A Desperate Heart Can Be Bought Cheap - 3
"They're coming!"
Countless monsters were charging straight at the cadets.
"How about we handle that bunch ourselves?"
Yuha flashed a sly grin.
"D-Do you think we can?"
"I've got this! Of course we can!"
They were just Academy cadets, after all. There was no need to risk their lives in this fight. The monster horde looked overwhelming even to the cadets' eyes. If this many showed up, they could just hand it off to the instructors waiting nearby.
"If we pull this off... we'll rake in insane points!"
But Yuha was different. Compared to the average cadet, she possessed overwhelmingly superior abilities. She was the daughter of Lee Seoyeonn herself. She had inherited her mother's talents, received artifacts backed by the guild's support, and her own gifts were no slouch either. She could prove herself at a solid hunter level right now. No reason to hesitate just because a bunch more monsters had poured in.
"St-Still..."
But even setting her aside, the others with her weren't active hunters. They all knew how disastrously low her score had been in the recent 'field training,' so tension was inevitable.
"Trust me! I trust you guys, after all!"
"Yuha..."
The other cadets were soaked in fear, but Yuha just smiled.
There needs to be just enough crisis for me to whip out the gun!
The instructors were monitoring them even now. Pulling out a gun and firing in a situation that didn't call for it would just dock points. But if monsters swarmed in numbers too much for conventional methods—
"They're coming!"
A motley assortment of monsters bore down on them.
"Alright. I'll take the lead!"
Yuha clenched her fist. Mana surged fiercely along the red ribbon tying back her hair.
"Flames!"
A simple, concise incantation. But its power was anything but light. Massive flames erupted from her hand, swelling to fill their entire field of view.
"Whoa..."
The other cadets had a rough idea of Yuha's skill. But they'd never seen her go all-out, dead serious about sweeping away the monsters in front of her.
"Next!"
"Uh, yeah. Got it!"
But it wasn't infinite. Her spell had already incinerated countless monsters, yet the enemy numbers dwarfed that. Other hunters rushed in to finish off those breaking through the flames or dodging them by luck.
"Here I go!"
"This is doable...!"
Mana-infused arrows flew from all directions. Sword-wielding hunters desperately cut down monsters.
"Whoa—!"
But they were cadets in the end. No amount of combat experience was enough, and mistakes were bound to happen.
"No!"
A cadet next to Yuha stumbled, cornered by two monsters. Of course, it wasn't enough to put him in real danger. The armor he wore could shrug off a few hits from low-grade monsters like these. But Yuha was wide open. Mage-type hunters traded immediacy for cooldowns on their powerful spells. After unleashing that big one, she'd be defenseless—meaning an instructor would have to step in, and the whole group would take point deductions.
But.
"Don't panic."
Yuha casually drew the gun from her waist.
It was already easy to aim. And the enemies weren't flying in from afar—they were charging straight at her. She could hit them without even sighting down the barrel or assuming a proper stance.
"I'll handle it!"
Yuha fired off several mana bullets in an instant. The monsters lunging at her dropped like stones, pierced by the shots.
"Whoa..."
Yuha met the stares of the awestruck cadets with a relaxed smile.
"Fight's not over yet. Everyone, focus!"
It was the kind of line that could earn her points in 'leadership' from the watching instructor.
Perfect. Everything's going to plan!
Yuha encouraged the others with a grin, finished prepping, and chanted her next spell.
"It's... really over."
Monsters that these cadets couldn't have handled lay scattered as charred corpses across the ground.
This is good... no, not enough! It can't end in one go! If we repeat this a few times, tons of people will want to buy this gun! Then oppa will...
Yuha holstered her pistol at her thigh, lost in happy fantasies.
"Whew..."
I'd made an appointment with Lee Seoyeonn and now stood tensely in front of the guild headquarters.
So this is the Mukseong Guild building...
It was such a famous guild that I'd seen the place on the news a few times.
Not bad.
Her inviting me here meant she was taking me seriously as a 'merchant here to sell goods.' If she just saw me as 'Yuha's friendly oppa,' she'd have tried to meet at her place or a nearby café somehow.
