Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Barbarian's Negotiation
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"I'm the branch manager, 'Fox'."
"Oh, really? My apologies then. Include the desk's value in the information fee. Let's call it even."
I pulled out Kel Kar from the shattered ebony desk and slung it casually over my shoulder as I spoke.
Utterly shameless, and completely natural.
Branch manager Fox frowned, staring down at the desk split clean in half.
It must have been quite expensive, judging by the twitch at the corner of his mouth.
Not my problem, though.
I wasn't some polite noble right now—I was a barbarian with no fucks to give.
"Customer, even if you're a client, causing a ruckus in someone else's place of business doesn't exactly help with trade, does it?"
"What, got a problem with that?"
I crossed my legs and leaned back deeply into the chair's backrest.
My black double-breasted suit stretched taut, starkly outlining the compressed muscles hidden beneath the fabric.
Behind me, Batu twirled a dagger at his fingertips while wearing a bowtie, radiating a chilling killing intent. Aila, arms crossed in a low-cut evening gown that exposed her back, looked down at Fox with haughty elegance.
Three barbarians decked out in high-end suits.
The bizarre, overwhelming pressure they exuded.
It didn't look like the bluff of mere street thugs.
The aura aside, their very appearance was alien and domineering.
Fox swallowed dryly, sweat beading on his brow.
As an information broker who'd seen it all, he instinctively realized it.
The man before him was the real deal—armed with overwhelming force, iron guts, and a perfect grasp of back-alley dynamics.
"...Haha. No, not at all. It was an old desk anyway; I was planning to replace it. Since you're compensating me, it's actually a gain for me."
'Well, well? This guy's no pushover.'
Fox forced a grin, kicked the desk wreckage aside, and dragged over a nearby folding table. Slick as a fox, indeed.
"As expected from the boss—there's a difference. No more wasting time; let's get to business."
I pulled a top-grade cigar from Ayura Kingdom specialties out of my pocket and lit it up.
Batu quickly struck a match and held it to the tip.
Fwooo—
A thin haze of smoke drifted straight into Fox's face.
"First things first. I need a 'map' of the south."
Fox's eyebrow twitched.
"A map, you say? If it's a standard one sold on the streets, you can get it from any shop in the market district..."
"You messing with me?"
I cut him off with a icy glare.
"I'm talking about the map with military secrets that the Empire and Southern Alliance have compiled. You telling me the information guild branch manager doesn't know about it?"
"!!!"
Fox's pupils shook.
"M-Military intel doesn't come cheap."
"I know. That's why it doesn't need everything. I want exactly four things."
I ticked them off on the fingers of the hand holding the cigar.
"One: Profitable magic stone mines and rare herb groves."
"Two: Precise locations and troop sizes of each tribe."
"Three: Habitats of dangerous monsters."
And finally, I leaned forward, locking eyes with him.
"Four: The location of the 'ancient city' currently buried in the sands..."
"......!!"
Fox's eyes quaked like there was an earthquake.
He coughed awkwardly to hide his fluster.
"Ahem... Customer. The information you just mentioned is all top-grade guild secrets. Especially the resource deposits and ancient city location... they're priceless..."
I snorted.
"Funny. Nice try jacking up the price."
"Pardon? Jacking up?"
"If I knew the location of a gold mine floating in the sky, how much do you think that'd be worth?"
"......"
Fox shut his mouth. He'd caught on instantly.
"What value do those mines and plant groves hold for you that you can't even claim? Mining, harvesting, distribution, transport—none of it adds up, so you're just letting them rot."
I kept pressing.
"If you figured they were worth the immediate cash, the Alliance and Empire would've already sent armies to conquer the south. Am I wrong?"
Finding a mine wasn't the end of it.
You needed manpower to mine, roads to transport, cities to house and feed workers, processing facilities.
Only after crunching those numbers did it qualify as a 'viable mine.'
In that regard, the south's buried resources were pie in the sky for them.
Crossing that vast desert and monster-infested plains was the first hurdle.
Fox's gaze sharpened. This wasn't just any barbarian.
"...Who are you?"
Clink.
I tossed a heavy pouch of gold coins indifferently onto the table.
"Do information outfits ask for client identities? How about starting with this instead?"
A weighty pouch. Easily 500 gold coins.
Fox's eyes locked onto it. But he was a seasoned broker—knowing the mark was loaded only fueled his greed.
"Of course, it's a hefty sum... but it's a bit short for all that intel. The value is just so..."
"Short?"
"Yes. To be frank, you'd need three times—no, at least double for it to balance out. We take on big risks too."
I chuckled and reached out.
Then smoothly pulled the gold pouch back toward me.
