Gray castle walls surrounded the tall buildings in a spiral shape. The low, but thick, castle walls gave off a sturdy impression. The buildings rising over them looked sophisticated.
The castle exhibiting both massiveness and splendor was the city-state Cameloon.
Two young men rode their horses up to the gigantic door, which was open in the middle of Cameloon’s castle wall.
“Aww, I didn’t think that riding horses would be so difficult.”
Dorian twisted his mouth.
“My waist, legs, and neck. I hurt everywhere.”
“The first time is always difficult. You are used to it now, so it should get better.”
Raon snickered and nodded.
‘But he is getting used to it relatively quickly.’
Dorian got used to it really quickly for his first time riding a horse. Thanks to that, it only took two weeks to travel the distance he’d originally estimated would take three weeks.
“By the way, when did the young master even learn to ride a horse? I didn’t notice any horses in the annex building.”
“I learned before.”
He had ridden a horse countless times in his previous life, and he had no difficulty currently except for getting used to the saddle.
“You really can do anything.”
Dorian smiled and came up next to him. He wasn’t trembling anymore, probably because they weren’t going to fight right away.
“We are going to be able to enter without much trouble today, since their vigilance is currently low.”
“Indeed.”
Raon nodded, looking at two guards in front of the castle gate. Cameloon had different levels of vigilance depending on the situation, and it was currently at its lowest level.
Raon and Dorian managed to enter Cameloon without any difficulty, using the mercenary nameplate that Rimmer gave them.
The streets and crossroads were full of people. There were also tourists, but they mostly seemed to be sellers and buyers.
Raon looked around the market and shopping districts that he hadn’t visited for a long time. It looked like he needed to head down in order to find what he wanted.
“Are you heading down?”
It looked like Dorian noticed his thoughts as he asked his question.
“Down? Did you know about the black market?”
There was a black market in the merchant city Cameloon where items that couldn’t be sold publicly or expensive objects were traded.
It wasn’t some extreme secret, but he didn’t expect Dorian to know about it.
“Of course I do.”
“How?”
“I'm the son of a merchant family, after all. I have good knowledge about stuff like this.”
Dorian grinned, pointing at himself with his finger. Raon did expect him to be from a merchant family, but it was Raon’s first time hearing it from him directly.
‘I didn’t have to hang around.’
He was planning to pretend to be looking around before leaving Dorian at the inn, but he didn’t really need to do that since he knew about the black market already.
“Let’s go, then.”
“Huh? Does the young master even know about the passage?”
“Yes, I’ve heard about it.”
Raon nodded and headed towards the meat market on the right side of the city.
Crossing through stalls that gave off the stench of blood, they entered the restaurant at the end of the market. Contrary to the outside, the greasy smell of freshly grilled meat was filling the space.
“Grilled pork. Fry the skin until it becomes crispy and pour the sauce to make the meat softer. As for the black beer, make them ice-cold and bring two glasses.”
Raon ordered food that he wouldn’t usually order from the clerk standing at the entrance.
“…Ah!”
She tilted her head, then clapped her head in realization.
“Please, come this way.”
She smiled slightly and led them to the room further inside. There was a round table big enough to fit five people inside the room.
She carefully closed the door and pressed a part of the wall.
The table on the center was lifted, the floor shaking very slightly, and stairs leading down appeared.
“I was surprised to hear the password used in my grandmother’s generation. Did you hear about it from someone that retired a long time ago?”
“Yes.”
Raon nodded. It was one of the passwords he used in his previous life. Even though the black market was exposed to many people, there was no way they would’ve been using the same password for ten years.
However, there was a reason that he told her that password.
“About that grandmother…”
“She died ten years ago.”
The clerk responded casually, probably because ten years had already passed.
“I see.”
The grandmother was the black market’s receptionist that used to give him something to eat whenever she met him, telling him that he had dead eyes.
He wanted to see what she would tell him after seeing his current appearance, but it was a shame he couldn’t find out. He felt bitter in his mouth.
‘Rest in peace.’
Raon closed his eyes and prayed for her repose.
“The black market’s password changes every two years even if nothing special happens. You were lucky since I still remember the previous passwords, but it wouldn’t have worked if it were anyone else.”
The clerk listed a few previous passwords and smiled.
“I’m turning a blind eye because you’re handsome.”
“But I’m hiding my face.”
Raon pointed at the hood covering his face.
“Handsome people give off this feeling, even if they try hiding it.”
After that, she looked at Dorian. Her expression was filled with uncertainty.
“Anyway, the current password is the other stir-fried chicken without pepper and onion, and three glasses of well-aged Kitten wines.”
“I see.”
“Then, please enjoy your shopping.”
“Thank you.”
