Chapter 203

Warosh, of the Valaran Naval Guard, was taken aback by the newly issued orders.

“Those pirates, sir?”

“Let them dock. Make sure your men are thoroughly trained not to attack.”

“But, sir. They are...”

“Pirates, yes. Do you think I’m unaware? I’m just as confused as you are.”

“...Is this another case of the higher-ups looking to line their pockets? This seems to cross the line.”

“You’re the one crossing the line right now. A soldier who disobeys orders can be executed without fault.”

“Captain.”

“His Majesty himself gave the order. You’re not suggesting you don’t know what kind of man he is, right?”

Warosh’s eyes widened at the captain’s words. Not just him, but all the citizens of this land knew what kind of person the newly crowned King was.

“I’ll make sure there’s not a single issue! Any further commands?”

“Only the most tight-lipped soldiers of ours are to be stationed near the ship. The passengers are no ordinary people either.”

“Yes, sir!”

Any doubts were swiftly dispelled. An order from the King meant, ultimately, it was for the glory of Valaran. Soon, under the full cooperation of the Naval Guard, for the first time, Grand Admiral Martini’s fleet quietly anchored at a foreign harbor.

“I’ve heard of your fame. The one who encompasses this vast sea...”

Deputy Commander Warosh hurriedly ran to welcome the ‘Grand Admiral.’

But he was met with coldness.

“It’s Martini. I have no intention of showing courtesy to the soldiers of an enemy nation.”

“...”

“So, do as you please. After this moment, we’ll be aiming spears and swords at each other’s heads.”

“...That’s refreshing. Here’s the passenger list.”

“Board them as soon as you’re ready.”

“You don’t need to resupply?”

“Our supply source is not the land.”

“...That’s a fancy way of saying you steal from others.”

Martini, instead of replying, lit a thick cigar.

Flick.

After lighting it, he spoke to Warosh.

“Thinking of being my conversation partner? If not, then off you go.”

“...Hah.”

“Go fetch the person in charge. I hear you have an adventurer among you, he might be worth talking to.”

Warosh nearly choked on his rage but managed to hold it back. After all, this was an order from the King he wholly trusted and followed.

And soon.

Martini got his wish to meet a paladin, clad in impressive attire.

“You’re Merhen?”

“You must be Martini? You really look like a pirate. That black beard is quite something. Thanks for coming. The crew will board shortly, so let’s set sail soon.”

“An iron wall, eh? No intention of talking?”

“I was told you don’t like to talk. The person you were just dealing with said as much.”

“I dislike meaningless conversations. I have a question.”

“Ask away.”

“What kind of person is Seojin?”

“That sounds like a meaningless conversation.”

Martini was puzzled by the response.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Why do you ask?”

Luckily, he understood this time.

“A wise man made a foolish move.”

“Seojin did?”

“Yes.”

“Is that all you’re curious about?”

Martini nodded. He might not have been close to Raul, but that didn’t mean he was unaware of his competence. By merit alone, Martini “acknowledged” him as one of the few.

‘And yet, that man came to persuade me.’

And it wasn’t even his own plan. Raul’s role was merely to assist in the plan. At the heart of it all was the adventurer Seojin, something Martini found incomprehensible.

Merhen simply shared what he knew in response, “That’s because he’s wiser than anyone. We’re less wise, so even while looking at the same thing, we can’t make a proper judgment.”

“Is that all?”

“That’s why I said it would be a meaningless conversation. I’ve known that guy for a long time, but I still can’t guess what’s inside his head.”

Martini said nothing, just puffing on his cigar deeply. He looked around, then checked the passenger list in his hand. The level of the adventurers felt trivial, but the citizens of this kingdom were experts in their own fields.

“Blacksmiths. Alchemists. Shadows of the royal family... And that’s supposedly not all,” Raul had said.

This was just a prelude to bringing in the key personnel. Even if the adventurers’ level seemed somewhat lacking, if their numbers reached thousands, the situation would be quite different.

‘Especially...’

If they had a competent commander at the helm, the outcome would surely be significant.

“I really don’t understand.”

“What can we do? Anyway, it seems everyone’s on board. Shall we depart? The pirate ship’s facilities are quite satisfactory to everyone.”

Martini nodded and turned around. Before, it would have been an unimaginable scenario.

But the moment the promise was spoken aloud, it became a must-do.

“Board now. We’re setting sail... Hm?”

Martini paused. A woman was rushing down towards them with an urgent expression.

“...Why is she in such a hurry?”

Merhen murmured.

The newcomer was none other than BunnyRabbit.

As they waited, wondering what was happening, BunnyRabbit shouted with the utmost urgency.

“We’re missing one person!”

“...What? Who?”

“We must board them! I’ve just informed Seojin... He says to board them! At all costs!”

“Look, I’m the owner of this ship.”

“Please, Admiral! Just one more, we just need to wait a bit longer! They’re on their way...”

“Hold on, just a moment.”

Merhen managed to calm the situation, gesturing to Martini for patience, and then addressed BunnyRabbit.

“Who are we talking about? Were they missing from the list?”

“...I can’t say. You might need to ask Seojin directly.”

“In that case.”

