Level 4 Human in a Ruined World-Chapter 590
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Chapter 590: Quagmire (7)
[Royal Seal of Kardal]
| Buyers: 2
Two buyers had appeared, each declaring they wished to purchase the Royal Seal of Kardal.
Among the two, which one is the royal envoy?
“Still… whichever it is, neither of them seems easy to deal with, right?”
As Yeongwoo shrugged while looking over the buyer list, Kejen shook his head.
–Even so, there’s a huge difference between a robbery victim and someone trafficking stolen goods. The former will absolutely come to fight.
“That’s true.”
Kardal.
A royal family known throughout the universe for their belligerence—whoever they sent to retrieve the seal would undoubtedly be a formidable individual.
And that individual would use any means necessary to complete the mission assigned by the royal family.
A trafficker, however, was different.
Whether they were a collector or someone intending to resell stolen goods, at the core, they had come here to make a deal.
It wasn't that they wouldn’t betray you, but the nature of the encounter would differ greatly from someone arriving purely for blood vengeance.
“So basically… you want to pick the collector or the trafficker, right?”
–Of course. If possible.
“Hmm… is there no way to narrow down who the counterpart is?”
–There are cases where you can infer the buyer’s disposition based on their additional offers, like earlier… but that won’t work this time.
“Right. The seal doesn’t have a listed price.”
–Even if the bidding starts, buyers cannot see each other’s bids. That’s why high-value items like this are rarely bid on.
“What? You mean they trade such expensive goods without bidding? That means you won’t know the buyer’s offer until you meet them in the trading hall?”
–Exactly. You meet face-to-face and negotiate. If the price doesn’t match, you leave. But even that requires strength.
“A place where you really can’t do anything if you’re weak, huh.”
–If both sides are equal in power, the ‘bloodless trade’ happens. If not, well… that’s how incidents occur.
“If neither side bids at all, then I have to choose purely based on luck.”
As Yeongwoo said this, Kejen closed his eyes and looked up at the sky.
–May the Records bless us.
“You little bastard—would the Records ever protect someone overflowing with evil karma? Stop with the nonsense and focus on what to do if the worst happens.”
Yeongwoo didn’t believe that the Records predetermined the universe’s fate, but he did believe that karma would yield consequences.
Cause and effect—that’s all karma was.
Even Mara, who committed evil as naturally as breathing, almost annihilated the Red-Foot Tribe.
And the result of that was that Earth’s Jeong Yeongwoo-07 obtained the Aratubank and received a mission to take revenge on Mara.
Meaning—if someday Yeongwoo kills Mara, that would be the “effect” tied to the karma surrounding the Red-Foot Tribe.
“If—no, not even that. If one of the two turns out to be Kardal’s envoy, that’s just your karma. Accept it.”
–But if we run into Kardal, you’re not getting out unscathed either. For your sake, pray for the collector.
“Is Kardal that strong? Would a royal envoy really be on par with President Lemu?”
–Who knows. But in this universe, ‘belligerent’ basically means ‘strong.’
“That… makes sense.”
Yeongwoo nodded and shifted his gaze back to the unmoving buyer list.
“In any case, I just have to pick now.”
Jeonggu waved his arm, objecting.
“Can’t you take a break? You just nearly died.”
Jeonggu, having crossed the line between life and death repeatedly, was exhausted.
Yeongwoo’s stance was the opposite.
“The sooner we finish this deal, the sooner we get out of this insane place.”
Right then, another explosion echoed from outside.
BOOOOM!
The fight that had broken out in the free-trade zone earlier had now escalated.
“See? The only way to live long here is to finish your business and get out.”
With that, Yeongwoo raised his hand over the buyer list.
“I’m picking one at random.”
–Please, collector…
At Kejen’s prayer, Yeongwoo tapped the buyer listed at the bottom.
tap.
Kejen perked his ears.
–Why the bottom? Any reason?
“I dunno. The top felt too obvious.”
Once again, a gray portal opened before the group.
Shiiiiing!
Entering it meant finally meeting the counterpart.
“To be honest, I don’t care who it is, as long as they pay properly.”
With that, Yeongwoo stepped inside the portal first, and then the rest of the group followed, tense.
