《Ranker's Return》Chapter 471
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‘They finally found it.’ Hyeonu smiled strangely. He knew why they were making such sounds—the penalty. It was clear that they had found the messages related to that, which only happened once they got used to the strange and new environment. ‘It shouldn’t be a normal decrease. This reaction isn’t unreasonable.’
-What’s going on?
-Did a monster show up?
-Is it the first public release of demonic creatures and demons?
-Hurry and turn the screen!
However, this was a story that only Hyeonu knew. It was hard for the viewers to know about it.
“The reason for the shouts is because they received a message that a penalty has been applied. If you don’t have the dark attribute, your stats will be decreased in the demon world. I don’t know if the light attribute is affected.”
-Ah, is that so?
-There is a penalty. Well, it is understandable since it is the demon world.
-By the way, is there no penalty for Alley Leader?
-He is calm.
Hyeonu gave a small nod like it was natural. “I have the dark attribute. The penalty has no effect on me.”
-You avoided damage again.
-Your luck is good. How did you get the dark attribute from the beginning?
-He is someone who can do it anyway.
-Still, he should receive a penalty later when the divine world opens.
The viewers jeered at Hyeonu’s words. Generally, they would’ve said that it worked out well. However, they saw Hyeonu’s Arena play where there was no slipping or falling. This situation didn’t even give him a pause, so it naturally led to such feelings.
“The light attribute has no penalties?” Kim Seokjung’s loud laughter rang out in the distance just then.
“Did you hear? The light attribute is free of penalties in the demon world. So the dark attribute won’t receive a penalty in the divine world, right?” Hyeonu conveyed Kim Seokjung’s words to the viewers with a very mean look.
-Ohhh...
-So detestable, I hate it!
-I will endure it, endure it.
-Shivers shivers.
Seeing the chat window filled with strong backlash from the viewers, Hyeonu brought out a special medicine to calm their dissatisfaction.
‘This is when I will summon him.’
“Tang-E, come out.”
At Hyeonu’s call, a small bear with black ears appeared. Simultaneously, the perspective of the stream changed from third-person, which showed Hyeonu’s surroundings, to first-person, Hyeonu’s point of view.
“Uwah, Master dude! I wanted to see you!!!” Tang-E jumped into Hyeonu’s arms the moment he was summoned. It was his first meeting with Hyeonu after learning Demi-human Transformation.
“Are you done with your work?” Hyeonu asked as he held Tang-E in his arms.
“It’s finished. Now you can call me every day.” Tang-E raised his head and smiled brightly. His eyes shone like starlight in the night sky, and his ears were insanely cute.
-Oof... My heart hurts.
-My heart is beating so much...
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-Tang-E, how can you be so cute...
-Gasp gasp... My pet is pretty cute as well, but... Tang-E is the real unbeatable wall of cuteness.
The viewers felt like their heart was melting at Tang-E’s instinctive cute actions. They were fascinated by Tang-E’s deadly charm and didn’t care about Hyeonu at all.
At this moment, Johnny and the administrators from Phinis approached Hyeonu and bowed while asking, “My Lord, what should we do?”
“You can manage this place on behalf of His Majesty, the Emperor. It is just like you did in Phinis,” Hyeonu answered. There was nothing much for the administrators to do. It was fine if they just did what they usually did. Every time Hyeonu made a big plan, he would spread out some leaves accordingly with the stem.
“Then how do we manage the city? There are no landowners to collect taxes from...” Johnny looked even more puzzled. This territory was empty. In other words, there was no one to collect taxes from unless Hyeonu supplied it. “My Lord, perhaps your money...”
Hyeonu cut off Johnny’s words. He had already poured 3.2 million gold into Etono, and he didn’t plan to spend any more money on it.
“Why me? Who are you going to give empty buildings to? You can rent out the buildings and get paid. That is how it has always been,” Hyeonu said.
Hearing that, Johnny made an expression of realization. ‘It isn’t just people of the city who pay taxes.’
It was as Hyeonu said. Renting out the buildings and getting paid for it would be enough. There were many empty buildings and potential tenants.
“How much do you want for the price?” Johnny asked. The problem was the price. Rental prices varied widely from city to city. Even in the same city, there were extreme differences depending on location.
“It should unconditionally be more than in Phinis. This is the emperor’s command.” Hyeonu used the emperor’s name. Of course, the emperor couldn’t have said this to Hyeonu, but there was no way for Johnny or the viewers to know this.
“This is the emperor’s command... I understand, My Lord. Then I’ll set the rent prices based on Phinis.” Johnny and the administrators disappeared with solemn expressions on their faces.
‘By the way, did I tell them where the lord’s castle is?’
Hyeonu shook his head from side to side.
“Well, they’ll take care of it.”
The thing he should care about wasn’t whether they found the lord’s castle properly but how much money would come from renting out the buildings. Ultimately, it was the money that would cover up Hyeonu’s losses.
-By the way, how much is Alley Leader’s commission?
-What commission?
-He is a complete proxy. He has the power of attorney.
-He might be paid a salary or imperial contribution. It seems more likely to be imperial contribution.
