Chapter 189

Chapter 189. Selling, S-Class Superhuman, Never Used. (3)

Since they approached me politely, I decided to respond with equal courtesy.

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-[Me]

-[The auction is still ongoing, are you planning to buy?]

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Of course, that courtesy might just be a way of saying, “Hey, can you cut me some slack?”

Even though I’m not too hung up on the “price” of selling those two idiots right now.

It’s a matter of pride, so I’m ready to hit the exit and block button at any moment.

But despite my thorough preparation, the other person came back with a more solid response than I expected.

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-[Yes, me]

-[Actually, I was wondering if you could just sell those two directly to me?]

-[Oh] (Me)

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I didn’t expect this—no need for auctions! Let’s just do a cool, direct trade!

But jumping straight into it would be amateur hour.

It’s just that I haven’t used this damn auction feature in this crappy game for four years, and it’s different from what I remember.

But it’s not like I’ve never done second-hand deals in real life, so I decided to lay down the negotiation table in response to their heated chat.

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-[If you’re planning to buy, they’re already up in the auction house, so you can just bid there, right?]

-[No, because then some trolls might jump in and mess things up.]

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“Ah, you don’t want others interfering and ruining your chance to buy cheap?”

Seeing them bite the bait immediately, I took a moment to think about how to respond.

But only for a moment.

“Guess I accidentally slipped into salesman mode.”

After all, the whole point of this was to get rid of these useless captives who were just taking up space and make a little profit.

So, nodding at their attitude, I decided to follow the golden rule of negotiation and start by doubling my desired price.

Well, actually, a bit more than double.

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-[Oh, okay, okay]

-[Just checking, but are these a Level 60 Axion and a Level 55 Letty?]

-[Yes, that’s correct]

-[I want both]

-[Alright, since we’re doing a direct trade instead of the auction, it’ll be 2,000 gold for both.]

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But this price was purely for negotiation purposes.

In reality, the combined price of the two superhumans I listed in the auction was 888 gold… and I was even willing to drop it to 1,000 gold.

“Okay, 1,000 gold, thanks!”

I was fully ready to go for a cool trade, but…

Maybe the other person was really desperate for superhuman firepower?

Or maybe they’re some gold-rich tycoon who’s way out of my league?

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-[2,000 gold?]

-[Yes] (Me)

-[Alright, I’ll send it right away, let’s trade.]

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[Notification!]

[An anonymous user has requested a trade with you!]

[2,000 gold ⇒ You]

[Axion, Letty ⇒ Anonymous User]

[Y/N]

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“Whoa.”

Even though I asked for double what I wanted, they sent the trade request immediately.

I deleted my auction post and promptly hit Y on their trade request.

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-[Good trade, hope to see you again sometime.]

(Me)

-[You too]

-[The other person has left the chat room!]

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Just like when he came or when he was making deals, his cool demeanor as he left.

I nodded my head and immediately decided to ship off the two I had imprisoned(?) in the jail.

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And all the superhumans, except for Gryanarr, who couldn’t come because Smeragi was busy with the so-called ‘Condensed Song Gugubeop Red Bean Crumb Project.’

While Belial, who was undergoing adaptation training with the small fleet provided by the monster, had taken her seat.

The two S-class superhumans, dragged here by Ignis and Partia, were shrinking under the glare that promised no mercy if they messed up.

But, as expected of superhumans who could traverse kilometers-long ships in minutes, they still managed to shout at me despite the pressure.

“You damn brat, someday when we come back, we’ll rescue Smeragi too!”

“Poor Smeragi, we will definitely take her back.”

Of course, whether they do or not, they’re completely out of our hands now.

I waved a hand and, using the base’s teleportation facility, shipped them off to the ‘trade partner’s’ base, casually opening my mouth.

“Yeah, yeah, go live happily ever after with your new master~”

“Grrrrr!”

And as soon as they disappeared, I now had 2,100 gold in my hands.

I felt a strange joy thinking about how I’d use this to grow my gold in the auction house.

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Meanwhile, at the same time Icarus was doing weird stuff like, “I’m gonna be a dignified four-digit gold ownerrrr!”

Axion and Letty, who were left with only Smeragi and now being sold off to another commander, were feeling a sense of self-loathing…

“Axion, we must never forget our commander.”

“You’re right, no matter who we end up with this time… we must never bow to them.”

During their time with Icarus, their favorability had remained at -200, completely unchanged.

Paradoxically, their loyalty to their former commander, ‘Marshmallow,’ remained intact.

So even as they were being teleported, they vowed their loyalty to their commander.

At the same time, they decided to curse out whoever this new commander was as soon as they arrived…

-Flash!

“Ugh.”

“Relax.”

As the teleportation process ended, a blinding white light and ringing noise temporarily cut off all their senses.

“…Well, we should still keep the old member system, right? We’ll figure something out.”

“T-This voice?!”

“Huh?!”

“Huh? What? What?”

As their senses returned, they saw and heard the familiar voice of their beloved commander, ‘Marshmallow.’

“C-Commander!”

“We’re back! Commandeerrrr!”

Marshmallow, flustered by the two superhumans acting like they knew him, along with the sight of them.

Having arrived at their sweet, sweet home, there was no room for any negative emotions…

They showed pure, radiant smiles, genuinely happy.

Of course, Marshmallow soon realized the situation and smiled the same way…

“Wait, so I paid extra to get my superhumans back…?”

“That seems to be the case, Commander.”

“…”

Realizing the truth, Marshmallow felt like he couldn’t just keep smiling.

He couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry, feeling completely lost.

But that was only for a moment.

Even though Smeragi, being SSS-class, was unlikely to ever be returned, the fact that the two who had been with him from the start had come back…

It was like the founding heroes had returned, and he decided to fill himself with internal satisfaction.