The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 54

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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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Yeo Joo Saves the World – Episode 54

There’s a method to buying things cheapest at a large market like this.
Appeal to the human instinct of wanting to help someone without much money?
It absolutely doesn’t work.
It’s the opposite, actually.
“I’m looking to purchase some decent items if you have any.”
The way to move a market merchant’s heart is to pose as an expert.
And to seem like a business that might conduct future transactions with them.
“Where are you from?”
But this owner wasn’t easy either.
Judging by the fact that he was testing me.
“Ah, I can’t say. You already know.”
“Just checking in case.”
Like in any society, markets don’t exist only in the light, like the online Hunter Market or Maestro.
For the many wealthy non-Awakened seeking rare items, there are always people who specialize in the gray zone between legality and illegality.
It seemed I’d passed the owner’s first test.
I tapped Im Chung Soo’s shoulder as he stood tensely beside me and spoke.
“Then shall we take a look around, Im?”
“Yes? Ah, understood.”
I could see the owner’s eyes narrow slightly at Im Chung Soo’s youthful, flustered appearance.
But like a seasoned veteran accustomed to such gazes, I clasped my hands behind my back and leisurely browsed the modest shop interior.
“Still, there are some decent items here.”
While saying such things.
‘Status window.’
I tried to summon the status window toward the owner, who was now fiddling with a TV remote, but the system showed no response—he was a non-Awakened.
Then the job becomes easier.
I picked up a few items from the shop that looked reasonably decent.

[ Chef’s Plate ( F )
: Food appears delicious. ]

[ Trumpet ( E )
: The holder’s voice sounds loud. ]

[ Goblin Finger ( E )
: Grinding and consuming it temporarily increases vitality. ]

After reading the description of the last item, Im Chung Soo looked like he was about to gag.
I placed them on the counter and casually mentioned to the owner.
“Finally got some decent haul today. Thanks to that, I won’t be leaving empty-handed, boss. I’m exhausted from going all the way to Yangje and back.”
“Huh? Yangje Market?”
“Yeah, there’s nothing good there.”
The Yangje Dungeon product market had been booming over the past few years, making it a rival to this Garak Market.
“Right, that place is full of amateurs.”
As expected, the shop owner took the bait.
“They’re all con artists who got driven out from here.”
Then, looking at the items we’d selected, he spoke without even touching his calculator.
“Five million won.”
Who’s the con artist here?
As I mentioned before, everything that flows into the second-hand market has a reason.
It means they’re all useless.
I shouldn’t panic at an absurd price.
“Sure. Manager Im, take out 500,000 won.”
“No, that won’t work. Does someone dig up the earth to do business?”
“I came all the way from Yangje to here—you should cover my transportation costs, boss.”
“Fine, with transportation covered, I’ll give you 800,000 won then.”
Honestly, comparing it to the prices of items I saw in the Maestro basement, buying at 800,000 won wouldn’t be a terrible deal.
But that’s the Maestro.
This is the second-hand market.
“I’m tired. How about 600,000 won?”
“Absolutely not below 700,000 won. I’m shaking hands at 700,000 won.”
I sighed as if resigned and nodded helplessly.
“Ah, our boss is something else.”
And as if making a final offer, I added casually.
“Then 700,000 won, and throw in one of the items outside as a freebie.”

