The Reason I Went Bankrupt
To work as an explorer, you need basic equipment. Even a saint mage never knows what might happen. Armor that could support my strength was essential. So I bought better armor than I had back when I was just a porter. It protected my elbows, knees, neck, and forehead thoroughly. It felt a bit heavy, but compared to my porter days, I was grateful for it.
I also bought dried rations. With Babiyen around, we could start a fire anytime. No need to pack much tinder.
“You need more than I thought.”
Aranseol looked surprised beside me. She had never worked as an explorer, so that was only natural.
“If something goes wrong, it’s too late to fix it. Other explorers do at least this much.”
It was the preparation method Bulldog had taught me himself. If I didn’t do it properly, I would get cursed out for every possible reason, so I had been forced to learn.
More than that, I had spent quite a bit of money. It seemed I really needed to keep earning steadily.
I was checking the money I had saved when Aranseol spoke up.
“Harua, what are those people over there?”
What was she talking about? I looked up and saw a shaggy-bearded merchant with a cloth spread out. A crowd had gathered around him—packed so tightly it was almost suffocating.
“Ah, damn it.”
The moment I saw him, I bolted. In the central shopping district of the capital Valterion, a special merchant sometimes appears: the Named Merchant. No one knows where he comes from or when he will show up. But whenever he does, everyone says the same thing—every item he sells is rare and precious.
However, the Named Merchant doesn’t sell to just anyone. He only sells to the people he personally designates among the crowd. It doesn’t matter if they’re unknown or famous. He simply chooses. Conversely, if someone isn’t designated, he will never sell to them. Those who aren’t chosen can’t force the issue either. If they tried, the other explorers nearby would punish them in ways they couldn’t predict. And if the Named Merchant stopped coming here altogether, everyone would lose the chance to buy those rare items forever. It was better to wait quietly until he designated someone.
Bulldog had told me that even if there was nothing I wanted to buy, I should always check what the Named Merchant was selling. If he designated me, it would be something I absolutely needed—or at least something I could sell for a fortune. He had emphasized it a hundred times.
For the Named Merchant to appear at this exact moment… maybe this was fate. The fate that would make me a grand saint mage. My mouth watered. Fate itself was guiding me here!
I grabbed Aranseol and rushed toward the Named Merchant. With so many people packed together, it wasn’t easy to push through.
“Excuse me, coming through.”
“What the— I got here first, so get lost—”
The rough explorer who had been about to curse at me turned around, then froze.
“Could we pass through for a moment?”
When Aranseol asked, the man grinned widely.
“Guess I’m the one who needs to get lost. Ahem, ahem.”
He stepped aside like a gentleman, won over by a single word from Aranseol.
“Ahem.”
“Cough.”
After that, people gradually made way, naturally clearing a path. Everyone was busy staring at Aranseol’s face. The world’s most gentlemanly sweet men had gathered here. If you can’t beat them, join them. Long live looks-ism.
Carrying Aranseol on my back, I pushed through the crowd. Thanks to that, we reached the Named Merchant in no time.
As Bulldog had said, the merchant had laid out all sorts of goods. Most street vendors sold ordinary miscellaneous items, but his were different. Everything looked rare and precious at a glance. Was there anything here I could actually buy? Without the Named Merchant’s designation, I couldn’t purchase a single thing. That was an unbreakable rule.
“Merchant, do you have anything you could recommend to me?”
I swallowed hard and asked. I still had the money Lapiel had given me. I couldn’t afford to miss this chance.
Please, please sell me something. Anything.
The Named Merchant, seeing my expectant gaze, lifted one eye from beneath his shaggy hair. Then he gave a small nod.
Silence fell over the area.
Approval. Was that approval? It wasn’t some strange answer only a primitive otherworlder would give, right?
“Oh!”
“Ooh, someone’s been chosen.”
The people behind us cheered. The moment I heard that, my eyes widened and I started to clench my fists—
—when the Named Merchant raised his hand and pointed behind me.
There stood Aranseol, looking confused.
“You there, miss. Buy this.”
The Named Merchant held up a vial containing a blue herb. Everyone’s eyes naturally turned to Aranseol. Meanwhile, I stood there like a duck that had wandered into the Nakdong River, completely stunned.
“Me?”
Aranseol didn’t know much about the Named Merchant, so she didn’t understand what this designation meant.
“As expected, the Named Merchant has an eye for people.”
“An item like that should go to a girl like her!”
The sweet explorers who had cleared the way earlier cheered even louder than before. Aranseol glanced back at me, then spoke carefully.
“I’m fine, so couldn’t you recommend something to Harua instead?”
“No.”
The Named Merchant’s answer was absolute. There was nothing here for me to buy. At that point, there was nothing I could purchase. My world collapsed today.
Of course. The goddess of fortune would never smile at me. Still, Aranseol had been given an opportunity. The Named Merchant’s goods were expensive, but they were always worth the price. Especially when sold to the person he designated—it meant the item was something they absolutely needed.
“How much is it?”
It might be something Aranseol needed.
“One thousand gold.”
One thousand gold. In Korean currency, that was roughly thirty million won. This crazy old man. Who charges thirty million won for a single item? And considering it was medicine, it was clearly a consumable with an expiration date.
