“Well, this is an unexpected visit.”
As soon as he had entered the white space, Sitri greeted him with a surprised expression. Unlike last time, she was now wearing a red dress, though it still had the same degree of exposure.
She was clearly acting surprised, so Yong-Ho responded by acting relaxed.
“I thought you said you weren’t exclusively in charge of this place?”
Sitri’s eyes widened, as she put on a charming smile. In front of that smile, anybody scheming against her would have had their thoughts melt away.
Yong-Ho tried to remain relaxed, but it was quite difficult. For Yong-Ho, who was weak against women, Sitri was a mighty existence.
However, it didn’t mean that he wore a stupid expression plastered on his face. His earlobes just turned a slight red, and he coughed a little.
Sitri smiled again. Suddenly, a white desk appeared behind her, which she gently leaned her hips against and then spoke.
“Influential people aren’t always busy. And actually, I had a feeling you might come today.”
“Isn’t that contradicting, what you said earlier?”
Sitri was incredibly beautiful, and she knew it. As a result, she just responded to Yong-Ho’s comment with another smile. The white table behind her suddenly transformed into a chair, which Sitri then sat down on, and crossed her legs. She stared at Yong-Ho.
“You’ve used the power of evolution.”
Yong-Ho was inexperienced in these sorts of situations. Her question caused him to flinch, and he wasn’t able to hide the visible signs of his nervousness.
However, Sitri was quite satisfied with his reaction. Yong-Ho had just recently ascended to the throne. The fact that he didn’t cause a commotion and was able to restrain his emotions was enough.
“You don’t have to be wary of me. No one but I, knows that my beloved customer has become the king of the House of Mammon and that he has the power of evolution.”
Yong-Ho wanted to ask if his power would be easily noticed if he used it, but he decided not to. He instead asked something else.
“Do you know anybody else who has the power of evolution, besides me?”
Sitri did not immediately answer. She folded her legs in a different position, briefly lowered her eyes and then rested her chin on the back of her hand. After in thought for a moment, she spoke.
“It happened a long time ago. However, the power of the person that I knew back then, and your own power are not exactly the same. Since a Demon King’s power is an aspect of their very soul.”
Yong-Ho didn’t further ask any more questions. Sitri was kind and beautiful, and although she seemed to hold Yong-Ho in great favor, she wasn’t completely on his side. The only people that Yong-Ho fully trusted were his servants Catalina and Eligor.
When Yong-Ho didn’t ask any further questions, Sitri stood up. She approached Yong-Ho and then stopped a couple of paces away. A small white table appeared between them.
“I would like to provide you with a small gift as a token of apology for my rudeness. Is that okay?”
“Sure.”
He wanted to answer more naturally but realized that his voice seemed a bit stiff.
Sitri took out three small leather pouches from between her cleavage and placed them on the table. It was almost as if she had a pocket dimension in there, as last time she had done something similar.
“Among the Seven Deadly Sins, Greed is deeply related to the acquisition of wealth. In the terminology of your world, ‘you have the Midas touch’.”
It made sense since he was the Demon of Greed. Sitri gently placed her long, slender fingers on top of the leather pouches. Which naturally caught Yong-Ho’s attention.
“One of these pouches holds a coupon that allows you to purchase a rank two spirit. If you find it with your first go, it shall be yours. And if I were to give you a hint… don’t think. Feel. Grab the bag that you feel that you want.
Sitri concluded her explanation with a smile. Yong-Ho looked at the pouches, and instinctively reached out and grabbed the middle pouch.
Yong-Ho was surprised by how swiftly he had reacted. Rather than thinking about moving his hand, it was as if it had reacted on its own.
Sitri opened the pouch in front of him. Inside was a green gem, about the size of a thumbnail.
“Well done, you’ve chosen correctly.”
She confirmed this by opening the other pouches and revealing their contents. They were both empty.
Luck with the acquisition of wealth.
It was definitely useful. It was a good ability. But, Yong-Ho couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
Did the power of Greed, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, just have the ability of luck?
Sitri noticed his expression. She waved her slender index finger in front of Yong-Ho’s gaze.
“This isn’t the only power that Greed has. This is just a side effect of its nature. So don’t be disappointed.”
What she said was certainly helpful, but it was a bit disconcerting that she was able to read him so easily.
Yong-Ho reached out and grabbed the green gem, which Sitri had placed on the desk, and then spoke.
“Thank you for your help on both matters.”
He was referring to both the information on the power of Greed and the coupon that she had given him.
Sitri was pleased that Yong-Ho had thanked her for both matters. This time, she pulled a large book out of thin air and placed it on the table. It was extremely large and thick, similar to the old English dictionaries that he used to use.
“Unlike the lowest level grade spirits that you bought last time, we offer a separate catalog for spirits that are rank one and above. And there are two types of categories within this catalog. The Free Labor Market and the Slave Market.”
