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Chapter 529: New Normal (1)

A variable daily rent.

It meant the rent could go up at set intervals or when certain triggers occurred.

Of course, rents on Earth also rose when the lease term ended, but this was daily rent.

『Paying fifty million a day isn’t exactly a small amount, but if we implement variable daily rent, will this even be a business?』

As expected of a resident-friendly planet, Earth was already worrying in advance about its future residents. The source of thɪs content is novel•fire.net

But the stance of Yeongwoo, the de facto owner of the Earth-ship, was very different.

“Fifty million a day isn’t a small amount? That’s something only people with a home planet to stretch out their legs on would say, isn’t it?”

『…….』

“Someone out there might be desperate to pay that money but has nowhere that will take it.”

With that, Yeongwoo jabbed his index finger toward the space outside the window.

“Our customers are rich refugees, people with mountains of money piled up who still can’t find a new home.”

Rich refugees.

It sounded contradictory, but on the other hand, there was no law saying such people wouldn’t exist in this vast universe.

『It still won’t be easy, though.』

“Of course it won’t be. But getting a foothold on the Earth-ship isn’t easy either. There are what, maybe ten planet-ships in the whole universe.”

『…Mmm.』

That was an unassailable fact.

A place that is a planet, yet moves off natural orbits and thus is relatively free from all sorts of pursuits—a refuge.

—Right. We’re not just renting out rooms; we’re letting them live on a planet-ship, aren’t we?

Bit by bit, Jiseon started to lend weight to Yeongwoo’s opinion.

—For example, rich criminals would want to live here too, right? People with too many enemies to sleep safely at a fixed set of coordinates.

“…Uh. I hadn’t considered criminals yet, but if the terms fit, there’s no reason it can’t be done.”

In such cases, they would probably charge a separate “bad-karma fee.”

‘Right. Come to think of it, the high-rent tenants are more likely to come from the criminal side. Whether they’re wanted by a government or just have a lot of enemies, fugitives and planet-ships go hand-in-glove.’

In blunt terms, they could even spring prisoners from jail and load them onto the Earth-ship.

Of course, only a tiny minority of criminals with money buried on some planet could become tenants.

“At any rate, our Earth-ship is open to everyone now. Everyone is equal before money. Pay with what you have, or earn it in real time—just don’t default on the daily rent.”

Having said this much, something else occurred to Yeongwoo, and he spoke to Kubu.

“Ah, Mr. Kubu.”

―Yes, Patriarch.

“Tell them we also accept Myth rentals in lieu of rent. Consider it a special clause.”

―By Myth rental, you mean…?

“Instead of paying the daily rent, they entrust me with their Myth-grade gear. While they’re tenants, I can use their Myth however I please, and…”

―But there will be cases of loss or destruction, won’t there?

“Then they’re granted permanent residency.”

At Yeongwoo’s words, Earth gaped.

『There’s no way that would fly.』

“Why not? Have you met every race in the universe? Everyone has their circumstances.”

Besides, they even had an excellent precedent in the Red-Foot Orcs.

In a way, they had held their Myth as leverage to be accepted by Earth.

After explaining this far, Yeongwoo shifted his gaze to Kubu.

“There must be people somewhere who urgently need a foothold for various reasons, and all they have is their race’s Myth.”

―Understood. I’ll relay this special clause to the Doatel side as well.

Refugees whose only asset was money.

And refugees whose only asset was their Myth.

With a proposal aimed at both groups in hand, Kubu vanished then and there.

Srrrt.

Soon, wicked rental ads would begin from the Virtue Broker’s planet in the distance.

“That wrapped up quickly. I was thinking we needed to recruit tenants as soon as possible anyway.”

『Assuming tenants work out somehow… what’s your plan after that? Head back to Doatel slowly?』

“Nope. We’ve got at least two things left to do.”

『At least two?』

“How am I supposed to show my face in Doatel with no results? We hit that arms dealer and then go.”

