Genius Corpse-Collecting Warrior - Chapter 13

Merchant and Blacksmith (3)

‘…Let’s go up and talk.’

After hearing the sound of Dallen’s handful of gold coins, the merchant hesitated and finally said these words.

Just like that, Dallon was led up to the reception room by the staff at the top.

“hmm.”

Dallen quenched his appetite. The fruit and tea the staff provided had long since run out.

He suddenly realized that he was eating several times more than usual.

‘How much did you eat and drink today?’

Coffee and snacks I drank while meeting the elder wizard at lunch at the inn, Leberon beer, and even refreshments at the top of the place.

Because of his size, he tended to eat a lot, but the amount he ate today was twice as much as usual.

What makes you taller?

Sweet.

While I was thinking about useless things, merchant Volkmar Galios came into the drawing room.

He was covered in sweat, washed his body and changed into a clean shirt and pants. Sang-sangju said as he shook off his wet hair with a towel.

“Whew. I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. In the early stages of a business, there are many things you have to do yourself. Until a system is in place, you should not let go of the baton. If you do that, it will soon fail.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“No. It’s all about eating well and living well, but what? So a handful of gold coins. “What does that mean?”

Volkmar, who was tilting the teapot, saw that there was no tea left inside, tilted his head and called an employee.

While he was telling the staff to bring out more refreshments, Dallon spoke up.

“I need twenty-six gold coins. “As soon as possible.”

“…You’re sure you’re not into gambling again, are you?”

“no.”

Dallen shook his head at Volkmar’s words, who suddenly opened his eyes.

“My friend’s family owes me money.”

“debt? “Do you have a gold coin each?”

“It was a debt paid with business funds. “It swelled and swelled, multiplying tenfold.”

Dallen explained the whole story simply.

The debt Leberon owed when opening a blacksmith shop and the Telia Company that received the debt.

And how the company increased its debt and what kind of threats it is making now.

After hearing the whole story, Volkmar put down his teacup and sighed.

“Thank goodness. “I can’t believe you went to the gambling house again.”

No, you old man, I don’t gamble anymore.

“Originally, addiction is a scary thing. “It’s easy to start, but it’s not easy to get out again.”

“So are you going to give me money or not?”

“Did you really entrust me with a platinum coin?”

Squeak.

Volkmar grumbled but poured tea into Dallen’s cup. He lightly savored the scent of tea and spoke.

“But what is your relationship with that blacksmith? friend? “A distant relative?”

“I told you. “It’s an acquaintance’s family.”

“…Isn’t it true that we are strangers in the end?”

Volkmar tilted his head as if he did not understand.

“I thought about it the night we slaughtered the goblins, but you are a very difficult person to understand.”

“I take it as a compliment.”

Dallen answered briefly. Then Volkmar suddenly started laughing.

“Hahaha! That’s right. It’s a compliment. “It would be impossible for a criminal to understand a hero.”

rattle.

He rang the bell on the table.

“Anyway, it’s good. Who am I? Even so, he is the owner of the top that is well-recognized by the city federation. “I can give you about twenty gold coins right away.”

After his words fell, the process went smoothly.

The employee who came in after hearing the bell rang and was told to prepare gold coins, so he took the money bag without asking any questions.

Volkmar gently opened his pocket, checked that the money was in it, and handed it to Dallen.

“Twenty-six gold coins. “I hope the blacksmith does well in his work.”

Dallen received a bag of money. The twenty-six gold coins were heavy, and the leather pouch and strap that contained them were luxurious.

Dallen put it down on the table. He said.

“What do you want?”

“Huh, what are you talking about? You want it. “What am I?”

“The price of this gold coin.”

Volkmar waved his hand.

“Oh, don’t worry. What can I expect from you? You are a god who will soon make this city buzz. “The fact that I have a very close relationship with you is enough for me.”

He picked up the teacup and began to savor the tea, thinking it was really nothing special.

However, Dallon could see the greed that he could not hide in his eyes.

A very close relationship. He seems like a shady businessman. Dallen smiled slightly.

“You are a merchant, Volkma. “I may have a few silver coins, but I’m not the type of person to waste gold coins.”

Sigh.

Dallen put his hands together and leaned his upper body forward. The chair let out a faint scream.

Is it because Dallen is huge? For a moment, Volkmar felt as if a giant was approaching him.

gulp.

While he was barely able to swallow the tea in his mouth, Dallon continued.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t like feeling uncomfortable. I’m also not a fan of half-baked puns. If you really don’t want to give it for free, tell me now. “What do you want from me?”

Sweet.

Volkmar put down his teacup. My fingertips trembled slightly.

“…I’ll see you again tomorrow at this time.”

