It was exactly two weeks since the National Exchange Tournament had ended on August 30th.
“You graduated from your high school, right?”
“Eeeeeeeh?!”
“I didn’t get to say it properly back then, but the more I think about it, graduating seems like the right thing to do.”
After searching, I found out that the minimum attendance days for high school currently is 120 days.
If you attend for 60 days each semester for only three semesters, even Cheon Saetbyeol can get a high school diploma.
“Isn’t it easy? You just need to attend for about 12 weeks, which is roughly 2 months and 3 weeks—”
_thud_
Cheon Saetbyeol dropped the hardboard she was holding with a thud.
As I was about to pick up the colorful papers to hand them back to her, I felt a tightness in my eyes.
“Rolling paper?”
“Ahhh!”
Cheon Saetbyeol dove onto her bed, her face flushed.
“Why are you telling me that now?!”
“Then why did you already receive the rolling paper?”
She slammed the blanket with her legs and squealed as she locked her door tightly.
It was late summer, the heat had diminished somewhat after the rain.
I wanted to have a 1-on-1 match with Saetbyeol for 100 wins in Wagal, but I had a promise that I couldn’t avoid.
The global connect sponsorship event hosted by Samyeon Group.
It felt awkward to cancel since I was the one organizing it alone.
When I went down to the parking lot, Lee Bo-reum, the manager, was waiting for me in the back seat of the car.
“Hey, Na-me! It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen your face!”
“You’re not driving today?”
“It’s a corporate event, so the company should handle this much! What happened to our Room Leader while I wasn’t watching? You’re so pretty now.”
“No way. I’m not pretty.”
Even though it had been a while, we occasionally met when she delivered necessary items to France.
“But you’ve lost a lot of weight.”
“Don’t even mention it! This is the hardest I’ve worked in a month. I prayed so many times for Na-me and Adella to safely return to Korea.”
“It’s true that your role has been significant. You’ve worked hard.”
“Ahh, it was tough, but I feel healed just from saying it…”
Among the emails she received, there were some forewarnings of terror and kidnapping.
Every time, she would notify the authorities, and they would arrest the senders.
Most were emails sent by children and teenagers as a joke, but no one could tell if one of them was real.
The recent attempted Valpurgis terror incident in France was also orchestrated by 16-year-olds.
That was the dark side of the story, but there were plenty of good things too.
“It seems like every organization with a real phone number has contacted us. There’s no place that isn’t looking for you, Na-me. News, entertainment, government, companies, clans… Ugh, it’s giving me a headache.”
Lee Bo-reum swallowed a painkiller.
She had four managers assisting her, but it seemed overwhelming.
“Bo-reum unni, how about we set up a one-person agency? I think it would be great to consolidate everything with the current editors. Plus, the income from V-tube is not negligible, so I was thinking about establishing a corporation.”
“That sounds amazing! Wow, our Na-me is becoming a celebrity! Nowadays, even star wizards are all working with an entertainment agency.”
“Yep yep.”
“But Na-me doesn’t seem to fit into any agency.”
“I don’t really care about agencies; I just don’t like being interfered with by others.”
The time had come where I could no longer delay establishing a corporation.
Taxes were one thing, but even with all that, I still had so many things to do without appearing on any broadcasts in Korea.
Also, I couldn’t count the income from V-tube and the broadcasts as revenue for the Janjeol Clan.
“What’s the name of the company?”
“Just put my name on it. It’s not like the company is that important.”
“Okay! I’ll get it made quickly by next week.”
“I’m sorry, I ended up talking about work again. I didn’t bring a gift today…”
“No, no, no! It’s really unnecessary, Na-me! If I need something, I’ll just buy it immediately, so don’t give me gifts!”
“Can you hold out your hand for a moment? Not your palm, but the back of your hand.”
I took her arm that was firmly refusing and placed it on my thigh.
Then, I pulled out my wand from my pocket and pressed it firmly against the back of her hand.
IWC schaffhausen – Reminiscence
Engraving: Coordinate Synchronization
The vehicle entered a tunnel.
Inside the dark vehicle, bright mana particles gathered and swirled.
Lee Bo-reum looked at me with confusion before shifting her gaze back to her hand.
“Wow!”
A white unicorn was engraved on her hand.
It perfectly matched the drawing I made on the wall of Gu Ryong High School the day before.
As we exited the tunnel, Lee Bo-reum remarkably held her hand up to the sunlight.
“Na-me, did you draw this just now? Or…?”
“Hmm, I don’t know?”
I shrugged, and she flashed a bright smile.
“You saved it, didn’t you? No wonder—what a liar!”
“If you use aura like this, you can move it to another spot.”
“Ooooh, wow! How did you do that? The unicorn is climbing up my arm! This is amazing!”
Lee Bo-reum also moved the drawing to her other hand with fascination.
It went to her knee, her collarbone, and settled back on her forearm.
“If I leave such drawings around, it might cause trouble later, so I just show them to a few people I know occasionally.”
“Thank you! I’m going to take a picture and brag about it to Lee Ha-ru right away.”
“He’ll definitely throw a tantrum for his own.”
“Yep, I’ll never give it to him!”
“Aww, you’re bad.”
