Chapter 16: Do Me a Favor

Stepping into the shop, Yuuri’s gaze swept over the dazzling array of goods on the shelves.

Compared to the shops above ground, there were indeed far more dangerous items here.

Yuuri picked up a mana bomb, a contraband item that generated a violent explosion by instantly releasing unstable mana. Such things were rarely seen above ground and were difficult to acquire, but here in the underground black market, as long as you had money, you could buy them in bulk without any trouble.

She placed the mana bomb back in its original spot and turned her attention to the other products.

In fact, this wasn’t Yuuri’s first time visiting this shop.

The last time she’d come here, Yuuri had picked up a few items—especially several mana bombs.

They were indeed quite powerful, but unfortunately, with limited quantity and a sudden encounter with enemies in the Withered Mountain Range, she had already used them all up.

With only a few coins left on her, she simply couldn’t afford such things anymore.

As for why she’d come today, Yuuri wasn’t here to shop but rather to try her luck.

The scene from her last visit floated through her mind. At that time, as she was leaving after her purchases, she’d noticed a figure in a black robe with a slightly hunched posture making their way toward the shop.

Encountering all kinds of people in the black market was nothing strange, so Yuuri had only glanced at the person, not paying much attention. But just as the figure passed by her, Yuuri caught a trace of Abyssal aura.

No, that wasn’t right.

Yuuri had dealt with the Abyss more than a few times, and she was intimately familiar with its aura.

There was no way she could be mistaken.

The black market was a mix of all kinds of people and dangerous goods could turn up at any time, but Yuuri hadn’t expected to come across the Abyssal aura here.

Above ground, such things were taboo. The moment any Abyssal aura was detected, the Knight Order under the City Lord’s Mansion would immediately launch a search.

Who could have guessed that someone would bring such a thing to trade in the black market?

What was even more puzzling was how it had gotten past inspection at the city gates.

Thinking of this, Yuuri stopped in her tracks. She wanted to see exactly what that person had brought.

She turned around and saw the shopkeeper waving the person over, looking like he’d been waiting.

It seemed the shopkeeper knew exactly what the other had brought and was waiting for him to complete the transaction.

Once the man entered the shop, perhaps afraid of being noticed, the shopkeeper quickly pulled him into a hidden room inside.

Left with no other option, Yuuri had to double back into the shop, pretending to browse for more items while trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Before she could enter, whether by coincidence or not, a commotion broke out nearby, seeming to move in the direction of the shop.

Yuuri didn’t know what caused it, but guessed that the Abyssal aura might have leaked, and the Knight Order was coming to arrest someone.

To avoid trouble, and fearful that her identity as a Cursed One would be discovered in any search, Yuuri could only leave regretfully, missing the chance to eavesdrop.

That was the end of her recollection. Since the shop was still here and the shopkeeper was still the same person, it meant the disturbance that day probably wasn’t aimed at this shop.

The item tainted with Abyssal aura might still be inside.

Yuuri pretended to search the shelves for suitable goods, but was in fact focusing all her senses, searching for any trace of Abyssal aura within the shop.

She moved from one shelf to another, then to the shelves near the hidden room, but found nothing.

Either something was blocking the aura, or it had already been sold. The latter wasn’t good news.

As Yuuri focused her mind, continuing her search, a lazy voice came to her ear.

“It’s all a bunch of useless junk. So, Yuuri-chan, are you really interested in this pile of trash?”

She didn’t need to guess who that was. Yuuri was about to ignore her out of habit when she suddenly realized that now might be the perfect time to make use of Iris.

As she was only a projection now, nobody else could notice her. She could go anywhere she pleased. And, given her identity as an Evil God and her abilities, it shouldn’t be hard for her to find a hidden Abyssal aura. If even she couldn’t find it, then it must truly have been sold off, and it would be time to call it a day.

“Iris, do me a favor.”

“Huh? You want me to help just because you asked? Wouldn’t that make me look pretty lame?”

With that, Iris floated in front of her. “Besides, why should I help you?”

Though she said so, Iris wasn’t good at hiding her feelings. Her eyes were practically begging Yuuri to ask for her help.

“If you don’t want to, then forget it. I was going to ask you to teach me magic, but since you don’t want to help, I guess that’s that.”

“Wait…Yuuri-chan, what did you just say?”

The little Evil God tilted her head, blinking her eyes. For a moment, she wondered if she’d misheard.

Did Yuuri just say she wanted to learn magic from her?

“Yuuri-chan, are you sure?”

“If you help me, I’ll agree to learn magic with you.”

“So, what do you want me to do?”

Hmm… Yuuri had expected Iris to refuse, but she was actually easier to persuade than expected.

Was this girl really an Evil God?

She really seemed like the type who was easy to fool.

But for Yuuri, this was a good thing. Time to give Iris her task.

“There’s something tainted with Abyssal aura hidden in this shop. Find it for me. Especially in that room—it’s probably hidden in there.”

With that, Iris immediately slipped into the hidden room.

For all her snark, she was turning out to be quite useful.

As she waited, Yuuri continued to pretend she was browsing the goods on the shelves.

It wasn’t long before Iris emerged from the room.

“Found it! It’s inside a box with a shielding spell on it. With such a low-level spell, there’s no way it could fool me, hmph~”

As she spoke, the little Evil God stood with her hands on her hips, looking expectant, waiting for Yuuri to praise her.

But Yuuri walked straight past her and up to the counter.

“If you see something you like, just bring it over,” the shopkeeper reminded, seeing Yuuri approach the counter empty-handed.

“The things on the shelves are pretty dull. Don’t you have something… truly good?”

“Oh?”

At these words, Yuuri felt the shopkeeper’s gaze scrutinizing her, but with her mask on and her voice disguised to sound neutral, the shopkeeper shouldn’t be able to figure out anything.

“Something interesting, hmm? How about this?”

The shopkeeper reached under the counter and produced a wooden box. Opening it, Yuuri saw some dry grass inside, upon which lay an egg the size of a chicken egg.

“It’s a Shadow Spider egg. Just drip a bit of fresh blood on it and it’ll hatch, recognizing you as its master. Don’t go looking down on these spiders.”

Lowering his voice deliberately, the shopkeeper added, “Just one drop of its venom is enough to kill an adult. Interested?”

“Sounds interesting, but don’t you have anything better? I mean something that’s truly forbidden—the kind that would have the authorities here in no time if even a trace was leaked.”

At these words, the shopkeeper’s face changed instantly, a dangerous light appearing in his eyes.

“Customer, what do you mean by that?”

The shopkeeper’s hand moved under the counter, as if preparing something, his eyes locked onto Yuuri.

“That thing is still here, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. If you’re looking for trouble, I won’t hesitate to teach you a lesson.”

The tension spiked instantly. At this critical, sword-drawn moment, Yuuri pressed further.

“That thing—the item tainted with Abyssal aura—it’s still here, isn’t it?”

“!”

The shopkeeper’s pupils contracted sharply, his eyes flashing with undisguised shock, his composure crumbling in an instant.

“You… How do you know? Who are you?!”