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Chapter 31
“I sold two of the best quality and two intermediate quality items.” If Seo Dawon hadn’t already warned me by asking me for my bank account number, I would have been staring, flabbergasted, at the deposit text.
I scrambled to inform the buyer of my home address; Seo Dawon advised me to put the Barnasiums in my inventory in advance, for the buyer would arrive soon.
Less than 30 minutes later, the doorbell rang outside my lodgings. I opened the gate with an awkward expression. “Hello?”
“Ah, hello…”
Behind the door, a woman with a sporty hairstyle 1 stared at me. She gave me a slightly suspicious look, so I hurriedly asked, “Are you Ban Soohyun?”
“Yes. Could we immediately complete the transaction?”
“Um, yes….” My appearance…my home…I knew I didn’t seem like someone who had the ability to sell something rare like the Barnasium.
In contrast, the buyer had a strange tattoo that spanned her face and neck. Her bracelets also seemed to advertise a special item effect. One needs the ability and money to strengthen legendary accessories….No doubt, she was some sort of ranker.
However, when I rushed to hand over the Barnasium from my inventory, her vigilance dampened. She quickly thanked me and bowed her head.
Before I could reach out and close the gates behind her as she left, she turned around and asked, “You know….where did you get this? The Barnasiums don’t drop that often, and so many were sold all at once….”
“What? Ah….” I colored in embarrassment; I couldn’t say that Seo Dawon had supplied everything. My ghostly partner noticed my hesitation and whispered, “I got lucky,” urging me to follow his explanation.
“I just….I guess I got lucky.”
The buyer opened her mouth as if to say more, but eventually turned away, chicly. “I envy you.”
My body stood rigidly until I saw her disappear around the corner of the alley; I closed the gate and sighed in relief.
This sort of interaction repeated about seven times.
Seo Dawon’s last top quality Barnasiums were sold to the Wyvern knight that landed in my front garden with his gargantuan white drake. With that, all of the items were sold out.
In just five hours, my bank account balance exceeded 22 billion won.
I stared at the deposit number as if I were dreaming. Even if Seo Dawon were to consider me tacky, I couldn’t tear my eyes off the unbelievable bounty.
“Seo Dawon…..” I murmured.
“?”
“T-this card…Please place it in your inventory.”
After I shook some sense into my brain, I handed over the credit card connected to the 22 billion won account.
Seo Dawon accepted while laughing, “Why? Do you think someone will steal it while you’re asleep?”
Was that the extent of his imagination? I was even fantasizing about a home burglary. Seo Dawon smiled at me, as I sputtered through my explanation; he did not deny any of the grim possibilities.
“Lee-kyung-ah.” He called out with a low tone that raised goosebumps all over my skin. 2
“What?”
“You like money, don’t you?”
Why must he ask every single question that have such obvious answers? “Is there anyone who doesn’t?” I spat out, bluntly.
Seo Dawon’s smile deepened, “Do you want me to tell you how to make even more money–enough that today’s amount wouldn’t even be comparable?”
“….what?”
“The Red Lotus guild had a secret stash hidden away. Only I know how to crack the code to access the funds…so Bae Jaemin probably has no choice but to sit around and suck on his fingers.” 3
Meanwhile, Seo Dawon stalked closer to me and whispered, lips touching my ears, the total amount. I couldn’t stop myself from gaping my mouth and staring at him in astonishment.
After lazily observing my reaction, Seo Dawon hit me with the proverbial sledgehammer. “If Bae Jaemin were to disappear, you’d be able to swallow all that money without anyone noticing. I can’t access that fund right now because others will certainly notice…selling Barnasiums was merely a pittance in comparison….”
“Money that I can ‘swallow’….T-then, do you mean to give me all of it?”
“I’m dead anyway; souls have no need of material goods. The same goes for the rest of my rascals at the guild.”
“But….”
“Don’t you think you should be paid for your part in the revenge?”
His last words strangely touched someplace held deep within my heart.
I mean…I’ve been inwardly dismayed at how I’ve been dragged into ‘something I have no stakes in.’ But his words felt like a sneak attack on the blurring border between us–our changing relationship. Of course, I may be nothing more than an intruder upon a greater scheme…but I truly did desire for Bae Jaemin’s downfall
But…Seo Dawon perhaps didn’t realize that. Furthermore, the amount he offered really did tempt my greed. I felt my heart beat faster and licked my dry lips. “Are you really going to give it all to me?”
