Chapter 20 - Leisure Over a Cup of Coffee (2)

“Hmm. You have nerve.”

The Count's lips curved into a faint smile.

“A cat turned into a person, yet you hardly seem surprised... Not like young people these days. Ah, that was a compliment.”

“Thank you. I've always had strong nerves. I even see ghosts and things.”

“Ahaha. You even have the composure to joke. Impressive.”

The Count took out a fan and laughed as she fanned herself.

Except I hadn't been joking. I meant it.

“Uh...”

“Hmm...”

The hunters exchanged wary glances. The Count was the only one laughing. The recruitment heads, who had been noisily shouting out signing bonuses just moments earlier, had fallen silent as mice the instant she appeared.

“Um, Union Leader. Pardon me, but...”

The burly blond hunter ventured cautiously.

“Go ahead. Beg my pardon.”

“Isn't a five-hundred-thousand-gold signing bonus and a guaranteed deputy guild leader position... excessive? O-of course, clearing the tenth floor is a tremendous achievement. But we still don't know... just how impressive... Hunter Kim Gongja's abilities... are...”

The further he went, the more he stumbled over his words. He hadn't suddenly developed aphasia. The Count was watching him steadily, her mouth concealed behind her fan. Her eyes smiled above it.

“...”

At last, the hunter shut his mouth. He must have belatedly realized that nothing he said would do any good. He was facing the heavyweight ranked third. To put it bluntly, they weren't in the same league.

“Finished begging my pardon?”

“... Yes.”

“Then fetch your superiors before you give me more to pardon. Sorry, but there's no point discussing this with you. Ah, unless someone here can bid more than five hundred thousand gold. In that case, by all means, stay seated.”

In plain language, that meant, “Kindly fuck off.”

The curse of middle management: when told to fuck off, you really had no choice but to do so. One by one, the recruitment heads rose and left.

Ten minutes later, new hunters walked into the café, as though taking the baton from the recruitment heads.

“You fucking bitch! Goddamn it!”

Rank five. Viper, guild leader of the Heavenly Martial School.

“Hmm, she's gotten a move ahead of us. We must admit we made a misstep.”

Rank four. The Inquisitor, guild leader of the Pantheon.

“Misstep is an odd way to put it. Our task today wasn't to welcome a new hero, but to keep the existing hunters from falling into confusion. The Union Leader went too far.”

Rank eight. The Paladin, deputy guild leader of the Vigilantes.

“...”

And even rank two. The Black Witch, guild leader of Black Dragon.

'Wow.'

I marveled inwardly.

'They really brought out everyone. Everyone.'

What a formidable lineup.

The highest-ranked hunters, whom I'd once only seen in interview videos or news articles, were moving around right before my eyes and seating themselves across the table. Once again... I felt just how much my market value had risen.

“Welcome, everyone.”

The Count propped up her chin and smiled.

“I can't remember the last time we all gathered like this. It feels like only yesterday we were tackling the second floor together. Time is terribly cruel, isn't it? We're getting old, too.”

“Shut up, bitch, before I boil you into cat soup.”

Viper growled.

The Heavenly Martial School's guild leader—a middle-aged, one-eyed hunter known as the first person to clear the second floor—wore an eyepatch.

Supposedly, he'd gotten the injury after challenging the Sword Star.

“I heard on the way here. What, five hundred thousand gold? Deputy guild leader? You've spent so much time dressing up as an animal your brain's turned into one, too? Throwing money around is your specialty, so fine, just another bitch move from a bitch. But deputy guild leader? What the fu—”

“Now! Let's order coffee first!”

The Inquisitor spoke brightly.

“It's rude to come into a shop and not give it any business. Surely the leaders of the major guilds responsible for the Tower should know better! I'll order a café mocha. What about everyone else?”

“Ah, a hot Americano for me, please.”

“I'm in the mood for an iced café latte.”

“... Hazelnut latte. Hot. Extra shot. Grande.”

The guild leaders spoke in turn as though they'd been waiting for the question.

Viper alone looked bewildered.

“What? Coffee? No, hey. The tenth floor's been cleared and the whole world's in an uproar, and you have room in your stomachs for coffee? Have you bastards pickled your brains in caffeine or what...?”

“A strong espresso for the Heavenly Martial School's master, then. Understood.”

“You fucking religious nut...?”

“Excuse me! We'd like to order!”

Ignoring Viper, the Inquisitor called out. The barista behind the counter flinched, shoulders trembling. Suddenly faced with making coffee for the highest-ranked hunters, the StarXucks barista went deathly pale.

