Be Careful When Agreeing to Terms and Conditions - Be Careful When Agreeing to Terms and Conditions chapter 59

6. Liyue Branch (5)

There were seven leaders in Liyue called ‘Chilseong’. They rule Liyue according to the will of the rock god Morax and are respected by all the people of Liyue. Chilseong was in charge of managing various departments of Liyue, and among them, ‘Yukseong (玉衡星)’ was in charge of land and construction.

To use an analogy, I was talking alone with someone who was probably the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea in the 21st century. No, rather, he was a person with more authority than the minister. This was because ministers were checked by various political powers, but Liyue Chilseong was not. The only one who could control the Seven Stars of Liyue was Liyue’s god, Emperor Empress.

For someone like me, who was only planning on purchasing one building, this was extremely embarrassing. Of course, if an opponent of ‘Okseongseong’ appeared, it would not be a problem to transfer a building under reasonable conditions. No matter how much Liyue is the best trading port on the Tivat continent, and the more central it is, the more valuable the buildings are, the other person was Liyue’s top manager in charge of land and architecture. At least in that field, it was faster to count the impossible than the possible.

The problem was not the opponent’s ability, but status. Even though it was high, it was too high. Meeting the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport just because of a single building was rare even in the 21st century Korea, where civil rights were developed.

But I was already on the back of a tiger. If I had said that I had nothing else to say now, I would have ended up being an extremely rude person. At most, the only thing they talked about was to make small talk, so even when they grabbed the book, they had nothing to say.

I felt cold sweat running down my back. Tartaglia, you son of a b*tch. I’ve cursed internally for an unknown number of times.

Gakcheong, a beautiful woman with light purple hair who could be said to be the culprit of my troubles, was sipping from her teacup in an elegant manner. She was a noble woman. She was born into an elegant family, and had an air that only someone raised with dignity could exude.

Yes, she was from a prestigious noble family. I dug through her head and pulled out information about each office.

Jukseong Gakcheong, she belonged to the famous axis among the seven stars of Liyue. Because she was a person who stood in conflict with the King of Darkness.

Who is King Amwang? He was a living god who ruled Liyue for over 3,000 years, a saint who never committed tyranny and devoted himself to the country and people. Hostility to such a being was tantamount to a suicide attempt in Li Yue’s political circles.

But the King of Darkness was different. During her last ceremony, King Jegun not only laughed off each of her bold provocations, but even trusted her. With her natural ability and the trust of King Jegun, Gakcheong was soon able to ascend to the position of Liyue Chilseong.

Of course, there were rumors going around for a while about the opening of each office, but Liyue was the country of Emperor Empress. At first, even those who distrusted each office thought that the king of kings had a deep intention and passed over it. For the people of Liyue, who enjoyed peace and prosperity for thousands of years, the words of Emperor Amwang were like teachings that could never go wrong.

However, no matter how much they were trusted by Emperor Amwang, the political weaknesses of each office were obvious. As long as she was at odds with Liyue’s revered god, she had no choice but to remain on the fringes forever. It would be okay if the King of Darkness suddenly died, but it was an unrealistic assumption that a god who had lived for thousands of years would suddenly die one day.

Then, at this point, I couldn’t help but ask this question. Why do each government claim to be on the fringes of Liyue? Was it an attempt to unite non-mainstream figures and turn them into a political force? It was a ridiculous assumption. If each office had not received the trust of the King of Darkness, her power would have been non-existent. Before the reorganization of each office, there was no anti-Amwangjegun force. In other words, it meant that there was no benefit for each office to call themselves non-mainstream.

Then there was only one answer. I could only explain it as a matter of belief. It was also a deep-rooted belief, and if I had to deal with each government in this private stand, this was the point I had to attack.

It was around this time that I was thinking about how to overcome this obstacle. With a thud, each teacup fell on the table. Yuri Jeong’s proud mountain and sea delicacies began to arrive to her.

It was each office that broke the silence. She asked, still with a haughty voice.

“I heard, you want to purchase a building?”

Although I was sweating coldly on the inside, I feigned calm on the outside. While sipping my tea cup, I received the words in a nonchalant manner. I couldn’t help but feel discouraged already.