* * *

“Money-grubber.”
Im Chung Soo, who had summoned Maeng Yi again, squinted at me as he spoke.
I examined the stone statue once more before tucking it into my subspace, then shrugged.
“This money-grubber is what keeps the Justice Guild fed, you know.”
“You’re not planning to resell that, are you?”
“Oh, you’re sharp.”
I hadn’t argued with the shop owner just to make a few hundred won profit by reselling a C-rank item without even a certificate of authenticity.
Especially not an item with a description like ‘Blessing’ attached to it.
“Now, let’s put that sharp eye of yours to proper use.”
“Wow!”
As we arrived at the section where Dungeon products were displayed in earnest, Im Chung Soo’s eyes sparkled.
“Squeak squeak!”
Maeng Yi was also absorbed in sniffing around, her small eyes wide open.
“I’ve never seen this many Dungeon items in one place before!”
“This is probably the largest Dungeon product specialty market in Seoul, after all.”
Though not quite as expansive as the agricultural market right next door, it was still bustling with quite a crowd.
Unprocessed Dungeon products—excluding mana stones—were the main merchandise, and each shop seemed to specialize in their own particular field.
“Noona! The medicinal herbs are over there!”
In other words, Im Chung Soo’s specialty.
He dashed off ahead of me, his footsteps practically bouncing with excitement.
But that excitement didn’t last long.
“These shouldn’t be dried this way.”
Im Chung Soo spoke quietly, frustration evident in his tone.
“What? Don’t you like any of them?”
Even after walking the entire length of the market, we came away empty-handed.
“The preparation and storage methods are all wrong.”
Im Chung Soo whispered to me, mindful of the merchants nearby.
“But they’re all supposed to be experts, aren’t they?”
“It’s not that the items are completely unusable.”
“Sigh….”

[ s(・｀ヘ´・ ;)ゞ ]

Maeng Yi eagerly assisted from the side as well.
“See that purple flower over there? It’s called Zecari wild grass. Roasting it in a hot pan is much better than drying it.”
“Oh, really?”
“But since it’s already been dried, the effect won’t even be half of what it should be.”
Im Chung Soo’s eyes were brimming with regret—this place was relatively better than the others, but still.
The rest felt the same way.
Having come all this way, they couldn’t leave empty-handed, so they picked up a few items, but none of them seemed particularly satisfied.
Most of what they purchased were dungeon plants that had barely been processed.
“Still, once I get these home and refine them myself, they should be useful enough.”
“Im Chung Soo.”
“Yeah?”
“Write a book sometime. Something like ‘How to Properly Handle Dungeon Plants.'”
I expected Im Chung Soo to immediately complain about the trouble, but he fell silent instead.
Wondering what was wrong, I turned my head to find him raising his thick eyebrows in surprise, staring at me intently.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re unpredictable, unnie.”
Im Chung Soo and Maeng Yi shook their heads in unison.
“I thought you were possessed by a money spirit, but it seems you think about those around you quite a bit.”
“I just suggested you write a book.”
“If only I knew about it, that knowledge would be worth money.”
That’s a fair point.
But still.
“You’re ignoring royalties?”
This kid knows one thing and ignores two others.
“A properly written book can earn quite a bit.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Im Chung Soo clicked his tongue.
“I’m not sure about a whole book, but it does seem like something should be shared.”
“Ah, but giving it away for free feels wasteful.”
Still, I have no intention of stopping him.
If Im Chung Soo’s knowledge becomes known, the overall effectiveness of potions will increase further, and then hunters will be better prepared for the coming apocalypse, even if only slightly.
“For now, let’s just buy this and head back… Oh?”
Im Chung Soo’s pace suddenly quickened.
His destination was a shop located in a corner where foot traffic was noticeably sparse.
But when the shop owner saw Im Chung Soo, he simply waved his hand dismissively.
“We don’t do retail. Go somewhere else, student!”
“Hey, mister. This Zecari grass—it’s roasted, not dried, right?”
“Huh? Are you from Chungcheong Province?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh my, a fellow countryman has arrived!”
It seems Korea is all about educational ties, blood relations, and regional connections, no matter where you go.
I was contentedly watching Im Chung Soo find a shop he liked and engage in conversation that only experts could understand, when it happened.
“What the hell.”
Suddenly, goosebumps erupted across my back.
It was that murderous intent I’d felt once before in a Dungeon.
Then the air around me felt distinctly oppressive and suffocating.
“God, please no.”
I slowly turned around.
Please let it be anything but that.
But unfortunately, my premonition was correct.
Standing in the middle of the bustling market, completely out of place in his formal suit, was a man.
“Hello, Yeo Joo.”
His smiling lips were distinctly crimson.
“I’m Sa Ma Young from the Sama Guild. Shall we have a word, you and I?”
Sa Ma Young, like a flower blooming with pure poison, had come to find me.

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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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