“I think it’s better if we go see it at least once.”
Im Hanna hesitated for a long moment before cautiously starting the conversation.
“Why? Did something happen?”
“Yeah. Mar heard about your disappearance and went crazy, saying she’d find you herself. But thankfully, it seems she was calmed down eventually.”
“Mar? That’s a relief.”
“Right? Anyway, they say they’ve found a warp gate in the inner city. I think it’s best if we go check it out once. Everyone’s been really worried.”
Im Hanna seemed about to say more but ended up repeating that we should just go see it once.
‘Is something really going on?’
If it were an urgent matter, they would have brought it up sooner. Since it wasn’t entirely unreasonable, I nodded in agreement just as Jeong Ha-yeon suddenly cut in.
“It’s fine to go, but shouldn’t you take care of the urgent matters first?”
Im Hanna’s eyes widened.
“Urgent matters? It’s just a quick trip.”
“That may be, but the warp gate isn’t fully operational yet. Unless there’s a clear reason like with Vivian, everyone’s on edge about who might come through. There’ll be procedures and permissions to sort out, so it’ll take a few days.”
“Oh… is that so?”
“Yeah. And the users are probably pretty impatient right now. The talks are over, and the clans chosen as representatives want to see some results fast. So for now, it’s better to communicate through the communication orbs. It’s smarter to focus on making the warp gate usable as soon as possible.”
I wondered whose daughter she was to be so sharp.
Jeong Ha-yeon’s points were all valid. To sum it up: now is the time to focus on restoring the devastated city. That means bringing in residents to help and transporting materials from the Northern Continent, which naturally would activate the warp gate.
“But it’s kind of funny.”
Suddenly, Lee Yoo-jung snorted and muttered to herself. She must have been listening to our conversation.
“If they’re so eager, why don’t they just move first? Why do they expect us to lead the way? It’s not like they’re kids.”
… I understood her feelings, but that was a seriously flawed way of thinking. If this were a monopoly, maybe. But now we had to compete with the other three cities—and from the worst position.
If we just sat still like Lee Yoo-jung suggested, we’d fall behind in the competition. Just as users want a safe city to base their activities, cities need users.
But users are brutally pragmatic. If they think a city’s no good, they turn their backs. We can’t afford to become a ghost city just because we’re the representative clan.
Anyway, every user wants to settle in a city with good facilities and easy access, and we had to meet those expectations.
“The profits we’ll get later are huge. You can’t think like that. Investing is only natural. Don’t you know how important initial shares are?”
“Huh? So you’re saying we have to restore the entire city ourselves?”
Jeong Ha-yeon asked with a teasing tone, but Lee Yoo-jung pursed her lips and frowned. Jeong Ha-yeon seemed about to say more but just gave a bitter smile and shook her head.
“I didn’t say it like that.”
It was just as ridiculous, but Lee Yoo-jung’s attitude was largely my fault. Since graduating from the academy, I’d enjoyed the sweet privileges of being a freelance mercenary, never tasting the darker side of things. She had no way of knowing the reality of ordinary users, so her naive thoughts were understandable.
“In any case, it’s going to get insanely busy. There’s a mountain of cleaning to do, plus overseeing the city’s restoration. And where we’ll get the money for all this…”
Jeong Ha-yeon muttered worriedly. Hearing her, the noisy chatter around us quieted down. Everyone seemed overwhelmed by the daunting tasks ahead.
But I wasn’t worried at all. In fact, I smiled inwardly.
If I hadn’t been confident, I wouldn’t have pushed to become the representative clan—or at least taken another city. There was a reason I chose the southern city, known as the most backward. I already had a plan.
‘There’s no rule saying relics have to be outside.’
With that thought, I calmly surveyed the castle’s interior, lost in contemplation.
‘The question is how to reveal that little by little…’
What do users care about most right now? More precisely, what do they expect from us?
They want their rights guaranteed. Beyond that, they probably have specific demands, but the core is a sense of compensation. They risked their lives to come to Atlanta, so now they want to be rewarded.
This was a perfectly reasonable expectation—and the most pressing issue at this point. The talks had dragged on without resolution, so it was time to bring this clearly to the surface.
Perhaps the other city representative clans thought the same, because soon after, we were summoned by the Central Management Organization.
Lee Hyo-eul, the de facto head of the organization, attended via communication orb. Though he could have used the warp gate to come in person, he declined, saying now was a time to be extremely cautious.
The meeting, attended by me, my brother, Han So-young, and Gong Chan-ho, proceeded rapidly. Lee Hyo-eul had already prepared a plan, and we had no major objections. After all, guaranteeing users’ rights aligned with our interests.
(Aaah… then let’s wrap up the meeting here. To summarize…)
Lee Hyo-eul, visible inside the orb, neatly organized the notes and tilted his head side to side. He looked tired, shadows of fatigue marked his face.
(First, the rights guarantee period is three months. During that time, only users who participated in the conquest can use Atlanta. However, users who crossed the Steel Mountains directly—not via the warp gate—will be allowed to use Atlanta earlier, even if they didn’t participate in the conquest. Everyone agrees on this, right?)
He estimated it would take about two months to cross the Steel Mountains without interference. So those users would get access two weeks to a month before the guarantee period ended.
The key point was to preserve the forts built along the Steel Mountains.
The Steel Mountains had only one path opened so far; it wasn’t fully conquered yet. Everyone agreed on the need to widen the path and develop the forts. In other words, Lee Hyo-eul was saying they’d carry out stabilization work at the risk of users’ lives.
(Um… and… now we need to discuss warp gate usage…)
He shifted topics, stretching his neck as he spoke. His Adam’s apple bobbed with each swallow.
