Chapter 128

I calmly corrected Kang Sojeong.

"We’re not lunatics. We’re scammers. And you, Lydia, are a scammer too."

"Hey, watch your—"

Joo Seowon groaned and covered his face. Kang Sojeong glanced at him, then snorted with laughter.

"Ha! Lydia, my ass... Nagao, huh? How’d you get this guy’s passport?"

"I bought the invitation. Swapped the passport for something similar."

"So you conned him too?"

"I paid fair money. That makes it a transaction."

"......."

Enough small talk. Time to wrap this up. I checked the time and cut straight to the point.

"Before we trade details, here’s the conclusion. I don’t know what item you want, but I can get it for you without any premium. And I won’t gouge the auction price either."

"...Then what do I give you?"

"Ah, that."

I pulled my chair in closer, taking a deliberate stance. Forget premiums, forget money—I only needed one thing: Tae Hyunjin’s sword.

"You’ve got an invitation for the second day, don’t you?"

"......."

Her brows furrowed slightly, as if she guessed where I was going. She stared at Nagao’s passport for a moment, then picked it up and drawled.

"So, if you’re using this guy’s ID, you’ve got an item for disguising yourself, huh? Some face-distorting gadget, probably."

"......."

"Same ethnicity, both men. The passport won’t list body build, so you’ll fudge it with hair and voice, right?"

Dead on. She must’ve been planning to do the same.

Sure enough, she gave me a crooked grin.

"That was my plan too."

"Yes."

"So even if I hand you my invite, your disguise item will get flagged right away. No way around it."

She was right. That’s why I never considered using her invitation that way.

I plucked the passport back from her hand.

"Exactly. Which is why you’ll be the one going tomorrow, Lydia."

"Ah... so you’re pitching me back my own idea?"

"No."

"......?"

That wouldn’t do. We needed access on the second day. If she just won her bid on the first and showed up casually on the second, we’d be left high and dry.

So there was another way.

I slipped the passport away with a grin.

"You’ve got a partner slot, right?"

"......."

Of course she did. An invite always came with a plus-one. We didn’t have one, but she sure did, so that’s why she’d mentioned it.

Sure enough, she sighed heavily and admitted it.

"...Yeah. So what, you want me to take you?"

I shook my head, clapped Seowon on the shoulder, and said,

"No. You’ll take him."

"...Him?"

"What? Me?"

Both of them spoke at once. Obviously it had to be Seowon.

I explained as if to children.

"You can’t keep using face distortion. If I go in today and again tomorrow, the odds of getting caught skyrocket."

"Hey, you should’ve told me earlier!"

"Telling you now is telling you beforehand."

"...What? You guys aren’t even on the same page?"

That was explanation enough. I drained half my water bottle and smiled brightly.

"So, we’re agreed now?"

"Ha ha...."

Kang Sojeong widened her eyes and forced a laugh, then turned to Seowon.

"Your friend’s insane, isn’t he?"

"A little..."

***

After finalizing our deal with Kang Sojeong, Seowon and I headed back to the hotel.

And for the record, the deal was a great success!

We swapped some basic info and then laid out what we each needed. What she wanted was unexpected.

‘Yeah, I need an Elixir.’

‘Elixir?’

An Elixir. The so-called cure-all.

Among dungeon byproducts, it was near the top tier. Whether it really cured everything was up for debate, but with that name, it had to at least handle major illnesses.

‘Why?’

‘Do I really have to tell you my personal problems?’

‘Fair point. Then just buy one directly—’

‘...You’re really not curious at all? No follow-up questions?’

‘Nope.’

So she had someone sick around her, or maybe she was sick herself. Resale was possible, but judging from her desperation, that seemed unlikely.

Sure enough, after a pause, she muttered,

‘...It’s a rare disease. Can’t tell you which.’

‘Got it. But if it’s an actual Elixir, the price will be sky-high. You need to be sure you can win—’

‘You’re weird as hell. Not even a polite “are you okay?”’

