Just Don't Get Caught

It was a rusty iron ring that looked like something no one would bother picking up even if it were lying in the street. This, however, was not the ring's true form.

Once the right conditions and materials were assembled, it would transform into a special ring that couldn't be obtained no matter how many gold coins you poured out.

Hmm. I sense some kind of unfathomable power. Is it sealed, perhaps? Your eye for these things isn't half bad, brat.

Wrath seemed to have felt the energy inside the ring, and he sent Raon a look of genuine admiration.

"Eeh? You're going to buy that? It's completely caked in rust. Even if you sold this to a scrap dealer, you wouldn't get a single silver coin—no, not even a copper."

Dorian, on the other hand, squinted at the ring with a grimace. Even coming from a merchant family, he apparently lacked the eye to recognize what he was looking at.

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Raon waggled a finger and carried the ring over to the shopkeeper.

"How much for this?"

"You've picked a good one. It's a magic item with a strength-boosting effect and a mind-purifying effect, so… five coins."

Five coins meant five gold. It was a magic item, true enough—but given how shabby both its abilities and its appearance were, this was a rip-off of the highest order.

"Dorian. Let's go."

Raon set the ring on the counter and turned his back.

"Good thinking! Cheap junk like that, you can find anywhere…"

"Wait! You have to hear me out to the end!"

The shopkeeper leaped out from behind the counter and blocked their path.

"I just cast the net once and you're walking away already?"

He grinned, folding and unfolding his fingers as he started calculating a new price.

"Four! Four gold coins would be a fair price…"

"Waste of time."

"Ah, wait!"

Raon clicked his tongue and made to leave, but the shopkeeper threw both arms wide and barred the way.

"Three and a half! No—three!"

He called out three and a half gold coins, then dropped it to three after a look at Raon's face. Raon didn't so much as twitch. He simply stared the merchant down.

"Ugh! T-two and a half."

"……"

"That's the real price. I've got to eat too, you know!"

"……"

"Ah, I get it! I get it! Two!"

"Well, that much would…"

"Hey! No way!"

The instant Raon looked ready to nod, Dorian slipped in like the wind.

"Mister! Trying to pull a scam here? Anyone can see this was bought for silver!"

"Eh?"

"Let's take a look. The only effects on this ring are strength and mental fortitude—and if the mental effect were actually any good, it wouldn't be sitting in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a place like this. The strength boost isn't going to make you as strong as an Ogre Gauntlet or an Ogre Ring, either."

"Uh…"

"Then does it at least look impressive? Not even that. Toss it in the street and nobody would pick it up. So let's renegotiate. Uh, so…"

Dorian grabbed the half-dazed merchant by the shoulder and muttered a stream of something unintelligible.

"That's it! One gold coin!"

"Uhhh…"

Overwhelmed by the sheer volume and velocity of Dorian's words, the shopkeeper's head swung like a pendulum.

"G-give me one gold coin."

Raon turned his head, and Dorian flashed him a thumbs-up, as if to say, How's that?

"Well done."

Raon gave a short laugh and set a single gold coin on the counter.

It was probably even cheaper than that, honestly.

The ring had likely been acquired for somewhere between ten and twenty silver ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠coins. He was paying a gold coin despite knowing that, because this ring's true worth couldn't be bought for a hundred gold.

"Whew, have you two been around here before? You look young, but you're no joke."

The shopkeeper wiped the sweat from his forehead and blew out a breath.

"I'm from a merchant family! This kind of thing is my specialty."

"No wonder you were so quick with the numbers. Safe travels!"

The shopkeeper waved them off and slumped down in front of the counter.

"It doesn't look like much to me, but if Young Master likes it, then I suppose it's a good thing."

"You really do seem to be from a merchant family—but your eye for quality is terrible."

Raon walked out with the ring in his hand. Standing in front of the shop was a woman wearing a fox mask, flanked by her guards. Her clothes were different, but it was the same woman from yesterday's gambling den.

