Negotiation

Cheon Jong-un met my gaze with a hollow expression after seeing the medium of the oath completely annihilated by Hellfire.

“The Necronomicon is a demonic artifact. Even Old Man Han Sang-gil could not fully control it, only taking it out to look at it when necessary. It will be difficult to handle.”

“I intend to research it in the future. Thanks to you… I’ve laid a worry to rest. I owe you a great debt.”

After nodding, I asked subtly.

“But was the reason you cooperated with Pi Jin-hyeok, even knowing he was a Cultist of Ruin, simply because of the Necronomicon?”

“It wasn’t just that; there are quite a few big shots among those related to him. And as I said earlier, there are many debts.”

“Tch, you’ve become quite the slave to money.”

“I’ve been hearing stories about you as well; you’ve been working tenaciously.”

“Shouldn’t I earn money?”

Glances were exchanged as if looking at fellow misers. Then, he asked stealthily.

“But… I heard you raided the Cultists of Ruin’s treasury; did you recover anything?”

“Why wouldn’t I have?”

“Can’t you… share some?”

“Sell that book. I’ll pay you very handsomely.”

“Now look at this fellow. You think this is an item that can be converted into money…”

Bundles of 50,000 won bills poured out in a heap and gradually piled up.

Cheon Jong-un swallowed hard; he looked back and forth between the money and the Necronomicon before finishing his sentence.

“Ahem, isn’t this artifact one of only three treasures in the world for a black mage. How can it all be converted into money?”

However, the bundles of money continued to pour down without any sign of stopping.

In fact, this money was what I had gathered from the mountain of cash that had been piled up when I raided the Cultists of Ruin’s treasury.

Because I had packed such an enormous amount of money that it occupied nearly half of my sub-space, my mana consumption was immense. Seeing such a massive amount of cash bundles continuously pouring out, Cheon Jong-un’s eyes shook violently.

‘This old man isn’t someone crazy about money, but he’s even less of a person who has leeway in the secular world.’

He was an individual called a hero of black mages, but that was a story from when he was the Master of the Black Tower; considering the current situation of the Black Tower, the financial power I could provide would resolve all their difficulties.

“How much is the debt?”

“…2 trillion… It’s a bit over that.”

I thought he had indeed incurred a lot of debt, but the reason he had endured without going bankrupt was that he held the powerful force of black magic in his hands.

It must be because possessing a power so strong that legal threats would not work was the decisive reason they were holding out.

‘It’s no different from being extraterritorial, but in the end, there’s no helping it once the government steps in.’

Although black mages were strong, if the regular army were organized and a subjugation order was issued, the Black Tower would eventually have to give in.

Otherwise, war would break out, and the Black Tower would disappear from history.

Because 3,000 black mages could not hold out against tens of thousands of Awakeners.

“The amount piled up now must be hundreds of billions. But I will give you more than ten times this. No matter how great an artifact is, it almost never exceeds 100 billion. Judge carefully.”

In fact, there were many artifacts that went beyond that, but their value was not converted into money.

This was because transactions were made with items like Magic Stones.

Regardless, even so, there would be no way to withstand pouring in nearly several trillion won in funds.

But this old man, he’s tenacious.

“A… just a little more. Ahem…”

It wasn’t my money anyway, and since it was money just taking up space in my sub-space, I poured it out with the purpose of clearing the area. Watching the pile of money that had formed a small hill, Cheon Jong-un quickly handed over the Necronomicon.

“If you were going to give it up this easily, why did you go through all that trouble?”

“How could I have known I’d earn this much money?”

Tsking, I threw the Necronomicon into my sub-space, and Cheon Jong-un looked puzzled by my action.

“Are you not going to read it?”

“I don’t intend to overexert myself for now. If that thing tries to swallow me excessively, I have to resist, but my mana isn’t intact, is it?”

“You seem sufficient even now, though?”

“It’s because I don’t want to suffer even a bit of loss.”

“Phew… It’s fascinating that a day would come when I receive help from you.”

The bond between black mages was quite deep.

To be precise, it wasn’t that deep, but the bond deepened as the time of being treated as suspects persisted. In a way, the world had woven us together tightly, but I didn’t dislike this.

“But… is there some more?”

At those words asked while sweeping up the money, I said in disbelief.

“Why don’t you pay off the debt, bring back the kids who were sold off, and go raid some Gates?”

“Tch, can I even do it if permission hasn’t been granted?”

“You can use white magic anyway, can’t you?”

Black mages can also use white magic.

It’s just that they don’t use it because it’s not efficient, with its power being at the 40% level compared to mana consumption.

The same was true for white magic; they could invade each other’s territory, but in reality, the efficiency was so low that it was considered better not to do so, thus maximizing their respective aptitudes.

There was only one decisive reason the government did not grant permission.

It was because if monsters were caught using black magic, the processing costs in the recycling stage would double.

This was because the loss increased due to parts becoming unusable or holding poison after being exposed to excessive dark mana.

