[Yeomsal] [I want to buy it right now. Where should I go?]
“Finally…!”
A person who trusted me had appeared!
I immediately replied with a comment.
As I rapidly typed with my small hands, typos kept appearing, forcing me to correct the message multiple times.
[Golden Hand] [Please send me a 1-on-1 chat.]
The user with the nickname Yeomsal sent me a direct message as soon as I posted my comment.
[Yeomsal] [Can I purchase it today? I’d like to acquire several similar items.]
To my immense relief, Yeomsal seemed desperate for the item.
They even expressed a desire to acquire multiple pieces.
[Golden Hand] [Yes. It’s a direct transaction at 37 XX-ro, XX-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul. Multiple items might take a little time.]
It appeared my scales grew slowly and shed from the outer layer, so with a bit of patience, I was sure to acquire more.
Even if only one scale shed per month, that would be a monthly income of 100 million won!
If ten scales shed, it would be 1 billion won!
Though my stomach growled with hunger, my heart soared with elation.
Another message arrived from Yeomsal.
[Yeomsal] [I’ll be there within 30 minutes. Should I just deposit the money?]
[Golden Hand] [Yes. And could you accommodate one transaction condition?]
Though they might seem trivial, these were conditions I absolutely needed.
[Yeomsal] [What are the conditions?]
[Golden Hand] [There are two conditions.]
While they might sound strange at first, I had prepared suitable conditions—conditions designed to conceal my true nature.
[Golden Hand] [Firstly, I would appreciate it if the transaction could be handled by me placing the item in front of my house for you to pick up.]
The first condition was to prevent the buyer from seeing me.
There was always the possibility that someone might try to use my body as a material.
Or, failing that, they might capture me and force me into slavery to craft weapons.
To guard against such risks, the transaction needed to occur with the door acting as a barrier.
[Yeomsal] [Ah, yes.]
Yeomsal readily accepted my request.
The second condition was equally important.
[Golden Hand] [Secondly, I would be grateful if you could bring some cup rice. It’s difficult for me to go out right now.]
After I sent the message, the ‘Yeomsal is typing…’ indicator flickered on and off repeatedly.
‘Surely, they won’t refuse?’
I truly didn’t want to leave this house if possible.
Please, please accept it…!
Thirty seconds later, a reply arrived.
[Yeomsal] [Understood.]
“It’s done!”
The transaction had finally been successfully concluded.
Now, all that remained was to wait.
My stomach rumbled loudly.
To wait for my meal to arrive.
****
An entire hour had already passed.
‘It should be about time…’
Five minutes remained until Yeomsal’s promised arrival.
With the dagger placed by the front door, I cautiously peered through the peephole, observing the corridor outside.
Due to the peephole’s height, I had stacked several books on the floor to stand on.
The item, disguised within a delivery box, rested by the front door.
It would be disastrous if someone were to simply take it.
Just as I was worrying that they might be late, a woman ascended to the second floor without a single footstep.
A red-haired woman I had never seen before.
Though her stature was quite small, her fierce gaze was remarkably striking.
‘Is she a guest from an upstairs apartment?’
Just as I was about to look away, the woman approached my door.
“Are you Golden Hand-nim?”
I hadn’t expected a Hunter, but it seemed this woman was ‘Yeomsal,’ the one who had come to purchase the item.
“I… *Ahem!* I am.”
About to answer directly, I cleared my throat, then replied in as grave and low a voice as I could manage.
“Where is the item?”
“It’s… in front of the door. Please open the delivery box.”
The woman bent down, opened the delivery box, and confirmed the dagger inside.
“…Ohh.”
A gasp of awe escaped the woman’s lips.
I worried it might be a negative reaction, but her next words quickly reassured me.
“I’ve confirmed it. What’s your account number?”
“Ah, yes! I’ll send it via phone!”
I immediately sent the account number through the Hunter Gallery chat.
Several tens of seconds later, my phone chimed with a notification.
[80,000,000 won has been deposited by Kim Hwarin-nim.]
Kim Hwarin.
The name sounded familiar from somewhere.
“I’ve deposited it.”
“Yes, yes! I’ve confirmed it! Thank you!”
Eighty million won instantly appeared in my bank account.
Overwhelmed with a feeling of soaring joy, I couldn’t suppress the persistent upward curve of my lips.
Then, the woman began to pull out cup rice from her bag.
One, two, three—a total of ten convenience store cup rice containers were stacked before me.
“I’ll leave the cup rice here.”
At that moment, Yeomsal, Kim Hwarin, who had been about to turn around, posed a question to me.
“…Do you, by any chance, live alone in this house?”
“…Pardon?”
Startled by the abrupt question, I blurted out a surprised retort.
“Just curious.”
Well, she’d immediately sent eighty million won; surely, it was fine to tell her this much.
“Uh… hmm, yes. I live alone.”
She stood by the door, pondering for a long moment, then posed another question.
“What would you have done if I had simply taken this dagger and run away?”
“…Huh?!”
Kim Hwarin’s words instantly froze me.
Indeed, if she simply took the dagger without paying, I would have absolutely no way to respond.
Unwilling to appear foolish, I deliberated briefly before offering a lie.
“Well, someone else is waiting nearby.”
“…I see.”
Kim Hwarin replied to my words, then promptly turned away.
It seemed she had simply been curious.
Once the tension from dealing with a person finally dissipated, the pangs of hunger returned with renewed intensity.
‘First, let’s eat.’
Even the most breathtaking scenery is best enjoyed on a full stomach.
For now, satisfying this gnawing hunger was my priority.
After confirming that Kim Hwarin had disappeared from view, I cautiously brought the cup rice containers into the house, one by one.
Regrettably, three of the cup rice containers were spicy.
“This means I only really have seven…”
My mood soured for a moment, but then I checked my bank balance and felt happy again.
What did it matter if there were seven or six?
From now on, I could order all the delivery food I wanted.
My immediate task was simply to eat the cup rice.
****
As soon as Kim Hwarin exited the building, she scanned her surroundings.
‘…No enemies detected by magic.’
The Awakened individual, presumed to have created the A-rank dagger, was a girl who had claimed someone else was waiting nearby.
The nickname seemed far too old for a girl to have chosen, and the item listed on the delivery box was something a man would typically order.
Based on the information available, she made a cold, rational judgment.
Normally, she would have simply resolved it with her abilities or entrusted it to her guild, but the gravity of this situation was different.
She slipped into an alley, pulled out her phone, and dialed a speed-dial number saved as ‘Awakened Management Bureau.’
*Trill—*
The call connected before the dial tone could even ring once.
“Yes! Hunter Kim Hwarin-nim! What can I do for you?”
The 담당 직원 (TL Note:
