Chapter 137. Smiled Lightly So the Tears Wouldn’t Flow
The surprise from the unexpected question lasted only a moment.
I twitched the corner of my lips and threw back a question.
“So, you’re saying we smuggled out the Red Flame? Us? Don’t tell me Lorutel thinks what Dekulan’s after is the Red Flame?”
“That’s right. Is it a difficult question to answer? If so, you need not answer.”
“Pfft. No, it’s not that it’s difficult. It’s just… funny. So then, of course, the price for Infinite Chain was set according to the value of the Red Flame, right?”
“…That’s correct, but why do you ask?”
Maybe he had sensed something strange.
Just moments ago, the Young Lord’s face had worn that smug smile saying, ‘I know everything, boy.’ But now, a flicker of doubt crossed it. Or maybe he just didn’t like that I was smiling. Either way, that wasn’t my concern.
Sorry, but I just couldn’t help but laugh.
‘This is turning out real interesting. They’ve completely barked up the wrong tree.’
Well, to be fair, from Lorutel’s perspective, it made perfect sense.
After all, the leak of Heavenly Origin Art would be top secret even within Dekulan, known only to a handful of their higher-ups. So the only information Lorutel could’ve gotten their hands on would be something like…
‘The Vice Commander of the Ruby Division attacked an Academy professor, and his subspace item was lost.’
That’s about it.
And so, they must’ve misunderstood Dekulan’s goal as the Red Flame.
But why was that funny? Because this situation played out far too much in my favor.
To be honest, no matter how influential the Young Lord was, it would be quite hard to overturn a trade with Dekulan that was only a few days away. But with this misunderstanding? Things just got much easier.
So then…
“Young Lord, let’s clear up this little misunderstanding first.”
“Misunderstanding?”
Even at his sharp tone, I nodded calmly.
“You think we smuggled out the Red Flame? Well, that part’s true. But there’s something Lorutel’s gotten wrong.”
“…What is it?”
“Do you really think Dekulan wanted Infinite Chain just to chase after the Red Flame?”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“Think about it. The Red Flame? Sure, it’s a grand secret art. It makes sense that Dekulan would value it. But is it really important enough for them to move heaven and earth just to obtain Infinite Chain? What do you think?”
“Well… that’s…”
“Then flip the situation around.”
I gave him a little example since he couldn’t immediately answer.
“If Lorutel had a Red Flame-level secret leaked, and Dekulan possessed Infinite Chain, would Lorutel propose a trade with Infinite Chain just to retrieve it?”
“…That’s… debatable.”
Yeah, debatable indeed.
The Red Flame was a mighty secret, sure, but it wasn’t that critical.
The Young Lord’s eyes gleamed right after that.
“So you’re saying there’s another reason?”
“There is. Of course there is. A reason so much bigger that the Red Flame doesn’t even compare. And wouldn’t you like to know what it is?”
At my question, the Young Lord gave a faint nod.
I grinned.
Yeah, of course he’d be curious. He wouldn’t beg outright, his pride wouldn’t allow that, but I bet his curiosity was itching so much his seat felt hot.
But alas…
“Hm, I’ll need to think about this one.”
“…Think about what?”
“I’m not sure yet if I should share this information with you.”
“…”
His face hardened instantly.
He probably thought I was mocking him.
Which, well… I kind of was.
But I was also being honest.
Heavenly Origin Art. The very beginning and end of Dekulan, their foundation, their root. Its significance went far beyond the Red Flame. No matter how much he hated Dekulan, giving away this info could still backfire on us.
Still, I didn’t think long.
As I said, the trade date was close.
‘If I want the Young Lord to move, I’ll need to hand him a card like this.’
And besides… After doing some quick math, it turned out revealing this would hurt Dekulan a lot more than keeping it secret.
No, not just hurt.
‘If it were me, I’d torture them to death with this.’
There were so many ways.
He could use Infinite Chain as leverage to stall and bleed them dry, or spread false information about the Heavenly Origin Art and send them running in circles.
For some reason, my creativity always flourished in the most malicious directions. The number of ideas I came up with couldn’t even be counted on one hand.
I was in the middle of that happy fantasy when his cold voice cut through.
“Seems you need quite a lot of time to think. Shall we meet again tomorrow at this hour, then? I can’t promise our next talk will be as peaceful.”
His chilling tone snapped me back, and I quickly waved my hands.
“Come on now, the great and magnanimous Young Lord shouldn’t lose his temper over something like this.”
“Sounds like you’ve never seen me truly angry.”
“And I don’t particularly want to.”
“…”
Oops.
Guess I got too excited thinking about tormenting Dekulan.
Swordsmen might be blunt, but they hold grudges forever once you rub them the wrong way.
Still, that was fine.
Once he heard what I had to say, he’d probably forget this little jab anyway.
‘Alright, how should I explain this…’
After a brief pause, I hopped lightly and squatted down in front of him.
“Here, take a look.”
“Are you asking me to memorize your final appearance?”
“No, not quite.”
I infused mana into my fingertip and smoothed out the uneven dirt floor.
Scratch! Scratch!
Letters began to form on the ground.
“Lorutel probably calculated the value of Infinite Chain like this.”
