Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1443

“……What is all this?”

“It’s food.”

“I don’t think I ordered room service?”

“It’s already been paid for. Please enjoy it.”

Kang Jin-ho wore a dumbfounded expression as he watched the food being brought into the hotel room.

There was no need to even think about who was behind this.

‘How extravagant.’

The hotel staff who came in were setting up the food and preparing the wine.

“Wow, this is fancy.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled at the sight.

“It feels like we’re getting the VIP treatment, doesn’t it? Haha, who would have thought I’d get this kind of treatment in America? Man, I’m glad I left the Yeongnam Association.”

‘You never left the Yeongnam Association. You came to the General Assembly because the Yeongnam Association collapsed.’

Lee Hyun-soo looked like he was enjoying it, but Kang Jin-ho looked a little burdened.

“This is a bit awkward.”

“Hahaha, Master, come on. You’re so rich, why are you feeling burdened by something like this? How much could this possibly cost?”

“I will prepare the wine.”

“Yes. Please give me a glass.”

Lee Hyun-soo sat leisurely on the sofa.

The hotel staff took out a wine from an antique wooden box. Then, they wrapped the wine in a pure white cloth and gently presented it to Lee Hyun-soo, showing him the label.

“It’s a 1994 vintage Romanée-Conti. We will prepare it for you right away.”

“Ah, Romanée-Conti. Good… What? Ugh! No! Don’t open it! Don’t open it! Put that down, you guys!”

Lee Hyun-soo dove in and snatched the wine bottle from the hotelier’s hand.

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

“Why are you overreacting?”

“Th-three thousand!”

“Huh?”

“Ro-Romanée-Conti! Thirty million won a bottle! Thirty million! [Approximately $22,500 USD].”

“Heeeeeek!”

Even the mighty Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but make a sound like air escaping from his mouth.

‘No, what the hell is this? Thirty million won for a bottle of wine?’

The hotel staff approached Lee Hyun-soo, looking flustered.

“We will prepare it for…”

“Don’t come near me! I’m not drinking it! I’m not opening this! How can I drink something that costs thirty million won! I’m going to take this and sell it! Don’t come near me!”

The hotel staff looked at Kang Jin-ho with bewildered faces. But Kang Jin-ho could only gesture to them with a pale face.

“…We won’t open it.”

“Umm… Understood, sir.”

Isn’t catering to the customer’s needs the first virtue of a hotelier?

“Then, we will prepare sparkling wine instead. It’s an Armand de Brignac Blanc de Blancs.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a frightened face.

“H-how much is that one?”

“About two million? [Approximately $1,500 USD]”

“Ah…”

Two million for alcohol also sounded crazy, but after hearing about the thirty million won wine, it felt incredibly cheap. ‘It’s free, so I guess that’s okay.’

As he watched the wine being poured into the glass, Kang Jin-ho found himself muttering, ‘Ten thousand won, ten thousand won, ten thousand won.’ [Approximately $7.50 USD]

So, that much, about the size of a puppy’s pee, is worth three hundred thousand won? [Approximately $225 USD]

‘Money is scary.’

While Kang Jin-ho was shaking his head, Lee Hyun-soo was still trembling while holding the wine.

“If it’s a 1994 vintage, how much is this worth? Damn it. What the hell are these crazy bastards trying to get by using this for hospitality?”

There was a time when he thought that companies were giving expensive alcohol to important figures to get favors. But after hearing that one bottle of wine costs thirty million, he immediately understood. If you don’t grant a favor after receiving this, you’re not even human.

“Then, please enjoy your meal. We will be waiting in front of the door, so please call us if you need any service.”

“No, there’s no need to wait…”

“Then.”

The hotel staff bowed politely and went outside. Kang Jin-ho shook his head as he looked at the table full of food.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo…”

Lee Hyun-soo carefully put the wine bottle back in the box with trembling hands and closed the lid.

“Wow, I’m so nervous, seriously.”

People are strange.

If you were to offer thirty million won to Kang Jin-ho or Lee Hyun-soo and ask for a favor, the people around them would laugh first, not Kang Jin-ho or Lee Hyun-soo.

Not to mention Kang Jin-ho, Lee Hyun-soo is not short on money either. He has more than enough wealth to be in the top 0.1% of his age group.

But receiving a thirty million won bottle of wine was a completely different feeling.

“So, this is why bribes aren’t always cash.”

He wondered why they bothered giving things instead of just giving money, but it seems like it’s because of this feeling.

“What’s that again?”

“…I’m not sure. It seems like a gift.”

Boxes wrapped in packaging were piled up near the door. The number and size of them made them not even want to open them.

“I…”

Kang Jin-ho was about to say something but let out a sigh instead.

“I don’t think there’s any need to go this far.”

“It seems to be their way. It does feel a bit excessive, but honestly, it doesn’t feel bad, does it?”

“True.”

“And to be honest, when have we ever been treated like this in another country? If you think about it, we’re the ones who should be getting the VIP treatment, but all we’ve received is flying knives.”

That was true.

