First Step
First Step
Cheongun Merchant Guild.
It was the first guild I had ever belonged to, and the first one I had swallowed whole, so I still remembered it.
When I first joined the guild, I used to get cursed at and beaten while doing all sorts of menial chores.
It wasn't exactly a fond memory, but perhaps because it was my past, there was a sense of it being romanticized.
Maybe it was because I learned the most back then.
Since I already know everything now, there's no need to follow the same path I took.
"I offer it."
Rolling the long sword in my hand, I muttered lowly.
I wasn't trying to put the long sword on the scale.
Because this is an item I need to use to prove my worth to the Guild Master.
And it was too expensive an item to pay as the price for the deal I was trying to make right now.
What I was offering this time was my luck.
"I offer the luck that will follow me for the next fifteen days."
As I said that, the scale tilted slightly.
I looked at the scale and added a condition.
"Before the sun sets today, I will buy a chance to speak directly with the owner of the merchant guild I am about to visit. It must be a situation where I can attract attention, and it must not be a case where my life is threatened."
The wording was a bit long, but I couldn't help it.
If I set the conditions too loosely, I might get mistaken for a thief, get beaten to a pulp, and dragged to the government office, all under the guise of an 'opportunity to speak with the Guild Master.'
Getting yelled at for what I stole is still 'speaking,' after all.
When I stated what I wanted, the scale leveled out.
It seemed like it barely went through.
In the past, my fifteen days of luck would have been worth a thousand pieces of gold.
Maybe because I'm just a penniless brat now, even buying such a trivial opportunity was touch-and-go.
Well, it was to be expected.
Since my current value is just that of a street orphan.
Still, it didn't matter much.
Because I can just build up my value.
Even if I have to sell my luck or my lifespan.
The scale disappeared, but nothing was particularly engraved in my mind.
I almost stepped on dog poop, almost got bird poop on my head, and almost got caught up in a street fight.
Still, I had a good feeling. An inexplicable, groundless confidence that it would work out.
Crossing the marketplace that was starting to get noisy and heading onto a bigger road, a familiar building surrounded by a low wall came into view.
"Did it look like this back then, too?"
In front of the Cheongun Merchant Guild's main gate, it was bustling with carts loaded with goods and porters.
A well-dressed person was raising his voice at someone pulling a cart; it seemed like there had been some minor accident during transport.
If today is the first day of my possession...
He must be around thirty.
In my original world, I would have called him a young man in his prime, but by the standards of this world, he was a man nearing middle age.
His back was straight and he had no gray hair, but deep fine lines were settled around his eyes.
So that's what he looked like.
He was scolding the porter and checking the cargo on the cart himself.
Yes, he was that kind of person.
A human who wouldn't believe anything unless he checked it with his own hands. That's why he prospered, and that's why he died.
I didn't dislike him. If I had to define it, I could call him a mentor.
Because I learned the most from him. Though I don't have particularly fond feelings since he was also the one who beat me up the most.
If he had a fault, it was simply that he couldn't close his eyes even to things he should have.
Why did he have to dig into my background, of all things?
The fairy wife told him not to look, but he insisted on peeking, so it was inevitable.
I watched him for a moment, and when I felt the moment was right, I approached without hesitation.
However, a gatekeeper saw me, frowned, and blocked my path.
"Move, kid. This isn't a place for a beggar like you to be loitering."
"I didn't come to beg."
Even though I spoke politely, the gatekeeper just didn't get it.
"Those asking for a penny always say that. I'm not falling for it, get lost!"
He glared at me with force in his eyes; it looked like he intended to beat me up and send me away if I didn't back off.
Did I not pay enough of a price, so the deal didn't go through properly?
I was just thinking that.
"What's the commotion?"
"Guild Master. Well, this cheeky brat here is asking for a penny..."
"Like I said, I didn't come to beg. I came to sell. Whether poor or rich, shouldn't everyone be equal before gold?"
I interrupted the gatekeeper and raised my voice.
So the Guild Master could hear clearly.
The moment I finished speaking, the Guild Master, who had been checking the cargo, stopped his movements.
He was looking at me. And I was looking straight back at him.
Only the gatekeeper, stuck in between, was looking back and forth between me and the Guild Master, not knowing what to do.
The Guild Master didn't smile. He wasn't angry, nor was he dumbfounded.
If I had to specify, it would be closer to wariness. Maybe even a faint trace of fear.
"...What did you just say?"
"If you truly didn't hear, I would say it again, but that's not the case, is it? You heard me correctly."
