Chapter 218: Cute Revenge (3)
In the end, Blue ended up using its real priority bargaining rights with Yoo Ahyoung.
Of course, after everything had been concluded, we still had one left, but I did not feel the need to use it. I knew that making other guilds and clans wait any longer was a nuisance enough, so I hurried to open the transfer market. As a result, new recruiters came pouring in.
In my opinion, these new recruits’ potential was just ordinary, but the reaction was very good, perhaps because of the perception that the Red Mercenaries had directly trained them.
‘That’s because everyone is actually in good condition.’
It may be insignificant to a medium-sized guild, such as the Blue, Red Mercenary, Black Swan, or Magic Guild, but this would prove to be a big deal for the smaller clans and guilds.
Thanks to the Red Mercenaries, these recruits garnered more attention than they would ever have if any other guild had trained them.
Meanwhile, their said trainers shared information about each clan and guild with the trainees in the training center. Guild guides, such as catalogs and pamphlets, were distributed among trainees, and it was common to see them having discussions about these during their breaks.
Information that had been almost completely controlled began to be released.
While the training schedule was still ongoing, there were concerns that the training center would become quite a bustle and training would be disrupted, but that did not happen.
In order to stand out to the scouts who visit several times a day, new recruits who had not yet received an offer had to work on training with everything they had, and the ones who were already recruited had to work hard to increase their value.
A strange, competitive atmosphere resonated within the area. Of course, it wasn’t just the trainees who competed.
Each clan and guild also felt the competitiveness and thus showed each other up.
The proper recruitment war had begun.
giving gifts to prospective members and slandering other clans in order to get the trainees on their side.
For example, guild masters and scouts began to show off a more luxurious appearance. They were always seen with a well-trained elite to show off their strength or wealth.
The clan welfare, the guild’s budget, and even the accommodation’s quality and future development possibilities have become common topics to hear about.
Although it seemed surprisingly effective, Blue did not participate in their competition.
We didn’t even distribute a guild catalog, and it was obvious why.
‘There’s no more need to promote anything.’
Blue’s recruitment had actually ended with Lee Chang-ryul and Yoo Ahyoung. We thought there was no need to seek other new recruits anymore, so there was no need to bother preparing presentations to promote the guild.
Even if we didn’t do anything, rumors were sure to revolve around, anyway.
Information was constantly being released in the training camp. After the market was opened, it was no longer a closed place. In the process of talking with the scouts of each guild, the new recruits gradually learned to what extent of power Kim Hyunsung and I had in Blue.
Besides being appointed to one of Eight Seats in the Holy Empire and being the Vice Master of Blue, I was also the Honorary Bishop of the Holy Empire. As a bonus, I was also the Mercenary Queen’s Gigolo. I didn’t know how many titles these trainees knew about me, but I didn’t care.
Even if they hadn’t heard the story, they would definitely feel that something had changed about me.
“Isn’t that a griffon?”
“Is it for Instructor Lee Kiyoung?”
“I heard that there are only four of them in Lindel. One belongs to the Red Mercenary’s Guild Master, one belongs to the Black Swan Guild Master, and the other two are owned by the Blue Guild Master and the Vice Guild Master…”
“Who did you hear it from?”
“From a Nuna in my clan…”
“Ohhh… Did you finally decide to go in?”
“Yes. Thanks to this, I heard all kinds of things, and I think that people shouldn’t judge someone just by their appearance.”
“I’m not joking. Even cars can be priced, but griffons are more valuable…”
“He was chosen as the Honorary Bishop of the Holy Empire. That would be normal.”
“What?”
“Do you think that’s all? Oh, this hasn’t been confirmed yet…”
Of course, it wasn’t just White Paul that I showed. From wearing simple clothing, I had begun wearing more expensive and luxurious items.
Of course, I still didn’t think that the trainees would be able to distinguish these things, but I enjoyed them eyeing my classy getup.
‘The class is almost finished, too…’
In fact, there were no classes today. It wouldn’t be awkward to look like this as long as I intended to privately visit the training center as a ‘possible recruiter.’
I saw the trainees settling in front of the training center’s main entrance before leaving to do their respective tasks. With just a little bit of magic, I could hear what everyone was saying.
“I’m so jealous…”
“I’m not.”
“You’re lying. It is said that polygamy is also common here anyway…”
“There’s no love in polygamy.”