“If you want, I can add this agreement to the terms of the contract.” Seo Dawon summoned the parchment-shaped vengeful ghost contract. I looked between his face and the newly added blank space at the end of the contract, eventually nodding at his suggestion.
Thus, an additional clause was added to our arrangement.
Additional terms have been uploaded. Do you want to renew your contract?
I pressed [Yes] in the message window; Seo Dawon also finished signing his consent. Our purposes were clear–Seo Dawon would get his revenge, and I would, for helping him in his journey, attain his abandoned wealth.
* * *
After such an eventful day, I felt sleep seducing me to her side, so I quickly washed up and readied myself for bed.
I was a bit concerned that Seo Dawon, who had been sitting on the sofa and watching TV until earlier, was absent. However, when I opened the door to the bedroom, he was lying peacefully on top of the bed.
No way….Is he sleeping?
There was only one bed in this house. If Seo Dawon were to claim it, there would be no place for me to sleep. Eventually, I tiptoed next to the mattress and asked, “Are you, perhaps, sleeping…?’’
Seo Dawon answered with his eyes still closed and mouth opened in a yawn, “I almost nodded off.”
“…..It’s possible for you to sleep?”
After listening to my genuine question, Seo Dawon opened his eyes with a frown, “Are you asking me why I’m sleeping when I don’t have a body? I shouldn’t be affected by a lack of physical stamina after I died, huh?”
“No, it’s just…” In fact, he pinpointed exactly what I had meant. However, his annoyed tone made me feel like I had said something wrong. I fished for an excuse, “No, it’s just….This is my bed.”
“Yes. And I made Lee-kyung-ie 22 billion today.”
“Haaa…..Fine, Fine.” Though his words were provocative, I yielded and apologized for my thoughtless words. Since Seo Dawon didn’t seem like he wanted to move, I decided to lay a blanket on the floor and sleep on the ground.
“Lee-kyung-ah, you’re going to sleep already?”
“Yeah. I’m tired….”
“What’s up with your stamina?”
“…….”
Does he even know how much I’ve struggled today? Frustration rose up from my throat, but I eventually swallowed it all down. For 22 billion won, I could endure more injustices.
And, now that I think about it, things ended well for me today. In one day, I had nearly drowned in a lake, got chased by monsters, fallen from a great height, almost got murdered by Bae Jaemin, and, finally, signed a contract with Seo Dawon’s vengeful spirit…Additionally, I made a profit off of high level Users by selling Barnasiums.
I was far too tired to summarize all that had happened to me; I raised the blanket over my head, hoping that my actions would suffice as a response.
On the bed, Seo Dawon pulled on my blanket and asked again, “Are you really going to sleep?”
You punk….If you’re bored, go play around with my cell phone.
“I almost died dozens of times today…..” I slurred. Perhaps my weariness shone through as I spoke, Seo Dawon loosened his hold on my covers.
He continued to ask, despite the slackened hold, “How did you manage to arrive at my last resting site?”
I guess he’s curious about everything–he’s lost three years, and more information could only help advance his goals…Eventually, I bit back a sigh and answered patiently, though my words were laden with sleep-influenced babbles. It was hard for him to decipher a clear meaning.
“Fell into water….Trap….Io threw me in….Ha….With Lackey….”
“Ah, that’s right. You said you originally entered the dungeon for an evolution ingredient for your servant. By the way, what’s with the name, Lackey? Did you name it?”
“Mhmmm…..It’s just…my number one servant…”
He asked another question, but, sliding in between the realms of consciousness, I couldn’t quite properly hear what he had said. I remembered nothing more after that.
TL: Dawon’s no longer a splenda daddy, huh…lmao.
Footnotes
This hairstyle, in the original novel, is called Sports hair. Aka it’s a men’s cut that is shared among many athletes. Different variations such as the round or square sports hair exist. They all have in common a uniform fringe. Remember, “ah” at the end of the name is a term of endearment~ Sucking fingers means to just wait on the sidelines. Idiom~ I usually find english substitutes, but this one is so amusing, I left it in!