"Fair enough."
"......?"
Fox looked flustered. He'd expected me to haggle by upping the ante, not yank it back.
"Then no deal."
As I moved to stand, Fox shrugged.
A gesture saying your loss, not mine.
"Suit yourself. You won't find that price anywhere else."
Classic information broker move. Gutsy salesmanship.
Coming to buy intel meant you desperately wanted it.
You sought it out on your own two feet, only to leave empty-handed? The buyer would feel the regret more, went the logic.
It might've worked on most, but he picked the wrong opponent.
I knew exactly how to handle his type.
"Hey. Wanna die?"
"...Pardon?"
I threatened him in a voice cold as the grave.
Then stubbed out the cigar and whispered low.
"Guess you don't get it. Think I came here to play mark, sprinkling cash like a sucker?"
Shing—
"!!!"
Batu behind me flipped his dagger into reverse grip.
His raw killing intent grazed past Fox.
Fox's face drained of color.
"I can just hit up another city for the intel. Takes time, sure, but I can handle that much hassle."
I rose slowly from the chair and patted Fox's shoulder.
"But you can't."
"......Pardon?"
"Try jacking up the price on me, and your worthless life ends here. I've got no qualms about the fallout."
"......!!"
I curled my lips into a sinister grin.
"You don't even know who I am, right? Kill you and bounce from this city—what burden would that be? None, I'd bet. I've got nothing to lose."
Information brokers could afford bravado in the underworld thanks to unwritten rules.
'Mess with brokers, and it never ends well.'
Killing one meant the killer or their group got cut off from intel, leading to obsolescence.
In the underworld's eat-or-be-eaten, that meant death.
But me?
I wasn't bound by any of that. I was an outsider who didn't give a damn about this city's rules.
"In three seconds, I'll draw my sword. After that, your head rolls. Might be the last three seconds of your life, so think hard. Worth risking your neck over some inflated info fee? Those scraps of paper worth more than your life?"
I laid my hand on Kel Kar's hilt.
That simple motion alone weighed down the air.
"3."
Gulp—
A suffocating tension hung heavy.
"2."
Fox's eyes shook violently.
Not bad. He had the guts to run an info guild, after all.
"1."
Grip—
As I clenched the hilt, Fox's scream burst out.
"W-Wait!! Hold on!!"
Fox raised both hands, sweat pouring like rain.
Smart guy—he'd realized I wasn't bluffing.
His lips quivered.
"......I-I misjudged. Th-that money's enough. More than enough!!"
I smirked and released Kel Kar.
"There you go. Should've said that sooner. Here."
I sat back down and tossed the pouch over.
Fox clutched it like a lifeline.
Then he unlocked a deep drawer with a double-locked safe, pulling out a worn, massive parchment map.
Shhh—
The enormous map covered the table.
Sand Port at the center, southern terrain marked in tiny script and symbols.
"As you see, red marks monster habitats, blue for oases and tribes, yellow for resource deposits."
Fox pointed with a trembling finger to the wasteland's heart in the south.
"And here... the ruins of the ancient city 'El Raka,' passed down only in legends."
"El Raka..."
Aila murmured in awed rapture. The glorious civilization she'd spoken of.
I scanned the map.
Information was valuable.
It could turn into money, power, authority, knowledge—anything.
An immutable truth across modern, medieval, or fantasy worlds.
"Good. Excellent."
I nodded in satisfaction.
Time to lighten the mood.
I flashed Fox a smile—not murderous this time, but businesslike.
"Now, let's talk about the real important stuff."
"Pardon? More... more you need?"
"No. I've got a gift for you."
'Crazy bastard, I don't want your gifts or bullshit—just get out!'
Fox's eyes screamed it, but I pressed on.
"Soon, I'll unify the south and become king."
"......Pardon?"
Fox looked dumbfounded.
The guy who'd been playing life-and-death moments ago now talking kingship.
But I said it with the utmost seriousness and arrogance.
"Not some barbarian chief LARP. It'll take time, but I'll build a mighty kingdom trading as equals with the Empire."
"......"
"I'll cut deals with Sand Port quick. Magic stones, hides, monster byproducts... volumes beyond imagination."
Normally he'd scoff, but Fox felt an eerie premonition it'd happen.
This man's eyes had that spark.
"You run a regular trading company on top of info brokerage, right?"
Fox nodded, entranced.
"Y-Yes."
Info brokers always ran fronts for laundering and intel-gathering—basic stuff.
I extended my hand to Fox.
"Congratulations, Fox. You've just snagged the 'exclusive trade rights' with the future king of the south. Feel honored as our kingdom's first partner."
Fox's face twisted in utter bewilderment.