## Chapter 26 – Making Cash
“The sun is rising.”
“It is. Another day here begins.”
We fell into this other world.
It’s been several days since the disappearance of the heirs of conglomerates, an event that shook the entire world.
In all that time, we haven’t heard a single airplane.
Our radio transmissions are dead, and our distress signals haven’t received any response.
The sun and moon in the sky are the same as Earth’s, but the stars are subtly different.
I haven’t seen the Big Dipper once here.
Of course, I’m no expert, so if you asked, “Is the Big Dipper really not there?” I wouldn’t have an answer.
But—
*Swish, swish.*
Seeing this [Danger Sense] flashing reddish warnings, I can at least say that the world I live in has changed.
“Snakes will start coming out soon, so let’s walk away from the bushes.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Okay, Woojin.”
The two women following me are proof of that as well.
“So, where are we headed, Master?”
A cool morning breeze tickled my hair. Feeling a slight fatigue and a bit of excitement, I gazed at the endless coastline.
In truth, there is no destination. Only steps to achieve a goal.
“The center of the island. Let’s climb to a high place.”
“Okay! That’ll be quite a walk!”
Kim Yeonju started walking again. Our homeroom teacher also walked, gesturing for me to follow quickly.
I stared for a moment at where we were headed, then started walking.
It’s still a chilly spring. We, who had just graduated and become adults, were on our graduation trip abroad when we crash-landed, ending up in this other world.
And my life was undergoing a dramatic change.
***
*Hoo.*
I exhaled, glaring at the white sandy beach that was starting to heat up.
‘Have we been walking for about three hours? I’m sure they said there’s a cliff with a waterfall about seven hours away.’
We were walking along the coast.
Our goal is the center of the island, a mountain that bulges like a hill.
I figured if we climbed up there, we could see everything on the island at a glance, so I made it our destination.
And since we’re heading in the same direction, I thought we could check on how the others we split from yesterday are doing.
*Crunch. Crunch.*
We continued our monotonous activity for a while.
Moving and resting, then moving and resting again.
Then, when the sun rose high and it became too difficult to walk, we settled down at the edge of the bushes.
We plopped down under a leaning coconut tree by the sea.
“Haa.”
I looked disapprovingly at the twins, who were lying on the ground, fast asleep.
“Hey, everything else is fine, but please try not to drool on my shoulder.”
How deeply do you have to sleep to drool?
What I dislike even more is that they only do that when they’re on my back.
I even tried switching with Kim Yeonju in the middle, but they didn’t do that at all when they were on Kim Yeonju’s back.
When they’re on Kim Yeonju’s back, they rub their eyes, yawn, and doze off, but the moment they get on my back, they lean their chin and start snoring.
“Isn’t it because Master’s back is comfortable?”
…Is there a reason why only my back would be comfortable?
I looked at the damp shoulder of my shirt with a displeased expression and took out a new bottle of water from the shop window.
“But it’s really amazing. How do you do that?”
“I don’t know. It just started happening at some point.”
Kim Yeonju, who has been by my side, couldn’t possibly not notice what I’m doing unless she’s a complete idiot.
It’s not just once or twice, water keeps popping out, so it would be weirder if she didn’t suspect anything.
‘The homeroom teacher seems curious but just quietly keeps her mouth shut.’
Even if the homeroom teacher seems clueless, she’s not stupid.
She just knows when to keep her mouth shut and when it’s okay to ask.
Anyway, at first, I thought about hiding my abilities, but after weighing the pros and cons, I decided not to hide them.
Hiding them would only be inconvenient, and I thought that if I kept repeating the act of hiding something, the trust the two of them have in me might crumble.
‘Unlike the others, these two are definitely on my side.’
Even if they tried to turn their backs on me in the middle, it wouldn’t be easy. At least not for modern people who have lived through the 21st century.
“But do you know what, Master?”
“Yeah?”
“This plastic bottle, you know? Once you drink all the water, it disappears at some point.”
“Really?”
I didn’t know that.
“When I was trapped in the control room, I couldn’t go outside, so I was looking for something to use as a toilet, but it disappeared right before my eyes?”
It’s a truly amazing thing.
Did I buy only the contents inside, not the plastic bottle?
Kim Yeonju drank the water and cheered with joy.
“Kyaa! This is it! I’m glad I became Master’s. Praise my past self!”
As the cool water went down, my body, which had been heated by the scorching sun, cooled down quickly.
The slight annoyance that had been rising also subsided, and my stiff head started working again.
I opened the status window.
[Remaining Points: 9]
After completing today’s daily quest and buying water several times yesterday and today, I currently have 9 points left.
‘I spent quite a bit last night.’
Of course, it wasn’t exactly a waste considering I scolded science and deflowered a bride-to-be, but people always regret things one way or another after they happen.
I smacked my lips and moved to the quest window.
+
[Surviving on a Desert Island 4]
Description: Consume 500ml of coconut water. (0/500ml)
Reward: 4 Points
+
‘Hmm.’
This was a problem. I’ve obtained coconuts a few times, but I haven’t tasted the liquid inside even once.
“Teacher, can I have that?”
“Coconut? Here you go.”
I received one of the two coconuts the teacher was holding. I tapped it lightly.
‘It’s really hard.’
It’s at a level I can’t do anything about with my bare hands. Just in case, I gestured to Kim Yeonju.
“Yeonju.”
“Yes?”
“If you succeed in cracking this open, I’ll give you my dick right away.”
“Really?”
