Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: 56. Lion King's Letter (1)
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1.
“Where’s El Pam, the guy with a 1 billion mesos bounty on his head?”
“Find Aran’s item!”
“The Wolf King’s come to the Elnas Mountains!”
The Elnas Mountains were hotter than ever.
Naturally, the Elnas Market was buzzing more than ever with all the adventurers who had flooded in.
Every shop in the Elnas Market was enjoying unprecedented prosperity.
“This is the first time business has been this good.”
Among them, the back market was reaping the biggest windfall.
The reason was simple.
“Bounty business is booming, too.”
“Booming? Why?”
“With all these vulture-like adventurers gathered here, you don’t think they’re just quietly going on adventures, do you? They’re tearing into each other, making enemies, and once they’re enemies, what comes next?”
“……They put out bounties.”
It wasn’t as if the adventurers gathered in the Elnas Mountains had pure intentions like ordinary ones.
That was one thing.
“And plenty of them have good items, too. From the outlaws’ perspective, there’s no tastier prey.”
There were adventurers attractive enough to tempt outlaws into becoming ones themselves.
In all sorts of ways, the back market couldn’t help but heat up, and amid that blaze, the one profiting the most was Collector Vivre, who dominated it.
“This is the first time things have gone this well.”
Since setting up in the back market, she was in what could only be called her golden age.
Naturally, she was in a better mood than ever.
That was when it happened.
“Who came?”
A customer had arrived.
“El Pam. He’s here.”
The moment she heard that, Collector Vivre smiled.
It wasn’t a sneer.
She wore a smile of pure delight, more genuine than ever.
“He’s finally here. Of course he had to come.”
She hadn’t doubted it for a second.
“If you lose a bet, you pay up.”
She knew El Pam had come to concede defeat, nothing more.
It was the most obvious conclusion.
“Finding Michaela’s glasses in Crise—something no one’s done in a hundred years—is impossible.”
The conditions he’d been given were absurd.
“And running from me? Even more impossible.”
On top of that, Collector Vivre saw it as equally inevitable that El Pam hadn’t fled but come straight to her.
After all, he had that absurd 1 billion mesos bounty on his head.
If even she pursued him on top of that, his only escape would be hell itself.
In other words, now she just had to wait.
‘For that snail pet to be mine.’
For the moment when Maple World’s rarest snail pet—harder to obtain than anything—would be hers.
And then El Pam appeared before her.
“I’ve come to uphold the promise.”
Right there, without the slightest hesitation, El Pam produced it.
“Michaela’s glasses.”
A pair of massive glasses fit for a giant.
“Yes, finally…… What?”
In that instant, the delighted smile on Collector Vivre’s face began to change.
Soon after seeing the glasses, her expression hardened more than ever.
“You brought them?”
“Yes.”
“Are you trying to scam me right now?”
No matter how she thought about it, bringing Michaela’s glasses was impossible.
El Pam understood.
“If you want to verify authenticity, I’ll tell you where Crise is. Ask her yourself.”
So El Pam readily offered a way to prove it was real.
At those words, Collector Vivre’s face grew even stormier.
‘This.’
Truth was, she knew.
‘It’s real.’
That the glasses El Pam brought were indeed Michaela’s.
If she didn’t have that kind of eye, she never would’ve earned the title of Collector.
That was why her face hardened.
If they were fake, she wouldn’t have needed to. El Pam would’ve lost, and the snail pet would be hers.
Of course, there was that option.
Claiming they were fake anyway.
‘But tricks like that.’
She knew.
‘Won’t work.’
Pulling something like that here would only cost her far more.
No need for long deliberation.
El Pam would take the item to the Adventurers’ Association and have it verified.
And once it proved real?
Collector Vivre’s credibility would vanish as if it had never existed.
Everything she had now would crumble.
Killing El Pam wasn’t a good option either.
‘Even with the bounty, me killing him would be trouble.’
If he were just any adventurer, it might not be a big deal, but El Pam wasn’t anymore.
1 billion mesos!
An adventurer with an insane sum on his head that drove others mad.
And the one guaranteeing that bounty payout was none other than Collector Vivre—herself.
If she killed him?
It wouldn’t just be a loss of trust.
Adventurers and outlaws alike wouldn’t let her or her faction be.
Especially since hordes were already eyeing her position in the Elnas Market.
In short, killing El Pam was the worst choice, leaving only one option.
“Keep your promise.”
Admit defeat and pay what she owed.
Of course, this came with a major issue of its own.
At that point, Collector Vivre stopped agonizing.
“I only have three.”
She told the truth.
“I got blinded by that snail pet and bet something I didn’t have. I sincerely apologize for that part.”
No point hiding what couldn’t be hidden anyway.
“But I’m not ending it with empty words. I’ll pay the equivalent of one, clear and square.”
All that was needed was negotiation.
El Pam’s eyes narrowed at Collector Vivre’s proposal.
The look said: Are you joking?
She showed no hint of remorse.
For one, she wasn’t truly sorry.