And then, the radical remodeling of Earth in preparation for a Galactic Pursuit Force that could show up at any time.

Those were the two tasks ahead.

『You’re… headbutting again?』

“The first two were practice.”

With a straight face, Yeongwoo asked as he pretended to look down at the control-room floor.

“By the way, have the ones who brought the land survey results arrived downstairs?”

He meant the orders he’d issued that morning via planetary notice.

Hadn’t he told the regional representatives to survey “vacant areas” and bring the results?

『Looks like they’re mostly here. Some are still milling near the travel corridor.』

“Yeah? Then let’s head down together.”

『What? Why me.』

“You at least help keep the mood soft. I don’t have time to ‘persuade’ them one by one.”

Here, ‘persuade’ meant beating them within an inch of their lives.

『Then what about our course? Are we heading back to the Golux star system?』

At Earth’s question, the star Golux brightened.

They were finally going home.

“Of course. And we should let these gentlemen go now.”

Yeongwoo pointed back and forth between Golux and Nurpf, and Nurpf raised his head toward empty air and shone brightly.

『W-well then…….』

Nurpf bolted up through the control-room ceiling.

But this time, Yeongwoo did not stop him.

They were done with business here anyway.

『Then we’re returning to Golux.』

At Earth’s words, the view outside the window was once more wrapped in the relay zone’s holograms, and meanwhile Yeongwoo was already standing before the control room’s door.

Clack.

“Let’s go. Time to see some faces for a change.”

* * *

10:04 a.m.

As Yeongwoo and Earth appeared on the lower level of the control room, the various regional representatives who had reached Gwangjin-gu surged over in a crowd.

It was, admittedly, a somewhat humiliating appointment—a report on land survey results—but it was also a good chance to see the planet’s representative in the flesh.

“Th-that guy’s the rep for our planet?”

“He’s way younger than I expected.”

“And that punk is supposed to be that strong.”

The regional reps, unconsciously excited, were running; a bit later they slowed their steps to regain their dignity.

They remembered that this crazy planet’s representative carried a camera that was always on.

Even so—

Tatat!

No fewer than four regional reps did not slow down as they ran.

And they were none other than…

“Oh.”

Spotting familiar epithets, Yeongwoo waved to the four in the lead, and the two very front runners shouted loudly.

“Chief Jeong…!”

“It’s been a while!”

The Shandong Twin Evils, Zhang Jaham and Wu Qingjin, had come.

Behind them, Italy’s Ottavio and Brazil’s Ricardo were running up.

They were the ones who had been assigned to the same group in the first dungeon.

“So you all survived.”

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While Yeongwoo murmured this, the Shandong Twin Evils arrived first and offered a formal cupped-fist salute.

“We greet Chief Jeong, Swordproof!”

“…Right. So, what brings you two? You didn’t swallow the entirety of that vast China, I assume.”

At Yeongwoo’s question, Zhang Jaham bowed his head and answered.

“At last, a deliberative body has been formed. We’re here only as its representatives.”

In other words, a sort of Chinese union had launched.

Then Wu Qingjin continued.

“There’s still much to hash out… but in any case, being entrusted as representatives is a good sign.”

“So the wills haven’t aligned into one just yet.”

Yeongwoo nodded knowingly.

They had sent the Shandong Twin Evils as reps, but that didn’t mean every strong figure in China supported Jeong Yeongwoo.

‘They could become an unexpected spoiler during a re-vote.’

While Yeongwoo scratched his chin, Ottavio came up and offered a handshake.

“Mr. Jeong Yeongwoo, you look well.”

“From your face, looks like you’ve got worries.”

Ottavio looked surprised at Yeongwoo’s words.

Then he confessed.

“Italy doesn’t have any areas we can offer as rental zones. People live in most of the places to a decent degree.”

“Ah.”

Ottavio, too, had been chosen as a representative for his ties to Yeongwoo.

“If you insist we somehow make a vacant zone… we could probably empty out Palermo, a coastal city.”

