The Warehouse of Sins
The underground warehouse was stuffed to the brim with all sorts of things.
From brutally potent drugs to equipment of dubious origin, skillbooks that weren't available on the open market, rare monsters, and even people.
I clicked my tongue softly at the sight of the 'merchandise' crammed floor to ceiling.
Monsters were one thing, but buying and selling fellow humans? Even for this country, that seemed a step too far.
I glanced toward the iron bars, peering at the people locked inside.
Bound in heavy iron collars to prevent self-harm, they looked no better than livestock, no matter how charitably you viewed it.
"...Those collars around their necks—are they Enslavement Collars?"
"Yes. They were originally invented to restrain monsters, but as always, there are those who find ways to misuse them."
I clicked my tongue again at Toda's explanation.
"They're all sold as 'basic' slaves."
"...Basic slaves. So there are cases where they're not?"
"Yes... Depending on the buyer, they're just simple 'merchandise' for organ transplants. In this day and age, that's actually the bigger market than outright slavery."
"I see."
I murmured my acknowledgment and peered through the bars once more.
Their eyes—empty like those of dead fish, as if they'd long abandoned life itself—met mine.
I held their gaze for a moment before looking away.
I'm no saint.
Nor am I some villain.
I'm just a monster, that's all.
"Sort the equipment first. Word's probably gotten out by now—we don't have time to dawdle."
I gave the quiet order to Toda and Yoon Ha-yang.
Without a word of protest, they sprang into action.
I watched their hurried backs for a beat, then turned my gaze again.
"......"
Those dead, vacant stares still fixed on me.
I met them once more, then turned away.
I hadn't brought an item bag, but luckily there were a few high-end ones in the warehouse, so I used those to scoop up the rest of the goods.
Unfortunately, none of us—Toda, Yoon Ha-yang, or myself—were experts on items, so we couldn't pick out the truly valuable ones.
Plan was to grab everything and hand it off to Jeong Soo-ah for sorting.
She'd know what to do with it.
I could almost hear her hysterical shrieking in my ear already, but I ignored it.
She used to be independent, but now she was my subordinate.
When the boss gave an order, she followed it. End of story.
It didn't take long to clear out the equipment.
There was a lot, but since we weren't bothering to sort or select—just sweeping it all up—it went quickly.
And with that, we left the underground warehouse behind.
[Weren't you gonna let them live?]
Rumble—crash!!!
Left Eye asked quietly as we watched the Black Market building collapse in on itself.
"No particular reason to."
[Hmm... Thought you might.]
"Simple pity isn't enough when there are so many other things to consider. And if our involvement got exposed? Can't have that."
[I see.]
Left Eye fell silent after that nonchalant reply.
I didn't press the conversation either.
We watched the building crumble into rubble for a moment longer before I turned away.
Hunters had already swarmed the scene, having heard the news.
I'd assumed they were Yamamoto's people, but no—they were from the Association.
Yoon Ha-yang must have called them in.
Once I confirmed they were Association hunters, I'd sent her to join them early.
She had all the details; they'd handle it from there.
After parting ways with Toda, I headed to the Black Market.
I'd ordered him to keep acting as before.
He looked reluctant to split, but I pretended not to notice.
"Did all go well, my lord?"
By the time I arrived at the Black Market, they'd already fully secured the interior.
In Jeong Soo-ah's office—my first visit in a while—Snow waved leisurely.
"Looks like everything wrapped up smoothly. How was it?"
"No issues. Though the hunters were too weak to make for good practice."
I nodded slowly at Snow's matter-of-fact response.
"Makes sense. S-rank level wouldn't cut it for training."
"Still, it wasn't entirely fruitless. I feel like I've got a handle on fighting hunters now."
"Congratulations."
Snow smiled faintly.
Her ever-confident grin drew one from me in turn.
"Um, excuse me? You two haven't forgotten I'm here, have you? This is my office."
"Ah, right. You're here too. Sorry—your presence is so faint, I overlooked you."
"...Hehe. Sis, come on! Faint? It's dazzling, obviously!"
"I've told you time and again, I never permitted you to call me 'sis.'"
"Aww~ not this again! You happily accepted the gift I just gave you!"
"Ahem. That's separate. Don't tell me you're thinking of taking it back now?"
"Oh, never! But if you keep this up, sis, maybe the next gift arrives a little... late~?"
"From now on, call me sis."
"Yes, sis!"
