episode_0021

“Gasp! What is this?!?!?!”

“Shh! Gil-yong, do you know what this is?”

“I know! There was chaos in the village once because everyone would grab an axe and wail at the sight of water. But did you also meet that mountain spirit? Should I go around with an iron axe too?”

“Haha, don’t waste your time, Gil-yong. If there’s no fate, you won’t see them. I’ll give you a good deal on the intermediary fee, so don’t be greedy for a golden axe and introduce me to a merchant. I don’t want another round of trouble like last time.”

“Alright. Got it. It’s better not to have more work and get tired unnecessarily, just go to the village warehouse for now. I’ll leave someone there for you to trade with secretly. Don’t send anyone suspicious.”

“Thank you, Gil-yong.”

In old folk tales, was there ever a case where spreading rumors made things go well for oneself?

Well, it’s no different in reality, but especially in this terrifying world where clichés almost always come true, there’s a ten percent chance that some greedy person will become a thief or that neighbors will come to harass you.

There’s a reason why I sneak around like a smuggler like this.

It’s such a relief to have a reliable medieval official on my side. As they say, it’s all about connections in life.

After waiting for a while at the village warehouse, a chubby merchant dressed in luxurious clothes with six servants trailing behind him approached, bustling with activity.

But behind him…?

“…A woman?”

The servants followed the chubby merchant into the warehouse, and as the scale entered, a woman wearing a mysterious veil appeared from behind the scale.

More striking than the fact that she was a woman was the exotic and intense feminine scent that wafted through the air, the smoky makeup revealed by the veil covering her mouth, the lightly tanned skin around her eyes and hands, and the thick cloak-like coat that covered her body, all of which were so alien that I couldn’t help but stare.

“You there! Where are you looking right now?”

Whether he noticed my gaze on the woman or not, the chubby merchant glared at me in anger.

Startled by his sharp reprimand, I quickly averted my eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve never seen a noblewoman before. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Bowing my head in apology, the merchant snorted and bluntly said, “Do you have good items with you?”

“Yes.”

“I heard you have dealings with the Song Sang Lim Jungbi. Let’s see the goods first. Put them on this scale here.”

“Okay.”

I unpacked my bundle and placed the golden and silver axes on the scale.

“300 nyang for the golden axe, 50 nyang for the silver axe.”

Lim Jungbi glanced at the weight on the scale, scratched the corner slightly to check the purity, and without giving any reasons, casually quoted the price.

His tone of voice, confidently stating the price as if it were obvious, warned against trying to haggle unnecessarily, indicating that it wouldn’t be fun if we did.

“….”

I remained silent and simply stared at the merchant.

For a moment, we stood there in a standoff.

How much time passed? Lim Jungbi, who had been glaring at me, seemed annoyed and threw out a higher price again.

“350 nyang for the golden axe, 80 nyang for the silver axe. I can’t go any higher than this.”

What, is this how it ends after roughly considering the situation?

After such a long standoff, he barely raised the price by that much.

Even though I reluctantly raised the price, I could still make more by selling them at their gold and silver values alone.

And 80 nyang isn’t even a significant amount, but raising the price that much at once is practically admitting that he initially undervalued them, so why is he trying to scam me so blatantly?

The attitude seemed more like a threat than a negotiation.

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand what was going on.

This mixed-up country called Yuldo seemed to have strangely advanced industries but appeared to have fallen behind,

While those engaged in commercial activities were as active as they were in the Goryeo period, the commoners remained ignorant about commerce as they were in the Joseon period.

Even among commoners like me, there are hunters doing base work?

If people like me who are ignorant act without knowing, most of them will quickly take the money and leave as soon as they receive it, saying, “Yes, I’ll take it as you say.”

But still, there’s nothing to be done about being angry.

I tried to trade by roughly matching the value of gold and silver nuggets, but if you try to deceive me to this extent, things change.

