Chapter 58
First, we sold off the remaining goods at the armor shop.
There was far too much to bring over and sell in one trip, so we had to go back and forth to the lodgings three times.
"Wow!"
Every time we finished sorting through a batch of goods, broad smiles spread across the women's faces.
"I can't believe it! I actually made this much money…!"
When we had sold every last item, cries of delight burst from the women's mouths.
"How much did you make, sis?"
"Just a moment."
The Saintess stared into the air, then smiled and spoke.
"Hehe. I made 1,940 points."
It was certainly enough to make her happy. She had earned nine times as much as the 200 points we received as the reward for the first trial.
Grinning brightly, the Saintess asked Han Sohee beside her,
"How much did you make, Ms. Sohee?"
"Wait a moment. Hmm, I made 2,695 points."
"Wow! That's great!"
The Saintess clapped and celebrated as if it were her own achievement.
"Thank you."
Han Sohee gave a gentle smile.
In truth, I had expected her to earn more.
She was stronger than the Saintess, and above all, she had an excellent eye for valuable items.
She calmly inspected the goods, carefully selecting and taking only those that seemed valuable. Rather than stuffing them in at random, she had stacked the items neatly from the bottom of the duffel bag upward.
That was how the heiress from a chaebol family had earned an additional 700 points.
"What about you, Seoyeon?"
After sharing and celebrating their earnings, the two women's gazes naturally turned toward the one person who remained.
"Hmph."
Shin Seoyeon raised her chin arrogantly, her shoulders puffed out with pride, and said,
"I made 5,325 points."
"My goodness! Seoyeon, that's incredible…!"
"That's truly tremendous."
The two women opened their eyes wide and looked at the Crimson Flame Witch. Apparently pleased by their attention, Shin Seoyeon placed both hands on her hips and wore a triumphant smile.
'Of course she did.'
When we entered the treasure vault, Shin Seoyeon had rushed ahead of everyone else and swept up anything that looked expensive. The rest of us had followed behind her and gathered what remained. Naturally, there had to be a difference in our earnings.
'The Lich's core alone had been worth nearly 500 points, if I remember correctly.'
With her neck practically stiff from pride, Shin Seoyeon beckoned with her fingers, urging the two women to worship her some more.
In any case, it was a relief that she looked so happy.
I approached them and spoke.
"Looks like you made a lot of money. Congratulations, everyone."
"Hmph, see? I'm this kind of woman. Black Dick, you should consider yourself blessed to be traveling with me. Do you think you could have made this much money without me? No-no."
The Crimson Flame Witch was in an exceptionally good mood. I smiled and replied,
"Of course we couldn't have earned this much without you. Anyway, congratulations, and shall we settle up now, Seoyeon?"
"Settle up? What are you talking about? We already settled the money we made from selling things before dinner."
"There's one more thing left."
The smile on Shin Seoyeon's face gradually stiffened.
"You know about the 50% duffel-bag fee, right? Hand it over."
"……."
"And don't even think about skimming anything off the top. I heard the amount you bragged about earlier, you know?"
"Th-that's…."
I knew it. Shin Seoyeon had pride and loved to show off, so she had definitely inflated the amount.
Sure enough, her balance was plainly visible in her status window.
[Remaining Points: 4,325]
'She inflated it by a full 1,000 points. Honestly, that girl… Tsk, tsk.'
Since she had to hand over 50% of that, Shin Seoyeon would have to give me an additional 500 points.
Shin Seoyeon pulled a long face.
'That's what she gets for bragging for no reason.'
"F-fifty percent is too much, isn't it? Can't you lower it a little?"
"……."
"You just made a huge amount of money selling those weapons. Do you really have to bleed me dry?"
Perhaps because she was about to lose 500 points, Shin Seoyeon made a desperate attempt to appeal to my emotions.
To be honest, we had earned quite a bit, and I considered letting her off with a smaller amount, but a promise was a promise.
'It is better for even small promises made among party members during the Selection Process to be honored.'
Financial matters in particular had to be handled faithfully.
Whenever money became a source of conflict within an organization, that organization inevitably headed toward ruin.
Fortunately, the heiress, who understood that perfectly, approached me and initiated the transaction.
"Was it 50%? Here you go."
The Saintess also approached me and initiated a transaction.
"Thank you, Mr. Minjun! I made a huge amount of money thanks to you! I never could have done it alone!"
"Indeed. It is all thanks to you. I learned a great deal by watching you conduct business earlier as well. Thank you very much."
What could I do when both of them said that?
In the end, Shin Seoyeon also came over and reluctantly initiated a transaction.
