Chapter 4

I entered the kitchen.

My maternal grandmother was sitting in her seat with an uncomfortable expression, holding a spatula.

“Grandmother! I really missed you.”

Tears acting.

In fact, there was no need to act.

Tears automatically flowed down due to the longing for my maternal grandmother, whom I had never met even once before my regression.

“Why is a male brat crying like that? A guy who couldn’t even see his mother’s face once is shedding tears after seeing his grandmother’s face.”

“I really missed you. May I hug you just once?”

I subtly approached my maternal grandmother.

She waved her hands in refusal, but she didn’t seem to dislike it that much.

HUG—! 

I hugged my maternal grandmother.

She was frail. It was partly because I was big, but…

My maternal grandmother’s body had nothing but bones left.

That was understandable since she was over 90 years old.

“You brat, get away. I’m suffocating to death. You didn’t come all the way here just to see your grandmother’s face, you came because you need money, right? You have the same look in your eyes as all the other guys who come looking for me. I know people who are desperate for money better than anyone else in the world.”

My maternal grandmother hit the nail on the head right away.

If I beat around the bush here, I’ll only accumulate negative feelings unnecessarily.

“Yes! I came because I’m desperate for money. Please lend me about 1 billion won.”

“……Aren’t you a middle school student right now?”

“I’ll become a high school student soon.”

“Is 1 billion won some neighbor’s dog’s name? And why should I trust and lend you 1 billion won? I won’t lend even 100 won, let alone 1 billion, for free.”

My maternal grandmother pushed my chest away with her spatula.

It was an action as if she wanted to keep her distance.

I can’t back down here.

“I’m not just asking you to lend it to me. I came here asking you to invest in my future.”

“I occasionally hear news about you. They say you only cause trouble? What kind of investment would I make in such a guy?”

“I think South Korea will completely collapse soon. Now is the moment to seize the opportunity.”

“I thought you were just a kid. You turned out to be a traitorous bastard. What did you say? Korea will collapse?”

SMACK—! 

My maternal grandmother’s spatula struck my thigh hard.

A person over 90 years old sure has good strength.

“I’ll pay back the principal plus interest in 3 years. If I can’t pay it back, I’ll give you all the inheritance I’m supposed to receive. I’ll write a contract if you want me to.”

“Inheritance? You’re really young. Do you even know how much inheritance you’ll receive as your share?”

This is where it gets important.

I need to show that I’m not an ordinary middle school student.

“Most of Sewoon Group’s major subsidiaries will go to my older brothers’ shares. My share will probably fall to the sports apparel subsidiary. Just by selling those stocks alone, I can easily get more than 10 billion won, not just 1 billion won.”

“How do you know that?”

“I’m not just recklessly asking you to invest. And I also know that you’re someone who never takes a loss. Even if I can’t pay back the 1 billion with interest within 3 years, if you receive my share of the inheritance, it’s definitely not a losing business.”

TAP, TAP—! 

My maternal grandmother tapped her palm with the spatula.

As if she were tapping an abacus.

“Well, you do have guts since you inherited my bloodline. Fine. I’ll invest 1 billion for you. But you know, I’ve never failed to recover my investment money even once. If you borrow my money, you have to pay it back even from hell.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Manager Kim, give this guy 7 apples.”

The lady at the counter came into the kitchen.

The lady took me to the warehouse.

There were apple boxes stacked full there.

“How are you going to carry them? They’re quite heavy, so you won’t be able to carry them all by yourself.”

“Don’t tell me this is everything?”

“Of course it’s money. You don’t think these are actually apples, do you?”

“Can I leave them here? I’ll come and use them whenever I need them.”

“Well, do as you like. Jigwan told me to provide convenience. And eat some food before you go.”

I returned to the restaurant.

My maternal grandmother was already gone and nowhere to be seen.

The staff lady prepared a full meal for me.

“This is incredibly delicious. Your cooking skills are no joke. This is the first time in my life I’ve had such a flavorful kimchi stew.”

It wasn’t empty words.

It was a perfect kimchi stew.

The sour, sweet, and spicy flavors were perfectly harmonized.

The pork also had the perfect ratio of fat and lean meat.

I shamelessly emptied three bowls of rice before getting up from my seat.

“Well, I’ll be going now. Please tell my grandmother that I was really glad to see her today.”

“Got it. I’ll keep the apples you left well stored. Don’t worry.”

The staff lady’s reaction was definitely different from the beginning.

Thanks to repairing the relationship with my maternal grandmother, I secured initial funds.

But it’s still insufficient and I’m hungry.

‘Should I have asked for one more bowl of rice?’

The real estate tycoon called Yu Jigwan.

There weren’t many who knew her real name.

Only a very close few could call her by her name.

“Sister Malsook, did your heart soften because he’s your grandson? Unlike you, Sister Malsook, you gave away money too easily.”

“How many years have you been by my side?”

“It’s been over 20 years as of this year.”

“And you still don’t know me? Do I look like someone who would open her purse because she’s soft on blood relations?”

The restaurant’s only employee and Yu Malsook’s friend, Kim Deokja.

She subtly moved her hips and approached Yu Malsook’s side.

“Is there another reason?”

“You didn’t see that guy’s eyes properly. In that middle school student’s eyes, dozens of cunning snakes were rolling around. And he was full of confidence.”

Yu Malsook meets dozens of people every day.

She prided herself on having an eye for people as good as her eye for land.

Among the people who visited the restaurant, she had never seen anyone as confident as her grandson.

“So you lent money based on just the look in his eyes?”

