God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 86: Episode 17 _ My Father-In-Law’s Money Is Basically Mine(1)
1.
Han Simin headed to the Empire.
It had been a long time since he last visited.
"...It really has been a while."
It felt like he was going after about a week, but in reality, it had been over two months.
The danger of a repetitive and regular life! He didn’t know how time passed or what date it was.
’At this rate, I’ll forget my age and live young.’
What a beneficial life.
Of course, on one hand, he couldn’t hide the flowing tears. Was he destined to die without ever having dated because he was only playing games?
Already, half of his twenty-fifth year had passed.
While people were making a fuss about clearing Act 2 of the Main Quest and whatnot, if he went around looking for corners where money might come out, winter would come, and then he would be twenty-six.
"Haah."
The fortunate thing was that although time flowed endlessly, there was something left behind.
While others were attending college, he had a house worth $1.1 million in his name and $5.2 million in his bank account.
It wasn’t enough to play and eat for a lifetime, but considering he had fifty years of life left, it was a very successful start. It meant he had secured enough capital to fail at whatever he did a few times.
"But I shouldn’t do business."
He knew very well that many people went bankrupt doing that. When he was young, he saw many people around his dad driving nice cars because of business, only to come borrowing money the next morning. Or maybe it wasn’t someone else’s story. If his luck had been bad, Han Simin might have learned about life early by begging on the streets instead of spending his adolescence warmly.
So he didn’t pay attention to that side. Instead, he chose to prepare for his old age in advance with certain abilities.
’Let’s earn $20 million before the game shuts down.’
Then, whatever game came out in the future, or even if enhancement was abolished in all future games, at least he wouldn’t starve to death. After all, he had a house, and the money he spent was just for eating what he wanted occasionally and the electricity bill for playing games all day.
Truly Shangri-La!
A free pass to enjoy his favorite games for his entire life!
"Hahaha."
To do that, he had to work harder now.
He had to endure the boring days in the carriage and match the tempo to the customers’ hunting that continued for a month with only four hours of sleep a day.
In the midst of that, it would be better to resolve any solvable inconveniences even if it cost a little money.
"...Can’t you fly?"
"Squeak?"
The first problem that came to mind was, of course, transportation. It was the content of the complaint he had voiced about the charm of the overly realistic 『Fantastic World』 since he first started the game.
What was the use of paying money to ride a carriage or a horse? Every time he moved somewhere, it took a two-week round-trip.
It was good that it made him feel like it was another world, but it took too long.
Besides, wasn’t he a Legendary Legend Tamer in name? Even if it couldn’t shorten a week’s distance to one hour, shouldn’t he have a stylish mount that could shorten it to about a day?
Just in time, there was a suitable guy in front of him, so his dissatisfaction was even worse.
"You’re supposed to be a dragon. Why can’t you fly?"
"...Scree."
Gold Dragon?!
No, still a hatchling.
A guy who gobbled up a damn lot of gold, but anyway, wasn’t he born a dragon?
A monster capable of high-speed flight, defying gravity despite its massive size! However, looking at this small bird screeching, I didn’t get that majestic feeling at all.
"Should I force it to grow?"
Scree!
If I were to look for possibilities, this method came to mind first. It was only natural. Just as humans have a baby phase, dragons must have a hatchling phase. As time passes and it ages, its body will grow larger, and it will eventually be able to flap its wings.
If I just waited until then, I wouldn’t have to worry about this at all. The plan faced two problems: time and money!
"You little brat. Don’t tell me growing up costs gold, too?"
In novels, dragons lived for tens of thousands of years. Comparing it to human growth, it would probably need to live for about two thousand years to become an adult. Would Han Simin still be playing the game by then? If looked at that way, the second problem might not even be a problem.
However, for Han Simin, who had already spent $1.2 million just to hatch it and another $800,000 to learn buffs, it was the biggest problem of all.
Gold Growth! A skill that clearly existed. My ominous premonitions have never been wrong.
"...How much do I have to feed you for you to fly?"
How much more did I have to feed it to reach the size of a dragon from the legends? Did this thing charge money to breathe fire, too?
He was speechless.
No, Simin. Let’s not imagine such terrible things. Our world hasn’t been tainted that much yet. He shook his head and lifted the bird.
Scree! Scree!
Still, it wasn’t an ungrateful brat that didn’t know its benefactor; seeing it recognize Han Simin as its dad and rub its head against him wasn’t entirely hateful. Right. For better or worse, it was a guy I would have to work like a dog until the game shut down, so let’s give it another rice cake.
He took out one gold coin from his pocket and held it out. Watching it eat deliciously, a sigh escaped him automatically.
* * *
As soon as he arrived at the Imperial Capital, he headed straight for the Imperial Palace. Good restaurants were nice, bustling streets were nice, gambling was nice, and if not that, the entertainment district was nice too, but those were all cultures one could only enjoy with a heavy purse!
Han Simin currently didn’t even have 100 gold left in his pocket, so he had no time to turn his eyes elsewhere. A beggar! He wanted to fill his pockets and upgrade the items he was wearing as soon as possible.
"Halt. Identify yourself."
"Ahem! Do you not know who I am?"
Through the Mithril Plaque, he naturally passed through, exercising the gapjil—the abuse of authority—he had always wanted to try on the knights guarding the Imperial Palace. It was just an expensive plaque that didn’t work at all on players, but to NPCs, it was the Emperor’s Plaque, scarier than a Secret Royal Inspector!
It had been a while since he entered the Imperial Palace, but he moved with familiar steps. After all, for Han Simin, this place could be seen as a turning point in his life in 『Fantastic World』!
"I wonder if my father-in-law is doing well."
