Chapter 5

The underworld of Night Haven truly had all sorts of humans crawling around.

Despite having neither remarkable abilities nor luck, there were those incompetent individuals who still wanted to somehow remain in the city.

Fools who ran away from the suffocating laws and rules created by humans to live as they pleased.

Failures who stuck their necks into things beyond their capabilities, only to be torn apart and crumble.

Of course, it was only natural that productive work that creates value could never be done in such a place.

Selling one’s body or stealing from others became the only viable economic activities.

Where there were people stealing others’ belongings,

It was only natural that there would be those buying unclaimed goods at cheap prices.

Thus, there were quite a few fences specializing in buying stolen goods in this underworld.

The fence could acquire fairly valuable items at low prices, while the thief could easily turn troublesome items into cash.

It was a mutually beneficial trade where no one felt at a loss.

Therefore, I too, who had just farmed rings from a drug addict,

Was on my way to find a fence to turn these rings into money.

‘This area is still as quiet as ever without a single person around.’

After hopping around, I stopped on the rooftop and looked around.

Even in the deep outskirts, you’d occasionally see drunken people staggering about.

But here, you couldn’t even find a single rat.

This silence was quite unlike the usually bustling Night Haven.

Of course, there was a reason for this.

This place was located near the downtown area among the outskirts where the underworld existed.

People living in the light avoided coming here due to the danger,

And those in the underworld didn’t approach unless necessary – it was like a gray zone, so to speak.

If someone were to act recklessly here, corporations or police might reach into the underworld,

Or various criminal organizations would have an excuse to come out in force.

Different factions were carefully watching and naturally avoiding this area.

‘I actually prefer the quiet, so this suits me just fine.’

After confirming once again there were no passersby, I lightly jumped off the rooftop and quietly landed in the alleyway.

Coming out of the alley that smelled slightly damp and musty,

A road overgrown with weeds from lack of maintenance greeted me.

‘I’m sure this wasn’t here until a week ago.’

As expected, that person really has no interest in maintenance.

Smiling bitterly to myself, I used telekinesis to pull out the weeds and threw them roughly into the drain.

By the time I thought it looked decently clean,

I entered the unlit shop right in front of the weed-covered road.

At first glance, it might look like a closed shop,

But as soon as I entered, the lights turned on and someone greeted me.

“Are you here.”

“…”

“Sit down.”

The shop owner was Greg Bisk, an enormous orc nearly twice my height.

Just being under his gaze made dangerous warning sensors go off – he was a very dangerous man.

However, he wasn’t the type to hit customers,

So there was no need to be overly nervous.

I quickly moved and sat quietly on the customer’s chair,

While Greg sat across from me facing the desk.

The difference in our heights was such that his shadow alone, with the light behind him, could completely cover my body.

‘No matter how many times I see him, Greg’s presence is impressive. How can he create such an atmosphere just by sitting still?’

If I took off my cloth and sat like that, I’d probably just look pathetic.

Once again, I realized this was the Pixie world full of powerful non-human races.

“Did you bring the goods?”

“…”

While I was lost in thought, Greg suddenly appeared wearing round glasses from somewhere.

He naturally continued the conversation despite my silence.

Though to be fair, I also wasn’t particularly eager to talk.

Even considering that, this was quite a fast approach to business. Perhaps he recognized me as a regular?

Feeling slightly touched by Greg’s business skills,

I took out the rings I got from the drug-addicted man and placed them on the desk.

“This time it’s rings? There are quite… many of them. Especially this one…”

Greg looked down at the more than ten rings rolling around on the desk,

Then picked up one of the ugliest rings to eye level without hesitation.

“Estimare.”

He held one side of his glasses frame and muttered a word.

Simultaneously, his right lens began to emit a faint glow.

It was magic.

To be precise, it was magic embedded in the artifact that was his glasses.

The effect was to read faint residual thoughts contained in objects.

Though not exactly reading past memories like psychometry,

More like feeling strong imprints of memory and emotion in the unconscious realm.

Thought residue was a jumbled mess, a sort of byproduct that couldn’t be expressed in language or logic,

But it was enough to tell if an item was valuable or dangerous.

‘He claims it’s just a cheap artifact that lets him see objects in detail…’

Depending on how it’s applied, it could become a secret weapon to turn an unfavorable situation around.

In fact, there was an instance where he distinguished real bombs from fake ones using those glasses and saved lives.

Magic-containing artifacts weren’t something to be dismissed regardless of their nature.

…Now, someone might wonder at this point.

Why do I know so much about this suspicious character?

Actually, it was quite a natural reason.

Greg Bisk was a character from the original Pixie series!

Huh? Didn’t I say getting involved with this world’s protagonist could be dangerous?

