"Guten abend![1]...Oh my, you came by yourself?"

"Hello, Pleine."

The Secret Shop's owner always greeted him in the same manner; it didn’t matter back then when he was a level 1 hero who didn't know anything, or now that he’s a level 5 hero who had realized the events in the Underground Empire aren't progressing like typical retro games.

"Is the hot chocolate good?" Lee Shin-Woo asked.

"Would you like some? Ah, I forgot you can't drink it."

Pleine was always eating or drinking something with a blissful expression whenever he entered the shop; she never failed to get under his skin! The red-haired beauty set down her cup of hot chocolate and laughed while Lee Shin-Woo ground his teeth together in annoyance.

Her tone turned serious when she said, "Last time I said I didn't think you'd be able to gather all the Perium you’d need for a good bone, but how about it? Did you gather 1.3 million Perium?"

"Of course I did."

Is it time to retaliate? Lee Shin-Woo smiled faintly, which convinced Pleine that he must have made a lot of money.

"It’s been a while since your last visit..."

"Ah, that's because I went to Goddess’s Garden in between, so I needed some time to gather more permits."

"You visited the goddess!?"

As expected, it seemed Pleine's information was indeed limited. As soon as Lee Shin-Woo told her that he had visited the Goddess’s Garden, Pleine began to bombard him with questions, and Lee Shin-Woo responded with an adequate level of detail. When he told her about how he'd asked the goddess for a quest to give the undead heroes peace, she laughed uproariously.

"You made the choice like a hero who's been underground for dozens of years!"

"I'm not actually sure if it’s a good idea, but..."

"You should be aware that there's a limit to the karma the goddess can bestow upon a human. The same is true of the Goddess’s Garden, which houses a piece of her grace only reachable by gathering permits. That's the reason she cannot give you a tremendous blessing, no matter how much she might want to."

If the goddess could bestow her power to others without limits, the curse would already be gone. The reason Lee Shin-Woo could receive a greater blessing than the other heroes was because he traded his living status for it. He had been unable to understand the trade, but now he saw the truth like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"That's true."

"What if she doesn't personally bestow that grace, but does so indirectly; and what if that blessing can only be bestowed with the receiver’s own karma serving as foundation? Naturally, there would be much less limitation. That's the reason you were able to obtain the information regarding the undead heroes scattering all over the Empire."

Lee Shin-Woo had made the request with a rough idea about what could happen. He did think getting a quest would be better than getting an item. Still, he’d stumbled upon a goldmine. He could more than live with that.

"Pleine, do you know Ethan Cruz?"

"Ah... If you're asking specifically about him, does that mean you’ve found out?"

Lee Shin-Woo wordlessly nodded, and Pleine looked lost.

"You've realized something that the other heroes have yet to realize... I can only tell you to avoid him. I haven’t been trading with him because I like him. Please understand that I can't carelessly pass on his information so long as he remains a hero."

"Is it really okay for a hero to kill another hero?"

"It's not really forbidden. Normally, heroes can't absorb other heroes' strength by killing them, and even if they could gain karma, they'll accumulate bad karma. There should be no reason to do something so foolish..."

Ethan Cruz must possess an authority that made bad karma beneficial to him, or it could be a skill. Lee Shin-Woo was satisfied with the information he got from her. Noting her troubled expression, he shrugged and went back to what he came here for.

"Anyway, I have some goods that I'd like to sell this time around."

"Goods you'd like to sell? Ah, is it food?"

Pleine knew that Lee Shin-Woo possessed an ability that allowed him to utilize most items, so she quickly made a guess with a meaningful smile.

"You must've acquired it in a dungeon, so it should be fruit or vegetables. No, is it meat? Both are fine. Most heroes need food. You'll be paid handsomely."

"How about alcohol?"

"Alcohol?"

Pleine's eyes momentarily shimmered like stars on the ceiling of a planetarium. That was what he was reminded of at least.

"Alcohol is valuable above ground as well! The unit price is higher, much higher! Please show me. How many bottles do you have!?"

"You sell goods above ground as well?"

"Oh my. I have to make a living, so I can't trade with only heroes when you lot have been bringing me nothing but depressing wares, can I? You haven't taken the alcohol out yet? What type is it? Whiskey? Rice Wine? Vodka? Ah, but wine would be the best."

Her reaction made him wonder if she would start drinking immediately once he took the wine out. Lee Shin-Woo retrieved a bottle from his inventory. Pleine's eyes definitely shimmered like stars this time.

"It's wine!"

"Please take a look."

"From Kerr Century!? There’s still a Kerr Century underground?"

"Ah, yes..."

Lee Shin-Woo had a feeling that she would take all the wine from him once he told her there was a winery still standing around. It dawned on him that the goods he’d brought weren't ordinary.

"Ah, they're not vintage. But this much wine... Mm, alright. It’s premium, so I can give you 20,000 Perium for it."

"That’s not the only bottle I have. Take a look."

"You have more!? This is from the year 381... This is a great vintage bottle! This is vintage as well! This isn't... Ah, but it's still great wine. Only novices would be overly-concerned about vintage."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, so do as you please."

