“So this is the black market… Looks like there’s no clerk.”
Iris rubbed her eyes as she looked at the mysterious items neatly arranged on waist-high display stands.
The items were sealed under transparent covers, and when she tried touching them, they didn’t budge.
Each item had a price tag in front of it, but the numbers seemed odd.
“The currency units are weird. 70, 500, 1,300, even 10,000… There’s no way I could buy something from a secret black market for just 70 won. It’s not like they’re selling lollipops… And more importantly, how do you even use these things? They need to explain what they do if they want people to buy them.”
Iris absentmindedly tapped the cover of the item on the far left, which looked like a file folder.
A holographic description appeared.
Hero Name Change Document
A document that allows you to change the hero name displayed in your status window.
Write the new name in the blank field and declare out loud that you wish to submit it, and the name will be updated accordingly.
“Totally useless. Of course it’s only 70 won… I do hate the name ‘Chastity Girl’, but no one sees it anyway. Changing it would be for my own satisfaction only.”
Disappointment showed on Iris’s face after reading the description.
So many useless items here.
Hoping the others would be better, she tapped on the cover of the next item with her finger.
Skill Fusion Potion
A potion that allows you to fuse two skills.
After consumption, you may combine two skills once.
“Oh? This one’s actually decent. Let’s check the rest.”
Clapping her hands lightly, Iris reviewed the descriptions of the remaining items.
Feather of Affection
Tickling someone with this feather increases their affection toward the user.
Scroll of Escape
A scroll that lets you escape from a dire situation.
If surrounded by monsters or facing a dangerous enemy, using this scroll will transport you home.
Anyone holding your hand at the time will be transported with you.
Skill Level Enhancer
A red, pill-shaped capsule.
Increases your skill level by 2x for one hour after consumption.
Near-Death Recovery Potion
Even if you suffer a fatal injury and are on the verge of death, this potion will fully restore your health.
A miracle potion that far surpasses the typical health potions in the marketplace.
The price tag for the last item said “10,000.”
No matter how she looked at it, it didn’t seem to mean ten thousand won.
Despite the Western setting of Gyodam City’s comic-based world, the currency was still “won.” 10,000 won was the price of a bowl of pasta.
There’s no way you could get such a powerful item for just that much.
There must be some other form of payment.
Moreover, there were no units listed on the price tags.
“There’s some incredible stuff here. If I could, I’d take them all. For now, maybe I can manage that 500 one.”
Iris’s throat bobbed roughly as she swallowed.
Except for that one useless item, everything else made her drool.
Rubbing her hands eagerly, she tapped again on the cover of the Skill Fusion Potion.
Being able to fuse skills—even just once—was highly desirable.
It was also the second cheapest item.
After tapping the item a few more times, a message appeared revealing what the number on the price tag meant.
Would you like to purchase [Skill Fusion Potion]? You can buy it with your current reputation.
“Oh? So I was right. You can buy it using reputation? How much reputation do I have right now?”
Chastity Girl’s current reputation: 520.
700 users are awaiting a follow-up to the article “Who is the white-clad hero spotted at the bakery café?”
Mentioned twice on a popular YouTube gossip channel.
Fewer than five people have seen her transformed state and remember her vividly.
And…
“Whoa, that’s oddly specific. I didn’t expect reputation to be calculated so precisely. Feels unnecessarily verbose though.”
Still, Iris kept reading, though with a disinterested face—until her eyes reached the end, and her jaw dropped in shock.
…One hero and three villains are currently keeping a close watch on Chastity Girl.
Iris froze, stiff as a board. Thinking she might have misread it, she reread it, but the message was the same.
“What the—? The one hero must be Senior Teresa… But three villains? Who are they? Why are they keeping an eye on me?”
Maybe it was because of the article about her defeating the monster at the bakery café?
But then again, articles about unknown heroes taking action appeared from time to time.
Hidden heroes would often save citizens in danger.
Iris had read a few of those articles herself.
Reporters rarely mentioned villains—maybe out of fear—usually writing something vague like, “An unknown figure may have caused the incident,” leaving readers to assume a villain was responsible.
“The article about the bakery café didn’t reveal anything special… So why am I being watched? Hah… Well, it’s not like they’ll find out who I am anyway. I guess I don’t need to worry.”
Trying to calm her pounding heart, Iris bit her lip.
They’re probably just curious about who the hero is after reading the article.
Nothing to panic over.
After all, the moment she decided to become a hero, she basically became the enemy of all villains.
It made sense for villains to keep an eye on anyone who might disrupt their crimes.
That line of reasoning helped settle her nerves.
Current reputation: 520.
She decided to purchase the Skill Fusion Potion.
Just as she thought that, a message appeared confirming her purchase.
You have purchased [Skill Fusion Potion]. Remaining reputation: 20.
Reputation as Chastity Girl will not decrease in reality after purchasing from the black market.
“Ah!”
The transparent cover over the item vanished.
Iris carefully picked up the potion and tucked it into the pocket between her thighs.
Feeling a bit regretful, she tried shaking the covers on the other items, but they didn’t budge—as if they’d been sealed tighter than super glue.
“This is for justice! I’m a hero, right? Can’t they just let me have one more?”
It felt wrong to leave behind such drool-worthy items.
As she tried to force one of the covers open, a loud warning siren blared in her ears, and a message appeared.
Items can only be purchased with reputation.
Remove your hands from the cover.
Continued unauthorized tampering will result in an electric shock.
“Okay, okay! I was just curious! Yikes, what a scary warning. Fine, I’m leaving!”
What a heartless black market.
Couldn’t they at least let a hero slide once or twice?
The moment Iris said she was leaving, the surroundings shimmered.
She blinked—and found herself back in the restroom.
Luckily, no one was inside.
“I didn’t even think about how I’d get out. What if someone had seen me? I’d better only enter the black market from home next time.”
Looking down at the new potion stashed between her thighs, Iris smiled in satisfaction and headed toward the reporters camped outside the hospital.
She glanced around but couldn’t spot the logo of the newspaper that had written the article about her.
Slightly disappointed, she approached a random reporter and requested an interview—only to be met with a blank stare and:
“Iris? What’s that?”
When she explained she was a staff member for Laika—
“Haha, that makes twenty.”
“Twenty?”
“Yeah. That’s the twentieth person who claimed to be Laika’s staff. We’re swamped here, and all the attention-seekers are showing up…”
“No, that’s not—ugh.”
She was brushed off.
What kind of reporter doesn’t notice anything?
Didn’t he see me come out of the hospital?
She had even briefly appeared in the interview footage from the bakery café—though most of the attention had been on Laika.
She muttered a complaint under her breath toward the reporter’s back, but it was pointless.
She tried a few more times with different reporters, but only ended up humiliated.
Unlike Iris, who saw it as a serious and urgent matter, the reporters showed a surprising lack of interest.
It was a moment that proved the famous saying:
“People are far less interested in you than you think.”
“Ugh… I’m just being overly sensitive again.”
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