It was Seojin’s instructions, and thus they needed to consult Seojin for answers. Merhen made a quick decision.

“We’ll wait for them to board. Admiral, please wait a bit. We’ll bring them as quickly as possible.”

“That was not part of the deal.”

“This task you’ve taken on is also an exception, right? For that wise person to do be so foolish that he came to persuade you.”

“...”

“This is an extension of that. Since you’ve joined this foolish endeavor, might as well go all in, right? Unless you started with the intention of pulling out halfway through.”

It had been a while since Martini had heard such aggressive rhetoric. Yet, to him, Merhen’s words seemed quite rational.

“Have them come as quickly as possible.”

* * *

BunnyRabbit, an employee of the Korean branch of Hailstorm Co. and a top-tier blacksmith in Midgard, was having a tense conversation.

“Are you saying he came here in person?”

- No, not in person. I just got a call. Claiming to be a developer out of the blue... So, I hung up, and then an official document came down from HQ!

“Proving he’s a developer?”

-I’m pretty sure it wasn’t from the company either. The content was a mess. It didn’t follow any proper format...

“That’s not the point, sir.”

-Right, right. Anyway, the developer himself sent down an official document saying, “That call was indeed from me,” and then I got another call.

“What did they request?”

-He wanted to add Seojin as a friend. Asked if they could get his in-game contact info.

“Ah, so.”

-I said we would provide your contact information, Miss Jeong. You would know, right?

General Manager Kim Jeonsu’s voice was exceedingly cautious. As if dealing with a superior, wary of having possibly made a mistake. To outsiders, it might seem like a laughable relationship, but for the two of them, it had long become the norm.

“That was a job well done, General Manager Kim. I’ll handle the rest.”

-Having you say that makes me feel relieved. But, that... Seojin had a request before, didn’t he? He wanted to know the developer’s identity.

“Yes.”

-Could you emphasize our efforts a bit? Of course, at first glance, it looks like the developer contacted us first, but actually, it’s because we’ve been diligently interested and digging into...

“Sir.”

-Hm?

“Things are quite urgent right now. Could I contact you after sorting out this immediate issue? They’re crucial for Seojin’s plan right now.”

-Of course! Contact me anytime, even after hours. It’s tough, I know. Ah, and of course, it might not seem like much to you, but we’ll be selecting candidates for promotion to assistant manager soon...

“Ah, Admiral! General Manager, sorry, I have an urgent...”

Click.

BunnyRabbit ended the call.

‘I’m swamped with work, and this...’

Previously, BunnyRabbit would have eagerly engaged in conversation. But now, both her position and the circumstances had significantly changed.

She was truly busy as well.

-Yes, Seojin. I’ve finished the call. Please, continue.

-What was the developer’s ID again?

-James. In English. The code behind is 3941... Will you add him right away?

-No. Let’s watch until he crosses over. Keep an eye out and let me know what kind of person he is.

-Yes! I’ll do my best.

-Oh, and.

Just as BunnyRabbit was feeling happy about Seojin’s trust, the next words brought a moment of awkwardness.

-Do we not need to provide information to the Korean branch anymore? There’s a lot going on.

-Oh, right. Yes. It would be good to provide it.

Seojin never knew he’d have to say this of his own accord. Initially, it was BunnyRabbit who tried dig out more info after all.

Just as he was about to say something, however,

-We’re all here! Boarding now!

This message came from Merhen.

-The developer’s here now. I’ll go meet him!

-Take your time contacting me. It’s not urgent. Everyone else has boarded, right?

-Yes!

-We’ll wait. Take it easy.

Take it easy. While Seojin meant it as a kindness, BunnyRabbit wasn’t in the mood for that.

“Hello, I’m BunnyRabbit! You’re James, right?”

Merhen had brought the developer over to BunnyRabbit.

The developer’s character had standard customization. Blond hair grown out to the neck, and somewhat vacant eyes. But upon facing BunnyRabbit, they sparkled with vigor.

“Yes, James is my name. You’re that BunnyRabbit? Odd name.”

From the get-go, a tone that grated on one’s nerves. However, Seojin had warned her in advance that he had a few screws loose, and was a quirky genius.

“Unique, right? It would’ve been nice if Midgard had a nickname changing feature. There are quite a few like me who set their nickname without much thought.”

“There’s never a moment when not thinking is okay. That’s an excuse.”

The jabs kept coming. But until recently, BunnyRabbit had been a new recruit at a major corporation. And surviving there as a newbie wasn’t something just anyone could do.

“That’s right! I don’t even know why I did that. But now it’s different. Thanks to Midgard, I’ve realized how much impact each choice I make has!”

“...Oh? That’s right. At least you have a reflective attitude. Working hard and doing well are different things, though.”

“I’ve been doing really well lately! My life has changed, thanks to this wonderful game called Midgard, don’t you think?”

Stopping there, BunnyRabbit brought out the advice Seojin had shared.

“It feels like living in the real world. Who could consider Midgard just a simple game? That’s why I could grow this much, right?”

Seojin had told BunnyRabbit that the developer would probably want to hear this kind of answer.

And that guess was spot on.

“...Really?”

A question returned, filled with goodwill, a stark contrast to his previously brusque demeanor.