Canada's #1 S-rank Admitti,
Clan leader of Canada's large-scale clan, [Thunder Base],
A Magic Gun Master whose long-range dealing ranked among the best worldwide,
'Deathvision Thomas Harris.'
At thirty-three this year, he was more famous for the tag "World's #1 Official Admitti Salary" than the descriptors above.
He would probably be completely pushed out in the statistics announced next year because of Suho, but for now, it was still him.
At the same time, his SNS, famous for flaunting wealth, overwhelmingly topped the rankings day after day, and thanks to that, he held a high position in the 'Admitti Popularity Rankings' as well.
He was so famous that, of course, Suho, as well as Danbi, Taeung, Joshua, and everyone else knew of him.
The Canadian Admitti management contacted Towerpia, and Towerpia notified Suho of the request and checked Suho's schedule.
Because he was such a famous big shot, his visit to Korea naturally prompted contact with the Korean Admitti Management Office as well, and the people at the Management Office were busy setting up schedules to meet him during his visit to Korea.
Suho also readily accepted his request for a face-to-face meeting, and there were several reasons for this.
One was that he was intrigued when Thomas said during an interview on his home country's broadcast, "I want to meet Korea's new S-rank Admitti and teach him about the utilization of wealth."
Another was that he was curious about which aspects Thomas, who received the world's #1 salary and enjoyed enormous wealth, found satisfaction in life, and how he overcame futility.
But in truth, these reasons were secondary.
He was interested in such aspects, but on the other hand, since he could guess well enough what kind of disposition Thomas had, he also wanted to put the arrogant man in his place or test him.
"How is it? Is anyone uncomfortable with meeting Thomas?"
"No, it's my first time seeing him in person. It'd be nice to see him once. Deathvision Thomas, he's famous, right?"
For now, Danbi readily said okay.
"I can see him or not, it doesn't really matter... More importantly, I'll go feed Winky quickly."
Taeung wasn't very interested.
"...I've seen him once or twice at official events."
"Oh, how was it? His impression?"
"He was just... a lunatic about showing off money."
"Aha... just as the rumors say."
Joshua didn't seem to have a very good impression of him.
"Then... if you're uncomfortable, Joshua, shall we just send him back?"
"...I don't think we should send someone back like that when they've come all the way to Korea. Just see him. I don't hold any personal ill will, so it's fine."
In the end, Joshua said okay too.
Narae and Seongsik, who were ordinary people, and Jiho seemed curious and expectant about the meeting.
Suho had something in mind, so when giving the address information to the management there, he provided not his penthouse but an officetel.
He had bought this officetel nearby to check on the TDM Building remodeling construction from time to time, and since TDM had urgently opened ahead of schedule along with Suho's official S-rank announcement, there were still minor construction works remaining throughout the building, so he maintained the officetel too.
The officetel was equipped with furniture, bedding, and home appliances to make living possible, but since it was a temporary dwelling, it was furnished with practicality in mind.
It wasn't neatly organized, and it was far from a luxurious space.
"Good. It's perfect."
Everyone looked puzzled at Suho's muttering.
"Come on, a guest is coming, so please help me with a quick cleaning and organizing."
Suho planned a performative cleanup for Thomas's arrival and began preparing everything.
* * *
Thomas's private jet landed at Incheon Airport.
The private jet, sleek all-black with gold accents, sporting an overall black-and-gold hue, boasted a luxurious appearance in and of itself.
Once the stairs were installed, a handsome man with brown hair, a height reaching 190 cm, and a prominent nose descended from the private jet carrying one long bag.
Inside the black hard case was his exclusive magic gun, [Chronos], which had received special permits from the Korean government and airport authorities.
It was an S-rank, Zenith-grade sniper rifle, considered the world's finest magic gun.
Thomas was also famous for always carrying that gun with him like a part of his body wherever he went.
After finishing immigration and entering the arrival hall with several bodyguards, fans packed throughout the airport went wild upon seeing him.
Wearing a high-priced suit, a brooch embroidered with gold and diamonds, and sparkling watches worth billions on both wrists, he looked like he had drenched himself in money from head to toe.