Is what I do base because my status is base? Huh? If someone sees me like this, they might think I’m just a lowly servant. Even if I look like this, I’m the kind of person who has conquered all sorts of chaebol stories in dramas and novels! Where do you dare to look down on people and deceive them?

“Oh, landlord, if you don’t want to trade, you should have said so from the beginning… By the way, it seems that I unnecessarily took away the landlord’s time with an axe that I won’t even sell. The time of a merchant is precious… I will properly pay for my time as an apology.”

After roughly handling the handle of the golden axe with his hand, he raised the silver axe and struck down the golden axe.

You shouldn’t hesitate here.

Then, if you see it easily and try to deceive, you have to strike with all your might to show your sincerity.

As he tried to strike down the golden axe like that.

“Just a moment.”

A woman who had been silently observing the trade from behind raised her hand and blocked my action with fluent Korean.

“Why…?”

I was really going to strike down, but I unknowingly stopped my actions due to the strangely compelling voice.

The woman approached slowly.

She took off her thick clothes like a blanket and removed her mask.

“Oh!”

“Uh!”

The women inside the warehouse, exposed in their high-cut attire, hurriedly turned away,

I also quickly lowered my head to prevent myself from inadvertently staring at the woman.

I made a mistake earlier, and if I send the wrong gaze here, I’ll only lose out in the trade. I won’t make the same mistake twice.

“The time of a merchant is like gold… I’ve never heard that before, but it’s a good saying. Please forgive my rudeness. I had no intention of interfering with the trade, but as a practical buyer, I cannot overlook any flaws in the goods.”

“Miss! If you had just left it to me, I could have sold it at a good price—”

“Stop! Didn’t you just see that? That man would have surely struck the axe without hesitation.”

“In the end, he didn’t stop…”

“….”

When the merchant suddenly stopped speaking, I glanced up to see the woman glaring at him.

The merchant seemed slightly unjust and tried to express his opinion, but the woman blocked him by shaking her head and issued a warning to the merchant.

“You almost completely ruined the trade just now. Are you just a bungler? The goods that the buyer wants were almost damaged. Furthermore, in a situation where I, as the decision-maker, stepped in to correct a trade gone awry, cutting off the decision-maker’s opinion recklessly in the middle is what kind of trading company?”

“Oh… Miss…!”

“Get out.”

“Miss! I just wanted to sell it at a good price…! Miss! Miss!”

As the servants approached and led Im Jeong-bi away, her voice faded.

Since she hesitated so much, I thought the followers who came after her were her servants, but it seems she was under this woman after all.

Well, one of the servants was wearing traditional Korean clothing, so it looked exotic, indeed.

“Sigh… I’m sorry. I should have let the lady handle the trade from the beginning. I employed you because you seemed capable, tsk tsk…”

Although he spoke as if he was regretful, his clear voice seemed to imply that he was not regretful at all.

“In fact, when a woman is present at a trading place or engages in trade like this, people from any country would furrow their brows from the start. Even when the lady followed in, you didn’t seem to pay much attention, right? I was really staring as if she were a noblewoman from a great nation. Well, that’s why the lady felt comfortable stepping forward there too.

I hadn’t even thought about it being natural in the 21st century, but was I fascinating to the medieval Arabian merchant woman?

Although I was bowing deeply, I could feel her observing me beyond the back of my head.

“…Yes. How could a lowly person be rude to a nobleman by any means. I simply wish for a good trade to take place.”

“Hmm… But are you going to keep looking down at the ground like that during the trade? It’s proper etiquette to make eye contact with each other while trading.”

Was it because my bowed head displeased her? It was a polite request, but her clear voice, which made me listen attentively, had a strange power, so I felt I had no choice but to raise my head.

I gradually lifted my head.

The skirt-like, pant-like, confusingly airy side revealed trousers.

At the same time, I sensed that I would have to struggle against my instincts and urges until this trade was over.

