Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 169

Choi Hyun-seok wore a dumbfounded expression.

“What are you talking about…?”

They had arrived at the Odria City-State Union through a space-time gate.

So far, so good.

The goal was to defeat the large-scale undead army that had appeared near the Odria Union using necromancy.

“Suddenly demanding money here? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said earlier?”

“Yes?”

“The Odria Union is a nation of merchants. Everything revolves around money. They’re crazy bastards who even buy and sell the position of the market leader, who is no different from a king.”
“Even so, buying and selling the head of a nation with money…”

It was hard to believe.

Trading the position of the head of state.

Of course, he didn’t expect democracy or voting in a place where civic consciousness and culture were at a medieval level.

But isn’t it really strange to trade the king’s position for money?

“Does it sound like a lie? It’s not just the market leader. The position of the head of the 12 city-state union is elected by vote every five years, but it’s ultimately a battle of interests, so it’s decided by the flow of money.”

Park Hyun-ah smiled as she looked at the golden tower in the distance.

“In other words, in this country, money is power, honor, and everything. That’s how important and abundant money is in this country.”

***

“So. You said you wanted to meet me?”

Porkman, the market leader of Dellos [a major city within the Odria Union].

He was a master merchant who ran the Porkman Trading Company, which was among the top ten in the continent.

He was the person who took the position of Dellos market leader with money, as Park Hyun-ah had said, and he was currently serving as the head of the Odria City-State Union.

“I heard you’ve been having a headache lately because of the undead.”

When Park Hyun-ah brought it up, Porkman calmly responded.

“It’s a pity. The entire continent is suffering from the corpses that have returned from hell.”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s really a pity. But isn’t now the time for the Odria Union to worry about others? The situation must be urgent.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Come on~ Don’t hide it. Our union’s pride! The legendary Keld Bell! He got his ass kicked the other day and is in the hospital.”

Park Hyun-ah’s tone was somewhat aggressive.

Choi Hyun-seok was slowly overcome with anxiety.

‘Even so, he’s practically the head of a country, isn’t she going too far…’

There were countless knights and mages waiting around.

They were fully prepared to jump out at any time.

No matter how legendary Park Hyun-ah was, there were countless magic circles, magical tools, and talented people everywhere to restrain her.

With a single gesture from Porkman.

No, the moment Porkman’s expression even slightly twisted, everything would be activated and the group would be restrained.

“Shouldn’t we be a little more careful in this situation?”

Choi Hyun-seok whispered in a small voice.

“Be careful about what?”

“Do you know what my life motto has been since coming to this world?”

“What is it?”

“The strong prey on the weak…!”
“That’s a damn cool motto.”

Park Hyun-ah grinned.

“But right now, we’re not ‘weak’. We’re rather ‘strong’.”

At that moment, Porkman, who had been watching from the front, opened his mouth.

“What are you talking about?”
“Ah, my assistant said he has something to report.”

Park Hyun-ah continued, acting nonchalantly.

“Union leader. Let’s talk frankly. Your legend is broken, right?”
“Sir Bell is just taking some time to recover. He hasn’t been defeated yet.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just say that. Anyway, isn’t it true that it’s annoying to deal with those skeleton bastards?”
“Hmm, that’s true.”

Porkman reluctantly agreed.

“So! I’m saying I’ll take care of it for you! Don’t you know me? The enemy of God! The one who made the Holy Empire of Gathren bleed for years all alone.”

“…”

“If I step in, the boneheads won’t even be a handful.”

Finally, Porkman nodded.

“So what do you want?”

“One thousand gold.”

“One thousand gold… That’s reasonable. I’ll make a decision after a union-wide meeting. Dellos can’t pay for it alone.”

“What are you talking about?”

Park Hyun-ah tilted her head 45 degrees.

“There are a total of 12 city-states affiliated with the union. One thousand gold per city, so that’s a total of twelve thousand gold.”

“Wh-what!?”

Porkman jumped up at the mention of twelve thousand gold.

“Are you kidding me? Do you know how much money twelve thousand gold is!?”
“Is twelve thousand gold a lot?”

Park Hyun-ah stroked her chin and wore a thoughtful expression.

