“Good job, Millia.”
“Hehe… I acted well, didn’t I?”
Millia said that, hugging her waist and looking up at me as if asking for a compliment. I graciously placed a reward on the adorable Dullahan’s head while fiddling with the newly acquired Lava Quartz Stone.
“Yeah. You really seem like a child.”
“I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or not!”
“It’s a compliment.”
Ah, it’s hot.
At this rate, I might get burned.
I pulled out my leather pouch and put the Lava Quartz Stone inside. It wasn’t something I could carry around with my bare hands, so of course. After sticking the pouch to my clothes with a skill to avoid losing it, I left the auction house with my companions who were gazing at me. By now, the auction house was probably holding a magic book auction, but I didn’t care.
The moment I heard about Noam’s magic book, I participated moderately and got out without hesitation.
Who would use such a useless thing?
Holding that would be like getting a crafting skill that just extends the crafting range a bit more. That’s only if you can fully understand and use the magic book, so in the game, it was just a magic book that gets briefly used and then discarded.
Besides, I have Rue. I can’t contract with two magic books at the same time, so even if I were to get one, it would be a pie in the sky. Not looking back, leaving the auction house was a much more time-efficient option.
“Elisa. What do you need to buy?”
“Um, um… well, I need a cursed object a little…”
“For research?”
“Ah, yeah, yes…”
A cursed object, huh… Is it for her major assignment? It was brave, or perhaps naive, to think she could go to the black market to find something like that.
She must know what it means to step into lawless territory alone.
As I walked down the street and reached a less crowded area, I said to Millia and Sif.
“Could you stay a bit away? I need to talk to Elisa privately.”
“Huh? A personal conversation?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I’ll go over there with Sif and look around! Have a good talk!”
“Huh? Me too?”
Millia quickly nodded and walked with Sif to a nearby stall. The distance wasn’t too far, so it should be fine. After confirming they had sufficiently distanced themselves, I turned to the quietly staring Elisa.
“Elisa. I get that you’re here to get a cursed object. But didn’t you know the black market is a dangerous place?”
“Ah, I knew…”
“What were you planning to do if I didn’t go with you?”
“Um… alone…”
[What a reckless young lady.]
“Is it really necessary? You could just ask Professor Lennon for a cursed object.”
I have no idea how Professor Lennon would get a cursed object, but he must have done it that way up until now. But why is she trying to get a cursed object on her own now? As I questioned her, Elisa quietly looked down at the floor, and after fumbling, squeezed out a response.
“I… I wanted to be of help to Karina… An-and… I can’t keep relying on the professor anymore…”
Was she thinking of researching Karina’s curse? I don’t know how, but it seems she intended to do research on cursed objects.
“Even so, the black market is a no-go. Recklessly wandering into a place where you could lose your life is not a good idea.”
Considering Elisa is an excellent witch, there’s no way this social phobic girl could handle a proper transaction on her own. On top of that, you need a password to enter the black market. How did she think she would get in?
“Do you know where the black market is?”
“Um… no…”
“Do you know how to get in?”
“Uh, that too…”
What a hopeless social misfit. I sighed, looking at the clumsy purple witch. If I hadn’t brought her, I couldn’t imagine what kind of trouble she would be in. I lightly tapped the top of Elisa’s head and said.
“If you want to do such things, consult me first.”
“B-but you’re busy…”
“Even if I’m busy, I can still make some time.”
Anyway, if I want to gather materials that are difficult to find but nobody recognizes, I’ll have to visit the black market from time to time.
“Thank you… then, next time it will be just the two of us…”
“What?”
It’s hard to understand anything when her voice drops like a mosquito.
“Uh, never mind!”
What a lame excuse. I sighed looking at Elisa, who was fidgeting and suddenly dropped her head. It seems like it’s been over a month since I got to know her and yet talking is still this hard.
“I’ll talk about this later. I have a lot to do, so I’ll be heading back soon.”