Perhaps he had gone all out because he was coming to meet Suho.
Regardless of how he looked, the fans packed in the airport cheered for him. It was a commanding presence that clearly showed he was a top star on SNS for a reason.
Reporters lined up in rows were busy taking photos, and security guards from the airport and Management Office struggled to make a path for him to pass.
"Deathvision Thomas! Deathvision Thomas!"
"Golden Thomas! Look over here!"
"Kyaaah, he looked this way!"
"Did you get it?"
"I got it! I got it!"
"Thomas! Is it true that the purpose of your visit to Korea this time is to meet the Admitti Jeong Suho?"
"Thomas Harris! Is there perhaps any other purpose for your schedule in Korea this time?"
"Thomas! I heard you have almost no tourist courses scheduled for this trip..."
Even amid the fans' shouting, reporters desperately shoved recorders at Thomas to gather material for articles.
Click-click-click—clickety-click—
Flashes burst ceaselessly from everywhere.
Thomas, who hadn't answered the many questions, suddenly stopped, swept back his brown hair, and responded to a few.
"That's right. I came all the way to Korea because I wanted to meet the world's only item collector. Haha, it's embarrassing, but I'm also a purchaser of the highest-grade items he sold."
"Does that mean you purchased highest-grade potions?"
"Hahat, I'll make no comment on what I purchased."
Thomas blurred the words at that part, hoping to be rumored as the purchaser of the [Highest-Grade Disease Cure Potion], which had been traded at the highest price, rather than the cheapest [Highest-Grade Regeneration Potion].
By now, there was no one who didn't know how expensive Suho's highest-grade potions were. At Thomas's words, people murmured here and there—saying as expected the wealthiest Admitti was different, wondering what potion he had bought, saying they were jealous.
After giving them a moment to admire, Thomas spoke again.
"But he still seems to be a novice regarding how to handle such precious items, as well as the utilization of luxurious and lavish wealth. I'll talk about those things as well while I'm at it. I expect this meeting will become a very good memory for both of us."
He spoke with an extremely arrogant attitude and smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth.
Then someone shouted.
"Thomas! Could you perhaps strike a sniping pose with Chronos right here?!"
At that request, Thomas smirked and subtly unfastened the long hard case on his shoulder.
Whirrr—click—swish—
And in the blink of an eye, he opened the case, drew the magic gun, shouldered it, and took a standing shooting stance.
It looked like he had just slightly raised his shoulder, but Chronos appeared like lightning, revealing its gleaming black barrel.
The movement was so fast that nobody could understand what exactly he had done or how.
It was a movement akin to magic.
It was a moment that proved his skill was real, separate from his money-flaunting and popularity.
After holding the pose for one to two seconds, Thomas thrust the gun back into the case like magic, waved his hand, and left the airport.
A Butibeiron vehicle was waiting in the pickup zone.
As expected, a gold-plated vehicle.
It was a vehicle Thomas had sent ahead via cargo transport to use during his Korea schedule.
The vehicle stood out so much that passengers arriving at the airport flocked like clouds, busy taking pictures of the car.
Basking in the attention of countless people, Thomas's golden Butibeiron left the airport, escort vehicles attached front and back.
* * *
"...Is this the right place? Really?"
Thomas's vehicle stopped in front of a building.
A building where there weren't enough parking spaces, so they couldn't park properly and had to get out at the entrance.
The bodyguards waited outside with the vehicles, and Thomas got out of the car with only the manager to visit.
The manager who accompanied Thomas checked the documents repeatedly and nodded.
"That's correct. The address provided by Towerpia, the dedicated management for Admitti Jeong Suho, is definitely here."
It was far from a luxurious house. No, this wasn't even on that level.
"Tsk, this is practically like a slum..."
Thomas spat out the words and entered the building.
But this mixed-use officetel building had so many entrances that it was unclear which one to enter.
Thomas's manager was similarly flustered, unable to find the elevator quickly,
when someone happened to speak to them at the entrance.
"Huh? Are you perhaps the people who came to see me?"
