For a brief moment, Seo-ah hesitated, her eyes fixed on Ethan’s extended arm.

She swallowed hard, then reached out, her delicate fingers slowly closing around his forearm with a shy, tentative touch.

Ethan gave her a gentle smile and guided her inside the palace.

Seo-ah walked nervously beside him, her eyes darting along the spacious, ornate corridors. She observed every detail of that imposing place until they finally reached Ethan’s office.

Once inside, he motioned for her to sit on one of the sofas, then settled into the one opposite her. With an elegant, practiced motion, he retrieved a bottle of third-stage green fairy wine from his space ring.

"So, Miss Snowbreath, what would you like to discuss?" Ethan asked, his voice calm and measured.

He poured a glass for himself and another for her, then slid the delicate crystal toward her with his fingertips.

He was curious, honestly.

When he’d made that invitation, he hadn’t really expected her to accept, much less show up before him so soon.

But since she had come, he might as well make the most of the opportunity.

Seo-ah took a deep breath, trying to calm herself as she picked up the glass, her fingers still trembling faintly against the crystal.

She gently brought the greenish liquid to her lips, and the moment the wine touched her tongue, a divine flavor exploded across her taste buds.

Even for a woman of the twenty-first century, accustomed to soft drinks and every kind of delicious beverage this world had never seemed capable of replicating, the taste was simply mind-blowing.

She shuddered slightly, a delicate shiver rolling down her spine, and the delicate fingers of her free hand involuntarily slid down to her own thighs—thick, soft, and shapely.

Her fingernails sank into her plump flesh through the fabric of her pants.

"Ah..." The sound slipped past her moist lips before she could hold it back, and she quickly set the glass back on the table.

Regaining her composure with some effort, she hardened her gaze and fixed her eyes on Ethan with renewed determination.

This was no time to get anxious and ruin everything.

Founding that guild was important to her as well, now that she had decided to become a professional player.

"I’m a member of a group trying to start a guild—the Golden Blade Guild," she declared, hesitating for a brief moment before adding, "We’d like to ask for your financial support!"

"Hm..." Ethan scratched his chin, his eyes sparkling for a moment with restrained interest.

He had already discussed with Ophelia the possibility of funding a player guild.

Overall, it was a good idea.

A single guild could bring together hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of players.

For the most part, they were cheap, disposable labor, willing to throw themselves into the fires of hell without hesitation, so long as the rewards offered were good enough.

"And how will I know if I can trust you?" he asked, taking a slow sip of wine. "Your leader didn’t even bother to come see me in person."

"Ah... about that..." Seo-ah looked away, her fingers absentmindedly clutching the fabric of her pants at her lap.

What was she supposed to say? That she’d been sent here to seduce him?

Honestly, she’d been mentally cursing her companions ever since they’d come up with that brilliant idea.

She’d spent most of her life as a rich, spoiled girl—not as a negotiator, much less a seductress.

She liked watching romantic dramas and eating ice cream, so what the hell was she doing here?

’Ugh... that damn blond guy!’ she cursed inwardly, grinding her teeth.

"Well, my lord... it’s just that he’s a bit of a coward, to say the least. But don’t worry—I’m already preparing to take the lead!" Seo-ah declared, trying to sound as confident as possible.

She wasn’t preparing to take the lead at all, and she wanted to curse the group’s leader more than ever. Still, she forced herself to stay calm and maintain some level of decorum.

All she needed was to secure the money to support the guild. After that, she could very well get that damn leader’s address and have her father send someone to break his legs!

"Hm... all right." To Seo-ah’s surprise, Ethan didn’t press the issue at all, accepting her request without hesitation.

"Next month, I’ll hold a grand ceremony to celebrate my first wife’s pregnancy. The announcement will be made in the great arena of Goldenveil, accompanied by a full day of contests."

"If you manage to capture ten third-stage beasts, fifty second-stage beasts, and put on a great show in the arena, I’ll provide all the gold needed to build your guild."

As he spoke, Ethan was already defining all the parameters of the quest in his mind, setting a reward of one hundred gold coins and configuring it to be shareable.

The amount was minuscule compared to what they would have to do, especially considering that he would also receive, for himself, the bodies of every slain beast.

But at the end of the day, once they had earned his trust, what they would receive would be much, much greater.

Seo-ah’s eyes sparkled brightly the moment she received the quest, and she had to hold herself back from jumping for joy right then and there.

Her eyes locked onto Ethan’s, and she thanked him excitedly.

"Thank you, Lord Ethan, I won’t let you down!" She didn’t even give him time to reply, turning and running straight out of the office.

Ethan thought about stopping her for a moment, but soon just sighed, an amused smile playing on his lips.

She was a player, after all.

His gaze involuntarily drifted down to her ass.

Beneath the skin-tight black fabric, her two plump buttocks bounced from side to side with every hurried step, one full cheek colliding softly against the other.

What a woman...

He was honestly quite curious to know what kind of technology had made even those Earth players incapable of realizing that this was a real world, not merely a game world.