Chapter 493: Fourth Time (3)

It had been ten days since Kim Woo-Joong and Son Chae-Won’s visit.

"Status window."

[Seo Jun-Ho]

Level: 302

Title: Bringer of Spring (8+ more)

Strength: 921 Stamina: 912

Speed: 934 Magic: 978

Seo Jun-Ho had already consumed every single medicine that the World Player Association had sent over to him. Seo Jun-Ho’s stats were the highest they had ever been, but he looked gloomy.

'I still can't put all my strength into my fist.’

His body had long recovered, but he reckoned that the incongruity had to have been because he ended up injuring his soul out of overexertion. It was especially troublesome because he had no idea if there was a medicine out there that would treat the soul.

‘I guess only time will heal it.’

Seo Jun-Ho got up.

At the sight, the Frost Queen asked, "Are you going to meet the big tree?"

"Yeah."

Before anything else, he had to find a way to absorb Tepes’ nucleus without spending seventeen years in the real world. He reckoned that he had to go to the World Tree for that.

- Welcome, Specter.

It was easy to meet the World Tree.

She immediately summoned him to the Forest of the World Tree upon arriving at the 4th Floor.

"Have you been well?”

- Yes, I feel great.

The World Tree wasn’t lying. She truly looked great; her branches and leaves looked shiny and glossy.

Seo Jun-Ho looked up at her and said, "That's a relief. I came here today because… I apologize, but I would like to ask you for a favor."

- I know why you’re here.

As expected of the tree of wisdom, he still hadn’t said anything, but she already knew why he came here.

- It is impossible.

"Hmm."

- It’s impossible because I do not have the authority to open the Administrator's Store.

Could it only be done in the Administrator's Store?

‘I guess I have no other choice but to coax Reiji again.'

He had already used the retirement card against Reiji, so Seo Jun-Ho was doubtful if it would even work again. Seo Jun-Ho groaned as he thought about how to coax Reiji into opening the Administrator’s Store for him.

The World Tree seemed like she had seen through Seo Jun-Ho’s thoughts.

- For your information, Reiji won’t be opening the Store anytime soon.

"What? When is she going to open it?"

- Hmm, she’s probably going to open it once you’re done absorbing that nucleus.

"What? That's too mean...”

Didn’t that mean that she was avoiding him?

Seo Jun-Ho’s shoulders drooped, feeling hurt.

The Frost Queen tilted her head and said, "Contractor, Contractor!"

"You can eat—"

"No, do not joke around. This is serious, and I have a serious question for you."

"What is it?"

"Now, listen well." She opened her palms and said, "Gray is the Administrator of the 1st Floor, right?"

"That's right," replied Seo Jun-Ho.

The Frost Queen folded one of her fingers and said, "The Administrator of the 2nd Floor is Reiji, and the Administrator of the 3rd Floor is Ignis."

"And the Administrator of the 4th Floor is in front of us...” the Frost Queen trailed off.

Rustle!

The World Tree responded by waving one of her branches.

- Yes, it’s me.

"Yes, then who is the Administrator of the 5th Floor?"

"The emperor?"

The Chief Administrator of the 5th Floor was the Emperor of Neo City.

And he was the current Emperor of Neo City...

“…” Seo Jun-Ho was silent.

The Frost Queen stared at him and asked, “You cannot do it?"

“W-what?”

"Can you not open the Administrator's Store or something like that?" said the Frost Queen.

The way she looked at Seo Jun-Ho made the latter’s heart sting. The Frost Queen stared at him as if she were a child who thought of her parents as the best in the entire world—only to be disappointed by the cold reality.

"I probably can't…?”

He had no idea how to do it, so how could he do it?

Seo Jun-Ho looked at the World Tree, asking for an answer.

- Hmm.

The World Tree thought about it for a while, but she ended up admitting it casually.

- As expected of the Frostbringer of Worlds[1]—your insight is great.

"Ah! I-I got it!"

"You got it, Frost!"

Seo Jun-Ho and the Frost Queen jumped around in joy while holding and shaking each other’s hands.

However, the World Tree decided to pour a bucket of cold water on them.

- However, the Administrator of the 5th Floor does not have the authority to open the Administrator’s Store.

"Oh..."

"Boo…!"

Their expressions darkened.

The World Tree hurriedly added.

- The emperor of the 5th Floor does not have the authority to open the Administrator’s Store, but the Frost Queen's presumption was not entirely incorrect.

"…What do you mean?" asked Seo Jun-Ho.

- The emperor has his own unique authority.

Unique authority? Seo Jun-Ho’s intuition tugged at him.

That unique authority—it was the key to what he had been looking for.

"What is it?"

- Of course, I will not tell you myself.

"Not even if I ask you in the sincerest way possible?"

- E-even if you do that, what is not allowed is not allowed…

The World Tree could feel her heart weakening at Seo Jun-Ho’s pleading, so she immediately added.

