ALL NOVEL Chapter 239
Chapter 239. Good News
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Chilla pounded his belly that had risen like a mountain.
With every thump, the fur-covered belly wobbled like waves.
It was the result of inhaling the splendid banquets of Kabuum.
“Burp!”
“Disgusting.”
“Hey? Burping after a meal is totally natural!”
“How rude, Chinchilla.”
Lee Mi-a chided Chilla, who let out a loud burp.
Wiping the grease from her lips with a handkerchief, she said, “Still, it was quite a decent meal.”
“Chirp! I agree.”
The royal chef, who had prepared the banquet, smiled brightly at Chilla and Mi-a.
“Looks like we’ve got some folks who know how to enjoy their food! You could hold your own against the humans of Kabuum!”
“Meat with bones is the tastiest!”
“Can’t we eat here again tomorrow? Chirp?”
“Well, as long as the King allows it, you’re welcome anytime.”
“Chirp! Captain! How about staying one more day in Kabuum!”
Chilla looked at Yoo Ji-han with his large eyes shining.
He seemed desperate as if possessed by the spirit of appetite.
“Denied.”
“Chirp, chirp…”
But upon receiving the firm rejection, Chilla’s expression turned sad.
Meanwhile, Min Yu-ri was talking with a palace staff member a short distance away.
“So these are the herbs?”
“Yes.”
A colorful collection of herbs neatly lined up on a long table.
It could almost be said that they brought all the herbs growing in Kabuum.
Min Yu-ri brought her nose close to a herb with very deep pink leaves.
“It smells like it’ll make you healthy.”
“There are indeed herbs included that are excellent for recovering stamina! Since it was a direct order from the King, I only selected the finest.”
“Thank you so much.”
“We’ll pack the items you take home very securely, so they can last long and withstand shocks.”
Besides preparing the items for the Yogo Guild, they even showed consideration for Min Yu-ri.
The King of Kabuum kept the promises made to Yoo Ji-han’s party.
Yoo Ji-han looked around at Team 3, who had eaten together, and asked, “How are you all feeling?”
“Feeling perfectly fine,” they replied.
Team 3, having been imprisoned for a brief time, smiled easily at Yoo Ji-han’s worried question.
“Except for the time in prison, it felt like staying in a five-star hotel.”
“Team 3 stayed as quietly as possible, which helped a lot.”
If Team 3, who had arrived earlier in Kabuum, had opposed Kabuum’s intent to imprison them, the situation could have turned worse than it is now.
“We initially wanted to meet the King of Kabuum, but…”
“The warriors kept refusing our requests.”
“If you hadn’t come to Kabuum and had stayed just one more day in prison, I would have thrown a tantrum and escaped!”
“I was lucky with the timing.”
Yoo Ji-han felt fortunate that he had visited Kabuum at Alo’s request.
There had been a small misunderstanding, but ultimately it turned into a better situation than could have been hoped for.
‘It was wise to collaborate with the Yogo Guild.’
If they had attempted to search for Yoon Do-ha relying only on the strength of the Kallem Expeditionary Force without local help, they would have faced far more complicated decisions.
In that regard, meeting Alo turned out to be lucky.
As Yoo Ji-han exited the King’s Palace, he loaded his belongings onto the prepared cart with his companions.
“Ji-han! We’ve loaded everything onto the cart.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“By the way, the people over there are desperately asking us to take their goods as well…”
In addition to the items that the Yogo Guild initially agreed to purchase, there were many other items they received at very low prices.
Maybe it was because the King’s approval had come, but everyone suddenly wanted to sell their products to the guild.
Yoo Ji-han, who had been given full authority by Team 3’s leader, said, “Let’s buy an appropriate cart and take it with us.”
“Understood.”
The leader of Team 3 headed out to purchase a cart.
At that moment, a man approached from a distance.
“Tuta?”
“Ah, so you were here.”
It was Tuta, a warrior of Kabuum.
“What’s up?”
“I’m going to Reron with you today.”
“You? Why?”
“Thanks to my bond with you all, I became the Yogo Guild’s representative.”
“Interesting.”
“Since it’s a direct order from the King, I have to follow it!”
Tuta had been promoted from an ordinary elite soldier of Kabuum to a representative of the Yogo Guild.
His outfit also resembled more of Reron’s attire than Kabuum’s.
“If you have any messages for our King, feel free to relay them through me.”
“Got it.”
“Also! Just for your information, the King wanted to spar with you.”
“…Suddenly?”
“He was impressed by what he saw at the ceremony.”
The King of Kabuum wanted to have a match with Yoo Ji-han.
However, Yoo Ji-han chuckled and shook his head.
It’s true he was interested in sparring with a strong opponent, but there was no need to exert himself unnecessarily.
“It might be possible before leaving Kallem.”
“Relay that.”
*
When Yoo Ji-han’s party returned to Reron after finishing their business in Kabuum.
Alo, who had just exited a banquet held by the nobles, welcomed them.
“Yoo Ji-han!”
“Oh! You’re quite flashy today.”
