Lindel (2): Empire Law Cheat, Elin's Affinity, and Stealth in the Shadows

Lindel - Empire Law Article 13, Clause 11.

The grandiose legal clause he'd just recited was, in fact, one of the legitimate cheat keys in a certain game.

Roughly speaking, it was like a magic spell that worked wonders on ignorant commoners.

-Yeah. You're good, no violation of empire law. Good job.
-Nah, that's treason. What're you gonna do about it?
-Pay up with your body or your money, pick one. If you hate both, there's the death option too. No pain, though. Grateful, right?

Of course, it didn't work on nobles or intellectuals who knew the law.

But it worked pretty well on scum like this.

Afterward, Lee Han scanned his surroundings and confirmed no one was around. He immediately started rummaging through the fainted merchant's pouch.

Why am I doing this so naturally?

Is this what life in a medieval fantasy was like?

Now he understood why the Scales of Pestilence had been so blissful.

This was too much fun! The world felt endlessly amusing right now!

Lee Han went further and began stripping the merchant's clothes.

Because he hadn't farmed anything worthwhile from the pouch.

As he did, he thought about the character who appeared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the very early game all the way to the ending, constantly trading goods with the protagonist.

'Traveling Merchant Elin.'

In other words, she had tremendous potential to somehow procure the highest-grade goods.

If he started trading with her early and built trust, she'd be the most reliable backer from here on out.

Lee Han even yanked off his pants and thoroughly searched him.

'Oh.'

He found one silver coin.

Nice.

Having seen all there was to see, Lee Han stood up with a satisfied smile. He glanced down, grimaced, and thought:

'Why's this guy lying here naked in broad daylight?'

Gross. Exhibitionist criminals like this needed to be reported.

Lee Han readjusted the shoulder pole and headed straight for the corner of the market where Elin would be, without hesitation.

Of course, on the way, he didn't forget to anonymously drop a tip about the greedy merchant exposing himself naked and violating empire law.

The bustling market of Lindel village.

In a quiet open space at the edge, a petite figure was set up next to an old wagon, calling out to customers.

Jet-black hair like raven feathers and clear, large black eyes.

She was a girl with an undeniably cute, puppy-like youthful appearance.

But in stark contrast to her innocent face, her outfit was close to a dancer's—exposing a lot of skin.

A tube top that fully revealed her shoulders, and a short leather skirt slit daringly up to her thighs.

Just like the in-game illustration.

Lee Han could feel deep in his bones that he was living in a world based on an 19+ adult eroge.

He approached the wagon and set down the firewood.

Thud-!

"Eek! You scared me!" Elin, who had been dozing on the wagon seat, jumped up in fright.

Lee Han spoke plainly.

"Are you the traveling merchant who buys goods from all over? I'd like to do some trading."

"Tr-trading? Ah! Y-yes! I'm Elin, the traveling merchant!"

Her sleepy demeanor vanished in an instant, her black eyes sparkling like coins.

She dusted off her skirt and approached Lee Han.

"Let me see. Ooh... firewood! First, may I inspect it?"

"Go ahead."

Elin's eyes turned professional as she examined the log ends, sniffed them, and poked around.

Can you really tell quality like that? Whatever, game logic.

"Oh my gosh..."

Soon, pure admiration burst from Elin's lips.

"How is the cut this clean? And perfectly dry too. This is... flawless top-grade quality!"

She looked up at Lee Han with an excited face.

But soon, a shadow of regret crossed her expression.

Elin fidgeted with her fingers, eyes downcast.

"Um... to be honest..."

"Yes."

"As you can see, I'm just a newbie merchant without a name yet, so buying this huge amount of top-quality firewood at full price all at once is tough. To be precise... I don't have that much money on hand right now..."

Lee Han chuckled lightly.

"Got it. Then pay what you have now as a down payment."

"Pardon? D-down payment?"

"You can pay the rest later when you load up and return to the village. I'll hand over all the firewood like this, so consider it collateral for ongoing trades."

Elin's eyes bulged like they might pop out.

She pinched her own cheek in disbelief.

Oh...

Lee Han inwardly marveled at seeing that in real life.

"Um... do you really trust me? What if I take off to another territory without paying the rest?"

"Why would I blindly trust a stranger? We build trust little by little through repeated trades."

And at that moment.

Lee Han's eyes gleamed.

'Inventory?'

In the game, inventory was just a basic player UI and system feature.

But in this turned-real world, it seemed to have become a 'unique trait' acquirable through affinity with specific NPCs.

This wasn't in the game at all... Did the system change as the world became more concrete in reality?

