Like always, a beautiful woman with red hair was standing in the middle of the white space.
Yong-Ho was worried that another employee would be standing there or a dealer that couldn’t talk. He released a sigh of relief.
Right now, Yong-Ho needed someone he could negotiate with.
Sitri was a member of the dungeon’s shop and with a bright smile, she slightly bowed her head. As she stood there beautifully, she spoke as if she was whispering.
“It’s nice to see you again like this, valuable customer.”
“Nice to see you again too.”
Yong-Ho purposely answered with ease and took a deep breath. It’s either because he’s seen Catalina so often or he was in a hurry, but seeing Sitri wasn’t as uncomfortable as before.
Yong-Ho approached Sitri. After stopping at a good distance, he spoke jokingly.
“It’s safe to assume that you’re fully responsible for the House of Mammon, right?”
“It’s coincidence that I happen to have spare time whenever you visit. In your world, you would call this situation, fate, correct?”
Sitri answered with ease this time as well. She was definitely dangerous. Her small movements and voice had the power to put one in a daze.
Instead of saying another joke, Yong-Ho looked straight into Sitri’s eyes. All he did was look into her eyes, but it felt like he was being bewitched. Maybe Sitri was a Succubus?
Sitri smiled again.
“Valuable customer. What kind of trade are you here to do today? Are you here to purchase another spirit? Or daily necessities? The dungeon shop also provides equipment to install new traps.”
But, he wasn’t here for any of those. Yong-Ho took his time in answering.
“I would like to sell before purchasing.”
“Are you speaking of the items from the House of Mammon?”
“Yes, they’re ordinary weapons.”
After answering, Yong-Ho waved his finger in the air. He used the same method as when he was in the dungeon and a window of light appeared in the air.
The window of light was divided into many parts, making it look like a shopping catalogue, and inside them were different weapons.
They were the weapons from the armory that were sitting on the magic circle that was located next to the throne.
“The weapons are in good quality. I’ll take a look.”
When Sitri extended her hand out towards the window, some of the weapons that were displayed materialized. Sitri softly grabbed the axe where the handle was the only part that was sticking out of the window and pulled out the axe as if she was unsheathing a sword.
It was a battle axe that was so large, that it seemed like it would be hard for Sitri to wield it with her thin arm.
However, she started spinning it as if she was holding a toy. After raising it up to her face, she opened her narrow eyes and observed the axe. She spoke in a sort of bitter tone.
“Kaiwan.”
Sitri’s eyes remained on the sentence, which was written above the wolf that was biting the moon.
Yong-Ho asked without realizing.
“Did you know her?”
Instead of answering right away, she stayed quiet for a moment. After holding the axe by the edge of the handle, she spoke while looking afar, making it look like she was thinking about something.
“She was a fierce and cute child. She didn’t like losing to anyone and acted like she was strong. However, she was a child that felt a lot of loneliness. If I were to compare this to your world again…right, she was like a wild cat.”
A light smile appeared on her face after she finished talking. It was soft and peaceful like always, but there was a mix of sadness.
A wild cat.
A witch with grey hair and a ferocious face.
Did Sitri work with the House of Mammon when Kaiwan was the owner three generations ago? Was she perhaps in charge of the House of Mammon during that time?
He was curious, but he didn’t ask.
Yong-Ho focused on the words that Sitri used to describe Kaiwan.
A fierce and cute child.
Kaiwan was the owner decades ago. That also meant that Sitri has been alive for at least several decades.
Right now, Sitri described Kaiwan as a child.
‘Often times, there are high-ranked spirits that have eternal youth.’
He remembered what Catalina said. Then is Sitri really an important figure, like she mentioned before? Important enough to not age?
Sitri looked at Yong-Ho again. A relaxed expression appeared on her face as if she had said everything that was on her mind.
“They’re all good weapons. However, there isn’t any magic on them. Also…I’m not sure if you know this, but the items that are sold to the dungeon shops are usually sold cheaper if you were to purchase them as used items. What are you planning on purchasing with the money you obtain by selling these?”
Yong-Ho understood it as bargaining rather than meddling.
That’s why he answered truthfully.
“I want some sort of potion that recovers mana in a short period of time.”
Mana potions always appear in RPGs.
Currently, in the House of Mammon, Yong-Ho had the strongest firepower. However, Aamon consumed a large amount of mana. In order to go against 10’s, maybe 100’s of those Crazy Ants, he had to increase the amount of times he could use Aamon.
“You’re referring to a mana potion.”
Sitri lightly crossed her arms. This seemed to have interested her because she spoke while looking into his eyes.
“A mana potion is useless to strong demons. There’s a limit to how much mana the potion can recover. However, since you’re still growing, it may be a suitable item for you.”
