Free Web Novel“That’s impossible. It even has the name ‘Precious Gem’ attached to it. Come on, show me your negotiation skills. They probably won’t want to sell it to an outsider, but I’ll trust you and wait.”
“Got it!”
The merchant disappeared into the back alley.
“Do you really think he can get it?” Keith asked.
“Of course. He goes around calling himself a merchant, doesn’t he? He’ll manage somehow.”
Even Ian had his doubts, but he decided to put his faith in the elf merchant.
A short while later, the merchant returned from the alley, cradling something carefully in both hands.
“I got it for 30 gold!”
Proudly, he presented a half-charred rock.
‘Are you even a merchant?’
The most Ian had ever spent to get that kind of rock was 2 gold, and even that had taken effort.
“Good... good job.”
Ian’s voice trembled.
‘Is this really worth this much time and money?’
He could not even lie to himself and call it efficient.
At least he had gotten the item he needed.
Watching the swindlers smirk from the alley behind the elf merchant, Ian raised an eyebrow.
‘Keep laughing.’
He had no intention of obediently handing over 30 gold.
Much less 90.
“When are we going to settle the price...”
“Could you appraise it first?”
“Oh, of course! [MISSING SKILL NAME]!”
The stone in the merchant’s hand began to glow.
Having someone with a high skill level nearby was convenient. This item required at least level 6 in [MISSING SKILL NAME] to reveal its true identity.
Once it was identified, the quest would officially begin.
Ding!
[Successful!]
Ding!
[Fragment of Karakus’s Volcano (F)]
A fragment from the volcano where Karakus is sealed.
Ding!
[Karakus]
A salamander-shaped demon. Intelligent, cunning, and perpetually enraged.
The necessary information appeared in quick succession.
The problem plaguing the underwater city stemmed from Karakus’s rage. Every time its fury exploded, the volcano erupted along with it.
Naturally, that meant mass casualties among the merfolk.
“Karakus? A fire salamander? That doesn’t belong in an underwater city.”
“He’s sealed here. I doubt he chose to be stuck here.”
“Poor thing.”
The elf merchant expressed a surprising amount of sympathy.
“...?”
What was there to pity about an angry, imprisoned demon?
If anything, Ian thought the real object of pity was himself, since he might end up paying 90 gold for this mess.
‘Where are they?’
“Ian.”
Keith called out in a warning tone.
Ian realized the people he had been waiting for had arrived.
At the far end of the alley, the swindlers who had sold the item were frantically signaling for the elf merchant to run. They had looked uneasy ever since Ian’s group started appraising the item in the plaza, and now their faces had gone pale.
Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk!
The merfolk soldiers who had delivered the princess’s order earlier reappeared, this time in far greater numbers.
Ian’s group was surrounded by what looked like dozens of merfolk soldiers.
Keith reached for his sword, but Ian stopped him.
‘We can’t turn them into enemies.’
“We need to let them take us.”
Ian whispered into Keith’s ear.
Keith twitched, as if it tickled.
“Yes.”
“...”
Could he not react like that?
It made Ian feel strange too.
Though Keith did not seem to be doing it on purpose, which made it hard to say anything.
‘This is driving me insane...’
“The Princess’s decree!”
The merfolk soldier announced loudly.
“Humans! Her Highness gave you a chance, yet instead of leaving the city quietly, you stirred up trouble. However, in her mercy, she will hear your explanation before deciding your punishment. Follow us willingly!”
Some of the soldiers rushed into the alley and began beating the swindlers with clubs.
“We will comply gladly,” Ian answered obediently.
‘I knew this was coming.’
The elf merchant glanced at Ian in confusion, apparently baffled by his cooperation.
Ian paid him no mind.
They were led to the palace on the far side of the city.
The royal palace was grand, but the merfolk guarding it all wore somber expressions. They looked less like they were protecting a palace and more like they were standing watch over a tomb.
Ian knew why.
The city was in mourning.
The princess who ruled the palace always dressed in black, and the entire atmosphere had sunk with her.
The merfolk soldiers escorted them through endless corridors and into a large chamber.
The princess was there.
However, Ian could not see her face. A long veil hung between them, concealing her from view.
Still, the veil could not hide her entirely.
Ian could tell she was not a merfolk.
Long hair spilled gracefully over her delicate shoulders, and her long legs—or rather, her tail... her fins—moved gently, brushing against the veil.
In short, the princess was a mermaid.
This had always been one of Ian’s lingering questions about the game.
Why a mermaid?
The city’s inhabitants were all merfolk, yet only the princess was a mermaid. Wasn’t that strange?
Ian agreed that a mermaid princess was more visually appealing than a merfolk princess, but still.
What had that thoughtless game company been thinking?
Had they really prioritized aesthetics over consistency?
While Ian was busy criticizing the developers in his head, the soldiers issued a command.
“Kneel, humans! Show respect to Her Highness!”
Keith raised an eyebrow.
He clearly had no desire to show respect to a noncombatant princess who had hidden away during the war.
Ian grabbed Keith’s arm and pulled him down into a kneeling position.
Not that Ian’s strength could actually move Keith, but for some reason, Keith followed his lead, sinking to his knees as if collapsing.
“We greet Her Highness.”
“...We greet Her Highness.”
They offered their greeting, and a delicate voice answered from beyond the veil.
She sounded more nervous than the intruders themselves.
“Is it true that you traded forbidden items inside the city?”
“Yes. However, we didn’t know they were forbidden. We had come all this way and were at a loss because we couldn’t leave empty-handed. Then some merchants approached us and sold us an item for 30 gold. We bought it merely as a souvenir.”
“30 gold?”
The mermaid princess gasped.
The surrounding merfolk soldiers did not react quite as dramatically, but the way they looked at Ian’s group changed.
They no longer looked like human invaders.
They looked like gullible fools.
Being seen as fools was slightly better than being seen as invaders, so Ian nodded.
“Yes, 30 gold. We thought it must be valuable, so we had it appraised. Only then did we learn that it was a fragment connected to a demon’s wrath.”
“Well, that item is completely worthless. In this city, fragments like that are just lying around... Oh my. Why am I saying this?”
Since no one felt threatened by a group of gullible fools, the mermaid princess seemed to relax.
She even began to pity Ian.
“In any case, I called you here for a simple reason. You have committed a crime... Can I even call it a crime? Honestly, it seems more like you were scammed.”
The princess whispered to the merfolk chamberlain beside her.
The chamberlain whispered back.
“This decision is yours, Your Highness. With the king and your siblings absent, the responsibility falls to you.”
“Yes...”
The princess lowered her head, troubled.
“They’re whispering, but we can hear them. Should I point that out?” the elf merchant whispered to Ian.
“They can hear you too. Can you shut up?”
“That’s harsh. I was only being considerate.”
The elf grumbled.
Hearing their whispers, the mermaid princess flinched, and her tail fin twitched. The movement made the veil sway.
“Oh, dear. Ahem, ahem. I will now pronounce your punishment. As you may have heard, my father and siblings are absent. Therefore, there is no one here who can issue a proper punishment. Until they return, you will be imprisoned in the underground dungeon.”
Keith glanced at Ian.
His expression asked whether they truly had to accept imprisonment.
Of course not.
Once they entered that dungeon, there was no telling when they would get out. The princess was one of the most indecisive and passive characters in the entire game.
“When will His Majesty return?” Ian asked. “Do you truly believe he will?”
‘Your king went to face Karakus and died, didn’t he?’ ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
How long were they supposed to wait for a dead man to come back?
