WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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Chapter 230

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A contract.

I calmly looked at Ailey and rubbed my wrist.

The contract I had made with Hongryeong was quite simple. There were plenty of details, of course, but once those were set aside, only one core condition remained.

Hongryeong had asked only one thing of me. He wanted me not to interfere until he defeated Hwaryeong and earned the family surname. In return, Hongryeong promised to release me from the contract binding me to the Trading Company.

I could understand why Hongryeong had made that choice. I had been functioning as a very useful tool in helping Hwaryeong rise. From the perspective of someone competing with her, I must have been extremely irritating.

That was why he had tried to remove me through the People’s Council. I narrowed my eyes. Perhaps he had judged that they would be enough.

But I had survived. To remove me from Hwaryeong’s side, he had needed to pay a greater price. That price was the bait known as mirror bugs.

Mirror bugs were both what drew my interest and the finest thing Hongryeong could offer. That was why I had made a contract according to his wishes.

His demand that I not interfere did not mean I had to cut off my cooperation with Hwaryeong. There was no reason for me to refuse it. Why would I reject a contract that was so overwhelmingly favorable to me?

The reason I had been tied to Hwaryeong was that Miryeong and Myra had been the parties to the contract concerning the mirror bugs. I was something like a trophy to their Zhu family.

If someone like me tried to leave the display case and move about on their own, the family would naturally want to dispose of them. That was why I had no choice but to watch their reactions.

But Hongryeong belonged to that family as well. Choosing either Hongryeong or Hwaryeong was not a betrayal of them. It simply gave me a little more room to maneuver.

That was why I chose the People’s Council rather than Hwaryeong. What they offered me was greater than what Hwaryeong offered. All I had to do was quietly profit from between the two sides.

There was one issue with that process, of course. A tool had to remain a tool in the end.

Until now, I had been a very useful tool for Hwaryeong. If such a thing suddenly began moving on its own, the person using it would naturally find that inconvenient.

Hwaryeong might have some idea why I was acting this way. She had probably realized that someone, though she did not know who, had tampered with her tool. She was not an idiot.

Even so, she had not said anything to me. The reason was obvious. The benefits I brought her were greater than the discord I caused.

Aside from my negotiations with the People’s Council, our cooperation had continued normally. She had even taken charge of selling the new lecture slots this time. Mirror bugs also continued to be supplied to her steadily.

No fool would slaughter a sheep that spat out gold, so long as it did not cause a major problem.

I narrowed my eyes and looked at Ailey.

The contract with Hongryeong could be called a secret known only to the two of us. The fact that an outsider like her knew about it meant one of two things. Either the information had leaked from me, or it had leaked from Hongryeong’s side.

Either possibility was dangerous. If Ailey told Hwaryeong about the contract, I would not be able to live as comfortably as I did now.

Hwaryeong had left me alone because I had not tried to stray too far from the position of a tool. But if she learned about my contract with Hongryeong, she would surely try to bind me more tightly.

Taking the mirror bugs back meant taking away her profits and, beyond that, the family’s profits. Miryeong might even make a move.

I unraveled my magical power like a ball of thread. The magical power leaving my body transformed into a magic circle.

Ailey let a little magical power flow out as she watched the circle with interest. She seemed curious to see what I would do.

If I tried to attack her through it, she would retaliate. Perhaps that was what she wanted. Feeling the killing intent lingering around Ailey’s lips, I lightly shook my head.

The magic circle I had prepared was not for attacking. There was no benefit in provoking her here in the first place. This was Mookgeumgo territory, and she belonged to Mookgeumgo.

Soon, the fully formed magic circle spat out a small teapot from within the magical power. I caught it, took several cups from my pocket, and poured the tea into them.

“Before we talk, I’d like to offer you a cup of tea to celebrate our reunion. I hope it suits your tastes, Lady Ailey.”

A fragrant scent rose from the tea. I held a cup out to Ailey, and she closed her eyes slightly as she savored its aroma.

