Chapter 326: Episode 326_A Family-Like Atmosphere (1)
1.
It felt like returning from a long journey.
Han Simin couldn’t shake off the lingering aftertaste; he closed his eyes and replayed those electrifying monts.
They had done their best to make it as similar as possible, but the presence or absence of BetaGo created a fundantal difference: whether or not an entity existed that could screw him over.
As a result, Han Simin had been able to play the ga as if he were enjoying a free version of Fantastic World, comfortably achieving everything he wanted.
’Well, ultimately, it was because no one paid
any mind at the start, and everyone was focused on their own business.’
In any case, he had gotten paid, so it was ti to wake up from the dream.
He savored the afterglow one last ti and, in doing so, decided on the direction he would take from now on inside Fantastic World.
Of course, there was no way a 9th-Circle magic artifact existed on the continent.
If he tried to create one, he would have to be prepared to risk losing all the money he had earned so far in a single shot just to attempt it.
That was why it was a dream.
And that ant he was back in reality.
He let out a sigh and dialed a number, calling the dedicated asset managent team he had hired on Kenji’s recomndation.
At this point, he had nearly ten million dollars in cash and so much real estate that calling him a property tycoon wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Just for tax reasons, it made sense to have a managent team, and that was why Kenji had recomnded them.
In a way, one might call it an ill-fated relationship, but they shared a similar trait: like Han Simin, Kenji could separate business from personal matters.
“Leave about two million dollars in cash in my account and use the rest to buy buildings. I’ll leave it in your hands.”
The decision was born from what Han Simin had felt on the trip he had taken before this survival event.
He would hold real estate rather than large amounts of cash.
He couldn’t see either with his own eyes, but compared to numbers printed in a bankbook, buildings he could actually go and look at would be much better for his future and for generating inco.
And more than that.
The mindset of having a place of one’s own wherever one went brought peace of mind.
Imagine walking down the street and realizing that a building thousands of people walk in and out of every day belongs to you.
How could one not walk a little taller?
The thought of the rent rolling in at the end of the month was enough to make anyone feel smug.
So, he shifted his mindset and decided on a bold investnt.
Then he logged into the ga right away.
His mindset had shifted slightly, but his philosophy on money remained rock solid.
’Ti to make so money. Lots of it.’
There was still so much to do.
*
As soon as he logged in, Han Simin went straight to the Imperial Princess.
“My love!”
She rushed into his arms as if they’d been apart for years, though it had only been a few days for the survival event.
She was still full of youthful charm, yet she possessed a maturity one would never find in a woman who had not yet turned twenty. She was captivating.
It wasn’t simply because of her outstanding figure.
From a young age, she had watched over the Emperor’s shoulder as he bore the weight of the continent, learning how to shoulder it herself.
Her every action held the playful charm of soone her age, but beneath it lay a depth that transcended frivolous immaturity.
That was what made her even more beautiful.
It was also why, despite knowing she was just an in-ga character, Simin couldn’t treat her as if he were playing a casual dating sim.
’She feels more like an adult than I do.’
It was an undeniable reality, one that shaped his behavior without him even realizing it.
No matter that she was just an NPC made of data; the life experience woven into her every word felt deeper than his own. How could he possibly treat her lightly?
He didn’t take her lightly, but his request ca out with surprising ease.
“Honey, can I have our wedding ring?”
“Of course!”
It was a one-sided demand with not so much as a speck of explanation.
The way he held out his palm, as if reclaiming sothing he’d left for safekeeping, was so brazen it made you want to smack him.
Yet despite his audacious demand, the Imperial Princess slipped the ring from her finger—the one she had never taken off since the day he’d given it to her—and placed it in his palm without a mont’s hesitation or a single question.
She didn’t ask.
That ant only one thing.
Absolute trust.
’He must have a reason for asking for this ring,’ she must have thought. ’And that reason is either sothing that doesn’t need explaining or sothing he can’t tell .’
It was a choice that would be impossible without an extre degree of trust.
The Imperial Princess was human, after all.
And humans are always curious.
Especially when it cos to the person they love.
Many people can’t stand not knowing what their partner is doing for even a single minute. How could a woman not feel a flicker of doubt when the man she loved suddenly asked for their wedding ring—the very symbol of their bond—without a word of explanation?
“You’re not going to ask why?”
“I trust that you’ll tell
when you’re ready. Or that you have your reasons for not telling .”
He remained silent.
Even Simin, who hadn’t bothered to explain, was taken aback by her lack of curiosity.
As her words t him with a bright smile, he simply shook his head and pulled her into an embrace.
’What an ideal wife.’
He realized then that, in the unlikely event he went bankrupt overnight, he would never have to worry about living as a beggar for the rest of his life. At the very least, she would be by his side.
Feeling an uncharacteristically rare swell of emotion, he offered her an explanation.
“This ring is made with a jewel from the Demon World, so I want to test its effects. We can’t have you wearing a ring when we don’t even know what it does. What if the Demon King shows up again and uses it to pull so trick?”
“Yes, you’re right.”
