chapter 7
chapter 7
Suspicious Secret Merchant (3)
Shine told her friend about the unbelievable thing she had experienced.
“…You must be really stressed.”
As expected, her friend thought she was saying strange things because of stress.
It wasn’t uncommon for students stuck at B rank to become overwhelmed, so Shine wasn’t angry that her friend didn’t believe her.
‘Can I really talk about this so freely?’
What if word got out and that man got reported, and then couldn’t show up at the meeting place?
‘Absolutely not!’
It would be fine after the deal was done, but before that, absolutely not.
She missed that ‘child’—the weapon—so much it even appeared in her dreams. She couldn’t risk ruining things by carelessly talking.
“Don’t go around telling people what I just said.”
“You mean your crazy story?”
“Hey!”
“Hahaha! Alright, alright. Who would I even tell? And people would understand. Show me someone who hasn’t done something weird from exam stress.”
After repeatedly warning her friend, Shine went home and waited for the package to arrive.
She had already informed her family.
She told them she found a weapon that suited her perfectly, but the owner wouldn’t sell it for money.
She had even confidently said that with that weapon, reaching A rank would be guaranteed, so her family would surely take it seriously.
‘Why is time passing so slowly?’
With the exam approaching, each day used to feel precious—but now, time crawled unbearably slowly.
One week felt far too long.
“Oh!”
She trusted her family would send something valuable, but she couldn’t help worrying about how much.
She had been stuck at B rank for a year now.
She had even started worrying that her family might give up on her—but it seemed that was unnecessary.
“Isn’t this… too expensive?”
What her family sent was none other than werewolf hide fur.
If it had been ordinary brown or black fur, she wouldn’t have been this surprised.
But what they sent was silver werewolf fur.
Silver fur that shimmered under moonlight was on a completely different level compared to brown or black.
‘Because the werewolf lord has silver fur.’
A monster ‘lord’ produced the most valuable byproducts.
This fur could be used to make armor that most swords couldn’t even pierce.
“They sent a whole one, completely intact.”
Even the tail fur was intact—an extremely valuable monster byproduct.
“With this, he’ll definitely agree to trade.”
There was no way he would refuse something like this.
“Of course… that weapon probably costs a lot too…”
She had never used it, so she couldn’t be certain of its exact value.
She carefully wrapped the fur again and hugged it tightly.
‘I’ll definitely get it!’
Even though the faintly shimmering silver fur was incredibly valuable, her heart didn’t waver.
What she wanted wasn’t the fur—
It was that weapon she had seen.
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
Finally, today!!
Shine jumped up early in the morning and got ready to go out.
She barely slept.
She only forced herself to sleep a little so time would pass faster.
“I’m heading out.”
She knew she was going far earlier than the meeting time, but waiting there felt better.
The sun had just begun to rise when she stepped outside.
She had submitted a leave request, but the academy gates weren’t open yet.
“Mister! Please open the gate.”
“Student, where are you going this early?”
“I filed for leave. Here.”
She handed over the confirmation slip, and the guard looked bewildered but accepted it.
“It’s still so early…”
“Come on! I’m allowed to go out anytime, right? If it’s too much trouble, should I just climb over?”
“Good grief, don’t do something dangerous! I’ll open it, just wait.”
The gates opened earlier than usual, and after thanking him, she immediately left the academy.
In her arms was the package containing the werewolf fur for the trade.
She arrived at the place where she had met the suspicious man, but of course, he wasn’t there this early.
Still, she didn’t feel disappointed and sat on a shaded bench.
Munch munch—
She ate the sandwich she had prepared the night before, worried she might get hungry while waiting.
Even while eating, her eyes constantly scanned the surroundings.
She had no intention of missing him.
Time passed…
People began to pass by around her.
She remained seated, vigilantly watching.
And finally—
“Mister!”
At a moment when foot traffic had thinned—
A hooded man of similar build entered her sight.
Now that it was daylight, he didn’t look as suspicious as before.
“…I remember it not being time yet.”
The man seemed puzzled by her early arrival.
“I’ve been waiting since morning.”
“Why?”
“You didn’t specify clearly. You just said next week at this time.”
“…..”
Though his eyes were hidden under the hood, she could tell he was staring at her in disbelief.
“Mister, more importantly, I brought it.”
Shine held out the package.
Just as he reached out to take it, she quickly pulled it back.
“What are you doing?”
“If I show mine, you should show yours too.”
“I haven’t decided to trade yet.”
“If you see this, you won’t be able to refuse. I’m that confident. Show me first! I need to confirm it’s really worth this much.”
In truth, she was anxious he might refuse.
But she didn’t want to seem weak and get pressured for more, so she deliberately tried to maintain some balance.
She knew that in a deal, one side shouldn’t be completely dragged along.
“…..”
The man stared at her silently.
She lifted her chin, pretending confidence.
Inside, she was trembling, cold sweat running down her back.
“Wait.”
Finally, he reached into the sack.
Gulp—
Thump thump thump—
Her heart felt like it would explode.
She couldn’t believe she would see it again.
And the moment that brilliant crimson glow appeared—
“Waaah…!”
She burst into tears.
“…….”
“Sniff.”
“……”
“Sniff!”
Shine sat on the bench, clutching the precious weapon tightly.
The man, unexpectedly kind, handed her water.
After drinking, she kept sniffling while examining the weapon with both hands and eyes.
“You said you wanted to check its value again?”
“…Sniff…”
“So, what do you think?”
“…Sniff…snff…”
She had no words.
After acting so confident, all she could do was cry.
She had completely exposed her true feelings.
“…It’s a really good weapon. It’s… warm.”
This was too much.
To show her something like this and then tell her she couldn’t have it.
Tears threatened to fall again.
“It’s a fire-attribute weapon.”
“Where did you find such a beautiful baby… sniff.”
“That’s a secret. The origin doesn’t matter to you, right? Don’t worry, it’s not stolen.”
“…Open mine. I have to have this.”
The man obediently unwrapped the package.
She compared the silver werewolf fur with the weapon.
As he checked the contents, she couldn’t bear it anymore and spoke first.
“Sniff… mister.”
“…..”
“Could you give me one more chance? I’ll somehow get something better. Or… could you rent it to me instead?”
Even without using it, she knew.
She had almost unintentionally tried to cheat him.
This wasn’t something that could be exchanged for mere silver werewolf fur.
So she thought of another option.
Not buying—but renting.
“Renting?”
The man showed interest.
“Yes. I’ll use this to reach A rank, then return to my family during break. I’ll give you all the monster byproducts I collect. Could you wait until I can pay its full value?”
She couldn’t stand the thought of someone else having it.
It had to be hers.
“I think it likes being with me too. If something this beautiful ends up with someone else and suffers… I’d lose my mind.”
“You like it that much?”
Nod nod nod nod—
She nodded vigorously.
“Hmm… what should I do.”
“I’ll stamp a contract with my family seal. I’m only B rank now, so this is the best I can do. But once I reach A rank, everything will change.”
She would receive far more support then.
“Please… just trust me this once.”
Had she ever begged like this before?
But the moment she held the weapon, her pride had long disappeared.
“Alright. Bring a contract. I’ll rent it to you.”
“Waaah!! Really?! Kyaaah!!! I’m so happy!! Oh my god!! Kyaaah!!! You’ll be blessed, mister!!! If you ever need help, just tell me! I’ll definitely help you!!!!”
“Kyaaaaah!!!!”
She jumped up, unable to contain her excitement, hopping in place.
Even as people around stared, Shine didn’t care at all.