Healing After Sweeping Spirits with an Almighty Skill - Chapter 59

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 59
Episode 59. Watermelon and the Merchant
Rumble-rumble-rumble…
A truck rolled into the Spirit Territory. Jang Dae-in had arrived for his third delivery.
“Now that the Special Zone is operational, we get benefits like this!”
For the Administrative Bureau, which had always needed to haul goods by cart over long distances, this was welcome news—especially since the special products from the Zone would only keep growing.
“You’ve cleared up all the troublesome issues, then?”
“Ha ha! No, no—let’s not talk about that!”
True, the Spirit Special Zone’s activation brought advantages, but not without complications; though those weren’t my concern.
[Wow! It’s huge!]
[What in the world is this thing?]
[Oh!]
[Ohhhhh!]
[Ah! I know this one! I saw it on TV! This is a two-ton truck!]
The spirits were absolutely thrilled at the sight of the truck. Watching something a hundred times their size move around was enough to make anyone giddy.
[U-uuu…!]
[Scary…!]
Though not all the spirits shared that enthusiasm. The Undines clustered behind me, trembling like leaves.
They had good reason to be frightened—something a hundred times their size, and it actually moved.
Fortunately, the Noum weren’t afraid of the truck, so they helped the workers transfer goods from the warehouse.
“The quantity has increased considerably compared to last time.”
“The Special Zone has grown much larger.”
With that expansion came a wider variety of goods to sell.
“At last, you’re selling Mithril!”
Mithril Ingots forged at the Smeltery were among them. Using Spirit Fiber as bait had worked—the Hammer and Anvil, the nation’s largest blacksmith guild, had begun cooperating with the government.
‘So we’ve finally opened a sales channel for Mithril.’
Why not have the spirits forge weapons directly from the ingots and sell those instead? For all their monstrous nature, I had no desire to put weapons that stole life in their hands.
“Three hundred sixty-one Mana Stones total. Fifty-two liters of Mana Water. Forty-five Recovery Herbs, twenty-three Mana Herbs, two hundred ten Artgar Fruits, thirty Mithril Ingots, three bolts of Spirit Fiber. And this… what did you call it?”
“Windbreak Wood.”
Another new product line, following the Mithril Ingots: trees from the Spirit Forest.
“Twenty of them are immune to Cutting Wind. I’ve said it before, but the Spirit Special Zone is truly a national treasure.”
“I agree entirely.”
“Ha ha! Always so modest!”
The workers and Noum finished loading everything and completed the paperwork.
Before leaving the Zone, Jang Dae-in set down a heavy box in front of me. I opened the lid and found an unexpected gift inside.
“Watermelons! They’re in season right now, so these are perfectly ripe!”
It seemed summer had already arrived outside the Gate. Staying here had made me lose track of the seasons.
“Watermelons, then.”
My mouth was already watering.
“Ah, and regarding the festival matter… it looks like it’s going to be difficult.”
Jang Dae-in scratched the back of his head apologetically.
The Lord Inauguration Ceremony—the final condition from my agreement.
I had planned to hold my inauguration as a grand festival spanning the entire Spirit Territory and parts of the Waystation.
“Are you saying it’s impossible?”
“Not impossible. The Grand Lord’s side has agreed to it. But the Merchant Guild’s conditions are proving a bit demanding.”
“The Merchant Guild?”
“Specifically, the Exit 6 Merchant Guild. They’re an organization of merchants operating near the Waystation’s Exit 6.”
I hadn’t expected the merchants to raise objections.
“If the festival happens, the merchants should benefit the most.”
I had planned to let the spirits loose in the merchant district.
Given how popular they’d been online, visitors coming to see the spirits would be plentiful, and plenty of tourist spending would flow into the shops.
“You’re absolutely right—a hundred times right. But human greed has a way of becoming excessive sometimes.”
Ah.
I understood the situation now.
“So they’re asking for more, then.”
“Ha ha. Something like that.”
“We’re spending money to hold the festival while they’re making money, and they want more on top of that?”
“I apologize. Our Bureau will negotiate with them, so the festival schedule can proceed as planned….”
“No. It’s fine.”
I’d extended my hand first in mutual cooperation, and I had no intention of accommodating those who thought only of one-sided extraction.
“I’ll take care of it myself.”
I’d been thinking Exit 6 was a bit far from the laundry anyway.
* * *
The Waystation is a building created through an individual’s skill called the Grand Lord.
Every shop, guild house, residence, and room in the Waystation belongs to the Grand Lord who owns it, and this ownership is recognized by the government itself.
But that didn’t mean the Grand Lord was a dictator who could do whatever he pleased with everything in the Waystation.
If that were the case, merchant coalitions and districts formed by specific guilds would never have come into being.
“I heard that Jeong Ryong is absurdly wealthy. They say he makes tens of billions a month.”
The Exit 6 Merchant Guild.
A merchant organization formed by shop owners who operated businesses in Exit 6 of the Waystation.
“Holding a festival as an individual—how nouveau riche. Just goes to show that easy money is spent just as easily.”
“Well, where he spends his own money is his own business. The real issue is something else.”
“The young man doesn’t understand manners.”
The guild chairman tapped his protruding belly and clicked his tongue.
“He dares use Exit 6 as a stage for his personal festival without showing his face even once. No merchant ethics whatsoever.”
“Quite right. When there’s something good to happen, you’re supposed to visit the neighborhood elders, offer your respects, give gifts—that’s how it’s done.”