"Excuse me."

Her gaze fell on the ring in his right hand.

"Did you buy that ring here?"

Unlike yesterday, her tone was polite. The arrogance underneath it, of course, hadn't changed at all.

"I did."

Since she was using formal speech, he matched her register.

"Sell it to me. Whatever ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you paid, I'll give you ten times that."

"Eeeh!"

The scream came from the merchant, who had been smiling behind them.

"Y-Young Master. Sell it. She's offering ten times for that cheap junk!"

Dorian crab-walked over and whispered in his ear.

This woman…

The fox-masked woman's yellow eyes gleamed. It was a different emotion from yesterday's competitive fire. This was greed. She clearly knew what the ring was worth.

"No."

Raon shook his head without a hint of hesitation.

"Then let's settle the—what?"

Her voice jumped a full register, as if she'd assumed he would naturally sell.

"I said I'm not selling."

He waved her off and tried to leave the shop, but the guard standing beside the woman stepped into his path.

"Then twenty times—no, thirty times."

"Not interested."

Even after he refused, the guard didn't move.

"Fifty gold coins."

"I told you, no."

He was getting increasingly annoyed, and flicked his hand at her.

"H-hey. F-friend."

The shopkeeper approached with trembling hands.

"What are you doing! S-sell it already! Something worth ten silver coins just became fifty gold! That's five hundred times! Sell it quick and slip me a little something too…"

So the original price of the ring was ten silver coins.

The shopkeeper seemed to have forgotten he'd just sold the ring for one gold, muttering that it was a ten-silver piece.

"I'm just not the type to sell my things so easily."

Raon smirked and drew a crescent moon through the air with his hand.

"Ugh?"

The guard blocking his path was shoved aside before he even knew what had happened. His face flushed a deep red—he clearly hadn't expected to be sent flying by a single gesture.

"Grr!"

"What."

The guard tried to bar the way again. Raon stamped down a True Step. The ground heaved with a heavy boom.

"Have you forgotten where you are? Cause trouble in the black market and you'll have a hard time of it."

"Stay still."

"I-I'm sorry."

At the woman's words, the guard froze mid-motion and bowed his head.

"This is my last offer. One hundred gold coins."

"I decline."

Raon shook his head at once and headed for the auction house.

So it's worth at least a hundred gold.

The fact that she'd offered a hundred gold coins at all meant the ring was worth even more than that. And it was something he needed far more than she did—there was no world in which he would sell it.

"Gaaah!"

"Uuugh!"

The moment the word decline left his mouth, the shopkeeper who'd sold the ring and Dorian both screamed at once.

"A beggar wins a few bets and suddenly thinks he can do whatever he wants."

The fox-masked woman put her hands on her hips and snickered.

"There's no reason I should have to hear that just for not selling my own property."

"You don't know how terrifying this world can be. You'd do well to think about why people live with their heads down. Unless you want to die in a ditch."

As if. He knew better than anyone how terrifying the world could be. The one who understood nothing was this woman, who did whatever her temper dictated.

"If you're done talking, I'll be going."

He could feel the fox-masked woman's icy gaze on his back, but he ignored it and headed for the auction house.

The auction had begun.

There was another auction hall besides this one, on the floor below. Starting bids there usually ran from twenty to fifty gold coins, and the lots themselves were worth several times as much—a place only the real players went.

The Black Butterfly Raon had come for today wasn't a particularly expensive item, so the auction was being held here on the first floor.

True to a first-floor auction, there were no unique-grade items in sight. Most of the lots were magic-grade and rare-grade pieces.

Raon scanned the offerings with a sharp eye, but nothing else really caught his interest.

Doesn't matter.

He'd come today to buy the Black Butterfly, and that was all. Securing the ring was already a massive win. There was no need to get greedy beyond that.

The auctioneer's excited voice rang out as a birdcage was lifted onto the platform. Inside, a butterfly glittering with a subdued black sheen clung tightly to a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana stone.

