Memorize Chapter 239

“Yah!”

At Vivienne’s scream, Ha-Yeong jolted and turned her head. I quickly stepped forward with a nonchalant expression. I could hear Vivienne squawking behind me, but I ignored her and walked through the open door.

The moment I stepped inside, a sprawling, unevenly grown grassy field came into view. In terms of size, it was roughly comparable to the grounds of an average elementary school.

There were two buildings on the field, forming an L-shape overall. First, a large rectangular building stood prominently in the center. A quick glance told me it was a four-story structure. It wasn’t particularly tall, but its sheer floor space made it seem far from cramped.

I shifted my gaze to the right, where a building resembling a row of townhouses caught my eye. Counting the neatly aligned windows from the ground up, it was also a four-story building, though its width was about half that of the first one.

The buildings’ exteriors were unremarkable. They weren’t flashy enough to grab attention at first glance, but they felt approachable and practical. The faint gray walls, adorned with some metaphysical symbols, gave off a slightly antique vibe.

“What do you think?”

“Well, my first impression is that it feels modern.”

“Pfft, exactly. That’s what I thought when I first saw it. It made me feel oddly nostalgic.”

“But I never would’ve guessed there’d be buildings like this here. Was this a clan house used by another clan?”

Instead of answering, Ha-Yeong pointed forward. When I infused my eyes with magic and looked closely, I saw the letter “P” etched on the main entrance of the building.

“You got it. This place used to be the clan house for a clan called Pistachio.”

“Pistachio?”

“Yup. They were a clan that joined the Iron Mountains expedition not long ago. I don’t know how well-known they were across the Northern Continent, but they had a decent reputation in Monica. Apparently, despite warnings from IstanTel Law, they went ahead and participated.”

“And what happened?”

“The entire clan was wiped out. Not a single member made it back. So, no one can claim ownership of this clan house anymore. It’s been reclaimed by the ruling clan per the regulations.”

Hearing Ha-Yeong’s words, I felt a sudden daze wash over me. Almost as if entranced, I took step after step forward.

The grounds were enclosed by a stone wall about the height of an adult man. Vines clinging to the wall were withered, drooping lifelessly. I passed a small pond with dried weeds floating on its surface and waded through grass brushing my shins until I finally reached the vicinity of the main entrance.

I gently ran my hand along the wall, and a layer of powdery dust rubbed off onto my palm. The surface felt warm and soft, perhaps baked by the sun.

“Kim Su-Hyeon, let’s go inside!”

“Don’t get your hopes up about the interior.”

Vivienne, who had followed me at some point, grabbed the door handle, poised to barge in. Ha-Yeong gave a wry smile as a warning, but Vivienne, brimming with excitement, flung the door open. I brushed the dust off my hand with a firm shake and stepped into the house.

As I entered and looked around the first floor, the decent impression I’d had from the outside shattered instantly. I immediately understood why Ha-Yeong had told us not to expect much.

The first floor was a mess. It wasn’t exactly dilapidated, but it was clear it hadn’t been maintained, leaving it in a filthy state. The stairs leading to the second floor were blackened with grime. The first floor seemed to have served as a lobby, reception area, or perhaps a dining hall, but honestly, there wasn’t a single corner that wasn’t in disarray.

'Did they think the Iron Mountains expedition was a guaranteed success? They completely trashed this place before leaving.'

I scanned the long, sprawling space and let out a sigh before speaking.

“We’ll need to factor in the cost of renovating both the exterior and interior.”

“Still, it’s much better than buying land and building from scratch.”

“What’s our clan’s financial situation, and how much is this place?”

“We currently have about 80,000 gold coins in pure gold. The original price of the land is around 58,000 gold, and building two structures of this scale from scratch would cost an additional 27,000 gold. As you know, since we’re not nationally registered, we can’t get any discounts or loans.”

“The land price is one thing, but the cost of the buildings seems high. Even for two new buildings, I wouldn’t have thought it’d exceed 20,000 gold.”

When I posed the question, Ha-Yeong clamped her mouth shut. Just as I started to wonder why she wasn’t responding, I noticed Vivienne hesitantly raising her hand beside me.

“S-Sorry. I meant to mention earlier, but…”

“Hm?”

“It’s mostly my fault that it went over 20,000 gold. You see, Kim Su-Hyeon, you told me not to skimp on costs when building the workshop, right? You said you’d back me fully. So, I added this and that, and…”

“How much?”

“8,200 gold.”

I wanted to say, 'You really went all out, huh?' but I bit my lip and barely held it in. Thinking back, I did vaguely recall saying something like that.

I mulled it over for a moment, but I couldn’t help tilting my head slightly. Even if we assumed a generous capacity, the two buildings combined could easily accommodate 200 to 300 people. However, the Mercenary Clan currently had only nine members.

“Setting aside the location, it feels like overkill for the current Mercenary Clan to use.”

“True. But I don’t know how many clan members you’re planning to recruit, and our clan has huge growth potential. If you’re planning to establish a solid foothold in Monica, I think passing up this opportunity would be a shame.”

“Come to think of it, you mentioned IstanTel Law reached out. What did they say?”

