Chapter 14: Carson [1]
The Lumière Cathedral, a historic church with a thousand years of history, is a sacred place for the religious community.
The city's two core institutions are the Administrative Office and the Police Department. The Tower of Light, one of the six great towers, stands tall.
The headquarters of Reiners Trading Company, one of the three major trading companies, is also located here. Even if we just talk about the big, thick buildings, it's like this.
In addition, there were hotels, various restaurants, bars, clothing stores, bookstores, weapons stores, jewelry stores, and other buildings all gathered together.
The reason I came to such a bustling area was not to enjoy luxury or entertainment.
I didn't have the luxury of splurging while feeling anew every single day just how much shit Max had spread.
The only thing I've solved so far is finding a swordsmanship master.
At the very least, I had to find an archery master to be able to say I had met my quota for today.
A master of archery, she is also one of the masters of the fundamentals I have discovered.
But unlike Turk, money alone isn't enough.
She is not someone who could swayed by money.
Another way was needed. I was thinking of getting the stuff I needed for that.
"Stop."
The carriage stopped. I slowly came down and stood in front of a building. A neat four-story red brick building.
"This is the right place."
After confirming that it was the exact same place in the game, I walked toward the building.
At that moment,
"Omg?"
A surprised groan erupted from behind. I knew who it was without even looking back.
Dolph.
The reason was obvious.
This building is a bookstore.
How surprising it would be for a person who has built a wall completely separate from books to head to a bookstore.
But that's a misunderstanding. Still, I don't think there's any need to clear up the misunderstanding.
Click.
I opened the door and went into the bookstore.
Every bookshelf was packed to the brim with books. The distinctive smell of paper tickled my nose.
Of course, I wasn't interested in books.
A middle-aged man wearing glasses sat at the first-floor counter reading a newspaper. I approached him. As I approached, the bespectacled man's gaze turned to me.
"Is there anything you are looking for?"
"Yes."
"Please speak."
"Underground stuff."
"… … ."
The moment I said that, the look in the man's eyes changed. But it only lasted for a moment, and soon his eyes returned to their original calm state.
"Oh, that book. I have one in stock. Come this way."
The man with glasses opened the door behind the counter and motioned for me to come over. I went inside.
Bang.
As soon as I entered, the man with glasses closed the door. The inside of the counter was empty.
Not a single book was in sight.
The man with glasses didn't call me here because of the book. The man with glasses glanced at me once and then silently pushed against one side of the wall with his hand.
Knock knock.
Then, immediately, an empty space was revealed.
It was a secret passage.
"Then I hope the deal goes as you wish."
The man with glasses motioned for me to come in.
"Thank you for your hard work."
I stepped into the secret passage.
* * *
"They dug deep."
I smiled bitterly. The stairs to the secret passage went down for a long time, but there was no end in sight.
How much longer did we walk like that? Finally, the stairs ended, and a door appeared ahead of me.
I approached him without hesitation and gave him a firm grip. The door opened easily, as if it wasn't locked.
Soon a wide space lit up with magic lights appeared before my eyes.
"Welcome."
A middle-aged man who resembled the man with glasses at the counter who gave me directions greeted me. I knew him.
Carson, the owner of the secret shop. The man with glasses upstairs was his son.
"I came to look at some stuff."
"Guests are always welcome."
Carson smiled, showing his teeth.
They said they were always welcome, but in reality, that wasn't the case.
This secret shop is never opened to anyone who doesn't know the password, 'Underground Items.' If it were normal, it would only be two chapters, but the current protagonist would be in an absolutely inaccessible place.
But I am not the protagonist of Chapter 2 who knows nothing.
That's why I'm here.
"It would be even better if it was the prince of the Celtrin family is here."
Carson, who mentioned my identity, had an amazing source of information. But I wasn't surprised.
Because I already knew that it was that kind of organization.
"Okay, good. First, take out a few Invisibility Scrolls."
I said indifferently what I was looking for.
At that moment, I noticed the corner of Carson's smiling mouth tremble slightly.
I could guess the reason. He may have guessed that my reaction was completely unfazed even though my identity was revealed right away.
It was understandable since all they knew about me was that I was a hopeless, ignorant young master.
However, Carson quickly straightened his expression, as befitting a seasoned underworld merchant.
Anyone with ordinary discernment would not have even noticed the change in his expression just now.
"Aha, you mean the Invisibility Scroll? I'll bring it over to you right away."
Carson walked past the counter with a smiling face and went into what appeared to be a storage room. A moment later, he returned with five scrolls.
"This is a fairly popular item, so there isn't much stock left. Still, I'm glad there are a few left."
It was a blatant lie from the merchant.
A tactic to make people believe there is not much stock in order to raise the price a little.
I laughed inwardly because I knew exactly what was going on.
"Give me all five."
"These items originally cost 25 gold each, but since this is your first transaction with an important guest, I will give you 100 gold for 5."
Carson said that as if he was doing a favor.
"100 gold coins?"
"Yes."
"Isn't it too expensive?"
"That is nonsense. Since you have come all the way here, shouldn't you know that you have to pay hazard pay?"
Hazard pay.
That is correct.
The magic scroll I'm looking to buy now is the Invisibility Scroll. It was a magic that made the entire body transparent for a certain period of time.
Due to its nature, it was also a magic that could be used for crimes such as home invasion or theft at any time. It's not just invisibility.
All offensive magic could be used for criminal purposes.
That's why the process for purchasing these magic scrolls from the Magic Tower was very complicated.
Anyone whose identity is unclear is completely excluded.