"......"
I stared blankly at Snow and Jeong Soo-ah bantering like old friends.
Their rapport was a bit concerning, but this development? Utterly unforeseen on multiple levels.
At least they didn't seem to hate each other. Small mercies?
More importantly, Snow liked diamond jewelry. Note to self: don't forget.
"...Anyway, about this haul—mind checking these first?"
I handed over the item bags.
Jeong Soo-ah peeked inside and grimaced. "Ugh—what a mess! You didn't even sort them by type or grade?"
"...That's your job."
"...Hey, I've got plenty on my plate already?"
"...Can't your underlings handle it?"
"...Right, to you, I'm just another underling. Fine, whatever. Nothing says 'culture' like kicking it downhill..."
Muttering darkly, she called for Na Yeon-seong.
He entered promptly, as if waiting, and bowed to me.
Before I could respond, she cut in.
"Sort this."
"...Pardon?"
"By type, grade, price range—everything!"
"...Understood..."
"By morning!"
"...Boss? Morning's in a few hours. Obviously tomorrow... no, day after?"
"This morning!"
"B-Boss?"
"I'm not your boss anymore!"
With that, she shooed him out with frantic hand waves.
Na Yeon-seong slunk away, his face the picture of misery.
"...Isn't that a bit harsh?"
"Harsh is you!"
"......"
I clamped my mouth shut at Jeong Soo-ah's shrill outburst.
Something told me speaking now would end badly.
Snow, who had been quietly playing with Rue off to the side, spoke up with clear displeasure.
"That's too much for my husband. Know your place."
"Next time, I'll get you something bigger than today's diamond."
"...Ahem! Now I see—you're the harsh one, Nix. Even if they are subordinates, you can't just boss them around."
"......"
I watched Snow's instant about-face and Jeong Soo-ah's triumphant smirk in stunned silence.
Glad their relationship had improved? Sure. But not entirely glad.
Shhh—
Rue's soft 'You got this.' kept me from total exhaustion.
Or was I already there?
This felt more draining than raiding Yamamoto's black market.
"Alright, enough fun—time for reports on today's ops."
I steered the mood back, shifting topics.
Snow dropped her playful smile; Jeong Soo-ah quit her sulking. Good.
After watching them a moment, I recapped the day's intel and events—condensed, but thorough.
Jeong Soo-ah's side had little new; nothing like our haul of key info.
"Oger-deuk played both sides too hard and pissed everyone off. Greedy bastard with zero useful intel—figures."
She shrugged lightly.
"But the Chairman's info? All gold. That betrayed S-rank hunter especially."
"Planning to reach out later."
"And do what?"
I explained briefly to her cocked head.
"Plant a suggestion first, then exploit slowly. Like I said—we'll frame Zhang Wei for the black market hit."
"Got it. So we can't unload those items here, huh?"
"Right. Thinking Zhang Wei's black market instead."
"Selling Yamamoto's goods through Zhang Wei? Ironclad frame job."
Jeong Soo-ah got it without full details. As expected.
"Details are yours."
"...Great, more work. But yeah, who else? Leave it to me."
I nodded back at her calm acceptance.
Snow, who'd been observing silently, spoke up.
"So what's next? How do you plan to use that Ichijo hunter you mentioned?"
"Ichijo's from Kazuma's faction. His betrayal will widen the rift between Kazuma and Kazuki. They were already at odds—this seals it."
"Hmm... And then?"
"Divide and conquer. Even for me, taking on two SA-ranks at once is dicey. One by one it is."
"With my help, it'd be easy."
I chuckled at her mildly grumpy mutter.
"Snow, where's the fun if you jump in? Hold off till Wang Feng arrives, at least."
"Oh? That Wang Feng—the SS-rank hailed as humanity's strongest?"
-Sounds promising.
I watched her sly smile a moment, then continued.
"Might not even need to wait that long."
"Hm?"
"Checked today—Zhang Wei's forces are stronger than expected. Solo might be pushing it."
-Unless I revert to true form.
I swallowed the last part silently.
Snow would get it without me saying.
And sure enough, she nodded in understanding.
"Then I should join if needed."
"Count on you then."
"No need to ask. Your battles are mine."
Her smooth smile curved perfectly; mine matched it.
This was why I loved Snow.
"Um, you two? Like I said—I'm here? My office?"
I politely ignored Jeong Soo-ah's quiet grumble.