DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

"I ALREADY heard what happened."

"I'm sure you already did, President Cheol," Moon Noa said while pulling out a sofa chair from his Inventory. The President was sitting behind his desk, and there was no receiving chair there. Hence, he brought out his own seat and sat there comfortably. "So, what did Bambam ask you to tell me, President?"

President Cheol Kang was only ten years older than Noa.

And yet he looks so much older than me~

Most of all, anyone could tell that the President was wearing a wig.

All that money and he can't even get a nice hair transplant…

"I don't know what you're talking about, CEO Moon," President Cheol Kang said, leaning against the chair while crossing his arms over his chest. "Guide Bambi confessed that he stole a bottle of aphrodisiac from your convenience store because he got impatient when your part-timer wouldn't sell it to him. But it seems like you're not here to complain about Guide Bambi-ssi's theft."

"It's just a bottle of aphrodisiac, so I'll let it slide. But I'm not sure if the victim would be as forgiving as I am."

"What victim?"

"Bambam used the aphrodisiac that he stole from my store to sexually assault Esper Ki Gayoon."

The President scoffed. "I don't think Esper Ki Gayoon would make a huge deal out of something so trivial."

Yes, of course.

For scumbags like this balding old man, a sexual assault between a Guide and an Esper was just a "trivial" matter.

No wonder the first generation of Guides suffered a lot in the early days.

"What?" President Cheol Kang asked nervously when Noa just kept staring at him. "Will Esper Ki Gayoon really sue Guide Bambi for sexual assault?"

"Esper Ki Gayoon is considering it quite seriously. He said that if he was going to do it, then he would make sure that the case would reach international news."

The President flinched.

Esper Ki Gayoon isn't the #1 Esper in Korea, but it's only because he often goes on a Rampage. And, globally, Esper Ki Gayoon is more popular than Esper Ryu Sungbin. In short, if Esper Ki Gayoon really sues Bambam for sexual assault, Korea would be in the spotlight.

And the attention of the entire world was the last thing someone like President Cheol Kang— someone who was deeply involved in illegal activities— would want.

"That threat won't work on me, CEO Moon."

Tsk.

"I won't allow Esper Ki Gayoon to have an exclusive Guide. The Guide-Esper ratio in our country is already low, so we can't allow an Esper to monopolize a Guide," President Cheol Kang said sternly. "Moreover, I only released Guide Noh Yuno from the Bureau because he can't guide Espers. But since he has an overflowing Mana that you can use to make those HoneyMoon Guiding Pills, I allowed him to work for you to make himself useful to the country."

Yes, that was how Noh Yuno ended up working for Noa instead of the Bureau.

We have the President's permission and the legal documents to prove it. But since the government wanted to keep it a secret, not even Bambam knew about Yuyu's status as an E-Class Guide. Only me, the President, Yuyu, and a select few knew about the contract.

"Please don't talk as if you did us a favor, sir," Noa said, smiling. "In exchange for allowing Yuyu to work for me instead of the Bureau, I agreed to sell my HoneyMoon Guiding Pills to the government at a very, very low price that I practically give them to you for free."

But the government's budget allocated to purchasing Guiding Pills to distribute to their Espers never changed.

In short, the excess funds go straight to President Cheol's pocket.

"You paid for Guide Noh Yuno's freedom, not for him to be Esper Ki Gayoon's exclusive Guide, CEO Moon."

"The reconstruction fees for the Blue House and the Namsan Tower…"

As expected, the President's ears perked up.

"Esper Ki Gayoon said he'd waive the charge. He also said that his construction firm will fix and upgrade the Esper Training Center for free."

This time, the President looked like he was about to give in.

Espers who accidentally destroy properties during their Rampage are exempt from paying for the damages since it's not something they can control. Since Esper Ki Gayoon lied about going through a Rampage, he's not obliged to fix the Center. So, right now, Esper Ki Gayoon looks like he's being generous.

"I have a few conditions."

Noa smiled and nodded. "Let's hear it, sir."

"First: you're not allowed to reveal that Guide Noh Yuno is an E-Class Guide. Everyone who knows about his status from the time that he was in the Bureau has already signed an NDA before," President Cheol Kang said. "Second: you're not allowed to reveal that Guide Noh Yuno has a hundred percent matching rate with Esper Ki Gayoon. The world will pay attention to our small country if that happens. That kind of attention isn't good."

"Of course, sir."

"Lastly: you're not allowed to reveal that Guide Noh Yuno is only capable of guiding Esper Ki Gayoon."

Oho?

Noa didn't expect the last condition.

I thought President Choi would forbid Yuyu and Esper Ki Gayoon from Imprinting.

"Guide Noh Yuno has to keep up appearances, so he'll have to work at the Bureau once a week," President Cheol Kang said firmly. "I'll assign him under Guide Bambi so we can easily fake the record of his workload."

That sounds like something Bambam would come up with.

Noa was worried about Noh Yuno, but this was already the best deal they could get from President Cheol Kang.

I'm sure Yuyu won't mind anyway~

"Alright, sir," Noa said cheerfully. "Let's make the official contract then."

***

"WE SHOULD have forbidden them from Imprinting. An Esper who Imprints with his Guide regains his sanity. We were already so close to driving that Ki Gayoon insane! All our hard work will go down the drain if that arrogant bastard Imprints with Noh Yuno!"

Bambi was tempted to cover his ears with his hands while President Cheol Kang was yelling and slamming his hands on the table.

But he endured because the old man would only get angrier if he did that.

"Had I know that E-Class would have a perfect matching rate with Ki Gayoon, I wouldn't have handed him to that sly fox! What will we do if they really Imprint—"

"Let them Imprint, sir," Bambi said, cutting off the President. "I'm actually hoping that the two of them Imprint with each other as soon as possible, so I'm planning to lay low for now and let Noh Yuno-ssi and Gayoon Hyung get closer."

"But why? I thought you wanted Ki Gayoon for yourself."

"The situation changed because I didn't anticipate the appearance of an E-Class Guide. You should have told me about Noh Yuno-ssi, sir."

"I didn't know you'd meet him! CEO Moon kept that E-Class hidden well all this time!"

This balding old man probably took bribes from Moon Noa-ssi, and then forgot all about Noah Yuno-ssi since he thinks an E-Class Guide is useless.

"Sir, just trust me again like you always have."

President Cheol Kang cleared his throat. "Then tell me your plan first if you want my trust."

"I'll let Gayoon Hyung get so addicted to Noh Yuno-ssi to the point that he wouldn't be able to live without him," Bambi said, looking out the window because the President's greedy face was disgusting. "Then I'll take Noh Yuno-ssi's place."

***

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