As I smiled and showed a confident attitude, the gatekeeper glared at me menacingly, as if annoyed that the conversation was proceeding without him.
"This bastard dares..."
The Guild Master raised his hand to stop the gatekeeper who was about to step forward.
The gatekeeper looked at him as if feeling a bit aggrieved, but he didn't pay any attention to the gatekeeper and walked straight to me.
Up close, he looked older. His eyes were fierce, and the corners of his mouth were drooping, making him look like he would never smile.
He actually didn't smile much.
He didn't smile even when he made a fortune, or when his competitors were eliminated.
However, he would smile faintly when he talked about his dream.
A world where everyone is equal before gold.
Perhaps he trusted me a lot; it was something he often said only to me when he was drunk.
A world where nobles, commoners, royals, and peasants are treated only by the price they can pay.
Since it was a world where a King chosen by God literally existed, it was a delusion that was nothing short of seditious.
He must have told only me because he knew that.
And now, he must have realized it too.
That the current me knows his utopia, which he has never told anyone else.
"Who sent you?"
There was a lot omitted, but I knew he was talking to me.
"Don't worry. There is no one behind me."
"Where did you hear that?"
From you directly.
"That there is no one behind me means, in other words, that there is no one to tell me."
While appealing that there was no one behind me, I didn't hide the fact that I knew.
The Guild Master's eyes narrowed.
It was a gaze that seemed to be weighing whether to kill me or not.
It was the right judgment.
Because the moment I blabbed about his delusion to someone, it would be the same as lighting the fuse that would blow his life away.
What I was doing right now was quite dangerous.
But I didn't have the luxury to leisurely walk along a safe path.
I was pushing it a bit.
To increase the probability of success, I held out the long sword I had been spinning in my hand.
The Guild Master's gaze landed on the long sword.
At first, his expression was as if looking at some worthless junk, but the moment he confirmed the pattern on the scabbard, his eyes widened, albeit faintly.
Yes, he couldn't possibly not know.
Because you are the very person who tried to buy this at a high price.
"Are you trying to buy my time with a single piece of junk long sword?"
He brought out an absurd lie.
"Do you think I'm offering this without knowing its value?"
I held the long sword with both hands.
"I know at least that it's a long sword engraved with the crest of a fallen noble family. And I didn't come to sell this. This is just a token of sincerity asking you to listen to my story."
"Sincerity... Fine. Let's hear it. What business do you have with me?"
"I came because I want to sell you my time. Please accept me. That is what I wish for."
The Guild Master looked at the long sword, then raised his gaze to meet my eyes.
The smile was only with his mouth. He didn't smile with his eyes at all.
Because then the weight of my words would become lighter.
While looking straight at him, I spoke clearly.
"You can make me clean, do menial chores, or even copy ledgers. Just give me three days."
"Three days? For what?"
"Yes. Within three days, I will prove my worth."
"Ha. You?"
It was a statement filled with clear distrust and mockery.
It was natural.
Because knowing what I shouldn't know, bringing something valuable, and proving my ability were separate things.
However, I was confident.
Confident that I could make them see me differently right away.
To do that, I had to get inside that threshold somehow.
Even if that meant getting firmly marked by the Guild Master.
"If you miss out on me, you will regret it greatly."
"A green kid like you, where did you learn to talk big?"
"Whether it's talking big or not, it won't be too late to judge three days from now."
The Guild Master didn't answer for a while.
I waited quietly for him to think.
I had done my part, so now the rest was just up to him.
After long deliberation, the Guild Master finally opened his mouth.
"...Fine. You, what is your name?"
The gatekeeper looked back at him in surprise.
"Guild Master?"
"My name is Gong Si-hyun."
The Guild Master placed his hand on my shoulder and muttered, applying subtle pressure.
"If you were bluffing, you will pay the price with your blood."
I didn't shrink from his action and showed composure.
"It wasn't a bluff, I just said I could because I can."
I placed the long sword in his hand.
"I'll leave this as collateral in the meantime. If I can't prove my worth within three days, do as you please with it."
"Didn't you say it was a token of sincerity earlier?"
"Yes. I said it was a token of sincerity, I didn't say I was giving it to you."
"Look at this cheeky brat."
He accepted my long sword.
With this, the contract could be considered established.
He headed inside the main gate with his hand still on my shoulder.
Luck won't follow me for fifteen days, but there was no big problem with making money.
Even though luck has a big impact on making money, not having luck didn't mean I couldn't make money.
Now all that was left was to use this opportunity as capital to build a mountain of gold.
After building that mountain of gold...
Jeok Hwa-ri.
I will go to meet her.