Solo Leveling: Ragnarok - Chapter 279

Chapter 279

He’s crazy.

That guy is also completely crazy.

‘Does that guy even know the value of fruit when he speaks like this?’

Contrary to the shock the market people received, Suho was actually waiting for this moment.

‘This is perfect. I’ve already saved up quite a bit of money, so I was just about to move on to the next step.’

Rather, from Suho’s perspective, Ha Seul’s sudden appearance was something to be thankful for.

His plan to buy up as much currency as possible from the market was actually quite successful.

As expected, when competition was introduced, the reaction was much more explosive than expected.

Besides, there was still a lot of bread left over anyway.

‘So from now on, it’s time to slowly sweep up other things.’

And for Hasul, the most famous harvester in the city who happened to be there at that time, there was pl

enty of fruit, and it was much easier and simpler than mixing in with people and participating in the auction.

chuck.

In the end, at Suho’s request, Hasul took out the ‘Fruit of Alfheim’ from his pocket without saying a word and handed it to Suho.

That too… … .

Six of them.

Suho smiled broadly as he accepted the fruits that Ha-seul offered.

“Oh, my. Thank you, sir. Pick any one of them. Since there are six berries, only three strawberry cakes are allowed?”

Whoosh.

As soon as she got permission from Suho, Ha Seul quickly walked over to the stand where the cakes were displayed.

But it’s called cake, but in reality, all there was there were slices of cake.

Unfortunately, Suho had just swept up all the unsold bread from the bakery that was closing last night.

But among those pieces of cake, Hasul carefully selected the ones with the most beautiful strawberries and the best color, and began to put them in one by one.

“… … !”

Everyone in the market was shocked at the sight.

It’s a huge profit.

It’s tyranny.

And I couldn’t understand Ha-seul’s behavior of accepting that absurd request without complaint.

The fruit of Alfheim is the most precious item in this city.

No matter how much fruit the harvesters have, it is not enough to trade it for a few pieces of bread.

But, not caring about people’s reactions, Ha Seul very carefully selected the three pieces of strawberry shortcake she liked the most and carefully placed them in the plastic bag that Su Ho had handed her.

And just like when he came, he left the market without saying a word.

As Hasul disappeared, a sigh of relief spread throughout the market, a beat later.

It felt like a typhoon had come and gone.

It was evidence of how many people had been beheaded by Hasul’s scythe during that time.

Anyway, people who were relieved that Hasul had left jumped into the competition for Suho’s bread again.

But with the appearance of Ha-seul, which was thought to be just a minor incident, quite a lot has already changed.

Suho, who had been watching Hasul’s back as she left for a moment, snickered and changed the auction rules again on his own.

“Now, let me change the auction rules a little. For those of you who have run out of money, from now on, you will also be able to participate in the auction with the fruits of Alfheim.”

“…crazy!”

“Who would say that the fruit… …!”

“Of course, I don’t know when the prices will rise again.”

Towering.

Suho’s last words were decisive.

At that moment, people realized.

As long as there is bread left in Berbaguette anyway.

And as those breads get smaller and smaller.

The competition only became more and more fierce.

Extreme shortage.

But now, it is not just a price competition; the currency unit has completely changed.

Because of Hasul’s appearance.

In the end, Suho’s bakery ended up emptying the market merchants’ pockets of money and even making them take out expensive fruits themselves.

‘… … All glory goes to Hasul.’

And Suho.

“Ber.”

[Yes, Your Majesty.]

He looked in the direction where Hasul had disappeared and asked Ber softly.

“Wasn’t that guy S-class just now?”

[You saw it correctly. More than that… … .]

However, what caught Ber’s attention was not the fact that Hasul was a S-class villain, but rather the giant scythe hanging from Hasul’s shoulder.

[I felt an alien energy from that scythe earlier.]

At those words, Sirka nodded in agreement.

“I saw it too. It was definitely a weapon made from a stone. The same one that was embedded in the eyes of the high elves… .”

Is that guy the bailiff?

This is something I need to look into.

“Ber, you follow him. See what he’s doing.”

[yes.]

At Suho’s command, Ber disappeared immediately.

‘And while I’m at it… … .’

While he was at it, Suho gave separate orders to the other shadow soldiers hiding in his shadow.

Hide in the shadows of all the villains gathered in this market right now.

… … and so on.

In the paradise city that lies beneath the vast shadow of Alfheim, the shadow of the guardian gradually began to expand its territory without anyone knowing.