If she had a conscience or sentimentality to feel bad over this, she never could’ve made her living trading lives in the back market.
Above all, she knew.
‘Kneeling and begging won’t get forgiveness anyway?’
Sincerity was the most useless commodity in the back market.
What mattered was giving what was wanted.
So she said it.
“Except for who posted the bounty. That info’s off-limits.”
Anything but that—she wouldn’t give it up.
Truth was, this wasn’t sincere either.
In her eyes, what El Pam wanted most from her was info on the bounty poster.
That’s why she preemptively shut it down.
That way, its value would skyrocket.
“I’m not that interested in who put the bounty on my head.”
Collector Vivre smirked inwardly at El Pam’s response in that moment.
‘Putting on an act.’
No way that was sincere.
But El Pam meant it.
For starters, he knew exactly who had put the bounty on him.
And negotiating with them here wouldn’t make his head any safer.
Above all, El Pam had no intention of negotiating with them.
“Perfect, then.”
Oblivious to that, Collector Vivre smiled and said.
“So, what do you want?”
To that question, El Pam replied.
“Let’s keep it simple.”
“Simple?”
“Money.”
At that, Collector Vivre’s smile deepened.
“Great by me. How much?”
El Pam met her smile.
“You toyed with my life, so I’ll take the price of it.”
“What?”
2.
“Pfft!”
Dibo, as always, spat out his food.
And as always, instead of scolding him, his companions stared at El Pam and said.
“B-Boss, wh-what did you say?”
“How much did you ask for?”
To them, as always, El Pam answered.
“Exactly what I said. I demanded the price of my life.”
“The price of your life?”
“1 billion mesos.”
An answer beyond all common sense.
“Boss, does that even make sense?”
“Yeah, it’s way too absurd.”
“Honestly, the fact that I’m still conscious and carrying on this conversation after hearing this is hilarious.”
Everyone reacted intensely.
“Right.”
“Ralph? Why are you? 1 billion mesos is great!”
“What are you talking about? How could 1 billion not be great?”
Ralph was among them.
“We should get more, counting our lives too.”
His reason differed from the others’, but everyone agreed El Pam’s demand was insane.
Instead of arguing, El Pam showed them.
Toss!
“Huh?”
Toss!
“A check?”
Toss!
“The amount…… Huh?”
Toss!
Ten checks, each for 100 million mesos.
“B-Boss?”
Seeing them, everyone froze.
No way he actually got it?
El Pam, meanwhile, wasn’t surprised.
“They’re checks with conditions. Can’t convert them all to mesos at once—only one per month.”
The conditions on these checks were more troublesome than expected.
“Converting them all to mesos will take a year.”
Meaning if you lost them or the owner died in that year, they’d be worthless.
Of course, that was by El Pam’s standards.
“Still, 1 billion! 1 billion mesos!”
To his companions, it was enough to make their heads spin.
“How rich do you have to be to hand over this insane amount so easily?”
At this point, the question was Collector Vivre’s wealth.
Even a Gold Rich wouldn’t part with it lightly.
El Pam knew better.
“Collectors have tons of money. And they use it to amass what they want. To her, money’s a tool. If it can solve things, that’s her first choice. That’s what sets her apart from merchants like Gold Rich types.”
What kind of person a Collector was.
“And she wasn’t doing business. She was betting. Betting we’d die soon.”
That she’d had zero intention of actually paying 1 billion mesos.
With El Pam’s explanation, no one objected further.
“Boss, so that’s it? All done?”
As huge as 1 billion mesos was, the deal with the Collector was over.
“Not quite. One more thing left.”
“More?”
So El Pam moved on naturally.
“Need one more Zakum helmet.”
“What?”
Everyone’s faces crumpled.
“Boss! How do we even get that?”
They’d struggled to get even one, and now had four.
From none other than Collector Vivre, who owned some of Maple World’s rarest items in bulk.
Who else could provide one she didn’t have?
El Pam said calmly.
“One person.”
“One? Who?”
“The adventurer with the most items in Maple World.”
“Huh? Wait, who……”
“Who else.”
That was the moment.
“Right here.”
Somehow, the phantom thief Phantom was seated at their table, and everyone froze at the sight.
Except one.
“You’re here.”
At El Pam’s words, the phantom thief Phantom smiled, then placed what he’d brought before El Pam.
Thud!
A Zakum helmet.
“I saw the Collector only had three Zakum helmets in her collection. Figured you’d need one more, so I prepared ahead.”
Everyone else marveled.
But not El Pam.
To him, the phantom thief Phantom’s every move was off from his usual.
‘He’s rushing.’
Moving faster than usual meant the situation was urgent.
And the reason was obvious.
“You caught on quick.”
Sensing El Pam’s insight, the phantom thief Phantom explained why he was rushing.
“The Lion King sent a letter asking to conquer the Mystic Gate in that abandoned mine. To Empress Cygnus. And Empress Cygnus replied. She’ll grant the Lion King’s request.”