The Villain Is Destined to Die: But as the Creator, I know All Endings-Chapter 218: To Merlin Kingdom [4]

Sighting a different breed of species was a rare occasion. Although dwarfs still existed alongside other species, they were known to live separately, far away from humans.

They were the species that had served Silvermoon in the era of Calamities and helped her design most of her dungeons, including those teleportation circles. Upon serving her, they were granted her privilege and were now her followers.

Dwarfs were a race of tiny humanoid species with immense physical strength and intelligence, minds that came up with innovative ingenuity.

There were several kingdoms and dukedoms that did business with dwarves, and in return, they paid the dwarves with their demanded resources.

It was surprising for Leon to see a dwarf here. Especially in the Red Market.

TAP TAP TAP

The tiny dwarf looked up at Leon, her orange eyes almost glaring. She was tapping her finger on the wooden desk between them.

Leon couldn’t help but gaze at this little creature.

’An actual dwarf...’

It was the first time he had seen another species this close.

’Wow, she’s really tiny. Even her fingers are small. Anyone could mistake her for a literal child.’

’Haru, you are staring at her too much,’ Rumi warned him.

That knocked him out of his senses. He averted his eyes from her body and looked directly at her face.

"Are you done staring?" the dwarf lady said. "Or do you need more time?"

It was a taunt, and Leon didn’t like the way she sounded just now.

Leon lowered his gaze to meet hers properly.

"It’s rare to see a dwarf these days," he said calmly after a pause.

It looked like it wasn’t her first time getting called a child.

He stopped wasting time and went straight to the point.

"Where is the old man? I have some business with him."

The dwarf lady replied with a rather annoyed voice.

"Ugh, did he have a fight again...?" She looked at Leon, "Look here, mister, I don’t know what he did, but I would request you to take it outside my shop. This shop now belongs to me."

’Her shop?’ Leon’s brows perked.

The shop [Chiba General Store] was a niche but an important item shop that had provided Ethan with all the items he wished to acquire throughout the game. And this shop always belonged to Chiba, the real owner of this shop.

Not like a change of ownership would matter anything. And Leon didn’t have the time, nor the luxury, to get bothered by it.

"This store still sells all the items, right?"

She nodded.

"That is true." She nodded, then scanned Leon from head to toe.

From her perspective, Leon would probably be looking rich. But because he was in the Red Market, that means he must be a VIP.

Only a selected high-ranking noble was issued a VIP card.

That means, the person in front of him was of their status, or was someone working for a noble house.

A smile appeared on her face. In an instant, the earlier annoyance on her face vanished.

"What are you looking for, dear customer?"

"A Dimension House."

The dwarf almost stood up from her spot.

"You mean those small houses which shrink down to tiny cubes? Those things sell for millions!"

’What the hell? Does she really own this place?’

Seeing her this surprised made Leon almost question her authenticity. But he suppressed his curiosity.

"Yeah. Do you have it or not?" Leon glanced down and faked looking at his pocket watch. "Say it if you don’t have one, else I’ll look out somewhere—"

"I have them!" She stood up, "Wait here, I will get it for you."

She stepped outside her counter and went to the other room.

Seeing her this clumsy, Leon already guessed what was happening.

’She bought this place, huh...’

A sudden plan erupted in his mind. He let Rumi examine it before applying it.

’This will work.’ Rumi approved, ’the fact that she’s new to this business would be to your benefit... but still, for a long-term relationship, I would suggest you be a little lenient on her.’

’Don’t worry about leniency, I got this.’ He assured her.

Leon adjusted his glasses and looked at the room she had gone into. The sound of something falling came from the inside.

"Oww... that hurts~ Ahh! Found it!"

Soon after, the dwarf girl with pink hair came out, holding three stacks of metallic boxes.

She walked to the table and placed each of the boxes on it.

"Let’s see..." she scratched her head and traced her fingers over one of the boxes. "How do I open it... Ah, here?"

Leon helped her. "Tap three times on the top."

"Hm?" She glanced up, then back at the box. "Like this—"

Tap. Tap. Tap

Click–!

"Oh!"

The metallic box opened up.

Inside it, a palm-sized cube was kept. There were several pores on them. From the outside, it looked like a piece of a metallic cube, but the real magic was inside the cube.

She opened the other two boxes as well and lined the cubes on the table.

"This one is... um, I think it can fit 2 people." She pointed to one cube. "This is only one person, and this here can fit four people."

One can find the capacity by the patterns drawn on the surface.

Leon adjusted his glasses and used his [Analysis] to verify the items.

’Hm...?’ When the holographic window popped up, Leon noticed the difference between all the cubes.

’I knew it.’ Leon looked back at the dwarf. ’She really is a newbie at this.’

"How much for this one?" He pointed at the cube placed to the right. It was a cube with the capacity of holding four people.

"Ermm..." The dwarf scratched her head again, and by doing so, she picked up the box to look for a price tag.

Leon almost grinned.

"It’s not here..." she muttered. "Just hold on for a second."

