The 100,000-Won Apple

"Huh? They really all sold out?"

"It seems you've received an invitation from the administrator. Accepting it would be a great help to you."

I blinked in confusion, then accepted the invitation just as Ayla suggested.

The moment I did, messages began to appear one after another.

Once again, I just hit Yes.

Next, community posts cascaded down the screen — and somehow, they all looked painfully familiar.

Out of curiosity, I opened the first post that caught my eye.

Sure enough — it was exactly what I thought.

Wasn't this just the same kind of gallery I hung around every day?

I turned to Ayla with a look that screamed what on earth is this, demanding an explanation.

She nodded and answered.

"It's the largest Hunter community in the world. Anyone can use it, regardless of nationality — so long as they receive an invitation from the administrator. The invitation criteria aren't public, but my guess is that if you make enough of a splash to catch the administrator's eye, you get invited."

Whoa… a community on a global scale!

But something this big — shouldn't I have heard of it at least once? I'd never even caught a whisper.

"Also, under the community's 'Confidentiality' clause, it's forbidden to inform any Hunter who isn't already aware of the community's existence."

Ah. Right — there was a pinned post at the very top laying out the community rules.

That was what it said.

But could the administrator even tell if someone broke it?

"Queen. The community's first rule — Confidentiality — is behaviorally enforced, so even if you tried to break it, you almost certainly couldn't. The other rules aren't enforced that way, but violating them can get you blocked or banished, so please be careful."

Got it.

I skimmed the rest of the rules. They were the same ordinary rules you'd find in any gallery.

A sudden curiosity made me ask Ayla,

"Ayla, what's your nickname here?"

"I'm sorry, Queen. I've been blocked, so…"

"…?"

I blinked without meaning to.

Ayla got blocked?

Ah — no, Ayla…

Just what kind of chaos did you cause to get banned from this place…

"Hehe. I was curious about the administrator's identity, so I tried to dig a little. I got caught, though."

"Ah."

Yeah. Doxxing definitely earned a ban.

"Anyway — what do you think about trying to sell apples on this gallery?"

"Here?"

"The community has shop and trade functions among its features."

A shop?

Trade functions?

Ah — sure enough, right there on the side menu, I could see a tab labeled "Shop."

I went straight in.

All sorts of products were listed, and true to a community of this scale, multiple currencies were in use — won, dollars, yen, yuan, and more.

Well, I was Korean, so setting it to won should be fine.

How much should I price them at?

I wasn't planning to sell a huge amount. Just a light five for a first try?

But no matter how good they tasted, they were still just apples. Around 6,000 won each ought to do it, right?

While I was deliberating, Ayla smiled and spoke up.

"As for the price… right now, about 100,000 won would be appropriate."

"…?"

What did I just hear?

A hundred thousand won for a single apple?

There was no way Korean inflation had gotten that bad without me noticing.

"Isn't that way too expensive?"

"Not at all, Queen. They'll sell even at that price. I'm certain of it."

Hmm… honestly, I didn't buy it — but if Ayla said so.

I registered them at 100,000 won, just as she advised.

That should do it, right?

But where was I supposed to send the stock?

Ssshhh—

That was when it happened.

Right beside me, something like a tiny black hole suddenly formed.

"…Huh?"

Wait — isn't that a Gate?

I was staring in blank horror at the miniature Gate that had just appeared in front of me when Ayla, once again, kindly explained.

"That's the inventory warehouse. Just place the stock into that subspace. When a product is purchased, it'll transfer to the buyer automatically."

Ahh. So it wasn't a Gate — it was a stock warehouse.

"Please wait a moment."

Ayla rose from her seat and left the rooftop room. She was clearly going to fetch the apples for me.

She returned a short while later carrying five apples.

"Queen."

"…?"

"Do you happen to remember anything about the name of these apples?"

…Weren't apples just apples?

Or were these actually Busa apples or something?

"Hmm… it seems you don't remember yet. It's nothing."

Ayla simply nodded to herself, as if she'd reached her own conclusion.

I blinked in bewilderment and just put the apples into the inventory warehouse.

Haaah— they're seriously way too expensive. There's no way these sell…

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Japan's A-rank Hunter.

Known by the nickname "Pikachu Monmusu" after the Pokémon character — her pupils were trembling.

"…Huh?"

The apples had been so delicious that, expensive as they were, she'd bought all five. The change hit around the third one.

She felt something like energy surging and filling her completely.

So she immediately picked up her phone and measured her mana.

"I-It went up!?"

Her mana had grown.

W-Wait — she hadn't even leveled up, and her mana had grown?

"S-Suge!?"

"…Huh?"

They actually sold.

All five of them, no less.

I checked the buyer list and found that someone named Thunderbolt had purchased every last one.

Someone actually bought these.

Honestly, I hadn't expected much — but sold out in a single day?

I told Ayla immediately.

"Ayla."

"Yes, Queen."

"The apples really all sold."

"My, how wonderful."

"Someone named Thunderbolt bought them all. What kind of person is that?"

Well, Hunters made so much money that buying them as a joke wasn't out of the question.

"If it's Thunderbolt… that would be Japan's A-rank Hunter, Shinonome Akari."

"Eh?"

Shinonome Akari?

That Japanese Hunter they called the Pikachu Monmusu?

"Really?"

"Yes. I believe that's correct."

Whoa! I never imagined Akari would buy my apples.

With her cute looks, modeling work, singing career, and acting on top of it all, she was an enormously well-known Hunter in Japan.

I was something of a fan myself — I liked her — but I never thought a Hunter like that would buy my apples.

Still, I felt a little guilty.

How should I put it… it felt like I'd scammed her?

"Should I give her more apples?"

"…No, Queen. I think it would be best to sell only five apples per day."

"Why?"

"Things that are easy to obtain become familiar to people very quickly. But things that are hard to get are recognized as having far greater value."

Ahh. So it was a sales strategy of sorts.

A scarcity strategy, basically.

Something you could buy anytime wouldn't feel special.

That way, even if I kept selling them at 100,000 won later, people might ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not think it was strange.

Name-brand strategy. Branding.

I nodded along to Ayla's words.

After all, I'd listed them at 100,000 won and they'd actually sold.

Later on, even if I priced them a little higher, people probably wouldn't find it weird, right?