Seeing her smile faintly, I nodded. How much effort had I put into figuring out Ailey’s tastes while we took the entrance exam together? Those memories were still deeply engraved in my mind.

The tea I had prepared this time was made by processing leaves from an ice tree I had picked outside, tailored to Ailey’s preferences. Judging by her expression, thankfully, her tastes had not changed much since then.

Ailey soon set down her cup with a faint smile. Her eyes, as she looked at me, held deep satisfaction.

“It’s been a long time since I had this, too. I thought the tea magic that had made its way over from Stalactite City felt familiar. It seems it was your magic after all, Evron. Perhaps because you’re the original creator, it tastes so much better that there’s no comparison.”

I stroked my chin as I watched Ailey tilt her cup. Perfect Tea magic had spread here too?

I had not expected the magic I created to arrive in this city before I did.

Feeling the city’s magical power invading my body, I nodded. Considering this magical power, it was understandable that tea magic had spread here. For these people, drinking tea was directly tied to survival.

“I’m glad you’re satisfied. Please tell me if it isn’t enough. I’ll refill it right away.”

I took a sip of tea myself and smiled at Ailey. She asked for several more cups afterward, and each time, I brewed fresh tea for her. As we did, we traded light jokes and listened to each other’s stories.

After some time had passed, I felt the atmosphere had relaxed enough and set down my teacup.

“Did Mr. Hongryeong leave any message for me?”

I spoke while looking toward the others. After we separated into groups, I could sense that several of the Mookgeumgo people were listening in on our conversation. I could see the flow of magical power they were creating.

When Ailey had mentioned my contract with Hongryeong earlier, she had cleverly covered her mouth with magical power, so they would not have caught the contents. Still, they must have sensed something suspicious and tried to eavesdrop.

By now, however, all such traces had disappeared. They had clearly decided that our conversation was not particularly worthwhile. That meant I could speak a little more openly now.

“Hmm, I don’t know why you’re asking me about that young master.”

Ailey smiled with her eyes and held out her teacup. As I refilled the empty cup, I gave a small shrug.

I glanced toward the other table. They were discussing the contract there. Judging by the satisfied expressions on Orgot and Isabella’s faces, the agreement seemed to be going well.

It was rather strange, considering this was their first time sitting down to negotiate. Whenever mages divided up profits, there was always a battle of nerves. Mookgeumgo had probably made many concessions.

And Ailey was likely behind those concessions. Perhaps, during the process of cooperating with Hongryeong, she had decided to support the People’s Council. At the moment, the most likely obstacle standing in Hwaryeong’s way was the People’s Council.

I had concluded that Ailey was Hongryeong’s ally simply by narrowing down the possibilities.

My contract with Hongryeong was overwhelmingly favorable to me. If it had not been, I would never have considered helping Hongryeong preserve the People’s Council. He likely had no other choice.

But the contract also came with a disadvantage for me. The very fact that I had made it.

If Hwaryeong learned of it, she would clearly not remain still. So if Hongryeong intended to use the contract to drive a wedge between Hwaryeong and me while taking all the benefits for himself, I could be placed in danger as well.

Still, the chance of Hongryeong doing that was extremely low. If the terms of the contract were exposed, he, not I, would suffer the greater loss.

Mirror bugs had spread throughout the Trading Company. They had become a necessity. A contract to give them up would be a betrayal of both the Trading Company and his family.

Since the contract had to be fulfilled, Hongryeong himself might even be excluded from the competition entirely. Of course, he could terminate the contract, but traces would remain. Beyond that, no one could trust someone who had already betrayed them once.

Even so, Hongryeong had done this because he must have weighed the benefits. He had clearly decided that, as long as I did not stand solely on Hwaryeong’s side, he could deal with her.

Hongryeong was a latecomer standing far behind Hwaryeong. Yet he believed he could face her. I had wondered what gave him such confidence.