There, a Korean youth with a haggard appearance, wearing a tracksuit and slippers, greeted them brightly.
The manager smiled awkwardly and waved his hand.
"Oh, no. You've got the wrong person. We came to meet someone named Jeong Suho..."
"I'm Jeong Suho, though?"
"Y-yes...?"
"This is my first time seeing a foreigner in this building, but are you perhaps Thomas Harris?"
At Suho's greeting, the manager and Thomas were simultaneously shocked.
"I guess that's right. Wow, you must have had a really hard time getting here. Come this way."
Suho took the lead, and the two followed him with dumbfounded expressions.
After taking a narrow, dirty elevator and getting off on one floor, they saw a unit with its front door wide open in a corridor-style officetel.
"It's this way. Please come in."
Thomas's frowning face showed no signs of smoothing out, and he could no longer manage his expression, eventually unable to hold back and asked.
"Is it really... correct that you live here?"
"Yes, yes, this is my house. Please come in quickly. Ah, in Korea you have to take off your shoes. Please take off your shoes here in the entryway."
While awkwardly removing their shoes in the narrow entryway following Suho, a woman pushing a vacuum cleaner recognized Thomas and brightened up.
"Oh! Mr. Thomas Harris! You really came. Welcome. Welcome to Korea."
The Frost Sword I Danbi—someone Thomas knew as well. Wasn't she the Korean S-rank Admitti famous for her activities as a Frost Swordswoman?
Having only seen her in photos and videos, she was definitely more incredible in person. He was momentarily speechless at her outstanding beauty. At the same time, Thomas's jaw dropped at the fact that such a woman was cleaning.
"Uh, uh...? Ah, you really came. I just finished feeding Winky. Ha, that guy just wouldn't leave..."
Thomas flinched at the giant who appeared behind him in the entryway.
A troll-like human so tall that even Thomas, who was about 190 cm and quite tall, had to look up was standing in the entryway behind him.
The Steel Grizzly Han Taeung—someone Thomas knew as well. But he was confused because he couldn't understand why the man was talking as if he had gone to feed something like dog food.
"Excuse me, I need to get in too. Please hurry and go in first."
Startled by Taeung's urging, Thomas and the manager hurried inside.
The moment Taeung came in last and tried to close the door, a loud voice was heard from inside.
"Wait! Don't close the door!"
From the living room direction, a blond middle-aged handsome man was coming to the entryway hugging a pile of paper boxes.
Recognizing him, Thomas muttered blankly.
"J-Joshua Evans...?"
"Oh, Thomas, you're here. I heard you were coming. Ah, as you can see my hands are full, so I can't shake hands. I'll just go throw these away at the recycling station, so have a seat."
"Please come this way."
Dumbfounded, Thomas was led by Jang Narae and sat down on one side of the long table in the living room.
Seeing an ordinary person from whom he could hardly sense any ether—and Narae, whom he didn’t recognize—Thomas instead felt his heart grow calm.
‘How many S-class Admittees in the world could there be...? And all of them doing menial chores like cleaning... This is insane...’
Thomas struggled desperately to make sense of the situation.
After all, there was no way for him to know that all of this had been staged.
Still, wasn’t Jeong Suho the Admittee who had now surpassed Thomas himself and become, in both name and reality, the highest-paid Admittee in the world?
And not only that, as the world’s only item collector, he was someone who unearthed mysterious objects as if he were stamping them out...
‘There’s no way. There’s no way he lives in a place like this...’
Thomas kept looking around, trying to find something special inside.
But he could not find a trace of luxury in any of the furniture or appliances. They were just common mass-produced products from major corporations. He couldn’t even see a single proper object made of gold.
Tap, tap.
“Thank you for coming all the way to this humble place, honored guests. Here, have a glass of water.”
Suho held out paper cups to Thomas and his manager, then poured water from a plastic bottle.
At that sight, Thomas’s brow furrowed ever so slightly again.
In truth, from the moment he had stepped into this house, his expression had not relaxed at all. It had been a while since he’d given up on controlling his face.
“I’m all right. I’m not particularly thirsty...”
When Thomas politely refused, the manager, who had been about to gulp it down, read the room and set his cup down as well.