“W-would you... like to order...?”

“Yes!”

The Inquisitor smiled radiantly.

The Pantheon's guild leader. A blond hunter. Charged with preventing religious conflict among the people gathered from around the world, the young man was famous for speaking politely to everyone.

Apparently, he even used polite language while torturing terrorists.

“One tall iced café mocha. One tall hot Americano. One tall iced café latte. One grande hot hazelnut latte with an extra shot. And one espresso doppio! That will be our order!”

“Yes! Y-yes, of course...!”

“Oh, right—”

The Inquisitor slowly turned his head.

“... What would you like to order, Hunter Kim Gongja?”

Everyone's attention shifted to me. The table went quiet in an instant. An amused gaze. A hostile gaze. A bright gaze. A cool gaze. An expressionless gaze. Five faces and ten eyes watched me steadily.

As though testing my reaction.

“Don't get intimidated.”

The attendant spirit, who had kept quiet until then, spoke.

“They're nothing special. Just tell yourself they're nothing special! You've even been killed by old man Markus. Not one of these bastards is better than him.”

'I know.'

I knew perfectly well.

'It's just a little psychological warfare.'

And the whole thing was rigged.

I shrugged.

“Manager, do you have a menu?”

“Pardon?”

“Maybe it's because I had a macchiato earlier, but I'm not in the mood for coffee. I'd like to look at a menu before deciding... Hmm. Actually, never mind. If you have hot chocolate, just give me that.”

“Ah, of course.”

Composure.

What I needed to show right now was composure.

'These people didn't all show up together by coincidence.'

When the recruitment heads had swarmed in earlier, and now as well, hunters from different guilds had all arrived at the same time.

Could that timing have been coincidental?

'Absolutely not!'

An operation disguised as coincidence.

It was all an act.

'They're swarming me all at once to throw me off balance.'

It was an extremely old-fashioned tactic. Something like a gang of thugs crowding around one person to threaten them.

'Well, they're a lot scarier than your average thugs...'

The air was tense, as though coated in a thin layer of ice.

'But compared to burning to fucking death, this is nothing.'

In other words, it was only a thin layer of ice.

Before the Flame Emperor killed me, I would have trembled in terror before these people... But not now. They didn't scare me at all.

The reason was stupidly simple.

'Don't like it? Kill me, then.'

Even if these people killed me, I'd be perfectly fine!

The attendant spirit nodded.

“Right, I told you. That's your talent, your strength! Glare at them like you're daring them to kill you. Put some real force into your eyes! Like, how dare these losers who can't even kill you swagger around calling themselves top rankers!”

'Uh, thanks for cheering me on. But I'm still not letting you off the penalty.'

“Goddamn it...!”

The attendant spirit clutched his head in despair.

“Hmm.”

Meanwhile, the Inquisitor's expression changed.

“How curious. Our search showed no accomplishments whatsoever before you cleared the tenth floor. A person changing so suddenly... The world truly never ceases to surprise!”

“Not entirely without accomplishments.”

The Count covered the lower half of her face with her fan, her eyes smiling.

“This young man recently won our guild's lottery. He has luck. Nerve, too. I don't know how he cleared it, but conquering the tenth floor suggests he has ability as well. Luck, nerve, and ability. A young person with all three will succeed at anything.”

“Hah... That's what I told you.”

Viper sighed across the table.

“Quit the little tricks and just recruit him! You think a guy who cleared the tenth floor is some clueless rookie? Tch. Putting on a pointless act that wouldn't fool him anyway...”

“That doesn't matter.”

The Black Dragon guild leader, also known as the Witch, abruptly broke her silence.

“A monk losing face doesn't mean the Buddha has lost face. We're all busy. Let's save blaming each other for later.”

“Ahem...”

“Hunter Kim Gongja.”

The Witch looked at me.

“I'll ask you frankly. Which guild do you intend to join?”

Her eyes were ink-black.

“If you intend to remain unaffiliated like the Sword Star, tell us now. We'll need to discuss how to respond to the press accordingly.”

“And if I intend to join a particular guild?”

“Then a fierce bidding war will begin.”

The Witch spoke calmly.

“We've stayed on the ninth floor far too long. Even calling our progress sluggish... is embarrassing. We were simply pathetic. But thanks to you breaking through the tenth floor, we have another chance to advertise the Tower's value to the outside world.”

“A chance.”

“Yes, a chance. A chance to draw all kinds of people from the outside world, not just war refugees.”

The barista brought a tray and served the coffee. The guild leaders silently accepted their cups one by one. No one spoke. The Witch, too, merely took a quiet sip of her hazelnut latte.