Kim Yeonju immediately ran to a coconut rolling around on one side. She grabbed it, licked her lips, and burned with fighting spirit. However—
“Ugh, ugh.”
The coconut was not budging.
Throwing it, stepping on it, hitting it, it was still fine.
“Ah, come on! I want to receive Master’s dick soon!”
Kim Yeonju picked up a sharp stone from somewhere and raised it. Then she mercilessly struck down.
*Whack, whack, whack!*
Still, the coconut was fine. It only had some scratches on its body.
Frustrated, Kim Yeonju hugged the coconut and rolled around, performing various wrestling techniques, but the result was the same.
In the end, our eager married stewardess collapsed on the floor, just catching her breath.
It was a clear victory for the coconut.
“Yeonju, is that how you usually eat coconuts?”
“Ugh. Of course not.”
That’s a relief. If that’s how you eat it, I wouldn’t really want to try it.
“Normally, you need a tool like a machete. So you hit this part like this to cut it off.”
Kim Yeonju showed the area to cut with a hand gesture.
“Usually, coconuts that come to Korea are already prepared, so you don’t need to do any extra work. You just press the weak part in this area with something sharp and you can eat it right away.”
Kim Yeonju threw the coconut on the ground and shook her head. She kicked it with her foot as if she was tired of it.
“But you can’t eat this. Unless you bring the logging tools the kids have.”
“Hmm.”
But I couldn’t give up here. I had to eat what’s inside to move on to the next quest.
‘What to do? Is there really no way?’
Then, suddenly, I had a thought.
Do I really need to crack it open myself?
‘Can’t I just buy it?’
***
I already knew that the shop window sold coconuts.
But what I needed to check was this.
Do they sell prepared coconuts?
‘They do!’
They sold them!
There were unprepared green coconuts, but they also sold brown coconuts with a lot of hair!
Even after looking at the product photos, the weak part of the coconut was clearly visible, just like Kim Yeonju said.
Although the price was a bit more expensive, did that matter?
I jumped up from my seat.
“Woojin?”
“Where are you going, Master?”
“To pick lilies.”
“What? In this heat?”
The sun is hot. But I found a way to complete the quest. I wanted to see the results quickly.
‘I could exchange points for cash and buy it.’
But points are useful, so I was going to save them from now on. I couldn’t keep acting like I was just using points to get by.
I looked at the shop window.
[1 Coconut]
[3% Discount!]
[1,900 won -〉 1,843 won]
About 2,000 won for one coconut.
On the other hand, one lily is….
[113g of Lily]
[Value: 2,115 won]
[Cash Payment: 211 won]
‘As expected, this was the answer.’
True to its nickname as the queen of shellfish, its value was very high.
Even after deducting 90% for fees, I still had almost 200 won left.
For just one.
‘Okay. Shall we go?’
I immediately started picking lilies like someone who had found gold on the street.
*Swish. Swish, swish.*
The lilies on the sandy beach quickly passed through my hands and into the shop window.
The cash payment amount was rising rapidly.
[1.31kg of Lilies]
[Value: 24,519 won]
[Cash Payment: 2,451 won]
This was amazing. I had already earned over 2,000 cash just by picking for a short while.
What was even more exciting was that the sandy beach was wide and there were a lot of lilies.
Everyone except me was not even touching the lilies on this wide beach.
It was like sweeping up 100 won coins on the street.
“Woojin, come back now.”
“Just a little more.”
“Master, you’ll collapse.”
It was no use even if I told them. If they were in my situation, they wouldn’t care much about the hot sun and tired body.
Looking around, it looked like a field of money.
‘By the way, do I have to put in the same kind of thing when selling?’
I tried mixing in something else, and the price dropped sharply overall.
Tricks don’t work? Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m already an expert in lily farming.
“Woojin, Yeonju and I will help you!”
“No. It’s hot, so you two should go inside. I’ll be back in a bit too.”
“B, but….”
When I said I was really okay, the teacher came and took the lilies I had picked. And she patted my pockets.
“?”
“Give me what you caught. We’ll grill them.”
It seems like they misunderstood that I was going through this trouble to get something to eat.
I took out some of the lilies I had put in the shop window and handed them over. The two of them immediately turned around and ran to the shade.
“Don’t overdo it and come back when you’re done!”
“What about the lighter?”
“I have it, Master!”
The two people who returned to the shade started digging a hole and setting up stones to make a pit for the fire.
I watched the scene with a satisfied expression.
‘Both of them are really great. It would be okay for them to just stay still because they’re tired, but they’re trying to do their part somehow.’
When each person does their part, the group runs smoothly. It doesn’t stop there, it grows and develops.
Watching the two people making a fire, I thought it was a good thing I was with them.
‘Then shall I move again?’
It’s not good to move around for a long time under the hot sun.
If you collapse from heatstroke or sunstroke, it’s very dangerous.
But—
*Swish. Swish, swish, swish.*
I’ve picked so many lilies that I can now find them even while walking quickly.
I picked only the lilies with minimal movements and threw them into the shop window.
‘One, two, three, four… seven.’
The weight is rising quickly.
The price is soaring.
‘This should be enough for now.’
I exhaled and turned back to where my group was. The two of them seemed to have just started a fire and were putting shellfish on the stones.
And in front of me, a blue hologram window flickered, asking if I wanted to sell the collected shellfish.
Offering a huge price.
[15.33kg of Lilies]
[Value: 286,928 won]
[Cash Payment: 28,692 won]
