Kada.
A crisp sound rang out from beneath the counter.
He must have activated some sort of mechanism. At this moment, the shopkeeper was watching her warily.
This was precisely the reaction Yukari needed most. It seemed he was very afraid of anyone finding out about that thing’s existence.
Since that was the case, the next steps were clear.
“Who I am isn’t important.” Yukari leaned forward slightly, her deliberately slowed tone carrying an undeniable pressure. “What matters most is, Manager Brol, you must be in quite a bind right now, aren’t you.”
Upon hearing this, Brol’s expression changed. His hands remained beneath the counter, as if he was still operating the mechanism.
What would happen if he triggered it? Would it kill her on the spot?
Although in this chaotic underground black market, deaths were nothing out of the ordinary, even so, someone dying would still cause a commotion.
Since he cared so much about hiding that thing, he certainly wouldn’t want to cause a disturbance that would draw attention. So Yukari was certain—even if the mechanism was activated, it would likely just eject her.
With no threat to her life, there was nothing to fear.
“Something tainted by the Abyss… I don’t know what you’re doing. But you—let me warn you one last time. If you’re looking for trouble, you’ve picked the wrong person.”
“Whether I’m looking for trouble or not, Manager Brol, you know best.”
“I don’t have time to stand around chatting with you. Get out. Now.”
Brol issued his order to leave, but Yukari before him still didn’t budge an inch.
“What, do you really have to taste some hardship? You’re asking for this!”
“It’s hard to keep hidden, isn’t it? How much longer do you think you can conceal that thing?”
“!”
Brol’s expression instantly became ugly, and his hands faltered for a moment.
He tried to see through the mask to Yukari’s face, to determine her identity, but not only was her voice impossible to distinguish as male or female, the mask itself made seeing her face out of the question.
“After all, that’s an item contaminated by the Abyss. If someone up top discovers you’re secretly hiding something connected to the Abyss, Manager Brol, tell me—what do you think will happen?”
“You! Are you threatening me? Mere words—just because you say I have it, you think I do?”
Brol’s expression turned dark, a vicious gleam flashing in his eyes.
“Whether you have it or not, you know the answer yourself. But don’t worry, I’m not here to report you, nor to cause a conflict.”
“Words are wind.”
Brol’s hostility didn’t diminish. “Why should I trust you?”
“Because the two of us are still standing here, talking peacefully. You wouldn’t want any noise here attracting attention from the others, would you?”
This line seemed to strike right at Brol’s deepest concern. He fell silent, and the viciousness in his eyes faded.
It seemed they could still negotiate.
“I want to know,” Brol fixed his gaze on Yukari, “how did you learn of that thing’s existence?”
“I smelled it.”
“Impossible!”
Brol immediately denied it as soon as she spoke.
“That’s absolutely impossible, I—”
“That’s the scent of the Abyss. You don’t really believe some shielding magic could perfectly conceal its aura, do you?
Even if it’s only been tainted by the Abyss, the released aura still carries the Abyss’s corrosive nature.
No matter what magic you use or what you hide it in, everything will be eroded by the Abyss’s aura. So, tell me—how much longer can you really hide it?”
Brol’s face was shocked at first, then panic swept over his features.
Of course, all of that was a lie—simple pressure Yukari fabricated.
Normally, with shielding magic in place, it would be impossible to detect the Abyss’s aura. But Yukari had a little evil god by her side. Ordinary shielding magic could never deceive that little evil god.
What Yukari needed to do was transfer the little evil god’s perceptions onto herself, making Brol think she was the one who sensed the Abyss’s aura. This way, regardless of whether Brol actually understood, it would shake him up inside.
Once shaken, he would begin doubting himself.
Besides Yukari, were there others who had also detected the Abyss’s aura?
If others hadn’t come forward, perhaps they wanted to use this to curry favor with the higher-ups, or maybe they were waiting for a better opportunity to blackmail him.
Once he started thinking like this, there would be no end to his paranoia.
Sure enough, not long after, fine beads of sweat began to seep from Brol’s forehead.
Soaked in sweat, aren’t you.
“Since you’ve come all this way to tell me this, I suppose you’re not just here to give me a friendly warning, are you?”
“Of course not. But to keep holding on to that thing—Manager, are you perhaps a collector at heart?”
Imitating Iris’s tone, she teased, and immediately saw Brol roll his eyes.
“I’d have to be tired of living to keep that thing as a trophy.”
“Looks like buyers are hard to come by.” Yukari chuckled lightly. “After all, this is a genuine, capital offense contraband. The ones who need it will only use special channels to avoid exposure.
Getting connected is not easy.”
Yukari was betting that, since she’d last left the black market, in over a week’s time, Brol hadn’t had a reason to keep it. The only reason he still had it was that he couldn’t find a way to offload it—it was stuck in his hands.
Keeping such a hot potato on hand would only make him anxious, desperate to get rid of it.
Now, with someone proactively offering to take the hot potato off his hands, surely he wouldn’t be able to resist letting it go.
When you’ve got nothing in your pockets, applying pressure like this is the best strategy. Push hard enough, and he’ll be eager to dump the hot potato.
Even if the deal falls through, as long as it’s out of her hands, it’s fine.
For the penniless Yukari, this was without doubt the best option. She had to keep pressing Brol.
In other words, she was hoping for a freebie.
After a brief, suffocating silence, Brol seemed to relax a bit, his tense posture easing as his hands came up from under the counter. It looked like her words had gotten through.
“Pardon my asking, but are you representing someone?”
He wanted to know her connections. If she said yes, it meant she had a channel—she’d come to cooperate.
Unfortunately for him, Yukari had no such channel.
She was here to see if she could get it for free, so there was no way she’d talk about cooperation.
“No.”
When she finished speaking, Brol seemed to understand something.
“So, you’re here for yourself. Since you know how dangerous that thing is, then tell me—why do you need it?”
“To make a bomb.”
Brol’s expression shifted slightly. “Using the Abyss’s power to make a bomb to fight the Abyss? Or…”
A wild thought suddenly flashed through his mind, so wild he wore a stunned expression.
“A mad idea indeed. Well then, please, follow me.”
With that, Brol led Yukari into that hidden room, then took out a box enchanted with shielding magic. The moment it opened, the Abyss’s aura rushed out.
Inside was a white Abyssal Crystal, lying quietly in the box.