“People with that kind of look in their eyes either go completely broke or hit it big—one of the two.”

“You mean he could lose all 1 billion won?”

“Then I just take the inheritance that would fall to that guy’s share. I’m not someone who does business at a loss.”

Kim Deokja thought she had misunderstood.

The Yu Malsook she served was not someone who would be weak to sentiment.

To reach her current position as a woman alone, she had experienced and overcome all kinds of hardships.

Kim Deokja dusted off her hips and got up from her seat.

At that moment, something passed through her mind.

“But sister. It’s been a while since you cooked directly, hasn’t it? Especially, it seems like the first time in years that I’ve seen you personally make kimchi stew.”

“Why are you talking so much! Go clean quickly, you!”

I left the restaurant and stopped by a convenience store.

I sat at the table in front of the convenience store and filled my remaining hunger with ramen and triangle kimbap.

<You’re eating again after eating so much? That’s not human appetite.>

‘Since this was a body that used to exercise, it takes in a lot. This is all muscle, not fat.’

This is nice about being young.

As I approached 40, my whole body ached.

But now, far from aching, I can’t control the overflowing vitality.

The frequent hunger was also because of youth.

<Listen while you eat. The result of persuading your maternal grandmother and receiving 1 billion won investment stimulated the Dragon Heart.>

‘Then, can I use magic now?’

<The stimulation wasn’t strong, so you can barely learn just one 1st Circle magic. What magic will you learn?>

‘What types of magic are there?’

<They are basic magic with not very strong power. There are Fire, Ice, Rock, Wind, Sleep, etc.>

I listened to Gartin’s explanation about 1st Circle magic.

To summarize my assessment after hearing the explanation:

‘Completely pathetic!’

Fire magic is no different from a lighter or matches.

Unless you’re stranded on a deserted island, it’s completely unnecessary magic.

Ice magic has about the performance of a portable freezer.

Rock magic is the ability to turn objects into stone, but it’s useless.

The only somewhat useful magic would be…

‘I’ll learn Sleep magic.’

<Unexpected. Do you think Sleep magic will help your business?>

‘The desire to sleep is one of humanity’s three great desires. If done well, it seems like it could make money.’

I hadn’t made specific plans yet.

I decided to think about it after learning Sleep magic first.

<I’ll open Sleep magic. From now on, you can use Sleep magic.>

‘Why is it so simple? Shouldn’t there be sound effects bursting out with firework-like effects popping everywhere?’

<You expect a lot for just learning one 1st Circle magic. I’ll tell you how to use it. It’s the same as using Memorize. Just think of Sleep magic in your head and use it toward the target.>

A simple yet difficult explanation.

I looked around for an experiment.

I saw a stray cat picking up and eating fallen food.

I tore off the tuna from the triangle kimbap to lure the stray cat.

“Kitty, I’ll give you delicious tuna. Come here.”

—MEOW!

It was a stray cat without wariness.

It ate the tuna while sticking out its tongue.

It nimbly jumped onto my knee and purred while pressing my thigh with its paws.

“That’s right, good kitty. Shall we take a nap now?”

‘Sleep!’

I shouted the command word internally while selecting Sleep magic in my mind.

Then the stray cat slowly closed its eyes, curled up its body, and fell asleep on my knee.

‘1st Circle magic has this good an effect? It fell asleep in just a few seconds.’

<Sleep magic is magic that’s affected by the target’s condition. That cat was in a tired state, so the effect was applied quickly.>

‘If it varies by condition, then sleep magic wouldn’t have much effect on someone who’s exercising hard, right?’

<It’s not that there’s no effect. They would fall asleep right after the exercise ends.>

The stray cat slept for quite a long time.

For over an hour, I waited for the cat that became the target of my first magic to wake up, petting its fur.

—MEOW!

“Did you sleep well? Since i am grateful, I’ll buy you a sausage.”

After giving the stray cat a reward, I finally returned home.

I came home and turned on the computer.

A computer that boots up with a logo marked 95.

“Wow, it’s really been a while since I’ve seen this. How many years has it been since I’ve seen Windows 95?”

<What’s that box? Is it like a magic crystal ball?>

“You don’t know what a computer is? You claim to be a dragon that contains all the world’s knowledge and wisdom.”

<I was asleep for a long time, so there are gaps in my knowledge. Watching by your side, many things are new.>

Gartin was being honest.

How should I explain a computer?

“Simply put, you can think of it as a large library. The world’s largest library is contained in this.”

<Fascinating. What information are you trying to find using this library called a computer?>

“I’m going to search for exchange rates.”

I opened the search window.

Since it was an old search site, it took quite a while for the exchange rate page to load.

“The won-dollar exchange rate is 830 won. Looking at the trend, it keeps rising too.”

<Are you thinking of making money through exchange rate differences? A very traditional method.>

“Why would it be traditional for no reason? It continues to this day because it’s a way to generate stable profits.”

The 1 billion won I received as investment from my maternal grandmother.

Let’s exchange all that amount to dollars.

After one year passes, the exchange rate of 830 won will exceed 1,900 won.

It’s a way to earn more than double the money very easily.

‘Double is a bit little though.’

If I only knew the real-time market prices of stocks or Bitcoin…

I could generate profits of more than 100 times, not just double, in a short time.

But what I know is the general flow regarding the future, not the detailed parts.

‘But it’s enough.’

Now I just need to exchange won to dollars.

Of course, if a middle school student came to exchange money, there’s no way the bank would accept it.

So, now it was time to go find someone who would play that role.