Tremble, tremble.
Her hands trembling, Shin Seoyeon was the very picture of a money-grubber. Her personality certainly had not changed.
After finishing all the transactions, I checked how much money I had on hand.
[Remaining Points: 96,979]
That was nearly 480 times the 200 points we had received as the reward for the first trial.
While the women had focused on farming clothes and jewelry, I had concentrated solely on weapons. And while others had crammed their backpacks full and struggled to carry everything, I had placed the goods into my inventory with room to spare. That was where the gap had come from.
'I really did earn a lot. It's like I brought back what 480 people would have earned.'
To make such a fortune while everyone else was spending only 2–5 points on a single meal…
If the others found out about this, they would be utterly shocked.
'Could I claim the Golden City Lord's 'Wealthiest' title this run?'
However, I kept quiet instead of bragging. You were not supposed to show off your money during the Selection Process.
That applied even with one's companions.
Especially in front of someone sitting there gloomily, looking as if she might burst into tears after the transaction was over.
"Haha, cheer up, Seoyeon. You can always earn more money."
"Hana is right. Even so, did you not earn more than we did?"
Even so, Shin Seoyeon could not shake off her gloomy mood. Losing an additional 500 points must have hit her pretty hard.
'Let's see… We made a lot of money, and it's the leader's job to look after the party's mental and physical well-being. Perhaps I should give her a little something.'
I approached the armor-shop owner and bought an item.
[Would you like to purchase <Random Box of a Vitality-Infused Plain Robe>?]
[400 points have been deducted.]
When the box popped into existence in my hand, it wriggled and transformed into an item.
<Item>
Name : Plain Robe
Grade : High-grade
Description : Increases the Stamina stat by 5.
I handed it to Shin Seoyeon. She looked at it while on the verge of tears, and her eyes went round. Then she replied with a pout.
"What's this?"
"I promised you. When we got to the shelter, I said I'd get you clothes to match Hana's too."
She looked at me strangely.
"…Hmph, do you think giving me something like this will cheer me up?"
Even so, she snatched the [Plain Robe] from my hand. Her silly grin made me wonder whether she was really the same person who had been depressed just moments earlier.
'Seoyeon's so simple-minded that she's incredibly easy to handle.'
The Crimson Flame Witch scampered off to the changing room.
All right, brat #1 was taken care of.
"Oppa, what about me?"
Lee Sera, who had been clinging to my back, saw that and begged me to buy her something too.
The only money Lee Sera had earned during this trial was from stealing half of Shin Seoyeon's jewelry. So I bought her clothes as well.
Since she would probably need to move around nimbly, I chose light armor.
[Leather Shirt]
[Leather Pants]
"Thanks, Oppa! You're the best, as always!"
Brat #2 beamed brightly as she ran to the changing room with the clothes, and Han Sohee looked enviously toward where the two of them had disappeared, though she tried not to show it.
'Hmm, now that I think about it, Han Sohee doesn't have any armor either.'
So I bought her the same armor. The heiress from a chaebol family was visibly moved.
"Thank you. I think it was truly a good decision to join you."
As she said that, Han Sohee took off her suit jacket and flung it at the Saintess.
Then, while the clothes blocked the Saintess's view, she quickly approached me, gave me a peck on the lips, and backed away like a shy girl, clutching the gift I had given her tightly in her hands.
"I'm sorry for suddenly throwing my clothes at you."
"No, it's all right. And Mr. Minjun! You don't need to buy anything for me!"
I nodded.
The Saintess had mythic-grade armor and weapons across the board. There was no reason to replace them with high-grade equipment.
So, instead of giving her a present, I held her close, kissed her, and lavished affection on her until the others came out of the changing room.
After changing the clothes of the three women, our party now looked fairly convincing. We looked like players going through the Selection Process.
"Wait! You weren't only buying things for me?! Why are the two of them getting things too!"
Shin Seoyeon came out of the changing room after changing clothes and complained when she saw that the other two had changed as well.
"Calm down. They're the two people who will protect us as party members from now on. We can't send them out without any armor."
"Urk. Th-that's true, but…"
Shin Seoyeon grumbled in a small voice that only I could hear.
"…They could have just bought those things themselves."
In short, she was saying that she did not like what I had bought her.
I stroked the buttocks over her robe and ran a finger between her cheeks, making Shin Seoyeon squeak and shudder repeatedly before becoming quiet.
It seemed that the all-night training I had put her through the night before had done the trick.
When I took my hand away, Shin Seoyeon turned the subject with a slightly flushed face.
