Chapter 63

“So what is it? What’s the cure?”

Godwin got straight to the point,

as if he didn’t want to engage in a private conversation.

I would have done the same.

“Medicine.”

“Medicine?”

Godwin frowned fiercely.

“You’re saying ‘medicine,’ after all this time without taking any?”

It seemed he had a significant distrust of medicines.

It had probably only been a waste of money so far.

“That’s other people’s medicine, not mine, right? Is there a guarantee that my medicine won’t work?”

Godwin seemed a bit taken aback by my forthright attitude.

There would hardly be anyone who could speak so freely and unabashedly to someone’s face.

“Cough, that may be true, but…”

That’s why my words had more impact.

I could feel Godwin taking a step back.

“So what is this medicine?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Then I can’t trust it.”

“Do as you like.”

I stood up as if I had no regrets.

“Then continue to do well.”

Just as I was about to step out,

“Wait, wait. I’ve changed my mind. Sit down again.”

Godwin said.

I could hear the urgency in his voice.

“Really?”

I turned my head and spat out.

“Of course.”

Godwin, suppressing his fiery temper, scratched the back of his head.

It meant that his situation was not good.

“Alright, I’ll change my mind this one time. But there won’t be a next time.”

I didn’t play hard to get, but I made a clear warning.

The more confidently I could walk away, the more it worked in my favor.

I sat down again.

“I’ve brought a one-day sample of the medicine. I promise you’ll know after one day whether this medicine has an effect on you or not.”

I took out the powdered medicine from my bag.

In fact, it didn’t need to be ground into powder for its effectiveness.

But then Godwin could have easily identified its components.

That’s why it was completely ground and mixed.

“Ha, alright. Let’s try taking it as a test.”

Godwin still didn’t seem very convinced.

But since there was nothing to lose by trying, he reached out his hand immediately.

I tossed the medicine to him and stood up.

“Take it before you go to bed. I’m busy, so I’ll be going.”

Bang.

————————————————-

“Has the ordered item arrived?”

After leaving Godwin’s house, I was at Carson’s underground secret shop.

“Yes, it has arrived. It usually takes longer, but since it was a special customer’s order, we took extra care.”

Carson said with a smile, emphasizing that ‘you are a special customer’ and appealing to his own efforts.

Typical of a savvy merchant.

But I was not a customer to be swayed by such talk.

Carson is fundamentally different from the suckers he had deceived so far.

“Then bring the item. I want to check its condition.”

“Haha, sure.”

Carson went to the warehouse and brought back two bundles of sacks.

“Take your time to check.”

“Hmm.”

I untied the sack.

Each sack contained herbs.

Of course, it was not just any herbs.

One was medicinal herbs, and the other was poison.

The poison could cause severe vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, but it also had very high nerve-calming and sleep-inducing effects.

These effects were exactly what was needed for Godwin’s illness.

But since it was poison, no one sought or used it.

Except for a very few users and me.

Hardcore users who would pore over every book in the academy’s library knew.

If they had read the ancient texts about the side effects and benefits of numerous poisons and their antidotes, they could use this information, which might otherwise be overlooked, to try and cure Godwin.

Godwin’s treatment was not a product of chance.

It was a product of effort.

And I had to reap the results of that effort this time, too.

“The condition is good.”

There was no sign of wilting.

And with this amount, it would be enough until the job was finished.

“Of course. We never deal with shoddy goods. That’s the basic principle of doing business, isn’t it?”

Carson rubbed his hands with a good-natured smile.

“Good. I’ll take the whole sack. How much?”

“Hehe, as you know, since it’s not an item we usually handle and was specially ordered, the starting price is 1 gold. But don’t worry. The service fee is included. Depending on the difficulty of obtaining it, there will be an additional charge. This time, it’s 20 silver. Finally, adding the item’s price of 30 silver makes it 1 gold 50 silver.”

A whopping 1 gold 50 silver for a bundle of common herbs and poison that no one else would even look at.

An absolute robbery.

Of course, even though it was so, it wasn’t exactly a strain on my finances.

But I didn’t feel like handing it over quietly.

It was a matter of principle.

I felt off just being treated like one of the other suckers by Carson.

“This isn’t right.”

“Huh?”

Carson barely managed to hide his expression, which seemed to say, ‘What’s this nonsense now?’

That was exactly it.

I wanted to see that expression.

You have to rip off the con artists.

“Why 20 silver for the lowest difficulty level? And 30 silver for the value of the goods? Even after all this, do you still see me as a sucker? Especially since you couldn’t even sell such poisonous herbs to anyone but me? How about 10 silver for the additional charge and 15 silver for the value of the goods? That seems more than enough to me.”

I cut both prices in half.

“Ah, but customer, that’s a bit excessive…”

“If what I’m saying is really excessive, then counter it point by point. If it’s convincing, I’ll pay double. But if it’s just nonsense, be prepared.”

“Even if you say that…”

Even though I offered a chance to make a windfall by doubling the price, Carson was just sweating and stammering.

He must not have a clear and convincing argument.

He kept glancing at me, trying to gauge whether he had a chance.

If I had been even slightly gullible, he would have been spinning his smooth talk.

But it seemed he figured he couldn’t get the upper hand.

He sighed.

