Hidden

Allium left the office and headed straight for the post office.

Along the way, she took out her notebook and entered several pieces of information. The contents concerned Gong Won-goo. She erased what was already written there and filled in the new intelligence in its place.

"Rafael."

"……?"

"When can you use that 'technique' again?"

"I can use it now."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then do you remember the signal for it?"

Rafael shaped something with her hand, tracing it with her fingers.

"You remember it perfectly. Normally I'll ask out loud, but if things get desperate, watch my hand."

"Understood."

"You're adapting well. Just pick up the speech and the writing a little faster."

"Understood."

Having finished with Rafael, Won-goo turned to the others and said, "Everyone, take a good rest."

"What is the reason for this departure, one wonders?"

"I'm heading to Baek Seol's. To get this appraised."

It was the shamshir-shaped sword he'd bought from Dr. Woo — and he'd brought it back at a slightly higher price than the old man had paid for it.

"Wasn't it already appraised, though?"

Jo Mu-sa's question. "Feels…… off. Like it's no ordinary item."

"A hidden item?"

Just as a Seal was only truly useful to those who understood its power and origins, certain items carried the same quality. The kind people commonly called hidden items. Appraise one carelessly, and it would never unleash its true abilities.

That was why Won-goo had paid Dr. Woo a premium for the blade. Not because he remembered the item itself — but because when his Turnon's Warhammer had come near the shamshir, it had whined.

A great deal of information was sealed inside Turnon's Warhammer. The fact that it reacted meant there was something in that shamshir-shaped sword.

"No idea, honestly. I want to find out. And if it turns out to be nothing special, I'm giving it to Dulla. It beats whatever he's lugging around right now."

Dulla was saddled with an unavoidable weakness: he had to hold his own head in one hand at all times, which meant he couldn't swing anything too heavy.

A shamshir — decently thick but not overly long — was practically tailor-made for him. The base stats weren't bad either. It had solid durability options woven in, and each successful strike triggered an additional shockwave. Technically a sword, but one capable of chewing through enemy armor and shields alike.

"Off I go."

"Hyeong-nim! I will accompany you!"

"Rest. Baek ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seol's place is fine on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my own."

"Yes, Hyeong-nim!"

Baek Seol was playing darts.

"Hard at work, I see."

"Director Gong! You came by?"

"That I did."

Thud.

Won-goo set a pouch of silver coins on the counter.

"This is for the medicine from last time. Probably not enough."

"You really didn't have to."

"Eh, yes you do. That's just how it works. Bill me for the shortfall later. Now — today's business is this."

Thud.

The shamshir landed on the counter.

"I hear Poke's little operation is up and running?"

Poke's Gift had been Appraisal. A genuinely talented appraiser, he'd used that ability to pile up capital fast and build himself a gang. Once the gang was running, he'd taken on the reckless jobs nobody else would touch, and the whole enterprise had ballooned.

Taking the jobs others refused was exactly how Poke had grown so quickly. Won-goo had once criticized him for it — what makes you any different from the Fishers? — but Poke hadn't cared in the slightest. He'd believed, with rock-solid conviction, that the only way to survive was to climb up over other people's backs.

"It's running. You want it appraised, then?"

"Right. We had a deal — you'd help with appraisals."

"Of course. I'll help. But there's a queue. Quite a few jobs came in before yours."

"How long?"

"I'd have to check. Poke's staying at headquarters for now."

"Just don't take too long. It's not urgent."

"Naturally. Although, Director."

"What?"

"You'll be alright?"

"Worried about me?"

Won-goo flashed a grin.

"Of course I'm worried. The Tower's involved, so headquarters has eyes on the whole thing."

"Not alright in the slightest."

"……."

"But then, when has it ever been alright? See you around."

"Dinosaur."

"Y-yes, Director."

"Honestly now — you were happy when you heard the rumor I was dead, weren't you?"

Won-goo stared dead into the merchant's eyes.

"Ah…… no, sir! Ask anyone in the Shelter! I wasn't happy at all!"

"Is that the truth?"

"Yes sir! The truth! What kind of man you are, Director…… I never believed you were dead for a second."

"Oh. Now that's a surprise."

"I know you better than anyone, Director! I knew full well you weren't the type to get done in by lowlifes like Ganjeol Point!"

"You…… picking an awfully sweet line of talk today, aren't you? Something's off."

"This is just how I always am, Director."

"No, it isn't? You're unusually smooth-tongued today. Come to think of it, why are you sweating so much? Hot in here?"

"I've been, um, rather frail lately……."

Won-goo recognized it instantly — sweat wrung out of pure nerves.

"Haah…… you little shit…… you turning into another Il-chul on me?"

"Well, you see……"

"Why lie? You've been sneaking off to meet Cheonmok, haven't you?"

"N-no, sir! Absolutely not! Director, since that day, I have never — NEVER — touched anything connected to Cheonmok! Do you think I'd risk the new life I was given like that?!"

Dinosaur's denial came with the force of a slam. And with that, Won-goo was one hundred percent certain that everything he'd said before it was a lie.

"Right. So the 'not meeting Cheonmok' part is true — which means everything before it was the lie. Confirmed."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"……What?"

"Your reactions, you idiot! Your reactions! Don't you know the first rule of interrogation? When the difference between lying and telling the truth is this stark, one of the two is a lie! So — is 'never meeting Cheonmok' the lie?"

"Ah…… no, that part's true."

"Haah…… looks like it's about time for another treatment session, don't you think?"

"I-I'm sorry!"

"Sorry for what?"