It could have slipped out through the bars, but the butterfly merely circled the mana stone and made no attempt to flee.

Unlike when he'd listed the merits, the drawbacks were barely audible.

As the auction progressed, hands began going up here and there. Once the price had climbed a fair amount, Raon raised a finger as well.

The auctioneer scanned the room, but no other hands went up.

Thirteen is more than enough.

Thirteen was already generous, honestly. The rest of them were only using the butterfly as an ornament.

Raon was preparing to stand, and the auctioneer was about to bring down the gavel, when someone in the center of the hall raised a hand.

"Hm?"

Raon looked to see who would burn fifteen gold coins on an ornamental butterfly that wouldn't even live a few days.

That woman…

It was the fox-masked woman he'd run into at yesterday's gambling den and again at the shop today.

She's interfering?

She glanced his way and gave a thin smile. This was different from the ring. She didn't need the butterfly—she was doing this to get in his way, that much was obvious.

"She's picking a fight out in the open."

Dorian had caught on too, muttering that this was about to become a headache.

"Then I'll take her up on it."

Raon raised his hand again.

The moment he raised it to seventeen, the woman called twenty.

Raon clicked his tongue. The previous high had been twenty gold coins, and now it had climbed to thirty. All because of that woman.

"Hah…"

He raised his finger again.

The words had barely left the auctioneer's mouth before the woman raised her hand once more.

Raon jacked the number up without a second thought. He didn't have that much gold on him at the moment, but selling a few of the items he'd brought would cover it.

The auctioneer brought the gavel down three times and bellowed that the Black Butterfly had been sold.

"Whoa…"

"W-what is this?"

"They're burning fifty gold coins on an ornamental butterfly?"

"The Black Butterfly's previous owner just hit the jackpot."

The people in the auction hall stared slack-jawed as the Black Butterfly was carried down from the platform.

The instant the auctioneer introduced the next lot, Raon called twenty gold coins. As if she'd been waiting for it, the fox-masked woman raised her hand.

Having claimed the water-attribute mana stone as well, the woman looked at him and grinned. The expression said it all: Nothing you do will make a difference.

He entered a few more auctions after that, but the woman cut in every time and won every lot. She was obstructing him with almost insulting openness.

The gap in funds is too wide.

This was the same woman who'd gambled with money instead of skill at the casino. With what he had on hand, he couldn't beat her.

This King was in a good mood and tried to endure it, but no more. Tear off that wench's mask and gouge out her eyes. Kill her! She's picking a fight with This King!

Watching the fox-masked woman smile with the eyes of a victor, Wrath became an incarnation of fury and burst forth. His body swelled until it covered the entire auction house.

You're right. She needs to be taught a lesson.

Yes! Gouge out those eyes that dare pick a fight with This King, sew her mouth shut tight, and—wait. Y-you, what did you just say?

Wrath's mouth fell open, startled by the unexpected answer.

This isn't Zieghart. Meaning there's no one here to stop me.

Raon smiled faintly and flicked a finger.

"Dorian."

"Y-Young Master. Please calm down first. A butterfly like that, we can find another one soon enough…"

Dorian's hands were shaking; he seemed to think Raon was angry. In truth, Raon was perfectly cold.

"Don't worry. Go out and get me a night suit."

"A night suit?"

"That's right. Top, bottom, shoes, even a mask—all pitch black."

"No need to buy one. I already have it."

Dorian pulled a full night-suit set from his Belly Pouch. At this point, it was more a question of what that pouch didn't have.

"But what's it for?"

"What do you think? We're stealing the butterfly that woman bought."

"Eeeh? Y-you said not to worry!"

"Yeah. There's nothing to worry about."

"You're planning to cause a massive incident! This is the black market!"

Dorian's eyes spun in circles.

"It's fine."

A crimson flame flickered in Raon's eyes.