And now, I could glimpse at least part of its source. Ailey was cooperating with him. Otherwise, there was no way she could have known about the contract between us.

I quietly watched Ailey. I had not even told Professor about the contract. That meant the information had naturally come from Hongryeong’s side.

Had he brought in an outside force?

Ailey met my eyes and smiled lightly. What I knew about her was very limited.

She had entered the university at the same time as me. She had killed enough people to carry a thick scent of blood. And she belonged to some great family.

Ah, there was one more thing I knew now. She held enough power to influence Mookgeumgo’s affairs. That was quite interesting.

Mookgeumgo was similar to the organizations in other cities. The Trading Company bought and sold goods. The secret association bought and sold information. In the same way, Mookgeumgo focused deeply on one particular field.

Their field was points and people.

Mookgeumgo lent out points, and they did so at an interest rate of only thirty percent per year. Compared to lenders outside the university, who charged around fifty percent, it was an incredibly kind rate.

Of course, it was possible to borrow points from other places, including the Trading Company. But the process was extremely troublesome. The larger the amount, the more documents one had to submit.

Mookgeumgo, in contrast, did not examine anything during the lending process. They lent points regardless of who came, how much they wanted to borrow, or what they needed it for.

Naturally, anyone in urgent need of points had no choice but to go to Mookgeumgo.

In return, they imposed only one condition. Repay the points by the deadline. If you failed to do so, they would collect everything.

Everything meant exactly that.

If someone failed to pay the interest, or failed to repay the principal by the promised deadline, their soul, magic, and body would all be mortgaged, and they would become Mookgeumgo’s slave.

That did not mean Mookgeumgo ignored all the university’s rules. They respected the lives and property of their slaves. If someone could repay their debt, they would even be released.

In fact, Mookgeumgo helped them repay their debts. They assigned them jobs and connected them with people, allowing them to earn points.

In this way, Mookgeumgo gathered many people through points and functioned as a labor market that sold them. Even the request office in Stalactite City could be said to have passed through their hands.

Of course, not everyone could repay their points. Earning points was difficult. That was why, after struggling under debt, some people supposedly tried to escape their grasp.

But there had never been news of anyone succeeding. Not in the ten thousand years Mookgeumgo had been established in Icewall City.

I filled my eyes with magical power and looked down. Many mages wandering the lower floors came into view. Many of them were surely caught in Mookgeumgo’s grasp.

Mages were expensive no matter where they were sold. In that sense, those people could be called crops.

Failing to repay a debt meant violating another person’s property rights. Naturally, even the university’s rules became partially ineffective.

They would be allowed to survive, of course. But everything except their lives would surely be stripped from them. Just as Jegang had been before.

Mookgeumgo had swallowed an entire city by buying and selling people and points. They had earned a place among the university’s twelve organizations. That meant entering the organization and rising through its ranks could not have been easy.

Yet Ailey had already grown enough to represent them in a setting like this. Even if she belonged to a great family, it was difficult to believe.

No, it was even harder to believe precisely because she belonged to a great family.

Had I not seen something similar at the Arcana General Trading Company already? Hongryeong and Hwaryeong, both members of a great family, had only become qualified to join the Trading Company after reaching the fourth floor. That was why Hongryeong still remained outside it.

Mookgeumgo surely had similar restrictions. For Ailey to overcome them all and stand here meant she possessed that much talent and support.

Judging by how they had tried to listen in on our conversation, there still seemed to be some resistance against her among them. Even so, there was no doubt that she had become one of Mookgeumgo’s core figures.

With someone like her as an ally, Hongryeong had likely gained the confidence to oppose Hwaryeong. Perhaps even Ailey entering the university alongside Hongryeong had been part of that plan.

There was one thing that puzzled me, though. What exactly had Hongryeong promised her?

Ailey lacked nothing. To ask someone like her for help, he would have needed to offer a great deal.

