< Chapter 42: Deal (1) >
“Uh, how much do you want? I’ll prepare cash for you right away!”
I wonder if this is the same old man who was looking at me with a sour eye until a little while ago.
“Well, I don’t know. Someone told me that they had nothing to talk to me about.”
I exaggeratedly smiled.
“I’m thinking of going to talk to the U.S. government.”
As I made a motion to get up, the collector’s face turned pale.
“Hey, hey. When did I say that? Let’s talk.”
U.S. government.
Perhaps the U.S. government was involved in the breakdown of the negotiations with the Korean government today.
It is known that Korea has one of the relics of the dragon, so there must have been negotiations for its acquisition.
The U.S. government must have won in those negotiations.
That’s why he’s so annoyed.
But what can I do?
He should not have picked me to be annoyed with.
“Well, I don’t know what you want to talk to me about. I am just a pretty-faced host.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Ah. It seems like five minutes have passed. Time to go.”
“What are you talking about? There’s still about four minutes and 59 seconds left! Come on, let’s talk.”
I heard a snicker from the side. It was Yu Hwa’s laughter.
She seemed to find this situation amusing.
“Hmm.”
Yu Hwa quickly composed her expression.
She must have realized that she couldn’t afford to be disliked by the collector.
I turned my gaze away from the panicked collector and looked at Yu Hwa with a forceful eye.
“?”
It was a signal to intervene quickly.
I was thinking of helping Yu Hwa out.
It seemed like the collector was not very cooperative, so I wanted to give her some points for this opportunity.
“Ah!”
Yu Hwa immediately caught on to my intention and cleared her throat.
“Isn’t that enough, Seo-yul? He seems to be reflecting on his actions.”
The collector’s eyes turned to Yu Hwa. He looked like a believer who had seen a ray of light.
“Yes, yes! Let’s sit down and talk as Yu Hwa said.”
I looked at Yu Hwa with a helpless expression.
“I’ll let it go this time for Yu Hwa’s sake.”
It was a very obvious play.
“Oh.”
But the collector must have felt deep gratitude for Yu Hwa.
That was good enough.
Anyway, since I had no choice but to trade with the collector, this was the best option.
I sat down and exchanged a brief glance with Yu Hwa.
Yu Hwa smiled slightly.
She looked satisfied.
“Okay. Student… I mean. Ahem.”
Come to think of it, we haven’t even introduced ourselves yet.
“I’m Kang Seo-yul.”
“Okay. Kang Seo-yul. What do you have to offer me?”
He still glanced at the fang engraved with mana from time to time. Is it that attractive?
“As you might expect. I want to sell you this ancient relic.”
“I’ll buy it!”
It was an immediate answer.
There was no hesitation at all.
“How much do you want? I’ll give you as much money as you want.”
He seemed ready to give up his entire fortune. But unfortunately, this is not a situation where I can make money.
“I don’t need money. Instead, I want to trade goods for goods.”
“Goods for goods?”
The collector’s nationality is Britain.
If we exchange such a large amount of money with him, it will definitely leave a record.
Then it will soon be revealed that the fang engraved with mana came from the under route.
Then naturally, there will be an investigation into how the fang engraved with mana underwent such a transformation.
Then it will be troublesome in many ways.
“That’s why you need confidentiality?”
“Yes. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t ask me why.”
“What ancient relics do you need?”
“If you give me a list of ancient relics that you can smuggle out secretly, I’ll choose from them.”
“Hmm.”
Ail Chris rubbed his chin with an odd expression.
“I’ll ask you bluntly.”
“Yes.”
“If we do as you suggest, I can only give you two or three ancient relics at most. Do you know that?”
“I know.”
“That’s a huge loss for you?”
“Of course.”
The value of the fang engraved with mana restored to its original form would be enormous. I could tell by the reaction of the collector in front of me.
“I don’t understand. Everything is questionable.”
The collector narrowed his eyes.
“According to my investigation, you are an extremely ordinary cadet.”
“You investigated me?”
He didn’t even remember my name after investigating me.
“Yes. I was curious who Yu Hwa was pushing so hard for.”
Ail smiled slightly at Yu Hwa.
“But you were too ordinary. Of course, you became a hot potato recently, but I never thought you would make such an interesting offer to me.”
I see.
That’s why he was so rude to me at first. He even erased my name from his head.
He had no expectations from the beginning.
“The only questions I had were how you got in touch with Yu Hwa. How you became friends with Shin Jia of Shinwa Group? That’s about it.”
“So that’s why you told me to be a host.”
“Ahem. That was a joke.”
It must have looked like I was chasing after women with my face.
“An ordinary 20-year-old cadet who has this kind of ancient relic and even made this kind of deal. I can’t understand it at all.”
The collector’s eyes sparkled.
“What are you?”
The eye contact between me and the collector lasted for more than a minute.
“I told you before. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t ask me why.”
I expected the collector to be like this.
He has experience, so he would naturally be suspicious.
“And does it matter why?”
But I chose to move even considering that.
“What matters is that you need this ancient relic. And I need the ancient relics you have. Am I wrong?”
“Hmm. I can’t argue with that.”
