Sealing the Deal with the Heavenly Demon
"So, have you calmed down now?"
"Nah~ Calm? Boss, I'm always ready to listen."
"Hah! Truly so, I see."
Cheonhwa responded with a look of utter exasperation at my Udyr-level pivot. I felt a twinge of guilt at her reaction, but I played it off with maximum gruffness to push the conversation forward.
"Anyway, what was this favor you wanted?"
"...Very well, let's get to the point."
I was eager to hear what her request was—not just that, but to wrap up this deal quick, grab my cash... er, complete the transaction, and head home to finish my quest. Luckily, Cheonhwa seemed to feel the same about skipping any more pointless time-wasting.
She cut straight to it.
"Right, my request is this: won't you form a partnership with me?"
"A partnership?"
What the hell did that even mean? I stared at her with a puzzled expression, and as if she'd anticipated it, Cheonhwa pulled something out.
Clink.
"That's..."
A familiar glass bottle and green liquid. The goblin head smoothie she'd just been using to mess with me moments ago.
"This potion has effects you can't get from low-level gates crawling with mere goblins."
And? I kept up the blank stare, pretending I had no idea what she was getting at. Cheonhwa glanced between the smoothie and me, then grinned.
"You made it, right?"
"..."
When did she figure it out? Well, there were way too many clues. She'd found it in my pocket to begin with.
"Yeah, I made it."
I decided to just own up clean. No point trying to convince a dead-set Cheonhwa otherwise. And from her vibe, hiding it or playing dumb would just erode trust from the jump.
20 million won...! Not that it was about the money or anything. Totally for the trust between us.
"Good, straight admission. I like it."
"Anyway, that's what I meant—your potential, discovered in this potion."
"My potential?"
I eyed her and the smoothie in her hand. And that's when it clicked what she meant by 'partnership.'
"...You want the potions I make?"
"Not a total airhead after all."
How much does she think I'm an idiot obsessed with cash? I nearly snapped at her words, but no malice, so I held it in.
"So, what's the partnership entail?"
"Oh? Finally progressing, eh?"
This woman's been grinding my gears all day! She was a pro at teasing. My glare must've hit hard, 'cause she looked a bit sheepish and cleared her throat.
"Ahem. Anyway, the condition: give me priority on all your trades and commissions."
"Priority?"
Priority, huh? As long as it wasn't freebies, but the word rubbed me wrong. I let my unease show, and Cheonhwa smiled reassuringly.
"Nothing big. Just handle anything related to you—trades, requests—mine first, that's all."
"That's really it?"
"Yes. I stake my title of Heavenly Demon on it."
...When she put it like that, I could trust her. Wasn't a bad deal for me anyway. She didn't seem to want anything else.
"Oh, and when trading with me, sell at 1.5 times your intended price—"
"Deal!"
Whoa, did I black out and doubt the great Cheonhwa for a sec? Our top VIP customer was volunteering a sweet contract—how could I even hesitate? I mentally slapped past-me and stuck out my hand.
That's when it happened.
"Pfft... Puhahaha! Oh man, you're consistent as ever. That obsessed with money?"
Cheonhwa burst into roaring laughter at my eagerness, doubling over.
What's so funny? Life's 'come empty-handed, leave empty-handed,' sure—but that's for folks who never knew poverty. The world runs on cash, end of story.
Her endless cackling started grating.
"Hey! We doing this deal or not?! I'm out!"
"Pfft... Sorry, sorry."
Still laughing to the bitter end, huh. How does someone nail the exact buttons to piss you off? If not for the money...
"Here, take this. You came to sell mana stones, right?"
Thud.
A fat envelope that could burst any second. Peeking inside: stuffed with crisp yellow Sin Sa-imdang bills.
"40 million won, all cash. That enough?"
"Plenty, Boss! More than enough!"
Worthily S-rank—the generosity was no joke.
Gulp.
The thick envelope in my hand was pure temptation just to look at.
As I fondled it, Cheonhwa spoke up.
"So, with this, our deal's sealed?"
"Of course! No question!"
She confirmed again, and I nodded vigorously. Cheonhwa smiled, satisfied.
"Then it's time to part. Someone's looking for me urgently, it seems."
"Looking for you? What—"
She stood abruptly, straightening her clothes. Who'd be hunting for Cheonhwa? As I stared, puzzled—
"Cheonhwa! Where are you?!"
"Speak of the tiger. She's come all this way."
A familiar voice. Yunha, the Engwha hunter from the gate incident.
"I snuck out, you see."
"Wait, is that okay?"
"Hahaha—why not? I go where I want, come where I please."
"Anyway, my contact's in there—save it."
With that, Cheonhwa scaled the wall to the rooftop in a blink. Too fast to track; I craned my neck up. There she was, waving goodbye from the roof. I waved back lightly, closing our deal.
Or rather—
"...Fuck, give it back if you're gonna."
Give back my goblin smoothie, you maniac!
Incheon, some shopping district.
"Ah! Cheonhwa, where'd you go? I was looking everywhere!"
"Sorry, had some business."
Yunha, who'd been searching high and low, puffed her cheeks at the late-arriving Cheonhwa.
"Ugh! Gates are breaking out left and right lately, guild master's super on edge, and if you pull this, I'm really getting chewed out!"
"Got it, got it. Sorry."
Yunha vented at Cheonhwa, who'd stepped out for the deal. Cheonhwa apologized nonstop, soothing her as best she could.
"So, what was the business?"
Her anger spent, Yunha finally asked why Cheonhwa had vanished. Cheonhwa closed her eyes thoughtfully, then spoke.
"Just... saw a kid who reminded me of someone I know. Looked lost, so I walked her to the station."
"...I see."
Cheonhwa's earnest, wistful expression left Yunha with nothing more to say. She nodded acceptance.
"Still, tell me next time. I'll really get in trouble."
"Understood. I'll remember."
Yunha headed back to work with that. Cheonhwa paused, lost in thought, then followed. A deep, unhideable longing lingered on her face.
"Ugh, gonna die of exhaustion."
Back home, I dumped the black bags on the floor with effort. Ingredients and gear I'd bought post-deal with the broker—no, Cheonhwa.
"An air fryer for over 70,000 won? What kinda appliance costs 60-70k?"
A bit heartbreaking. But thinking long-term, I'd use it forever—positive vibes only.
"Alright... mixer, air fryer, all here. Time to make the real deal?"
Quest deadline: two days. Time to spare. I plugged in the air fryer and mixer, pulled up the recipe window.
1. Beat 1 egg, then add 200ml milk, 30g melted butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract. (Optional tweaks OK.)
2. Sift in salt, 20g tapioca starch, 170g glutinous rice flour into the egg mixture and stir. (Optional tweaks OK.)
3. Blend 1 low-grade mana stone (~200g) and king slime jelly in a mixer, add to batter, mix well.
4. Strain batter through sieve, pipe into molds using piping bag.
5. Bake molds in oven or air fryer for 30 minutes.
Hmm—this done, and points duplicate?
Grinning already. Recipe looked easy enough, rewards huge.
I tied on the sink apron. My shrunken body left it baggy, but kinda cute.
"Points, here I come!"
I grabbed ingredients wildly. Time for the hero's point grind.