‘This is a game. That’s how you have to think. Imagine your eye tracker is on during the live broadcast, and if you look inappropriately, you’ll be socially condemned! You have to regulate your gaze with desperate effort!’

No matter how determined I was, I was still too anxious. I couldn’t trust myself.

Lately, I’ve been having trouble controlling my body strangely. Is it because of unfulfilled desires? I don’t understand.

For some reason, I feel particularly vulnerable to sexual impulses.

The bigger issue is that even if I try to resolve this anxiety in secret, days pass where I can’t resolve it alone due to coincidentally overlapping paths with Heesun, especially in such a situation with a trading partner like this exotic beauty…

When I briefly raised my eyes, I saw a large pelvis and a clearly exposed lower abdomen with beautifully defined abs on the woman.

Ah, I realized this wouldn’t be easy.

Raising my head like this would be risky, so I closed my eyes again, predicting where the other person’s eyes would be and slightly looking above that point before opening my eyes.

Thank goodness! I opened my eyes just above the woman’s head.

Now slowly lower your gaze and fix it!

“Hahaha! Hahaha, hahaha, hahaha, hahaha.”

“Why… Why are you laughing like that…”

I was a bit taken aback by the sudden burst of laughter from the woman laughing alone.

“Oh, sorry. People in this country pretend not to look at my outfit, but they all try to sneak a peek somehow. You’re the first person I’ve seen who puts in so much effort not to look. Hahaha.”

“Well… I guess our cultures are a bit different.”

“If you want to look, feel free to look while we talk. I won’t mind, and you might even feel good if a beauty like you looks at me. Most of all, I hate being dragged into unnecessary things like trading for external reasons.”

“Yes, yes?”

With permission to look, I unintentionally scanned her entire body.

Ugh! A beauty with a pure yet sexy vibe, looking so firm and elastic, is a scam! What an imbalanced yet perfect combination…

‘No, no! Focus on the trade, you fool! Why are you so captivated by a woman like this! Pull yourself together!’

I quickly shook my head, trying to clear my brain, which was enslaved by that violent lust.

I tried my best not to be distracted by that firm physique and solely focused on making eye contact.

Finally, I met the dark amethyst-like eyes.

‘What’s this?’

It felt strange.

Hmm… What is it? Seeing a hometown person? No, something different? Kin? Looking at me? No, not quite, how do I express this?

She was undoubtedly an incredibly beautiful person.”

The distinctively curly black hair with waves,

Adorning the forehead evenly, a golden thread like a necklace shines with jewels,

A woman exuding a mysterious atmosphere with harmonious blend of purple eyes, black hair, golden decorations, and light brown skin.

What kind of feeling is this? Familiar? No, not quite. Recognizable? Not exactly, but she gives off a strange vibe.

“Oh? You…?”

Oops! Did I stare at her rudely, analyzing like that? That was a mistake; I should move on to the transaction quickly!

“Ah! I made the mistake of staring blankly again! I apologize. You are so beautiful, so, how would you like to purchase gold and silver axes?”

What was I trying to say? The woman asked about the price with a puzzled face.

“Hmm. How much did you have in mind?”

“500 nyang for the gold axe and 200 nyang for the silver axe. I won’t sell for less than that.”

“Why are you asking for 700 nyang?”

“That’s the price for these items. If I had only considered the value of the gold nugget or silver nugget, I would have sold the gold axe for 400 nyang and the silver axe for 100 nyang.”

“If you mean to say that the axe shape is worth 200 nyang?”

The woman’s questioning tone was a bit sharp.

“It’s not because of the axe shape. It’s the origin of this axe that holds its value.”

“Origin… haha. Is it an axe used by a queen?”

“It’s even more precious than that. This axe was obtained directly from a mountain spirit.”

“Hmm…”

“It may be hard to believe, but years ago, a woodcutter came down with a similar axe from the mountain spirit. He sold the gold axe for 300 nyang.”