He smiled, thinking of the Emperor, who now felt familiar. At the same time, the moment he tried to save someone’s life for the first time—the princess—came to mind!
"She’s eating well and living well, right?"
Even if it was a game, and even if it was a political marriage, she was his first wife. He wasn’t the type to feel euphoria from such things or get overly immersed in the game, but since 『Fantastic World』 was such a realistic game—a world where he lived more vividly than in reality—it felt awkward to just brush it off as nothing.
Of course, the first thing that came to mind was inevitably her cursed appearance. A pointless sense of sympathy arose. How does she live with a face like that?
If it were Han Simin, he would strut around confidently just because his dad was the Emperor, spending money like water and living however he wanted, but for most women—no, most people—that would be difficult.
’I should treat her well when we meet.’
Expectation filled his steps as he entered the Emperor’s office. And when the massive doors opened.
"Eh?"
"You’ve come."
"You’re here?"
His steps faltered at a picture different from what he had expected.
2.
A spacious office, two solemn escort knights. And the Emperor, still like a massive mountain. Up to this point, the atmosphere wasn’t different from when Han Simin had come to the Empire before. But there was one thing completely different from back then.
"...Who?"
Shimmering silver hair, distinct features, intelligent eyes, defined collarbones, and a voluminous dress. She possessed a blend of Western and Eastern beauty. How should I express this feeling?
’Should I say she looks like a princess from a fantasy novel?’
She was a beauty who wouldn’t lose even when compared to Jeong Seolah. Especially with an appearance that could never exist in reality, if it came down to preference, wouldn’t more votes go to the woman in front of him? But why was such a woman by the Emperor’s side?
"A concubine?"
"...That is an amusing joke."
She was too young to be the Emperor’s wife. Since this was a fantasy world where common sense was often destroyed, it wouldn’t be that strange to take a woman not even twenty as a concubine, but it was hard to imagine the Emperor, who looked like he only knew work, doing such a thing. But to say she was a princess... didn’t they say the Emperor only had one child?
"Who are you?"
Unable to deduce it at all, he asked. In fact, she had little to do with him. Anyway, he was already a married man, and his business was only with the Emperor. But any man would have reacted the same way as Han Simin. He could be sure of it.
"Pfft."
He looked at her in confusion. At his seriousness, the woman beside the Emperor laughed.
"It’s fun seeing that hopeless look after so long. It’s fun."
"Father, Your Majesty also reacted the same way as the Baron at first."
"I didn’t have such a dumbfounded face."
The conversation went back and forth. The truth contained within it.
"Ehhhhhh?"
What the hell? Then that supreme beauty is the cursed princess from back then? No.
"My wife?"
"Yes, that’s right. Baron."
He was dumbfounded. ’My wife, you say?’ He superimposed the image of her cursed form over her bright smile.
"It is. It is her."
Comparing only the external appearance, they were obviously different. But those intelligent eyes and that smile definitely overlapped. Han Simin, now convinced, turned his gaze to the Emperor.
"It seems plastic surgery technology is very well developed in the continent as well."
"Plastic surgery? Do you mean changing a human’s face? That is a fascinating word."
"...Then how did that happen?"
"The Pope bestowed a Great Blessing, washing away the remnants of the curse cleanly."
Ah! For a moment, he forgot what kind of human the Emperor was. A man of action who rules the continent and would take some unheard-of adventurer as a son-in-law just to save his daughter! Anyway, as a result, the current picture wasn’t too bad for Han Simin.
"Then, Father-in-law, I shall take my leave to promise future generations with my wife, whom I haven’t seen in a long time..."
"If there are escort knights outside, come in and drag out the bastard spouting nonsense immediately."
"Ey. It’s a joke."
"I don’t know why it sounded sincere to me."
"Doesn’t the saying go that you only see what you want to see?"
"...That rude way of speaking remains the same."
For a moment, the parchment he had received from Han Simin flashed through the Emperor’s mind. He was that kind of guy. He turned his head, clutching his throbbing temples.
"Right, what brings you here this time? I heard you were growing the territory smoothly."
"Yes, you brought it up at the perfect time. I came because of that."
He looked at him with curiosity.
"I accepted the screw you you gave me and am digesting it well. Since it fits perfectly with the conditions I stated, I don’t really have any complaints to burst out with. But honestly, isn’t it too much? I’m the Emperor’s son-in-law in name, yet you gave me such a wasteland!"
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Anyway, the money I spent because of that isn’t just a penny or two, so please compensate me."
"I also spent an enormous amount of money because of you; we should compare and see who suffered more loss."
"No!"
A situation where they only said what they wanted to say. The frustrated one loses. Unfortunately, Han Simin, who wanted something, was more frustrated. He thought this wouldn’t work and changed his method.
"Fine. I won’t speak of the territory anymore."
He tried to milk something out of a closed deal, but as expected, the Emperor is the Emperor. Seeing the Emperor smile in victory, Simin pulled out his next card.
’I intended to just rip him off roughly and be done with it, but this won’t do.’
His gaze slid toward the Imperial Knights guarding the office door. The eyes of the knights were secretly glancing at him! Right, they couldn’t have forgotten.
How could they forget? That thrilling moment of growth. The moment he understood the parties’ hearts, Han Simin’s victory was a set procedure.
"I need to take some low-level requirement, high-grade armor from the secret warehouse inside the treasury."
"That is..."
Naturally, he would say no. But Han Simin held a card to make that happen.
"I’ll power‑level the Knight Order, working them like slaves for a month."
The Emperor was shocked. He deliberately shouted loudly so the knights could hear. He felt the knights standing near the entrance flinch. And he was confident of his victory.
* * *