“They offered to hand over the land and buildings for 40% of the original price.”

I couldn’t believe my ears for a second. Frowning, I asked her again.

“Not a 30% discount off the total, but 40% of the original price?”

“Yes. That means we’d only need to pay 34,000 gold. Of course, we’d have to cover the costs of renovating the exterior and interior ourselves. We’d need to settle the details, but it’d still be much cheaper than 27,000 gold. The buildings are already standing, after all.”

The deal was so outrageously good that I let out a hollow laugh. At that moment, Vivienne, who had been quietly listening, muttered under her breath.

“Something’s off.”

“What?”

“I mean, it doesn’t make sense. Giving us a deal like that with no strings attached? Don’t you think they want something from us?”

I knew full well about Han So-Young’s hunger for talent, but to someone unaware of the situation, it was definitely suspicious. And Vivienne’s point was reasonable, so I turned to Ha-Yeong.

“Did IstanTel Law say anything else?”

“They did. But it’s hard to know how to put it. Well…”

“Just tell me exactly what they said.”

“From the moment they approached us, their intentions were clear. They want the Mercenary Clan to stay active in Monica for a long time and contribute significantly to stabilizing the southern region. That’s it. They didn’t attach any other conditions.”

“They must know the Mercenary Clan is a freelance mercenary group.”

“Yes. But they showed a lot of respect for that aspect.”

I nodded once or twice at Ha-Yeong’s response. Suddenly, snippets of conversations I’d had with Han So-Young during the summons flashed through my mind.

'What I’m saying is, even if the Mercenary Clan operates as a freelance group, there’s a way for you to receive benefits similar to other players.'

'It’s simple. The representative clan managing the city can directly offer accommodations to that clan.'

“Su-Hyeon?”

“Oh, yes. I understand what you mean.”

“So, what’s the plan?”

“I don’t think we should decide right now. I need to think it over a bit more. Since this place is nearby, let’s come back tomorrow. This time, I’d like to check out other locations.”

“You don’t want to look around more?”

There was no need to go upstairs; I could already imagine what it looked like. Whether we accepted IstanTel Law’s terms or not, the interior would need a complete overhaul anyway. So, I simply nodded calmly and turned to leave. After a brief moment of standing there dazed, I sensed the two of them hurriedly following me as I stepped out the door.

As I walked, I glanced at Ha-Yeong, who was cautiously keeping pace on my left, and spoke in a calm tone.

“By the way, Ha-Yeong, I have a question.”

“Yes. Are you curious about the next location?”

“No. Earlier, when I asked about the clan’s financial situation, why did you only mention gold coins and not the gems? As far as I know, we have over a thousand gems, and if we estimate an average of 200 gold per gem, that’s a whopping 200,000 gold.”

“Well…”

Ha-Yeong didn’t answer right away. She glanced at me cautiously before speaking in a careful tone.

“I’ve always had this feeling. It’s like you’ve been deliberately saving the gems instead of using them. And since you brought Kim Han-Byeol along this time…”

“Does the Jewel Mage class really consume that many gems?”

“Yes. Didn’t you know? According to her, to draw out her full power, she needs at least one gem per spell.”

“One gem per spell? That’s insane.”

Ha-Yeong nodded a couple of times in agreement. But despite saying this, I didn’t actually feel that way. Suddenly, my earlier worries about money seemed pointless. Back in the mid-stages of my first life, I’d lived so frugally and never had the chance to splurge, so it had become a habit.

Kim Han-Byeol. If I couldn’t handle her, I wouldn’t have brought her along in the first place. I was that confident in maintaining a Jewel Mage. Or at the very least, I had no intention of struggling financially moving forward, and I planned to ensure that. How many undiscovered ruins did I know about? Even if I succeeded in exploring just half of them, I wouldn’t have to worry about gold or gems until I cleared Hall Plain.

'If worst comes to worst, I can just make a trip to the Forest of Gems. Though, I feel a bit bad since that was supposed to be hyung’s discovery… Speaking of which, I wonder how hyung is doing.'

Coming to Monica meant being by Han So-Young’s side, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t thought about hyung, Yu-Hyeon. He was probably thriving in the eastern region right now. Honestly, part of me wanted to rush to him immediately, but since he was destined to keep soaring, I held back. I still needed to build more strength, and I didn’t want to interfere and create even the slightest variable in his brilliant future.

Still, since the future could twist in unexpected ways, I’d asked Go Yeon-Joo to keep an eye on the western continent and hyung’s whereabouts. If I caught even the faintest hint of trouble, I’d drop everything and go to him.

Lost in these thoughts as I walked, I suddenly saw Vivienne dart out to my right. She stopped abruptly, flung something to the side, and exclaimed in a startled voice.

“Oh no! I dropped some money!”

Then she bent over, frantically searching for the dropped item. The problem was that her hips were swaying excessively in my direction as I passed by. And they were positioned perfectly at the height of my right hand. As expected of an alchemist, it felt like a meticulously calculated move.

Watching her plump, jiggling hips, I briefly lowered my gaze to my right hand. The springy sensation from earlier seemed to come alive again.

'Come to think of it, they did feel pretty firm earlier.'