The Final Boss Has Returned - Chapter 99
After Yujin accepted Drakan's proposal, the Twilight Stone purchase negotiations proceeded smoothly.
Drakan's side offered 5 billion won to Lightwing Entertainment for the purchase price of the Twilight Stone, and Yujin tried to lower the purchase price.
Considering that Legendary-grade material items typically traded at around 2 billion won, it was an excessively high amount.
Of course, Drakan's intention was to deliberately buy it at a markup above market price in order to suppress as much as possible the positive public opinion toward Yujin that would arise from this transaction, while Yujin's reason was something foolishly pushover-like—simply feeling sorry for Drakan buying it at too high a price above market value.
Thus, the bizarre negotiation where the buying side tried to raise the price and the selling side tried to lower it was finally concluded at 3 billion won, they both signed the purchase contract, and Drakan was satisfied with the result.
'It was resolved well through the best possible method.'
Drakan was satisfied with the negotiation results.
This had been the best possible method.
Of course, other methods had clearly existed.
For example, there was the method of breaking down the negotiations without revealing the information, and later framing it through the press or Arde Live as, "We tried to purchase the Twilight Stone to unlock a new race for the users, but the Lightwing Guild refused the negotiations!"
At first glance, the public opinion warfare method of framing the other party for refusing negotiations after a deliberate breakdown seemed plausible enough that even Drakan himself had been tempted the moment he thought of it.
But this method had a fatal flaw.
'If they mention my past record and claim that we had no choice but to break down the negotiations because we refused to disclose information from the start, the public opinion war could devolve into a mud fight and fizzle out, or worse, our side could end up being attacked.'
Namely, the Lightwing Guild side could use the blind spot of "refusal to disclose information" to turn the framing of public opinion back against him.
Drakan never underestimated his enemies.
Yujin was absolutely not an easy opponent, and the Lightwing Guild also had a talent named Berda who could skillfully execute strategies to turn public opinion warfare back against him.
In any case, if things went that way, the public opinion war would clearly become a mud fight, and the result would clearly fizzle out or turn into Yujin's victory, as he held sway over the grassroots sentiment of Arde World.
And if the worst-case scenario of Yujin's victory came to pass, there was a high probability that the public sentiment he had secured with such effort would scatter futilely.
That was exactly the reason Drakan had not chosen the public opinion warfare strategy after breaking down negotiations.
Of course, Drakan had briefly thought that if refusal to negotiate was a blind spot, he could simply reveal the contents of the Vampire Quest and aim for a breakdown, but he soon realized that such an idea itself was foolish and had to abandon it immediately.
Berda!
It was precisely because she was there.
Although she had taken a hit from him earlier, Drakan had already realized during the World Revolution that Berda was by no means an incompetent or foolish person, having been caught up in her strategies several times.
The moment such information about the Vampire Quest was revealed to her, Drakan was already convinced that Berda would read the true meaning within it—the change in user public opinion following the unlocking of new content—and rather, like Yujin earlier, would try to donate the Twilight Stone for free while indebting them to her side and further solidifying the concrete support base of the Lightwing Guild.
Berda was that dangerous an opponent, and Drakan was not foolish enough to let his guard down against such a Berda.
Thus, after discarding the aforementioned strategy, the best strategy Drakan found was to reverse-use Berda's psychology to pressure her, seize the initiative in negotiations, and then call forth Yujin who was relatively ignorant of negotiations.
And that strategy had succeeded, and Drakan smiled.
It wasn't simply because he had succeeded in the negotiation.
It was because he had succeeded in gaining Yujin's trust, the additional goal he had aimed for through this negotiation.
Drakan!
Because gaining Yujin's trust was more important than anything for another essential goal he had established: inducing the division of the Lightwing Guild.
Yujin was the simple type whose emotions showed plainly on his face, befitting an innocent pushover, so thanks to that, Drakan could read Yujin's emotions without much effort.
Yujin.
