History's Strongest Manager Chapter 38

Translator's Ramblings:

Sigh, hey folks! This chapter is the one from last week, yeah I know… It sucks.

I won't make excuses though. A lot of stuff DID happen, but honestly I feel that if I had kept myself in check I could have made the two releases I had planned for last week, and made it on the right time.

I am kinda disappointed with myself. I could see myself slipping around the edges, but in the end I still couldn't put myself back on the right track. It is a really bad feeling to see how I screwed up even after being aware of it…

I still want to make another 3 releases this week. And because of that I want you guys to call me out if I slip out again. Yeah, call me out. You guys have been waaay too awesome so far.

Comment on the Forums and help us get more readers!

Department stores luxury goods shops were an unfamiliar place to Kang-Joon. And, although he had a lot of money too, seeing a single suit's asking price numbering at thousand of dollars had he shaking his head.

“Disgustingly expensive.”

Circling through the luxury goods stores together with Seol Yeong Kang-Joon summarized those numerous ‘superior products' in a few words simply. While Seol Yeong laughed, full of enthusiasm.

“Those are strange words coming from a person who used 10 thousand dollars in a single injection set without blinking an eye. Aren't all the suits here right now all cheaper than a low-end Armour Coat?”

Seol Yeong's words too were right.

“Battle equipment which safeguards one's life and a luxury whose only good are showing-off and self-satisfaction — the way they are measured themselves is different.”

Kang-Joon was a utilitarian person who spent money on items whose use were worth its value. An efficiency worth ten thousand dollars was expected from a 10 thousand dollars Device, however, Kang-Joon didn't think  luxurious clothes' matched the expectation they were granted with.

“Even then, the reality is most significant battle products these days are all, in their vast majority, being branded as luxury and status goods too.”

Well-know battling products had performance values lower than one would actually expect. It could be said their price was obtained mainly through the brand itself. Suit or hunting Device, when capital was involved, this sort of irrationality would be formed of one form or the other.

“Armour Coat parts are inserted into suits nowadays, with quite a few products sporting weak protective effects. Even the one with lowest price exceeding 100 thousand dollars. The best protective effects said to vary between the F and D rank. Selling well among high ranked individuals.”

Armour Coats' uses weren't exclusive to hunting only, and were slowly being applied even in everyday life. However, if one wants to possess proper defensive effects they would have to wear and get used to quite a heavy and not so easy to carry weight.

In fact,  Shield Bracelets — an  top-end hunting Device — were also sold more to rich people than Hunters.

The more a person had the more afraid of death they were. And, looking at it from a certain angle, it was a natural matter. Kang-Joon summarized that sort of worldly matters very concisely.

“That is insane.”

“It is!”

Seol Yeong agreed enthusiastically, the two glancing at each other smiling. Those weren't Devices intended to be sold to simple Hunters.

The two entered inside a luxury goods store to select a suit according with their original aim. Seol Yeong reasonably picked suits likely to match Kang-Joon. And when they had bought everything from the light-grey tuxedo, dress shirt, shoes and neckties to cufflinks Kang-Joon was dead tired. As they wandered through the luxury store — for what was in fact a couple of hours —  Seol Yeong's att.i.tude, agonizing about whether to buy things time and time again as if she couldn't bring herself to, trying this and that, trying everything once again, and throwing things away only to try them one more time later, left Kang-Joon aghast.

By the time the shopping was over the sun was already down.

“Isn't this working overtime?”

“Someone who manages a Hunter Team 24 hours a day intends to quibble over overtime work now?”

Seol Yeong laughed leaving Kang-Joon unable say anything. The two of them carrying shop bags.

“We have bought everything, so we should try them on one time.”

“Where?”

“In my house. It will give us privacy too.”

“…”

“It seemed like you looked at me with a very rude gaze just now…”

“I have no idea what you talking about…”

Although Seol Yeong scowled at him, Kang-Joon feigned ignorance. Seol Yeong's house was a officetel[1] in Gangnam Station. A two-story officetel building too big to live alone, and very well-maintained. And despite faintly aware Seol Yeong was a well-off person, living alone in a big and sophisticated house like this was quite surprising to Kang-Joon too.

The sink didn't have the messiness of when meals were frequently made, and the feeling of bleakness as a whole was strong. Kang-Joon looked at everything, and all he could think of was ‘luxurious'.

‘So Ms. President lives in a very expensive house with expensive furnishings.'

Kang-Joon's appreciation was brief. His aesthetics were sorely low.

“I will be in the living room, so change clothes and then come out. Even though we tried them on, we have to try the full set-up. And come out wearing the shoes too.”

Seol Yeong pushed Kang-Joon in a room together with the bags, and stayed in the living room.

Kang-Joon changed his clothes according with Seol Yeong's words, suddenly realizing the place he came into was Seol Yeong's bedroom. No underwear were sprawled about, and the bedclothes, pillows, and cosmetics were all arranged neatly too. Whether a person was called to clean or she cleaned it herself, Seol Yeong clearly seemed to have a very organized personality.

And, while dutifully changing his clothes, Kang-Joon suddenly became aware of a certain smell's trace.

“…”

It was not an aromatic smell, and, despite similarly sticking to one's nose, its smell was slightly dry like dust or sand. Both of which were impossible in this tidy house, the exquisite smell's resonance alerting Kang-Joon's nerves.

Kang-Joon knew well this smell. The smell exuded by a refined Core; And a refined Core meant, in turn, a drug made with a Core as base. The smell's source was the drawer below the dresser, prompting Kang-Joon to stare straight at it collecting his gaze shortly after.

There was no need to be concerned with others' personal life. Kang-Joon changed his clothes slowly — His thoughts wandering at times.

‘No, well, it isn't my business… Uh, but… Haa. I don't know.'

“Mr. Kang-Joon? Am I imagining things or it looks like you are way too slow to change clothes? Shouldn't it be proper to come out quickly when going in a woman's bedroom?”

“Ah, I am changing right now.”

Seol Yeong mischievous voice reached his ear across the door, and Kang-Joon came out the door after hurriedly changing clothes. Seol Yeong, seeing Kang-Joon's appearance, scanned him from top to bottom — and then from bottom to top — as if doing an evaluation.

“Why did you wear your clothes half-a.s.sedly like this?”

Without even arranging his dress shirt tail properly Kang-Joon looked like a hooligan.

Translation's notes:

Officetel:

A officetel is quite literally the fusion of office and hotel. a building which could be used as any of the two or both at the same time.

Easiest way to think of it is imagine a building with a lot of rooms. AFAIK, they are most commonly seem with a couple of stores in the first and second floors with rented apartments above.

Here is a foreign teacher take on them — Sounds handy, right?

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