A magic pouch that could hold items without spatial limits!

An essential, overpowered ability for survival, on par with Throwing or Healing!

And Elin's finishing touch!

"Oh my, such a gracious person exists!"

Elin bowed at a perfect 90 degrees, bobbing repeatedly.

Lee Han suddenly felt awkward. Because she'd bowed twice.

She's not cursing me for not wanting to pay the rest, is she?

Unaware of his thoughts, Elin beamed.

"Thank you so much! Here's to a good relationship from now on!"

"Sure. Looking forward to more trades. Oh, the herbs I need are..."

Lee Han recalled from his playthrough and named the herbs Seria required.

Elin's eyes widened.

"Pardon? Ah, those herbs? Um..."

"Yes. I know what effect they have."

Elin blushed and nodded, promising to get them for the next trade.

As the conversation wrapped up, Lee Han offered a handshake.

Elin grabbed his hand with both of hers and shook it vigorously up and down.

She's got such a bubbly personality.

Feeling her puppy-like energy, Lee Han thought of Seria again.

"Oh, one more thing I wanted to ask."

"Yes! Anything!"

"Do you have anything among your goods that a girl might like?"

In that instant.

Elin's shaking hands stopped dead.

"...Pardon?"

Her clear black eyes cooled sharply.

At the same time, a red message appeared before Lee Han's eyes.

What the hell?

Lee Han panicked, clueless about what happened, while Elin thought, staring at him:

'A girl? Is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this guy... a creepy pedo with tastes for that stuff?!'

She instinctively stepped back to protect herself.

But as she crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze naturally fell on her own ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠body.

The daring dancer outfit exposing plenty of skin.

But unlike the outfit, her figure lacked the voluptuous curves of an adult woman.

It was more cute than anything.

'Huh?'

Elin's eyes darted side to side.

Objectively or subjectively, despite being a full adult, she didn't have a busty build.

Then.

'Does he mean... me? Is he beating around the bush about me?!'

Maybe that question was probing her tastes?

Yeah, that made sense! There was no reason for him to trade with her otherwise!

Goods of that quality would be better with other merchants!

He must've fallen for her at first sight and used trading as an excuse to approach!

Whoosh-!

Elin's pale cheeks flushed bright red in an instant.

And.

What the hell?

He had no idea what was going on.

Lee Han was bewildered, while blushing Elin twisted her body shyly and pulled out a small, prettily wrapped box of pink candy, placing it in his hand.

"Th-this... should work."

Elin mumbled with downcast eyes.

"Give her this... and the girl will totally fall for you. I guarantee it."

"Just this one?"

"Y-yes! Yes!"

"Alright... got it."

Lee Han thanked her, figuring good was good.

He pocketed it and said,

"Well, then."

"Huh?"

"Looking forward to next time."

Lee Han left without looking back.

Elin stared blankly at his retreating figure and muttered,

"What? Why didn't he give it to me?"

She pondered Lee Han deeply, then blushed.

"Hehe... push and pull, huh."

A system window appeared before ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠walking Lee Han.

What the hell.

After successfully trading and parting with Elin, Lee Han headed to the rundown inn on the village outskirts that Ariel had mentioned.

Creeeak-

As he opened the wooden door, a pungent mix of sour sweat and mold assaulted him. Noisy sounds grated on his ears.

Looking toward the counter, a grotesque, obese innkeeper like a lump of grease lay slumped over.

She seemed asleep, but the moment he faced her repulsive appearance—

Flash-!

He recalled Seria's CG from his Earth playthrough.

In the inn's dim corner.

The scene of the innkeeper pinning and ravaging Seria's body.

Come to think of it, there was an event where if you couldn't pay, the innkeeper would have her way with you.

If he approached her now and asked where Seria was?

Obviously, she'd deny it flat-out or call the guards and make a fuss.

Lee Han toyed with Ariel's letter in his pocket, his eyes cold.

Since it's come to this...

Time to farm a trait and pull the system's trigger. He remembered a random drop item in this inn's basement.

What he was aiming for now was the trait probabilistically acquired through repeated hiding or stealthy infiltration actions.

Stealth.

Lee Han casually turned and slipped out of the inn.

He headed to the narrow, shadowy alley behind the building.

It was the underground ventilation shaft players commonly used in the game to sneak into the basement storage.

He checked around, waited for no one, then squeezed into the dark, narrow passage.

He crawled stealthily, merging with the shadows, minimizing noise and muscle friction, fully focused on the sensation.

And midway through the underground passage—

Ding-!

Is this the power of the main heroine?

He was already looking forward to meeting Seria.