Chapter 214 – #47_보호(4)
#212
1.
It was dusk, with the sun slowly setting.
They entered the rendezvous point.
Shiwoo was taken aback.
Was it because they had entered so secretly? Or was it because it was located in a remote corner?
Before opening the door, he had imagined a black market atmosphere or scale, like the Blue Serpent rendezvous point.
But this was more like a night market scene in Ulsan or Busan.
The interior space was much larger and more pleasant than he had expected.
“Wow, how big is this place?”
“They say it’s about 2,000 pyeong.”
A soccer field is roughly 2,200 pyeong, so it was about twice as large as Shiwoo had anticipated.
Since it was a temporary market, the basic structure consisted of tents lined up in neat rows, displaying goods.
Some shops even used entire container houses as their stores.
The ceiling, about 10 meters high, had mercury lamps hanging instead of hoists, and the presence of a ceiling made it feel like an arcade shopping street.
In short, it felt much more modern than Border Town.
“It’s much bigger than I thought? And there are quite a few people. I didn’t see anyone when we came in.”
“Well, the rendezvous point opens sporadically… so when it does, witches from all over come to visit.”
Hearing that, Shiwoo looked around and saw witches scattered throughout the rendezvous point.
Most of them were dressed in modern clothes, but it was easy to tell who they were.
If you saw a woman with an unrealistically good figure and looks, like a world-class actress, she was definitely a witch.
Sharon, standing right next to Shiwoo, was a prime example.
Even so, the number of witches he could see at a glance was only about ten.
Even if he considered all the unseen spaces, it didn’t seem like there would be more than 50.
“First, we’ll slowly look through the list of things we need to buy today. Don’t get lost while looking around, and stick close.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not a kid.”
“Still, what if another witch suddenly offers you something good and you follow her?”
“Am I a child?”
Sharon chuckled and teased Shiwoo.
The two of them began to search for items, weaving through the rows of stalls.
All sorts of strange items were gathered there.
The quantity and variety of goods were incomparable to the small magic tool shops he had often visited in Tarot Town.
The quality was probably much higher as well.
Sharon stopped at a tent that dealt with jewelry.
The merchant, who had been sitting quietly without soliciting customers, greeted Sharon and Shiwoo with a relaxed voice as they approached.
“Welcome! Beautiful witch! And welcome to the handsome gentleman as well.”
The white-haired old man, with his stylish monocle, had the air of someone who had done this many times.
It was easy to infer that he wasn’t selling mediocre goods just by looking at the tent’s material and the display stands.
Jewels that made your eyes sparkle were displayed under the lights as if to show off.
“What kind of items are you looking for?”
“I’m looking for jewels used in elemental magic.”
“Oh ho! You’re looking for offerings! Then you’ve come to the right place. Our Ruby Atelier never disappoints customers. We handle all kinds of rare precious metals and jewels from around the world.”
He was different from the merchants who dealt with witches in Gehenna.
He had the feeling of a seasoned bartender.
He exuded confidence and composure even when dealing with a witch.
He even greeted Shiwoo, who was standing next to the witch, without batting an eye.
Sharon’s elemental magic required different ‘offerings’ depending on the element.
Naturally, the higher the quality of the offering, the more powerful the magic became, and the high-quality offerings generally meant jewels.
Throughout history, sparkling stones have always contained ancient illusions and symbols.
“Do you have anything specific in mind?”
“Could I see the Imperial Topaz first?”
Topaz, which had been praised as the stone of the sun since ancient Egypt, came in so many colors that they were impossible to count.
Among them, the reddish-orange topaz, which was traded at a much higher price than other colors, was called ‘Imperial Topaz’ and was an essential offering in fire rituals.
“Would you like to see the catalog first? Or…”
“I’d like to see the real thing and choose.”
Sharon spoke in a strict, cold tone, her face completely devoid of expression.
At first glance, she seemed like an arrogant witch who looked down on humans, but Shiwoo, who had been with Sharon for a while, knew better.
He knew that Sharon was trying her best not to be taken advantage of by the seemingly skilled merchant.
It was similar to how women put on full makeup when they go to return items.
Shiwoo also felt like he should look serious, so he held back his laughter.
“Oh, we have several in stock.”
The merchant went to the back of the tent and took out a wooden box with a luxurious red cloth lining.
Inside, various sizes of Imperial Topaz were fixed in place, sparkling and shining.
He presented them in front of a magnifying glass as if to show them off.
“Do you see? The beautiful orange color, like a well-aged whiskey, with a hint of pomegranate mixed in. They were mined from a Brazilian mine. From extraction to processing, they are undoubtedly of the highest quality.”
Sharon, who had seen and handled many jewels, could tell that the quality of the goods was not bad.
“What’s the price?”
“Well, the stones on the left, under 4 carats, are priced at 800,000 won per carat, and the ones on the right, over 10 carats, are priced at 1.6 million won per carat.”
“What? Isn’t that too expensive?”
Sharon’s eyes widened as she protested.
She was so surprised that her solemn tone was gone.
Since there were no mines in Gehenna, the jewels sold here came from the human world.
But the prices were almost the same as buying them at a jewelry store in Gehenna!
“If you recognize the true value of this beauty, it’s not an overpriced value at all. The mining of topaz has decreased recently, and the demand has increased, so the market price is high. Especially since the production of Imperial Topaz is inherently low.”
