abcnovels
Chapter 145
Chapter 145
Chapter 145
Translator: rainbowturtle
Editors: LD & Jyazen
It became dark and the moon was rising. My party and I were ready to leave Garbage Village. The reason for heading to Fortren in the middle of the night was to sell the stolen jewellery from Aidan’s mansion. It was stolen goods after all. If I sold them in the daytime then I would have to clarify where I got it from. However, I didn’t need to worry about this if they were sold on the black market. The black market was something that only opened when the moon rose. It was Joseph who was speaking in front of me right now.
“First of all, the black market in Fortren isn’t on the street. It is disguised with other signs to avoid surveillance and it moves frequently. The current location is...”
To sum it up, this was the case. Currently, the place where the black market merchants were located was the casino. It was the place where Kerenos had won his money from, just a few days ago. Kerenos, who had been drinking warm water, coughed in amazement.
“Kek! The black market is there?”
“Yes, the black market is located in the pretty spacious basement.”
“Kuk! That sounds right. No, how do you know this information?”
“That...” Joseph rolled his eyes and raised an index finger to his mouth. “It is a secret.”
Hrmm. Well, I didn’t want to pry because it was a secret. The first thing that mattered was going to the black market. I asked him, “How do we enter the black market? Security must be formidable if they are able to disguise themselves and move around to avoid surveillance.”
“You saw it exactly. You know that Fortren is pursuing capitalism.”
“In the end, it is money?”
“Yes, the problem is...”
“What?”
“The owner of the casino is Aidan.”
I frowned the moment he spoke. It felt like something was becoming twisted. I wanted to go to the black market to evade Aidan’s surveillance, but the casino with the black market was owned by Aidan. There was no bigger irony.
“So the black market is also owned by Aidan?”
“Fortunately, that isn’t the case. Rather, he has the next largest power and financial resources after the king of Fortren so he turns a blind eye to the market and collects taxes from the owner, the Madam.”
“It is nice to hear.”
It would’ve been a bit difficult if the black market belonged to Aidan. However, there was hope if it was only the casino.
“Oppa, what should we do to get into the black market? In TV dramas, they seem to say a strange code.” Kim Sujeong asked with a curious glance.
She was using the mandragoras leaves she acquired from me to lull the patients to sleep. In any case, the leaves were useless to me so I gladly gave them to her.
“Haha. It is a bit different. To get there, you need the unique currency of the black market. That money will become the admission ticket.”
“Ah~ I see.”
“The thing is...”
This time, Joseph frowned. It seemed there was another problem. Damn, it was ominous.
“What is the problem now?”
“The price of one of those currencies is quite expensive.”
“How much is it?”
“$100,000. This is the price for one person.”
“Why is it so expensive?”
I grumbled and Joseph told me, “It is cheap considering the benefits from the black market. There is no tax at all. In fact, if you sell it outside then there will be a huge 30% tax. That is why the price goes up.”
“Damn, it is expensive.”
“It is why wealthy nobles like using the black market. Since there are no taxes, cheaper items can be bought at a cheaper price while expensive items can be sold more expensively. They buy in large quantities and sell them with high taxes during the day, making the low-class and middle-class people suffer.”
“Damn capitalism.”
This was the problem with having a lot of money. Well, it doesn’t mean that not having money was a good thing. It was good to have money.
“Yes. How do you get that currency, no, the admission ticket?”
Kis got up from where he was listening to the story. He looked at me with eyes that shone like lanterns for some reason as he stated, “I’ll explain that.”
* * *
-We value your dreams and the value of your money!Your luck will shape your future with Portland!All the gambling in the world is here!The best facilities where nature breaths with magic power...
The clear voice of a woman echoed. This was the largest casino on the continent, Portland. Just as the word ‘nature’ was mentioned, the dense forest around it looked quite fresh. There was a man currently listening to this broadcast.
Supreme Fire Dragon frowned. His brothers were drinking at a bar while there was a new figure next to him.
“That voice is annoying every time I hear it.”
“Brother, don’t you think the person will be pretty if you see her in person?”
“Crazy bastard. Do you want me to introduce you if you’re interested?”
“Cough. I would be very grateful.”
“Jerk. Look at my magnanimity.”
“Huhuhu.”
The ID of the man he was talking to was Cocaine. His real name was Yoon Seowon and he was the youngest son of Yoon Seokchul, chairman of the Holy Spirit Group. They had met at the casino by accident.
‘It is really lucky now that I think about it.’
His first meeting with Yoon Seowon was at the entrance of the underground black market. Yoon Seowon had been in an argument with the guards of the black market. It turned out he didn’t have the currency that was the admission ticket. Supreme Fire Dragon had recognized him and helped him, establishing a good relationship.
He was a very famous figure in the media and the intellectually shallow son of the Holy Spirit Group. He was a drug dealer who fled overseas. He was full of bad thoughts but Supreme Fire Dragon became close to him nonetheless. No one really knew about people’s affairs.
Finally, the fruit came.
‘Kukuk. The opportunity has finally come.’
He and Yoon Seowon were in the business of making cigarettes and selling them on the black market. At the same time, Chairman Yoon of the Holy Spirit Group said he would give full support to their business in order to rehabilitate his youngest son, Yoon Seowon. At present, he didn’t have a monopoly and his income was only through the black market but Supreme Fire Dragon was thinking about his future. It was of him sitting in the chairman’s office of a group and looking down at the world. The name...