* * *

And a little later.

Eventually, the executives of the free market coalition gathered together.

The one who summoned them was none other than the ‘bank president.’

“Is everyone here?”

“… … .”

The bank manager’s gaze scanned the faces of the fruit merchants, whose complexions were unusually gloomy, and he clicked his tongue.

It’s absolutely pathetic.

Guys who were always confident and proud suddenly became like this overnight.

“… … Berbaguette.”

Ouch.

At those words, all the executives’ bodies flinched simultaneously.

Looking at those reactions, the bank manager sighed softly and said.

“Does this make sense? The city’s economy is being shaken because of a single bakery?”

“… … .”

Even though it was said that a ‘bakery’, which is hard to find in this land, appeared, it was absurd to say that the city’s economy would be in danger because of an incident of this magnitude.

But that actually happened.

because….

“… … Later, another container popped out.”

Yes, that’s right.

As it turned out, the newbie had not one, but two ‘bakeries’.

After the market traders had already spent a considerable amount of money to buy the bread from the first container he took out.

When he suddenly summoned a second container, everyone there couldn’t help but start a fight.

“… … I don’t know what kind of skill that is though.”

What should I call this container summoner… … .

But the problem at hand wasn’t his title or his skills.

“That newbie blew up so much money in one day.”

“And then he just disappeared without spending a single penny of that money.”

Yes, that’s right.

That was the problem from the beginning.

It wasn’t a problem at all for someone to make a lot of money in the market.

That’s what the market exists for in the first place.

But if he just earns that money and doesn’t spend it, but just holds on to it, it becomes a huge problem.

In fact, the city’s economy was maintained not by money but by ‘debt’.

No matter how much the debtors want to repay the debt, if they don’t have the money themselves, the in terest will just keep increasing.

And in the end, when you can’t repay your debt and the lenders burst your head with the debt, that’s the outcome that no one wants.

Even the banks didn’t want that.

If all the lenders go bankrupt, the bank will eventually collapse as well.

“… … If things continue this way, the circulation of currency in the city will be severely reduced within a few days, causing major disruptions in transactions. As you all know, the amount of currency in circulation in our city is extremely limited, and if that much money is tied up in one place, there will be a shortage of currency needed for other people’s transactions, which will inevitably lead to a reduction in market transactions.”

Everyone nodded their heads at the bank president’s lengthy speech.

Because the market size of this city is small, it is bound to be more sensitive to such changes.

“And when transactions decrease due to a shortage of money, prices also… … .”

Mr. Park, the fruit merchant, finally opened his mouth as he could no longer endure the boring sermon that seemed to never end.

“Mr. Banker, do you really need to worry about that already? If you wait a little bit, won’t that rookie eventually spend the money?”

“What year was it?”

The bank manager looked at him with sharp eyes and asked back.

“When would that rookie spend all that money on his own? No, would he even need anything in the first place? After all, he’s already earned a lot of fruit, so what else do he need?”

“… … .”

Yes, that’s right.

In fact, everyone knew.

In any case, what people need to live is ‘food, clothing, and shelter’.

Here, ‘of’ means armor.

Not clothes to adorn yourself, but armor to keep you safe.

And because of the special nature of North Korea, there was virtually no way to resolve this.

Unconditional self-sufficiency.

Before coming to North Korea, I had to fix the armor I was wearing myself.

Next is food.

This is usually meat or fruit.

And it meant the fruit of Alfheim.

This is precisely why things are so tangled up today.

With the sudden appearance of a bakery.

And the last third is ‘Ju’.

It was a lodging.

To begin with, the citizens of this city had no concept of ‘owning a home.’

It’s definitely monthly rent.

No, to be exact, it’s ‘Ilse’.

In a world where you never know when you might die, every hotel in the city unconditionally charges a daily accommodation fee to its guests.

“How about we tell people to charge a higher rate for accommodations just for that guy?”

For once, CEO Choi gave a good opinion.

But that was the biggest problem.

The bank president’s gaze swept over the union’s executives and asked sharply.

“Good idea. So does anyone know where he is now? What kind of accommodation is he staying at?”

“… … .”

“You said you lost track of me as soon as you sold all the bread and went out of the market?”

“… … .”

Yes, that’s right.

He disappeared last night, and he disappeared again tonight.

It’s truly unpredictable.

He is truly a ghost.

“Is it by any chance related to that container skill…?”

