Immortals vs. Grim Reapers - chapter 53
Chapter 53. The Merchant Who Sells Countries (2)
“Is it possible he’s not an immortal at this point?!”
“He is indeed an immortal.”
Joo Gangrim had asked on the off chance there was even a one-in-a-hundred possibility, but it was as expected.
If Gerald was the pinnacle of military power, Shimra was no less than the pinnacle of merchants.
In other words, he was someone Joo Gangrim would eventually have to kill.
Yet here they were, joining hands with such a target?
“Messenger Joo Gangrim.”
Yoo Wolryeong calmly placed her hand on Joo Gangrim’s shoulder and whispered.
“I was asked to arrange a meeting place, so I did. I’d appreciate it if you’d have a conversation. Shimra must have something he wants to discuss.”
“Does that person know we’re grim reapers? Here to hunt immortals?”
“He knows.”
Yoo Wolryeong said, then corrected herself.
“No, it was Shimra who initially proposed hunting immortals.”
An immortal proposing to hunt immortals? What did that mean?
He wondered if it was a relationship like Gerald and Prince Gangryeong, but Joo Gangrim quickly dismissed the idea as he recalled what he knew about Shimra.
Shimra had no interest in human power struggles or battles for dominance.
The only thing he cared about was…
Joo Gangrim hesitated as he recalled Shimra’s nature.
“What kind of deal did Shimra make with Yeomra?”
“To be honest, ‘deal’ isn’t the right word.”
Yoo Wolryeong replied calmly.
“To be precise, you could say Yeomra took advantage of Shimra.”
“…Took advantage?”
“Or perhaps ‘swindled’ would be more fitting.”
“What kind of conditions could they have agreed on for…”
Just then, a voice came from behind.
“This is the first time I’ve been ignored for so long.”
Shimra approached, his white scarf fluttering.
Joo Gangrim felt a physiological revulsion and the urge to step back as he saw that scantily clad body approaching.
It wasn’t because Shimra was male. It was just an instinctive repulsion towards Shimra as a being.
His escorts, of course, followed behind him.
“Messenger Joo Gangrim. It seems this is your first time encountering someone who can use qi.”
“Qi?”
As Joo Gangrim asked, Yoo Wolryeong answered.
“Messenger Joo Gangrim still lacks training. He hasn’t yet accumulated enough cultivation as a full-fledged grim reaper.”
“Hmm, unexpected. To think such a person is the new messenger.”
At Shimra’s taunting words, Joo Gangrim felt the urge to grip his hand axe again. However, Yoo Wolryeong responded with a chilling attitude that made even Joo Gangrim feel cold.
“But that doesn’t mean he lacks the ability to kill. Messenger Joo Gangrim is a legitimate messenger of the Underworld and Yeomra’s agent, here to collect immortals like you. Do not try to test the authority of the Underworld with disrespect. Not if you value your life.”
Joo Gangrim was surprised by Yoo Wolryeong’s icy tone.
He didn’t know she was capable of such a long and polite threat.
Shimra’s escorts exuded an air of mockery even at Yoo Wolryeong’s words.
However, Shimra interlocked his fingers and humbly bowed deeply in apology.
“I apologize for the rudeness of my escorts. Messenger Yoo Wolryeong, Messenger Joo Gangrim.”
“Shimra, sir?”
The escorts were the ones caught off guard by Shimra’s response.
They couldn’t resist when Shimra went that far. In the end, they reluctantly bowed and apologized.
Joo Gangrim felt strange receiving an apology from Shimra.
That person apologizing? He seemed like someone who would live his entire life without knowing what an apology was.
However, as soon as Shimra straightened up, he returned to his cheerful attitude as if nothing had happened.
“Well, now that the apology time is over, let’s talk business!”
“Business?”
Joo Gangrim asked.
“That’s right, Messenger Joo Gangrim. I heard you have something to propose a deal with?”
He was referring to the Shine Sand loaded on this ship. But as soon as Joo Gangrim saw Shimra, all thoughts of Shine Sand flew out of his head.
How was this person any different from Prince Gangryeong? If Prince Gangryeong shouldn’t have it, then Shimra shouldn’t have it either.
“Shimra… sir. Would it be alright if I spoke with my colleague a bit more?”
Joo Gangrim muttered with a twisted smile.
He wanted to say that if Shimra kept messing around, he’d kill him, but having already made a promise to Yoo Wolryeong, he didn’t want to act like an inexperienced kid.
“You’re curious about the deal with Yeomra, aren’t you? There’s no need for Messenger Yoo Wolryeong to explain. I’ll do it.”
Shimra said, gently waving his fingers.
“You all know the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes, right?”
The fairy tale where the emperor bought clothes that only good people could see, and only realized he’d been tricked when a child cried out, ‘The emperor is naked!’
Joo Gangrim was about to frown, wondering if this was story time now, but Shimra quickly moved on to another topic.
“My story is about the merchant in that tale.”
“The merchant?”
“Yes. In that story, the merchant didn’t actually cheat the emperor. He really did bring clothes that only good people could see. It’s just that in that country, there wasn’t a single good person left, not even among the children.”
“That’s usually called a scam.”
“Well, fairy tales are metaphors after all.”
Shimra murmured with a crescent-eyed smile.