She took out a thick, dusty register from a rack. Flipping the pages, she started searching.

It was clear that she was struggling.

Leon took out his pocket watch again and let out a quiet sigh.

"You’re taking too much time," he said flatly. "I’ll look somewhere else."

He turned halfway, as if genuinely done.

"W–wait!" her voice hurriedly called out. "Hang on! I’m looking for the price, just give me a second, I’ll find it—"

Leon stopped. Then he turned back slowly.

"This is your shop," he said, his voice sounding almost bored. "And you don’t know the price of your own goods?"

"Do you really own this place?" He added.

The dwarf clenched the register in her hands. She didn’t answer.

"The old man was faster," he added casually. "Too bad this shop got sold."

Her eyes twitched.

It was subtle, but he caught it.

She straightened abruptly.

"Four million," she blurted out. "That one costs four million."

"Deal." Leon didn’t hesitate.

"...Huh?"

She blinked, clearly unprepared for that response. She had expected a bit of bargaining or a bit of hesitation. Because four million was a huge sum of money.

Leon was already pulling out his black card.

"I’m in a hurry," he said, placing it on the counter. "Send the bill later to the registered name. You can collect the payment through the casino above. They’ll handle the rest of the process."

He said it like this was standard procedure, as if he was well familiar with this, and had done it hundreds of times before.

She stared at the card.

"...Den Cooper?" she muttered, reading the name engraved on it.

She quickly noted the details down, her earlier irritation completely gone.

"Here," she said, pushing the metallic box toward him.

Leon picked it up. He turned and walked toward the exit.

Just before opening the door, he paused.

He glanced back at her.

"Pleasant doing business with you."

Jingle ♫

The door closed behind him.

— — —

Walking a bit faster than his usual pace, Leon took a sharp turn.

His hood was still pulled low, which was hiding the grin spreading across his face.

Inside his head, Rumi’s voice rang out.

’You perfectly scammed her.’

Leon didn’t deny it.

’Yeah,’ he replied casually. ’And it was fun.’

There was a short pause.

’What if she realises?’ Rumi asked.

Leon scoffed inwardly.

’She won’t. The old man never wrote down prices for items meant for auction.’

That was the key.

The Dimension House he had just bought was never meant to be sold over the counter. It was an auction-grade relic. Rare enough that even Leon hadn’t expected to see one here.

Dimension Houses were a technology inspired by one of the items of the civilisations of the Evana City.

Long ago, the dwarfs had studied Evana’s methods and successfully replicated them. But time was cruel. The craftsmen who truly understood the mechanism had died out.

So, what remained now were imperfect copies of those.

Modern Dimension Houses required the mana of people living inside of it to stabilise. So, entering them caused continuous mana drain. That was why they were rarely used and produced in small numbers.

But the one Leon had just bought was different.

It was an old model.

A genuine relic from that era.

It draws mana from nature itself; it never touches the user’s reserves.

Even a two-capacity version of this model was worth over fifty million gold. And Leon had bought a four-capacity one.

For four million.

"For that price," Leon muttered under his breath, "it’s a steal."

The dwarf girl was the current owner of the store.

She had bought it from the old man after he lost everything gambling.

Leon remembered that part clearly. It had been mentioned in the game when Ethan first met him. The old man always got scolded by Ethan for gambling, despite being unable to stop himself.

"So a dwarf bought it," Leon thought. "Interesting."

She was naive and a dwarf.

What an interesting combination to have.

It would take her months to understand the true value of the items hidden in that store.

Ethan had gotten some absurdly good equipment from that place.

Leon smiled faintly.

’Looks like I can milk this place for a while.’

Rumi sighed. ’Miss Ayaka would be upset.’

’Four million is nothing for her,’ Leon replied. ’And I plan to pay it back.’

For the next twenty minutes, Leon moved through the Red Market.

He had bought emergency rations, medicine, and a few high-grade healing potions.

Everything was stored inside his dimensional pouch, along with his remaining gold coins and two bottles of [Drop of Limitless].

Leon glanced at them briefly.

’These will come in handy.’

Once his shopping was done, he exited the Red Market and made his way out of Luvo’s Casino.

He checked the time.

’Thirty minutes left...’

His pace quickened. ’They must already be here.’

His appearance was still altered. He intended to keep it that way in public.

This will be his final destination in Shinra City.

The streets grew louder as he approached.

Laughter turned to slurred voices and heavy breathing.

A woman’s amused gasp echoed nearby.

Leon glanced sideways.

A man was pressed against a wall; he was clearly drunk, while a woman clung to him, as her arms wrapped around his neck. She looked way too comfortable when she moved her body against him.

"Hey... not here..." the man muttered, his voice weak.

"Shut up," she whispered back, breathing hot against his ear. "You like it."

No one around them cared.

Leon adjusted his hood and simply walked past them.

The hotel he had booked soon came into view.

[Charm’s Love Castle]

Just the name alone said enough.

Leon snorted quietly.

"I wonder how Ethan and Cyan will survive tonight," he muttered.

The thought almost made him laugh.