The distinctive frequency of Kim Giryeo's voice. The moment she recognized that calm tone, the other person flinched in surprise and shifted her grip, moving her finger from the trigger to the side of the gun.
"H, Hunter Kim Giryeo?"
"Yes. Hello. It's been a while since we last met."
But she still didn't lower the gun pointed at me. And so, with our masks between us, we exchanged a tense conversation. The other party spoke first.
"How did you recognize me..."
"Because you spoke first. And after seeing you a few times, I can usually remember someone's awakening level."
Seonwoo Yeon, a B-rank Awakener who wielded wind-attribute magic. The Association employee spent a few moments gauging my voice before slowly lowering the muzzle of her gun.
"Anyway, what on earth is going on here?"
I asked, bewildered by the sudden turn of events. Seonwoo Yeon straightened her crooked mask and answered.
"I'm... working."
She began explaining in a somewhat shaky voice.
"Yes?"
"Since the Searcher skill is quite rare, I've continued working closely with the police, just as before. Maybe all that effort finally got noticed, because I was recently promoted, and my authority has expanded."
"Aha."
"Now I'm able to arrest suspects directly."
"Did you come here alone, by any chance?"
"No, of course not. I'm here with detectives."
Oh my god. The police were already crawling all over the place. How had I managed to get introduced to a black market like this?
"Actually, this promotion is mostly thanks to you, Giryeo-ssi. Until now, I kept getting passed over because I couldn't enter gates..."
Just as I was wondering what on earth I should do, Seonwoo Yeon murmured something under her breath in a subdued tone before fixing her gaze on me.
"It's unfortunate, but this doesn't seem like the right place to express my gratitude. Hunter Kim Giryeo, what exactly are you doing here?"
The voice behind the mask was thick with suspicion.
"And of all places, this booth. That person is selling Blueshell."
"-...-"
"Hunter-nim, you didn't... buy Blueshell, did you?"
But did she really think I'd tell the truth just because she asked me a few questions?
Before coming to the black market, I had studied Korea's laws regarding illegal transactions. Yes, I'd looked them up specifically in case I ever ran into a situation like this. And the result of all that diligent preparation was... ŗаNȮβЁＳ
"No, of course not."
I had discovered that the 'pretend not to know' strategy worked surprisingly well here.
Why? Because in South Korea, when authorities crack down on illegal transactions, their main focus is on punishing the suppliers.
"That's certainly more efficient."
It would be far too cumbersome to punish every individual consumer. Of course, the severity of the crime varied. There was an obvious difference between someone who bought one or two stolen items and a fence who stole and resold large quantities of goods.
On top of that, it was difficult even to find grounds for punishing the buyer, so what could they do? To charge someone in a case like this, there had to be solid evidence that the buyer had clearly intended to complete the transaction. A contract, transaction records, recordings, or some other undeniable proof would be necessary to gather evidence that could actually be presented before a judge.
"Hmm."
A quiet cash transaction like the one from earlier avoided all those problems. Simply visiting the black market wasn't much of a crime in itself. Without firm evidence, the most I could be held responsible for would be some minor offense, such as failing to report my entry into a gate.
"I didn't buy anything here."
I denied it shamelessly. It wouldn't matter even if the Blueshell merchant spoke up later.
As I said before, the laws here were relatively lenient toward anyone who wasn't a supplier.
"By the way, Seonwoo Yeon-ssi, aren't you extremely busy right now?"
After going over that reasoning in my head, my heart finally settled. With my composure restored, I subtly tried to change the subject.
"You barged in and shot someone just like that. No matter how secluded this shop is, if this keeps up, someone else is going to notice..."
But she wasn't so easily distracted.
"You're obviously trying to change the subject. Anyway, I'm just waiting for the signal from the team."
"-...-"
"And just before I came in, I heard you say, 'Give me 8 sets.'"
Oh no. Looks like I'd been caught more thoroughly than I expected.