* * *
They had now come to the Tag-Chase Trading Hall for the second time.
Like before, a dome-shaped indoor space with a ceiling nearly twenty meters high filled their view.
Pop! Pop!
One by one, the others emerged from the portal, and just like last time, Kejen collided with the transparent wall.
THUD!
–Damn it, again?
“You always prepare to flee the instant you arrive, don’t you?”
–There’s a 50% chance the counterpart is Kardal!
Fair enough.
As the actual thief, Kejen had every reason to fear this transaction.
“They’re not here yet.”
Yeongwoo looked across toward the counterpart’s position.
For some reason, despite the seller (him) accepting the trade, the other side had not entered.
“This feels… off.”
Just as he muttered that, a gray portal appeared on the far side.
–They’re here!
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Kejen gaped while Yeongwoo drew Bastard, assuming neither a collector nor Kardal would waste time like the previous mechanical inspector.
And then—
Shiiiiing!
Someone stepped out.
“Huh.”
The first to appear was a flag bearer carrying a large banner.
He wore full gray armor that covered him entirely except for part of his jaw.
From what Yeongwoo could tell, the species resembled humans—two eyes, four limbs.
“No matter how I look, he doesn’t look like a collector…”
Yeongwoo gave an embarrassed smile as the one who picked this buyer.
Kejen pointed at the banner, horrified.
–That… that’s Kardal.
On the banner was a red symbol shaped like swirling wind.
“That’s the emblem of the Kardal royal family?”
Yeongwoo frowned and studied it.
Behind the standard bearer, soldiers in identical armor marched in.
“How many did they bring?”
At least ten were visible.
Each soldier carried two crescent-shaped blades crossed behind their waist.
A distinct Kardal fashion, perhaps—because the seal pursuer also carried the same gear.
“So that’s the one who came for you.”
Yeongwoo pointed.
The pursuer wore the same armor but had a red cloth draped over it—likely marking higher rank.
“If Kardal isn’t the strongest royal clan in the universe, their common soldiers won’t be stronger than me. But the special envoy will definitely be troublesome.”
Numbers weren’t the problem.
The issue was the envoy’s martial power.
Beep-!
The same sharp signal sounded.
「Trade format: Tag-Chase.」
“Ah.”
Then something appeared above Yeongwoo's group.
Pop! Pop!
Money.
Metallic silver cards gleaming in the air.
“As expected of royalty—payment prepared very cleanly.”
Tap! 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Yeongwoo caught the cards—each worth 1 billion Karma.
“Three cards… 3 billion, huh.”
–Same amount as the bounty placed on the seal. If you’d picked the collector, you could’ve gotten nearly double…
Kejen twitched his beard in complaint.
Risking their lives against Kardal for just 3 billion felt lacking.
Yeongwoo nodded.
“Yeah. It’s a bit disappointing to walk away with just 3 billion.”
A comment with double-meaning.
Yeongwoo did have something else he could sell.
Namely, the thief of the seal—Kejen himself.
Flash!
With payment confirmed, the barriers dropped.
The next step should’ve been the chase—buyers trying to block the exit.
But instead—
“…Huh?”
Nothing happened.
Even though the exit appeared behind them, the Kardal group simply stood in formation and stared.
They did not move.
–W-what… what’s going on?
Kejen was stunned too.
Then the pursuer stepped forward and raised his left hand.
Whoosh.
He was showing something.
And that something was—
“Oh, now that’s someone who knows how to negotiate.”
Yeongwoo grinned like a villain.
The pursuer held ten 1-billion-Karma cards—100 billion in total.
Then he spoke for the first time.
–I am well aware that the true party behind this transaction cannot be that thieving cur!
His voice echoed with confidence.
–Whoever it may be, the one who brings the seal and the thief who stole it shall receive proper reward from Kardal!
As he shook the 100 billion again, Yeongwoo grabbed Kejen’s scruff.
GRAB!
–W-wait! You’re not seriously selling me, right!? You promised! We agreed we’d trade together!
Yeongwoo lifted Kejen and replied with a wicked smile:
“Which is exactly what we’re doing. We are making a trade—together.”
He strode toward the pursuer.
“This is what we call karma.”
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