“Yes, that’s right. Of course, my main stage is Mond, but I’m also very interested in Liyue’s commercial world recently. I heard that fish need big water to grow. “If I establish a Liyue branch, the amount of money my business can play with will increase a little.”

Gakcheong seemed to understand what I said, closed her eyes and shook her head.

“It’s a reasonable decision… Not only is Liyue and Mond close geographically, but they have also had frequent exchanges since ancient times, to the extent that Mond liquor was popular in Liyue. Moreover, through Liyue, we can distribute products throughout the Tivat continent.”

It was a surprisingly good evaluation. However, words always had to be heard to the end. This was especially true if the opponent was a seasoned politician.

As expected, each office soon followed suit. The atmosphere was completely opposite to the previous content.

“But…” So?”

The atmosphere suddenly sank. It was a question consisting of only three letters at most. The question ‘So?’, But the meaning contained in it was by no means short. This was because various questions were implied.

Each office opened its mouth one after another. It was the same word as clearing water.

“Why do I have to help a foreign merchant? Of course, brokering a transfer contract for a single building is not a task. But, I am Li Yue’s Jade Sheng. “I have a duty to protect Liyue from foreign capital.”

The tone was calm, and the faces of each person who said that were also calm. As if stating the obvious. It seemed as if he was claiming that going against the words was going against common sense. I sipped my tea without saying anything.

Damn, it wasn’t actually wrong. If my opponent wasn’t a big guy like Ok Seong-seong, I would have had many ways to persuade him. But there wasn’t much I could give Okseongseong. Moreover, the opponent was a person who considered himself a non-mainstream person solely because of his beliefs. This type of person was never swayed by anything other than his own beliefs.

I once again organized information about each office. Competent, but workaholic. I heard that Ok Seong-seong’s subordinates were unable to withstand his duties and ran away.

“…… You are decisive. “It is indeed Jade Seongseong.”

“I heard.”

Gakcheong also raised his teacup and said the same thing in response to my sentiments while sipping tea. His striking skills were excellent. I did not continue speaking and waited quietly for each office to hear its story.

“They say a major merchant was born in Mond. The first time he came to Liyue, he was just a food vendor selling alcohol, but the second time he came, he was a star who shook up the restaurant industry. And… Is this the third time?”

It was a strange feeling to hear the evaluation of me from the mouth of a big man of Okseong’s rank. I wondered if I had become so famous before I knew it, and at the same time, I laughed out loud at the cold gaze of each office looking at me.

It seemed like he was overestimating me. I was not a great person enough to be wary of Li Yue Chil-seong. But it was fun. I decided to stick this in my head too.

“…… “I was expecting someone of your caliber to come up with some kind of business, but it’s more boring than I thought.”

‘A person about your age’ and ‘boring’. I felt like I knew why the subordinates under each office were dying.

I maintained my composure despite provocations from each office. When talking, the first person to break their composure was bound to get caught up. In fact, I felt like I was breaking into a cold sweat and my hands were shaking, but I forced myself to hold back.

Be scared, but I was planning to say something even scarier. I spoke in a calm voice.

“It’s boring. It’s just one building… ….”

The eyes of each office turned to me. No trace of emotion was visible in her wine-colored eyes. But I got a little carried away.

What kind of person is Gakcheong? I chuckled and put down the teacup.

“But, Ok Seong-seong, why are you so strict about such a trivial matter?”

At that moment, silence fell. Each office stopped for a moment, holding a teacup. It was as if she had hit the pause button and the moment she came to her senses.

The gaze of each office became harsh. As if he didn’t know that such a blatant provocation would come.

“…… What?”

I swallowed my dry saliva without being noticed. It started now. The success or failure of this position would depend on which direction the anger of each office would be directed.

“It’s literally true.”

Before each office could say anything, I spoke. The composure of each office was broken. Now it was my turn to talk.

“Isn’t this just a matter of introducing one building at most? How difficult are you saying it is? ….”

“…… “It’s not just about introducing a building.”

However, each office was not an easy opponent. She came in, interrupting me at just the right time. Her voice was cold and subdued.