“But the protagonist of this story is not the woodcutter who sold the gold axe.”

“Then?”

“It was bought by a wealthy young man from the mountain. After his son bought the gold axe, the old man, who had been dying, recovered and even remarried. This is a rumor that can be confirmed by anyone in the neighborhood. Therefore, the value of 200 nyang lies in that rumor. The gold axe that revived the dying old man and the axe I have with the same origin. How can you say that its price is the same as a simple gold nugget?”

“Oh? Your words are quite convincing. But you haven’t provided any guarantee that this axe, said to be given by the mountain spirit, is authentic.”

“… ”

I was momentarily speechless at that statement.

“Sir, why are you suddenly at a loss for words?”

What? How do I prove this?

Cold sweat ran down my back.

Uh… Uh… Oh, this is driving me crazy.

It’s definitely made by the mountain spirit, but how do I prove it to her?

‘Wait a minute?’

But why am I hanging onto this woman?

The situation was very strange.

Slowly, I recalled the conversation up to this point.

…

Wow. This woman is really something, isn’t she?

“Ha ha, where did the person I was negotiating with go?”

With a seductive smile, the woman urged me, and after a moment of silence, organizing my thoughts, I spoke again.

“Why did you stop me from destroying the axe?”

…

This time, her mouth was shut in response to my question.

Why do I have to prove myself to you? There’s no lie in what I’m saying anyway.

I must have been mistaken for a moment.

The credibility of Gil Yong-ah Jae, Im Jeong-bi who knew about the gold axe, and the fact that there was no way for a lowly person like a hunter in a remote village to obtain such a gold nugget.

She already has confidence in the value of my gold axe.

The request to state a price is a trap. It made me feel like I had to sell at the price of 700, causing me to cling to myself.

With high exposure and seductive gestures, a deep scent, allowing me to gaze at her as if tempting me in reality.

All of that confuses my sight and mind, clouding my judgment.

The biggest weapon is social status.

In a society based on social status, thinking that person’s status is higher than mine, naturally assuming that person is superior and I am inferior.

There was no need to say such regretful words from the beginning, groveling to her, “My words are real! Believe me. Buy it!”

Loving someone is always a loss.

I was already trying to destroy the golden axe, and since receiving only the value of the golden nugget posed no problem, I was in a favorable position compared to her who wanted the intact axe.

She had to cling to me by offering a price, but with just one word from that terrifying woman, and one seductive gesture, she quickly put me in the position of superiority.

Don’t be mistaken! The one in power here is me!

If you don’t want to buy at this price, then don’t buy it. Whether you sell it to someone else or crush it and receive only the value of the golden nugget, I will take care of it.

“Do you know the value of this axe? Are you sure? Are you really willing to let go of this rare item for a mere 700 nyang? Then let’s crush the axe right here. I will sell it for the value of the gold only.”

“….”

She stares at me blankly for a while.

Since I have nothing to lose, I look straight at her.

But… the subtle color flowing in the smoky makeup’s eyes… the fragrance is also very strong… dizzy… Oh! Eek! What is that chest… ugh… Please look at my face… Just my face!

Huh? Why does it look so… why is that face so provocative? … It’s clearly an innocent face… Yes, those eyes! The eyes… are too provocative… Why are you looking at me like that… the slightly raised… provocative color in the eyes… Ugh… I need the national anthem!

Smirk.

“Oops!”

Suddenly, I snap out of it with a bright red smile.

Oh no! I was lost in thought again!

“I like it. I want it.”

“Yes.. Yes? I mentioned that the axe is 700 nyang, didn’t I?”

Lost in her exotic beauty, she hesitated for a moment before responding to my unexpected words.

“No, I should buy something else instead of the axe. How much is your price?”

“Pardon?”

“Oh, buying with money is meaningless since you will be in my hands anyway. I’ll give you! I’ll sell you.”

“What??”