“How much would it cost to convert the Odria Union into money? I think it would be over one hundred million gold, so isn’t it a bargain if you can protect it with ten thousand gold?”
“What kind of nonsense is that! No matter what you say, I can’t pay more than ten thousand gold!”
“No, who said to pay alone? One thousand gold per city. Honestly, isn’t that worth it? How much money do you earn from taxes?”
“I don’t need it. If it’s really dangerous, I can just ask Gathren for help!”
“Oh~ You’re asking our Holy Empire guys for help. Good. Then do that.”

Park Hyun-ah turned around without regret and waved her hand.

“I’m going, so live well with the help of those great empire guys!”

Park Hyun-ah put her arm around Choi Hyun-seok’s shoulder and walked out.

The tall Choi Hyun-seok awkwardly bent his back and followed her.

“Are we leaving like this?”
“Of course not, you idiot. I’m just acting. If we pretend to leave, they’ll reluctantly grab us. That’s how this world works.”

“What if they don’t grab us?”

“…It’ll look a little pathetic, but I’ll have to cut it in half and ask for only six thousand gold.”

Just as Park Hyun-ah and Choi Hyun-seok were whispering and about to leave the audience chamber.

“Wa-wait! You know that’s not what I meant, right?”

Porkman shouted urgently.

A deep smile appeared on Park Hyun-ah’s face.

See? What did I tell you? – She whispered softly and then returned to a serious expression.

“What are you talking about? You said you were going to ask our great Holy Empire guys for help?”
“Hoo… Let’s stop this annoying power struggle.”

Porkman sat down in his seat with a tired expression.

The chair that supported his huge frame creaked and groaned.

“I’ll have the entire union pay ten thousand gold. Isn’t that enough?”

“Call!” [A Korean expression meaning ‘deal!’]

Park Hyun-ah snapped her fingers.

Porkman continued, bowing his head.

“But I can’t decide this alone. I have to go through a union-wide meeting first and then officially… No, I can’t. I’ll deliver it unofficially.”

Park Hyun-ah was once called the enemy of God and is still being chased by Gathren, who are grinding their teeth.

Porkman explained that if the Gathren side found out that he had any exchange with her, it could cause unnecessary trouble.

“Everything’s good, but if it’s unofficial, can’t you just wipe your mouth clean and be done with it?”
“Even though I look like this, I’m the head of the Odria Union. I keep my word.”
“Well, fine. I’ll come back at this time tomorrow.”

“Do so.”

Porkman sighed and rubbed his forehead.

Before meeting Park Hyun-ah, he had a carefree face, but now he was full of worries and concerns.

“I’m going then! It’s ten thousand gold! Don’t change your mind tomorrow!”
“I understand, so get out of here!”

***

After the negotiations with Market Leader Porkman were over.

The group decided to tour Dellos for the rest of the day.

“Dellos is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the continent. In terms of size alone, it’s bigger than the capital of most kingdoms.”
“Sister. Is it okay to be playing around like this?”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Um… Discuss the money we’ll receive tomorrow, or have a strategy meeting to catch the undead. There must be a lot of things to do, right?”
“You’re buying unnecessary worries. I’ll take care of everything if there’s anything you need, so just play~ It’s not like these days come often.”

Park Hyun-ah waved her hand dismissively and walked ahead.

She seemed to be really serious about enjoying the tour.

“That’s right! It’s not like anything will come of the Hero-nim [term of respect] racking his brain anyway, so why are you buying worries… Ke, cough! I-I can’t breathe…”

Choi Hyun-seok, who was shaking Rachel by the collar, suddenly widened his eyes.

Two handsome men approached Park Hyun-ah, who was walking ahead.

They had what looked like cigarettes in their mouths and started talking to her.

“Hello. Are you here alone?”

“Miss. You look so exotic, you’re totally my type….”
Crash-! Bang!

A fist that shot out so fast it couldn’t even be seen.

When he turned around, the two men were lying face down on a pile of trash, side by side.

“Are they dead?”

“They’re alive.”

“Then that’s a relief, but aren’t you being a little too harsh?”

“What?”

“Just because they said something to you, you beat them up like that…”
“It’s a waste of time. Guys like that are persistent.”

“…”

“Okay, let’s go! Do you know how famous Dellos’s food is!? If we want to try it all in one day, we’re short on time!”

“Yes!”

