Rewinding time a bit, two hours before the meeting began.
After finishing his sparring session with Yurining at the 49th floor "Fighting Colosseum," Crow headed to the warp point upon receiving a message from a maid saying that Tricia was looking for him.
His destination was the "Terrace of Night" located on the 95th floor of the tower.
The "Deep Night's Silence" that he had fought in the past was now sealed again, decorating the night sky.
Beneath it, sitting on the pure white terrace waiting for him, the snow-white angel Tricia quietly spoke.
"It's been a while, Mr. Crow."
"...Yes, it has been."
Perhaps because he was confident she wouldn't harm him, Crow sat comfortably in the chair opposite Tricia without any particular caution.
And he immediately got to the point.
"So, why did you call me here separately?"
"Just curious? The Crow I know isn't someone who gets involved in troublesome, complicated matters like this."
"...I just wanted this meeting to end smoothly."
At Crow's answer, Tricia smiled meaningfully and whispered softly.
"That's a lie. The truth is you don't really care how the meeting turns out, do you?"
"......"
"You don't have to hide your real reason for coming here. Of course, this time it's also about 'information exchange,' right?"
Crow averted his gaze and picked up a teacup.
But he realized it was impossible to drink tea while wearing a mask.
After hesitating briefly, he put the teacup back down and spoke.
"...Right, I suppose there's no need to hide it from you. The truth is, there was a bit of commotion on the government's side. Some people were spouting nonsense about My Home Tower using some disaster monster to threaten citizens, or trying to control the government with Divine Punishment and Brand... There were people saying such strange things, which couldn't possibly be true."
*Gulp*
Tricia's conscience was slightly shaken as she felt a bit guilty, but she played it off casually.
"There are always people who can't distinguish between delusion and reality. The government's reaction is actually milder than I expected."
"If it had been worse, the meeting itself wouldn't have happened. The new government is better than before in many ways."
"Come to think of it, you mentioned that when the tower appeared, the government was completely overhauled? What exactly happened?"
"Last time I only explained roughly, but this time I'll explain in detail so you can understand clearly."
And Crow began to slowly recount the series of events that occurred after the tower's appearance.
———
Five years ago.
When the tower appeared in the world and people began awakening as Climbers left and right.
The government took this situation very seriously and eventually passed the "Climber Special Punishment Law," which allowed for capital punishment even for minor crimes committed by Climbers.
All Climbers not affiliated with the government were treated as "potential criminals" and didn't receive state protection—they couldn't even get insurance or hire lawyers.
While joining the government would provide some support, as more people died in the tower, that budget went straight into the government's back pocket.
The treatment and discrimination against Climbers grew increasingly worse, which eventually led to a catastrophe.
A psychopath who deeply hated the government awakened as the Unique Class [Grim Reaper], and with his cheat-level instant death ability, he began killing government officials who appeared on TV one by one.
If there was anyone who had committed even the slightest corruption, he would go directly to their home and slaughter their entire family.
Even the police investigating the case and high-ranking officials holding countermeasure meetings were all beheaded by the "Grim Reaper's Giant Scythe."
Eventually, strong Climbers were dispatched from the United States under the "ROK-US Mutual Defense Treaty," but all that returned were brutally murdered corpses.
In the end, over 70% of high-ranking government officials were massacred by the [Grim Reaper] alone, and the nation was suddenly pushed to the brink of collapse.
Then, as if they had been waiting for this moment, North Korea declared war, and South Korea was driven to the verge of annihilation.
But there was a variable North Korea hadn't anticipated:
The [Grim Reaper] hated North Korea too.
No one in North Korea could stop the [Grim Reaper] who rampaged with his instant death cheat, and the North Korean army was completely annihilated.
However, North Korea, unable to accept defeat out of pride, went ahead with the insane act of launching a nuclear missile at their own country, which finally managed to eliminate the [Grim Reaper].
But that nuclear missile also destroyed the [Tower] near North Korea, causing a [Tower Collapse] phenomenon that released countless monsters into the world.
With its army already annihilated, North Korea had no resources left to stop the monsters pouring out from the tower and was completely destroyed.
South Korea also fell into anarchy as its military and government functions were paralyzed.
But here, a savior emerged:
The birth of a Climber guild called [Glory].
The [Glory] guild was an organization created to establish a new government that respected Climbers' human rights, and to lay its foundation, Guild Master Park Young-kwang personally stepped forward to exterminate the numerous monsters that appeared in North Korea.
The [Glory] guild mobilized magicians to thoroughly handle the subsequent nuclear damage.
The Climbers of the [Glory] guild, who rose as heroes who saved the country, immediately worked tirelessly to normalize the government.
With the sole goal of appointing politicians who genuinely cared for the citizens, they selected only honest and clean individuals to fill the government vacancies one by one.
However, Geom Heuk-beom, who was displeased with the [Glory] guild's monopoly on political power, created a separate [Geom Heuk] guild and began directly intervening in politics.
As a result, the new government was reborn with the full support of these two Climber guilds.
This new government allowed Climbers to enjoy legitimate rights as ordinary citizens, and the first thing they did was permanently abolish the "Climber Special Punishment Law."