Therefore, if possible, black mages were not utilized in Gate subjugations.

‘It was also the reason we roamed the battlefields.’

On one hand, a lot of manpower was put into rebuilding the country, but in the parts where the country had to be defended, black mages were actively utilized, raising the country according to their respective roles.

However, the sorrow of black mages who were treated as hunting dogs and then cast aside was beyond words.

“Since you’re also living in the Light, you should know… It’s not like we’re not constantly looking for countermeasures. The world is giving us a hard time; would we have just stayed still because we liked it?”

If the Black Mage Association, the Black Tower, and Han Sang-gil joined forces to assert their voice, perhaps the world’s perception of us could change.

However, I was afraid of what came after.

Because I thought the actions of black mages would not be normal after they had seized everything.

‘In the end, is it a repeat sign?’

It was indeed a long day.

It was around noon when I returned home.

It was a long day, but the time taken wasn’t that long.

“Just what kind of trouble are you causing?!”

It was the shout of An So-mi, whom I faced while she was resting at home after finishing an auction.

As I stared at her with an expression asking what was wrong, she pointed to one side and showed me the news.

“It’s a mess right now! The Worst! They say that the Worst caused a ruckus at the Magic Tower!!”

“A ruckus, is she trying to pick a fight?”

Hearing my monologue, An So-mi grabbed my arm and shook it.

“Nooo! This is why our image as black mages hits rock bottom! Why did you do that! Yu-jin told me you were going for a Gate subjugation! Whyyy!”

I lightly scratched my head and was about to explain the circumstances but shut my mouth.

Because knowing too much is a loss.

“I don’t particularly need to make an excuse, but if I were to say, I went for a consultation.”

“Just how do you seek a consultation that results in knocking out a mage and being glared at by all those people!”

It seemed someone had filmed and uploaded a video.

The fact that high-level mages mobilized to confront me was also an issue, but the problem was that even the Magic Tower Master, who rarely shows his face to the public, appeared and then pulled something out from the air to hand it over.

On top of that, the small conversation shared between us was captured in the video, and speculative controversies were following regarding what context such a conversation might have occurred in.

“I’m really going crazy… Do you know that reporters are swarming near Geum Seong-chan’s house right now?”

“I don’t know. I came straight here.”

“…What about the seriousness of the situation?”

“Naturally, I don’t. Do I need to know?”

“You should! Eventually, the damage will come to Yu-jin too!”

Only then could I understand why she was so excited. So I said.

“I’ll handle those who really intend to cause trouble.”

“That’s… not what I mean….”

An So-mi dropped her head and let out a sigh. Just then, Go Yu-jin appeared and spoke to me.

“You aren’t hurt anywhere, right?”

“Are you worrying about this person right now?”

“Of course I should worry; he didn’t go out for something simple, did he?”

“Seriously… You two have really fallen for each other, haven’t you?”

It was Go Yu-jin who turned red. They probably shared some talk between themselves.

“Reporters will sniff it out and swarm, and they’ll want some kind of word eventually; what are you going to do?”

An So-mi was asking me for an alternative, but I spoke nonchalantly.

“They say silence is golden.”

“Heyyyy!!”

Eventually, An So-mi exploded in anger, but the situation was settled as Go Yu-jin pulled her away and dissuaded her.

Afterward, we moved to the dining room and sat facing each other with food in front of us, and Go Yu-jin asked.

“Did something else happen? I mean, since you went all the way there.”

So, unlike with An So-mi, I pulled the Necronomicon out of my sub-space and showed it to her.

At that, the two women were startled.

“I met Cheon Jong-un. And…”

At the following story, the two women were so tense they couldn’t even eat their food, and when the story ended, An So-mi looked at me as if I were a madman.

“That book… it must have been incredibly expensive?”

“It just turned out that way. But I don’t intend to use it right away. Even the price I’m paying now is at an unmanageable level, and I don’t have the leeway to give up more.”

“You’ll have to use it someday, won’t you?”

I nodded at Go Yu-jin’s worried question and replied while pushing the Necronomicon back into my sub-space.

“I only hope that time doesn’t come.”

I hoped the moment when I had to borrow the power of this cursed book would not come.

Afterward, just as An So-mi expected, reporters began to visit Go Yu-jin’s house.

It seemed it had been discovered that I was working with Go Yu-jin, and soon even An So-mi’s phone rang as a call came from her house as well.

With interest focused as much as the incident warranted, a call also came to my phone.

‘…I didn’t expect this man to call?’

He was an individual with whom I had frequently exchanged calls and performed operations while roaming the battlefields; I asked the two for their understanding regarding the call from my former superior, and soon after I picked up the phone, a shout pierced into my ears.

-Kyahahaha!! You damn brat, I didn’t expect to see your survival report in this way! -

At the voice filled with intense welcome over the phone, I answered with an awkward expression.

“It’s been a long time. Commander An Sang-ik.”

It was a call from An Sang-ik of the Iron Fist, a war hero called the Iron-Blooded Commander.