Raising Shin Yu-hee (4): The One Who Killed Shin Yu-hee is Over There?
Of course it was bullshit. The person who killed Shin Yu-hee wasn't over there. But they didn't know that. Even if they did, we could just keep insisting it was true.
So why bother? Simple—to split them into factions. To clearly divide those who could become our "allies" from our enemies, all for our benefit. To make things easier for me.
Luckily, Shin Yu-hee played along smartly, letting me seize control of the conversation.
"No exchange vouchers, no info."
"Th-there's no spare exchange vouchers, though."
"I'm offering a way to earn back multiples of one voucher, and you're saying that's too much?"
"...How do we know if the info from you, Si-woo sunbae, is real or not? What if we hand over one and you just say 'figure it out and survive on your own'?"
"Your loss."
"......."
"Kidding. Even with lives on the line, no need to be stingy among ourselves."
Their reactions were sharper than expected. Things must not be going well in that group of eighteen.
"Just one promise. The info we share here stays secret among you all."
Obvious, but I had zero expectation they'd keep it forever. Without a contract or some mind-binding spell like geas, a verbal promise was just an illusion you could shatter anytime.
"Can you keep that promise?"
"Why keep it such a big secret, sunbae?"
"Obviously. If it were you, would you want to help the bastard who killed one of yours even a tiny bit? Keep that, and I'll share the info. Fair trade."
Still, the reason I was spilling to them was because I'd only give info that'd lose value in three or four days anyway.
"Fine. You need to know the quality to judge, right? Alright, here's one."
I pointed to the exchange behind us, watching over everything.
"Recommend taking quests from the goblin there. Stuff like hauling warehouse goods or delivering specific items. Like... convenience store part-time gig, if I had to compare."
"For real?"
"Yeah. Never done it myself, but heard it from a reliable source I met here."
Honey tip straight from Shemiri.
"Better than mining till you drop or messing with unknown crops in the underground farm and losing vouchers. Use your head for once. Hey, Grimmwald."
"...What is it."
He'd been listening with perked ears, but now the goblin at the exchange counter adjusted his glasses below and gave us a bored look.
"You need temp workers who can read, write, calculate—decent brains, right?"
"...You angling for a referral fee?"
"If I was, I'd just hope we trade nice next time. Think of it as meddling to help folks from the same place."
"...Don't know about skills, but no voucher if you slack."
Grimmwald grumbled a warning, but I caught a glimpse of his hands busily moving under the counter. Probably drafting a contract or making test problems to gauge how much brainwork they could handle.
"I can provide info like this, so one voucher should be plenty, right?"
Quality verified. But with most scraping by on 2-3 vouchers on average, it was still a tough sell for the desperate.
"...What if we offer info worth one voucher?"
Smart ones, these guys.
"Info?"
"Yeah. We've got some decent stuff too. The kind Si-woo sunbae might be interested in."
They're bargaining. Bluffing for sure, but exactly what I wanted.
"Hm... Info worth one voucher."
One reason: to extract more from them on favorable terms.
The other—
"What do you think, Shin Yu-hee?"
"Let's trade?"
"Trade it is. Deal."
For both of us, it was buying goodwill cheap by pretending to be generous over nothing.
"So, what info's got you thinking I'd be hooked?"
"...Can you go first?"
Of course, right after the favor, they test boundaries.
"Bullshit."
I cut it off cold.
"You go first, right?"
"S-sorry. Okay, right away. First... Park Chang-su became the party leader."
They weren't calling him sunbae or oppa to his face. People shit on kings behind their backs, but they clearly knew who was on top.
One-win difference. I'd already won in the arena, making me their envy, the hill they had to climb. With me hogging Shin Yu-hee, they could only watch.
"Leader, huh. Hm, yeah. For food orders, go to Shemiri's restaurant. Team up two at a time—one gets bread, the other soup. Dip and eat."
"...That's it?"
"Yep. Matches the value of your info."
"......."
Even after sharing the max-nutrition combo with minimal vouchers, the reaction was meh. I'd guessed Park Chang-su would step up as leader anyway—not fresh news.
"Next."
"...Uncle Jae-hwan and Auntie Yeon-woo are moving separately. Older folks, don't wanna follow Park Chang-su's orders."
Bus driver and janitor. Better to team with fellow adults than take orders from a fresh-out-of-military punk.
Not ditching the young ones. Without Park Chang-su, they'd have tried leading too.
Point is, Park Chang-su was the problem here.
"Good. It's in the survival log, but..."
"We know among ourselves too..."
"You can send proxies in the arena. Here..."
"We're out scouting voluntarily. We too..."
After that, worthless back-and-forth. I only gave stuff anyone could glean from the log.
Just as I wondered if we'd wasted time—
"...Park Chang-su made us an offer, sunbae."
Last one. Something juicy.
"Offer?"
"Yeah. Stick right by him, and he'll take care of you."
"Did he really say it like that?"
"......."
"From the others' reactions, I can guess, but sounded different?"
"...Said he'd take extra care of people who sleep with him."
"Fucking psycho."
Totally unhinged.
What, you wanna get lynched by the rest?
Not even 1:1 gaslighting—this clown spouts that to the whole group? On practically day one?
Not your average bastard.
Probably always thought that way.
Objectively, tightrope over a snapping rope—but it hooks some.
"Anyone take the offer?"
"...Yeah."
"They did?"
"Yes. Not us, though."
Some resist, like these guys.
"Park Chang-su causing trouble?"
"......."
"Sorry, no bandwidth to babysit you. One burden's enough."
"Burden?!"
"Shut it. If you weren't 'that teacher's' daughter, I wouldn't drag you around."
I waved dismissively at Shin Yu-hee like she was a nuisance. She flinched but scratched her cheek and looked away.
"Dad... ha."
Obviously, I had no clue who her dad was—alive, dead, job, nothing.
"Ah..."
"Jeong-in. Doesn't seem like it."
"Yeah. Probably."
But her loud mutter let them all hear, killing any direct pleas for help.
"Hm..."
Dilemma.
Either scoop them up quick and deal with the hassle, or let factions split fully while Park Chang-su spreads like plague.
Former's annoying to manage; latter risks his tentacles everywhere.
Toss some bait?
If we're exploiting them anyway, this was best.
"Here's info. In Chekhov's Arena, you can 'nominate' opponents. Wager your own exchange vouchers."
Spill it.
"I killed a warrior named Tehalt, took all his vouchers. That's how I can afford to keep Shin Yu-hee."
Twisted, manipulated, agenda-laden info.
"Kill and claim—if you can, pick someone loaded with vouchers. Not a bad play."
Five of them. One'd sell this to Park Chang-su for clout, and eventually he'd nominate me.
Already killed once. Twice changes nothing. Especially since he's eyeing Shin Yu-hee.
"Alright, that settles—"
"W-wait."
One pulled out a voucher.
"O-one more."
"...Last one. What?"
"Th-that proxy thing! So I could just put you up as proxy and win... right?"
"Obviously."
"Then... how much?"
"Huh?"
"Proxy fee. How much? Or, uh... anything besides vouchers?"
Anything else what.
The thought flashed; others started glancing around.
"Hm."
I pocketed the voucher.
"Propose later. If you're serious about hiring."
Boom—bait dropped.
Some'd call proxies with vouchers; others'd pay... differently.
1 win, 1 fuck.
Fair trade.