The clerk told them to remember the password properly, then left the room and closed the door.
“This is why it’s important to be handsome.”
Dorian frowned, rubbing his cheek.
“By the way, who told you about this place?”
“Instructor Rimmer.”
“Ah, I see.”
Raon said Rimmer’s name and Dorian nodded.
“Let’s go down.”
“Yes.”
Raon went ahead and walked down the stairs. After slowly walking for around two minutes in the dim darkness, the stairs finally ended and something that looked like a gray curtain appeared.
Flap!
He cleared away the curtain and the black market came into view.
“I can’t get used to this. It’s way cleaner than up there.”
“Indeed.”
Raon nodded. The black market was way cleaner and more sophisticated than the public market.
It felt like a jewelry store frequented by ladies.
There was a refined building at the center in the shape of a pottery, and the stalls around them were the black merchants that got permission to sell by the black market.
“Where are you visiting first?”
“I’ll check the auctioned items first.”
It wasn’t time for the auction yet, but since there might be something he needed he went to the auction house first.
Raon bought a catalog to check which items would be auctioned that day. His eyes stopped in the middle as he was looking through the list.
‘There it is.’
Raon clenched his fist, seeing the item called ‘black butterfly’. He was unsure that he would find anything he needed, but he was lucky to find exactly what he wanted.
‘It’s in two days.’
The black butterfly was going to be auctioned in two days.
‘The price is… ten to twenty gold.’
It wasn’t a cheap price, but it wasn’t really expensive either considering it was an auctioned item in the black market.
‘I need a bit more money.’
Even though he got a fair amount of money from the great achievements he made in the two previous missions, he still lacked a significant amount of money to win the auction for the black butterfly.
You don’t have enough money? How come the King of Essence’s possessed body is a beggar! It’s truly deplorable!
Wrath, who just woke up, clicked his tongue while yawning.
‘Shut up.’
Raon licked his lips, looking at the casino next to the auction house. It seemed he needed to make some money over there.
“Eek? Young master, are you planning to go to the casino? You can’t do that!”
Dorian, who'd been drooling while reading the catalog, shook his head fiercely.
“Why not?”
“That place is full of gambling professionals! It’s an infamous place where even the kingdom’s best gamblers lose all their money! We aren’t going to have any money left to eat afterward if we go in there.”
“Ah, I know. But that’s okay.”
Raon tapped Dorian’s shoulder when he tried stopping him.
‘Because it was my bank in my previous life.’
He snickered and shook the flower bracelet where Wrath was residing.
‘I also have a secret weapon this time.’
* * *
* * *
He didn’t receive anything like a reward for killing his target when he used to live as the assassin Raon in his previous life. All he got was a few days of rest, and even that wasn’t given sometimes as he had to leave for the next assassination mission right away.
Since the bastards in House Robert didn’t consider assassins human beings, they only provided them with the minimum amount of money necessary when they left on a mission to minimize their losses if they died.
He hadn’t noticed anything strange about it when he was brainwashed, but he realized that the Robert bastards were terrible sons of bitches after being released from it.
‘That’s why I gathered some money each time I went out.’
In order to find an opportunity to run away, he went to the gambling house each time he got a break to make money and hid it in a house. It was too far away to get it currently, but he was planning to grab it when he had the opportunity.
‘Now then.’
Raon looked around the gambling house along with the terrified Dorian. Noticing a familiar game, he went to the table on the right side.
A slender young woman and an old man wearing a clean suit were sitting at the table. The men that were standing behind them looked like bodyguards.
‘This looks good.’
Raon watched the gamble until the game finished ten times before joining the round. The gamble was about guessing the number on the dice inside a shaking metallic cup.
“Hah, this is why I should’ve gone downstairs. I guess the casino isn’t managing the clients properly anymore.”
The woman wearing black dress and fox mask frowned after taking a glance at him.
“Gender and age doesn’t matter when it comes to gambling, and kings and beggars are treated the same way. Welcome.”
On the other hand, the old gentleman smiled widely and nodded his head slightly.
Raon only greeted the old gentleman, then looked at the round. He could hear the woman clicking her tongue, but he didn’t mind it.
“Hmm…”
However, the dealer shuddered at the woman’s reaction. It looked like the woman wearing the fox mask was from a rather prestigious house.
“Ugh, this atmosphere…”
Dorian’s adam's apple trembled from the frightening atmosphere around the table.
“We will be starting, then.”
The dealer showed the metallic cup and dice to the three people, then put the dice inside the cup and started shaking it. His hand was so fast, his wrist and shoulder moving at the same time, which made it difficult to even see the cup properly.
He elegantly spun the cup as if he were performing a sword dance before putting it down on the floor. He took his hand off, signaling for them to make their bet.