———
"After that, numerous reform policies were announced, and the world definitely began to change. And also—"
"That's enough. You've explained plenty."
"Indeed, I suppose this explanation is sufficient."
Crow, who had seemed somewhat excited, quietly nodded at Tricia's words and returned to the original topic.
"Anyway, the real reason I came here is... because I was the first person to contact the Tower Administrator. I was basically dragged here to increase the success rate of the meeting, even if just a little."
"I thought so. I was actually worried you might have come to oppose us."
Though in truth, she hadn't worried about that at all.
Tricia threw out the joke to gauge Crow's reaction.
Crow looked at Tricia and said seriously:
"Not once since that day have I thought about hurting you or being your enemy. Rather... I wanted to be your friend."
Tricia's eyes widened at those words.
She hadn't expected Crow to suddenly suggest becoming friends.
"Friends...?"
"Is that strange?"
"Not at all, I wanted to be friends with you too, Mr. Crow. Shall we be friends starting today?"
"...Thank you."
And so Tricia became Crow's friend.
Though his expression was hidden behind the mask, Tricia thought Crow must surely be smiling.
After a moment of silence, Tricia dropped the formalities and said:
"Since we're friends now, shall we speak more casually?"
"I don't mind. Do whatever makes you comfortable."
"You still speak so stiffly, Crow."
"...That's a bit complicated."
Crow lifted his mask very slightly to show the area around his mouth and said in a very small voice:
"...When I wear this mask... somehow, my personality changes..."
And as he put the mask back on, he added:
"That's basically it. Do you understand?"
"It's a bit similar to the artifacts in Eriel that use emotions as fuel. I bet it has good effects too?"
"It gives absolute resistance to most mental attacks and enhances the brain's processing power. The only side effect is the personality change you just saw."
"I see. I'm a little curious—can you take off the mask completely and show me your face?"
"That's..."
Crow trailed off at Tricia's request.
After contemplating for a while, he answered:
"...Could I show you after the meeting is over?"
"Sure, that's fine!"
Recalling the jawline she had glimpsed, Tricia guessed he might have a somewhat youthful, boyish impression.
She was curious about how much his personality would change when the mask was completely removed, but decided to postpone it until after the meeting, which was more important for now.
"So anyway—"
Returning to the topic of the meeting, Tricia leaned forward and spoke in a whisper:
"Shall we make a secret promise?"
"...What kind of promise?"
"About the meeting starting at 6 PM. I'm planning to introduce my friends... the ones called Guardians, one by one."
Tricia's explanation was roughly this:
A strategy to intimidate the delegation by presenting powerful Guardians, thereby gaining an advantageous position in subsequent negotiations.
Nothing dangerous would happen, so she asked him to just quietly observe whatever might occur.
However, she also made a small request that if a fight seemed likely to break out, he should pretend to oppose while actually putting on a WWE-style performance.
After hearing Tricia's explanation, Crow said:
"So the goal is to establish dominance."
"That's right. We need to prove to the world that we're strong and fearsome. That way, people we meet in the future won't take us lightly."
"Then, what are the terms of the promise?"
At Crow's question, Tricia stood up and extended one hand forward, saying:
"I'll make sure this diplomatic meeting concludes in a way that benefits both of us."
Though there might be negotiations and condition changes along the way,
It was a promise that at least the "Holy Water trade" would definitely be approved.
"...Good. I'll keep the promise."
Crow also stood up and took her hand,
And thus their secret promise was established.
...However, the conversation between the two didn't end there.
"Crow, now that we're friends, could you accept a personal request from me as a commemoration?"
"A request? I'll hear it out first."
"We're planning to unlock the use of electronic devices inside the tower soon! Even the internet!"
"?"
Crow was momentarily surprised but quickly regained his composure thanks to the mask's influence.
"So, could you get me things like the latest laptops and smartphones... as many as possible?"
"That's possible, but the latest models would be quite expensive. Still, I could give them as gifts—"
Crow didn't particularly lack money, and since he had already received 12 bottles of Holy Water before, he could afford to buy these for free.
However, Tricia's request didn't end there.
"Additionally, I need IDs for mobile phone registration. Could you make just ten of them for now? They're for me and the Guardians!"
"...That would be difficult even for me."
Making fake IDs was obviously illegal.
In the end, it meant the Guardians would need to get IDs issued under their real identities.
But could non-humans living in the tower get IDs issued by the Korean government?
However, Tricia saw through his hesitation and added:
"If you complete this request well, I'll grant one wish of your choice. As long as it's within the realm of possibility inside the tower."
"...!"
After contemplating for a long time, Crow looked up.
"...Alright, I'll... accept the request."
And— the scene returns to the present, to the "Conference Room" on the 99th floor.
"First, our government would like to purchase Holy Water—"
"You saw the price with tariffs last time, right? Buy it at that price. Next."
"Some tariff adjustments might be necessary..."
"It's already incredibly cheap. Are you asking me to raise the price?"
"......"
Seo Ryu-in wanted to object, but she could only make a sad face as she was at a loss for words since the price was indeed cheap.
Watching this, Crow muttered inwardly:
*Is this... how a meeting is supposed to go...?*
The atmosphere was so cold that he wondered if this could really be called a meeting at all.