Chapter 339

“Hey! Han Tae-Sung, you crazy bastard! I came to give you information! You fucking bastard!” Ma Dong-Po screamed.

He was flustered after seeing how cold and direct Siegfried was.

“This information is related to Chae Hyung-Seok! That Chae Hyung-Seok you hate! Hey!”

However, Siegfried didn’t react to Dong-Po’s desperate screams.

“Hmm.. His mouth is filthy, so make sure you pull his tongue out first. Listening to him makes my ears hurt.”

“Yes! Your Majesty!”

The knights immediately responded to his command.

“From which hole did this impudent rascal crawl out from?!”

“Kuheok!”historical

“We will pull your tongue out on behalf of His Majesty!”

There was not an ounce of hesitation in the knights as they held Ma Dong-Po down and pulled his tongue out.

C-Chwaaak!

The sound of flesh getting ripped apart reverberated across the throne room as Ma Dong-Po’s tongue was pulled out.

Fwaaa..!

Crimson blood flowed out of his mouth.

“Uhhh.. Waaa.. Awooo..!”

Ma Dong-Po experienced having his tongue pulled out for the first time in his life, even though it was in a game.

“Get him out of my sight. He’s too noisy.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Siegfried stood up from his throne after giving the command and leisurely walked back to where Brunhilde was sleeping.

“Time for me to go and watch Brunhilde sleep~”

Surprisingly, his steps were quite light despite what he did just now.

***

Three days later..

“Is there anything you want to eat?” Siegfried asked.

“Hmm.. Fizzy Mandarins? Yes, I want Fizzy Mandarins,” Brunhilde replied.

Fizzy Mandarins were Mandarins with a fizzy aftertaste, and it was one of the main products of the Macallan Kingdom.

However, Fizzy Mandarins were extremely expensive. Each tree would only produce five fruits, and they could only be harvested during winter. Moreover, using magic to artificially recreate winter temperatures didn’t work on the fruit, so it was almost impossible to buy it in the middle of summer.

“It’s going to be difficult, right? I will just eat oranges,” Brunhilde said.

“Wait.”

“H-Honey?”

“Give me a second!” Siegfried said as he rushed to the communications room and called the Macallan Kingdom.

— Oh! Your Majesty! It has been a long time! I, the Marquis and General of the Macallan Kingdom, Overlock de Gunzack, greet His Majesty, King Siegfried van Proa!

Siegfried called General Overlock. The merits that General Overlock had obtained in the war against the Cryptids were recognized by the kingdom, and he was promoted to a position in the capital. Needless to say, most of his merits were all thanks to Siegfried.

“Have you fared well, General?”

— Yes, Your Majesty! Haha! But is there anything I can assist you with? I believe it is quite rare for you to call me directly!

“Ah, that is..” Siegfried hesitated for a second, but he overcame his embarrassment and decided to ask, “Can you get me some Fizzy Mandarins?”

— Fizzy Mandarins?

“Yes.”

— Why is Your Majesty looking for them?

“My wife.. wants to eat.. Fizzy Mandarins so..”

— Bwahahaha!

“..”

—I guess even Your Majesty is weak when it comes to your wife, seeing how you are trying to get Fizzy Mandarins in the middle of summer!

Siegfried could not say anything in response.

— Your Majesty! That is only normal! In fact, even I was the same when my wife was pregnant!

“R-Really?”

— How many does Your Majesty require?

“I think one box will suffice..? Wait, am I asking too much?”

— I will send you ten boxes! Please have them to your heart’s content!

“Thank you, General.”

—I will send it at once!

General Overlock sent ten boxes of Fizzy Mandarins to Siegfried, and they arrived at the castle gates exactly one hour later.

“Honey~ Here are the Fizzy Mandarins you wanted~”

“Omo!”

Brunhilde was shocked to see the boxes of Fizzy Mandarins.

“Y-You bought so many boxes? It must have been very expensive!”

“You said you wanted them.”

“S-Still..”

“Please, have some,” Siegfried said as he peeled one and put it in her mouth.

