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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 80
The Marchioness gave him money.
After Chris left, there was the sound of furniture being smashed to pieces, but he didn’t care.
With a temper like that, no wonder her son turned out the way he did. Maybe try educating your son properly instead of taking it out on others.
Chris clicked his tongue.
In any case, he took the money and headed to the gambling den operated by Ruina under the Rudolf Trading Company.
I could just leech money off Ruina again, but I feel bad doing that every time. This time, I’ll actually pay properly.
I’m so kind.
Thinking that, Chris threw himself into gambling.
This time, he was serious.
Because he needed to make money.
So, he went all in and cleaned them out.
“Five consecutive evens!!”
“No way! That hand came up again?! That’s a 0.000078% chance!”
“This is insane! How many wins in a row is that?!”
“Isn’t this a scam?!”
“A scam?! That’s Prince Christian, the new divine star of the Dark Demonic House!”
People who had come to the gambling den shouted in shock.
A mountain of money piled up in front of Chris.
He whistled.
Of course it’s a scam. If it weren’t, there’s no way you could win this much from gambling.
But as long as you didn’t get caught, it didn’t matter.
The pale-faced managers of the den tried desperately to figure out Chris’s methods, but even the former gambling king of the Alliance had been taken down by him—it was impossible to see through his scams.
After he had cleaned them out for quite some time—
A familiar voice rang out.
“…That’s enough.”
A voice tinged with something like exhaustion.
Ruina, the owner of the gambling den, had arrived.
Ruina took Chris and led him up to one of the hotel rooms attached to the den.
As soon as they entered the room, Ruina dropped her male disguise and spoke with a voice boiling over with frustration.
“…What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“What do you mean? I was gambling.”
“You swindled 3 million Rupees through gambling? Even the gambling king would have the decency not to pull this crap!”
“I needed money. I felt bad relying on you every time, so this time I wanted to pay with money I earned fair and square.”
“…What kind of crazy… You say you want to pay, and then you rob my gambling den?!”
Ruina shrieked.
Her language had gotten a lot rougher compared to when they first met.
It was because of all the money Chris had swindled from her over time.
He just recently squeezed me for 5 million Rupees worth of elixirs, claiming it was for that drunkard noble!
Ruina fumed.
But this wasn’t the time to be angry.
“Wait a second—so this time, you came to leech off me again, didn’t you?”
“It’s not leeching. This time, I’m paying properly. Here—three million Rupees. Can you get the supplies I need?”
“Kuaaagh! Isn’t that the money you scammed out of my gambling den?! You rotten prince!”
In the end, it meant he was once again going to take Ruina’s treasures without spending a single coin of his own.
“Over my dead body! I won’t do it!! I don’t care if a war breaks out between the Magus Empire and the Alliance!”
Ruina shoved out her belly defiantly.
When they first met, she had a calm demeanor and showed off her considerable beauty. Seeing how far she’d unraveled in such a short time, it was clear she resented how much he’d taken from her.
Well, I did clean her out pretty hard in a short time. But even so, it’s nothing compared to what I suffered from Ruina in my past life.
Even if she didn’t look it now, Ruina was by no means an honest merchant.
There’s no such thing as an honest merchant running an auction house in the first place.
If she thought her opponent was easy prey, Ruina could be a ruthless, cutthroat merchant who’d snatch away everything. Chris had been her victim several times in his previous life.
Of course, the money Chris had lost back then was a small sum compared to what Ruina was losing now. But back then, Chris lost his entire fortune. So, he believed without hesitation that he’d suffered far worse.
Anyway, Ruina is a money-grubber who values money more than her life.
Because she’s a money-grubber.
She was always bound to become his easy mark.
Chris tossed out another bait she wouldn’t be able to resist.
“I’m heading to the Underground Garden.”
“!!”
Ruina came to a sudden halt.
Her tone shifted immediately.
Soft, polite, and sweet.
“What did you just say, my lord?”
“Well, I’m a bad prince, so I don’t feel like answering.”
“Ohoho. What a joke. Who in the world would dare say such nonsense about our dazzlingly handsome, dashing, and magnificent Majesty, Prince Christian? What a wicked mouth. Tsk.”
Ruina lightly slapped her own lips with her hand.
Chris chuckled quietly.
“I said I’m going to the Underground Garden. I figured it might be of help to your trading company too, but if you’re not interested, I’ll just find someone else.”
“No, no! Wait, stop! Please wait!”
The Underground Garden is known by many names.
Among martial artists, it was called the Garden of Cultivation, and among explorers, it was known as the “Treasure Garden.”
That’s how many treasures, relics, and artifacts lay dormant within.
Most of it’s already been excavated, but from time to time, new treasures, artifacts, and relics still appear. Every single one is extremely valuable to collectors. The problem is, to outsiders, they’re out of reach—like a pie in the sky.
All items discovered in the Underground Garden were under the ownership of the Destruction Demonic House.
Even if a visitor happened to stumble across a treasure, it still had to be handed over to the Destruction Demonic House.
Not just searched—visitors were completely stripped and then examined with high-level dark magic down to their internal organs. Smuggling anything out was impossible.
If anyone was caught trying to sneak out a treasure, they were executed on the spot. But Chris was a different story.
