"A credit loan?"
Kadga tilted his head and looked at the other magician.
It seemed like no one knew what that meant.
Most of the magicians’ knowledge was passed through generations, so most of them have lived locked in the tower since they were kids and spent their time studying. They were people who dedicated their lives to the investigation.
That's why they didn't know about things like credit loans.
"What's that?"
"It's my first time hearing about it. What about you?"
"It's also my first time…"
The magicians looked at each other, confused.
There were about thirty magicians, but no one knew what a credit loan was.
KangWoo's eyes shone.
He smiled.
"A credit loan is lending you money based on your credibility."
"Credibility?"
"Lending money?"
"Yes. The details are quite complex… but that's the easiest possible explanation. They lend you money, and in exchange, they receive interest."
"Ah! It's like a bank."
"You're right."
KangWoo nodded while smiling.
A magician spoke in a worried voice.
"Can we do that? After all, our credibility…"
He trailed off at the last part of the sentence.
It was obvious.
They didn't have a single penny at the moment, and they didn't have a house to return to or a job.
There was no way someone in a situation similar to a homeless person would have something like credibility to borrow money with.
"Ugh."
"Those damn cultists…!"
The magicians clenched their fists as if the situation angered them.
The Magic Tower had sold magic items to the members of high society since before the Cataclysmic Day.
After players appeared, magic became quite common, but that hadn’t always been the case.
They used to earn quite a lot of money just by selling simple artifacts with protection magic against bullets.
Thanks to that, they earned quite a lot of money throughout the years.
The Demon Cult had destroyed the Magic Tower, and all of the money inside had been taken away by the Demon Cult.
"Don't worry."
KangWoo gave them documents as if he were prepared for such a situation.
He'd prepared documents in their language so that they could read them.
'Third-party Finance, Garrosh & Cash’ was written across the documents.
"Garrosh & Cash?"
"What does third-party finance mean?"
The magicians tilted their heads in confusion.
KangWoo explained things to them in a very kindly manner.
"Third-party Finance is similar to a circle in magic. With a third party, you can ask for more money than the first and second ones."
"Woah."
"If it's a third circle, it isn't that high…"
"Ah, it isn't completely the same as magic. In finance, the third party is the highest step."
"Ah, I see."
The magicians nodded their heads.
They looked at each other.
Although Guardian had freed them, they hadn't said thanks properly.
They bowed their heads as if they were embarrassed.
Kadga took a step forward.
"Thanks for introducing us to a third-party financier," Kadga said as if he had been moved.
He had initially thought of using Guardian to gain freedom and keep focusing on studying the truth through the Book of Hecate.
Not only that, but when he heard that the Hecate's Book had been burned down, he acted very rudely.
Even if he was a magician who wasn't used to society, he knew that grabbing the person who had saved you by the collar was rude.
'Still…'
He started to tear up.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were bankrupt, yet seeing KangWoo doing his best to help them had moved him.
He was helping them so they could resume their investigation and was trying to help them obtain the necessary money to do it.
He was ashamed of having thought of Guardian as a group of suckers.
"Thank you…"
"It's nothing."
He grabbed Kadga's hands while making a warm smile.
It was a warm exchange between people.
A smile appeared on his face.
KangWoo sighed and kept talking.
"I'm the one who's sorry. If I had more authority, I could've lent you the money from Guardian…"
"No, it's okay. I'm just glad that we can borrow the money."
"Do you know how the interest rate works?"
* * *
"Hmm… We have to give back more money than the amount we borrow, right?"
"Yes. It's easiest to think of it as the payment for having borrowed money."
KangWoo sighed.
"You can borrow more money through a third party, but there's a problem."
"Problem?"
"Yes. The interest rate is high."
"Ah…"
There was a short silence.
Kadga looked at the other magicians and then opened his mouth.
"We'll get money for the investigation from Guardian later, right?"
"Yes. As soon as the funding is accepted."
"Then there won't be problems."
"If you don't pay the interest quickly, it could create problems for you… Ah, how about this?"
KangWoo smiled.
"You just have to increase your magic item creation hours. In Korea, we call this ‘night shift’."
"Hmm."
"I'm going to help you obtain benefits by selling magic items before the money for the research is approved."
"Woah."
"Thank you…" they exclaimed in surprise.
The magicians nodded.
The magic items they made were expensive.
Of course, it couldn't be compared to the money they obtained before players appeared, but magic items were still valuable.
They were also confident in terms of quality.
Some players could create magic items, but they couldn't be compared to the ones they made. After all, they had known about magic since they had been born.
"How much is that interest rate?"
"The monthly interest rate is 24%. Each month that passes, the interest is compounded."
"Compounded? What does that mean?" they asked in confusion.
KangWoo laughed and explained things to them kindly.
"You don't need to worry about that. Just think of it as a type of interest rate."
"Hmm."
There was a short silence.
"Can you give us time to think?"
"Of course."