"You misheard."
"You're saying that to someone with the hearing of a B-rank Awakened?"
"Yes. Besides, I don't even have the money to buy something like this."
"Then what was in that bag?"
"Personal equipment."
"Can I check it?"
Seonwoo Yeon kept pressing me with question after question. I moved the muscles of this corpse and shifted my gaze toward her.
"-...Without a search warrant?"
The words came out half in surprise. Honestly, I hadn't expected an Association employee to dig this deeply into the illegal transaction.
"No, Hunter Kim Giryeo..."
The B-rank Awakener trailed off, sounding slightly dumbfounded. Well, careless, half-hearted lies never ended well. It seemed that this time, she wasn't going to let things slide so easily.
"This is troublesome."
After all, the cash in the bag wouldn't be fatal. But what if Seonwoo Yeon tried to seize the item box by force? In that case, should I just start shouting about human-rights violations and throw myself onto the floor?
"Blueshell is illegal just to possess."
While I was trying to figure out how to protect the evidence, the woman beside me had already continued.
"Why?"
Her voice trembled.
"-...This is really strange. Why would someone like Giryeo-ssi get involved with something like this?"
She murmured, voicing her confusion.
Well, Blueshell was a substance that only worked on low-level Awakened... Once the user's awakening level reached C-rank, the fruit no longer produced any meaningful effect. That alone made the enhancement's limitations obvious. Which meant the current situation was dangerous. If I wasn't careful, I might inadvertently reveal that I was the weaker one.
"Hmm."
Fortunately, I had an excuse I could use. Whatever I bought here would eventually reach Kang Changho's ears anyway. The news of the Miranda rights. Was she still conscious? The black-market merchant frowned as the arrest notice was recited directly into his ear. Of course, that was as far as his reaction went. The dealer had been paralyzed so completely that he couldn't even make a sound of pain.
"I'll put that conversation aside for now."
Seonwoo Yeon took out a pair of special handcuffs and restrained the criminal even further. Once she had finished the procedure, she added something else.
"It won't be long before you see me again anyway. This black market mainly targets ordinary people, so its security isn't much of a concern."
"-...-"
"They say the highest-ranking person here is only around C-rank. So once the market is sealed off, I'll tell you the rest..."
But she never got to finish.
Immediately afterward, both of us registered the same new information at almost exactly the same time.
"Someone's coming."
Seonwoo Yeon raised her head at the approaching presence. Her expression was hidden behind the mask, but to me—an alien—it wasn't her face that mattered. It was things like the tremor in her voice and its pitch.
"Awakeners?"
Or the other party's heartbeat.
"No, huh? Wait, this can't be...?"
The Association employee was more shaken than ever. The reason was probably the magical power now flowing in from outside the building.
A group of Awakened was approaching. And among them, I could clearly sense two magicians whose abilities were on roughly the same level as Seonwoo Yeon's.
"They said the strongest security personnel in this black market would be C-rank at most."
Two B-ranks. Had the police made a mistake in their investigation?
Whatever the reason, one thing was certain: this was going to be troublesome.
Soon afterward, Seonwoo Yeon visibly panicked and hurried out from behind the counter.
Click!
At the same time, the harsh sound of a door being thrown open echoed through the room. The man who pushed his way into the mud-brick house had an ordinary-looking face, but the simple fact that he wasn't wearing a mask immediately told me who they were.
"The management."
The masked ones were customers. The ones without masks were the shopkeepers. That was the rule.
"Customers! Excuse us, but could you please show us your invitations again?"
The burly men who rushed into the shop immediately raised their voices. They wanted to recheck the black market entry passes on the spot.
They didn't explain why, but judging from the atmosphere, it probably had something to do with Seonwoo Yeon failing to receive a signal from her colleague.
"Invitation?"
"Again?"
For me, as an ordinary member of the black market, a surprise inspection wasn't a problem.
But Seonwoo Yeon was different.