I can smuggle out as much treasure as I want. No one’s going to strip and inspect the prince of the Dark Demonic House.
That’s why Ruina was so desperate.
Obtaining treasures from the Underground Garden was the ultimate dream of all collectors.
“Ohoho. What kind of item do you need? Just say the word. I’ll search through both the Rudolph Trading Company and the Dear Trading Company if I have to.”
“I’m not planning to take it for free. I’ll pay.”
“Three million Rupees? That’s fine. As long as you’re willing to share the treasures from the Underground Garden, that’s more than enough.”
“No, you’d better take the money. What I need this time is a bit expensive.”
“……”
The smile vanished from Ruina’s face.
Until now, Chris had never said something like this while bleeding her dry.
What the hell is he trying to take this time?
She forced a smile.
“W-Would it be possible to rent it, if it’s something like armor or a magic sword?”
“It’s not that kind of item.”
“…Then what exactly is it you need?”
Chris casually answered.
“Scissors of Space.”
“…What?”
“Oh, don’t recognize it like that? The Scissors of Archmage Lenin.”
“……”
Ruina went completely silent.
She knew.
She knew exactly what Chris meant.
But—
“…Isn’t that thing worth over ten million Rupees?!”
Ruina screamed again.
That’s right.
Chris was now asking for one of the most powerful artifacts ever crafted by human hands—an object with abilities nearly on par with a relic.
The difference between an artifact and a relic was simple.
If a human made it, it was an artifact.
If a celestial or a devil made it, it was a relic.
And the difference in performance was just as clear.
Even the weakest of relics vastly outclassed the strongest of artifacts.
There was a reason wars would break out among powers when a relic appeared.
Still, there were a few rare cases of human-made artifacts that could rival relics in power.
One of them was “Lenin’s Scissors.”
A famous item. Possessing outrageous abilities… and yet utterly useless.
An unexpected thing.
That’s exactly what it was.
Lenin’s Scissors could sever space itself.
More precisely, it could cut space and allow the user to move through it.
Essentially, it worked like a “gate.”
It had immense power, befitting a legendary archmage who had reached 9-star High rank.
But in practice, it was nearly useless.
Because calculating spatial coordinates was incredibly difficult.
‘Calculating spatial coordinates for long-distance travel isn’t something a human brain can handle.’
It wasn’t a matter of achievement.
It was a human limitation.
Long-distance spatial travel involved passing through subspace, where countless unpredictable variables constantly appeared and vanished. Not even an archmage, or anyone else, could calculate it purely with human intellect.
‘There are a very few archmages who can manage long-distance spatial movement on their own, but only by using tools that assist with coordinate calculation.’
Lenin’s Scissors didn’t have any such support function.
It simply had the ability to cut space. That was all.
The user had to personally calculate the infinite variables to arrive at the desired location. Unless you were a spatial magic specialist, it was practically impossible.
And a spatial magic specialist wouldn’t even need a tool like this.
So despite its overwhelming performance, it was a useless item.
“Don’t feel too bad. It’s not like anyone’s going to buy it from you anyway, right? You should be grateful I’m using it like this. Honestly, you’d be lucky if someone took it off your hands for dirt cheap. I’ll make it worth your while with a good treasure from the Underground Garden.”
Ruina opened and closed her mouth.
Her face looked like it was about to explode from frustration.
But Chris wasn’t entirely wrong.
Even if she held onto it, it would just rot away in a warehouse. At least using it to make a deal with Chris was better.
But the constant feeling of being ripped off—was that because she was a money grubber, or just because Chris was irritating?
Ughhhh! Do you know how much I paid for that?! My ten million Rupees!
Ruina swallowed her tears and spoke.
“…At least give me 3 million Rupees.”
Even if that 3 million Rupees had originally come from her own casino, she felt like she needed to get at least that much to feel less resentful.
Still, in strict terms, Ruina wasn’t exactly losing on this deal.
Opportunities to get treasures from the Underground Garden didn’t come easily.
If not now, she might never get another chance.
And above all, the treasures from the Underground Garden were immensely valuable—if things went well, she could make a massive return on her investment.
After that, while Ruina prepared the supplies Chris needed, he spent his time lazing around.
I’ve been working too hard lately. People need to rest when they can! But when do I get to drink?! I hate ginger!
Chris grimaced as he looked at the ginger ale in his hand.
Even after becoming a noble, he was still stuck drinking ginger ale.
Eventually, the preparations were done.
“…You must absolutely bring back a treasure. Not just any treasure—a good one. No, an expensive one! If you don’t bring one back, I’ll really file a compensation claim! I don’t care if you’re with Presia or not!”
Watching Ruina grumble on and on, Chris let out a small chuckle.
“Sure, I’ll make sure to bring something. Oh, and there’s one more thing. You’re doing business with Gold Cross too, right?”
“…Of course I am, why?”
Of Ruina’s two trading companies, the Dear Trading Company operated with backing from the Alliance.
“Then keep a close eye on Gold Cross. Especially their activity in the Law Kingdom.”
“…The Law Kingdom? The place that caused a stir recently because of the death of the ‘Cursed Prince’? Wait, are you saying…?”
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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