“Long ago, a merchant realized that the world was about to end.”
Joo Gangrim fell into deep silence.
The end of the world.
This was a fact that Joo Gangrim had seen with his own eyes, so he knew it was neither a metaphor nor an analogy.
And that the merchant referred to Shimra himself.
“The merchant knew that an unavoidable end was approaching the world, and soon everything on this earth would die and be mixed into chaos, remaining as nothing.”
It was the sight of the world Joo Gangrim had seen before he died. A world in disarray, where the living, the dead, and monsters were all mixed together.
“When everything crumbles and all life dies, what meaning is there? So the merchant…”
Shimra paused briefly, then said with gleaming eyes.
“Realized that the end of the world was an incredible product.”
Joo Gangrim momentarily forgot what to say.
Did he hear that correctly?
“People spare no expense to forget the fear of death. But the end of the world? How much money, how great a price would they be willing to pay to prevent the world’s end?”
“You, you son of a…”
As Joo Gangrim gritted his teeth, about to unleash a torrent of curses, Shimra put his finger to his lips and continued.
“So the merchant traveled the world, carrying mysterious items that could help prevent the end of the world.”
“……”
“But there was no one who could prevent the world’s end, nor anyone with the ability to pay the proper price for the items. The merchant grew increasingly anxious. The closer the world’s end approached, the less valuable his goods would become.”
Shimra had been traveling around to prevent the end of the world?
Joo Gangrim looked at him skeptically.
Although he had made the end of the world a subject of trade, it meant that Shimra had been preparing for a long time to prevent the world’s end.
“But soon, the time for the world to end approached. The merchant realized he was completely ruined. He was facing bankruptcy, let alone breaking even.”
At this point, Shimra muttered with a gloomy expression.
“Then, a cocky judge of the underworld in a floral shirt appeared.”
Just from the description of his appearance, it was clearly Yeomra.
“The judge proposed a deal to the merchant. He would save the world if the merchant gave him three of his possessions.”
“…Three?”
“An inkstone that never forgets, a brush that has forgotten its owner, and ink that doesn’t mix.”
Shimra sighed deeply as he spoke of the items he had traded.
“The merchant had to give up the items, even at a loss, if he wanted to recover even his principal. The dream of trading the world was gone, and all that was left was a sucker who had suffered a terrible loss.”
***
As he said this, Shimra wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Joo Gangrim thought he was pretending to cry, but he was actually crying.
Come to think of it, Shimra was indeed someone who would cry over such a loss.
Joo Gangrim had even seen him wail after losing a bet over vending machine coffee.
“Well, that’s how it happened. I provided the three mystic objects Yeomra demanded as payment for the deal. Not only that, but I also agreed to respond to trades at a fair price whenever requested. That’s about it.”
Joo Gangrim didn’t know the true nature of the three mystic objects he mentioned.
Inkstone, brush, and ink?
He didn’t know how valuable these items were, or if it was really something worth calling a swindle.
As Shimra said, if the world ended, he would be the one to lose out completely.
“By now, Messenger Joo must be wondering why this is considered being swindled, right?”
Shimra whispered with a crooked smile.
“There are people who have to pay in money and power just for the privilege of meeting and talking with me. I am such a being. Especially if the condition of ‘fair trade’ is attached.”
“You truly are remarkable.”
Joo Gangrim said politely, hoping his sarcastic tone would be understood.
Shimra looked at Joo Gangrim, raising his lips as if to say, “Do you think I wouldn’t notice that?”
“Let’s say Messenger Joo wanted to sell a country but didn’t know who to sell it to or how. If you meet me in such a situation, it’s resolved. Or do you know how to buy a country if you want to? If not, come find me. I’ll sell it to you. As long as the price is right.”
Joo Gangrim realized how great a sacrifice Shimra thought he had made.
The only thing Shimra cares about is trade.
For Shimra, trade is more than just a means; it’s a pleasure, a purpose in life, and his very identity.
He’s the type of person who finds joy in the process of trading, negotiating, working behind the scenes, bargaining, and ultimately experiences ecstasy when a deal is concluded.
The bigger and more difficult the trade, the more this was true. Compared to the pleasure he derived from it, money, power, and assets were merely incidental.
But Yeomra had stipulated that Shimra must “trade under unconditionally fair terms.”
For Shimra, this meant he could no longer engage in “fleecing the customer,” which was his greatest pleasure as both a merchant and as himself.
And this was with Yeomra, a major client.
Shimra’s enemies contemptuously call him the “Country-Selling Merchant,” but he refers to himself differently.
Samramansang (森羅萬商).
One who believes there’s nothing in the world he can’t deal with, and that anything can be bought and sold.
“If you want something difficult to obtain, come to me. If you have something valuable to sell but can’t find a buyer, come to me. Of course, it must be worth the price.”
Joo Gangrim scoffed at Shimra’s words and said,
“Then why don’t you sell the lives of all the immortals from the start?”
“Shall I?”
Shimra replied with a serious expression, not even smiling.
“It’s a difficult task, but not impossible. If you can pay the price.”
“What’s that price?”
Shimra snapped his fingers. The bracelets on his wrist made a clear, melodious sound.
“Yeomra’s Underworld Register.”