His real goal, of course, was to combine the two rings and try enhancing them. No matter how closely he examined a single band, he couldn’t see the effects of the Mystery Ring, let alone its grade.
But there was no need to spell all of that out.
He had given her a plausible reason, so she wouldn’t be left wondering.
Taking the ring, Han Simin left the imperial palace.
*
The Rich Kingdom was steadily building a domain worthy of its na, expanding from the Rich Territory to the Rich Casino.
Turning so many substantial holdings into a single kingdom was no easy task, but nothing was impossible when the entire continent rolled up its sleeves to help a hero who might appear only once in a millennium.
Of course, most kingdoms weren’t helping out of goodwill. They were helping through gritted teeth, knowing they’d be suspected of treason if they refused.
Even as the domain expanded, the kingdom’s capital remained the Rich Territory.
There was no reason to abandon the
15 fortress walls he had painstakingly built with his own two hands.
However, it still felt more like a territory than a capital. To give it the proper function and dignity, a few statues were erected.
Then, Simin pulled several items from his subspace and slotted them into the statues.
“I’ll stick that annoying Sword of the Ain Kingdom in here.”
He had accepted it back then because the king himself had requested it, but now it was nothing more than a white elephant that didn’t even make him money.
Still, it was too valuable to simply return.
’I’ll leave it here. If I ever need it, or if soone wants to buy it, I’ll sell it then.’
After checking on things, Han Simin left the territory to get to his real work.
The purpose of this trip was twofold:
To try enhancing the Mystery Ring.
And to figure out how to use the stone he had received from the forr Enhancer.
2.
Han Yeori was a high school senior with a bright future.
She’d had a solid upbringing, and watching her older brother carve out his own future without relying on their parents had taught her a thing or two about reality.
So, she studied hard.
Fortunately, unlike her brother, who had no affinity for studying, she was an honor student who diligently absorbed knowledge—though she wasn’t quite a genius who could learn ten things from being taught one.
As she focused solely on the knowledge needed for the college entrance exam, she naturally grew distant from popular culture. She didn’t own a TV and, of course, stayed away from 『Fantastic World』, even though most students watched it to pass the ti during their evening self-study sessions.
She was working hard to ace the exam, get into the college her parents had promised to pay for, and build a life for herself. Right now, nothing outside of her studies even registered.
Her stumbling upon a 『Fantastic World』 video was pure coincidence.
She was one of the few students who still attended the now-rare evening self-study sessions. If her best friend hadn’t put on a video during their short dinner break, and if Yeori’s gaze hadn’t happened to drift toward the screen, she would never have bothered to watch it.
No, even if her eyes had wandered over, she wasn’t the type to watch a video she had no interest in for more than ten seconds.
“Huh? Yeori, you don’t watch FW.”
“...Yeah.”
That was precisely why her friend had turned it on—for herself, not to tempt Yeori, who never took the bait anyway.
“Why? Did you suddenly get interested? I an, this is the most famous show in the world right now, not just in Korea. It’s called the All-Star Match. It’s an event where they picked the 500 most famous people in FW and had them compete in a survival ga.”
“Oh. Right...”
Her friend had been catching up on the event during every break, and Yeori had just happened to glance over.
Seeing that Yeori, who would normally have ignored it, couldn’t take her eyes off the screen, her friend happily continued her explanation. Unfortunately, what had captured Yeori’s attention wasn’t so high-rated program.
“...Brother?”
“Huh?”
“No matter how I look at him, that’s my brother.”
“What brother?”
“My brother.”
“You have a brother?”
“Yeah.”
“...You never said anything.”
“I moved out when I was in eighth grade.”
She fell silent.
The man on the screen.
The face was a vague mory from four years ago, but it was one she rembered clearly.
And that alone was enough for Han Yeori to be certain.
His hair color was different, but that man was her brother.
“Why is my brother on there?”
Han Yeori, who had never shown interest in anything but her studies, asked her friend, her eyes suddenly sparkling with life.
Seeing the dazzling smile bloom on Yeori’s beautiful face, her friend pouted and turned her head away.
“You brat. What the hell? You’ve never looked at
like that.”
“Sorry. It’s just been so long since I’ve seen him. Please, just tell .”
She even whined playfully, sothing she never did.
Her friend quickly raised both hands in surrender.
“Okay, okay. Let go. I’ll tell you.”
“Thanks!”
“But...you can’t get in touch with him? You said you moved out.”
“Yeah.”
“...Do you have any way to find him?”
“I’m going to go find him!”
“How?”
“...Huh?”
“Oh, you dummy. You’re all brains and nothing else. Just leave it to . There’s always a way.”
The survival event had taken place on a virtual server.
There was no way the station would have the players’ personal information.
But her friend was overflowing with confidence.
She didn’t study as well as Han Yeori, but she understood the real world a little better.
Dragging Yeori along, she headed to the broadcasting station that had aired the All-Star Match and patted her on the back.
“We just have to go ask them to put us in touch with your brother.”
The world was unfair.
And in that unfair world, beautiful won held all the power.
A eting request from the station went straight to Han Simin.
*
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