Chapter 7

I Raise With In-app Purchases – 7

EP.7 Mysterious Secret Merchant (3)

 

Shine shared an unbelievable experience with her friend.

“…Have you been under a lot of stress?”

Naturally, her friend thought she was saying strange things because of stress.

For students who don’t advance from B-rank, experiencing such things due to stress is not uncommon. So, her friend’s disbelief didn’t bother Shine.

‘Can I talk about this casually?’

What if she spoke casually and reported it, making it impossible for him to come to the agreed-upon place?

‘No way!’

After completing the transaction, it wouldn’t matter, but before that, it was absolutely forbidden.

Even in her dreams, she couldn’t afford to mess things up by talking carelessly about the child (weapon) she missed so much.

“Don’t go around telling others what I just said.”

“Are you telling me I’m crazy?”

“Oh, come on!”

“Hahaha! Okay, okay. Who did I tell your story to anyway? And wouldn’t everyone understand that much? If anyone hasn’t done something weird due to exam stress, come forward and speak up.”

Despite repeatedly urging her friend, she eagerly awaited the package at home.

She had already informed her family about it.

There was a weapon she desperately wanted, perfectly suited for her, but the owner said he wouldn’t sell it if it wasn’t an item. She guaranteed that with that weapon, reaching A-rank was definitely possible.

‘Why is time moving so slowly?’

In the current situation, with the exam approaching, every day felt like gold. The week to reunite with ‘it’ felt too long.

“Oh!”

She believed that her family would send it with care, but she couldn’t help worrying about how they sent it.

It had already been a year since she stayed in the B-rank. She was in a situation where she was worried that her family might give up on her. But it seemed like that was just her useless worry.

“Isn’t this too expensive?”

The item her family sent was none other than ‘Silver Werewolf Fur’.

If it had been regular brown or black fur, she might not have been so surprised. But what her family sent was Silver Werewolf Fur.

Silver Werewolf Fur, bathed in moonlight, had a value that was on a different level than brown or black fur.

‘Because the Werewolf Lord has silver fur.’

Monsters’ ‘Lords’ produce the most valuable items.

With this Werewolf Fur, she could probably make armor that not even most normal sword could pierce.

“They completely stripped off one.”

This was a very special and valuable monster item with intact tail fur.

“At this level, he will definitely exchange it.”

It was unthinkable not to exchange something given like this.

“Of course, my child might be very expensive too…”

Since she had never used the weapon, she couldn’t be sure of its value. She repackaged the Werewolf Fur and held it tightly in her arms.

‘I’m going to have it!’

The subtly sparkling top-grade Silver Werewolf Fur could be tempting, but her heart didn’t waver. What she wanted was not the fur but the weapon she had glimpsed back then.

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***

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Finally, today!!

Shine jumped out of bed and prepared to go out early in the morning.

Actually, she had a restless night.

She had only slept a few hours in the early morning, but she forced herself to sleep to make time pass quickly.

“I’m going out.”

She knew it was much earlier than the agreed-upon time to meet, but she thought it would be better to go out and wait. She stepped out when the sun was just rising.

She had applied for an outing, but the school gate wasn’t open yet.

“Mister! Please open the gate.”

“No, student. Where are you going this early in the morning?”

“I applied for an outing. Here.”

When Shine handed over the outing confirmation, the guard, unable to hide his bewilderment, reluctantly accepted it.

“Well, even if that’s the case, what time is it now…”

“Hehe! You know I can go out anytime. If it’s too much trouble to open the gate, should I just jump over the fence?”

“Oh, no, that could cause big trouble! Wait, I’ll open it for you, so be patient.”

The school gate opened earlier than usual, and she, after expressing her gratitude, immediately left the academy.

In her arms was the packaging of the Werewolf Fur she had prepared for the deal.

1/3

She went to the meeting place with the mysterious man, but he was nowhere to be seen early in the morning. However, she didn’t get disappointed and sat on a conveniently shaded bench. 

– Crunch, crunch, crunch – 

She chewed on the sandwich she had prepared last night, thinking her stomach might growl if she continued to wait here. 

Even while eating, she didn’t forget to scan her surroundings with her eyes. She was determined not to miss the mysterious man when he appeared. 

As time passed and people started moving around her, she remained seated, attentively observing her surroundings. And finally.

“Mister!”

When the presence of a person became rare, a man wearing a hood similar in size appeared in her sight.

As the sun was shining on him, he didn’t seem as suspicious as she had initially thought.

