Business Talk.
Cindy's story went back to right after the second expedition began.
After Woojin left for the north with the expeditionary force, Cindy—left behind in the frontier city—fell into deep thought while planning her next business venture.
'What kind of work should I do?'
She had plenty of money.
She had spent a lot of gold coins buying artifacts, but Volp the Golden Worm had liquidated all the businesses they ran in the Demon Realm and converted everything into cash.
Cindy had inherited that entire fortune by herself… and there was also an unexpected investment.
'Oppa Jin has piled up an incredible amount of money too.'
Just before leaving the city, Woojin handed all the wealth he had accumulated over to Cindy. Once the expedition began, he wouldn't really have a chance to spend it anyway.
The bounty he had received from hunting countless magical beasts was far beyond imagination.
'I want to grow this investment well and return it… but what kind of business would be appropriate?'
Cindy folded her arms and thought.
The first thing that came to mind was naturally businesses related to the conquest of the Demon Realm.
War makes money.
The Church Alliance was pouring enormous amounts of money and manpower into the expedition. If she could get involved in something like that, she would surely make a fortune.
After looking into businesses directly related to the expedition, Cindy chose one of them and earned some decent money for a few days…
But in the end, she got tired of it.
"There were too many competitors. A lot of merchants had already entered that line of work before me."
Fighting over profits with powerful merchant lords was exhausting.
While she was dealing with that… unexpected bad news arrived.
"A rumor started spreading that Oppa had died."
"…Sorry."
Shocked by the news, Cindy immediately shut down the business she was running. She went to the Third Frontier City, consulted with Bow, and left behind a letter.
After that, she tried to start another business…
But her mental state had deteriorated so badly that she couldn't focus on any work.
Let's just rest for a while.
She suddenly felt like seeing the ocean.
So Cindy came to the port city Elus, where her summer villa was located, and spent her time idly relaxing.
After a few days passed…
At some point, she became terribly bored of resting.
'Is there something I could do just for fun?'
A merchant's occupational habit.
Cindy started a small business for amusement.
She purchased about eight fishing boats and rented them out to local fishermen, collecting a commission.
It didn't earn huge profits, but having something to do brought life back into her previously dull days.
While she was satisfied with that…
"An unexpected variable appeared."
"What was it?"
"The Third Expeditionary Army didn't start advancing north. Instead, they focused on purifying the Rift Cores."
As several Rift Cores were purified, the Demon Realm gradually began to disappear.
And noticeable changes began appearing in the sea as well.
Originally, the seas around the Demon Realm were filled with mutated creatures affected by the Rift Cores—huge marine magical beasts with bizarre powers.
Because of that, fishermen never even approached the northern seas.
But after the Rift Cores began to be purified…
The marine magical beasts gradually disappeared.
Claire added an explanation.
"I've heard that magical beasts living underwater are extremely sensitive to environmental changes."
Land creatures—including the Forest Tribe—could live on purified land without much difficulty.
But the ecosystem of underwater magical beasts was different.
Just like fish accustomed to seawater cannot survive in freshwater, marine magical beasts sensed the change in the ocean and migrated far north.
That meant the sea safe for sailing had expanded just that much.
"Still, most people believed it was too dangerous to go to the northern sea… but you know how there are always a few people who refuse to listen."
A few fearless fishermen rented boats from Cindy's merchant group and headed toward the distant northern sea.
It was a reckless act driven by greed.
But it produced an unexpected result.
"They discovered those giant clam monsters."
Other marine magical beasts had migrated north, but the enormous and heavy clam monsters were too slow to move.
Having lost their strength due to the change in seawater, the clams simply lay there sluggishly.
The brave fishermen managed to haul one of them back to the port.
Curious, Cindy bought the clam from them for an extra price.
"If it was edible, I planned to sell it to rich people as an exotic delicacy."
Just like sturgeon roe is sold as the expensive ingredient caviar, if these clams tasted good, they might become a valuable new marine resource.