Isn’t it ironic that I’m getting involved with characters from the original work?

Well, if I were to make excuses… I really had no choice.

Among the fences in the underworld… there was no one as trustworthy as Greg!

Even though fences and underworld people help each other,

Fences are still part of the underworld.

They might cheat customers who don’t know market prices,

Or sell information about sellers back to the original owners for money…

There were plenty who could become troublesome if you got involved with them!

‘I got double-crossed three times and cried from frustration. Damn bastards.’

Well, I did wear a cloth over my head, was small, and didn’t talk…

It was inevitable to be underestimated…

Even knowing that, I still got angry. My money! My time! And even intruders while I slept!

Regardless of my resolution to never get involved with the protagonist’s group,

I had no choice but to deal with a reliable fence to survive.

‘Greg is trustworthy. He doesn’t undercut prices. He doesn’t leak information. He doesn’t look down on me. Honestly, there’s no better trading partner.’

Of course, Greg was the appraiser responsible for evaluating items picked up by the protagonist’s group.

There was a slight chance of encountering original characters…

But that could be managed with good timing.

Honestly, thinking something big would happen just from briefly meeting someone was closer to narcissism.

If simply giving items to the same appraiser created connections,

Appraisers examining corporate CEOs’ items would probably have waiting lines circling the Earth.

‘Of course, this is all based on the premise that my powers aren’t discovered. As long as I don’t let my guard down. Just don’t let my guard down.’

In this moment, I vowed to never let down my guard.

With determination on my face, I quietly watched Greg appraising the rings.

Not long after, the light from the glasses dimmed,

Finally finishing the appraisal of the first ring.

“This one won’t do.”

“?!”

Rejection?!

I was somewhat flustered and tapped the desk lightly, asking for an explanation.

I hadn’t expected complete rejection since Greg usually bought things, even if just for snack money.

He quietly observed my reaction, then brought the ring close to my face as if to show me clearly.

“As you can see, this ring has absolutely no monetary value. It seems to be made by hardening internal organs. This is a method recently popular among vampires.”

Greg had two reasons for refusal:

First, even if he bought the ring, its terrible shape meant no one would buy it.

Second, it could give the vampire organization that made it an excuse to attack.

Indeed, these were reasonable adult-like reasons.

I felt embarrassed for tapping the desk unnecessarily.

Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing to be done.

I didn’t want Greg to get involved in strange matters either.

Even if I forced a sale, it probably wouldn’t be worth much.

I might as well consider it trash I picked up and move on.

“The rest seem to be normal rings, so I’ll buy them. The price will be… about this much.”

“!”

“Hmm. You look pleased.”

The amount Greg offered was an outrageous fortune.

Enough to last at least two months without bothering thugs!

No, this could allow for sandwiches stuffed with lots of meat once a week!

Sandwiches, meat, pizza, and hamburgers…

I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth and shot up from my chair.

This was my gesture meaning I had no intention of bargaining further and was ready to leave.

Greg handed me a cash card containing the money.

Perhaps he thought it would be troublesome for me, with no bag or pockets, to carry bundles of cash around.

It was quite a thoughtful kindness.

Unlike others, I couldn’t insert chips and had to carry cash.

The cash card was a wonderful thing that greatly reduced my burden.

To express my thanks, I bounced around on the floor making grateful gestures.

I wanted to wave my hand, but that would reveal my soft arms, so this was the best option for now.

Did my intentions get across properly?

Greg slightly raised the corners of his mouth and said,

“It was a good deal. Kid. And thank you for pulling the weeds in front of the shop.”

“…”

When did he see that?

Before I could recover from this completely unexpected comment,

He closed the shop door and went inside.

To think I didn’t notice even with my heightened senses after gaining powers.

Maybe it’s no surprise he’s a character from Pixie. He was quite a scary person.

Rubbing my arms that had goosebumps, I went back into the alley.

Suddenly, I noticed the red ring I couldn’t sell to Greg in my hand.

‘This… let’s just throw it away.’

Whoosh.

I carelessly threw the ugly ring into the sewer.

The ring didn’t float to the surface but sank weakly into the water.

As I quietly watched the ring sink, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘Come to think of it, why did that drug addict have this? He didn’t seem strong enough to be a vampire… Did he pick it up by chance?’

Clearly, vampires in comics were formidable opponents capable of challenging protagonists.

Why would that frail man be carrying such a dangerous ring?

I couldn’t help but feel quite puzzled.

Coincidentally, the answer to this mystery came the very next day.

“Hah, hah… Found you! Damn cloth bundle! I’ll kill you! Definitely going to kill you!”

Because a man with a dark bruise on his forehead approached me with an agitated face.

Along with him came a horde of ghouls, dried-up mummy-like monsters.

Eh? Was this guy a vampire?