geumjeon! Are you doing well?]
"Grandfather must have heard the news too? This time, our clan's Twelve Seat..."
[Ah, I know of course. That's why I've been having so much fun teasing that Kim Geon lately. Hehehe!]
"Hehehe!"
Jeong Jiman's voice was quite cheerful.
He seemed pleased to be boasting to KK Group's chairman.
Jeong Geumjeon snickered hearing his grandfather's laughter.
It felt good.
It seemed like he would now say it was okay to leave Donghae Clan and laze around at home.
But expectations are meant to be betrayed.
[─So Geumjeon.]
"Yes, grandfather."
[In my opinion. Geumjeon, you were born with a natural talent for making money. I hope you'll continue to help your brother Geumhwa raise Donghae Clan's status.]
"...What? What do you mean?"
Jeong Geumjeon frowned.
Regardless, Jeong Jiman laughed heartily.
That laughter was now irritating.
[Keep doing that. I hear that although your lobbying played a part in Player Seon Gijun becoming a Twelve Seat, the Pandora Clan Lord's influence was strongly at work? They say that child is close with you, so how can you resign from your position now? Donghae Clan will have to maintain close relations with Pandora Clan from now on, so how can you leave?]
"No, you old man! This is different from the promise no matter what! Why do I have to keep working!? When am I supposed to rest!?"
[Tsk tsk... You're still like that even at your age. Sehee told me last time that you've become a proper adult now...]
"Why is noona Sehee's story coming up! That's different from this! Keep your promise, keep it!"
[Donghae Drones.]
"Huh? What are you saying?"
[Do you perhaps want to take charge of that too? As it happens, the director there passed away in this calamity so there's a position...]
"I'm satisfied just being Donghae Clan's special advisor, grandfather."
[Hoho, that's how you should respond.]
Damn it, he thought.
Jeong Geumjeon hung up the phone.
"Hehehung..."
"I look forward to working with you in the future."
His laughter changed.
Jeong Geumjeon's mental state broke down.
He laughed staring into space and.
Secretary Lee Sehee gently embraced him.
☆
Reconstruction continues to accelerate.
April, May, June were passing by.
Before they knew it, it was approaching July.
"You know about that, right?"
"Huh? About what?"
At that time, Jin Seona suddenly asked.
Eunha, who was going around the clan headquarters checking if clan members were working properly, asked back.
The fox sighed.
"The regional assembly, the regional assembly."
"Regional assembly? Ah... Come to think of it, there was such a thing."
"I knew you'd be like this."
"Well, that's how Clan Lords are."
Yesterday she helped with Jeong Hayang's work and.
Today she was helping with Han Seohyun's work, Jin Seona clicked her tongue.
Shakira treated it as nothing unusual, as if she expected this.
"It's about time to hold the regional assembly. It was originally in May, but it got pushed back to July because of reconstruction work due to the calamity."
"Ah, I remember. That's right."
The fox starts up her mouth.
Eunha quickly answered, seeing her about to nag him in detail.
I completely forgot.
The regional assembly.
The representative clan managing an area convenes the clans in the region to hold a meeting for coexistence and regional development.
That's the nominal purpose, but in reality it was just a meeting for clans to build friendships.
"How can you forget something so important?"
"Well, it's not important anymore. People know we're the representatives of Yongsan-gu and Jung-gu, so what does it matter."
"Still."
Jin Seona protested.
Eunha ignored her protest while playing with her ears.
He wasn't very interested in the regional assembly.
Unlike Eunha's initial plan, they had gained Jung-gu due to this calamity.
That's not all.
People and clans in the jurisdiction areas were acknowledging Pandora Clan.
Once they had won their hearts, the regional assembly was meaningless.
However─.
─We should establish discipline among the clans.
We need to make it clear who's above and who's below, so they don't think of climbing up.
There is a need to establish discipline.
In some cases, clans were subtly showing off their closeness to Pandora Clan or implying they were pillars of the community.
They're trying to create equal relationships before clan relationships become fixed.
Who do they think they are?
Of course, Eunha was against it.
So Eunha treated people coldly who tried to subtly put their arm around his shoulder.
Nevertheless, clans tried to speak casually to him citing age as a reason, or tried to lower Pandora Clan's status by subtly belittling it.
"Come to think of it, it's really important. Right, I should use this opportunity to establish some discipline. Who do they think they're trying to climb over? And Shakira, contact Itaewon and tell them to attend too."
"Yes, understood, Clan Lord."
Eunha raised the corners of his mouth.
He looked forward to holding the first meeting integrating Jung-gu and Yongsan-gu since Changhae Clan was disbanded.
By the way─.
"─How long are you going to keep touching my ears? I can't work like this..."
"Until I'm not bored anymore."
"You're not working yourself... You really are an evil boss."
The puppy fur is so fluffy.
Of course, if Seona heard that, she would curse and refute.
First, this isn't puppy fur and.
Second, this is hair.
Regardless, Eunha played with Jin Seona's triangular ears and hair.