“If you have a lot of money, love that you didn’t initially have will blossom, bitch. This is a dangerous place, anyway. Entering Instructor Lee Kiyoung’s arms is better than living with a beggar that is looking for love. You will be a thousand times happier than living with him. Should I give an extreme example?”
“What?”
“Others may not know, but at least I’m more likely to be Mansour’s third wife than a capable lover.”
“Somehow, I sympathize with that…”
With this, I greeted the students simply by raising one hand.
Only a few of the trainees came close to me to be friendly. Most of the female trainees glanced at me and decided not to say a word, knowing who I had been waiting for.
Eventually, Yoo Ahyoung approached me, looking happy for some reason.
In an instant, the trainees who were passing through the front door scrambled to get out of her away.
‘Is this some sort of Moses reenactment, or what?’
Yoo Ahyoung now looked more confident. She was obviously aware of the interest and jealousy pouring out from everywhere.
Seeing that she was enjoying the gazes quite a bit, I laughed. She herself had changed a lot. First of all, there was her appearance. Most of the things on Yoo Ahyoung’s body were also luxurious. No one would think she was a trainee that had been receiving the same education.
‘She looks more like a princess now…’
Conscious of the envy in everyone’s gaze, she hesitated, so I took this chance to speak.
“Shall we go then?”
“Yes, Instructor Lee Kiyoung.”
Her wide smile didn’t even seem like it was just acting.
Of course, most of the things she was wearing were the ones I had given her, even the rings on her hand. When I remembered the first time I gave that gift, another laugh came out.
Of course, what was interesting was not Yoo Ahyoung’s reaction, but the people around her.
Yoo Ahyoung still hadn’t officially joined Blue.
When I first sent that kind of gift, there were speculations about whether it was a small bribe to her come in the Blue, but as time passed, the story of whether the offering went beyond the meaning of a simple gift started passing around.
I wasn’t surprised that strange rumors had begun to circulate within the training camp.
‘Instructor Lee Kiyoung is interested in trainee Young Ahyoung.’
It all started with that rumor.
‘Making her come to the Blue was because he wanted to have her next to him.’
However, I didn’t just receive positive gazes.
In my case, there had already been rumors that I liked women anyway, so it didn’t matter that much. It was just that a lot of uncomfortable gazes had begun to rest on Ahyoung, who had suddenly become a princess overnight.
Of course, it took only a few days for those uncomfortable gazes to turn into envious gazes. Her level had risen too high to cancel her out of simple jealousy.
From the trainees’ point of view, Yoo Ahyoung’s existence had so far flown so high that it was now invisible for those who still remained at the bottom.
It was now a familiar sensation for her to hold my hand in order to get onto White Paul. As I couldn’t help but chuckle throughout this ordeal, Ahyoung glanced at me.
“As expected… It doesn’t suit me, does it?”
“No. I’m laughing because you seemed so natural.”
“I feel ashamed to hear such a statement.”
“How do you feel?”
“Honestly, I like it. In fact, I felt skeptical about it at first, but I was surprised to feel better than I first thought.”
“That’s fortunate. Did anything unusual happen today?”
“Yes. Some people have asked me if it is true that I’m dating Instructor Lee Kiyoung. They asked about Instructor Jung Hayan, too. They were surprised when I said that I wasn’t dating you yet.”
“I see.”
“Oh, and that person…”
“Yes?”
“He said that I should stop seeing you.”
“He seems to be anxious. Haha.”
“He hasn’t told me, but he must really be anxious. He tried to touch me too… Of course, it was annoying. I left right away. It was him who first told me to get closer to you, and now he’s afraid that you might take me away. Thanks to that, he tries to approach me every chance he gets.”
The fact that I had been showering Yoo Ahyoung with gifts was undoubtedly the reason why he had become anxious.
‘It would be strange if he wasn’t…’
The same was true of me, too.
If a smart guy stuck to Kim Hyunsung, I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to sleep due to anxiety.
“Do you know what else I said? That he has changed these days… However, he rather asked me if I was still the Ahyoung he knew. Honestly, I was so perplexed back then that I wanted to squeeze his head off.”
“You could have hit him.”
“Can I really do that? The plan you told me about…”
Ahyoung was definitely more talkative now.
‘She’s definitely having fun.’
I thought it would be a very fun time for her, but I realized that she had ended up liking my plan a little more than I thought.
“You can do whatever you want to do. The plan is easy enough to execute. The most important thing is that Ahyoung’s mood is relieved.”
“Ah… Yes!”
Her voice had considerably brightened.