When the festival opened, Exit 6 Merchant Guild would reap the greatest benefits.
But from their perspective, there was more money to be squeezed out. After all, Exit 6 was their territory.
“In a sense, we’re giving this young upstart a life lesson.”
“And we’re collecting a small education fee for our trouble.”
“Since we’ll be seeing each other for a long time, let’s not overdo it.”
“Absolutely right. We can keep bleeding him gradually. Aha ha ha!”
That’s when it happened.
“Chairman, Chairman!”
A merchant burst through the door in a panic.
“Now’s not the time—the Spirit Fortress! The Spirit Fortress…!”
At the frantic cry, the chairman and the other merchants hurried outside toward Exit 6. Over the past few days, the Spirit Fortress had become the landmark of Exit 6, squatting just beyond the exit.
The sheer number of customers who made the trip just to see it had been extraordinary.
“Wait, where did it…?”
The area outside Exit 6 was empty. Only the Cutting Wind continued to howl as it always did.
Staring at the desolate, vacant space, one of the merchants pointed at something.
“There! There it is!”
In the direction the merchant pointed, something massive was slowly moving away.
It had four legs and three horns, resembling an enormous turtle—the Spirit Territory.
Boom, boom—!
…….
…….
…….
…….
The merchants could only watch helplessly as the Spirit Territory receded into the distance, like a dog that had been chasing chickens.
* * *
I ordered the Spirit Territory to move from the Command Bridge.
Toward Exit 5, one of the ten exits arranged in a circle around the Waystation.
“What are you planning?”
Jeong Jin asked as I returned to the surface.
“No matter where we go, the merchants’ stance won’t change. Merchants always eye the maximum profit.”
He was right.
And I had no intention of complaining about that aspect. In a way, I could be called half-merchant myself. We all simply do our best from where we stand.
“But merchants will accept losses sometimes.”
“When?”
“When it looks like some other merchant is going to make a lot of money.”
So I, too, was doing my best to cut expenses.
Boom—.
The Spirit Territory arrived in front of Exit 5.
Whether word of my move had spread, several people had gathered at Exit 5, and among them were clearly shop owners of this district.
Crunch, crunch—.
The Spirit Territory settled into a crouch, and I stood atop it, calling down to those below.
“You there, shop owner!”
“Huh? Me?”
A middle-aged woman looked up at me with startled eyes at my call.
“What will the Exit 5 Merchant Guild do for me if I stay here?”
“I’m sorry?”
“I’m about to throw a festival on my own dime, and people are going to flood in again—so what exactly are you going to do for me?”
The mere fact that my territory was nearby sent the commercial district’s sales soaring.
The foot traffic at the Exit 6 shopping district had swelled more than fourfold in just these past few days—and no matter how modestly I put it, that was entirely my doing.
‘Why would non-Awakened ordinary people come to the Waystation?’
The massive shopping malls were scattered across Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, well beyond the Gate.
And yet the Waystation’s shopping district always drew crowds while others languished—why?
‘Because it’s an extraordinary place.’
Though they couldn’t sense it themselves, it was a world where Mana existed. A place where Skills made food and crafted products. A place with a specialness that nowhere else could offer.
If that were true, then wouldn’t people naturally flock to an even more extraordinary location within that extraordinary place?
Say, a café or restaurant where you could find a Spirit Territory the size of a house walking around if you just turned your head?
“W-wait!”
“Okay, time out!”
I set the Spirit Territory in motion again, pulling it along.
The Exit 5 Merchant Guild executives who appeared too late scrambled after me, waving and gesturing, but the Spirit Territory didn’t so much as turn its feet.
‘Speed is everything.’
I had to move faster than they could even twitch their fingers on an abacus.
“Good day to you—I’m the chairman of the Exit 4 Merchant Guild!”
The guild chairman himself had come out to meet me at Exit 4.
“We of Exit 4 will establish a rest area where the spirits can relax in comfort! We’ll create a rest area with unlimited snacks and send people regularly to maintain it!”
“What are you talking about? They rest better here than anywhere else! Don’t you dare use my companions as bait for customers and then try to play the benefactor!”
Next came Exit 3.
“Our Exit 3 shopping district was built by poor merchants who were left behind by Exits 1 and 2 in the early days of the Waystation, and just recently, a candidate for Seoul mayor even visited….”
“Are you running for office somewhere?”
“Exit 3 has considerable influence even in political circles. If you’re thinking of playing in bigger waters down the line, Exit 3 would truly be the finest choice….”
“I’ve already spent more than enough time mortgaging my future to pay for my present! We’re in a hurry to get to Exit 2!”
Exit 2.
“We will cooperate with whatever you desire!”
“Unlimited cooperation, you say?”
“W-well, unlimited might be a bit of a stretch….”
“So what exactly are you planning to cooperate with?”
“To work out the specific terms of cooperation, perhaps we could step inside for a moment—”
“Okay, goodbye!”
And it was only when I reached Exit 1 that I got the reaction I wanted.
“The Exit 1 Merchant Guild will cooperate unconditionally with Jeong Ryong!”
The Exit 1 Merchant Guild was already on their knees waiting for me. Seeing the fierce, burning eagerness in their eyes—the absolute determination not to let me slip away—I nodded with satisfaction.
“This is it.”
The Spirit Territory, which had circled half the Waystation, settled down once more outside Exit 1.
From now on, this place was our new home.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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