September 21st, Monday.

    On the 19th, the day before yesterday—while I was holding the audition with over a hundred celebrities and making Yoon Hayeong submit—Real Production made a significant announcement.

    The CEO came forward and made several statements, but the gist of it was, "All virtual reality games on the market right now are ‘fake.’ I intend to create the ‘real’ thing. I’m going to make another world." Essentially, he was promising to create a virtual world almost identical to reality, where players could feel like the protagonists of their own world.

    With an exceptionally well-produced demonstration video, the announcement became a global sensation over the weekend. The video uploaded to MTube had racked up 180 million views and over 7 million shares—a staggering figure.

    Naturally, Real Production’s stock was soaring.

    "Master! Real Production’s stock price has reached 190,000 won! Our shares are worth a staggering 1.8 trillion won!!"

    Everything was going as expected. The legendary marketing pitch of Real Production’s CEO, followed by a surge in stock prices—it was all proceeding smoothly.

    ‘Although it’s moving a bit fast...’

    Even accounting for the game''s launch, going from 8,000 won to 190,000 won in just about a week was incredibly fast. If this trend continues, the stock will hit my projected high of 330,000 won by next week.

    ‘It wasn’t supposed to be this quick.’

    I’m no expert on settings, but I know enough to realize it’s not meant to climb this quickly.

    ‘Ah. Could it be...’

    “How are the entertainment stocks doing?”

    “Entertainment? They’re taking a hit. Some companies have already folded. The whole sector is down about 30%.”

    “Sounds like they’re moving money out.”

    People want to recover their investments however they can. With the entertainment sector tanking, there’s a natural inclination to put money into rising stocks as a hedge.

    And the perfect fit for that urge is Real Production, which just blew up.

    ‘The game has just launched successfully, and thanks to the CEO’s grand vision, the stock is skyrocketing. They must think it’s the perfect time to jump in.’

    With everyone piling in, the stock is rising far faster than anticipated.

    All I wanted was to eliminate my competitors, but it’s turning into this.

    ‘Maybe I should hold on a bit longer?’

    In the original game, the peak price was around 330,000 won. But with this momentum, it might go even higher.

    ‘No, better not get greedy.’

    The thought of wanting more was tempting, but I quickly dismissed it. I’m not actually good at trading stocks; I just know the future. If I get greedy and make a mistake, I could lose everything.

    Better to play it safe and stick to what I know. Maybe someday, when I’m swimming in money, I can take more risks.

    “Adjust the sell order to 300,000 won.”

    Even so, a little modest ambition doesn’t hurt. Given the strength of the current buying pressure, starting to sell at 300,000 won instead of 270,000 should work. With so many investors piling in, the stock should hold up a bit longer. Maybe there’ll even be enough left over after I’ve sold out to inflate the bubble further.

    “Let’s see... if it hits 300,000 won, how much will that be?”

    “Approximately 2.8 trillion won, Master.”

    “2.8 trillion won...”

    With that amount, I could buy a whole mercenary company, build a prison—do just about anything. Although, that wouldn’t make me a major player in the market. Still, it’d be enough to set up a decent foundation.

    “Did you find any mercenary companies?”

    “Oh, yes. I’ve identified a few promising ones, but there’s a problem.”

    “What kind of problem?”

    “There aren’t any that exclusively employ female mercenaries.”

    “....”

    “There aren’t any that only hire female staff, either.”

    “....”

    “And, of course, there aren’t any that take only female clients.”

    “Hmm.”

    These were all my requirements. When I initially tasked Sua with this, she’d hesitated, saying, “I don’t think there’s a place like that...,” but I had her look anyway.

    The world is vast; you never know what you might find.

    But of course, there isn’t such a company. Running things that way would be financially unviable.

    So ultimately,

    “I’m going to have to create one?”

    “That... seems to be the case...”@@@@

    Unfortunately, you can’t just make a mercenary company. You also can’t just own one.

    It would be much easier and quicker to own a company through stock purchases than to build one from scratch.

    “Give me the list, then.”

    “Here it is.”

    On her way back to her quarters, a man approached her, taller than her by a head, with a military-style buzz cut.

    He was also a trainee knight, ranked second only to her.

    “No.”

    “I didn’t even say anything yet.”

    “Probably another confession.”

    He had been confessing to her for some time now, asking her to stay with him after graduation, to walk this path together.

    Nearly 30 times, if she counted.

    But she rejected him every time.

    “We’re slaves. There’s no good to be found in indulging in such luxuries.”

    “There you go again.”

    “Why not avoid false hope and live as we’re meant to? Friendly advice.”

    She left him with those words and kept walking. He followed her.

    “You don’t hate me, right?”

    “...”

    “We used to eat together. We’ve known each other for years. I know you better than anyone. I’ve been watching your back for 15 years.”

    “...”

    She continued walking, ignoring him until he finally stopped.

    “So, you’re just scared, aren’t you?”

    “...What?”

    Baek Seol paused.

    “Scared?”

    “You’re afraid to love and then lose it, right? That it’ll hurt too much?”

    He approached her and reached out.

    “Don’t touch me.”

    “Ahem... Baek Seol. I really like you.”

    “...”

    “You don’t hate me. We don’t know what will happen in the future, but can’t we just enjoy now? Let the future handle itself?”

    “I...”

    She bit her lip. She didn’t dislike him. He was the best trainee next to her, and he was good-looking.

    And she did want to live like everyone else, even if just a little.

    But as he said... she was afraid.

    Afraid of the loss that would come after finding happiness.

    “Let’s give it a try. We won’t know unless we try. Are you going to stay scared forever?”

    “...”

    He continued to convince her. Eventually,

    “Then... starting tomorrow.”

    “R-really?”

    She left him with those words, walking away faster than usual.

    “It’s really happening? No backing out tomorrow!!”

    The man ran to his quarters in excitement. Baek Seol, too, smiled just a bit.

    Yeah. To fear without even trying...

    ...is unworthy of a knight.

    The next day.

    Early in the morning, the training center commander summoned the trainee knights.

    “Trainee Baek Seol, step forward.”

    “?”

    What’s going on?

    She tilted her head, puzzled, as she walked onto the stage.

    “Trainee Baek Seol, as of September 22nd, 2076, you are hereby graduated.”

    “Excuse me?”