Come to think of it, since returning to this world, they haven’t gone abroad without getting into a fight.

They fought with knives in England, and they fought with knives in Japan. Not to mention China.

Come to think of it, they visited Japan for the first time and only cut people’s necks with knives before immediately returning.

Millions of Koreans visit Japan every year, but there probably isn’t a single person like Kang Jin-ho among them.

“This is normal. This is what’s normal. We need to adapt.”

‘Can I adapt?’

‘Wine costs thirty million won?’

Kang Jin-ho didn’t think he could adapt to this world at all.

“I don’t know.”

“Anything taken to the extreme is hard to understand.”

“And you shouldn’t be saying that, Master, of all people.”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

‘What is he talking about now?’

“It’s harder for ordinary people to understand your martial arts than it is for them to understand this. You’re the one who’s extreme.”

He couldn’t argue with that.

Lee Hyun-soo glanced at the food.

“We should eat this. It’s obviously expensive, and they wouldn’t send such wine and serve mediocre food.”

“I want to eat kimchi stew.”

“…Think of it as food with gold flakes sprinkled on it. We have to eat it.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes burned with the determination not to leave anything behind. Kang Jin-ho chuckled as he looked at Lee Hyun-soo.

But it seemed that hoping for a peaceful meal was too much.

Knock knock.

A knock on the door was heard. The two people instinctively looked towards the door and frowned slightly.

“Come in.”

Squeak.

The door opened, and a familiar face entered with a light bow. It was Willie Reese. And following behind Willie was someone they had never seen before.

“It’s nice to see you again.”

Willie smiled and pointed behind him.

“This person is…”

“I’ll do it.”

The person who walked in from behind stopped Willie from introducing him and stepped forward, extending a hand towards Kang Jin-ho.

“I’m Reynolds Spencer, the Undersecretary of the Army for the U.S. Department of Defense. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“I’m Kang Jin-ho.”

Kang Jin-ho reached out and shook Reynolds’ hand.

After a light handshake, Reynolds frowned as he looked at the room service.

“I clearly asked for it to be prepared an hour ago, but it seems the service wasn’t on time. I will bring this to the hotel’s attention.”

“It’s fine on my end.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Kang Jin-ho gave a subtle smile as he looked at the smiling Reynolds.

‘He’s going to turn things upside down.’

That face was saying that he would not let this go. Well, he understood. From Reynolds’ perspective, each of those dishes was a strategy to ease the atmosphere, but that strategy didn’t work because of the hotel’s problem.

It was understandable that he was angry.

“I apologize for visiting without notice. It’s just that the matters are so urgent. If you haven’t finished your meal, I’ll come back later.”

“No. There’s plenty, so let’s eat together while we talk.”

“Is that alright?”

“You seem busy, so there’s no need to waste time.”

“Thank you.”

Reynolds gave a friendly smile.

Just by looking at him, the words ‘Department of Defense’ or ‘Army’ didn’t seem to fit him. If you put a straw hat on him, you could easily mistake him for a farmer in California.

“The reason I came to see you is… to discuss the proposal that the General Assembly gave us. This is an official meeting, and my position will be representing the United States of America.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

‘The weight of his words is no joke.’

Even though he didn’t say anything that great, he felt a slight pressure. That meant that the things this man was carrying on his back were enormous.

“Please, have a seat.”

Kang Jin-ho pointed to the table, and Reynolds and Willie moved with their documents. Then, they sat at the table and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“I regret that we have to conduct such official business in a hotel.”

“It’s a common occurrence.”

“The position of the martial arts world is not yet clearly established in the United States. I apologize once again for this, Master.”

He was quite polite.

Like Willie, the recent people he had met had changed his perception of Americans a little. The image Kang Jin-ho had of Americans was a bit more free-spirited…

‘In some ways, they seem to be more formal than Koreans.’

Well, there are so many people in the United States, how could they all be the same?

As Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo sat down, Reynolds glanced at the food that had been prepared.

“The meal…”

“We’re not that hungry, so let’s finish the discussion first.”

“Is that alright? Willie, then go get some wine.”

“Yes, Undersecretary.”

As Willie brought the glasses and wine, Reynolds filled the empty glasses himself.

“There’s nothing like alcohol to lighten the mood.”

“Alcohol at a negotiation table? It doesn’t seem to fit.”

Reynolds smiled at Lee Hyun-soo’s rebuttal.

“Does alcohol have any meaning for you? It’s no different from a soft drink.”

That was true.

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled and nodded.

“I want to negotiate without wasting any time. The proposal that the General Assembly, or rather, Master, has given us, we can accept all of it.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes widened.

‘Wow, they’re accepting all of it?’

Negotiation starts with throwing out the highest number. One side throws out the maximum, and the other side throws out the maximum. Then, they negotiate and decide on a compromise.

So, Lee Hyun-soo had naturally thrown out the maximum he could. But now, they were saying that they would just accept it.

‘Wow, is this the spirit of the continent?’

Although that continent wasn’t this continent.

“However…”

Reynolds looked at Kang Jin-ho calmly and said,

“There is one condition.”