With that thought, Cindy called in a chef and watched as the clam meat was being prepared.
"…Then suddenly, a pearl this big popped out."
As she said that, Cindy raised her fist.
A pearl about the size of a woman's fist.
Large and beautifully lustrous.
It was a jackpot.
Like digging for copper and discovering a gold vein instead.
Smelling money, Cindy moved quickly.
"I gathered the local fishermen and signed contracts with them. When they catch clam monsters, I sell the pearls to nobles."
Since fishermen weren't used to selling valuable gems like pearls, they hesitated for quite a while…
But eventually they accepted Cindy's proposal.
After that, things proceeded smoothly—like a sailboat carried by a favorable wind.
"With the money from selling pearls, I bought more fishing boats. And since the clam meat tastes good, I also opened several restaurants in nearby cities. Oppa, you should try it too."
As she said that, Cindy personally scooped some clam stew with a ladle and served it onto Woojin's plate.
Woojin took a bite without hesitation.
It was a creamy stew packed with clam meat.
Every time he bit into the clam, sweet juices burst out.
"This is surprisingly good. Since you said it was a magical beast, I didn't expect much."
"Really?"
Curious, Claire and Arwen also scooped some stew onto their plates.
After tasting it, both of them widened their eyes in surprise.
Claire exclaimed,
"Wow, this is a delicacy! Seafood really does taste better when it's big."
Just like large fish such as tuna and marlin are considered especially delicious, this giant clam was exceptional.
A valuable ingredient that couldn't be found anywhere else—and pearls on top of that.
Using both, Cindy made a huge fortune.
After hearing the story, Woojin said in admiration,
"That's really impressive."
"Well… I was just lucky."
It was merely a stroke of luck.
Cindy answered modestly.
She had only made money because she happened to discover a habitat of giant pearl oysters. It wasn't something worthy of praise.
But Woojin replied,
"Seizing opportunities is a skill."
Unprepared people often miss valuable opportunities even when they encounter them.
Running the boat rental business, building recognition among local fishermen, and negotiating exclusive contracts—those were unquestionably Cindy's achievements.
"You can be proud of it."
"…Hehe."
When Woojin praised her, Cindy smiled brightly, clearly pleased.
The atmosphere grew lighter.
They continued their meal happily.
While eating the clam stew and taking small sips of white wine that paired well with seafood…
Woojin suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.
"Cindy. Where did Rachel go?"
Rachel the Witch.
A dark-order priestess capable of transforming into a spotted leopard.
Curious about her whereabouts, Woojin asked.
Cindy answered casually,
"I sent her to handle some outside work. There's something she needed to check. She'll probably be back soon."
It seemed Rachel was handling a task outside.
Hearing that, Woojin showed a hint of concern.
"You're not handling this too loosely? That woman's abilities are extremely dangerous. If something goes wrong, she could destroy the whole city."
"Really?"
Cindy thought for a moment with the spoon still in her mouth, then shrugged.
"Well, it'll probably be fine. She's actually pretty timid, so I doubt she'd cause a major incident."
"That's true. Her personality did become gentler."
After getting thoroughly scorched by a rain of fire, the witch Rachel's personality had changed completely—almost 180 degrees from before.
'Even so… I should check on her once.'
Just in case, it would be best to examine Rachel's condition with his Mind's Eye.
Thinking that, Woojin continued eating.
After finishing the meal, they had some fruit for dessert and drank a refreshing beverage.
But Rachel showed no sign of returning.
'They said she'd be back soon, but she's late.'
Although it bothered him, Woojin didn't bring it up. It might sound like he was rushing them.
They finished the meal.
"Oppa, what should we do now?"
Cindy asked.
Woojin thought for a moment before answering.
"How about taking a walk?"
"Sounds good! Then I'll show you around the mansion."
Cindy laughed brightly, clearly excited.
Woojin had meant going outside for a stroll, but the mansion itself was so large that simply touring it would be enough for a walk after dinner.
