Bailonz Street 13-Chapter 246.2
“I have an item I consigned to the Space Shopping Mall.”
A sacred-law scripture fragment of the Church of the Luminous Unknown.
Because the Mimicker Scripture had harmful effects on me, I previously paid the Space Shopping Mall a storage fee to hold it.
…Nearly 9 million won per month.
(Approx. 6,400 USD)
“The storage fee… accrues monthly, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And if I fail to pay, I owe interest too?”
“Yes.”
Ha.
Ha……
‘The principal alone has easily blown past fifty million won…’
I’m only surprised alien lizards didn’t storm Daydream’s isolation ward.
Do alien lizards have a concept like statutory interest rates?
‘Please don’t let it have crossed a hundred million.’
Feeling a cold sweat coming on, I looked up at the lizard and pleaded.
With the earnestness to drop to my knees if needed!
“Could I be late just a little longer? To get out of here and access funds, I need the item first…”
“You have no delinquency on record, dear customer.”
“…?!”
H-Hang on.
“How… No, did someone pay on my behalf?”
“Yes.”
What?!
“Who was it?”
And back came an answer I never anticipated.
“One of us.”
No way.
“……Could you be more specific.”
“Yes. I refer to the entity named Lee Jaheon, employed at Daydream Inc. at the rank of section chief.”
“……”
“That entity is currently covering your storage fees.”
I stared at the lizard, feeling like I’d been smacked in the back of the head.
‘…Why?’
Was that even allowed? There was no need to do that.
‘Wait.’
……Did he appraise the gear and items I handed over and pay an equivalent amount to cover it?
Really?
‘…Section Chief!’
A surge of respect for that reliable reptile welled up from deep inside me.
Thank you. Thank you so much…!
“Um, do you happen to know how Section Chief Lee Jaheon is doing?”
“That entity is currently at a boarding school.”
“……”
Out of nowhere?
‘What boarding school, all of a sudden.’
Section Chief Lizard’s at least in his thirties, right? He looks like a lizard to me, but if he’s a section chief he’s not in his twenties. What the…
……
…!!
– Oh! As for Section Chief Lee Jaheon, I think he went on a long-term Darkness exploration a couple of days ago. Some… boarding school ghost story, I think?
A reply flitted through my head.
An update on Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
When was that again?
‘That was when I was assigned to the annex.’
Then he should have come back long ago. Why was he still inside that Darkness?
“Is he in danger?”
“I cannot say.”
…In that case.
“Is it voluntary?”
“It is not our will.”
“……”
I have a bad feeling.
“…Thank you for telling me.”
Those aliens are bound together under a single identity of ‘we’. If Section Chief Lee Jaheon was in danger, would they really respect and try to save a mere fragment of that collective mind?
‘I should look into Section Chief Lee Jaheon’s whereabouts as soon as I get out.’
My nerves tightened.
We needed to find a way to return from Sekwang City, fast.
At any rate, there had been a passage like a ‘well’, so the idea that if we cleared the ghost story we could return to the point of entry seemed well worth testing.
‘As for my condition… I’ll find some way to patch it up.’
The bell had worked, after all.
For now, I chose to believe that.
‘Let’s procure what we need to clear this.’
“Then I’ll tell you what I want to purchase.”
“Yes.”
First, top priority.
Something usable regardless of the circumstances.
“Can I buy the ‘We Can Help!’ item?”
The option where the alien lizards help directly.
It was the very item that got me out of Braun’s Late-Night Talk Show.
However.
“Is your reason for purchase to escape from your current coordinates to a safe location?”
“That’s right.”
“We do not recommend it.”
“…!”
“There is a recorded instance of unsuccessful escape.”
A surprisingly conscientious answer.
Truly a vendor of previously validated goods… though at a ludicrous price.
But still.
‘If there’s a ‘record’, that means someone tried to use ‘We Can Help!’ to get out of Sekwang Special Metropolitan City and failed.’
A chill ran through me.
It really did seem that something unprecedented was happening outside Sekwang City.
‘Damn.’
Gulping once, I nodded.
“Alright.”
Next.
“…I need an item imbued with spiritual energy.”
The dark-brown lizard looked at me.
“One that does not draw power from outside, but contains sacred, auspicious energy in and of itself. Something I can use even where I am now.”
I wasn’t done explaining.
“And it should be portable and shaped so that a single person can carry it, of a suitable size to move with.”
Indeed.
“Do you have such a thing?”
“Yes.”
…!
“By authority of a personal shopper, a suitable item shall be recommended.”
…And from several candidates, I finally chose the one most appropriate for what our party was about to attempt.
‘Got it.’
Hope flickered through my head.
But there was one problem.
The price!
“Ninety-four million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine won.”
“……”
‘Just call it 95 million…’
In effect, a hundred million.
(Approx. 70,600USD)
– I’ve got a wad of 50,000-won notes. It’s project funds anyway, not even my own money.
– Do you take cardd?
– Ah, this is solid gold with gemstones, yeah? It’s a piece from Baridegi Workshop…
– Agent, isn’t that a rental?!
After all that rigmarole, we scraped together just over sixty million won at buying price.
(Approx. 42,300 USD)
Even that was more than an ordinary salaryman could have managed.
‘Huuu.’
“If I give you an account number, can you just withdraw it from there?”
“Is it an account in your own name, dear customer?”
“……”
No.
It’s Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s account…
‘Wow, what do I even do.’
There was no helping it. I was just about to try, somehow, to dress up the shameless words ‘installment plan’ as something reasonable.
[Goodness, it seems my friend is in a bind.]
‘…!’
In the darkness beyond the platform lights,
A glove-lit hand appeared at some point.
That hand slid out a classic-looking, oxblood chair from the shadows of the platform and, with impeccable poise, its owner perched upon it.
A silhouette in a fine suit.
His head was hidden in shadow, but I knew what sat there…
The voice that has followed me as a part of myself.
“…Braun?”
[Lacking funds for your shopping, Friend?]
[Then let me make a sensational proposal… How about an advance from this Braun here?]
“…!!”
Salt Goblin
Latest posts by Salt Goblin (see all)