“T-Thank you..”

“Oh, this is nothing. Do you have anything else you want to eat? Tell me if there is, I will go get them for you.”

“I love you,” Brunhilde replied with a hug to express her gratitude.

“Here. Have one more~ Say ah~”

“Ah~”

While Siegfried was having his sweet time with Brunhilde, a servant appeared and reported, “Your Majesty! Ma Dong-Po, who was executed three days ago, has returned!”

“Ah.. That guy still hasn’t come to his senses..” Siegfried grumbled through his clenched teeth.

He stole a glance at Brunhilde.

“Just give me a second,” he said before he covered her ears and commanded the servant.

“Tie his limbs to horses this time and let them pull him apart.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Siegfried did not wish for his child in Brunhilde’s belly to hear the hideous things he had just said, so he covered Brunhilde’s ears.

“What was that, my love?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Here, have one more~ Say ah~”

“Ah~”

They continued spending their lovey-dovey time together.

***

Three days later.

“Should I get moving now? I think I’ve done my best as a husband, so she won’t be upset even if I’m gone for a few days..” Siegfried muttered as he decided to go in search of the materials required to complete the Vanquisher’s Grasp.

“Your Majesty! Ma Dong-Po, who was executed three days ago, has come back requesting an audience!”

“Wow.. Is he an Energizer? Does he not get tired?” Siegfried shook his head after hearing the servant’s report.

“How should we dispose of him this time, Your Majesty? Should we lock him up in a pot and boil him alive?”

“Ah, no need for that. I think I should find out why he is so persistent in the first place. Bind him and bring him to me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Siegfried decided to grant his time to the loan shark as his persistence was quite impressive.

Ten minutes later..

“H-Hiiik!”

Siegfried was shocked after seeing Ma Dong-Po tied down in front of him.

Ma Dong-Po was quite a fat hairy man, and his face looked quite hideous, but seeing him stark naked and tied in a tortoise-shell restraint, otherwise known as shibari was not a pleasant sight at all.

“Hey.. This is a bit..” Siegfried grimaced and grumbled.

It was definitely not the most pleasant sight in the world.

“H-Hey! Han Tae-Sung! I never knew you have this kind of..!”

“What? Han Tae-Suuuung?!” Siegfried asked as he put his hand on his ears and put on an equally hideous expression.

“N-No, I mean! Mr. Han Tae-Sung! Mr. Tae-Sung!” Ma Dong-Po immediately exclaimed after seeing the hideous look on Siegfried’s face.

“What do you want?” Siegfried asked.

“I have information regarding Chae Hyung-Seok,” Ma Dong-Po replied.

“So?”

“I want to make a deal with you, Mr. Han Tae-Sung.”

“A deal? What kind?”

“You are aware that I am loaning money to gamers, right?”

“Do you want to die again?”

“I-I apologize!”

“So what about it?”

“I will give you information regarding Chae Hyung-Seok if you promise to support my business from now on.”

“Support your business?”

“T-That is..”

Ma Dong-Po proceeded to explain what he wanted in return, and his proposal was quite simple.

Siegfried would drive a gamer into a corner, and he would hunt them down until they dropped all of their gear. Ma Dong-Po would then lend money to the gamer, and Siegfried would ruthlessly kill that gamer again and again until they dropped all of their new gear.

In other words, Ma Dong-Po was asking him to do the same thing the Genesis Guild did to people, making them take huge debts.

‘This bastard is trying to replace Chae Hyung-Seok with me?’

Basically, the loan shark was looking for a new business partner.

‘Ma Dong-Po is abandoning Chae Hyung-Seok? But wasn’t he the one that funded his initial operations? They were pretty suitable, so they went around scamming others, but are they splitting up now? Hmm.. I can somewhat see what’s going on..’ Siegfried’s head started running at a hundred miles per hour.

“Hey, Chae Hyung-Seok went to borrow money from you, didn’t he?” Siegfried asked.

“Heok! H-How did you know?!” Ma Dong-Po was shocked.

