The Non-Drying 900 Won
Leaving the game center, I walked back toward the guild.
"Hee hee."
Lee Da-yeon hugged the shark plush toy I had given her and grinned brightly, over and over.
Seeing her like that filled me with pride.
Now that I had reached the pinnacle, I had done nothing but train her, yet she was this happy over a small gift. In the future, when she grew up and took my place, she would surely become a sage who knew how to look after subordinates. Being close to a tyrant like me, the young cult leader would instead embrace her disciples with kindness.
Soon it would be time for dinner.
In the proper order, I should have headed back to the guild to eat. But I wanted to savor the freedom I had already gained.
But.
[Balance: 900 won]
"Short on cash, huh?"
I let out a light sigh.
Lee Da-yeon, who had been pressing the shark plush toy against her chest, tilted her head curiously.
"Why?"
"Young Cult Leader, go take a look around this street. There are restaurants everywhere, and all sorts of strange things in the shops. Isn't it a waste to turn back now?"
"But.... If we don't get back soon, Big Sis will scold me. We were supposed to eat at the guild for dinner, right?"
Lee Da-yeon wore an anxious expression, afraid of the hellfire burning her backside.
"Right, the angry left protector is terrifying."
I shuddered and quickened my steps.
Soon, as if it were some kind of holiday, the front of the convenience store was packed with every kind of candy on display.
"Oh, candy."
I drifted into the convenience store like in a trance.
"Welcome."
The male clerk behind the counter gave us a bored look without even glancing at us. Unbothered, I walked straight to the candy aisle.
"Mmm."
The cheapest stick candy cost 500 won. Two for 1,000 won.
It wouldn't even fill my stomach, but my mouth wouldn't get bored during the walk back to the guild.
My balance was only 900 won, but this world was still a place where people lived. The ancient law of price negotiation could not be ignored. A 100-won difference was nothing; it could be adjusted with a little persuasion.
I picked up two 500-won sticks and headed to the counter.
The young man at the counter looked over at us and froze.
"...Little customers?"
Unlike his earlier unfriendly attitude, the moment he saw us his expression softened into a gentle smile.
"Buying candy?"
"Yeah. But...."
I gave him a sad face and held out my phone.
Bloop.
[Insufficient balance]
The clerk, tapping my phone against the terminal, looked flustered.
"Oh? You seem short on money."
"Th-that is.... I have 900 left, but two candies are 1,000 won, right? I'm short exactly 100...."
Directly asking to lower the price would have wounded my pride as the Heavenly Demon. But the man seemed to sense the situation and handled it on his own.
The clerk looked troubled.
Thud.
Lee Da-yeon grabbed my hand.
When I turned to look at her, she smiled brightly.
"Ji-yeon-ah, I'm fine. It's because there's not enough money, right? You can eat it all."
"N-no! If I don't eat it myself, I'd rather not eat anything at all!"
"Hii, Ji-yeon-ah!"
"Crying.... Young Cult Leader!"
Wham!
Bloop.
Just then the sound of a successful calculation rang out.
"Ah, done. Looks like the oppa made a mistake. There, everything's paid, young ladies."
He smiled and handed us the two candies.
"Oh."
"Waaah."
I and Lee Da-yeon each took one.
Did we really get a good deal?
We unwrapped the candy and sucked on it contentedly while checking my phone balance.
[Balance: 900 won]
"Huh."
I tilted my head.
The small candy melted instantly in my mouth.
Walking down the street with a refreshed palate, I caught a delicious aroma drifting from a shop at the corner of a building.
"Smell, smell."
The moment I caught it, I knew exactly what it was.
It was the scent of chicken and vegetables roasting together.
I tugged at Lee Da-ye'son's sleeve.
"Young Cult Leader, there's a wonderful smell coming from that shop."
"Aren't we supposed to eat at the guild?"
"Just a little, just a tiny bit."
"Okay?"
Lee Da-yeon fell for my persuasion easily.
At the open stall in front of us, skewers loaded with meat and vegetables waited.
We drooled at the sight.
"Oh, it's grilled meat and vegetables on a skewer."
"It smells like chicken."
"Hee hee, the young cult leader has a nose like a ghost."
I looked up at the price on the skewer.
[Chicken Skewers: 2,500 won]
"Hah."
"...Why, Ji-yeon-ah?"
"J-just wait a second."
Somehow, even though I had paid 1,000 won for the candy, I still had 900 won left.
Buying two 2,500-won chicken skewers for the two of us to share sounded perfect. But I only had 900 won, while the skewers cost 2,500. The negotiation difficulty was high this time.
Inside the open-front chicken skewer stall stood an auntie. She noticed us and approached with a kind smile.
"Oh my, little missy and little missy. Buying chicken skewers?"
"Yes. Just one to eat. But...."
