Chapter 8: Blackmailing the Merchant

From the outside, Inas’s house looked like nothing more than a storage shed.

But in reality, it was unbelievably huge.

I had absolutely no knowledge of magic, so I didn’t know how it worked. Still, when I thought about those movies I watched as a kid, like Harry Potter, I could roughly understand the idea.

Anyway, fitting its scale, the living room and kitchen were enormous, and there were countless rooms whose purposes I couldn’t even guess.

‘Even the imperial castle probably doesn’t have this many rooms.’

Just counting the doors I could see from one corner of the living room, there were already more than ten.

And that wasn’t even the worst of it.

Whoever designed this place had come up with the bizarre idea of putting rooms inside other rooms. It was practically a maze. If not for the System, I would have definitely gotten lost.

Cleaning every corner of this house was impossible.

I had given up on that idea early on. Instead, I made a bold decision, just clean the places I could actually see.

We weren’t going to use every room anyway.

It made more sense to clean the areas we needed first.

“Is it good?”

“…

One of those areas was the dining room where Inas and I were eating now.

“Slow down a little. It’s not like anyone’s going to steal it.”

The joy I felt when I found a dining table in that dining room, previously buried under piles of random junk, was indescribable.

Just yesterday, we had barely cleared enough space to sit on the floor and eat.

So sitting at a table and eating like normal people felt strangely moving.

“Mr. Inas. You’re going to choke like that.”

Inas, meanwhile, seemed like he wouldn’t care even if he were eating on the side of the road.

“Seriously…”

As usual, Inas didn’t answer, but I didn’t mind.

Aside from the occasional bizarre comment, he seemed to be naturally quiet.

And when eating, he practically entered a vow of silence.

“Maybe that’s why he grew so tall… eating like that.”

When you watched him closely, he ate incredibly fast.

And the amount he ate was ridiculous.

You couldn’t really tell from his appearance… but maybe his mouth was big?

A few forkfuls were enough to empty his bowl.

So today I had piled the food up like a mountain.

Even so, our meals finished around the same time, even though my portion had been much smaller.

It had been four days now.

The cleaning still showed no signs of ending.

The dust that once looked like volcanic ash had at least downgraded to a light haze, but even now, if I inhaled wrong, it triggered a burning cough that made my eyes water.

And yet Inas had survived here without even eating proper meals.

‘It’s amazing he didn’t die…’

No matter how many times I thought about it, the only conclusion was that the heavens must have helped him.

Honestly, something in his body should have gone wrong by now.

‘But that would be a problem. He has to stay healthy.’

I pushed away the ominous thought.

Inas needed to be perfectly healthy, both physically and mentally.

Because he was the only one who could grant my request.

Even though I still hadn’t brought it up yet…

“Oh right, Mr. Inas. I meant to ask yesterday but forgot. How often do you do potion trades?”

“…”

“Do you have a standard for what you accept as payment? Have you already decided what you’ll request next?”

While I was lost in thought, it seemed Inas had finished eating.

I quickly spoke before he could stand up and disappear again.

The moment he finished eating, he tended to vanish somewhere, so if I didn’t ask now, I might lose the chance.

“How do you know about that?”

I had expected to be ignored, but he surprisingly responded.

“I just happened to find out.”

“…”

Was he curious how I knew about potion trading?

Judging by his indifferent tone, he didn’t seem very interested in the explanation.

Then why ask?

“If you haven’t decided yet… can I help handle it? I’ll be preparing the meals from now on anyway. And it seems like you usually ask for ingredients…”

“…Do that.”

Well, that actually made things easier for me too.

He didn’t seem to care at all that I was suddenly inserting myself into his business.

“No… just handle everything.”

…He was leaving it all to me?

“Excuse me?”

When I asked in disbelief, Inas replied lazily.

“I don’t need anything except food…”

His body slowly floated away.

Honestly, walking would have been faster.

“You don’t need anything?”

Did he really order nothing except food?

How could someone live without needing anything?

“…Well, I guess it makes sense. Someone who lives in a house like this wouldn’t need much.”

They say you only develop needs when you actually do things.