The instant she heard them say they were checking everyone's qualifications again, her posture visibly stiffened. It was obvious she hadn't even obtained an invitation.
"What's this? And why is no one guarding this shop?"
And if they discovered the shop owner hidden beneath the counter...
Now that would make things interesting.
I briefly considered my options while watching the situation unfold.
"Hmm."
First of all, I had come here through Kang Changho's introduction, so for the sake of the person who invited me, I needed to keep as low a profile as possible.
On the other hand, Seonwoo Yeon knew that I had traded for Blueshell. That was a weakness she could use against me...
"Maybe I should take this opportunity to sell those guard dogs out like rats."
An appealing option crossed my mind.
As a soul born on a planet where selfish tendencies ran rampant, I quickly arrived at that calculated conclusion.
However, despite my nature, I ultimately chose the virtuous path.
"Phew, forget it. Besides, with the other police already inside, there's no way to stop Seonwoo Yeon now."
I decided to protect the Awakened who had landed herself in danger.
"--The clerk here said they were stepping out to the bathroom for a moment."
Tak, tak.
I deliberately stepped forward a few paces, blocking the guards from inspecting the stall.
Come to think of it, it was fortunate that the paralyzed shopkeeper was an ordinary person. If he'd been Awakened, they would've detected his magic long ago.
"Is that so? Anyway, hurry up and show us your invitation!"
At that moment, the guard standing at the rear of the group waved impatiently, urging us to cooperate with the inspection.
In response, I slipped a hand into my pocket and pulled out the folded membership card.
"Here you go. And the person over there in the pants is a guest I brought with me as a porter, so there's no need to check them separately."
"Yes?"
"When we entered earlier, we showed our faces together at the entrance. That should be enough, shouldn't it?"
I lied smoothly, asking them to skip the inspection of my companion.
Since dungeons were cut off from the outside world, it would be difficult for them to contact the entrance guards or Kang Changho on short notice.
I calculated that they wouldn't be able to verify the situation quickly.
However, the moment the largest Awakened among them heard my words, his brow furrowed deeply.
"Whether it's necessary or not is for us to decide. Both of you, show °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° us your invitations!"
"Hmm."
Of course, that forceful attitude didn't last long.
"Right. You got a good look at us at the entrance, and now you want us to reveal our identities to a bunch of local vigilantes whose names we don't even know..."
"Yes?"
"Anyway, this market certainly knows how to treat its customers."
The next moment, someone in the room abruptly reversed his attitude and spoke in an exceedingly arrogant tone.
"I just showed you an invitation with my name written on it. And I made it perfectly clear that I don't want the identity of the person I brought with me exposed..."
Swish.
A moment later, my vision cleared.
Starting from my chin, I pulled away the mask covering my face and stood before them openly.
The name on the invitation was written in small letters, so unless someone examined it closely, it wouldn't immediately stand out.
That was why they realized only a moment too late whose card they were holding.
"--...You people. Who invited me here?"
The hosts' expressions changed in an instant.
"And I suppose you don't even know who's standing in front of you?"
As my sharp gaze settled on them, they visibly shrank back.
But I wasn't finished.
I still hadn't driven the nail all the way in.
"By the way, are you sure it's enough to judge me just by looking at my face?"
Whoosh.
I pulled Hydra from the item box.
Gripping the handle tightly, I made my declaration.
"How about I let you verify for yourselves whether I'm the real S-rank or not?"
"Heuk!"
"No, that's..."
"If you understand, then leave it at that and go. I don't know what kind of mess happened behind the scenes, but if your issues interfere with my shopping one more time..."
I fixed them with my gaze and deliberately let the silence stretch.
It had already been several months since I reincarnated on Earth.
It had barely been a year, but if I possessed even an ordinary amount of intelligence, I should have started picking up on things like this by now.
"I'll become the problem myself."
I had learned from experience.
This appearance was remarkably effective when it came to threatening my fellow creatures.