Choi Hyun-seok quickly followed.

If he wasted any more time here, he would end up like the men on the pile of trash.

‘Right. In a way, this is the first tour I’ve taken since coming to this world.’

It was the first tour he had taken after running like crazy for a whole year.

Choi Hyun-seok decided to relax and enjoy it lightly.

“Sister. Do you happen to sell gukbap [Korean rice soup] here?”
“What do you take Dellos for! Of course, they sell it!”

“Oooo!”

“Gukbap? What’s gukbap!?”
“It’s a very reliable~ friend who is the opposite of you.”
“Hero-nim! That’s an insult, right!? Right!?”

“Roar!”

“Even Bobo understood, but you didn’t. You’re something else.”

The group walked down the street, chattering noisily.

Avelson, who was following behind them, had a gentle smile on his face.

***

The next day.

The group went to the Golden Tower again and received confirmation from Porkman, the market leader and union leader.

“The Odria Union has decided to pay ten thousand gold. The condition is the complete annihilation of the undead. The deadline is one week.”

“Good!”

“If possible, I’d like you to deal with it before it causes damage to other towns or cities.”
“Is there a bonus if we deal with it quickly?”

“Depending on the situation.”

“Tsk. Never mind, just give me the information.”

After receiving information about the undead horde.

The group immediately set out.

“Sister. I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“What if we deal with the undead and they wipe their mouths clean [go back on their word]?”

This was an unofficial matter.

Because of that, no documents were left at all.

It would be troublesome if the Odria Union denied giving them money after they dealt with the undead, saying, ‘Who said they would give us money?’

“It’s simple. We just overturn them [overthrow their government].”

“Ah…”

Choi Hyun-seok continued his question with a sullen expression.

“Does this have anything to do with that Hope or whatever guardian organization?”
“No. This is my side job. Why would I tell them? The moment I tell them, they’ll ask me to share it with them.”

“Ah…”

Choi Hyun-seok shook his head.

‘I’m like this, but this person is really…’

She wasn’t evil.

But it was ambiguous to call her good.

She seemed to be acting for everyone, but she thoroughly took care of her own interests.

Park Hyun-ah was such a person.

“Focus for a moment.”

Suddenly, Park Hyun-ah clapped her hands and gathered attention.

“I’ll briefly explain the enemy information. I don’t want to do it twice, so listen carefully at once.”

“Yes.”

“First of all, the approximate size is fifty thousand. They’re still growing, and their leader is a lich [powerful undead sorcerer] who specializes in magic.”
“F-fifty thousand…? Can we stop that?”
“Anyway, if you just take down the controlling entity, they’ll all die. You know that well since you’ve fought them, right?”
“That’s true, but…”

Even so, fifty thousand.

He couldn’t even fathom how many that was.

Could he even reach the lich by breaking through that many?

At that time, Park Hyun-ah’s shocking story continued.

“In the first place, the original number was much higher. The number that was almost a third of the number that a legend wreaked havoc on the other day is now fifty thousand.”

“Ah…”

“There’s a guy named Keld Bell in the Odria Union. I saw him once about eight years ago, and he’s a decent mid-tier legend.”

Park Hyun-ah grinned.

“Of course, he’s below me now.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Anyway, according to the information that guy gave me, the lich himself doesn’t seem to have strong martial power. If it’s a one-on-one fight, you can win without much difficulty. The problem is…”

Park Hyun-ah frowned, putting her hand on her chin.

“The minions are too strong. It seems like there are almost a hundred hero-level guys among the guards. There are also several quasi-legendary ones.”

Choi Hyun-seok’s expression became serious.

A hundred heroes and many quasi-legends.

This was impossible after all.

It was absolutely impossible.

“I think it would be better to call for support even now.”
“Don’t talk about support. We’re that support army, so where else is there to request support?”
“If you contact that Last Hope whatever organization…”
“They’re busy. And hey, are you some kind of saint?”

“Yes?”

Suddenly, Park Hyun-ah brought her face close.

“A honey-like experience event has popped up, so why do you keep thinking about sharing it? We have to suck it all up!”

Park Hyun-ah, who had approached the pinnacle as a hero.

“This kind of big event! It’s rare, right?”

In her mind, the undead horde was already nothing more than a horde of experience.