He cleared his throat sharply and continued speaking.

“There is something I would like to ask of you. “No, it’s not a request, it’s probably a request.”

“request?”

“Coincidentally, this also concerns the Telia Company. “That company…is a worse group than you might think.”

Volkmar rubbed his mustache with his fingertips. It was a nervous gesture.

“I’ll tell you the details tomorrow. “There’s a lot of stuff to sort out downstairs.”

“How convenient it is for you to say that.”

Dallen nodded. Then, I leaned back and buried my body in the soft backrest.

Volkmar let out his suffocated breath and spoke.

“I will pay you separately in addition to the gold coins I am giving you now. “I won’t give you enough of your abilities.”

“Good.”

Dallen put the money bag in his arms. He put an apple slice and a handful of cherry tomatoes on the tray into his mouth and then stood up.

“I enjoyed my tea. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“okay. “Go in carefully.”

thud.

Inside the room where Dallon left.

“Phew.”

Volkmar, whose entire body was weak, almost collapsed on his chair. Cold sweat ran down my forehead.

‘Volkma, this idiot, how many years of experience as a merchant can it be that he doesn’t know how to treat people like this?’

I thought about it for no reason, but ended up psychologically crushed. Volkmar lay down on the bench, wiping away his cold sweat.

“Tsk. “I still have a long way to go before I can follow my father.”

Knock knock.

At that time, an employee knocked on the door.

“Master, I have unloaded all of today’s goods. Shall we organize things as we were doing?”

“okay. Just make sure you do as I tell you. “I’ll be down soon.”

There was still much to do.

Even if it was not a conflict with Telia Company, the newly started leather workshop business itself was a lot of work.

“…….”

But I have no strength at all.

Volkmar decided to rest for a while.

***

The next morning.

Dallen woke up early and headed to the blacksmith shop through the early morning fog that had settled down on the street.

The air of winter dawn was cold. Every breath I blew out was foggy.

Nevertheless, Dallen was still wearing only a loose cloth.

‘When I arrived in the city, I tried to get some cotton clothes to wear, but strangely it wasn’t that cold.’

His superhuman body was originally not susceptible to cold. Still, it wasn’t like this.

Even if you don’t feel as cold as you did when you were on Earth, it was inevitable that your body would feel slightly sluggish in the cold.

However, after going into the sewer and coming out, his body changed.

The cold winter wind penetrates through my clothes. Nevertheless, instead of feeling sluggish, I felt in perfect condition, as if it were a warm spring day.

Even the chicken flesh that was supposed to grow did not grow.

It felt like I gained cold resistance in some game.

‘Is it because of the increased physical strength? Or dragon blood?’

This is not a problem that can be answered alone. Dallen thought that he should ask the elder wizard about dragon blood the next time he met him.

‘Now that I think about it, I didn’t even hear why that gentleman came all the way to the Bronze District to see me.’

Dallen scratched his chin. One by one, the questions increase.

Even though I played it hundreds of times, it was something I had never experienced through the monitor.

Not only because I have never had superhuman specifications like I have now, but because the world beyond the monitor was just a game.

No matter how well-structured a game is, its contents are characters and plots made up of data of 0s and 1s.

It was nothing compared to the current living, breathing reality.

“hmm.”

As I walked, the blacksmith shop was not far away. Dallon took out a half mask from his pocket.

A silver mask with hardened blood and fluid. This mask, with its greatly exaggerated mouth, was a symbol representing the apostles of the retrograde movement.

‘I hope Sienna is doing well.’

Before going to see the senior wizard yesterday afternoon.

Dallen, who stopped by the crow’s nest to collect the payment, gave Sienna the other half of the mask and asked her to find out the organization related to the mask.

How much has she, who will soon become the best intelligence dealer in the city, found out about the Apostles of Retrograde by now?

Although there are more questions, his knowledge of the future, even if vaguely, is still unrivaled.

Among the game settings in his head, there were many secrets that even Sienna, an information dealer, could not easily access.

A clear example was Telia Trading Company.

‘I thought the merchant corridor would be connected in some way.’

Telia Trading Company.

An organization raised in the sun by the cult group ‘Apostles of Retrograde’.

Over the past few years, the company has been dominating the commercial power of this bronze district more aggressively than anyone else.

As a result, elixir materials, weapons supply, and many other minor necessities for running the group all went through Telia Trading Company.

In fact, the Telia Company is a breathing room for cultists.

I was already planning on grabbing any pod and stepping on it, but it was nice to see that it made a connection like this.

‘They must have noticed me by now. ‘Fight is inevitable.’

Dallen stroked his chin. In my heart, I wanted to immediately attack the company, destroy everything, and hit the chairman.