“…Yes…”
As we stood side by side and started walking, my sleeve was tugged. It was Elisa, grabbing my sleeve. I joined Millia, who was looking around the stall as if I was a parent taking kids out to play.
——————
“Hey! If you’re not going to buy anything, just leave!”
“What a horrible smell…”
Everyone except me cringed their noses. I, on the contrary, sniffed around, taking in the scents coming from the inside of the black market shop.
Hmm, this smell.
“I heard this is where they sell that item…”
“I don’t know anything about that stuff, so it’s better you just go somewhere else.”
Tsk. How bothersome. I clicked my tongue at the bald man who put up walls. He clearly didn’t want to share any information.
“Instead of wasting time arguin’, how about we make a clean deal?”
“Hmm…”
The bald man stared me up and down for a moment before throwing out a question suddenly.
“How much you got?”
“300 gold coins. I’d like a 1-to-1 ratio.”
“Can’t buy that much.”
“Johann, what are you buying?”
“Materials for gunpowder.”
“Gunpowder?”
“Hey, money does talk.”
“G-gunpowder… Isn’t that a prohibited item…?”
“You just have to avoid getting caught.”
To be precise, the manufacturing method is prohibited, but the one I used during the last Raid turned out to be weaker than expected. It was a part of the trial, since I combined it rather loosely. I came to the black market today to buy materials in bulk for proper mixing.
“Just stop talkin’ and give me the money if you’re gonna buy something.”
“Fine.”
I roughly ignored the shop owner’s curt response and placed my pouch of money on the counter. The bald man flipped the pouch over, checked the coins, and then started transferring them to his pouch one by one.
Counting the coins took nearly three minutes. Since their currency is coins, it’s somewhat unavoidable. I watched the greedy-looking bald man as he gathered his pouch and asked.
“How long will it take to gather everything?”
“Five minutes, so just wait.”
As he said, almost five minutes later, two large leather pouches appeared on the counter. The amount wasn’t huge, but since obtaining materials for legal gunpowder is troublesome, it was worth it.
Since it was a fantasy world, I thought buying gunpowder or its materials would be easy, but it was treated like a strategic resource and expensive. Because of that, regular folks can’t even dream of buying gunpowder officially. If you’re unlucky, you might even be labeled as an undesirable.
“Here, here’s the niter and sulfur.”
Pretty heavy. I left the shop carrying the goods like Santa with his bag of gifts, joining Millia, who was looking around the stall. I had also obtained the cursed object, and with that, all my objectives were complete; now all that was left is to return.
“Let’s go back.”
We quietly exited the black market.
————————
“Thank you for your hard work today.”
“Ugh, I’d rather have a gold coin than this facade.”
“Here you go.”
“Thank you~ I’ll see you in two days!”
Three gold coins. It was a tip to Sif for guiding us today. It was a bit expensive for a pure guidance fee, but who cares? We’ll be drowning in gold once we start adventuring in the dungeon again. I thought that as I watched Sif disappearing beyond the passage.
“I’m sleepy…”
“Millia. Just hang in there a bit longer.”
Don’t keep turning to look at me for expectations. Elisa’s face was so pale from fatigue that it was almost white, but she was holding on well…
“Elisa. Are you okay?”
“I… I can hold on…”
When she answers while her legs are shaking like a newborn lamb, it doesn’t sound convincing. I had no choice but to lift the two onto the prepared cart. The moment they got on, they began drooping their heads in unison. It might be way past bedtime, but they were looking excessively defenseless.
“You two need to perk up. Both of you.”
“Because Johann is here… it’s okay… right?”
“Y-yes…”
“I’m not your dad.”
“I’d rather have an older brother.”
“Me too…”
What are they talking about?
“Save the sleep talk for the sleep room.”
[What a brick wall. Seriously.]
I let the nonsense from the two of them slip in one ear as I pulled the cart myself toward Yeomyeong-gwan.
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