Yong-Ho already confirmed the effects and the limits of a mana potion from Catalina and Eligor.
The important thing right now was how many mana potions he was able to purchase from the money he obtained by selling the weapons.
Like always, Sitri took out a small glass bottle from in between her cleavage. The glass bottle was the same size as a pinky and it was filled with blue liquid.
“I’m sure you already know, but…a mana potion is very expensive. It’s the most important element to us demons. Even though it’s useless to high-ranked demons…not all demons are powerful within the demon world. The owners in the empty southern area are probably feeling antsy because they’re wanting to obtain more mana potions. The demand rate is higher than the supply rate.”
It wasn’t a good sign. Sitri continued talking after slightly tilting her head.
“This one bottle will be enough to recover all of your mana at once. Also, you won’t be able to purchase even one bottle of this with the 20 ordinary weapons that you brought.”
Sitri spoke while looking into his eyes. Yong-Ho looked into her eyes as well.
If she just wanted to say that he was short on money, there wasn’t a reason for her to drag it out like this. Like how Yong-Ho assumed earlier, Sitri was thinking about bargaining.
“However, this is between us. I’ll be a bit flexible about it.”
This was the reaction Yong-Ho was waiting for. However, what she said totally caught Yong-Ho off-guard.
“Please tell me.”
“Tell you?”
“Yes, tell me why you need the mana potion. What the House of Mammon is going through. If you tell me the truth, then I’ll give you three, no, four bottles. This is a pretty fair deal, don’t you think?”
Sitri had a bright smile. Sitri was an extremely beautiful woman and her smile was bright and transparent, which made Yong-Ho think that she didn’t have any other intentions.
Because of that, Yong-Ho kept his guard up around Sitri.
She was definitely showing kindness towards Yong-Ho and the House of Mammon. But, why? What’s the reason behind her kindness? Why did she want to know what was happening in the House of Mammon?
At first, he thought maybe Sitri was a supporter. It was very possible since she was acting as if she knew about Kaiwan very well.
But, there was one thing he wasn’t sure of. There was nothing more dangerous than quickly jumping to a conclusion and having expectations.
However, Yong-Ho had to continue using this odd relationship he had with Sitri.
In his plan to acquire the gold mine, using Sitri’s kindness was included.
Yong-Ho closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He made up his mind. He told Sitri a short version of everything that happened.
He didn’t make any poor lies. Sitri already knew that he was a half human and half demon and that he had the power of Greed, which was one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Lying to her would only cause trouble.
After hearing what Yong-Ho said, Sitri expressed her emotions and it was as simple as Yong-Ho’s.
“Interesting.”
Sitri smiled. It must’ve been interesting to her because she lightly exclaimed and then looked at Yong-Ho. He saw her true feelings through her red eyes and knew he’s seen them once before.
“Wouldn’t most think about giving up or running away if they were in your situation?”
But that wasn’t the case for Yong-Ho. Instead of focusing on defense, he explained that this was the time to acquire the mine and that’s why he came to meet her.
Yong-Ho had sort of a blank expression after hearing what Sitri said. The reason was simple.
Before hearing it from Sitri, he never thought about running away.
Sitri read his expression. Her smile had a lot more emotion this time. It was quiet, but she even made a sound when she smiled.
“It must be true. You’re definitely a greedy owner. Just letting you know, this is a compliment.”
Yong-Ho didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, Sitri quickly resolved the embarrassment he felt. And then, she took out three more bottles of mana potion from her cleavage.
“Transactions should always be honest. I’ll collect the weapons today and send someone to the House of Mammon to deliver the potions. I’ll cheer for you from afar.”
Sitri extended her hand out for a handshake after she finished talking. It was a symbolic gesture that meant that the transaction ended successfully.
Yong-Ho grabbed her hand. Her hand was so soft that he was afraid it was going to melt. He lightly shook her hand and expressed his gratitude. To avoid saying anything unnecessary, he disconnected from the Virtual Space.
Only
Like when a character from an online game logs out, Yong-ho himself disappeared from the white Virtual Space. Sitri was the only one left in the white room.
Sitri looked at the spot that Yong-Ho was standing in. Her eyes saw something else instead of the ground. She spoke quietly.
“Aamon. Sometimes I feel like you’re lazier than I am…did you find him? Or did he call out for you?”
There was no answer. But Sitri was satisfied. With a calm face, she looked up at the white sky that didn’t have any wind.
Sitri’s eyes saw something else instead of the sky this time too.
There was something over there.
A person that remained in Sitri’s memories.
Sitri didn’t say their name. Like always, she closed her eyes. She lied down on top of a white bed.
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