“Two.”
“I’ll go with four.”
The woman and old man pushed the chips in front of them after observing the cup.
“…Three.”
Raon called the number three and bet half of the chips he had.
“I’ll go with five.”
The dealer slowly raised the cup after confirming everyone’s numbers.
“The number on the dice is three. Congratulations.”
The dealer smiled widely and returned twice the amount of chips he had bet.
“Tsk, he’s just lucky.”
The woman glared at him while clicking her tongue.
“I lost twenty gold coins today, yet you are starting out with great luck.”
The old gentleman nodded his head to congratulate him.
“The next round is about to start.”
The dealer put the dice back in the cup and started shaking it. After spinning it even faster and more cheerfully than before, he put it back on the table with a pleasant snapping sound.
“Three.”
“Five should be it this time.”
“One.”
The moment Raon said one, the dealer’s fingers trembled slightly.
“I’ll go with four.”
The dealer slowly lifted the cup. There was only one spot on the die.
“It’s one. Congratulations.”
The dealer returned double the amount of chips he bet.
“What’s that?”
“Wow, you’re really doing great!”
The woman had turned her head to blatantly glare at him, and the old gentleman’s eyes were wide.
“Woah! Two wins in a row?”
Dorian jolted in surprise and came up next to him.
“Young master, you have to run. I’m a hundred percent sure they’ve gone easy because you are a novice. They are professionals, the real deal! If you continue like this, they will take everything from you, including your undergarments!”
“I know, I know. But let me try a little bit more.”
Raon smiled and bet all the chips he had just won.
“Oh, no.”
Dorian covered his eyes and sighed.
“Hmph, what an idiot.”
“Hmm.”
The woman wearing a dress sneered, and the old gentleman slowly nodded his head.
All of them believed the dealer had been going easy on Raon and that it was about time for him to reveal his true abilities.
However…
Third round, fourth round, and after the fifth round had passed, there were enough chips in front of Raon to reach his chest.
“Wh-what is that?! What have you done?”
“Wow, how did this…?”
The woman wearing a dress and the old gentleman stared at Raon’s chips in shock.
“Y-young master! Gurgle.”
Dorian was foaming from his mouth as he tapped Raon’s shoulder to urge him to run away.
“I’m pretty lucky today.”
Raon swept the chips with his finger and smiled.
H-how did you do that? What method did you use?
‘The sound.’
Sound?
‘Each vertex of the dice is worn out to a different extent, which makes a different sound upon hitting the cup. I’m anticipating the number on the dice by noticing the difference between them.’
It was a gambling technique consisting of finding out the number on the dice by using the colliding sound between the dice and the cup.
Most people couldn’t use it even if they knew about it, but Raon was easily able to do it thanks to his advanced perception.
Are you telling me you guessed the number on the dice with something crazy like that?
Wrath gasped. The fact that he could notice the difference between those sounds and remember them was amazing enough.
Ah, then the reason that you kept spectating the gamble was…
‘Yes, it was to learn the sounds.’
I knew you were a swindler after all! That was why the King of Essence was tricked every single time!
‘I’m not a swindler since I’m winning with my own abilities.’
Raon snickered and gathered the chips.
“I’m done for now. Have fun.”
He waved his hand at the old gentleman and the woman before standing up.
Are you leaving already?
‘It’s because they might start picking a fight if I stay in one place for too long.’
After looking around the gambling tables, he sat at the poker table.
Poker? Are you going to scam them again?
‘No, I never scam them.’
Raon’s eyes shone as he watched the cards being distributed.
What?
‘It’s your turn now. Go over there and check their cards for me.’
What a crazy bastard!
Wrath popped out from the bracelet and started spreading terrifying pressure.
The King of Essence is the monarch of Devildom! How dare a mere human give me orders! And you have the audacity to ask me to peek at their cards!
‘You are mistaken.’
Raon remained peaceful in the midst of the coldness filling the space. He nonchalantly shook his head.
‘It’s a trade.’
Trade?
‘Yes. I’ll eat everything you desire here if you help me.’
You really are a crazy bastard! Even though the King of Essence is a well-known gourmet, did you truly believe such a suggestion would…
‘I saw a bead ice cream vendor earlier. There was a new product, too.’
Wrath hesitated for a moment.
It’s pointless! Missing some bead ice cream isn’t a big deal…
‘Two bead ice creams.’
S-Shut up! Do you truly believe the monarch of Devildom would…
‘Three.’
…
‘Four, and another food you want to eat.’
Wrath stopped speaking. Raon understood it was time to put an end to it.
Where shall I check?
Four bead ice creams and one food of choice.
It was really a cheap price to pay to utilize the monarch of devildom.
