Money Keeps Piling Up No Matter How Much I Spend

Chapter 183

Translator: Dreamscribe"Hyung-nim. I heard a strange rumor."

"A strange rumor?"

"Yes. Apparently, a newbie with an absurd level of clout joined the Trinity Guild in America..."

"Ah. That."

Judging by hyung-nim's expression, the rumor was true.

"So it's really...?"

"Yeah. It's exactly what you heard."

"No. Are you insane? Where in the world does a Guild accept the President of the United States as a Guild Member?!"

"Tsk. A president is still a person. There's no hierarchy in games. Age, rank, none of that matters. All you need is the desire to play."

"Even so, we're talking about the President of the United States!"

When I first heard the news, it was so ridiculous I thought I must have misheard.

Out of nowhere, President Aiden had apparently applied to join the Trinity Guild.

"Isn't President Aiden eighty years old?"

"Like I said. Age doesn't matter in games."

"What if he overexerts himself during a Raid and collapses? It wouldn't just be some random Guild Member A going down, it'd be the president who's responsible for all of America."

"Ahem. W-well, that's..."

"And if he's going to Raid with us, there's a ton to study and prepare for. Can an eighty-year-old man even keep up with that pace?"

Even without all this, there was already talk of dementia and whatnot, ailments of old age and whatnot.

All sorts of controversies surrounded the man.

On top of that, analyses were emerging that his condition had worsened due to the stress of running a Lame-duck Administration.

And in this state, he wanted to play a game with that level of intensity?

It made no sense.

"What is a game? It's a second life. It's our escape. That man Aiden, he's under unimaginable stress right now, just like you said. He probably just wants to lose himself in something for a while and forget the world. You call yourself a gamer and you can't understand that?"

When he put it that way, I couldn't argue back.

Games were, in the end, a place of rest and escape for working people.

Forgetting everything weighing heavy on both shoulders and immersing yourself in a game.

That was the positive function of gaming.

"......"

I calmed my emotions for a moment and murmured inwardly.

'Is it really the right thing to accept President Aiden into our Guild?'

At that, my Intuition, which had been quietly waiting for my question alone, sent a jolt of electricity through me.

It felt as though even my Intuition agreed with hyung-nim.

Right. What did age or rank matter to a gamer?

If we could enjoy a game together, that made us gaming friends.

"There's a condition, though."

"What condition?"

"Honestly, it'd be risky to just accept him with no safeguards. So let's assign mentors to stay by his side for a while."

"Mentors?"

"Yes. Since he's the President of the United States, he'll already have Secret Service agents and emergency medical personnel on standby around the clock, so that's not a concern. But he'll need to build up a general understanding of the game, so someone will have to stick close and keep explaining things."

"Hmm. That doesn't sound bad."

Hyung-nim agreed with my suggestion.

"Our game has definitely improved a lot compared to before, but it's still too insular. Not exactly newbie-friendly."

Ever since we acquired Cyclone, the game company, we had been overhauling the game into a more newbie-friendly system to attract new players.

But it wasn't as easy as we'd hoped.

The game was far too old, and changing people's perceptions was no simple task either.

That was why we were in the middle of a massive project, from a major graphics overhaul to bringing in developers from every field to completely rebuild the game from the ground up.

"And it was right in the middle of all that when President Aiden submitted his application. So rather than assigning just one mentor, let's give him several. They can teach him at the White House or wherever he's comfortable, and when he's at the building where the American Trinity Guild Members gather, they can provide one-on-one coaching during group play too."

"That's a great idea."

The preparations for welcoming President Aiden seemed to be coming together nicely.

"It'd be pretty fun if we went to America later and did a Raid together. Just picture it. We call out an Order and President Aiden comes scrambling over to play Tank. Or maybe Heal."

"You don't even consider that he might be a Dealer, huh."

"Oh, please. It'll be a miracle if he can just move his game character around. How would you put him on the hardest role?"

"You never know."

But when I actually tried to imagine it the way hyung-nim described, it did seem like it'd be a blast.

In large-scale Raids, the Raid Leader's Orders were essential, and every Raid Member had to follow them without question.

So during those moments, the Raid Leader was the boss of every single Raid Member.

When the Raid Leader gave a command, you answered with a crisp "Yes!" and obeyed, no questions asked.