- Just look for it on your own—find out what exactly you are capable of doing. I’m sure it’ll be a great experience.

Once the World Tree’s warm voice reached their ears, the two suddenly found themselves in a Dimensional Elevator.

"We got kicked out..."

"It seems so." However, it wasn’t like they hadn’t gained anything. "We can’t be too disappointed. We got a clue, after all.”

"And it was all because of me."

"Yes, yes… You are the best detective of this era.”

Seo Jun-Ho smiled lightly and pressed the button for the 5th Floor.

***

Seo Jun-Ho headed straight to the former Murim Alliance building.

Right now, the building was the temporary Imperial Palace.

"Uh, are we done organizing the data here?"

- Well done. Now, let's get back and sort out the appeals.

In the late Namgung Jincheon’s office, work was in full swing.

"You're working hard…” said Seo Jun-Ho.

The eyes of the two people in the office went round.

- Oh? Your Majesty!

"Seo Jun-Ho!"

Seo Jun-Ho blinked.

He knew Yeon because he was the previous emperor of Neo City, but it was his first time seeing the energetic girl next to Yeon.

"Who are you?"

"What? Y-you’ve already forgotten me...?”

The girl with braided hair sitting on her left shoulder was dumbfounded.

All of a sudden, the Frost Queen opened her arms and ran toward the girl.

"Wiso!"

"Frost!"

The girls locked hands and excitedly greeted each other.

Seo Jun-Ho approached Yeon and asked, "So, who is she?"

- Huh, I am a little disappointed in you.

"What? Why are you disappointed? Who is she?"

Seo Jun-Ho was sure that on the 5th Floor, he was only close to Yeon and Wisoso…

"Huh?" Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes widened. He recalled how the Frost Queen had shouted Wiso just now and asked in a surprised voice, "She's Wisoso?"

- You really have no idea?

"How could I have known that she’s Wisoso when it’s my first time seeing her?!"

Wisoso was originally a ball.

To be exact, Wisoso was a ball-shaped robot with a soul.

If his memory was serving him correctly, it was all because her body was terminally ill.

“Come to think of it, I remember that her body was in the Aeon Empire for a procedure.”

- Yes, and the procedure was successful. Her soul was transferred over to her body from the ball, and it went well, too.

"Well…"

So, Wisoso actually looked like that? She was a head taller than Frost.

‘Interesting.’

It seemed that it was possible for one’s body to heal without a soul in it.

Seo Jun-Ho watched the Frost Queen and Wisoso’s tearjerking reunion.

"You have become really pretty. You’re not a ball anymore," complimented the Frost Queen.

"Yep, the treatment was a success, so I can even learn martial arts now." Wisoso smiled bitterly for a moment before continuing. "If my father is here, I’m sure he’ll be happy.”

"He is watching you from heaven."

"Is he?"

"Of course. You can trust this unni."

"…Unni?"

Wisoso’s eyes scanned the Frost Queen. The Frost Queen was shorter and with a younger face. The Frost Queen’s cheeks were also as white as snow, and they seemed like they would melt if one squeezed her cheeks hard enough.

Therefore, Wisoso couldn’t help but ask, "Aren't I older than you?"

"Phew… I guess we need to talk for a long time."

The Frost Queen led Wisoso and disappeared somewhere with her.

- It seems that they are having fun.

"Well, they’re roughly the same age, so they’re bound to have fun in each other’s company—wait, do they really not have that much of an age gap?" Seo Jun-Ho thought before abandoning the thought and nodding. "Anyway, everything's fine, right?"

- Yes, everything is fine, but we just have a lot of work. Please help us take care of them while you are here.

"Haha. I made you the Prime Minister so that you’ll have sufficient authority to do those work. Why are you even saying something like that? It makes me feel sad.”

- Shouldn’t I be the one feeling sad?

Yeon sounded dumbfounded.

- Anyway, why are you here?

"I’m looking for something." Seo Jun-Ho stared at the bustling city beyond the glass windows before continuing. "Yeon. What authority do I have?”

- Authority?

Yeon thought about it for a moment before replying.

- Hmm, Your Majesty can raise the tax rate of the country, create laws...

"No. I’m not talking about those." Seo Jun-Ho shook his head and said, "I'm not talking about my authority as the Emperor of Neo City, but my authority as the Administrator of the 5th Floor.”

- I am sorry, but I do not understand.

It seemed that Yeon had no idea about it.

In that case, he had no choice but to find out on his own.

Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t help but wonder. ‘What the hell is an Administrator?’

There was no way he would know because he had never seen them on the job before.

Technically, he had seen one of the Administrators on the job.

“…”

Seo Jun-Ho suddenly remembered Reiji’s annoyed and sleepy visage while standing behind the counter of the Administrator’s Store.

‘I don't think that's right…’

His sample size was small; only one. In addition, he was sure that Reiji wasn’t a normal Administrator.

