Calamity and Threats
"Uh, w-where should I take you, my lord?"
Thomson's legs were trembling as he led the way.
"Ahem."
Watching him, I felt a twinge of guilt.
Still, they had started the trouble, and I'd merely taken advantage of the situation.
Sure, the skill's effect was a little too impressive, so the misunderstanding was understandable.
"Your Highness, how could you stab someone like that? The blood was everywhere!"
"To think my only disciple turned out to be such a merciless brute…"
"I told you, he's not dead! It just looked bad!"
When I shouted back in protest, both of them burst out laughing.
They knew the thug I hit was fine—they were just teasing me.
"That was an amusing technique, though. How is that even possible?"
"Indeed. Where did you learn such a thing? Is it truly the mark of a prophet's syndrome?"
"…The black flame dragon within told me."
I gave them a flat answer and lightly tapped Thomson on the shoulder.
"Lead us to the black market."
Thomson flinched and turned to glance at me nervously.
"T-The black market is a dangerous place, sir. Are you sure you wish to go there?"
…How can every single line that comes out of this guy's mouth be so cliché?
"Thomson, your mouth is under arrest until we get there. Not a single word. Got it?"
"Wh-why, sir?"
"Because I'm afraid your clichés might rub off on me!"
"B-but, my lord—"
"Do you not understand 'arrest'? Should I make it literal?"
"Y-yes, sir…"
Much better.
The black market of Aulax really was dangerous—
for me, and especially for a low-level scammer like Thomson.
'If you don't act exactly the right way in there, someone'll stick a knife in you without warning.'
That's how ruthless the place was—and how valuable the goods it offered were.
Even as he trembled, Thomson obeyed, keeping his mouth firmly shut while walking ahead.
That was the effect of the event "I'm the Guide of This District."
The route to the black market?
Of course I already knew it.
The real issue was entry.
It wasn't called the "black" market for nothing.
'You either had to have visited before, or be invited by someone who had.'
Only one of those two qualifications would get you inside.
Naturally, I had neither—
which was why I decided to use the event to my advantage.
[Event]
Someone not well-known in Aulax, but active elsewhere, has arrived.
The gentlemen of the back alleys, versed in their own kind of etiquette, volunteer to escort him.
Explore the shadowed corners of Aulax together.
The activation condition seemed simple—but it wasn't.
'Defeat the attacking "Back Alley Novice Thugs" without killing them, and break their will through fear.'
The thugs were weak, so any semi-experienced player could subdue them easily.
But not killing them while leaving them terrified? That took finesse.
If you left them with too much HP, they'd just lock eyes dramatically and bolt,
as I'd nearly experienced earlier.
So usually you had to tie them up and rough them a bit,
or intimidate them into submission through dialogue.
'Honestly, a tedious task. I just happened to have the perfect skill for it.'
Which explained why the event was rarely discovered by players.
Still, it was quite useful—
triggering it effectively counted as receiving an invitation to the black market.
"We're here, my lord."
After walking through a maze of alleys, Thomson finally stopped.
Before us stood a plain iron door, rusted all over.
But this was the entrance to the Aulax black market.
Thomson fidgeted, bowing nervously.
"S-so, may I take my leave now, sir?"
Instead of replying, I turned to Kals and Tyrbaen.
"From here on, we hide our identities. Everyone addresses me as 'my lord.'"
Revealing my royal status here would do no good.
"Understood, my lord."
"I'll call you whatever I want."
Kals bowed instantly, while Tyrbaen didn't seem to care either way—
she was too young to use honorifics like 'Your Highness' to begin with.
Alright, then…
"Open it."
I gestured toward the door. Thomson's face went pale.
"M-my lord! You promised to spare me!"
Right, I had.
"And you're alive, aren't you? Promise kept."
"I-I'll be killed if I go in there!"
"No, no—you'll just be slightly maimed. And don't worry, I'll keep you alive afterwards too. Now open it."
With a deep sigh, Thomson knocked on the door with shaking hands.
The reply came exactly five seconds later.
"Who the hell's there? If you don't wanna die, get your hands off the door and piss off."
The gatekeeper's voice was as gruff as I remembered from the game.
I crossed my arms, watching.
"I-It's me, Thomson, sir."
"…Thomson? Who the hell's that?"
"You know, the runt from the west side. Heh."
"Ah, that scrawny one. You've got no business here, kid. If you don't wanna die, back off right now."
"H-hey, don't be like that! I brought guests!"
"What? Guests? Hah! Kids these days really don't know fear, huh?"
There was a click, then the rusty iron door creaked open.
I smirked inwardly.
'Nice. Door unlocked.'
The man behind it was a head taller than me,
his scarred face twisting into a scowl as he looked us over—then glared down at Thomson.
"You brain-dead little bastard… Who told you you could just knock and expect the black market to open?"
"T-that's not what—"
"Not what? You want me to call the upper crew? Maybe we should bend your fingers backward one by one till you learn?"
Terrified, Thomson hiccuped and froze between me and the gatekeeper.
