The Scales of Themis
The silence stretched for a moment.
Madam slowly shook her head from side to side.
"Dodging the question won't do."
With a refreshing smile, Madam took a sip of her tea.
"Isn't using your ability to examine me also a violation of the rules?"
[Protection of Justice - The Unbiased Scales]
So she's finally bringing out those scales.
This was clearly different from the cursory glance she'd given me earlier.
The true power that allowed Madam to reign as the master of the Black Market now manifested before my eyes.
It was the Constellation's blessing that could assign value to anything, tangible or intangible.
At Nyx's exclamation of admiration, the corner of Madam's mouth twitched slightly.
I pretended not to know and asked the question. Nyx answered immediately.
The corner of Madam's mouth twitched again.
The fact that she had Themis as her patron Constellation had been treated as top-secret information even before the regression.
Her unique ability to summon the scales had also been kept hidden.
It must have been quite shocking for Nyx to identify it the moment she saw the scales.
Nyx shut her mouth.
A blow for a blow.
It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since I'd put the Blood Demon Sword Yamaoka up for auction, yet she'd already gathered this much information.
"You're saying you'll compare the weight of the information about the auction item with what just happened."
"Is there any guarantee that these scales are fair?"
"Fine. Then let's begin."
I blew hard—whoosh—and the scale tipped heavily to the left.
When Madam blew on it, the scales shook violently.
They swung hard to the opposite side.
Well, it was exactly as I'd expected.
The reason I'd pointed out Madam's rudeness earlier was solely to induce her to use the scales.
"Would it be all right to add another condition?"
I was incredibly lucky.
The Madam of the Black Market.
She was a lofty figure so difficult to meet that it was like plucking a star from the sky.
I hadn't predicted things would go this far when I sold the Blood Demon Sword Yamaoka, but when an opportunity presents itself, you have to seize it.
Now then, shall I cast the bait?
The moment my voice rang out, the scales tipped sharply in the opposite direction.
For the first time, the smile that had never left Madam's lips completely vanished.
Thump. Thump.
Madam clenched her fist tightly.
'I can't remember the last time my composure was shaken like this.'
There were countless questions she wanted to ask.
If not for the superhuman patience she'd cultivated while running the Black Market, she might have opened her mouth and interrogated Jinho right then and there.
The shock she'd received was that immense.
'If Master heard about this, he would be utterly astonished.'
The Black Market was part of the Black Network, a shadow organization that spanned the entire world.
If Madam was the master of the Black Market, then there was naturally someone who ruled over the parent organization—the Black Network.
The Puppet Master of Darkness.
The founder of the Black Network and the one who either mediated or incited conflicts across the globe.
A brilliant strategist and a powerful Player.
He had transferred his nationality to an obscure developing country and was operating under the guise of an unremarkable Ranker.
'Lately, Master has been completely obsessed with locating the blueprints for Galatea.'
The perfect doll created by the Greek sculptor Pygmalion.
Galatea was the being who had received divine blessing and transformed into a human because he had crafted her so flawlessly.
The blueprints were essential for a puppeteer to ascend to a higher realm.
'Only a select few, including myself, should know about that fact.'
Madam swallowed a groan.
Right after the Blood Demon Sword had been listed for auction, she had conducted her own investigation into Jinho.
The hero of the Spice Islands.
A super rookie under close watch by both the Gold Moon and the Guryong-bang.
Although he'd achieved astonishing feats in a short period of time, there had been no detectable connection to the Black Network.
The quiet voice sent massive ripples through Madam's heart.
She had activated Themis's blessing.
'Value' was not a fixed concept.
To some, the blueprints for Galatea might be worth no more than scrap paper.
But to Madam—the second-in-command of the Black Network and servant of the Puppet Master of Darkness—they held more value than anything else.
A negotiation card brought out at such a perfectly timed moment.
It was only possible because Jinho had experienced the surreal event known as regression.
It was a situation Madam could not have even begun to imagine.
Jinho and Nyx continued their casual conversation.
Madam revealed a portion of the information.
Using the Unbiased Scales had backfired on her.
Even so, she did not lose her composure.
Instead, she boldly invoked the name of the Black Network to pressure Jinho.
Jinho stood up without hesitation.
'This is troublesome.'
Two tasks had now fallen to Madam.
Whether information had leaked from within the Black Network.
And information regarding the 'blueprints for Galatea' that Jinho had mentioned.
If he left this room now, she would obtain neither.
Madam stopped Jinho.
Jinho smiled brightly.
For some reason, that smile felt particularly irritating to Madam.
The scales that could even assign value to information itself.
Madam had always used the advantage of information to secure the best possible deals.
But for a regressor like Jinho, it had become a disadvantage instead.
'Even if it means taking more losses right now, I must keep this man here.'
After finishing her cost-benefit analysis, Madam parted her lips.
Madam threw her decisive pitch straight down the middle.
The blueprints for Galatea that the Black Network was secretly collecting information on.
This was information that would let her gauge whether Jinho had any connection to someone on the inside.
If he answered here, she would have to pay an additional price equal to that value.
But if he avoided answering, she would gain grounds to tighten security within the Black Network.
'What will you do?'
Madam waited for Jinho's lips to part.
Wow, to think I'd be feeding the world-renowned Madam like this.
The Iron Lady who ruled the Black Market from the shadows—Madam.
I'd seen her a few times before the regression, and every single time I'd felt like I was losing out.
She was so thorough with her cost-benefit calculations that she always came out ahead in every deal.
Especially with the hidden rule of the Unbiased Scales—it could even assign value to imbalances in information.
Madam, who utilized the Black Network's intelligence network.
It had been nearly impossible to gain the upper hand against her when she so skillfully exploited those imbalances.
Yet here I was, shaking her up with nothing but knowledge from before the regression.
Regression truly is the best.
It gives me chills.
It's always fresh!
I gave Madam the answer she'd been dying to hear without the slightest hesitation.
The scales tilted even further to the left.
They drooped so low I worried they might touch the floor.
Since Madam had brought out Themis's blessing, I had to balance those scales somehow.
The information that I was a regressor was worth far more than anything she could afford to pay.
For both our sakes, I couldn't tell her that.
Madam chewed on her lip before abruptly turning her head away.
Her pride seemed quite wounded.
After that, a heavy silence lingered inside the VIP room for a long time.
She must have been deep in thought.
To bring the tilted scales back into balance, she would have to offer something of equal value to what I'd proposed.
How much time had passed?
Madam had declared her surrender.
I'd moved to catch the tail of the Sinister, but now I'd ended up forging a connection with a major figure in the Black Network.
It was like swinging at a cow's rear and hitting a rat instead, but I wasn't foolish enough to let an opportunity right in front of me slip away.
The scales, which had been tilted entirely to one side, regained a degree of balance.
The more additional conditions I added, the less the scales tilted.
Finally, they reached perfect equilibrium.
Jingle, jingle—
Madam rang the small bell on the table.
Once the secretary left the room, Madam leaned forward.
A short while later.
While scanning the auction item list the secretary had brought...
I furrowed my brow.
◈ A fake holy relic imbued with the power of the Sinister faction.