As we were chatting away, we suddenly arrived at the Samyeon Convention Center plaza.
“Na-me, have fun at the event! I’ll come pick you up later!”
It was the first official event held after the National Exchange Tournament had ended.
Maybe that’s why, as soon as I got out of the car, a red carpet stretched out like we were at an international film festival.
Reporters who wouldn’t miss a beat, and corporate executives in suits despite the hot weather caught my eye.
And then there were the masses, who showed up having heard the news.
A bodyguard in dark sunglasses offered me an umbrella, but I politely declined.
“I think the photos won’t turn out well if I’m in the shade. But thank you very much.”
I waved as I walked down the red carpet.
It was quite a distance until I reached the photo wall where all the reporters were gathered.
In the center of the red carpet was a strangely shaped coffin.
It was too small for a person but made me tilt my head in confusion.
As I approached, the coffin let out a creak and opened.
Cheonghwa Sword
The sword from the National Exchange Tournament.
It felt warm seeing it again after so long.
Looking around cautiously, I carefully retrieved the Cheonghwa Sword from the plush cushion.
Engraving: Skiabona
Woom!
The wand was still in a reset state.
Normally, I wasn’t too attached to weapons, but seeing the Cheonghwa Sword gave me a pang in my heart.
With the red carpet laid out, I slowly—very slowly—unveiled the first form of “Golden Sword” 496 as I stepped forward.
Golden trails danced like silk.
Clap clap clap clap clap!
A man who had been up on the podium clapped.
He looked familiar; I recognized him from the Academy’s open class.
The current CEO of Samyeon Link, Lee Hyun-do, greeted me warmly.
—
Just like any corporate event, there weren’t any particularly memorable moments.
It was an event that could be described positively as one that reinforced authority and negatively as stuffy.
I received a certificate from CEO Lee Hyun-do and smiled as we took photos together.
Everyone was grateful, and I made sure to thank the Samyeon Group for lending me the Cheonghwa Sword, which they particularly liked.
I really just wanted to ask if I could keep it…
But I held back for fear of adding unnecessary conditions.
The event finished in just 20 minutes.
However, I stayed for an additional 40 minutes in the plaza to give autographs to the fans who had come from afar.
These days, I had a knack for pre-drawing my signature in the magic circle and pressing it with my palm.
Press!
“You can’t sell this. I would be really sad if you did!”
“I’ll cherish it for life!”
“Okay, next. Where should I sign?”
“Can you sign on my chest?”
…
“Ah, just kidding! Please sign on this photo card!”
A photo card featuring Giselle Fisher and me in one shot.
The anti-counterfeiting sticker gleamed.
“Is this genuine? Did you come all the way to France to watch the match?”
“Yes! I’m a direct viewer of the semifinals! NoName, your Imperial Palace Swordsmanship is awesome!”
Despite taking 40 minutes, I couldn’t create happy memories for everyone.
“I’m sorry. I have to go now. I’ll be able to meet you again later.”
“Ahhhh!”
I drank some cold ice water and entered the convention center building.
Passing through the spacious hall where the shareholders’ meeting was held, I was guided to a room in the corner.
Beep…
The vintage door opened automatically.
Inside, CEO Lee Hyun-do was watching the video of my National Exchange Tournament through hologram.
“Are you taking the concept too seriously?”
When I said it directly, he just chuckled.
I sat across from him and took a bite from the cookies on the table.
“I didn’t expect you to stay outside for so long. I should have hosted a fan signing event.”
“No, if I did, it’d be too much pressure for me. I cut out early.”
“Hahaha. There’s no one who loves their fans more than you, Wizard. Oh, by the way, how do you know my eldest daughter?”
“Just… through broadcasts.”
“I’ve really wanted to thank you since before. It’s such a relief to see her living like a proper person when she used to be a total hermit.”
“You should go home more often, too.”
“I guess you’re right. You’re picking up that I don’t pay enough attention to my family, huh? Haaa… it’s a real dilemma. Family is everything, but the urgent matters are always about work.”
I maintained my silence.
There wasn’t really any need for me to agree or disagree with him on that.
I sensed that the introduction had moved on.
Ahem!
CEO Lee Hyun-do cleared his throat and began to divulge the stories he had been holding inside.
I poured myself some water and sipped it slowly while listening.
“I believe NoName Wizard is knowledgeable about economics, so you’d know that while the Republic of Korea seems calm on the surface, we are facing an unprecedented crisis. The global supply chain has become unstable, and various economic indicators such as inflation and rising unemployment rates are significantly—”
“It’s showing an unstable outlook, and the key to overcoming this crisis is to increase national productivity.”
As expected, it was a cliché topic.
There was not much more to listen to.
“You’re saying Korea needs to have mega companies like Apple or Microsoft, right?”
“Yes… that’s exactly what I wanted to say. It’s a fortunate coincidence that you have experience in corporate management too.”
“Well, I’ve thought about establishing a company using Human Transmutation magic.”
I paused for a moment, then raised one corner of my mouth.
“But if I were to do that, it would probably remain unlisted without an IPO. I’d probably keep 100% of the shares.”
It seems everyone perceives me as a walking golden goblin, but I dare to think of myself as a golden dragon.