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The viewers’ attention naturally turned to the driving force behind Hyeonu’s actions. They were curious. To them, Hyeonu’s currently appeared to be nothing short of the emperor’s agent. Thus, they wondered how much of a reward he would receive.
“Reward? There isn’t any such thing. I’m just doing it. What is a noble? I have to do it since it is an order.” Hyeonu naturally gave false information. He hid the fact that all of the income in Etono was his and directed everything to the emperor.
-Is that so?
-It would be different if the emperor told you to do it as the earl.
-Still, he must give out imperial contribution. He is working a person hard.
“Sure, he will give that much, if he has a conscience,” Hyeonu said with a light smile.
***
Hyeonu wandered all over Etono while giving descriptions of the demon world. He’d been doing that for a while when he found a group of people. They were Gang Junggu, Mascherano, and Reina.
‘What?’ Hyeonu wondered inwardly.
Then he asked the people who were huddled together, “Did something happen?”
Gang Junggu waved to Hyeonu and explained, “I was trying to rent a building, so we were talking about where to get one together.”
“Are you short of money?”
It couldn’t be possible, but Hyeonu asked just in case.
‘A few hours ago, he just casually poured out 3 million gold. There is no way he doesn’t have money.’
Hyeonu was right—Gang Junggu wasn’t lacking money.
“I’m not thinking about money. I’m thinking about the place. Maybe it is a habit, but I want to find a good spot here too...” Gang Junggu answered.
Hearing that, Hyeonu shook his head with a bewildered expression. “Just pick whatever you want, Hyung-nim. Why are you looking for a strategic place when it’s a rental? Are the other two the same?”
Reina and Mascherano shook their heads. Reina’s answer was perfectly normal: “No, I just want to rent a building next to New World. It is good to have colleagues you can trust.”
On the other hand, Mascherano’s answer was a masterpiece that triggered Hyeonu’s laughter. “I am going to share the building. I don’t have any money. I’m in a position where I have to save every penny...”
“Pfft!”
Mascherano’s finger was pointed at Reina, indicating he was going to share the building with her.
Hyeonu asked, “Mascherano, why don’t you have any money? The funding from your club should be a lot.”
“I used it to buy potions before... I won’t have any more money until two weeks later. Well... I should at least hunt hard.”
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ.
-As expected of the best rogue of America.
-He isn’t a rogue. He is a fool.
-How many potions did he buy? He’s the best.
The viewers responded to Mascherano’s words with disbelief, but that was it. No one doubted why so much money was spent on potions, and no one questioned Mascherano’s behavior because he usually showed excessive 4D actions.
“Is that so? Then don’t worry about the deposit. You can use the building just by paying the monthly rent. As a noble of the empire, I can give this much benefit to the three of you.” Hyeonu smiled at the three of them. Simultaneously, he showed a good-hearted attitude. The three people and the viewers didn’t know the true circumstances and admired it.
Gang Junggu wondered, “It would be tens of thousands of gold at the very least... Is it okay?”
Hyeonu replied, “Hyung-nim, really. How much gold do I have? Am I not capable of doing so? I’ll handle everything for you. Decide on the building first. Then I’ll talk to the administrator.”
“I understand. I will pick a building and come to you.” Gang Junggu led Reina and Mascherano away and disappeared amidst the buildings.
Just then, a golden bear popped out of Hyeonu’s arms. “Master dude! If you called me, you should play with me! Not just hold me in your arms. Bah!”
The bear climbed up Hyeonu’s body and sat down on his head.
“Tang-E, are you sulking? Is it because I didn’t play with you?” Hyeonu gently scratched Tang-E’s head with his finger.
“I’m not sulking! I haven’t seen you in a long time, and we didn’t do anything, but Tang-E isn’t sulking. Definitely not sulking...” Tang-E’s voice became softer and trailed off.
Hyeonu pulled Tang-E back into his arms, searched his inventory, and took out a meat skewer. He asked, “Do you want to eat this first? I think it is time for Tang-E to eat...”
Tang-E’s front paw stretched out toward the meat skewer like a thunderbolt. Then it returned to its original place twice as quickly as it reached out.
“No, Tang-E isn’t hungry. I will eat meat later.” Tang-E shook his head vigorously.
Hyeonu smiled when he saw that and asked again, “Really? You really aren’t going to eat? You know that I won’t ask twice, right? Then should I eat it? I was just feeling hungry, so it’s good.”
“N… No, Master dude. Tang-E will eat.” Tang-E couldn’t withstand the series of attacks from Hyeonu and quickly snatched the meat skewer. Then he bit the meat with a happy expression.
“I’m sorry, everyone, but this is the end for my guide of the demon world. I’ll go eat with Tang-E and talk for a bit before ending the stream today.” Hyeonu one-sidedly declared the end of the streaming. Of course, he didn’t mean to end it right now. It was just that the end was set.
“Let’s hurry up and grill meat, Master dude.”
When Tang-E heard Hyeonu’s words, he jumped like he was going to do a somersault. Before he knew it, only the wooden skewers were left and stacked in a corner on the ground.
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