“Ahem. I had no choice since it’s the outfit I received as a gift yesterday.”
Alo was dressed in a suit received as a gift from a noble.
He spoke with a somewhat worried expression.
“I heard some things about your incidents in Kabuum.”
“The rumors spread faster than expected.”
“There are those who deal solely in such information. But that you personally met the King…”
“Let’s skip the small talk and look at the goods I brought.”
Yoo Ji-han showed Alo the items loaded onto the cart.
“…What are these?”
Products previously promised for trade along with a pile of unfamiliar items.
Alo’s eyes widened as he scanned through the cart’s cargo.
Each item looked splendid, and he quickly realized that there were non-approved items mixed in that couldn’t be taken out of Kabuum.
“Don’t worry, I got permission for all of them.”
“W-wait, did the King of Kabuum personally give you permission?! And what’s that cart next to you?”
“There was so much to take that I bought an extra cart.”
“Wow!”
Alo was so astonished he couldn’t close his mouth.
He had gained too much from a single visit to Kabuum.
“I reached an agreement to keep the prices at around 70% of what we initially discussed. You’ll be able to trade at that price moving forward.”
“Whoa!”
If this leads to a sustainable trade.
The future for the Yogo Guild would be blooming.
“This is the representative of the Yogo Guild from Kabuum.”
“I’m Tuta. Nice to meet you!”
“Ah, so you’re the lucky guild owner?”
“I-I’m lucky, I suppose.”
Alo recognized the fortune that had just come his way.
And who was the one to pull that fortune from the King of Kabuum.
“Oh, welcome?”
“Watanabe-san. Here’s a gift for you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s traditional liquor from Kabuum.”
“Haha! You truly are a giant! Sending you was a splendid choice!”
Watanabe quickly grabbed the beautifully patterned liquor bottle with a beaming face.
He didn’t forget to give Yoo Ji-han a thumbs-up.
“You truly accomplished an amazing feat. I wonder how I can repay this favor…”
They had been hired as powerful mercenaries.
Alo felt overwhelmingly grateful to them.
He could never repay it all by himself.
“Just treat us decently while we’re staying in Kallem.”
“Of course!”
“By the way, do you have any news about Team 2, who headed to Maz?”
“Nothing yet. Our staff has lots to handle, so it’ll take some time.”
It would take longer for the tasks in Maz to be completed.
Anyway, since they had agreed to meet again by a certain day, there would still be some time left.
Yoo Ji-han decided to wait a little longer.
“By the way, the atmosphere in Maz seems rather uneasy these days.”
“Is there something going on?”
“Oh, you all don’t know?”
“…?”
“You know there are many mines over there, right?”
“Yes.”
The faction that holds the largest mine in Kallem, producing and exporting numerous minerals.
While the gem crafting technology is well developed in the populous Reron,
In fact, more than half of the gems circulated throughout all of Kallem could be considered sourced from Maz.
‘That’s where Fran’s father is.’
Fran Fager’s father, who worked as a miner, was a dwarf living in Maz.
Thus, Yoo Ji-han understood more about Maz than any other faction.
‘It’s known to be the faction where ethnic discrimination is most severe among the three major forces.’
The reason why the seemingly friendly Fran grew tired of Kallem was precisely because of Maz.
Yoo Ji-han heard all about how Fran’s father, his colleagues, and even Fran himself were treated like slaves.
Because of this, even before entering Kallem, they had a rather negative impression of the faction.
“There’s a chance of a civil war breaking out in Maz due to the mines soon.”
“Why?”
“The rulers are fighting over the ownership of the mines.”
Originally, the mines in Maz were meant to be common property, where all profits were shared.
However, the resources sleeping within each mine were not infinite.
As the resources in the mines they were managing dwindled, cracks formed among the rulers.
Their tensions were gradually bringing a sense of crisis throughout Maz.
“If a civil war breaks out, the Yogo Guild intends to withdraw from Maz for the time being.”
“War could also be an opportunity for the guild.”
“For the safety of the staff. That’s a principle my father has. Well, we can try circulating medicine since we can now procure herbs from Kabuum…”
Nothing is more precious than a human life.
Following his father’s principle, Alo didn’t want to assign risky tasks to the guild’s staff.
No matter how good the mercenaries were, war was the one exception where anything could happen.
‘If a civil war breaks out, we’d be in trouble too.’
If they couldn’t find Yoon Do-ha in Reron, their next option would be to explore Maz.
If a civil war were to break out during that time, it would pose some difficulties in the search.
Zzzz! Zzzz……
At that moment, when Yoo Ji-han was lost in thought.
He heard a heavy noise coming from his pocket.
“Sylph? What’s wrong?”
—Not me!
“…?!”
If it wasn’t the sylph in his pocket making the noise, there could only be one reason.
Startled, he quickly took out the Dimension Phone he had been carrying.
The noise was coming from the speaker of the Dimension Phone.
“Oops! It’s mine too!”
The Dimension Phone held by the leader of Team 3 reacted similarly to Yoo Ji-han’s.