Chapter 12

I was running around the hallway excitedly, playing tag with Kim Bora. From Bora’s perspective, it didn’t seem like tag, but I didn’t care.

Anyway, the researchers probably sit around all day, so they’re obviously lacking exercise. I was just teaching them some much-needed movement.

*Heheh!*

I was feeling pretty smug, but in the end, I got caught by Bora. Of all places, I happened to run into a dead end in the hallway with nowhere to escape. Bora looked at me mischievously and said,

“Hana, if you run away next time, I won’t go easy on you twice, okay?”

The aura around Bora was so intense that I couldn’t even respond. Oh right, I can’t talk anyway. Luckily, since I can’t speak, I didn’t have to explain myself to Bora.

Wait a minute… If I can’t talk, can’t I just write it down?

As if reading my mind, Bora had already brought paper and a pen. Apparently, the boss had ordered her to teach me how to write.

Bora scooped me up from the hallway and carried me back to the room. I liked it outside…!

When we got back to the room, another researcher greeted me. Wait, wasn’t Bora my assigned researcher? I gave Bora a confused look, and she put me down and said,

“Ah, sorry. Hana’s such a troublemaker that it took a while to find her.”

“It’s fine. Everyone in the Research Institute knows how much trouble Bora goes through with her.”

“With Haru also helping to educate Hana, I feel more at ease.”

The researcher named Lee Haru placed a few books on the desk with a *thud*. Curious, I peeked at the titles.

[Easy Korean for Kindergarteners]

[Korean Even a Toddler Can Learn]

[Korean for Babies]

I already know Korean… But should I let them know I know Korean? If they find out a Gate creature like me knows Korean, it’s obvious it’ll lead to a bunch of annoying trouble. That’s why I’ve been holding back from acting like I understand the researchers.

Haru sat me down at the desk, handed me a pencil, and said,

“Ugh… I never thought I’d be teaching Korean to a creature like this…”

Haru sounded like he never imagined this would happen. Well, if you joined as a researcher and got ordered to teach Korean to me, I guess you’d feel the same way.

“Hana seems quick to catch on. I think she’ll learn well.”

How did she know…?!

Bora has spent so much time with me that she knows me too well.

I scribbled on the paper, *”Kim Bora is an idiot.”* Now everyone will be shocked, right? I’ve heard there are humanoid monsters that can talk, but none that can write.

“Is this… a drawing?”

“Could it be alien language?”

But the words I wrote didn’t turn out as Korean. In my head, I clearly wrote *”Kim Bora is an idiot,”* but on the paper, it looked like some weird mix of English and Arabic. What the heck? I definitely wrote in Korean…!

It felt like a ghost was controlling me. This was bizarre. If I can’t talk or write, there’s no way to communicate.

But then, a genius idea popped into my head. What if I use a phone keyboard or computer to type?! I’m such a genius for thinking of this. I was about to throw a tantrum and demand Bora give me her phone.

But…

“What a shame… If we could communicate, she could’ve been a great help to humanity…”

“True. If she could talk, Hana wouldn’t even be here. She’d probably be locked up in a top-secret government facility, tied down, and used for information. But then again, Hana doesn’t know much, so maybe not?”

“Even if the monsters inside the Gate seem friendly, they’re still humanity’s enemies, after all.”

“Still, with Hana’s appearance, humanity might accept her, but it’d probably cause a lot of trouble. The higher-ups don’t realize Hana’s importance yet, but we do.”

“The Starlight Guild higher-ups need to recognize Hana’s value to protect her. If we reveal her to the world now, another guild might snatch her away.”

“I’ll do my best to keep emphasizing Hana’s importance to the guild.”

Bora looked at me with a determined expression, as if saying she’d never let me be taken away.

After hearing their conversation, I decided not to stupidly ask Bora for her phone.

If I don’t want to be sold off to the government, I need to hide the fact that I know Korean. I can reveal that I can talk later. For now, I need to focus on keeping myself safe.

Until I was kidnapped here, escaping was my first priority, but now if I were to escape, it was obvious that I would end up like a golden goblin. It would be like a gold nugget rolling around outside. And I had no ability to protect myself.

I guess I’ll just roll around in the Starlight Guild.

—

After successfully tasting the green tea containing Hana’s hair, the researchers in the food research department, though only in name, experimented with adding it to various beverages besides green tea.

As expected, it was a success. Of course, they just dipped a single strand of hair into the existing additives, and it transformed into a luxurious taste that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

And drinking it was good for your health too. However, after a meeting, they decided to make only one type of green tea with Hana’s hair added.

The researchers believed that this new green tea product could completely overturn the existing green tea market. But this weapon couldn’t be used too much.

In other words, the production was somewhat limited. According to the documents, the amount that could be collected in a month was limited, so they had to consider that when making it.

Therefore, instead of increasing the variety of products, they decided to focus on one version and release it. That way, it would be easier to grab the audience’s attention during advertising.

After all, showing one product intensively had a better advertising effect than showing multiple versions.

Kim Sang-tae, the chief researcher of the food research department, said:

“First, let’s start by spreading advertisements for the green tea we’re releasing this time. It seems like a good idea to firmly promote it before the release.”

“Ah, so you mean we should advertise to the press?”

“Yes, our brand isn’t firmly established yet, and the competitors’ brands are like fortresses. To break through, some level of advertising is essential.”

“Got it. Then let’s throw some money at the press.”

Later, it would serve as a decent shield against the forces attacking the green tea released by the Starlight Guild. From the press’s perspective, to prevent attacks from Seodong Foods, the number one in the Korean green tea market, money was essential to keep their mouths shut.

Clearly, the enemies didn’t yet know how advanced and good our weapon was. It would probably take a month or two after the product’s release for them to realize it. So even if problems arose later, the press, having already received money from the advertisements, would find it a bit burdensome to attack the Starlight Guild’s green tea.

And the Starlight Guild’s factory, Starlight Food, which tasted this green tea, absolutely didn’t think they would lose. They were on an ironclad warship, while the enemies outside were still handling wooden boats. The chance of a sturdy warship with powerful cannons losing was 0%. It made no sense to lose this fight.

“And before advertising, let’s spread this green tea sample all over the Starlight Guild.”

The Starlight Guild deals with numerous corporate clients and partners every day. Before the green tea hits the market, word of mouth among clients and partners was crucial.

After all, things like green tea are mostly bought by businesses, not ordinary households, because even if they buy it, it takes a long time to consume, so it’s not very marketable.

If companies want to run a break room, isn’t green tea and coffee essential? Busy modern people finding leisure in a cup of green tea or coffee is part of their daily routine.

From Kim Sang-tae’s perspective, if only the quantity were sufficient, they could immediately enter the coffee market, but the limited quantity was regrettable. After all, the green tea market is much smaller than the coffee market. If only they could add this ingredient to coffee beans, it would be more effective than anything else…

Later, if the opportunity arises, it seemed like a good idea to sell this ingredient separately. Since it served as an additive, it could be used in various ways. However, the guild simply refused, saying it wasn’t the right time yet.

It was said to be a byproduct of an otherworldly creature, and upon closer inspection, it looked like some kind of fur. They didn’t exactly explain how they obtained it, so it was a bit disappointing.