“You are giving your home to a new foreign merchant with hundreds of millions of mora in capital. Liyue is a country of merchants. There are countless small business owners, and as Liyue Chilsung, I have a duty to protect them. If you enter Liyue’s liquor industry right now based on Mond’s liquor, how many small business owners will there be…….”

“It will be ruined.”

What each office wanted to say through long speeches, I said it on their behalf. Each office looked puzzled.

Her eyes deepened. It meant that he was seeing me again. Because I couldn’t read the intention at all.

“Like you said, if I enter Liyue’s liquor industry based on Mond’s liquor, it will be a storm for a while. Once you get into business, you won’t only be selling Mond’s liquor. You can import alcohol from Snezhnaya through Tartaglia, or you can sign a supply contract with a brewery in Liyue. And in times like this, what gives strength is the size of the capital.”

It was then. Each auditorium, which had been listening to me in silence, opened its mouth with an expression of incomprehension.

“…… “What are your intentions?”

It was as if each office had interrupted me and came in at the best time. Because I couldn’t keep being swayed. She raised a reasonable question for me.

“That’s why I have no choice but to refuse your request. Then the merchants of Liyue…….”

“Why not?”

And my answer to that reasonable question was a question directed back to the foundation. Gakcheong’s expression became blank for a moment.

“…… What?”

“I asked why not? Shouldn’t Liyue’s merchants go bankrupt?”

The answer to this was clear. There was no law against ruin. However, at the very least, ruin by foreign merchants had to be minimized. Because it was for the national interest. But I already knew the answer to that point.

What I want to ask now is not about Liyue Chilseong. He is a person with personal beliefs called ‘Gakcheong’.

“I heard an interesting story from a friend. It has been said that Liyue’s merchants have been losing their stores one by one to the Wuyindan for some time now. Ha ha ha… “Isn’t it fun?”

It was a blatant ridicule. However, each office was not moved. She was just glaring at me with a cold gaze.

That’s right. Because it wasn’t each office that I was laughing at.

“Even animals that originally live in the mountains and fields usually struggle when someone tries to steal their home, but Liyue merchants cannot do that. Because I’m always crouching down. “You’re just sitting there waiting for someone to tell you what to do.”

Each office raised its teacup once again. She seemed to be listening to me silently. But I was showing.

The eyes of each office were changing. Just now, there was anger and doubt, but now it was a little different.

Interest, and curiosity. Those emotions were mixing together little by little.

“It was fun. Liyue enjoyed prosperity for 3,000 years under the reign of King Empress. It’s a great thing. But because of that, the people of Liyue ended up becoming parrots repeating the words of the King of Darkness. “With one word from the King of Darkness, the entire trend changes, so I just curl up and wait for the King of Darkness to wake up and say something.”

It was a logical leap. It is true that the flow of the commercial world could be reversed with a single word from the king of kings, but despite this, the commercial world of Liyue was vibrant. And even if the merchants of Liyue showed a passive attitude because of the Emperor Empress, it was not a reason for them to fail.

Because they just did their best. But at this moment, those truths were not important.

The essence is misleading, and the truth you want to hear turns lies into facts.

“In my view, Liyue is stagnant. The Dark Lord is certainly a great leader, but he is of no value to humans who simply wait for God’s instructions. It’s just a puppet controlled by God. As you know, I didn’t have the ‘eyes of God’ or anything. But the one standing in front of you now is ‘Siwoo’, who has become the colossus of Mond. “Did I become like this with God’s help?”

Bullsh*t, I got to this position based on my ‘cooking’ and ‘backpacking’ skills. Moreover, if the Wind Demon Dragon incident and timely luck had not coincided, I would still have been far away from being called a great merchant. I was literally the result of a gambler who would fall at the slightest slip.

However, the detailed circumstances were not important. Anyway, a genius cannot understand an ordinary person. Each office was of that type. His abilities are so outstanding that even those who are not geniuses view and evaluate him only through his own eyes.

It was like a college student not being able to explain to a kindergarten student why 1+1 is 2. Even if you can prove it, kindergarteners won’t understand. In this way, senses are something that can be learned and can change.