But imagining Aiden responding loudly to my Orders as Raid Leader and sprinting to his assigned position, I couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Oh, right. You mentioned you were going to build universities in Africa to invest in educating the children there."

"Ah, yes. How's that going?"

"Well, most countries gave the green light. And they agreed to let us set up Sentinel outposts in those regions for security purposes too. It's harder to find a place in Africa without rebel forces than one with them, after all. But there's one spot that won't come to an agreement."

"Is it Morocco, by any chance?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Morocco's been the one rejecting everything our foundation people and our various business proposals on the African side."

Morocco was, how to put it.

They seemed to despise any form of outside interference.

That was probably because the United States was behind them.

They maintained a constitutional monarchy with American aid, and to further solidify their royal authority, they shut out involvement from anyone other than the U.S.

"But we're just offering to help, aren't we? Build some infrastructure while we're at it."

"That's right. But compared to other countries suffering from extreme famine, Morocco is relatively better off. I think accepting our help would put them in the same category as those nations in their eyes, and their pride won't allow it."

"Tsk. Their people are starving to death, and they're worried about pride."

"What can we do? The royal family there says they don't want help."

Even so, the foundation didn't seem willing to give up, continuing to push for negotiations.

As for me, I'd be glad if negotiations went well, but if they didn't, I was prepared to let it go.

If we poured that energy into other countries instead and delivered results, Morocco might come around eventually.

"Don't worry too much about it. I'll talk it over with the Strategy Team. And Morocco is a U.S. ally, right? I'll put in a word with their political circles too, at least ask them to bring it up."

"Sure. But you don't need to stress over it. I have no intention of forcing the issue when their royal family clearly doesn't want it."

"All right. Oh, and get ready. We're heading to London in a few days."

"What? Out of the blue?"

"Heh heh. Come on. You must have been expecting this, right?"

"......?"

London, all of a sudden?

And I was supposedly expecting it?

Not at all.

Why on earth were we going to London?

* * *

[This is a historic day. Tottenham has won the league again this season, achieving back-to-back titles for the first time in the club's history!]

Players hoisted the league trophy high.

Their faces were the happiest in the world as they roared in celebration.

The fans in the stadium were screaming too, tears streaming down their faces.

[Look at those two people the camera is showing us now. The Club Owners who ended the curse of never winning a title, the benefactors who made today's Tottenham possible.]

Moments later, the camera zoomed in on two people clapping.

"So they no longer hesitate to show themselves in the media."

President Aiden clicked his tongue as he watched Jung Jin-ho on the screen.

The man who had rarely appeared in the media, known as a reclusive investor, was now showing his face at multiple public events.

"They must understand it by now. That being out in the open and visible is more advantageous than operating in the shadows."

"Right. If they build favorable public sentiment that way, the chances of someone assassinating them drop significantly."

This wasn't some impulsive, sudden decision to go public.

Now that Kwangwoon controlled the media, they must have judged this to be the perfect timing to step into the spotlight.

And yet, no matter how many times he saw it, he couldn't get used to it.

How could Jung Jin-ho cause one horrific incident after another with such an innocent-looking face?

"So, John. The fact that you came to see me today means you've brought the news I've been waiting for?"

"Yes, Mr. President."

"Hah. I've already steeled myself, so go ahead."

"Well..."

John hesitated for a moment, then broke into a smile.

"Kwangwoon has approved the request. They've agreed to accept you, Mr. President."

"......!"

Hearing that, Aiden let out a sigh of relief.

"S-so that means..."

"You're safe now, Mr. President. Being accepted into the Trinity Guild means they've formally recognized you."

It felt as though all the tension drained from his body at once.

When he had first submitted his formal application to the Trinity Guild, every imaginable thought had run through his mind.

From the moment he submitted it until Kwangwoon finished reviewing it, he had lived in a waking nightmare.

If they rejected the application, it would have been tantamount to a declaration that they intended to destroy President Aiden's career.

But Kwangwoon had accepted him with open arms.

Had they judged that he still had some use to them?

"There are conditions, though."

"Conditions?"

"Yes. They plan to assign several mentors, covering everywhere from the White House to the exclusive building only Trinity Guild Members can use. Dedicated personnel will be attached to you at all times, Mr. President."

"For what reason?"