Lee Shin-Woo had thought of himself as a wholesale dealer selling wine when he first entered the Secret Shop, but now it felt like he was having a sommelier examine his luxury wine.

Lee Shin-Woo took out all the bottles of wine he had, which was a little less than 50. She looked positively distressed. With the most serious expression he'd ever seen from her, she opened her mouth and told him her offer.

"I'll buy them all for a total of 1.5 million Perium."

"...That's quite a lot."

"They're that valuable. Wine requires great investment of human effort and money to create, so its karma is considerable as well. That's especially true for older wine. Moreover, there's a saying that Kerr Century's wine is so delicious that you have to bow before drinking it, even when it's the cheapest of their products."

"I see…” Lee Shin-Woo said nonchalantly. “Then I guess I’ll sell that at the same price."

"Wait a sec." Pleine's eyes glittered. Her red hair surged up as if it were aflame. "You’ll sell what? Do you have more wine?"

"Yes, I have the biggest one left."

"The biggest one!?"

Pleine's hands wriggled in an unnerving manner. Something as simple as alcohol had made her show him expressions he had never seen from her before. Lee Shin-Woo took out the alcohol she so desired without further ado. Well, he took out only one barrel for now.

"What is... Huh?"

Pleine looked vacantly at him as if asking him what was with the wood barrel when he promised more alcohol, but realization soon dawned on her.

"I already thought you'd brought me way too much, but… There’s more, isn’t there?”

"I took everything that was in the winery. I have others besides this one."

"Kyaa!"

Until now, Pleine had only moved her hands from behind the stall, maintaining her composure somewhat while keeping her head still. Now, however, she shot to her feet suddenly for the first time.

"Are you planning to drink it all yourself?" Lee Shin-Woo asked with his goblin fire eyes swaying.

"I-I can't do that. I can't... Though it would be so easy..."

Even while speaking, she instinctively reached out to him. Since he knew what she wanted, Lee Shin-Woo pushed the barrel to her, letting her touch it. Her hand shook as soon as she read the text burned into the wood.

"Kerr Century... 395..."

"..."

Pleine closed her eyes when she learned when the wine was made, her throat constricting. It shocked Lee Shin-Woo to see her struggling so hard to suppress her surging emotions.

He could understand why she felt so conflicted without even asking her. Although she hadn’t shown it, he knew she must be someone connected to the Underground Empire before its fall.

"I suppose...even then...they were still fermenting alcohol..."

The words sounded forced out of her mouth as she struggled to open her eyes. Lee Shin-Woo acted like he hadn’t noticed.

"Well, I suppose that's what happened. That was the year when everything was overflowing with life. The company had never failed with magic before, and the harvest was bountiful..."

"...Can I call you granny?"

"Do you want me to hit you, Dear Customer? Do you? Do you want to get hit?"

He teased her in an attempt to cheer her up, but ended up pissing her off. It was effective in pulling her out of her sentimental thoughts, though. She fake coughed with an 'ahem' and went back to speaking in her usual calm voice.

"Mr. Lee Shin-Woo, please pretend you didn't hear what I just said. Ah, and please remember that I'm seventeen."

"Yes, I understand."

Getting involved with a merchant who claimed to be seventeen when she clearly wasn’t would lead to no good... Lee Shin-Woo suddenly felt relieved that he was a skeleton.

"The wine's valuable on its own merit. Adding to that its historical value... That's excluding the rating as well. This alcohol is way too precious to simply exchange for Perium, so let's trade instead. I'll trade for them with whatever you wish for, Mr. Lee Shin-Woo."

"That's good. I want bones."

"I knew you would say that."

Despite the fact that the barrels had significantly lower value since they weren’t bottled, each barrel contained several dozens of liters of wine, and thus was worth at least 1 million Perium. He'd cleared out an entire winery, giving him enough to easily trade for a level 6 elite bone.

"I’ll show you the bones," said Pleine. "How many barrels do you have? I'd like to get a rough estimate, so I can give you suitable products in exchange..."

Pleine was almost radiating with joy as she rummaged under the counter. Her expression stiffened with shock when she saw Lee Shin-Woo take barrel after barrel out of his inventory.

"Wait a sec. How many barrels do you have!?"

"I think there were about 100 barrels... I counted 2,000 liters give or take."

"A total of 2,000 liters. Then that means... Eek!"

She never expected a hero to bring her something that would make her make such an embarrassing sound! Pleine let that moment pass and straightened herself, looking at the slightly flustered Lee Shin-Woo. She made him an offer.

"Mr. Lee Shin-Woo... There's an item that was stored many years ago in this shop, and none like it have ever entered the shop again since then. Would you like to see it?"

"I told you I wanted bones."

"Yes, it's a bone. It's also the best bone we have."

Could it be? Lee Shin-Woo thought, and the moment his eyes lit up... Pleine nodded to confirm his speculation.

"It's the only bone in this shop that costs 30 million... It's the bone of the level 7 elite, Giant Fenno."

1. T/N: German for good evening.