‘If you were okay, you wouldn’t be chasing an Elixir.’

‘This bastard...’

‘Patience. He’s a psychopath.’

After some squabbling, it got sorted. Turns out the auction wasn’t for a completed Elixir, but the last ingredient needed to make one.

Or rather, an advanced potion that mimicked it. Elixirs only ever dropped fully formed.

‘The item’s called Tears of Gold. ...That alone will draw plenty of eyes. It stabilizes mana.’

‘Hmm. Okay.’

‘...Yeah.’

Still, would something like that not mess up the body of an unawakened like her?

‘Well... not my problem.’

Her issues weren’t my concern.

But she looked uneasy when she asked,

‘Can you actually win it?’

‘Probably.’

‘If you need more cash, just say.’

No need. My finances were improving by the day. Items got pricier every sunrise, so I’d made sure to keep investing.

The original novel never specified which industries were sure wins, but from the narration, I’d gleaned enough hints.

Guilds, after all, were businesses.

‘As long as I know when a guild first appears in the story, I can play the market.’

Sure, inflation was nuts, and the guild industry itself was only a few years old, so returns weren’t massive. But still—making ten billion from one billion is easier than making ten thousand from a thousand. Proof the world ran on garbage capitalism.

I must’ve looked too nonchalant, because she scowled and sneered.

‘This is why I hate hunters.’

"......."

‘The upheaval of the world... what a joke. You get lucky, get a letter grade slapped on you, and suddenly you’re a new aristocrat.’

"......."

‘Used to be, I only had to hate the bastards born with rich parents. Now it’s everyone.’

By her logic, I counted as one of those bastards born with rich parents rather than the new nobility.

She muttered to herself, then shrugged it off and went back to normal.

In the end, we agreed: we’d get her Tears of Gold, and in return, she’d give us her partner slot for day two. Of course, if I snagged Tae Hyunjin’s sword on the first day, it would just be a proxy purchase.

Simple, clean, successful.

We acknowledged our mutual distrust, exchanged basic details, and set a meeting for the next morning.

Now, back at the hotel, we were changing for the ‘simple’ party.

I dug through my bag with my shirt off.

"A shirt’s better."

"...You’re going formal?"

"Yeah. Better to blend in."

"......."

Seowon stared at me with a strange look, his eyes lingering long enough that I finally raised mine to meet his. He flinched.

"Why do you keep acting surprised?"

"I’m not."

Yeah, right. I snorted and ignored him, holding up several jackets.

"Pick one."

"Me?"

He blinked, then took the task seriously.

"Wow... what the hell? CheXre? You just stuffed this in your bag? You crazy—"

"I said pick, not inventory. Look at the design."

"Design, right..."

He debated for ages, then handed me one. I chuckled and took it.

"Good, I’ll wear anything except this one."

"What? Hey."

"Doesn’t suit me."

"Come on, I’ve got better fashion sense! You just rely on your face—uh, never mind."

"What?"

He clamped his mouth shut, then immediately started up again.

"Don’t ask me to pick if you’re not gonna wear it! Hand it over. And honestly, you dress too old for your age! I still can’t believe you’re younger than me."

"Cut the crap. I look younger than you, obviously."

"...What?"

"Also, Seowon, your clothes aren’t even nice. Funny."

"Seowon... damn it, if you wanna look young, stop calling me by name! You always do that."

What, am I supposed to call him ‘hyung’ like Do Yehyun?

Instead of answering, I put on a shirt and buckled my belt. He kept mumbling complaints at my side.

"People will think I’m the younger one, not you. I don’t expect you to call me hyung... not that you would anyway."

‘Hm, tie... nah. I’ll keep it simple, no tie, no vest.’

I threw on the jacket he’d picked, skipped the tie, and didn’t bother with my hair. Too much polish would just draw attention.

"...You’re not listening, are you?"

"Yep."

"Figures."

His sigh made me laugh. I shoved my hands in my pockets, tilted my head, and said,

"Let’s go, hyung."

"......."