“Above all, once the tenth floor opens, even the hunters who've been living comfortably in the First-Floor City might feel a little stirred. What unknown worlds await from the eleventh floor onward? Even the pragmatists who've forgotten their sense of adventure will take a curious look.”

I see.

“That should ease the food shortage a little.”

“...”

The Witch looked at me in surprise.

“... You're quick to understand. That's right. Selling only the items found below the ninth floor is starting to make it difficult to meet the demand for food.”

“I do keep the trade route to the outside world open twenty-four hours a day, but...”

The Count smiled.

“I'm not quite as energetic as I used to be. It's getting a little burdensome with age.”

“We need new goods.”

The Witch continued.

“We need to draw adventurers into the world beyond the tenth floor. And find items that can only be discovered there.”

“Then you need a way to actively appeal to both the outside world and the Tower. Something you can use to loudly advertise, [A new era has dawned!] And you're saying that's me?”

“... Yes. Exactly.”

All of this would happen in the future.

This was why the major guilds hadn't been able to treat someone like the Flame Emperor, who lived solely for his own self-importance, carelessly. He was a hero. Like it or not, he'd become an icon symbolizing a new era.

For the Tower to keep growing, it absolutely needed a hero like that!

'Even so, Black Dragon tried to assassinate the Flame Emperor.'

I recalled the conversation I'd overheard in the slum alley.

[“Who ordered you to kill me? Just answer that.”]

[“Did the Black Dragon Witch put you up to this?”]

The Saintess had slowly nodded then.

Unless the Saintess had lied, the Witch before me had actually attempted to poison the Flame Emperor. I couldn't know now why she'd done it, but...

'I think we'd get along.'

Why?

'Anyone who hates that flaming bastard can't be a bad person!'

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, you might say.

I felt a sort of camaraderie might develop.

“I understand what you're saying. Whichever guild successfully recruits me can become the symbol of a new era. The other guilds will inevitably be relegated to supporting roles.”

“Yes.”

“I'd feel a little bad about that... So let's do this.”

The hunters focused on my words.

I took a deck of playing cards out of my coat.

“... Playing cards?”

The Witch tilted her head.

“Don't tell me you want to decide which guild to join with a game?”

“Yes.”

“...”

“We'll play poker, and I'll join the winner's guild. I won't need a signing bonus or a position. However!”

I grinned.

“If I win, I'll [join all your guilds simultaneously].”

“...”

“Ah, I mean I'd be a guild member in name only. In practice, you'd treat me as your equal. You benefit from selling my image, and I benefit from being treated on par with the heads of the top guilds. What do you think?”

In an instant, the look in the guild leaders' eyes changed.

“Ahaha.”

The Count burst out laughing.

“A young man who's only cleared a single floor wants the same treatment as us?”

“Yes. If I beat all of you at cards and take first place.”

“Interesting. I'm in.”

The Count set down her coffee cup and looked around.

“What about you?”

“I'm fine with it, provided there's no cheating!”

The Inquisitor was the first to agree.

“... Let's ban skills, too. Otherwise you lot have too much of an advantage. Anyone caught using a skill is automatically eliminated.”

Viper was next.

“Our guild is poor, so we'd be guaranteed to lose a bidding war anyway. We lose nothing if we're beaten, and winning would be a windfall. This works out well.”

Then the Paladin agreed.

“...”

Finally, the Witch nodded.

“All right. I'll accept your proposal.”

The wager was on.

We settled the details of the poker rules. The rules themselves were ordinary. The top-ranked hunters merely inspected the cards thoroughly themselves to ensure they hadn't been tampered with and there was no sign of trickery.

'Mr. Sword Emperor.'

Once the cards were dealt, I called to the attendant spirit, who was still wallowing in despair.

“Huh...?”

'Honestly, you really hate calling me Lord Gongja, don't you?'

'Let's make a deal.'

“What kind of deal...?”

'You only have to call me Lord Gongja until this game ends.'

The attendant spirit's eyes widened.

“Huh? Really? That's all?”

'Yes. Of course.'

I grinned.

'In return, tell me every card these hunters are holding.'

“Yes! Hell yes! Woohoo!”

The attendant spirit bounced around excitedly.

“That's fucking easy! Ahh, that's our Lord Gongja! Just look at that magnanimous character—exactly what you'd expect from Lord Gongja! How can our Lord Gongja be so generous? You want to know what cards these bastards have? Oh, don't you worry. I'll even tell you whether they're dealing from the bottom of the deck! Lord Gongja!”

Now, then.

Let the game begin.