WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 152: Invitation
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“Don’t you have any liquor here?”
“...
Not in my café, at least.”
“Hm. Then make some strong coffee. It’s rude not to offer anything when you have guests.”
“I think greeting guests in that position is quite rude too.”
“I’ll deal with that rudeness, so you do your duty as the owner.”
“Hmm, all right.”
“Ah, Senior, I’ll have an Americano too...”
“Make it yourself, you bastard!”
“...”
An ambitious broadcasting PD.
A watcher disguised as a café employee.
A violent criminal who gave off a murderous air...
Unfortunately, there was nothing of the sort.
There was only a café owner diligently carrying coffee and a PD from a struggling broadcasting station shrinking under the owner’s scolding.
Yeonhwa was left wondering why she had come to a place like this so tense.
Then Rimon’s carefree voice brought her back to reality.
“Sorry about this. I guess it’s these guys’ first time hosting something like this, so they’re a little awkward with the preparations.”
‘You don’t seem much better yourself.’
The black-haired young man greeted her with his feet on the table, his manner unfit not only for receiving guests, but for treating people at all.
Yeonhwa swallowed the words that had nearly risen to her throat.
She knew instinctively.
This arrogant young man was the one who had sent Moon Cheon-yeop to the hospital and summoned her here.
“Forget the apology. Can we get straight to the point?”
“You’re pretty impatient.”
“This is an urgent matter.”
Yeonhwa spoke sharply so she would not get swept up in the atmosphere.
Then she met Rimon’s gaze directly.
“First, I have a few questions.”
“What is it?”
“Why did you think I would accept your offer?”
“That’s nothing complicated.”
Rimon smirked and answered casually.
“For a mere singer’s manager to be famous as the true power of a guild, he’d need direct connections to Midas.”
“What does that have to do with anything? The whole WIM Guild benefits from it.”
“Your authority as guild leader must have shrunk accordingly. That son of a bitch probably acted as if he were the owner.”
“...”
“And every leader I’ve known, nine out of ten can’t stand being pushed out of power more than they care about their organization’s interests.”
Yeonhwa remained silent.
It was not only because he had hit the mark.
It was because of Rimon’s insight, his precise grasp of the delicate power structure between her and Moon Cheon-yeop, something known only to WIM insiders.
‘How can someone so young have this kind of presence?’
He looked like nothing more than an arrogant man in his twenties.
Yet he was unlike a crafty politician.
Unlike an old hunter or a wild beast.
For a moment, Yeonhwa studied Rimon, unable to place the subtle air around him.
Then, after a long silence, she spoke.
“All right. Tell me how you intend to get rid of Manager Moon.”
“Hm? Are you done with your questions already?”
“I know you aren’t someone who talks nonsense. That’s enough.”
“Nice. I like how straightforward you are.”
As though pleased to skip a tedious exchange, Rimon nodded and took a sip of the coffee Manager Jeong had brought out.
“It’s nothing special. While that son of a bitch is unconscious, you take his vacant position. That’s all.”
“...
You called me all the way here just to suggest that?”
“Why? Do you think you can’t do it?”
“If that were possible, I would have gotten rid of Manager Moon long ago. But that’s impossible because of Claire.”
Yeonhwa could not hide her disappointment.
Claire was a duke-class Player in the Level 80s and a singer at the height of her popularity.
She was WIM’s leading star. Moon Cheon-yeop had been able to establish such close ties with Midas Guild thanks to her.
Unless Claire changed her mind, it would be difficult to cut into the connection between Moon Cheon-yeop and Midas.
“Why is that a problem?”
“Are you saying I should persuade Claire? Unfortunately, that would...”
“No. I’m asking why you’re clinging to that girl named Claire or Clear.”
“What?”
Rimon spoke evenly to the confused Yeonhwa.
“What matters is whether you can bring Midas Guild more profit than that son of a bitch.”
“...
You mean I should offer Midas more profit than Manager Moon with Claire backing him? Without Claire?”
“That’s what I mean.”
“Do you even realize how absurd that sounds?”
Yeonhwa was dumbfounded.
Whether as a singer or a Player, Claire was the pillar of WIM, responsible on her own for more than half the guild’s total revenue.
That was even more true when her recognition and influence were considered.
And he was saying Yeonhwa should push Claire aside and provide enough profit to monopolize Midas’s connections?
Even creating false books and handing over all of WIM’s revenue would make that difficult. Naturally, Yeonhwa had no intention of doing so.
But Rimon had not summoned her without a plan.
“Don’t worry. Kim PD is here to solve that problem.”
“Excuse me? Me?”
Kim Seung-jun had been nervously watching from the side when he was suddenly singled out.
Rimon gave him a meaningful smile.
“Kim PD, you said you were preparing a program, didn’t you?”
“[Music Challenge]?”
“Yeah. Let me make use of it.”
“You’ll appear on my program!?”
“No, I said I’ll make use of it.”
“Excuse me?”
Kim Seung-jun had brightened at Rimon’s words, forgetting the situation after Rimon had ignored all his casting requests. Then he wore a blank expression.
Rimon calmly explained to Kim Seung-jun and Yeonhwa exactly how he intended to make use of the program.
At first, Yeonhwa looked reluctant.
Then flustered.
Finally, utterly dumbfounded.
The expressions changed one after another across her face. As soon as Rimon finished, she let out an incredulous laugh.
“Do you honestly think that ridiculous plan can work?”
“Of course I do.”
Rimon’s answer was so shamelessly confident that Yeonhwa looked at him as if he were insane.