Kadga turned around. The thirty magicians started to talk to each other.
"Each month 24%… Isn't that too expensive?"
"I think that, considering our situation, it isn't that bad."
"Won't we be able to pay it back easily once we begin selling magic items?"
"I guess…"
He nodded.
Kadga opened his mouth.
"Then let's do that. We'll do night shifts until the research grant becomes available."
"Woah…"
"If we do that, we won't have much time to recreate Hecate's book, right?"
"That's true."
"Recreating Hecate's book is the most important thing, after all…"
The magicians fell into thought.
One of them clapped.
"Ah! Now that I think about it, Mr. Oh KangWoo said he would respect the normal working hours of a Korean multi-national corporation!"
"He did."
"I wonder how many hours they work…"
"Fufufu. I have heard about the working hours of corporations before."
"You?"
They looked at him, surprised.
The magician that mentioned it crossed his arms and nodded.
"Although it was Germany and not Korea… They usually work six hours per day. If you add the night shift, it probably will be about eight hours in total."
"Hmm… Still, we won't have enough time to investigate."
"We’ll have weekends."
"Ah, you're right. I hadn’t thought of that."
The magicians nodded.
It was worth doing it if they were given a work shift between six and eight hours per day and their weekends guaranteed.
"I think that it will be better than our current life."
"Haha, there's no way it will be comparable to living under the domination of demons."
The magicians reached an agreement.
Kadga took a step forward as their representative.
"We're going to accept the proposal."
"It's a good choice. Please sign these documents. You'll get 300 million USD for research as soon as you enter Korea."
"…"
Before signing, Kadga grabbed KangWoo's hands.
"Thank you, I'll never forget about you."
"Hahaha."
KangWoo laughed.
"Let's do our best for world peace."
KangWoo grabbed his hands once again.
* * *
Time flowed.
A factory made in Korea dedicated to making magic items was set up.
The magic items made by the magicians of the Magic Tower were being provided to Guardian.
They made everything from defensive artifacts to tons of equipment that had all sorts of enchantments, and Guardian was also given scrolls and potions that they could use in dangerous situations.
The high-quality magic items created by them lifted Guardian up a step.
Clunk-
"K-Kadga!!"
"Are you okay?!"
Kadga collapsed in the middle of making an item.
The other magicians quickly went toward him.
Their situation was worse than when they used to be under the control of demons.
Kadga, who had collapsed from overworking, extended his hands.
"I… I must make more… If not, the interest…"
"Kadga!!!"
"Get ahold of yourself!!"
Cries were heard.
Click-
The door opened.
The lights were turned on, and KangWoo walked in.
"How is everyone doing?"
"Y-you!'
"You piece of trash!!!"
They looked at KangWoo with anger and resentment.
KangWoo smiled.
"What's wrong? You're the ones that signed the documents."
"This is fraud!!"
"It isn't fraud. I explained things beforehand."
He started to laugh out loud.
"Y-YOU BASTARD!!!!"
Stomp. Kadga, who had collapsed, got up as if he were having a seizure.
He ran toward KangWoo.
Tap-
"Cough!"
He'd rushed forward without using magic, so the result was obvious.
—Kadga was instantly overwhelmed.
"Mr. Kadga, please relax. Haven't you come to your senses yet after the last time?"
"Ugh…"
Fear appeared on Kadga's face.
"The restoration of Hecate's book… research into the truth…" he mumbled in a weak voice.
He felt that they were slipping away.
"You don't need to struggle so much to find the truth, Mr. Kadga. The truth is something more simple than you imagine."
"…"
KangWoo turned to the magicians that were inside the factory.
The insides of the factory resembled a dumping ground, and there was an intense smell of rotten food.
"Everyone, a person must eat. As long as you aren't a demon, you need food."
KangWoo grabbed a pack of ramyeon that was on the floor.
"To buy food, you need money."
The tips of his mouth went up.
"To earn money, you must work."
He tapped Kadga's shoulder.
"Hahaha. How about that, Mr. Kadga? Isn't the truth unexpectedly simple and close to you?"
"You m—"
"If you want to eat at least a meal a day, please work."
He kept talking as if he were having fun.
"There's no bread for those that don't work."
"You scammer…!"
"You made us work for the entire day! Even night shifts!! How can you make us work on weekends?!"
"You said we would work the same hours as someone in a national company!!"
He heard people cursing him.
"I didn't lie."
KangWoo extended his arms.
"Didn't I say you would only work the same hours as someone in a big Korean company?"
"Yes! You definitely—"
"Yes, this is how much they work. Ah, of course, you've worked harder than others, but that's because you have a huge debt, so there's nothing you can do about it. After all, this is the path you've chosen."
There was silence.
"Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you about something… Haha. It's been a couple of months since you came to Korea, so it’s funny that I only say this now…"
He bowed and smiled.
“Welcome to Korea."
‘Strangers, I welcome you to the palace of Korea.'