"Hmm." Seo Jun-Ho pondered deeply about the Administrators’ raison d'etre.

Yeon approached him and interrupted his train of thought.

- Take a look at the development report, at the least. I’m sure you’ll be surprised.

"No, I’m thinking about something…” Seo Jun-Ho casually read the holographic image in front of him and said, "Wait. What are these numbers?”

The report said that the city was receiving hundreds of millions of credits every month.

It was a huge figure compared to his previous visit.

"Why is there so much tax coming in? What’s in this city?"

- It is developing in a spectacular way. We’ll earn even more in the future.

Yeon spread out a hand fan. He covered his mouth with the fan and chuckled.

- It is all thanks to the Players. They’re crazy about work. They take every work we throw at them without complaints.

"Well, that’s not surprising because they’ll level up whenever they work...”

There were many articles on Earth about Neo City, so Seo Jun-Ho knew that the number of Players here was bound to increase. However, it seemed that there were more Players here than he thought.

"What should we do with all this money?"

- The plan is to reconstruct the devastated areas as well as the Imperial Palace. We’ll also create jobs for people without specific talents, so it’s a win-win situation overall.

Yeon folded the hand fan and tapped it on his palm.

- Oh, yes, I was planning on calling you soon.

"Why?"

- I think it’s about time we welcome those whom Namgung Jincheon had cut off. There is news that Overflow will be visiting us in the next few days.

"Overflow? Who are they?"

- They are merchants. They roam the universe, and they sell various items.

Merchants from the universe… Seo Jun-Ho's eyes sparkled in anticipation.

"That sounds fun. Do we only need to prepare enough money?"

- Well, there is something else we need to prepare.

Yeon's serious gaze landed on him.

- Your Majesty, you just have to stay still—very still.

***

"Damn it…" Seo Jun-Ho muttered. He looked like he got deceived. After all, he didn't expect that this was what Yeon meant when he said that he should stay very still.

"How are you, Your Majesty?"

"Ba—No, I’m good."

“Hmm, there are still some wrinkles on the sides of your imperial attire. I think I’ll have you change into another one."

"No, it's annoying, so let’s just stick with this."

It had been a few hours since Yeon started trimming his hair and eyebrows. Yeon also changed his clothes and placed a crown on his head. Seo Jun-Ho wasn’t able to do anything because Yeon had said that he had to show his dignity as an emperor.

After all, the upcoming meeting was an important meeting that would decide whether the merchants would start frequenting Neo City again or not.

‘In a word, he’s saying that I should dress up so that they won’t look down on me.’

The emperor was the face of Neo City. Yeon thought that if Seo Jun-Ho looked shabby, the merchants might look down on the entire Neo City.

"It's annoying, so I'll just go like this."

"Your Majesty, please accept our requests!”

The subjects he was seeing for the first time kneeled and shouted at once. At this point, it seemed like they would cry if he said that he wouldn’t do it.

‘Phew. It’s not even like I’m an idol going on some music show.’

‘Yeon, that punk must be doing this on purpose because I hadn’t been helping him with work.’

Seo Jun-Ho closed his eyes tightly and decided to oblige with their request.

"Bring me a new imperial attire."

"Your Majesty’s favor is immeasurable!"

After another grueling hour, Seo Jun-Ho was finally released. Upon leaving the room, he found Yeon playing with the Frost Queen.

- Hoh, so you’re a queen?

"Yes, I am. I am the Queen of Niflheim. I have many servants."

- No wonder you seem to be full of grace.

"Hm, I am kind of like that.”

Seo Jun-Ho made his presence known by clapping his hands.

Yeon abruptly turned and saw Seo Jun-Ho’s fierce glare.

- Oh, Your Majesty! You look stunning!

"I don't know about that. Anyway, I thought my bones would collapse. I had to change into so many clothes."

- Hahaha! Your Majesty’s humor is the best.

“…”

Yeon was just a hologram, so it should be okay to tear him apart.

Sinister thoughts filled Seo Jun-Ho’s mind, but before he could act on any of them, Yeon nodded and interrupted his train of thought once again.

- Then, let's take our leave. I’ve heard that the merchants are about to descend.

Seo Jun-Ho obliged and started walking down the corridor with the Frost Queen and Yeon.

However, the Frost Queen kept glancing at him.

“Why do you keep looking at me?”

"No… I just think that it looks pretty good."

What looks pretty good? The imperial garb he was wearing and the crown on his head felt cumbersome and heavy.

In the end, Seo Jun-Ho could only sigh and mutter, "I hope I won’t become a laughingstock."

1. There was a lengthy discussion about the Frost Queen’s sobriquet. The first suggestion was changing her sobriquet from One Who Freezes the World to Freezer of Worlds, but freezer sounds like freezers. In the end, our beautiful manager came up with a great title: Frostbringer of Worlds. It ended up being the winner. ☜