They left the dining room and began looking at the paintings hanging along the corridor and the various sculptures.
Then suddenly—
Hurried footsteps echoed from outside the mansion.
Servants were talking hurriedly among themselves.
Woojin stopped in place and sniffed the air.
A familiar—and unpleasant—scent drifted in.
"…I smell blood."
"Huh? What smell?"
Cindy asked.
Just as Woojin was about to answer, the mansion doors burst open and the gatekeepers rushed inside.
The smell of blood grew stronger.
Someone was slung across the gatekeeper's back.
A woman, badly injured and unconscious.
Seeing her, Cindy gasped in horror.
"R-Rachel!"
Cindy hurried down the stairs.
Woojin and the others quickly followed.
The gatekeeper gently laid Rachel on the floor.
Blood dripped endlessly from her wounds, quickly pooling on the ground.
Seeing this, the servants hurriedly brought potions and poured them over her.
It was a situation no one had expected.
Woojin stroked his chin and thought.
'Rachel got attacked.'
A powerful witch capable of transforming into a spotted leopard.
He had assumed the best outcome would be that she simply didn't cause trouble outside—yet she had returned critically injured instead.
Who could have done this to a witch?
Woojin examined her wounds.
There were several holes scattered across her abdomen.
The shape looked like…
'…Bite marks.'
It looked like a giant monster had bitten her once and then spat her out.
Such a thing would be common in the Demon Realm.
But this place was inside the barrier.
Perhaps because her injuries were severe, even after pouring large amounts of potions on her, Rachel still didn't regain consciousness.
Seeing that, Cindy's eyes filled with tears.
"Oppa… isn't she going to die like this?"
"Don't worry."
They had just managed to stop the tears earlier. He couldn't let the atmosphere turn into a funeral again.
Woojin gave Arwen an order.
"Go grab that thing from the luggage."
"Understood."
Responding immediately, Arwen dashed off.
Her movements were as swift as a whirlwind.
She returned so quickly that before anyone could count to ten, she was already back.
Arwen politely presented a bottle.
"Here it is."
"Good work."
Woojin took the bottle.
Inside the glass container was a thick crimson liquid.
Hydra's blood.
'It's a bit of a waste, but it can't be helped.'
He hadn't even given a sip of it to the wolf.
Yet now this precious thing was about to go down a witch's throat.
Grumbling inwardly, Woojin pulled out the cork and poured the blood into Rachel's mouth.
An immediate change occurred.
Crack—!
Her wounds began closing at an incredible speed.
The witch's pale complexion quickly regained color.
She had passed the critical point.
Since it would be wasteful to feed the entire bottle of Hydra's blood to the witch, Woojin handed the half-remaining liquid to Arwen.
"Here. You drink the rest."
"Thank you."
Arwen shared the blood with Coco.
Seeing this, Claire asked curiously,
"What exactly is that? Judging by the color, it looks like red wine."
"It's far more valuable than wine."
He couldn't talk about the inner core in front of everyone, so Woojin gave a vague answer and moved on.
Then he changed the subject.
"She's about to wake up."
He gestured toward the witch lying on the floor.
Sure enough, before long Rachel slowly opened her eyes, as if waking from sleep.
Cindy sighed in relief.
"I'm glad you woke up… Rachel. What on earth happened to you?"
"…What happened?"
Rachel murmured.
She still looked half-asleep.
The witch lazily yawned like a cat, then suddenly muttered to herself.
"I think I saw a big fish… a really big and scary fish. Its mouth was full of teeth."
I thought I was going to die.
Rachel murmured that.
Then suddenly her eyes rolled back and she collapsed again.
Cindy panicked.
"Rachel?!"
"She's alive, so don't worry."
Since she was still breathing, she wasn't dead.
It seemed that after drinking the powerful blood, her consciousness briefly returned, but she didn't have enough strength and fainted again.
If she rested, she would probably recover soon.
But Woojin was thinking about something else.
'What does she mean by a big fish?'
He would need to understand the full situation.
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