“Maybe this is better…”

Inas wasn’t exactly reliable.

Even if I wrote down the items I wanted, there was a high chance he’d mess it up somehow.

Imagining Inas doing something perfectly was difficult.

So if I managed the trades myself, things would probably run more smoothly.

‘Though honestly, it feels like he just handed it over because he’s too lazy.’

How could someone live like that?

If there were a perfect example of someone who simply lives because they happen to be alive, it might be Inas.

‘And this person is supposed to send me back to my world…’

I stared blankly at the place where Inas had disappeared and slapped my cheek hard to shake away the doubt.

“But his potions are definitely real.”

Stop doubting.

Inas was clearly a capable magician.

I just had to remember what the merchant said, that Inas’s potions were so high quality the trade couldn’t be abandoned.

Even if he seemed unreliable, doubting him wouldn’t help anything.

He would send me home.

That was exactly why I was playing the role of a servant- no, a housekeeper, for someone like him!

“Let’s think about tomorrow’s menu. Ingredients from this empire should be good. Since it’s the first time, something simple.”

To deliberately push away my uneasy thoughts, I decided to carry out the personal revenge I had been planning since yesterday.

It wasn’t just revenge.

After all, if the merchant worked hard to deliver ingredients, I could use them to cook something delicious for Inas.

And keeping Inas healthy, the man who would someday send me home, was a very important matter.

“System. Can you recommend some specialties from the Castia Empire? Something I can handle with my cooking skills.”

[Searching for specialties of the Castia Empire.]

“Thanks.”

A crooked smile appeared on my face at the System’s crisp reply.

Just how far did this System’s abilities go?

Maybe it had even more functions I hadn’t discovered yet.

“System. What exactly are you?”

It helped me a lot, but sometimes I couldn’t help wondering.

Why did it exist?

What principle did it operate on?

Who created it?

Was it Allegros?

Did all the previous Heroes receive help from a System like this?

Even if they did, it couldn’t have been exactly the same. People summoned a hundred years ago wouldn’t have been familiar with notification windows like this.

And people from this world certainly wouldn’t be.

[Search for specialties completed.]

Before my curiosity could deepen further, the System finished its search.

It almost felt like it was telling me not to dig any deeper.

So I didn’t say anything else.

The System had never answered questions like that before.

And even if I thought about it forever, I probably wouldn’t find the answer.

Anyway, as long as the System stayed on my side, that was enough.

That alone was comforting.

So I set that problem aside.

“Well then… shall we make them run themselves ragged in every direction?”

It was time to focus on my personal revenge.

****

Two days later.

“BAHAHAHAHA!”

My revenge was a complete success.

“Hahaha! Ah, seriously… hahahaha! I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts…!”

It had been ages since I laughed so hard my stomach felt like it would split.

The ingredients recommended by the System had arrived exactly as requested, piled high on a cart.

And that wasn’t all.

“Hehe… did you see this? He says he’s sorry, Mr. Inas. Hahaha!”

The merchant had even sent a tear-stained letter that looked like it had been written personally.

“Wow, that feels amazing!”

Thinking about it, simply asking for specialties wouldn’t have been satisfying enough.

After all, I couldn’t see the merchant suffering with my own eyes.

Then how would I know if my revenge had succeeded?

So I changed tactics.

What kind of tactic?

Blackmail.

“I sincerely apologize for my lack of ability, haha… and for blaming it on Mr. Inas… I promise never to speak carelessly again, so please don’t say you’ll find another merchant…”

I had written a letter pretending to be Inas.

I basically threatened that since he seemed eager to end the trade with me, we could cancel the deal anytime.

“…Seongyeon, are you happy?”

Inas asked, watching me laugh endlessly.

I had assumed he wasn’t paying attention, but apparently he had been watching me the whole time.

“I am.”

“Why?”

“Why am I happy? Um…”

Because I received a proper apology?

Well… not an apology directed at me, exactly…

“He isn’t sorry.”

“…”

“He just wrote it.”

“…”

“And you’re still happy?”

Inas asked again before I could answer.

His tone was sharper than I had ever heard before.