"Yes! Director! Honestly, I was…… a little glad……"

"Haah…… and here you were calling me your benefactor not long ago. You rejoice when your benefactor dies?"

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry, are you? Then let's settle for fifty gold coins."

"……What?"

Dinosaur's eyes went wide.

"There's a lot to split from the Royal Guard haul. What falls to us can't be more than thirty."

The equipment Ganjeol Point's Royal Guard had carried wasn't quite top-tier, but each piece would fetch at least a few Gold on the market. And they'd swept up every last one of them — a serious pile of money. Money that had to be divided, not devoured alone.

"The Tail Dog tails have to be split too. And I've got something in the works right now that's a little short on coins…"

"Still…… fifty gold coins is……"

"I'm not just asking for free. You know the Nero Family warehouse, yes?"

"Of course."

"We'll put it up as collateral and call it fifty. That warehouse is worth every coin."

"That warehouse?"

"That one."

"Even so, fifty is……"

"Kid. Did you think I didn't know you're sitting on a pile of gold coins? It's not like I can go crawling to a loan shark."

In the end, what he'd wanted to say all along was simply: lend me money.

Won-goo had a gift for extracting loans as if he were conducting an armed robbery.

"Sapiens and Sanghae are strapped for cash themselves right now."

A traveling merchant who peddled goods around the Shelter — Dinosaur didn't look like much, but he pulled in a surprising income.

"I'll… I'll arrange it."

"You can manage?"

"Yes. If I liquidate a few things, it should be doable."

"This isn't me threatening you or anything of the sort. If you'd refused, I'd have accepted it and moved on."

"No, sir. Honestly…… I've grown this big thanks to you, Director Gong."

"Is that so."

Won-goo played dumb, putting on an air of feigned indifference. But it was true that Dinosaur owed him. The mere fact that he was the merchant Director Gong traded with was enough for other shops to do business with the man on trust.

The influence the three syllables of Gong Won-goo commanded around Sabbath was nothing to sneeze at.

"Good. Then let's confirm the contract I had drawn up. Fifty gold coins, lent. If you fail to repay within the term, the Nero Family warehouse transfers to me. But you understand the contents inside don't transfer, right?"

"Ah — of course."

Space in the Shelter was valuable no matter what it was used for. A space designated as a warehouse couldn't be repurposed for other business, but for Dinosaur that was no hardship at all. Secure storage for large quantities of goods meant he could react that much faster to market prices.

And Won-goo had been leaving the Nero Family warehouse exactly as it was, so handing it over — if it came to that — posed no real problem. In truth, Won-goo was already planning to sell the place off eventually.

A warehouse the size of the Nero Family's was space Won-goo could conjure with just ten coins dumped into his trailer-related abilities. There was no reason to cling to it.

"And if you ever want to buy the warehouse outright, say the word. I'll hand it over."

"You're leaving the Shelter, sir?"

"Why would I leave? It's just that the office is plenty for us."

"Then perhaps a tour, sometime……"

"Tours are off the table. It's spacious, that's all. If you're that curious — you know Dan-shin, right?"

"I do."

"Ask him to show you around."

"Understood, sir."

"When can you have the coins?"

"Give me three hours and I'll bring them to you."

Thwack!

Won-goo dropped an enormous pouch onto the table.

"All gold coins. Every last one."

The crew's eyes went round as dinner plates. A pouch that size usually swallowed a hundred-plus silver coins with room to spare — which meant it now held a small fortune.

"Ganjeol Point really is a massive operation. Their gear is something else……"

Jo Mu-sa said, staring in astonishment.

"Th-that's right."

"They carried decent equipment, sure, but split every way, it doesn't amount to much. The tails got divided up too. This — I secured with the warehouse as collateral."

At that, Dan-shin's quiet bustle of work stopped for just a moment.

"Dan-shin!"

"Yes, sir! Director!"

"You're not too hurt about this, are you? Things went sideways this time and I needed coins in a hurry."

"Yessir!"

"And there'll be good news soon enough. We found Respect's trail, after all."

"Yes……"

"And the contents of that warehouse weren't part of the collateral. Only the location itself."

Won-goo soothed Dan-shin with a few simple words.

It was always the way with him. Toward anyone outside the crew, Won-goo's prickliness crossed over into downright ruthlessness — but once someone was accepted as one of his own, he looked after them in small, unspoken ways.

Dan-shin took it for the delicate consideration it was.

He was nominally one of the crew, but hardly a proper one. He didn't go out and risk his life. In the apocalypse, those who didn't stake their lives on the line were treated poorly as a matter of course. In the gangs, he'd been treated as little better than a slave.

Dan-shin's competence had spared him outright slavery, but contempt and beatings from the other members had simply been part of daily life.

Won-goo's Services had none of that. Won-goo himself, and every member of the crew, treated Dan-shin as a genuine comrade.

"Right! This is village money I shook loose. I basically swindled poor Dinosaur for it. So what are we doing with it? No questions, no debates — it all goes to enhancement."

With that, Won-goo dealt out gold coins along with slips of paper. Twenty gold coins each. The slips described the direction each person's enhancement should take, and the crew received them one by one.

"I hear the Ganjeol executives burned through more than fifty coins each. They'll likely have enhanced even further on the way down. Which means we'd better prepare too. Get to the Coin Exchange and grind those coins."

"YES!"

The crew roared back.

"Mu Beob-sa, sir."

"What is it one requires, I wonder?"

"Put about ten into physical stats this time."

"……."

"Even mages can't dump everything into mana. You've got to balance it out properly."

"That is something I understand."

"Good. Let's be off, then."

The crew moved out toward the Coin Exchange, Rafael following after them.