The reason is simple.
To grow.
I’ve managed to solve it somehow until now, but Hermit has already popped out.
I can’t imagine what will happen if it goes on to be a real war.
It’s possible that Unknown will suddenly pop out.
I need to have a lot of insurance to prepare for the uncertain future.
I want to get rid of the relics that I can get rid of, and seize the opportunity that came to me.
“And Mr. Ail, unlike the U.S. government, I don’t think you’ll need to shut me up or do anything later.”
“Kukuk. The U.S. president is a bit thick-skinned.”
The collector laughed.
“So, in short, you want to get some help later, even if you lose a bit now. Is that it?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. That makes sense. Now I trust you a little more.”
The collector got up from his seat with a more relaxed expression.
“Good. I’ll trade with you. I’m not stupid enough to refuse such an offer.”
He then reached out his right hand to me.
I also got up and grabbed his hand.
“I’ll take care of all the paperwork. You just need to be ready to pick up the equipment later.”
“Then let’s get ready to bring in the fang engraved with mana first.”
I closed the carrier and handed it to Ail.
“You’re bold. What if I run away with it?”
“I don’t think Ail Chris would do such a thing.”
“Kukuk. You know me well.”
He looked quite friendly.
“Anyway, I’ll send you a list of the relics that I can smuggle out secretly by tomorrow. If I smuggle in the ones that I secretly bought from the under route, I can send you some pretty good ones. You can look forward to it! Haha!”
Ail Chris took the carrier I gave him and laughed heartily.
* * *
That night.
I was on the phone with Yu Hwa in my dorm room.
-Thank you. Thanks to you, our partnership went well.
“What did I do?”
Even if I say that I gave Yu Hwa a chance to lighten the mood, it was a really trivial thing.
-Still. The Korean government was giving us a hard time today, and they said they were going to leave without listening to anything else. It would have been difficult without you.
That’s not wrong.
I did get lucky in the end.
“Then buy me another meal next time.”
Okhwadang is the truth.
No, the truth is Okhwadang.
-You really like food. Should I make you a free meal coupon for Okhwadang?
Yu Hwa laughed heartily.
“It’s no fun to eat alone at a place like that. It’s better to eat together.”
It’s not a place for solo dining.
-Huh? Are you trying to hit on me? I’m not an easy woman.
She sounded playful.
I played along.
“Wow. I didn’t think you were like that. You have too much self-consciousness.”
-You’re not like that, but you’re pretty serious. You can’t tell the difference between jokes and seriousness.
After a moment of silence.
Yu Hwa and I laughed at the same time.
The atmosphere was soft.
“Anyway, thanks for arranging the seat for me today.”
-Don’t mention it. I should thank you.
I heard Yu Hwa sigh over the phone.
-I was thinking of paying off some of my debt. But now I have more debt. Sigh.
“I’ll get it all back later.”
-…Wow. I just got goosebumps. Do you know what was the most creepy thing I’ve ever heard in my life?
“You’re exaggerating.”
-No, seriously.
We talked nonsense for a while.
-Ahham.
Yu Hwa’s voice became more and more drowsy.
-What… are you?
It sounded like she was about to fall asleep.
It was a voice that had magic that made me want to listen to anything she said.
“Didn’t you say you were going to find out somehow?”
But I can say for sure.
That’s designed.
She’s pretending to be sleepy and subtly asking me questions. I know she’s acting.
“Don’t ask me while pretending to be sleepy. I know you’re acting.”
Yu Hwa’s voice became clearer from the other side of the phone.
Of course, it did.
-Then I’ll hang up. I have to go wash up.
“Okay. Good night.”
She’s foxy until the end.
I can’t let my guard down.
I threw my smartphone to the corner of the bed and stretched out on the bed as well.
With this, I have at least two ancient relics in my hands.
If the collector prepares right after returning home and comes to Korea by ship.
About two weeks?
I should be able to get it before the next ranking match.
Then, including the unknown dragon trait I got yesterday, that’s three in total.
No.
If you think about the root of the world that Hermit will bring, at least four. Getting a new trait.
Nice.
The growth is starting to accelerate.
I smiled satisfactorily.
By the way, when is Hermit coming?
I gave him a map of the inside of the academy, so it shouldn’t take too long.
…Are you actually done with your work and waiting nearby?
Nah, no way.
It can’t be.
But you never know.
I said quietly but clearly.
“Hermit.”
“Yes.”
Eek! You scared me!
Something flickered and appeared next to my bed. I thought it was a ghost.
That was really surprising.
I wanted to ask him, ‘When did you get here?’ but I barely held back.
For him, I must have known he was here, but he thought I was ignoring him on purpose.
I swallowed my surprise and got up from the bed.
As I got up, I saw a huge carrier that Hermit was holding.
“Hmm?”
Is that…?
As my eyes turned to the carrier, Hermite said emotionlessly.
“You guessed right. The root of the world. I stole it safely.”
“Wow.”
That’s faster than I expected.
Is this because of Hermit’s excellent skills?
Or because of the poor security of the Korean Superhuman Academy?
Or both?
“You did well.”
Anyway, it’s a big win for me.
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