“Ah, our customer is truly not an ordinary person. The difficulty is not the lowest, but it’s indeed low, so let’s set the additional fee at 15 silver, and the price of the goods at 25 silver. ‘10, 15.’”

“No, but there’s a limit to how much I can concede… ‘10, 15.’”

“An original deal is supposed to end amicably without hard feelings, beneficial for both sides. ‘10, 15.’”

“10, 15.”

“Huh, I haven’t said anything yet, what’s this ’10, 15′ again?”

“10, 15.”

“10, 15.”

“Ugh, enough, enough! I’ll do it for 10, 15, just stop already!”

“Good. It’s a good deal.”

“Augh!”

“Temper?”

“Hehe, what temper?”

“Here is 1 gold and 25 silver.”

“Th-thank… you…”

“Thank you?”

“I thank you.”

“Good work.”

“Augh, that wretched bastard!”

Carson immediately sprinkled salt.

Despite being rich among the rich, he tries to haggle down to the silver.

It’s my first time dealing with such a miserly person in my merchant life.

“Alas, but I can’t just cut him off.”

Carson shook his head in disbelief and clicked his tongue.

It wasn’t simply because the man was wealthy.

Carson trusted his own judgment.

The guy could become something big. He had become quite the talk of the academy in just a few months since their first meeting.

He might hit the jackpot later on.

Even if not, he would become one of the reliable connections.

So, he couldn’t cut him off.

“Darn it. That’s that, and being unlucky is another matter.”

Carson sprinkled more salt outside the door.

Exactly one day had passed.

I visited Godwin’s house once again.

Thump thump!

I knocked on the door forcefully.

This time, the door opened immediately.

Godwin looked at me, not spewing harsh words like yesterday.

“Come in.”

I followed Godwin inside.

The house was less messy than yesterday.

It seemed he did some cleaning.

I sat down.

“How is it? Was there any effect?”

“Yes.”

Godwin readily admitted.

Perhaps the nightmares were less frequent than usual.

So, the quality of his sleep must have improved to a tolerable extent.

He looked better today, purely thanks to that.

“I apologize for my suspicions yesterday. But I was in a situation where I had no other choice.”

“Ah, of course, I understand. I would’ve done the same. Don’t worry about it.”

I spoke as if it didn’t bother me at all.

Godwin opened his mouth to speak, looking at me.

“It goes without saying, but I need that medicine. I will pay whatever it takes, so please continue to provide it.”

“Money? I don’t need money.”

“What?”

“I would, however, like to propose a different condition. Is that okay?”

“Let’s hear it. I can only decide after hearing it out.”

“It’s nothing grand… Your swordsmanship.”

“Swordsmanship?”

“Yes, your swordsmanship. I want to learn it. That’s my condition for supplying the medicine.”

Hearing my condition, Godwin looked perplexed.

“I don’t know where you heard such nonsense, but I don’t have any special swordsmanship to teach.”

“No, you must have.”

“Are you saying I’m lying?”

Godwin frowned.

“No, that’s not it. Maybe you just don’t consider it swordsmanship.”

“What are you talking about…”

“You’re an executioner.”

“So what?”

Godwin’s face showed no change, perhaps thinking I already knew about his past.

“So, you know how to kill a person. That’s what I want to learn.”

“You think that’s swordsmanship?”

My words seemed to strike a chord, and a threatening aura emanated from Godwin.

Despite his demeanor, I calmly continued.

“What’s not allowed about it? Swordsmanship itself is a technique for killing.”

“That’s not swordsmanship or anything. It’s the bare minimum respect for those about to die.”

“I get it, I know. To send them off with one clean strike, minimizing their pain. That’s precisely what I want to learn.”

It’s difficult to sever a person’s neck with one strike using only brute strength.

That’s why executioners use large, heavy swords.

Still, it often takes more than one strike.

But this man was different.

Godwin, the kingdom’s infamous executioner, was known for severing convicts’ heads with a single strike, like a machine.

That’s why he was nicknamed ‘Head Cutter’ Godwin.

What I needed was his skill in beheading.

‘The Executioner’s Strike’ skill.

The technique itself is a simple slash, but it’s tremendously powerful.

There was no other swordsmanship skill available at that time with such power.

For me, who only had basic skills and no powerful ones, it was the perfect skill.

There was some stamina consumption and delay, but it was a skill that would definitely come in handy.

Especially against strong opponents.

“That’s not a skill to teach or talk about. Propose another condition.”

“Is that so? Then it can’t be helped. We’ll have to call it off.”

I stood up without any regrets.

If I had proposed this condition yesterday, he wouldn’t have cared at all.

But he had tasted it for just one day.

A taste so sweet and comforting, it was akin to the taste of forbidden fruit.

It was an emotion not conquerable by human will.

Knowing this, I was able to stand up without hesitation.

Just as my hand was about to touch the doorknob.

“Ugh, wait a moment.”

Godwin called out to me with a voice filled with agony.

He appeared to be in a serious conflict.

“Hm? What?,If you call someone, you should speak to them.”

“Damn it-“

“Damn it?”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“What have you decided?”

“I’ll accept your condition. Damn it, I’ll teach you.”

Then I finally smiled.

“You’ve made a wise choice. It’s better for both of us. A very good deal indeed.”