In other words, for each government agency, the majority of people are eternal kindergarteners. So he forces his standards on his subordinates, and they leave because they cannot meet those standards. So, I am just a loner. That was the biggest weakness of each office and a capable yet inexperienced politician still in his 20s.

In that case, all I had to do was take advantage of that weakness. My words continued in the silence of each office.

“Are small business owners in Liyue going bankrupt? We must fail! It is natural that those who do not move on their own will perish. And the people who remain after going through that process are the future of Liyue that is truly worth protecting…….”

“You.”

When my Japanese speech reached its peak, the heavy mouths of each office finally opened. I immediately shut her mouth and looked at her expression.

It was cold snow. There was a wariness that could not be hidden in her eyes. But it was okay. I raised my teacup and quenched my thirst after a long speech.

The corners of each person’s mouth were drawn into a thin arc. It was an expression of interest and joy that could not be concealed, and an expression that could not bear to be smiled.

“…… “You’re a villain.”

Phew, I sighed in relief. In fact, my back was drenched in cold sweat. However, as I had done from the beginning, I decided to feign calm until the end.

I closed my eyes as if enjoying the scent of tea rising from the teacup. And answered.

“He’s a villain. However, he is just a villain that Liyue needs.”

At my words, Gakcheong let out a faint laugh. She looked quite happy.

“It looks like you know quite a bit about me, right?”

No, that can’t be true. I didn’t even know you were coming until I came here today.

But saying that would only ruin the groundwork I had done so far, so I decided to roughly tell the story I heard about each office.

“Of course. What you said to me during the last Cheongsin Ceremony was very impressive. ‘You have already protected Liyue for a thousand years. But will it be the same in the next thousand, ten thousand, and hundred thousand years?’ hahahahaha.”

Each office nodded her head as if they knew that would happen. It occurred to her that I, as a human being, was going astray little by little in her perception, but it was already too late.

She slammed the teacup down. It seemed like she put down her teacup like that when she asked an important question.

“Okay, I liked it… It’s not difficult to introduce the building. But, there’s something you didn’t say on purpose, right?”

I also put down my teacup. The conversation soon came to an end. It’s just a pity that I couldn’t eat Yurijeong’s mountain and seafood delicacies. If Paymon had been here, he would have scolded me and asked if I should have brought it to him.

As I was thinking of my colleagues at Mond with a faint smile on my face, a question was asked from each office.

“No matter what, it is true that your top weight class is a level that small and medium-sized top teams cannot handle. So, like you said, not only the crouching merchants but also the struggling merchants are bound to suffer damage, right?”

It was an important question. Gacheng was also a person who had been involved in Liyue’s politics for a long time. No matter how much I misrepresented the essence, I could not escape her sharp attention.

But I had already prepared an answer to that. I said, still with a faint smile on my face.

“I’m only saying this now, but I plan to respect the Li Yue merchant’s right to survive as much as possible. Because my goal is not wealth. Of course, it is inevitable that some merchants will go out of business, but to be honest…….”

Each office was waiting for my answer with excited faces. I decided to meet her expectations.

“…… Isn’t that none of my business? That is exactly what Liyue Chilseong should do.”

Gakcheong burst into laughter at my words. And soon, the sound of clear laughter echoed inside Yurijeong’s small cell. “That’s good,” I sighed, feeling like a jokester.

After that, we chatted for a few minutes. During that short period of time, each office

“Have you ever thought that other people are too lazy?”

“If you get tired of the management at the top, come to Okhyeongbu. “There is always a shortage of workers.”

“You are a great man, but times must change now… What do you think about Liyue’s future?”

He said the same thing and behaved strangely kindly to me. It seemed that I had fallen in love with one of the Liyue Seven Stars.

The reason was understandable. You probably always thought you were alone. There was that aspect of the loneliness of a genius. But when someone with whom I could communicate appeared, I must have felt a strange sense of kinship. To be honest, it wasn’t a bad thing to gain the favor of a competent person of the same rank as a government official. Aren’t each office even pretty?

The only thing I regret is that I was so nervous that I talked too much. I was never a person who thought that small business owners should go bankrupt, and I even promised each office that I would protect Liyue’s merchants, but each office did not seem to believe me at all.

For a while, I thought that my name would be known as the ‘merchant without blood or tears’ in prison.