After thinking that, I lightly shook my head. Whatever promise existed between Hongryeong and Ailey was not important. What mattered was that she was here now to help me. After all, I was Hongryeong’s ally too.

I smiled lightly as I looked at Ailey. She stared at me for a while before resting her chin on both hands. For some reason, she seemed fascinated.

“Judging by your face, you seem to know how things have unfolded. At first, I only thought you were an interesting friend, but now I find myself wanting to make a letter out of you too, Evron.”

Ailey licked her lips. I wanted to ask what that incomprehensible statement meant, but my body stiffened. Killing intent carrying the scent of blood flowed from her toward me.

I gave a bitter smile. I had thought I had grown a great deal, but the magical power coming from her was clearly different from mine. There was no way I could stop it.

Ailey’s magical power climbed over my body and tried to seize my throat. But it was blocked halfway. Mira’s hand, reaching out from the seat beside me, casually slapped it aside.

The magical power restrained by Mira’s hand soon vanished without a trace. Mira narrowed her eyes and looked at Ailey.

“Trying to covet someone else’s possession? A lady shouldn’t do that. I’m leaving you a warning because I rather like you, so please be careful. Next time, I won’t use words.”

Well, anyone like us would feel an impulse upon seeing Mr. Evron.

Mira added that with a smile in her eyes. There was a slight hunger in the way she looked at me.

Ailey watched me with similar eyes. Soon, she looked between Mira and me before letting out a sigh.

“What a shame. Are there always obstacles around anything appetizing? If I’d known you would grow up to be this delicious, I should have taken you with me from the start, Evron.”

Ailey smacked her lips at me. Then she lightly snapped her fingers. Magical power rippled, and an elegant key appeared in her hand.

“Here. A gift for our reunion. It’s the key to my villa.”

Ailey tossed the key to me, stretched, and rose from her seat.

The key to a villa. Receiving such a favor felt burdensome. I was about to place it on the table when Ailey gave a quiet laugh.

“You don’t need to refuse it. It’s probably one of the few decent places to stay in this damned city. If you stay somewhere else, the magical power will invade you and twist your mouth out of shape.”

Was this city’s magical power really that vicious? I had heard that the city’s magical power grew stronger at dawn.

As I hesitated, Mira snatched the key away and tucked it into her pocket.

“I’ll hold onto this.”

Mira’s eyes were resolute. She apparently did not like this city’s magical power either. I gave a slight nod.

If I were alone, I would refuse it. But I had companions, so I needed to accept.

“Let’s have a deeper conversation next time, Evron. With the young master too.”

Ailey gave me a small wave before walking out of the room. She behaved as though she had no concern for anyone else. The Mookgeumgo people also seemed accustomed to her actions. Without even reacting, they simply continued focusing on the negotiations.

I slowly rubbed my head. A great deal of information had been forced into my mind during that brief exchange, and I needed to sort through it.

Mira lightly leaned her head against me.

“That person is very interesting. To think someone who gives off a stench more rotten than the dead can imitate a person so well. I like her.”

I glanced at Mira. I had not smelled anything rotten at all.

Mira lightly tapped her own nose and continued.

“Humans who have no attachment to life begin to rot. They merely drift about without desire.”

I blankly watched Ailey’s retreating back, then closed my eyes.

A mage without desire. Could such a thing really exist? It was difficult to believe.

Mira and I talked a little more about Ailey. During that time, the negotiations also seemed to finish successfully, as I saw Orgot rise from his seat with a satisfied expression.

[We decided to open the shop tomorrow. Here are the detailed terms.]

Isabella approached and wrote in the air. I looked over the words decorating the empty space and nodded. After both sides had made sufficient concessions, they seemed to have reached a good result.

With the negotiations finished, I needed to move as well. I brushed off my pants and rose from my seat.

I had met an unexpected person. Now, it was time to see a welcome face.

Someone who had given me everything without holding anything back.

I glanced at Isabella. She met my eyes and gave me a gentle smile.

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