Don't overthink it.
She might be intimidating, but I didn't have to act like the lesser party. If she deemed my goods worthless, I could shop around other guilds or workshops. If no one bit, I'd cut my losses and ditch the Lumikite. It was ore bought with water sales—no pressure to turn a massive profit.
Yeah, it's all the same.
Up to now, the value of my stuff came from those 'ridiculously cheap costs.' Everything was just a byproduct of building my trading record.
"Hello! Are you here to see the guild master?"
"Yes."
The receptionist called out as soon as I entered the lobby.
"Take the elevator straight to the 7th floor, guild master's office."
"Thanks."
I felt eyes on me. To Yuha, Seoyeonn was just Mom. But to these people, she was more—a figure of respect, loyalty, devotion. Some hunters had probably joined Mukseong solely because of her. Active members fought alongside her always. They knew better than I how strong and remarkable she was.
I had to meet her surrounded by them, under their gazes.
...Whatever.
The elevator arrived. I hit the button for the 7th floor.
"Nice to meet you."
"An honor to see you again."
Lee Seoyeonn regarded the man calmly.
Well, he must want something.
He was a seller. No way he'd pass up a chance to meet her.
But the guild is public space. He won't try anything shady here.
She didn't distrust him as a person. She just acknowledged that even good people could turn ruthless when business was on the line.
"I'm short on time, so no time for chit-chat. You're here to sell that gun, right?"
"Pardon?"
He tilted his head, seemingly caught off guard.
"Do you... need it?"
"...No?"
"Why would you—"
Seoyeonn let out a dry chuckle.
I like this.
There was the Yuha connection, so she'd have bought even unneeded guns to some extent. The guild wasn't hurting for cash, enough to humor him modestly.
But Jeong Isu didn't seem the type to impose.
"You are here to sell something?"
"Yes. Something else."
"Hmm..."
Seoyeonn smiled leisurely at him.
"Now I'm curious."
It was literal—no flattery, no empty words, just genuine interest.
That little pistol was crude but intriguing, even if not that useful.
Made from unknown materials, the shoddy craftsmanship was hard to replicate on purpose. Where he sourced it, how he made it—all mysteries. If he had something new, how could she not be intrigued?
"Ore."
"...Not an artifact?"
"Correct."
He pulled out a small paper box, like one for a potion. Inside gleamed a chunk of yellow metal.
"...What do you use this for?"
"It might be infused with mana."
"Might?"
At the vague words, Seoyeonn bit her lip.
"Confusing. Should I verify it first, then buy? Or buy blind?"
Common sense said call in guild hunters or smiths for a debate on its utility before bulk-buying.
But Seoyeonn owed him a debt.
"I could buy without verifying. But then—"
Her eyes turned icy.
"You'd be using up a lot of my goodwill."
She could let a scam slide once against Mukseong. But that'd be it. Whatever he priced this useless metal at, no next time.
"Of course you'd want to assess its value first before deciding."
Seoyeonn couldn't grasp the situation.
Why? If not banking on my favor for a con... what was that vagueness?
She couldn't read him. His intentions, abilities, mindset—all unpredictable.
It was a bit...
Scary?
If he approached with goodwill and she rejected him, Mukseong and Seoyeonn might forfeit unimaginable opportunities.
If he had malice and she fell for it, the price could exceed her worst imaginings.
Don't panic.
Clarify the situation. No need to guess his intent now. She'd gotten his consent. Test the metal's value, then analyze accordingly.
"Excuse me a moment."
Seoyeonn pulled out her phone and called an in-house alchemist. A talent from another major guild, personally connected to her, who'd joined Mukseong.
She'd appraise it properly.
"Don't call me for weird stuff. Random merchants peddling 'mana-conducting metal'—it's always a scam..."
"I know. Check it."
"If it's real gate ore, provenance would be clear. No way it'd have mana other—"
The alchemist took the yellow metal and blinked in shock.
"...It does?"
"What?"
"Mana flows through it fine. If processed right, this could—"
Seoyeonn, who'd half-expected a fake, bit her lip hard in surprise.
"It's for artifacts."