But Suho urged them again.
“Hm? That’s really good for the body. Aren’t you tired from the long trip? It’ll wash away your fatigue and make you feel refreshed. We drink a cup every day.”
“I came by private jet, so I’m fine. I slept in a bed on the way here as well...”
“Come on, you should still have some. Manager, at least you should drink up.”
“Ah, yes, th-thank you. Then...”
After glancing at Thomas for a moment, the manager drained the drink in the paper cup in one gulp.
Then his eyes went round.
“Uh... uh, th-this is...?”
“It’s good, right? Don’t you feel the fatigue just melting away?”
Suho smiled brightly.
“Y-yes. I really feel strength welling up... Haa... There’s a drink like this? What on earth is it?”
“Oh, it’s nothing special. Have you perhaps heard of a [Highest-grade Regeneration Potion]?”
“Wh-what did you say!”
Before he knew it, Thomas had snatched up the plastic bottle standing on the table with both hands and was clutching it.
The manager was so shocked he began to hiccup.
The roughly two-liter plastic bottle contained a liquid with a pale green tint, like green tea.
It was unmistakably the “Highest-grade Regeneration Potion” that he himself also possessed, but in truth, he had yet to drink even a single drop of it.
How could anyone possibly drink something bought for two hundred million dollars a bottle?
And yet here, they were drinking it as casually as bottled water, so his grasp on reality wavered.
He had to taste this. Thomas’s instincts screamed, and he barely managed to grit his teeth before belatedly speaking up.
“Th-then, I’m sorry, but could I have a glass too...?”
“Ah, good thinking. I’m telling you, this is the best thing for fatigue.”
Suho grinned and poured the Highest-grade Regeneration Potion into a paper cup.
As Thomas set the paper cup down and looked, the glass being used as a table pad—the glass covering the entire long table—felt somehow out of place.
It was something he could recognize because he had seen it often at home. But he had absolutely never seen an object of this size.
“Um... this... don’t tell me this glass table mat is...”
“Oh, you really do have sharp eyes. It’s diamond. We laid it down instead of glass.”
The large table was easily five meters long and one and a half meters wide. To cover it with diamond as a table mat—he couldn’t help but think this was some insane display of money-wasting.
But what looked even stranger was the tablecloth beneath that glass.
A thin cloth of some odd material and tacky color had been laid out as a tablecloth, not matching at all, and it grated on him.
As he glared at the tablecloth, Suho added an explanation.
“The tablecloth is a bit tacky, isn’t it? We’ve been busy lately, so we haven’t had time to go buy one. So we just laid down some Elastrin Silk for the time being...”
Thomas, who couldn’t possibly not know what Elastrin Silk was, began trembling in his arms and legs.
Suho quietly looked at him and asked, pretending to be worried.
“I don’t know much myself, but from what I’ve seen and heard in the media and on social media, I heard you’ve been having a lot of financial difficulty. How is it? Are the Canadian Towers in pretty bad shape?”
‘What did he say? How dare he? He says I, the wealthiest man, am having difficulty?!’
Indignation surged inside Thomas, but in such a short time he had seen far too many astonishing things, and unable to find anything to say, he merely bit his lip.
Around then, Narae brought out a plate of sliced fruit.
“Please enjoy.”
And then she set out forks.
Even the forks had an unusual sheen.
As Thomas stared blankly at the forks, whose colors shifted mysteriously depending on the angle at which they reflected the light, Danbi sat down beside him while wiping her hands.
“We started cleaning late, so I’m sorry. We ended up looking so busy after inviting guests over. Narae, I’m sorry, but could you bring a few more forks here?”
“Yes, yes!”
Jang Narae brought over the entire box containing the forks, and inside it were piles of forks made of that mysterious metal.
In the end, Thomas could not hold back and asked.
“Are these forks perhaps Transcendent Forks as well...?”
“Pfft, what’s a Transcendent Fork? Where would you find a fork like that? They’re just Starlight Forks. Hurry and eat. The apples are delicious.”
Danbi, who was in on it, grinned as she chewed the apple with relish.