Chapter 150

To think someone would be selling a building of all things.

“Is the location bad? No one is buying it, so it’s not fun at all.”

“Isn’t it perhaps because it’s too expensive to be sold as a stolen good?”

“But I thought I priced it cheaply… Ah, how about this? If you buy it, I’ll give you a discount.”

“I don’t have the money.”

I didn’t even have enough money to pay rent for a room in one of the buildings Cheon So-baek owned, let alone buy one.

I shook my head, but she didn’t give up and began forcing the real estate on me.

A document filled with dense, tiny print was shoved right in front of my eyes.

“How about this? It’s a Happy Housing unit in the ‘Cheon-se-kwon’,¹ and it comes fully furnished with a loan support program if you move in.”

“Wasn’t that a system operated by the government?”

“I bought it back from the government. It’s located near a landfill where Tartaruga takes sand baths, so I bought it cheap.”

“…”

For reference, ‘Cheon-se-kwon’ referred to the vicinity of core facilities for urban defensive hub cities planned by the Red Tower after the Great Invasion.

Because they had residential siege turrets built in, it was said that if monsters invaded, the buildings in the designated ‘Cheon-se-kwon’ areas would combine with the surrounding structures, become autonomous, and fight back.

It meant you could wake up one day to find your house had turned into a transforming robot.

I hadn’t thought anyone would want that, but Seoul citizens, whose dopamine levels were off the charts, flocked to it, pushing the subscription competition rate to 500 to 1.

“I apologize, but I don’t have the money.”

“How much do you have?”

“Let’s see…”

Since the purpose of this project was the Talent Market, the currency used wasn’t cash.

It was a system where points accumulated through missions and life insurance allowances were exchanged for ‘Talents’ to trade for goods.

The exchange rate was 10 to 1.

To buy the Choco Pie I had listed for 354 won each, one needed 36 Talents due to the government agency’s uniquely wicked rounding-up method.

For reference, civilians visiting the festival could also earn Talents by participating in various games.

Of course, even if one won every single game, it would be impossible to buy even a single room attached to that building.

I checked the amount written on my smartwatch.

And I hesitated slightly at the amount, which was far beyond my expectations.

“450 Talents.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve done a lot of missions. Being in Division 3, you must be receiving life insurance allowances almost every day.”

“That’s true.”

“Then why is it so low? Did you already buy something else?”

“No, I haven’t bought anything…”

I didn’t know the reason either, so I looked into it closely and saw ‘Facility Restoration Cost’ written in the deduction details.

It seemed the ‘Web of Light’—the one I had painstakingly fashioned by modifying the ducts, vents, and drains of the Bureau building—had been discovered by Ha Yeri.

Besides that, there were other reasons: the circumstances surrounding me rigging a popular post on the Special Unit Bamboo Forest, and the behavior of lowering the authority of the Special Unit by standing in front of a tteok-galbi (short rib patty) tasting corner at a supermarket and picking up food to eat for 30 minutes.

Almost all of the funds had been deducted for various reasons.

It was unfair.

Was the Special Unit truly this small that it couldn’t contain a vessel like me?

I made a mental note to wear my mask and act even more diligently with the smartwatch account I had just obtained as a ‘Super Account.’

And thanks to that, I now had an excuse to get away—

“Anyway, I don’t have the money, so it won’t work. I’ll be going now…”

“Where are you running off to? Come here.”

—but I was suddenly grabbed.

Since I was in a wheelchair, I had no choice but to be dragged along helplessly.

Cheon So-baek, having left Seona in charge of the stall, personally dragged me around the grounds.

It seemed she had no intention of giving up on selling me her building.

“Are you saving up at least a little bit?”

“No, there are so many holes where money needs to go.”

“See? This is why you need to plan for the future in advance. What are you going to do to live when you retire from the Special Unit later?”

“I’m going to run a cat cafe.”

Bringing the cubs of the Gargantua from near Pyeong-an and Hwang-hae provinces to Seoul and opening a small cafe in a quiet alleyway.

That was my humble dream.

The signature menu would be ‘Tentacle Latte,’ with a single tentacle floating in the coffee.

My heart pounded every time I drew up the blueprint, as it felt like it would be a retirement life rampant with screams and chaos.

“Hmm, since you can’t use the money in your date bank account here…”

“I told you, let’s give it up.”

“You could just sell the items you have.”

“Pardon?”

“You only put up a single Choco Pie, right? Take out everything you have in your pockets. No, stay just like that.”

Cheon So-baek began rummaging through my pockets with practiced skill.

And all sorts of junk I had collected over time popped out.

Since I had already looked through them once, I knew without having to say it that there was nothing valuable inside.

It’s fortunate I threw away the Patel mask.

“No, why are there endless things coming out? And what are these lumps of metal?”

“It’s a waffle pan I bought from the Lotus Root Market. If you bake takoyaki batter in here, you can make it into a waffle shape.”

It was a service I intended to give to my soon-to-be-joining juniors in exchange for a review event.

I thought I had emptied everything; was there something more?

Cheon So-baek, who had been burying her face in my chest and moving around, finally lifted her head with a slightly flushed expression and asked.

“That won’t do. What you have here is nowhere near enough.”