(Original value of Infinite Chain) + (Value of Red Flame)
“…That’s right, so what?”
“Didn’t Dekulan push the price higher than you expected during negotiations? I bet they did. Probably ended the deal before you even got to bargain.”
“I don’t know the exact details of the trade, but…”
The Young Lord glanced toward the Third Sword.
The Third Sword, staring at the campfire, finally spoke.
“It’s true. Dekulan seemed eager to close the deal faster than expected.”
“So you did notice.”
“And do you know why?”
“Why else? To recover their lost secret art as quickly as possible.”
“Right, that would make sense. But what if that’s not the reason?”
“What?”
Swoosh!
I wiped away the part that said (Value of Red Flame).
Then, looking straight at him, I smiled.
“What if Dekulan was the one taking advantage of you?”
“…”
“What if they ended the deal fast because they were scamming Lorutel? What would you think of that?”
“Stop circling around it and get to the point.”
I pouted and sighed deeply.
Man, what a rushy guy. But if I dragged this on any longer, he’d probably draw his sword.
“Alright, listen up then. I’ll tell you the reason. You asked earlier if we stole the Red Flame, right? You were right. But that’s not all we stole. The Red Flame was more like a lucky bonus, actually. What we really took was…”
Keeping my gaze on him, I wrote again on the dirt floor.
And when my glowing fingertip lifted
Crackle!
I smiled.
“Heavenly Origin Art.”
“…”
“What we stole wasn’t some petty Red Flame. It was Dekulan’s root. Its beginning and end. The Heavenly Origin Art. And that means…”
I pointed down at the formula.
“This is the correct calculation.”
(Original value of Infinite Chain) + (Value of Heavenly Origin Art)
Before and after, only one part of the equation had changed.
But its meaning… was on an entirely different level.
And of course, so was its worth.
“Now you understand, right? Why I laughed like that.”
When I finished, the Young Lord’s eyes trembled slightly.
His shoulders shook, and soon a faint wheeze escaped his lips.
“Heh, heh-ha.”
The corner of his mouth twitched upward.
And then the soft chuckle grew louder and louder until it filled the space.
“Ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, this… this is rich! Ha-ha-ha!”
Funny? Yeah, I thought so too.
No, more than funny, it actually felt good.
‘Because I’m a righteous troubleshooter.’
This was an act of charity.
Saving poor Lorutel from being scammed by that crooked buyer, Dekulan.
Sure, the trade would’ve fallen apart anyway, but still, a good deed is a good deed.
Feeling quite pleased with my day’s work, I smiled. But then, after laughing for a while, the Young Lord suddenly stopped.
And the words that came out of his mouth next gave me one hell of a headache.
“My apologies.”
“…?”
“At first, I thought you were just a petty thief. But it turns out you’re a burglar who stole an entire castle.”
“…”
Was that a compliment or an insult? I wasn’t sure.
Sure, stealing a castle was far more impressive than stealing cattle. But either way, it still made me a first-class criminal, didn’t it?
Before I could even process that…
“But there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”
“…?”
“I admit the Infinite Chain’s price was misjudged. But the fact that you told me this means…”
A wide grin spread across his lips.
“You can afford to pay the new value of Infinite Chain, yes? I certainly hope so.”
“You’ve got to be—”
I was so dumbfounded that words just wouldn’t come out.
And then, he nailed it in.
“For reference, Dekulan offered ten kilograms of pure meteoric iron.”
“Meteoric… iron…”
“As you know, meteoric iron is the finest material for forging blades. Ah, you wouldn’t know since you’re a mage, perhaps? Even our main family doesn’t have a single sword made from solid meteoric iron. And Dekulan offered ten kilograms of it.”
I knew. Of course I knew.
But still…
‘…Did he just say ten kilograms of meteoric iron?’
Ten kilograms, enough to forge a full sword from a single block, depending on the type. And if alloyed, you could make several. But the true value of meteoric iron wasn’t merely in making sturdy weapons.
No, it was the material for true masterpieces.
The so-called Divine Swords.
Ten kilograms of that meant… let’s see… one, ten, hundred, thousand…
The numbers climbed endlessly in my head.
When the calculation was done, all I could do was mutter under my breath.
“…Son of a—”
Ten kilograms of meteoric iron, enough to buy an entire castle.
Sure, depending on the size and location, but still.
For a broke student like me, it was an unimaginable fortune. Not that money would even help, no one in their right mind sells meteoric iron.
“So? Finding it a bit hard to breathe?”
The Young Lord’s smirk spread slowly.
And I thought to myself… Who was the real fool here? Dekulan? Lorutel?
No, neither.
Dekulan offered meteoric iron, but the deal would fall through. Lorutel wouldn’t get it, but they’d still end up dealing with me.
So the biggest fool in this room was none other than…
‘Me.’
Why? Because I let Lorutel off the hook when I could’ve fleeced them dry.
That’s why.
“Well then, shall we begin our transaction?”
The Young Lord smiled lazily.
“Oh, and thank you for the information.”
…Sure. You’re welcome.
I tilted my head back and looked up at the sky.
Smiled lightly, so the tears wouldn’t flow.
You watching this, Wyvern?
Of course not.
