Chapter 10: Networks are assets to merchants(2)

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

“Oh, no. Was the price I suggested… too unreasonable? I apologize.”

I clearly thought she would resent me, but Roze maturely accepted my mistake.

I need to get a grip. If I let my emotions get the better of me like this, I won’t be able to earn her trust.

“Then, 200 million? It will be a little difficult to go any higher than that.”

“-“

I took a deep breath.

“But will it still sell?”

“Considering the original cost, even if I receive this much money… What? What are you saying? Weren’t you angry earlier because the price was too low?”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Then…”

“Isn’t that too expensive? Who would buy it for that much money?”

“Of course, people with money will buy it. Why wouldn’t they?”

The conversation isn’t going anywhere.

“Of course, it’s an artifact, and it won’t be easy to get, and I thought you, Mr. Isu, would need to make a profit, so you’d have to set it at that price. But well… what price do you have in mind, Mr.Isu?”

“One million won?”

“Are you crazy?”

Roze jumped up. After being rude to each other once, I felt like we had gotten a little closer.

“No, it’s an artifact. The original cost… it’s not about the cost, you’re just selling it at a huge loss! I don’t care, but are you okay with this, Mr. Isu?”

“There’s no original cost.”

“What?”

“There’s no original cost. I only consider my labor for transportation as the original cost.”

“No… no!”

Excited, she jumped up and started shouting.

“It doesn’t make sense, don’t lie. It’s an artifact. It makes the person who caught it a marksman, right? So why is there no original cost! Why!”

“Sit down first.”

“Okay.”

I let out a hollow laugh.

“Believe it or not, there’s no original cost. Just accept it.”

“Oh, okay… I’ll just accept it. Fine. Still, one million won is not okay. You can rip me off as much as you want, but one million won is not okay.”

“Personally, I think it’s a bit dangerous to go beyond this. I was thinking about setting it at 990,000 won, but that seemed a bit cheap.”

“That’s the first sensible thing I’ve heard from you, Mr. Isu. That’s right. People who can afford this don’t like that. Things that look cheap.”

Roze, who had calmed down a bit, sighed deeply and continued.

“Why do you have to sell it so cheaply?”

“First of all, it’s dangerous for this business itself to get bigger.”

“Why?”

“Basically, it’s a business that exploits a loophole in the test, right? You have to think that it won’t last long, and it’s also dangerous for parents to spend too much money on this.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“It has to end as child’s play. Just some rich students buying expensive toys and playing with them… it has to end at that level.”

Eventually, someone will find out. Just like I went to the academy this time, someone will inevitably question me about this business.

I need to be prepared for that moment.

“You have no greed.”

“Even if I set an excessive price for this gun, there will be people who will buy it. But they’re buying my gun out of fear, right? They’re buying an absurdly priced item because of the fear of being expelled.”

“…”

“That can cause dissatisfaction. They have to think that buying this is a profitable deal.”

“That’s right. If they buy an artifact for one million won, no one will think it’s a loss.”

I nodded.

“Secondly, this pistol. It lacks reliability.”

“Reliability?”

“You saw Yuhwa’s practical test, right?”

“Yes.”

“She must have taken a pistol that worked fine the night before, but two of them broke down and she had to draw a third pistol to take the test.”

“You know about that?”

“She told me.”

The Gremlin pistol is a piece of junk. You shouldn’t expect reliability from it.

“That’s a bit of an extreme situation, but I think breakdowns are inevitable. They’re bound to happen.”

“Is it a product with poor quality control?”

“That’s it.”

Roze let out a deep sigh.

“Looking at it… it’s definitely not something you can sell with a luxury image attached to it.”

“Even rich people aren’t completely devoid of a sense of money, are they? If a 100 million won pistol breaks, they’ll be shaking, but for one million won-“

“That’s right. Considering it’s an artifact, it’s a price where they’ll think, ‘I was just unlucky.’ I understand… I get it. But I still think it would be better if it were a little more expensive.”

“Really?”

“Students who are at risk of being expelled… I can think of a few, but even if I sell all of them a one million won pistol… honestly, the money I make won’t even cover the cost of this meal.”

I shook my head.

“You don’t have to think of it that simply.”

“Why?”

“It’s a consumable, right? Just sell a lot.”

“…Oh.”

“The more they fear that it might break down, the more they’ll want to buy.”

“Considering that the price is cheaper than they thought, they might overspend.”

Even considering that, it’s not a lot of money. But it’s a decent amount to earn as a side job.

“And also, not every student can make magic bullets like Yuha.”

“I guess not?”

“I’m the only one who can make these bullets, right? I’ll sell them for 10,000 won a piece. They’ll need practice bullets too, right?”

“That’s a bit more to my liking.”

“If they’re going to buy the gun, they’ll obviously buy the bullets too.”

“You said the gun lacks reliability, right? To practice with this gun, they’ll have to use the gun again-“

“Right. They might buy even more.”

The Gremlin pistol has no original cost. If it were Lisa, she could probably get a few or even dozens of these guns.

“I might sell other items later, so for now, I’m going to focus on building a supply chain.”