Ottavio had even brought a contingency.

Earth, standing beside him, explained.

『Most European countries are in a similar situation. The landmass just isn’t that big.』

And Palermo was a city in Sicily, Ottavio’s jurisdiction.

In other words, even this contingency was a plan Ottavio had barely managed to create within his authority.

“This is troublesome. Then we should first carve out rental zones in the bigger landmass countries.”

When Yeongwoo muttered this, Ricardo spoke up confidently.

“In Brazil, almost the entire west is empty. We can relocate all residents within two days.”

“Oh… that’s the best news I’ve heard today.”

“But there’s one problem.”

“What is it?”

“The cities adjacent to the rental zone want compensation.”

Yeongwoo’s brow furrowed hard.

“…Compensation?”

“Yes. It’s not exactly easy to live face-to-face with aliens, is it.”

“…….”

It wasn’t incomprehensible, but paying compensation to every adjacent area was absurd.

If the tenants learned of this later, it would clearly sow seeds of discord.

So Yeongwoo made his stance clear.

“Go tell them to cut the crap. Isn’t the fact that humanity didn’t go extinct and can keep living on Earth compensation enough?”

Besides, it was obvious the daily rent collected from tenants would far outstrip the taxes drawn from adjacent areas.

In practical terms, tenants would contribute more to the Earth-ship overall.

“Next.”

As Yeongwoo swept aside Brazil’s issue in one stroke and called for the next rep, a swordswoman stepped forward from behind Ricardo.

Step.

“Oh?”

It was Tomiko Hayama, the Miyagi Sword Emperor whom Yeongwoo had appointed as Japan’s new representative when he took over the country.

“You’re still as simple-minded as ever.”

Tomiko was one of the few who would speak so bluntly to Yeongwoo’s face.

Because it was Yeongwoo who had strong-armed her into a job she had no desire to do.

“Uh… how’s Japan? Do you have any place that could serve as a rental zone?”

He’d attempted a stellar headbutt into the sea right next to Japan, after all.

Feeling a bit apologetic, Yeongwoo looked at Tomiko, who answered with a cold face.

“No.”

“Well, to be fair, Tokyo is basically under our control already…”

“But I want to make one.”

“…?”

A line he hadn’t expected at all.

“What do you mean, you want to make one?”

“There are still a lot of yakuza left in the south. So we need to do some cleaning.”

“What?”

She was basically saying she’d wage a civil war.

And that was why she had come here in person to get the planet representative’s approval.

“Radicals in Japan aren’t going to help your approval ratings anyway.”

Tomiko tossed out something chilling as if it were nothing, and Earth offered a line that was half in favor, half not.

『She’s not wrong… but there’s nothing good about the population shrinking further.』

Tomiko looked at Earth.

“I’m not saying we should kill civilians. Just take out a few of the ones who still control the south.”

『How many is “a few”?』

“I don’t know. A thousand, if you include the small fry?”

『A thousand? At humanity’s current scale, that’s a war.』

By then, the Earth-ship had returned to the Golux system, and Yeongwoo was starting to feel pressed for time.

A long line of regional reps had formed behind Tomiko.

“How long am I supposed to deal with all this one by one? Fine. Ms. Tomiko’s civil war is approved. You’re Japan’s representative anyway.”

『What?』

“In exchange, give us a grace period until tomorrow. Civilians or yakuza—anyone not participating in the civil war should evacuate to central or northern Japan.”

“Fine.”

Tomiko nodded.

“In return, once the civil war ends, we’ll clear out Kumamoto one way or another and offer it as a rental zone.”

“Really? Then we’ll lend you Seoul’s First Spear for civil-war support.”

Seoul’s First Spear.

It was a name Yeongwoo had made up on his own, and it referred to Yechan.

In short, he was telling southern Japan, “Just surrender.”

Then Yeongwoo shouted to the people lined up behind Tomiko.

“Next! No—just come all at once. We close in ten minutes.”

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