Marie gave a soft sigh at my confession. Based on Marie's and Anton's reactions, there was something else that I didn't know about.
"Marie! Do something! Are you just going to let it go like that? Scold this jerk some more!"
"Calm down, Mr. Manager. We can't take back what we've already said. It's only illegal to tell devas the locations of dungeons. You didn't tell deva Lee Jiwon where a dungeon was, so you won't lose your entire fortune, and you won't have to serve the five hundred-year sentence."
"Ah? Really?"
"Yes. You don't have to worry about a thing. Has Marie ever lied to you, Mr. Manager?"
"No. Marie has never lied to me. Hehe!"
Anton seemed to calm down and regain his smile at Marie's words. He released himself from Marie's embrace and sat back down on his chair to glare at me.
"You rotten jerk! Do you have any idea what could have happened to me because of you?"
From their conversation, it seemed that if either of them were to tell a deva a dungeon's exact location, they would lose all of their money and spend five hundred years in prison.
"I'm sorry."
"You can't just end this with a single sorry!"
"Calm down, Mr. Manager. Nothing will happen since you didn't tell him where a dungeon is located. And since deva Lee Jiwon has already apologized, don't you think accepting it with a large heart would make you a cooler man?"
"Ohh… still, Marie, because of this guy…"
"A real man also knows to accept apologies. You must also be calculating if you want to be a great manager."
Marie looked at me after she spoke to Anton.
"Are you truly sorry, deva Lee Jiwon?"
"Yes…"
"Good. Then accept his apology. Of course, there's no way to tell if a verbal apology or forgiveness is sincere, right? Fufu."
Somehow, Marie's smile sent a shiver down my spine. "R…right?"
"Since Master Lee Jiwon doesn't have any golden rings in his possession, we should talk about the future. Since the insult of nearly making Manager Anton a criminal was great, he should first only use Store 72. Even if he is somewhere far and if there is another store in his vicinity. Second, he will work to become Earth's strongest, without rest. Manager may be happy that Master Lee Jiwon came to Store 72 first, if Master Lee Jiwon becomes much stronger than he is now, it would help the Store much more than a hundred million other devas visiting the store. Can you do this much for us?"
"Of course I can."
"I believe that Master Lee Jiwon will keep his promise, no matter what."
I was almost afraid to reject Marie with that smile on her face.
Beneath that pretty smile of hers, something told me that if I didn't keep my promise, something really bad might happen to me.
"Mr. Manager, Master Lee Jiwon promised even this much. Please don't be angry anymore."
"Hmph! Fine. I'll let it go for Marie. If you pull anything like this again, I'll have Marie punish you properly!"
"I understand. I'll be more careful from now on."
"Mr. Manager, since Master Lee Jiwon will be here more often, why don't you give him Store 72's VIP card?"
"VIP card?"
"Yes. The more Master Lee Jiwon's name becomes known, Store 72 can reap even more from it."
"You're right. Wait just a sec."
Anton produced a small card from his person at Marie's suggestion.
"Here. This is my Store 72's most valuable VIP card. You get a twenty percent discount at this Store, and you won't owe any fees when you use the marketplace on the basement first floor. There are only three of these per Store."
"Oh ho~"
I, of course, didn't know about this in my past life.
"I only have three of these precious things, so you better be grateful."
"Of course I am. Thank you, my friend!" Of course I was grateful!
"Friend? Sure! OK, friend!"
After that, I exchanged a few more words with Anton before leaving his office.
"Thank you for today, Miss Marie."
"It was nothing. I'll be content with Master Lee Jiwon keeping his promise. If you don't…stat menu open!"
[Name: Marie Grandel
Level: 2177 Death count: 84(+84)
Title: Anton Family's Faithful Vassal
"!!!!"
Stat menus aren't usually visible to anyone else. But, I could only see one thing. She was level 2177!
In my past life, I was painfully mid-tier. I wasn't part of a large guild, and couldn't learn anything about the max levels.
I did manage to hear rumors here and there that devas over level 1000 were like gods.
Level 1000 was that strong, and no one had ever heard anything about level 2000.
Under the death count, it said that she had died 84 times, but the (+84) indicated that she recovered her 84 death penalties. It basically meant that she never died.
She smirked. "Then, I look forward to your business with Store 72, Master Lee Jiwon."
That smile on her face seemed to make the air around us colder.
With my newfound friendship with Anton, I exited the Store and went outside.
"Looks like Song Hyein left already."
There was no trace of her inside or outside.
"I definitely did not expect to meet her only three days after I changed."
I guess you could say it felt like meeting a celebrity for the first time. Song Hyein was one of South Korea's strongest and had the backing of the Sunbin Guild. Sunbin Guild enabled her voice to be heard all around the world.
"I feel like I'll probably run into her again… think I managed to grow that much?"
I felt proud of myself that I didn't let myself get caught too off guard and managed to hold a conversation with someone that great.
"Ah. I don't have time to waste. I should hurry..."