“Maybe he’s still hiding somewhere, sleeping in that container that was filled with bread.”

The bank manager clicked his tongue in annoyance at the words someone was mumbling in an uncertain voice.

“Then shouldn’t we find that container? From your perspective, it would be a real hit if you ran into that guy outside the market!”

“… … The Hunter’s Guild is already searching every city. We’ve even put out separate requests to the skilled ones.”

The bank manager’s words hit the nail on the head.

It’s not that that newbie wasn’t a walking treasure trove right now.

That means today, instead of all those loaves of bread, that guy’s container will be filled with shiny coins.

And since force is always possible outside the market, the first one to find and kill that guy will become the owner of that huge sum of money.

Of course… …the problem was what happened next.

Everyone knew what happened after that.

The first person to catch that guy will eventually be caught and killed by someone else.

Then the money goes to someone else, and that person gets caught by yet another person and killed……

Such endlessly repeated slaughter will take place in the city.

Literally, this is a city of villains.

Then, eventually, the money will end up in the hands of the most powerful villain, or the most powerful force, and only then will the case be concluded.

… … and the results of all of this were the worst for the city.

No, it was a disaster.

“It doesn’t matter who catches and kills the newbie anymore. The balance of the city has already begun to crumble.”

Sigh, I can’t help but sigh.

The most absurd fact of all is that all of this started in just one day, from an incident caused by just one person.

From the perspective of a bank president who has to maintain the city’s balance, it is impossible not to sigh.

“Whew. In the end, the best way is… … to get the money he has back into the market. We have to make him spend it somehow. Through the bank or some other means.”

Yes, that’s right.

This was the best the bank manager could imagine.

“None of us gathered here have any real economic knowledge or banking experience. We just created this system to survive. This economic system we created is on a precarious equilibrium that could collapse at any moment.”

“… … .”

Yes, that’s right.

In the first place, no one gathered here could have predicted the current situation.

No, actually everyone already knew.

No matter how much they try to support the city’s market economy from behind the scenes, when something like this actually happens, the real bottom is revealed.

No matter how much they pretended to be great, they were just ordinary murderers who were chased by the association and eventually fled to North Korea.

It was said that rather than discussing difficult market logic or balance, these people find it easiest to just catch someone and kill them.

“So what do you want to do in the end?”

Finally, President Choi, who could no longer bear it any longer, opened his mouth.

“What the bank manager is saying now is that we should find that guy somehow and make him spend the money. Even if it means using some drastic measures if necessary.”

“Hmm. That’s a radical method… … . That’s a really good idea, isn’t it?”

The bank manager’s eyes flashed like a snake’s as if he had been waiting for those words.

Then he looked back at the other union executives with a disgusted expression and shrugged his shoulders.

“From my perspective, this is something I could never have imagined, but is it really okay? Of course, just this once.”

The union leaders ground their teeth inwardly at that shameless expression.

‘This snake-like thing.’

‘So you were waiting for us to speak first.’

Banks and free markets never cross the line they have set.

That was the rule, and it was the secret to how the city maintained its delicate balance.

But to say that we should make an exception just this time was a statement that essentially ignored the existence of the union, regardless of the city’s crisis or anything like that.

Shh.

As the atmosphere ripened as he had hoped, the bank manager sat down with his hands clasped together and a satisfied smile on his face.

“Okay. Then, according to your opinion… … .”

That was when.

Suddenly the door opened wide and a loan shark came rushing in.

“Bank Manager! We’re in big trouble!”

“What’s going on?”

As the bank manager turned his head with an annoyed expression, the loan shark shouted urgently.

“B, B! That newbie… …!”

“No way! Did you find it?!”

At those words, everyone present was startled and jumped to their feet.

But the reply from the returning debt collector was quite surprising.

“That, that… … I looked for it, but I found it on my own feet.”

“What? Where did you come from?!”

“I’m at the bank. I came to buy some fruit.”

“… … What? Fruit?”

At that moment, the bank manager’s expression hardened upon hearing those words.

Could it be him?

The debt collector, faced with the bank manager’s fierce gaze, felt intimidated and answered awkwardly.

“Yes. Hey, hey, how much fruit can you buy from the bank with the money you have… … .”

“… … .”

Oh, I see.

He’s crazy.

The bank manager was convinced at that moment.

Ber, that guy is definitely a lunatic.

“Hey, stop it! Go and stop it right now!”

The bakery villain who appeared at the market was targeting the fruits stored in the bank this time!