**

Many things have happened in the meantime. The first thing I did was go to Tartaglia and vent my anger. But Tartaglia only burst out laughing when she heard my story. He summarized the story in one word.

“It worked out well in the end, right?”

Then there was nothing more to say. I wanted to throw my fist into that sly face, but I couldn’t because I could clearly see the future in which I would be the one to be knocked down by a single blow. Instead, I tried to get revenge with alcohol, but Tartaglia’s drinking capacity was not something I could deal with.

After hearing my story, Mr. Jongryeo just burst out laughing as if it was fun. In fact, it seemed more enjoyable than Tartaglia.

“Yes, that child must have been lonely all this time… “Siwoo, I hope you can be a good conversation partner.”

Could it be related to each office? However, the more I dug into Mr. Jongryeo’s network, the more mysterious it became, so I decided to give it a try. I was surprised once or twice, but I’m not surprised anymore. I was now confident that I would not be surprised even if Mr. Jongryeo was said to be on friendly terms with Emperor Amwang.

And the handling of work by each office was a failure. Each office arranged a suitable building in just a few days and presented me with a contract. However, after reading the contract in detail, I crumbled my face.

“No, this is half the story. What kind of top is a top without a warehouse? ….”

“Wouldn’t that give Liyue’s superiors time to respond?”

However, the attitude of each office was shameless. She was smiling. It was a beautiful smile. If it had been before I saw the contract, she might have been ecstatic.

“Did you really think I was going to throw Li Yue Sangye to you without any protection? Whether they are crouching or struggling, they are the people of Liyue whom I must protect… “I’m satisfied with that.”

I was shaking, but I couldn’t help it. The warehouse could have been purchased later anyway. It just took a long time to find a warehouse suitable for an upper building of this size. Still, it was a blessing to have an office right away.

However, each office looked at me grumbling, then immediately avoided their gaze and pretended not to notice.

“But if someone wants to think about Liyue’s future with me, well…” “Do you think you could use a little more strength?”

“I won’t.”

At my firm answer, each office got upset and left. He said, “Hmph,” And went out, giving the impression that anyone could see that he was upset, but he wasn’t too worried. After all, each office was a person who valued efficiency. Such people were never ruled by emotions.

In the first place, ‘let’s think about Liyue’s future together’, doesn’t that mean we want to form a political honeymoon relationship? Of course, it would not be bad for him to form a force in Liyue, but if he entered the political scene of a foreign country for no reason, he would only get caught. This was true even though Liyue was a country of merchants. It seems like each office is assuming that I am from Liyue.

Because I looked like a Liyue person and my name was Liyue Shik, the people in Liyue were less repulsive towards me. It seems like it can be used in the strategy above, but I decided to think about this a little more later.

Other than that, nothing much happened. All I had to look into was that Fissle’s recent movements were suspicious. These days, Fissle has been talking to Oz in a whisper, and considering how he usually talks in ‘Fissle’ as if telling me to listen, it seems like he is hiding something.

I approached Fisl, who was chatting with Oz,

“What are you doing?”

When asked

, Fissle was startled and said,

“Oh, it’s nothing!”

He shouted and ran away with Oz. However, since things didn’t start for a day or two, I soon stopped paying attention to the problem. I was planning on going to the night market if I had time left, but it seemed like Fiseul was busy in his own way.

Now there was only one thing left for me to do. It was a day I had been planning for because I thought it was an important schedule.

That day was today. Today, instead of the upper accommodation, I rented a restaurant. Renting a restaurant just to meet someone was an extravagant luxury, but for me now, it wasn’t even worth it. Rather, I was able to have a more honest conversation with the person I was meeting today when it was just the two of us.

With a jingle, the door opens. I greeted my guests with a familiar attitude.

Blue hair, mysterious purple eyes. And a unique headdress shaped like a horn. As soon as she saw me, she smiled.

“…… “It’s been a while, little brother Siwoo.”

I smiled and said to her as she placed her hand on her chest and bowed quietly.

“Welcome to ‘Siwoo Restaurant,’ Sister Gamwoo.”

It was my turn to get to know Gamwoo, someone I see every time I come to Liyew.