However, Telia Company is a legitimate merchant association recognized by the merchant guild.

The situation was different from when dealing with the warlock in the sewers.

‘The priority is to get LeVeron out of their hands.’

Dallen put the half mask in his chest and took out the money bag he had received from Volkma.

This is a fight that may be long-term.

And LeVeron is an important talent who will play a key role in the distant future.

Since I didn’t know how this fight would unfold, I felt comfortable severing the link between LeVeron and the Sanghoe as soon as possible.

‘Come to think of it, the Galios merchant leader also seemed to have a bad relationship with the merchant association.’

Volkmar said there was a request regarding the Telia Company.

He also added that it was a group with a dirty back.

In any case, entrusting a request to a sword-wielding mercenary means that the relationship is not good enough to require armed conflict.

‘If we take advantage of the conflict between the two companies, we might be able to take down the Telia Company more easily than we think.’

Unlike the fight between the shadows, the power of the sun must be subdued by the power of another sun to prevent any setbacks.

For more details, you will have to ask for the request. Dallen entered the alley, throwing the money bag back and forth.

“hmm?”

At that moment, something caught his senses.

Inside the alley. The direction of the blacksmith shop he was heading towards.

‘It’s in front of Mr. Vero’s blacksmith shop.’

A group of people were gathered in front of the blacksmith shop. Dallen instantly expanded the realm of his five senses.

“…!”

“……!!”

Shouting profanity, heavy breathing and screaming.

A foot stomping that makes the ground vibrate low. The noise of iron hitting iron. The scent of blood can be felt very faintly through the fog.

The senses that have entered the state of a full-fledged superhuman receive a lot of information.

At the same time, all the intelligence levels that had been at that level from the beginning were mixed together to create a vague image.

‘The total number is forty-three. One is Penny and the other is LeVeron. The rest are in conflict with the other two.’

Through that strange sense that could be called a sixth sense, Dallen was able to clearly picture the situation inside the alley that was invisible to the naked eye.

‘They are gangsters. Everyone took up arms.’

He ran straight away.

Swish!

The fog parted and the new figure disappeared through the gap.

***

“Young man, just follow me obediently. What do you mean by paying off a debt? “Do you think we’re doing this to get some money?”

The gangster laughed heartily. LeVeron gritted his teeth.

It was something I expected.

Ever since the gangster who had been urging him to repay his debt returned with both his shattered wrists hanging down.

Perhaps he had been anticipating it long before that, when the Telia Company was systematically strangling him.

‘Have you heard any news from that man named Dallen yesterday?’

LeVeron swallowed dryly.

I thought there was a glimmer of hope.

When I saw his face with a calm expression on his face, as if the amount of dozens of florins he was offering to repay my debt was not a big deal.

When I heard Penny’s incredible story about rescuing a wizard through hundreds of frogmen.

He felt that an incredible miracle had happened in his life, which he thought had no hope.

‘It would have been better if I hadn’t made you look forward to it…’

That’s why a feeling of betrayal arose in a corner of my heart.

A feeling of betrayal towards the mercenary who betrayed his desperate expectations.

But LeVeron immediately shook his head.

‘I brought this upon myself. It’s a burden I have to take responsibility for.’

His pride as a father-in-law did not allow him to do the petty thing of passing the burden on to a man he had only seen yesterday.

“Hey old man? “Am I talking to you now?”

“…You can’t go, you guys! You guys didn’t come here to collect debt in the first place. “You coveted my skills and abilities!”

“Wow, you’ve finally noticed that. But what can I do? “You already borrowed the money and our children are here.”

The gangster laughed at him with a wry smile.

LeBaron’s hand holding the hammer trembled.

In his past, he also worked as a mercenary. It is not difficult for any number of these wandering gangsters to break through the siege and escape.

Several gangsters had already rushed in to forcefully drag him away, leaving him sprawled out on the cold ground.

but.

“Oh, you shouldn’t stare at me like that. If you keep doing that, we could end up harming your beautiful niece. huh?”

“Ugh…!”

LeVeron could not move as the thugs grabbed Penny and held a dagger to her neck.

“You damn bastards! “Someday, I will destroy your bastards with a hammer!”

“Hahaha! “Then I guess I should hurry up and get my fill of this smooth woman before my old man breaks my head?”

The cunning-looking bald hoodlum slowly approached Penny, who was being held by one of his subordinates.

“Giggles. You have such a pretty face.”

The gangster raised his hand, which had a disgusting tattoo on it.

The moment his fingertips caress the face of Penny, who was caught unconscious.

“Once upon a time….”

Parallaerak!

A disc of light flashed through the fog, shouting,

“Oooh!”

bang!

I cut off the guy’s wrists and pinned him to the flagstones on the ground.