"To coach you on the game. It's a very old game, so there's apparently a lot to learn."

Aiden knew what that really meant.

It was Kwangwoon's way of saying they would now openly monitor him from up close.

But he had already prepared himself for that much.

"That's a price I'm willing to pay. But Kwangwoon accepting me... means they'll expect something in return, doesn't it?"

"Yes. I've just received an order regarding Morocco."

"Morocco?"

"Kwangwoon has been pouring money into Africa on a massive scale, building schools and laying down infrastructure including Sentinel bases and various other Kwangwoon facilities, hasn't it?"

Aiden had heard about that too.

Kwangwoon was constructing specialized educational facilities across Africa, ramping up the mass production of trained personnel.

Anyone could see at a glance that the plan was to turn every promising young mind in Africa into Kwangwoon's slaves.

"But Morocco has been adamantly refusing all of it. They're blocking every approach Kwangwoon makes. It seems Kwangwoon intends to use America's political influence to apply pressure on that front."

"And they want me to do it?"

"Your word carries far more weight than any other politician's, Mr. President."

"Morocco..."

Morocco was an ally of the United States.

Why had the U.S. formed an alliance with Morocco in the first place?

To manage the African region?

No.

Their interest lay elsewhere.

"Morocco is a strategic stronghold. An optimal location for keeping Europe in check. It's close enough that you can reach Spain by boat in under an hour."

And that was precisely why America had planted everything there, from missiles to fighter jets.

In the unlikely event of a conflict with Europe, they could launch strikes from Morocco with remarkable speed.

"But surely Kwangwoon isn't trying to operate missiles there?"

"No. They wouldn't resort to threatening anyone with weapons like that directly. But what if they station a Sentinel base there? The EU is well aware of the danger Sentinel poses, and they're extremely wary of having bases established in their countries. Outside of Greece, Sentinel still can't set foot in any other European nation."

"But if a Sentinel base is placed in Morocco, right next to Europe..."

"From there, Kwangwoon could deploy Sentinel operatives across Europe in every direction. That's why they're reaching out to our political circles now, to secure that foothold in Morocco."

Only then did John understand why Kwangwoon was so fixated on Morocco.

It was to use it as a strategic stronghold for taking over Europe.

"I'll need to send a message to Morocco as well."

"What will you say?"

"I'll tell them to stop being stubborn and let Kwangwoon in. What else can I do?"

"But from what I understand, the royal family there is extremely wary of Kwangwoon and strongly opposed. Whether they'll listen to you, Mr. President..."

"Then Morocco will pay the price eventually. One way or another."

Even Aiden couldn't predict what the fallout would be.

He was simply spending whatever power he had left to repay the favor Kwangwoon had granted him.

Wasn't politics all about give and take?

* * *

"Kwangwoon has sent another negotiation request?"

"Yes."

"Reject it."

"B-but, Your Majesty. Kwangwoon is called the messenger of God. You know full well how they've punished those who have defied them."

"That's right. The White House has already relayed the president's own words, urging us to accept Kwangwoon's request!"

Abdul VI erupted in fury at his advisors' counsel.

"Don't you realize the American president is already in Kwangwoon's pocket? Those Kwangwoon bastards are demons. The Dajjal spoken of in the Quran, that is exactly what Kwangwoon is!"

Dajjal.

The deceiver. The false prophet.

In Christianity and Catholicism, they called it by another name.

The Antichrist.

"In the Quran, they are demons. The ones who will lead this world to its end. The moment we hand over our territory to them, we become servants of the same devil!"

The reason Abdul had opposed Kwangwoon all this time was his faith.

"But, Your Majesty. If you refuse this negotiation as well, there's no telling what Kwangwoon might do. They say the power of God is with them, that they can even cause natural disasters."

"Do not invoke the name of God so carelessly. They are demons. And natural disasters? I fear none of that. Our Morocco is a nation protected by Allah himself. So let them try to strike. Even if they attack us with an earthquake like they did to Turkey, I will never, ever be afr..."

Ka-ka-boom-!

It was right at that moment.

A thunderous roar from somewhere, accompanied by a tremor, made Abdul's eyes go wide with shock.

"Wh-what was that just now?"

And then an even stronger tremor crashed over them.

"Th-this can't be...!"

The ground of Morocco was shaking.