The bastard sincerely believed without a doubt that Drakan had reformed and been rehabilitated.
Of course, Drakan had already noticed during the interview when he himself had kneeled that the bastard believed him, but he could confirm that the trust had deepened even more now compared to then.
'If you want to catch a tiger, you have to enter the tiger's den.'
Drakan smiled and recalled the old saying.
If you want to catch a tiger, you have to enter the tiger's den!
Like that proverb, Drakan was willing to enter the tiger's den called the Lightwing Guild in order to catch the tiger named Yujin.
And he intended to ultimately drive a wedge between the tigers living inside that tiger's den.
Five Eyes!
To dismantle them, he had to strike their head, the Lightwing Guild.
But the Lightwing Guild's unity was strong, and its organization airtight to the point of having no gaps.
Thus, it was necessary to slowly gain trust while planting seeds of distrust.
And for that, Yujin's trust was indeed necessary.
"I'm glad it seems the negotiation has concluded well."
Unaware of such inner thoughts, Yujin smiled innocently and offered a handshake to Drakan, and Drakan accepted his handshake and spoke.
"I'm the one who should say that. Thank you for selling the Twilight Stone."
"Not at all. It was simply something that ought to be done for Arde World and the users."
Yujin said that sincerely while scratching his cheek and smiling awkwardly.
"Also, thank you for earlier."
"For what?"
When Drakan asked back, Yujin spoke with a smile.
"Loot obtained through a proper raid should be traded at a proper price. You reminded me of a principle I had forgotten myself, so I ought to express my gratitude."
Yujin sincerely felt gratitude toward Drakan.
Loot obtained through a proper raid should be traded at a proper price!
He was ashamed of himself for forgetting such a simple principle, and at the same time, Yujin purely admired Drakan's magnanimity for not only advocating principle while accepting losses even though he could have saved the amount if it had been donated free of charge, but even trying to receive a higher amount.
"If you're grateful, don't forget that principle going forward."
"Understood."
And Drakan answered with a brazenly shameless face, and Yujin expressed his gratitude once more at Drakan's words.
"Well then, since the negotiation is over, I suppose I should be going now."
The moment Drakan, seeing that, tried to leave the negotiation room.
"Excuse me, Drakan-nim."
Yujin called out to Drakan.
"What is it?"
At the sudden call, Drakan's gaze turned toward Yujin.
Although Drakan had reviewed every possibility, he hadn't thought of the possibility that Yujin would call him after all negotiations were finished, so he quietly waited to hear what would pop out of Yujin's mouth.
"...I have a favor to ask, if I may?"
And the words that popped out of Yujin's mouth were shocking.
A favor!
It was a situation he hadn't even anticipated, but rather than being surprised, Drakan earnestly analyzed Yujin's words in his head.
'If he's saying this after the negotiation ended, it must be a personal request. I should hear what kind of favor it is first.'
Having quickly reached a conclusion in his head, Drakan nodded.
"Speak."
"Could you perhaps accompany me in a dungeon raid?"
The moment those words left Yujin's mouth.
Berda's hand began to tremble noticeably, and Drakan asked back toward Yujin.
"Why a dungeon raid? Weren't you guys the strongest in the world if you combined your forces and allied guilds?"
Yujin of the world, possessed of the strongest force called Five Eyes, asking for help with a dungeon raid!
It was a shocking and absurd "favor" that even Drakan himself had almost doubted his own ears for a moment.
Therefore, Drakan asked Yujin with pure doubt.
Why ask him of all people when he had such powerful comrades and allies!
Because he was curious about the reason.
"It's... because it's a dungeon with a two-person raid restriction."
To Drakan's question, Yujin scratched his cheek and stammered an answer.
Entry restriction conditions!
Occasionally, special dungeons had restriction conditions attached, and in the case of the dungeon Yujin was speaking of, it had a condition that unconditionally restricted the raid party to two people.
Of course, Drakan was well aware of this much.
And Drakan also knew that this answer was insufficient to resolve the doubt.