Time to step in.
"Hey. Old man."
"…?"
"What are you barking about when I said a customer's here? You not open for business or what?"
"..."
When I cut in, the gatekeeper frowned and glared at me — as if even wasting a curse on me would be too much effort.
If only I'd worn something fancier, he might've reacted differently.
Right now, I was dressed in the plain clothes Marquis Reut had lent me, and that was enough for this brute to look down on me completely.
There were three choices available to the player in this situation:
'Leave. Fight. Bribe.'
Leaving would just waste the opportunity.
If I fought him, I could probably win thanks to Kals — but then I'd have to deal with the others inside the black market too, and end up gaining nothing in the end.
So the correct answer was bribery.
And not a half-measure, either.
I pulled out every single gold coin from my inventory and held them out to the gatekeeper.
"Thirty gold coins. That enough for the entrance fee?"
His eyes widened slightly as he felt the weight of the pouch.
Thirty gold wasn't a fortune, but it was far more than a simple entry fee.
I'd basically bet my entire savings to put on a show, but he didn't know that — to him, I probably looked like a wealthy noble slumming it for fun.
"...Hmm. So you really are a customer."
The gatekeeper's expression softened. He fished out a few coins and examined them carefully before nodding.
Then, surprisingly, he handed the entire pouch back to me.
As expected.
Pretending not to understand, I blinked innocently.
He gave a simple explanation.
"Our black market doesn't charge an entry fee. We only verify whether a guest is someone worth dealing with."
"Is that so? Great, I just saved myself some money."
Calmly, I tossed the pouch back into my inventory and glanced at the darkness spreading behind him.
"So, I can go in, right?"
"Of course, sir."
The gatekeeper smiled broadly — an expression completely out of place on his rough face.
It wasn't a fake, business smile either. He looked genuinely pleased.
Knowing the reason, I couldn't help but smirk inwardly.
He probably thinks he's found an easy mark.
Right now, he's grinning because he expects me to get stripped of everything I own inside — down to my underwear.
But me? I was thinking the exact opposite.
If anything, I'll be the one doing the stripping.
Hiding my grin, I gestured at Thomson.
"Well? You're leading the way again."
"...Huh? You mean I'm going in there too?"
Thomson blinked, looking between me and the gatekeeper as if unsure whether he'd heard right.
But unexpectedly, the gatekeeper smiled warmly.
"Do your best to guide the gentleman, Thomson. Don't get lost, and don't make any mistakes."
…That sounded way too ominous.
"Y-Yes, sir. I'll do my best."
The novice scammer had no idea why the gatekeeper's tone had shifted so suddenly —
but of course, I knew it was because of the thirty gold coins I'd shown.
The gatekeeper's friendliness rises in proportion to the amount of gold displayed as 'entry payment.'
Thanks to that, Thomson was now allowed to accompany me inside.
"...?"
He still looked completely confused about why he was suddenly permitted to come along.
"Got gum stuck to your feet? Move it already."
He'd be useful soon enough, once we were in that pitch-black maze.
The black market of Aulax was as dark and twisted as an ant's nest —
a labyrinth of narrow corridors, constantly branching and diving deeper underground.
With Thomson in the lead, I walked slowly, recalling what I knew about the area.
Most rooms are empty or trapped. Only a handful are used for trade. You have to choose carefully.
The layout was designed to let both clients and goods escape safely if the city guards ever raided the place.
Meaning — open the wrong door, and you'd be treated like one of those guards.
And turned into a pincushion.
Thomson, clearly aware of that much, glanced nervously back at me.
"Um, my lord, I-I don't really know this place well. I'm not qualified yet, see…"
Yeah, figures.
"Don't worry. I'll handle it."
"Eh? But this is our black market, sir. How could you possibly—"
…Another cliché.
"Your mouth's under arrest again. Not a word until I say otherwise, got it?"
"..."
"No answer?"
"You literally just arrested it, sir."
"Right. So why are you talking, then?"
"..."
With my newly silent Thomson in front, I turned to Kals and Tyrbaen.
"From here, we're looking for a room where you can't hear anything. Got it?"
Any noise — any sign of movement — meant a trap.
Only the rooms of perfect silence were the real trading spots.
And Kals, being an elite knight, found one almost immediately.
"Here."
His heightened senses were remarkable, as expected.
"Yeah. No presence at all," confirmed Tyrbaen after casting a detection spell.
I gestured toward Thomson.
"Open it."
I already had a plan — three items to obtain from this black market:
The bow Swiftkill.
The magical accessory Rosary of the Forest.
The shield Balance.
All of them were absurdly expensive — far beyond what thirty gold could buy.
But I wasn't worried.
Because this is that black market.
Came to get scammed?
Nah. I came to scam the scammers.
Humming cheerfully to myself, I stepped inside.
And then—
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
I froze.
The huge, familiar figure sitting across from the dealer blinked in equal surprise.
"What the hell? What are you doing here?"
"…That's my line, Irgal."
Why the hell was he here?