The fact that I insisted on meeting the parents to sell the guns was also partly for this reason.

Preventing underage academy students from spending large sums of money privately, and at the same time-

‘Meeting the parents’ to create a sales route for when I need to sell items in the future.

“Well, I won’t be here next time, will I?”

“Who knows. Whatever you bring, it won’t be as effective as having an academy student promote it directly.”

Having an insider inside the academy was quite valuable. If possible, it was better to build a good relationship with Roze.

“Okay… about 13 million won per person? That’s what I can expect, right?”

“Ten pistols, 300 bullets… not bad.”

“Then, we should talk about us. How about 7:3? Of course, you get 7.”

“That’s a bit steep.”

“I get 2, the ‘adult collaborator’ you wanted gets 1, and you get 7. It’s not that unreasonable, is it?”

“When you put it that way, well. Still, I’m basically at a disadvantage, right? The guns basically come from me.”

“Of course, I’m very grateful. It’s not like I can make a lot of money from this…”

Roze smiled faintly.

“It’s money I earn myself, in a way that has nothing to do with my mother, right? It’s a big achievement.”

“Ah… right.”

I had forgotten for a moment.

Roze is an academy cadet. A minor.

While other kids her age would be doing part-time jobs at best, she has the opportunity to earn millions of won ‘per sale’.

It was even more surprising when I thought about when she had approached me. She was already thinking about this the moment I proved my innocence among those teachers.

‘Scary. Kids these days…’

The ‘scary kid’ smiled brightly and held out her hand to me.

“Shall we shake hands?”

“Sure.”

I shook her hand. I could feel her soft skin.

“Let’s make this a success!”

Rose’s greedy laugh felt strangely beautiful.
****
Rose opened the door to her studio apartment and frowned at the trash scattered all over the place.

“Oh, Mom! I was going to clean up… Roze?”

“Yeah. It’s me, sis.”

In front of Roze’s eyes, a shut-in was sitting in a chair, looking at her.

“Why are you here all of a sudden?”

“I have something important to talk about. Turn off the computer and look at me.”

“Oh, I’m in the middle of a grinding session. I’m listening, so just go ahead.”

“It’s really important.”

“I know, just go ahead. I can watch Netflix while doing this, can’t I listen to you?”

Roze sighed deeply.

“How much do you make from that?”

“About 5,000 won per hour?”

Roze couldn’t contain her anger at the miserable state of her older sister, Anria.

Having such a great mother, and a daughter from the same womb was in such a state.

“That’s it?”

“Hey. I started streaming online too, and it’s going well.”

“How many people are watching?”

“Ten?”

“Forget it, forget it… There’s something I want you to do.”

“What is it?”

“It’s something that makes money. A business.”

“Did Mom tell you to do this?”

“No, it’s something I’m doing personally. My business partner… needs an adult representative, you see?”

“I’m not doing it.”

“You just need to lend me your name. You don’t have to do anything.”

Anria’s hand stopped. She turned her chair and looked directly at Roze.

“It’s not dangerous, right? Like a scam…”

“No matter how recklessly you live, if I scammed you, do you think Mom would just let me be?”

Anria nodded.

“That’s true.”

“No matter how much I earn from a scam, it’s nothing compared to the money I can make because I’m Mom’s daughter. There’s no need to doubt.”

“When you put it that way, it does sound safe… Tell me more specifically. What kind of business is it?”

“Well-“

Roze smiled faintly.

“It’s about selling artifacts to academy parents to help their kids pass the expulsion test?”

Anria’s eyes were filled with doubt.
****
Roze had many friends.

The appearance of a noble young lady, and in contrast, a somewhat easygoing personality. An always diligent attitude, and a rational mind that was kind to everyone.

All the students couldn’t help but admire her. There were always many people around her, and Roze could hear many stories from them.

“…Excuse me. Can we talk for a moment?”

“R-Roze? Why are you suddenly talking to me?”

Figuring out which students were at risk of expulsion was an easy task for her.

“There’s a way to pass the expulsion test.”

“What is it?”

“It’s taking a marksmanship test. In the process… you use an artifact.”

“What artifact?”

“That’s a secret for now. But… it’s a bit expensive. I think you’ll have to bring your parents, you see?”

Gaining the other person’s trust and persuading them with words was also incredibly easy.

“Oh, any amount is fine! I’ll do it! But… can I really trust this?”

“Of course. Haven’t you heard that Yuhwa passed the test?”

“Ah… Ah! I heard that she skipped class every day, and that her practical training with the hunters was a mess-“

“She hasn’t been expelled yet, has she? Yuhwa passed the test with marksmanship. Using the artifact I’m talking about.”

Moreover, there was already one successful case in this school.

“There’s another expulsion test next month, right? I thought you might be at risk.”

“But why are you telling me this-“

“Just. It’s a shame when someone you know gets expelled. I honestly think someone like you… could be a hunter.”

“Y-Yeah! Honestly, with my martial arts skills, I’m better than most hunters-“

Roze laughed inwardly.

‘It’s too easy.’

Celebrating the success of the business.