"Then I understand even less. Just what is the problem with that?"
"So, that's..."
At Drakan's repeated question, Yujin hesitated unlike his usual self.
He needed Drakan's help to resolve this personal but very important problem, but because the party involved in that problem was inside the meeting room, he couldn't speak properly.
Therefore, Yujin called his younger sister to explain the situation properly.
"Yuna."
"What is it, Oppa?"
"Can you take Berda and step out for a moment? I have something to talk about with Drakan-nim."
"Got it. Unni, let's go!"
"...Understood. Yuna-nim."
At Yuna's words, Berda was dragged out of the meeting room like a cow being led to a slaughterhouse, and soon after, the sound of the meeting room door closing with a thud was heard.
And watching that scene, Drakan's mind was in chaos.
What the hell kind of incomprehensible situation was this!
Regardless, Yujin took a deep breath and spoke toward Drakan.
"Actually, the two-person restriction is the problem."
Yujin continued speaking toward Drakan with a serious expression.
"It may sound like nothing, but right now Erena, Berda, and Sharp have been in a cold war with each other for several weeks now because they all want to clear that two-person dungeon with me."
Hearing Yujin's ensuing answer, Drakan could finally realize the essence of this situation.
'So it's a love rivalry.'
That's right.
Behind Yujin's proposal which seemed random and absurd at first glance, a love rivalry had been hidden.
Yujin!
The nerve war between Erena, Berda, and Sharp surrounding him, the so-called "catfight" or "heroine war"—a fight called by such unfunny slang—was one of the widely circulated rumors that everyone who knew about it secretly knew.
And Drakan knew better than anyone that the rumor was true.
Of course it was; they made it blatantly obvious that they were interested in Yujin, so it would be stranger not to notice their feelings unless something was wrong with one's eyes.
Unfortunately for them, Yujin was a person who would be second to none when it came to being dense about romance.
In any case, as part of that love rivalry, the nerve war over wanting to clear the two-person dungeon with Yujin whom they loved—in other words, wanting to go on a kind of dungeon date—was the fundamental cause of this entire situation.
One could call it trivial depending on how you looked at it, but there was a saying that when you came to like someone, you would stake your life on trivial matters, so Drakan understood.
"I asked other acquaintances, Seonghyeon, no, Muscleman to help with the raid, but everyone refused saying they had other business... I'm really in a bind."
Hearing Yujin's ensuing answer, Drakan laughed inwardly.
Did they really refuse because they were busy?
The innocent Yujin might think so, but from Drakan's perspective, absolutely not.
It was clear that the three women had put pressure on Yujin's associates.
"And if I choose one person, the other two would feel hurt... So I've come to impose on you like this, Drakan-nim."
However, if there was something they hadn't anticipated, it would be that they didn't know Drakan would gain Yujin's trust this quickly.
Watching Yujin scratch his cheek with a genuinely troubled expression, Drakan quietly raised the corners of his mouth.
Whether Yujin was truly so dense that he didn't notice the people around him liking him, or whether he was turning a blind eye to their feelings because he didn't want to break their current comrade relationship, Drakan couldn't know his heart from his position.
Yet seeing him worry about them feeling hurt and ultimately choosing to go with a third party, Drakan thought that Yujin seemed to have a talent for giving unnecessary hope to the women around him.
In any case, that wasn't very important right now.
What was important was that a way to utilize Yujin's situation had come to Drakan's mind.
"If it's that, it's not something I can't do."
"Thank you."
Having decided to use the situation surrounding Yujin, Drakan accepted the proposal, and Yujin let out a sigh of relief and bowed his head in gratitude to Drakan.
"So, where is this dungeon in question?"
To Drakan's following question, Yujin answered with a smile.
"It's in Monster Land, a place called the Wolf Den."
The corners of Drakan's mouth rose to his ears upon hearing the location name.
Wolf Den!
Because it was the very place Drakan himself had to visit to carry out the Lycanthrope Quest.