“One… one thousand gold?”
Aranseol looked flustered too. No matter how capable she was, she definitely didn’t have a thousand gold on her. But I did. I had the thousand gold Lapiel had given me as her personal funds.
“What does it do?”
“It awakens untapped talent. I don’t know which direction it will take.”
Aranseol’s shoulders twitched. She had always struggled with her talent. For her, the awakening of talent was an opportunity she could never afford to miss.
“I’ll buy it.”
So I spoke without hesitation. Money could always be earned again. But the Named Merchant’s opportunities didn’t come every day.
“Harua?!”
“Whoa, this guy’s got guts!”
“That’s right. If you want to date a pretty girl like that, you’ve gotta spend at least this much!”
“You should pay more taxes!”
The onlookers were noisy.
“Wait, Harua, that’s the living expenses you need for a while.”
Aranseol rushed over and tried to talk me out of it. But she was mistaken about one thing.
“What are you talking about? Aranseol, I’m not buying this for free. You’re going to pay me back every last coin.”
Aranseol had a lifetime contract with me going forward. Finding a swordsman as skilled as her wouldn’t be easy. There was no harm in writing up a contract with her. More than anything, the value of Soun, who stood behind her, was immeasurable. The fact that Soun had rushed over for the Cosmic Jack incident showed how much he cared for his disciple. Investing in Aranseol was also a way to get on Soun’s good side.
“……But you’re still the one spending the money right now.”
She hit me with a solid fact. Fight fair and square with fabrication, damn it.
“I’ll pay you back.”
Aranseol let out a deep breath.
“I’ll definitely pay you back. But what are we going to do about living expenses for now?”
If I spent this, we wouldn’t have any living expenses left.
“We’ll earn more.”
So the only option was to take on the job that would let us earn money the fastest. The Second World. It had always been dangerous, but I had the safety net of resurrection magic. With me around, the danger level of the Second World dropped sharply. Not using resurrection magic was the best-case scenario, but if things got dangerous, I would have no choice but to use it.
“Here’s the payment.”
When I handed over the money pouch, the Named Merchant reached out and took it.
“You have to let go if you want me to take it.”
“Right.”
I reluctantly released the pouch. It was the last time I would hear the clink of a thousand gold coins. The Named Merchant roughly counted the money, then handed me the vial. I immediately passed it to Aranseol. She clutched it tightly, as if afraid someone might steal it. She was going to break it at this rate.
“One month from now.”
At that moment, the Named Merchant spoke again.
“Come back here.”
The next person he designated was me. One month from now. That meant in one month, there would be something worth selling to me as well. The goddess of fortune was still smiling at me!
But my face froze anyway. In other words, I had to gather another fortune worth a thousand gold within a month. Was this guy trying to skin people alive? Still, the explorers around us were looking at me with envious eyes. They were people who had money but couldn’t buy from the Named Merchant. Yeah, it was better than not even getting the chance like them.
“……Understood.”
Whether I liked it or not, I had to go to the Second World to earn money. That was the only place where I had a chance of becoming a grand saint mage.
* * *
Aranseol headed back to the inn, carefully cradling the expensive medicine she had bought. Fortunately, we had already paid for a week’s stay at the inn. We had no money left, but at least we wouldn’t have immediate problems with lodging.
“Let’s reduce it to one room.”
As we were about to enter the room, Aranseol suddenly said something unexpected.
“Reduce it to one room?”
“If we combine your room and mine, we can stay two more weeks. Since this is an inn for explorers, we won’t lose days while working in the Second World, so we can use it longer.”
It was definitely a good idea. However, the inn rooms weren’t very spacious. And there was only one bed. It would be uncomfortable for two people.
“We need money right now. I also need to save if I’m going to pay you back.”
“That’s true.”
Aranseol’s reasoning was sound. Combining rooms made sense. As I thought about it logically, another thought occurred to me.
“Wait, Aranseol, wouldn’t it be awkward for a man and woman to share a room?”
“Can you see otherworlders as the opposite sex?”
“What kind of disgusting thing is that to say?”
My face genuinely twisted. How could a person see a beast as the opposite sex? I wasn’t a furry. Hearing my answer, Aranseol smiled brightly.
“I feel the same way.”
Ah. Our interests aligned perfectly. This was why I liked Aranseol.
“More importantly, let’s try that out right away.”
We could move rooms later. We had to use what we bought. Aranseol took out the vial she had been holding.
“……I’ll drink it.”
Aranseol spoke with a tense expression. Then she poured the entire contents of the vial into her mouth. Her face scrunched up as if she had swallowed something terrible. Why did pretty girls still look cute even when making weird faces? It was a little annoying.
Aranseol grimaced for a while before letting out a breath. When I looked at her expectantly, she smacked her lips.
“How is it? Did anything change?”
“Hmm, uh-huh.”
Aranseol tilted her head this way and that. Then she fumbled for her sword and swung it once. Silence fell between us. Finally, Aranseol asked carefully.
“……Did I change at all?”
I don’t know. Not knowing was terrifying. I felt like I wouldn’t be able to sleep, wondering if my thousand gold had been scammed.