Ever since entering the demon world, that was the darkest thing he heard so far, yet completely expected in this sort of world.
Sitri explained further.
“Spirits that are registered in the Free Labor Market, are typically seeking masters to serve. Even if a demon king was willing to employ a spirit, the spirit may not be willing to serve them, so no deal is made. As the working spirits in the Free Labor Market also have the freedom to choose their master.”
“And the Slave Market doesn’t?”
“Exactly. The spirits are literally ‘slaves’. The spirits in the Slave Market typically have low intelligence, lack of self-awareness or were sold for some other reason. Of course, there is a lack of diversity and ability with the spirits in the Slave Market compared to the spirits in the Free Labor Market. But, in the Slave Market, you won’t need to negotiate with the spirits, and the prices are much cheaper.
Yong-Ho looked down at the green gem he had in his hand.
“Is this coupon also valid for spirits from the Slave Market?”
“You’re very smart, my beloved customer.”
It wasn’t difficult to figure these things out. It would be difficult to hire spirits with the dungeon in its current condition. Furthermore, recruiting spirits from the Free Labor Market would start rumors that the House of Mammon had a new owner.
Sitri turned the book around on the desk so that Yong-Ho could read it more clearly. This was the first time he had seen letters from this world, but at just a glance, he could easily understand their meaning.
[Rank 2 Spirit Catalogue – Slave Market – ]
“Have fun shopping, my beloved customer.”
Sitri, who finished talking with a smile, took a step back and disappeared just like before.
A few seconds later.
‘She’s tiring to deal with. I miss the simple-minded Catalina. I do miss her.’
Yong-Ho yawned due to his tiredness and then sat back down on the chair.
‘Good.’
Regardless, the spirit was free, and with the hope that he would get lucky with his selection, he could save a lot of money. No, even if he didn’t get lucky, he was still getting more than he had originally bargained for.
Yong-Ho opened the catalog.
***
He never expected that he would have received a rank two spirit for free.
However, Yong-Ho didn’t enter the virtual branch just to start shopping impulsively.
He was originally going to purchase a rank one spirit.
Naturally, he had a plan.
First, he would purchase a spirit suited for combat.
Second. He would purchase a spirit that would strengthen the dungeon’s overall military strength.
Currently, Catalina was the only spirit who was suited for fighting. Of course, if a battle really occurred, Yong-Ho, as well as the two Hobgoblins, would also fight, but using the workers to defend the dungeon would only be as a last resort.
Therefore, Yong-Ho had first analyzed Catalina’s strengths and weaknesses.
As a Half Succubus and Half Dark Elf, Catalina was able to use daggers, throwing knives and bows as her main weapons. In essence, she was classified as an attacker that was capable of both melee and long-ranged attacks, and she was akin to the rogue class from fantasy MMORPGs.
The new spirit that he was going to purchase, would thus act in a defensive position for the dungeon and synchronize with Catalina. So, he needed to purchase a spirit that would harmonize with Catalina’s strengths and weaknesses and be able to create synergistic strategies with her.
What type of spirit would an attacker need in a defensive position?
‘The answer, of course, is a tanker.’
Anyway, the spirit will be working as the dungeon’s gatekeeper so mobility isn’t that important. What he needed was a spirit with a large defensive build, with the ability to undergo evolution.
‘Let’s check out everything anyway.’
It didn’t cost him any money to browse. If he saw any spirits that had potential, he could keep them in mind to purchase later if it suited his dungeon development strategy.
His heart was pounding in his chest. He would also feel a similar thrill when purchasing units for his army in games.
“Wow.”
From just glancing at the section for rank two spirits, he could instantly see how different their names and appearances were.
A Hellhound that spewed fire breath.
A Bugbear with a huge build and great strength.
And a Huge Slime that produced a strong acid.
Only
He couldn’t analyze them with his Power of Evolution because he had to save mana, but just looking at the various spirits within the catalog was quite enjoyable.
Furthermore, the spirits in the catalog weren’t just simply pictures printed on paper. Whenever Yong-Ho would turn the page, a spirit would appear on a huge screen in the air.
Yong-Ho was able to examine the spirits as if he were looking at holograms.
‘There are a few that satisfy my criteria.’
It didn’t take him too long to go through the entire catalog, even though he took his time to thoroughly examine each one. Under the rank two spirits, they were a total of 15 different kinds. Just as Sitri had explained, most of them either lacked intelligence or self-awareness.
‘Hmmm, it’s a shame they don’t have an elf.’
Yong-Ho, who was by himself in the white room, coughed a little and then waved his finger, causing three spirits that he had bookmarked beforehand, to appear before him on the large screen.
He then activated the Power of Evolution.
Comments