The merchant didn’t even blink as he smoothly countered Sharon’s protests.
He brought out a balance scale and weights that he had prepared and asked.
“Shall I weigh them for you?”
“….Yes, these small ones here. And this one too.”
Sharon, who was intimidated like someone who had entered a luxury department store for the first time, chose a few small stones and one slightly larger topaz.
Five topazes under 3 carats, 11.6 million won.
One topaz of 15.5 carats, 24.8 million won.
A total of 36.4 million won.
Now that she had made a lot of money, she was planning to splurge under the guise of reinvestment.
But it had been so long since she had spent such a large sum of money that her hands were trembling even when buying jewels.
The problem was that there were still many other things she needed to buy.
Shiwoo hesitated whether to offer to buy them for Sharon, who looked troubled at a glance.
It was one thing to show off with someone else’s money once or twice.
Besides, Sharon hadn’t asked him first, so he thought it would be meddling to step in.
“Please wrap those separately, and next, show me pearls, sapphires, and corals.”
“Yes, I understand.”
After choosing the offerings for the fire altar, she had to buy offerings for the water altar, wind altar, and earth altar as well.
Sharon, who had managed to buy the amount she had originally planned despite the merchant’s mesmerizing salesmanship.
“The total is 111.3 million won. Would you like to pay in gold coins?”
“I’ll, I’ll pay with my Witch Bank card…”
Sharon, who had received the neatly wrapped jewels in a jewelry box (for a fee), handed over her card.
Despite having halogen lights on the display stand, the payment method was very analog.
It was a method that was used in Korea in the 80s. They placed the card under a slip and rubbed it with carbon paper to imprint the card number.
The slip with the card number was sent to the bank, and the payment was received from the corresponding account.
Finally, Sharon signed with her witch name and walked out, carrying a box that was too light for the price of 111.3 million won.
“It’s okay, Shiwoo. I don’t regret it at all.”
“R-really…”
“Of course! I need to prepare this much to use proper magic.”
Sharon, who was trying hard to rationalize her purchase even though no one had asked, immediately headed to the tobacco shop.
If she wanted to buy regular cigarettes, she could just go to a convenience store, so there was no need to buy them here.
However, what Sharon was trying to buy was a pipe for magical rituals.
She needed to buy a new pipe because the one she had used in the fight with Della had broken.
“Welcome!”
This time, a slightly sly-looking clerk rubbed his hands together and greeted Sharon.
For the witches of Gehenna, tobacco was one of their favorite indulgences, so naturally, pipes were also high-end items.
However, if they used mass-produced products that were made carelessly, the effect as an offering would be diminished.
Sharon had felt it many times, but her magnetic magic was a money-guzzling monster.
The fact that she didn’t have enough money was also why her magic had been stagnant.
“If I may say so, this pipe is a model that witches greatly favor. The pipe is made of narwhal tusk. The mouthpiece is decorated with amber, adding to its elegance. It’s an item that is hard to find. It’s one of only ten in the world, hand-crafted by the famous pipe artisan of Gehenna, Old Rond.”
In fact, the pipe was almost 30cm long and had a small combustion chamber, so it would be more accurate to call it a long pipe.
The price was 15 million won.
No matter how luxurious it was, it was an incomprehensible price.
“Should I buy this for you?”
Shiwoo, who had been looking around, couldn’t hold back any longer when he saw Sharon’s eyes widen.
He carefully asked, so as not to hurt her pride.
Sharon shook her head vigorously.
“No, the money I have is practically from you anyway. I’ve already received too much, so I don’t want to receive any more.”
“Then let’s buy one for you while I’m buying one for myself. That works, right?”
“No, I’ll buy it for you even if I do.”
“Don’t be stubborn.”
The merchant, who had been wearing a welcoming smile, had a subtle change in his expression.
Well, he probably thought it was strange to see a man talking casually to a witch, and a man asking a witch, “Should I buy this for you?”
Especially since the two of them looked like a bickering couple.
“I’m not being stubborn! I’ll take care of it, so wait. Do you have any tobacco leaves? For rituals.”
Sharon finally shook off Shiwoo and asked the merchant.
The merchant, who was momentarily flustered by the unfamiliar scene, soon regained his composure and asked.
“Ah, yes, yes. Here they are. Would you like tobacco leaves with various scents? The popular ones these days are coffee or cherry scented…”
“No, give me the basic ones.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Since it wasn’t for enjoying the smoke, but for the act of ‘swallowing fire,’ she didn’t really need any scents.
Honestly, Sharon didn’t like tobacco.
The merchant unfolded the tobacco leaves wrapped in oil paper.
“Please touch them. They are made from tobacco leaves grown in the shade of Latifundium, nourished by high-grade magic water. They have the right amount of moisture and are excellent for replenishing magic power.”
It was about 50g, but it cost over 1 million won.
After buying the tobacco pipe and tobacco leaves, Sharon wandered around and bought a total of 400 million won worth of goods in three hours.
“It’s okay, it’s a necessary investment… a necessary investment…”
“Yeah, yeah, you bought them because you’ll use them.”
“Right? You think so too, right?”
Shiwoo quietly patted Sharon on the back as she clutched her card and muttered to herself.
He couldn’t help but laugh at the combination of pity and cuteness.