I trailed off and looked at Lee Da-yeon.
Since we had succeeded once, we should try the same again.
I held out my phone.
Bloop.
[Insufficient balance]
Just like before, the failure message sounded.
The auntie looked bewildered as the scene of us both teary-eyed and clinging to each other unfolded like water.
"Come on, kids! The calculation worked out. Our stall has an event going on—buy one, get one free!"
"Oh."
"Waaah!"
I and Lee Da-yeon grinned widely as we each grabbed a skewer.
[Balance: 900 won]
It was clear now.
No matter what the reason, whenever Lee Da-yeon and I made sad faces, the item appeared free.
Oink oink.
I bit into the chicken on the skewer, tore it apart with my teeth, and ate it along with the vegetables. The perfectly seasoned chicken tasted heavenly.
"There really are so many delicious foods in the world."
"Yeah. This one is really good."
I and Lee Da-yeon sat on the bench in front of the stall, devouring the skewers eagerly.
"...?"
At that moment, a familiar aura brushed my senses.
It was coming straight toward us.
I stuffed the skewer into my mouth and grabbed Lee Da-yeon's hand.
"...Huh? Ji-yeon, why?"
"I-I have a bad feeling. Let's go in quickly."
"Wait, I haven't finished eating yet."
Whoosh! Thud.
The aura reached us in an instant and stopped.
I and Lee Da-yeon shivered.
"L-left protector....!"
"Hii!"
In front of me stood Kim Na-yeon, the left protector, with a single prominent vein bulging on her forehead.
"Even though dinner time was over, you still hadn't come back, so I came to look for you...."
The left protector was truly a ghost.
I could hide my qi after reaching the Harmony Realm. The young cult leader's qi was still too weak to detect.
How had the peak-stage left protector found us so easily?
Before I could even react, Kim Na-yeon's rough hand reached for us.
"Come on, let's hurry back. We need to eat dinner. You didn't stuff yourselves with street food, did you?"
"Big Sis Na-yeon! I'm really wronged! Listen to me!"
I started complaining.
The price of the lunch like sprinkling gold, the frustration of being short on money, the experience of even being short yet somehow succeeding at payment.
Kim Na-yeon's face changed.
She sighed, walked to the chicken skewer stall, bowed her head, made a payment, and approached us.
Fortunately, Kim Na-yeon's face, which I thought would be angry, held its usual smile.
"So, how was your day? Did you have fun?"
"Y-yes. It was fun."
"Did you get the hang of money?"
"Um, restaurant food was expensive."
"Good. That's enough."
Kim Na-yeon nodded cheerfully and took the phone from my hand, then pulled out her own phone and started fiddling with it. My phone soon returned to me.
Kim Na-yeon reached out with both hands and grabbed ours. She winked and smiled.
"Want to eat out today?"
"Out?"
"Yeah. There's that restaurant you went to for lunch. Let's eat there."
"B-but. Isn't restaurant food expensive?"
"It's fine. I already completed the account-linking procedure, so you can pay freely with your phone."
"Oh."
Did the left protector deposit money into my account?
[Balance: 900 won]
But the balance in my account remained the same.
That day, I enjoyed a satisfying dinner.
I ate more varieties than at lunch.
Somehow, the left protector who had become kinder these days said, "From now on you don't have to save money on eating. Our guild grew because of you."
Bloop.
Even if I didn't know what technique the left protector used on my phone, payment succeeded this time.
Of course, the balance remained unchanged.
[Balance: 900 won]
***
The next day, in the cafeteria of the guild welfare hall.
I decided to treat the female guild member who had bought me dessert during all this time to a big meal.
"Wahahaha! Today, the Heavenly Demon is paying, so order whatever you want!"
"I-it's fine, really...."
"Oh, rejecting the Heavenly Demon's goodwill?"
"It's really okay....?"
"Strange. You always say you're broke."
"Did you get a lot of pocket money from the guild master?"
Bloop, bloop.
My phone, which had turned into a non-drying fountain, helped with the payment tirelessly.
A moment later, I heard Kim Na-yeon's footsteps approaching from outside the cafe.
Thud, thud, thud.
"W-Wi-ji...!"
"Hah...! How!?"
"You said not to fill your stomach with dessert before eating!"
How did she know?
I and Lee Da-yeon panicked and tried to run, but we were quickly caught in her grip.
"I told you to order reasonably, but how much did you guys spend? Did you shoot all the guild members here too?"
"Y-yes. Because I got a lot of free food while you were gone...."
"...Really? Hee hee, I'll let you off this time."
Kim Na-yeon laughed brightly and lifted us both.
I and Lee Da-yeon were carried straight to the Heavenly Demon's hall, trapped between Kim Na-yeon's arms.
Big Sis Na-yeon knew everything, didn't she.
As expected, she was truly a ghost.