(Phew. Honestly, there’s no perfect solution here. To support residents and bring in materials, the warp gate has to be open both ways. But we can’t guarantee no user will sneak in through that gap. Same goes for the other side. Sometimes people help each other sneak in just because they know each other.)
Everyone nodded.
(So, as I said earlier, the only option is strict mutual control and caution. If anyone breaks the rules, punish them severely.)
This was an unavoidable problem. With no hope left in the Northern Continent, any user would covet the bountiful Atlanta. Someone might try to sneak in through the warp gate. That could never be allowed.
Again, everything about Atlanta right now was a form of compensation. After risking their lives to win it, how would anyone feel if someone else just freeloaded?
(Everyone busy? Then let’s really end the meeting here. That guy must be yawning his head off.)
Gong Chan-ho, who had been yawning widely, opened his eyes and looked annoyed. I chuckled and stood up.
Back at the castle, the clan members were still deep in cleaning. I called a few aside and held a meeting. After days of cleaning, we’d managed to secure a decent space for meetings—at least on the first floor. The second floor was still out of reach.
“Starting tomorrow, our mercenaries will have three main tasks.”
After sharing the results of the talks with the Central Management Organization, I held up three fingers.
“First: castle cleaning. Second: overseeing and advancing city restoration. Third: clearing out the Northern Continent and supporting residents and material procurement.”
“What? Clearing out the Northern Continent?”
Jeong Ha-yeon waited for me to finish before asking in surprise.
“Yes. Contact the Northern Continent and tell them to clear out all branches, including Monica’s. Restoring the city will require astronomical funds. We need to raise money from as many places as possible. Clearing out the Northern Continent will help secure some budget.”
“There’s gold piled up in the clan house warehouse, but… that won’t be enough. Still, if we liquidate stored equipment and gems…”
“That won’t even come close.”
“But it feels like such a waste. We don’t even pay taxes separately, and if we leave it, it’ll keep generating profit…”
There’s some truth to that—given our status, any income we receive directly translates into profit. But what Jung Ha-yeon seems to be overlooking is that I have no intention of staying in this whole Plain world forever.
Yeah. Aside from the Mercenary Academy, I have no lingering attachments to the Northern Continent. At most, two years. Within that time, I plan to secure the Zero Code and return to Earth. For that to happen, stabilizing Atlanta is the top priority.
“Besides, we’re not exactly pulling in huge profits right now. And as Atlanta gains more weight and importance, the returns we get will only keep shrinking. Over time, it’ll get harder and harder to manage. So it makes more sense to clean things up now, while it’s still manageable, and focus on places where we can actually maximize our gains.”
Jung Ha-yeon didn’t have much to say in response—just nodded along. There was still a hint of regret, but she seemed to realize how firm my resolve was.
“Next… the first point is to keep doing what we’ve been doing. Oh, and have the kids handle the cleaning. I don’t think they’re ready to take on supervisory roles just yet.”
No one objected to that. Everyone seemed to agree, especially Jung Ha-yeon, who nodded emphatically in deep agreement.
“Then finally, the second point: overseeing and managing the city’s restoration going forward. Honestly, this is the most important part. This is…”
Bang!
“Hyung! Hyung! Hyeeoong!”
“Oppa! Oppa! Oppa!”
Right then. Just as I was about to get to the most important agenda item, the door suddenly burst open, and two people came barreling in, making a huge fuss. Charging in with terrifying energy were Ahn Hyun and Lee Yoo-jung.
“Someone just kicked the door hard. And aren’t you supposed to be cleaning right now?”
“Guys, can’t you see we’re in a meeting?”
With mouths agape, Go Yeon-ju and Jung Ha-yeon scolded them sharply. You’d think they’d quiet down a bit, but Ahn Hyun and Lee Yoo-jung were still hyped up, shouting at the top of their lungs.
“No, seriously, hyung, nuna, just listen! This is a reeeally, reeeally huge deal!”
“Shut up. Be quiet. Whether it’s huge or not, we’re in the middle of something important. If you keep making noise, I’m going to get mad.”
“Unni! Just listen for a second! We were exploring the castle just now…”
“Exploring the castle? Seriously? You guys! Instead of cleaning, you’re off exploring castles?”
In the end, Jung Ha-yeon stood up in anger. Only then did Lee Yoo-jung seem to realize something was off. She shrank back and turned her head, eyes shining as if silently pleading for help. I took a deep breath.
“Well? Spill it.”
“Soo-hyun!”
“Let’s hear them out. If it’s not a big deal, we’ll scold them afterward.”
“……”
Jung Ha-yeon shot the kids a stern glare but eventually sat back down quietly. Folding her arms as if daring them to speak, the room fell silent. The two exchanged nervous glances before Lee Yoo-jung nudged Ahn Hyun with her elbow.
Startled, Ahn Hyun stammered as he began to speak.
“Uh… so… we, uh, made a discovery?”
“A discovery?”
“Yeah. Well… actually, Sol-i was the one who found it.”
“……?”
Ahn Sol?
‘Ah.’
A sudden thought flashed through my mind.
‘No way…’
Just as I was wondering, Ahn Hyun caught my gaze, then broke into a wide grin and called out brightly.
“Yes! Our lucky charm pulled it off!”
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Sol) Thank you so much! I hope to recover quickly and return to my wild… Wait a minute. I actually love it when someone gives me a gentle massage when my stomach hurts. So after reading the comment, I wanted to say thank you and promise to get back to my wild self, but then I saw my nickname and paused. -_-+
Sol) No. Yesterday’s stomach pain was purely a stomachache. My chromosomes are XY, so there’s no way I have periods. That’s something women go through. I’m a very rough and wild guy.