“The Fire Dragon Group. Huhuhu.”
“Huh? What did you say, Brother?”
“Dude, don’t you know? You have met a good brother.”
“Of course~ I always believe in you.”
“Yes, I especially care about you.”
“Huhu. Me too.”
“Disgusting guy.”
Before they knew it, the two of them were standing in front of the huge Portland. It was reminiscent of the glamor of Las Vegas. Today, the two of them came here to register a guild. The two of them dreamed of starting with the Assassin’s Guild.
“Let’s go, Seowon.”
“Yes, Brother.”
They stepped toward the area where the lights were shining. They had a few cigarettes in their hands.
* * *
Fortren’s busy streets were decorated with colorful lights. My group and I appeared there all dressed up. It was Drain’s work. There were three people in total apart from me. The first was Joseph, who had a lot of information about Fortren. The second was Drain. He was anxious to buy fabrics for cheap at the black market and we were forced to bring him.
Finally, there was Kis who knew about the casino. He said he often frequented casinos to make money. He would definitely be a big help if we took him. I didn’t believe it but I would know once I saw it.
Kerenos said he wanted to remain to protect Garbage Village and stay with Punghee. Punghee also needed clues to blossom her abilities so I thought it was good. Sujeong didn’t come because she needed to take care of her patients.
“Wow, this is the famous Portland Casino! Fantasutik!” Drain’s eyes widened as he made sounds of admiration.
It was definitely amazing. It was the first time I had seen such a gorgeous place in my life.
“It is definitely cool.”
There was nothing that couldn’t be done with money, especially if you were a capitalist.
“Let’s go inside. Masks will be prepared at the entrance. Don’t worry because it’s free. Huhu.”
I didn’t know what Kis was so happy about but he was smiling widely. He walked in the lead. We followed his instructions and slowly stepped forward. We reached the mask rental office that he mentioned. A gentle looking woman stood at the desk and spoke, “Welcome. Is this your first time?”
I lightly nodded. “Yes. I want to get a mask.”
“You can choose one of these. The rental price is $10,000.”
“$10,000?”
Everyone’s eyes focused on Kis simultaneously. He coughed with embarrassment. “Cough cough. It was definitely free when I came here a month ago...”
I couldn’t help frowning when I saw the way he mumbled to himself. Could I trust this guy? After a while, we each wore our favorite mask. In fact, it didn’t matter if we didn’t wear them but we were trying to hide our identities as much as possible. I picked a black wolf mask and it felt quite good that it covered my entire face. Joseph picked a simple owl mask that only covered the eyes while Drain picked a mask embroidered with white fox fur. That damn Kis picked the most glamorous butterfly mask of all.
“Tsk. He picked something similar to him.”
“Cough. Originally, I played in a place like this, Chief.”
I hit him on the head.
“Ack. Why did you hit me?”
“Shut up. This guy. Don’t call me chief.”
“Ah, that’s right. Cough. I’m sorry. So what should I call you?”
We had to sneak into the black market as quietly as possible. The casino had many eyes and it would be a big problem if we caught Aidan’s attention. I had told the party this before I left but this guy seemed to have forgotten. “Just call me Brother.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“You won’t slap me if I do so?”
“...Yes. For now.”
“Huhuhu. I understand.”
I couldn’t believe him because he was talking with that handsome face. I felt like I confronted a handsome crook. In any case, it was good to call me Brother for now. We walked into the casino wearing masks. Our eyes became wide at the noisy mechanical sounds and the people’s cheers.
“I can’t adapt every time I come here.”
I responded to Joseph’s words. “It’s the same for me. I previously caught my second son in a place like this.”
“Second son?”
“Don’t try to pry too much because it is a family matter. It hurts.”
“Ah, yes. Haha.”
We walked slowly and observed the surroundings. Drain kept repeating the exclamation of ‘wow’ and Kis shook his ass excitedly at the sound of music.
...I had to kick his damn ass. He was shaking his ass casually while walking in the front. I wanted to kick him but I put up with it. First of all, it wasn’t good to attract people’s attention.
“Ahh. These guys!”
It was a surprise. Kis suddenly waved toward somewhere. There were four women standing with fans. They waved their hands and came running while blowing kisses and screaming.
“Kyah~ Brother!”
“Brother Kis, it’s been a really long time!”
“Why are you here now? Do you know how long I have been looking for you?”
“Brother, I really wanted to see you.”
The women embraced Kis and shouted. Kis just laughed. “Hahaha! I wanted to see you. I thought I was going to die without you!”
He was the Casanova who captivated them with his free speech like a fish in water. Helena should see this.
“Hohoho. Brother, who are you going to meet today?”
Kis replied, “Huh? I just came to play because I missed all of you. Hahaha. Hey! The pretty one over there! It’s been awhile!”
“Oh my! Brother!”
All the women started to gather here. I had told him not to attract any attention...
Kis placed a hand on my shoulder. “Everyone, this is my older brother. Please take good care of him, understood? Hahaha. Hey there, pretty one!”
...Was he finally going crazy? It was faster than expected.