“I told you, I don’t have the kind of money to buy a building in the first place.”

“Don’t worry. There’s a way for everything.”

“A way?”

Her light footsteps circled behind me.

Before long, the wheelchair turned and arrived at none other than a small stage in the middle of the market.

It was usually a space used for busking in the park, but since it was a festival today, something else was prepared.

It was an auction house.

It was a method of bidding on rare items among those in the Talent Market that were highly popular and limited in quantity.

“If you put yourself up here, you’ll be able to earn money in no time.”

“But I don’t really have anything to sell.”

If we were talking about something unique in the world, I did have it inside my sleeve, but…

『…!』

Perhaps noticing my thoughts, Mala-nim squirmed beneath my robe.

Just in time, Cheon So-baek’s finger pointed exactly at that spot.

“Oh my, why wouldn’t you? It’s right here.”

“Pardon?”

“You can just go out on the auction yourself.”

“Ah… so that’s what you meant.”

Of course, since it was an event Seona had planned spontaneously, there weren’t any detailed rules, but human trafficking?

I was worried that the prestige of the Special Unit would be tarnished.

“If you participate, I’ll buy you with Talents right away. Then you can just use that money to buy my building again. Good idea, isn’t it?”

“Umm… So-baek.”

“Speak.”

“Isn’t that a form of wash trading?”

I tried to put forth the shallow knowledge I had learned over Alexei’s shoulder from one of the books he kept piled up in the dormitory, but—

“Oh my, legally speaking, it does have the character of a fictitious false declaration under civil law, but for it to count as wash trading, price manipulation according to the Capital Markets Act must be proven. Do you really think our actions could be called manipulating real estate prices in Gangbuk?”

“…”

“And honestly, what if we are manipulating it? You, the key figures of the judiciary, and the building are all my people and my property.”

Naturally, it didn’t work at all.

“Anyway, I’ll go register you, so wait here quietly~. I shouldn’t go for a Happy Housing unit, I’ll have to go for a penthouse.”

While Cheon So-baek went to put the item—or rather, me—up with the auction organizers.

Looking around, I pushed the wheelchair to a secluded spot and spoke to Mala-nim.

“Is it really okay to do this?”

『Fear not?』

She asked, “You mean going up for auction?”

Certainly, even putting the ethical aspect aside, it was a serious problem.

Even if it were Talents and not currency, being purchased by Cheon So-baek meant living a life no different from a slave.

Deprived completely of freedom, I would wake up in a penthouse owned by Cheon So-baek, and wouldn’t even be allowed to walk on my own two feet, forced to commute by limousine every morning.

Since my very human rights had been sold, I wouldn’t be able to spend money as I pleased, and at best, I would continue a life where I could only spend 1 billion won a day with the black card she tossed to me like a favor.

I would be forbidden from entering the cafeteria and the relief center that I always looked forward to, so I would only be fed three meals a day.

I would live like livestock, eating only the food provided by a chef dispatched from a top-tier restaurant.

A blurry, gray life where, upon returning from work, I would have to endure the pranks of that fox-like woman who would be waiting at home every day.

Come to think of it, wasn’t that a much more affluent life than the one I had now?

Realizing in an instant that a much more stable future was being painted than running a cat cafe, I shook my head vigorously and brought back my previous concern.

“No, I don’t mean going up for auction. I mean the Council, the Council.”

『Mal-nim?』

“If they realize I’ve disappeared from over there too, wouldn’t they be deeply disappointed? Especially someone like Bella…”

『…』

Perhaps it was because they realized I was still wavering.

Mala-nim spoke sternly, asking what I was talking about at this late hour.

『Fear not.』

With the power of Trishy weakened, it was obvious that even if it didn’t lead to self-destruction, their power would wane while the demon factions were busy opposing one another.

The work I, the Apostle of an Outer God, had to do was not to enter the vortex of that squabble, but to find the whereabouts of the other Star Scars in the meantime.

From Trishy and Flauros to Velada.

The existence of the three Star Scars held by demons had already been identified, but those of the Outer Gods were still veiled in mystery.

Excluding the Outer God of Salvation who had their Star Scar stolen by Flauros during the Great Invasion, there were three left.

The Outer Gods of Judgment, Revelation, and Justice.

Mala-nim’s advice was that instead of getting tangled up with the demons anymore, it was time to infiltrate the Magic Towers or religious sects and dig up information while they were at odds with each other.

“But aren’t there still Star Scars whose locations we haven’t identified? Like Jagan, whom we searched for.”

『…』

“If that’s the case, it seems there’s still room for thought regarding letting go of the Patel identity…”

『Fear not.』

Sighing deeply at my words, she told me to do as I pleased and curled up.

As she shifted, I could hear the sound of wine bottles I had stored inside my robe clinking against each other.

Should I go to Ha Yeri now, get the mask and finger back, and attend the Council meeting tonight?

At the moment I was wavering over what to do.

—Ah, do I just sign here?

A small booth behind the auction house.

A familiar dialect came from the counter set up for Special Unit enrollment applications.

—Hmm, so the name is Norkel, and the affiliation is the Seat of Flame.

—There’s no such guild? No, I’m saying I was invited by their commander! Try contacting them yourself, ‘Minor Justice.’