Rimon smirked and turned to Kim Seung-jun.
“Kim PD, does my plan sound that far-fetched to you too?”
“I...”
Unlike Yeonhwa, who had laughed as soon as she heard it, Kim Seung-jun had fallen into serious thought.
After pondering for a long time, he answered.
“I think it has a chance.”
“You mean that? If this goes wrong, your career as a PD could be over.”
“That’s all right. Our broadcasting station is done for anyway if we don’t try something.”
“Honestly, I can’t tell whether that’s guts or recklessness.”
Yeonhwa frowned.
If Rimon alone said something like this, she could dismiss it as nonsense.
This industry was full of newcomers whose confidence had risen past the sky and into delusion.
But Kim Seung-jun was still a broadcasting PD, even if it was a small cable station. He was not an idiot incapable of distinguishing a beginner’s groundless confidence.
‘Come to think of it, this man was the person Manager Moon wanted to sign.’
Moon Cheon-yeop had plenty of flaws as a person, but he was the one who had discovered Claire and built her up.
His eye for talent was that reliable.
Though it was the power of a Unique Skill.
Still, if he was a musician Moon Cheon-yeop had visited this place again and again to sign, even resorting to threats...
And if he was also a high-level Player capable of destroying Moon Cheon-yeop...
“What are you thinking so hard about? Even if it fails, you have nothing to lose.”
“...
That’s true.”
Yeonhwa nodded.
Compared with Kim Seung-jun, who had to risk his career as a PD, or Rimon, who could clash with Midas, the risk Yeonhwa had to bear was extremely small.
Even so, rather than making her decision immediately, Yeonhwa stared at Rimon closely.
“I’m sorry to ask after saying my questions were over, but I have one last question.”
“What is it?”
“Why are you going this far?”
She could understand Kim Seung-jun.
Leaving Moon Cheon-yeop alone might become a problem for him, while success could give him a chance to turn everything around at once.
The same applied to Yeonhwa herself.
If she could push Moon Cheon-yeop aside and establish connections with Midas, she could regain control of WIM.
Rimon was the one she could not understand.
“I know Manager Moon tried to pull something on you, but it can’t be that he earned such a deep grudge from you that you would go this far.”
If Rimon truly had that kind of ability, he could have resolved this matter more peacefully.
Why was he deliberately making things bigger by drawing her in?
Yeonhwa’s question carried suspicion.
Rimon answered evenly.
“I realized something again recently.”
“What was that?”
“When you beat the hell out of a son of a bitch, you have to do it thoroughly. Thoroughly enough that not only the dog, but even the dog’s owner, won’t dare get involved.”
“...”
Rimon slowly raised one hand.
He stroked the bluebird’s head where it perched on his shoulder and continued quietly.
“Otherwise, innocent people might get hurt.”
Dogs showed their teeth.
Dog owners went wild in their dogs’ place.
It was because half-measures made them think you were an easy target.
So even if Moon Cheon-yeop tried to cling to him again, Rimon would crush him thoroughly enough that Midas itself would cast him aside.
Yeonhwa remained silent for a long time after hearing Rimon’s calm words, which were all the more chilling for their composure.
Then she quietly spoke.
“When can you have that program ready?”
It was the moment an unholy alliance began to nail Moon Cheon-yeop’s coffin shut.
* * *
“Something like that happened to Sword Duke?”
“Yes.”
Li Qing-yu soon learned about what Rimon was planning as well.
Youin had told her about Moon Cheon-yeop in the first place, and Rimon had briefly informed her of his plan.
“That is a little disappointing.”
“You mean that Sword Duke has clashed with Midas?”
“No. I mean that he did not ask me to handle it.”
Li Qing-yu shook her head.
Then she continued with a gentle smile.
“If he had only said the word, I could have dealt with this Moon Cheon-yeop without leaving a trace.”
“That certainly is disappointing. The Dark Silence Squad children have been short on training fodder lately.”
“The Black Demon Squad would have been better for a clean job. One of the Ten Great Guilds is involved, after all.”
“Indeed. You are right.”
If Moon Cheon-yeop had heard them, he would have been very curious how exactly they intended to handle him cleanly.
But Li Qing-yu paid no attention to such a trivial matter.
She merely murmured to herself.
“In any case, this worked out well.”
“What do you mean?”
“There was a matter I had been worrying over, but I do not think I need to worry about it anymore.”
Li Qing-yu smiled.
She had been wondering how to ask Rimon, but since he had taken action himself, there was no longer any reason to hesitate.
She immediately took out a sheet of stationery and picked up a pen, writing a series of characters as smoothly as flowing water.
After neatly folding the letter, she sealed it with wax and firmly stamped it with her seal. Then she handed it to Youin along with a box she had prepared in advance.
“Youin, would you send this letter to her?”
“...
May I ask the purpose of this letter?”
“There is no need to be formal about it or send it secretly. It is simply an invitation.”
“An invitation?”
Youin wore a strange expression.
As Leviathan’s general manager, he could calmly handle even an assassination order.
Yet there was one reason he had been unsettled.
The recipient written on the letter.
“Do you think she will accept the invitation?”
“She will.”
Li Qing-yu answered firmly.
In the past, she could not have been so certain.
Though she was a Princess who ruled one branch of the Seven Dragons Society, the recipient of this letter was no different.
Even so, Li Qing-yu smiled meaningfully as she spoke with certainty.
“Perhaps not another Princess, but she certainly will.”
Though that required one condition.
That she did not run away beforehand.
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