“He probably looked exactly like I did three years ago, and he probably said something like he can do it with that money or something like that, looking like a gambling addict, right?”

“H-Hiiik!”

“He’s probably thinking of taking revenge on me with the money he’s going to borrow from you. Hmm.. Maybe he plans to invade my kingdom? Anyway, is that the information you have?”

“U-Ugh..” Ma Dong-Po was so shocked that he did not know what to say.

‘T-This bastard isn’t the same Han Tae-Sung as before..!’

He realized it a bit too late, but Han Tae-Sung was no longer the gambling addict who had no regard for his future or his life. He had become a wise gamer who could see through things that even ghosts couldn’t see through.

“One more thing.. You were probably selling information from the Thieves Guild to the Genesis Guild for the past three years, right? Something like a middleman?” Siegfried added.

“..!”

“The Genesis Guild was probably able to find me no matter how much I hid, and that was probably because of the information from the Thieves Guild, which you provided.”

“Haha.. Hahaha..”

Ma Dong-Po could only laugh in disbelief as he was stunned by Siegfried’s insight.

Plop..!

The pig was profusely sweating as his savory juices started trickling down his back.

“Well, let’s forget about the past. So, you wanted me to become your new business partner in exchange for information regarding Chae Hyung-Seok?”

“I will not deny that was my intent, Mr. Tae-Sung.”

Ma Dong-Po was definitely shaken, but he was able to compose himself.

“I will do my best to supply you with high-quality information, so please think about my..”

“Let’s do it.”

“What?!”

“I said let’s do it,” Siegfried replied with a smirk and added, “I’ll do what Chae Hyung-Seok was doing.”

“A-Are you serious?”

“I need to make a living, too, right? I’ve been taken advantage of all my life, so it’s my turn to be the one stabbing others in the back and benefiting from it. Don’t you think so?”

“Haha! S-Stabbing others in the back! Not at all! This is just business!”

“Is that what you call it?”

“Yes! Hahaha!”

Ma Dong-Po’s face lit up after Siegfried accepted his proposal, ‘As expected! Nobody in this world can say no to money! This business is too lucrative to pass on! Kekeke!’

Money was truly a scary thing as it could convince the victim to do the exact same thing they suffered to others. It possessed the magic to turn the debtor into a creditor!

Ma Dong-Po felt ecstatic after seeing Siegfried accept his offer, as it felt like he was watching a person’s corruption process taking place in front of his eyes.

Ah! Just how great is the power of money?

“How will we share the profits?”

“I had an eighty-twenty deal with Hyung-Seok. Of course, I was eighty.”

“Hmm.. I prefer fifty-fifty.”

“T-That is a bit..”

“What? You don’t want to do business with me?”

“N-No! That’s not what I meant!”

“I don’t think you’re making a loss even if we split the profits fifty-fifty. I mean, you don’t even follow the maximum interest rate set by the government, right?”

“T-That is true..!”

“Then it’s decided. We will split the profits fifty-fifty, but you will have to supply me with information regarding Chae Hyung-Seok from now on. Deal?”

“Deal!”

“All right, have a drink then,” Siegfried said as he poured a cup of booze for Ma Dong-Po.

“Then, you will be reporting what Hyung-Seok is doing, who he’s meeting, and what he bought with the money he borrowed. Got it?”

“Yes, I will! Keuh!” Ma Dong-Po replied before he downed the cup of booze. Then, he muttered, “B-But..”

“Hmm?”

“Can you untie? I look a bit.. awkward..”

“Y-Yeah, let’s do that..” Siegfried immediately agreed as he suddenly felt like puking after taking another look at the pig.

***

Right after Ma Dong-Po’s departure, Seung-Gu walked over to Siegfried and asked, “Hyung-nim.. Why did you go through the trouble of playing along with him? You have a direct line with the Thieves Guild, so you don’t have to bother yourself with that pig. Are you seriously considering doing business with him..?”

Siegfried grimaced and replied in disgust, “Hey, what the hell are you saying? I just did it to film him, you know?”