“…I remember it was still far from the agreed-upon time.”

The mysterious man looked puzzled by her early appearance.

“I’ve been waiting since the morning.”

“Why?”

“I never know when you’ll come, and you only vaguely mentioned next week at this time.”

“…”

Although his eyes were not clearly visible due to the hood, she could sense his awkward gaze.

“Mister, I brought this instead.”

Shine extended the packaging in her arms toward him.

As the mysterious man raised his hand to take the packaged item, she quickly moved her hand, preventing him from taking it.

“What are you doing?”

“If I show mine, you should show yours.”

“I haven’t decided if I’ll make the deal.”

“Judging by that, it doesn’t mean you won’t make the deal, right? Show me quickly! I need to double-check if it’s worth as much as I thought when I saw it briefly.”

In reality, she was quite nervous, wondering if he would agree to the deal.

But deliberately pushing and pulling a bit was necessary since she thought the mysterious man might threaten her with a bigger item if she appeared too naive.

She was well aware of the importance of not letting one side be overly dominated in a deal.

“…..”

The mysterious man stared at her intently.

Shine pretended to be nonchalant while internally trembling and sweating cold.

“Wait a moment.”

The mysterious man finally put his hand into the bag he was holding.

– Gulp –

Her heart felt like it was about to explode.

It was hard to believe she could meet that child again.

And finally, the moment she saw the shining red light inside the bag.

“Waaah!”

Tears poured out of her eyes.

“…..”

“Sob.”

“…..”

“Sob!”

Shine tightly embraced the precious child in her arms, sitting on the bench.

The mysterious man, surprisingly kind, handed her water as she cried.

Taking the water and drinking it, she continuously checked the child with her eyes and hands.

“How does it feel to confirm if it’s worth as much?”

“….Sob…..”

“And, after checking, how is it?”

“…Sob…sniff….”

There was nothing to say.

After confidently stating it and then crying so much, revealing everything without holding back.

“…The weapon is really nice. It’s shiny.”

This was a bit too much.

It showed the harsh reality of not being able to have this child after introducing her to it.

Feeling unjust, she felt like she might cry again.

“It’s a fire-element weapon.”

“Where did you find such a pretty baby? Sob.”

“It’s a secret. The source doesn’t matter when you’re buying the weapon. Don’t worry, it’s not stolen.”

“…Let’s unwrap it. I really have to have this.”

The mysterious man obediently unpacked it.

Suddenly, she compared the silver Werewolf Fur she had brought with the weapon.

The mysterious man unpacked and inspected the item inside.

She watched him closely and, unable to contain herself, she confessed.

“Sob…Mister.”

“…..”

“Could you give me one more chance? I’ll find a way somehow. No, rather than that, could I just borrow it for a while?”

Even without trying the weapon, one could tell.

Unintentionally, she almost tried to deceive the gentleman.

This was not merely worth exchanging for silver Werewolf Fur.

So, she came up with an idea.

Instead of ‘purchase,’ she suggested ‘rental’.

“Rental?”

The gentleman seemed interested in the concept of rental.

“Yes. I plan to reach Rank A with this, and during the vacation, I will return to my family to start an internship. I’ll give you all the monster materials I collect at that time until I have enough money equivalent to the value of this weapon. Could you wait for me until then?”

Seeing this child in someone else’s hands would be unbearable.

This had to be in her possession, no matter what.

“Would this little one like to be with me? If you think about this beautiful child suffering in someone else’s hands, it feels like my eyes are going to roll back.”

“Do you really like that?”

– Nod, nod, nod, nod!! –

She vigorously shook her head up and down.

“Hmm… What should I do?”

“I’ll stamp the family seal and prepare a contract. Since I’m still at Rank B, there’s not much I can request from the family. But once I become Rank A, the situation will change significantly.”

By then, she could receive more support.

“Could you trust me just once? Please.”

Had she ever begged someone so desperately?

But from the moment she saw the weapon in her arms, her pride had long gone.

“Alright. Bring the contract. Then I’ll lend you the weapon.”

“Wow!! Really? Yay!!! I’m so happy!! Unbelievable! Yay!!! You’ll be blessed, sir!!! If you ever need help, please feel free to ask!! I’ll definitely help you!!”

Yaaay!!!!!!!

She couldn’t contain her excitement and jumped up, bouncing around.

Joyful screams echoed.

Although people around were looking, Shine paid no attention to their stares.