"But these options are lousy. Stamina? What's the point of Stamina? You should have increased my mana regeneration instead."
"Why would you need mana regeneration when Ms. Hana is here?"
"Then you could have bought something that raised my Intellect or Magic Power. My Stamina recovers in one hit thanks to her anyway."
Shin Seoyeon grumbled. Apparently, she was unhappy that the robe did not have Intellect on it.
But honestly, whatever option she got would be of dubious use at this point.
It would be different if she were undertaking trials on her own, but what use did any stat besides Intellect have for her while moving as part of a party?
Not that Intellect was especially useful, either.
"Isn't your Power already high enough? Back then, you were killing the skeletons in practically one second. How quickly are you trying to kill them?"
"Tch, I don't know. Anyway, I don't like it."
Apparently realizing she had no grounds to argue, Shin Seoyeon answered like that.
"Hmm, so you're saying you don't like my gift?"
"Ah, n-no. That's not what I meant. I was just saying the options…"
"Then give it back."
"Hey! That's low! You can't give it to me and then take it back!"
Shin Seoyeon clutched the clothes she was wearing as if she would never return them and scampered away from me. She was going to wear them anyway, yet she still had to make such a fuss.
'Come to think of it, the values on the items are higher than they were at the previous shelter.'
I took another look at the random boxes sold by the armor merchant.
<Item>
Name : Random Box of an Agility-Infused Adventurer's Longsword
Price : 2,000 points
Description : Upon opening, you obtain an Adventurer's Longsword. A random amount of Agility is granted as a special option. Maximum value: 20.
The old name, [Longsword], had changed to [Adventurer's Longsword], the price had risen by 1,000 points, and the maximum value had increased by 10.
In short, just as the values of drop-item options rose whenever we moved on to a new trial, the same seemed to apply to the random boxes sold in shops whenever we moved on to a new shelter.
'The cost rises along with them, which is a drawback, but at least I won't have to worry about problems caused by weak weapons.'
I might have to change my plans when choosing trial zones from now on.
As I was thinking that, Shin Seoyeon, who had run off, sidled up beside me and peeked her head out before asking,
"So we've finished sorting all the goods. What are we going to do now? If we don't have anything else to do, how about drinks at the lodgings tonight too?"
The Crimson Flame Witch looked at me with flushed cheeks and a suggestive gaze. Seeing as she wanted to drink despite being unable to get drunk, it seemed the touch of my hand earlier had made her body heat up.
"Drinks sound good. But I have something to do first."
"Something to do?"
I looked at the armor-shop owner. After I bought the item, a new window had become active beside the owner.
[Challenge Quest: The Favor of the Owner of 'Gladius et Scum']
When I focused on it, the owner immediately addressed me.
"Thank you for increasing our store's sales. I would like to offer you a small reward in return. Would you be able to spare me some time?"
A blinking notification appeared before my eyes at once.
[Will you accept the challenge quest?]
"Huh? A reward? Give it to me! What is it?"
Shin Seoyeon hopped up and down beside me as she demanded an answer, but the shop owner quietly waited for my response alone.
I looked at the Saintess. Quick to catch on, she explained the situation to the party.
"It's the challenge quest we talked about before. Everyone, get ready."
Since we had discussed various things while traveling together, everyone in our party knew about the [Challenge Quest].
With expressions that said the moment had finally arrived, the women gripped their weapons and tidied the displays before nodding at me.
I focused on the armor merchant again.
"We'll accept that favor."
And at that moment, my vision suddenly went dark.
No, all my senses disappeared in an instant.
When my senses returned, the scent of expensive perfume was drifting beneath my nose.
Music played, and a gleaming marble floor, velvet curtains, luxurious lighting, and elegant interior decorations entered my view one after another.
'Where is this…?'
It was a space reminiscent of an opera house and the [Chapel] from the first trial. I was sitting alone in one of its many audience seats.
Alone in a roughly four-pyeong room on the third floor, overlooking the stage.
'No way.'
I took my eyes off the stage and looked at the table sitting by itself right beside my seat.
On it were water and wine prepared for guests, refreshments such as fruit, and a booklet.
『Amber Court』
The words, written in ornate cursive, looked familiar. Just as related information began flashing through my mind, a notification appeared before my eyes.
[You have entered <Amber Court>.]
[The challenge quest has begun.]
As soon as the notification ended, all the lights around us abruptly went out. Then the spotlights focused on the stage.
『Esteemed guests, we sincerely thank you for attending the ■■■th Amber Court Auction.』
The Amber Court Auction.
In other words, this challenge quest was an auction.