The Main Characters That Only I Know

Chapter 297:

“Today, we’re going to have a fun tour of the free market.”

Yu-hyun led the four of them around the free market.

He wasn’t very good at geography, but the free market was kind enough to install signs everywhere that showed what was where.

The five of them, including Yu-hyun, enjoyed the sights of the free market and rode on a huge beast-like vehicle.

At first, they were somewhat nervous, but soon they started to have fun in the free market.

The visit to the celestial market was an opportunity for them to break their old frames and broaden their horizons.

“Wow, Yu-hyun. Look at that. There are some interesting snacks.”

“No, you can’t.”

“What? I didn’t say anything!”

“Can I have five?”

“Three is the limit.”

“Three like five?”

“Be quiet before I hit you three like five times.”

“Heeeng.”

Sometimes, he had to stop Kang Hye-rim from exploding with gluttony, or tease Kwon Jia who pretended to be uninterested in everything but secretly glanced at the stalls with her arms crossed.

He also had to control Yoo Young-min who tried to move on his own, and answer Seo Sumin’s curious questions. Yu-hyun worked hard every hour.

‘I feel like a teacher who took kindergarten kids on a field trip.’

How long did they wander around?

The time for the appointment was approaching.

Yu-hyun led his group to the agreed place.

‘Is this it?’

The place Yu-hyun found was called ‘the depths’ in the free market.

There was a huge mountain in the center of the free market, and the depths were made by carving out the inside of the mountain.

The rest of the free market was very bright with strong light shining down, but this place was dark and damp from the entrance.

The air stuck to the skin like fog in the early morning.

‘The depths. Where things that are shunned even in the free market, where anything can be traded, roam around.’

It was like a black market, but the really dangerous things were traded in the lower level 8th floor near [the slums].

This place was just for selling things or stories that were a bit shady.

This was where he was supposed to meet the mysterious person.

“This is my first time seeing the depths.”

Kwon Jia muttered to herself as she looked at the dark scenery inside the depths.

The inside of the depths was full of pillars that rose high into the sky like a giant cave.

Various buildings were attached to the outside of those pillars.

“From here on, we have to be careful. This place is not well seen by people, so there are not only pickpockets but also robbers who openly attack.”

The depths were completely different from the outside of the free market.

The customers and sellers who walked around or laid out their goods on stalls all wore robes that hid their identities.

In the air, there were faint lights that floated like living creatures.

They were actually black ghosts that emitted light from their bodies.

They were faint lights, but there were so many of them that they lit up the dark depths a little bit.

Everyone watched them with interest.

“They are dark lanterns. They look cute like mascot characters, but they are scary creatures that lure prey with their light in the dark and swallow them in one bite. They don’t come down anyway, but be careful.”

“Uh, what are we doing here?”

Yoo Young-min asked cautiously, feeling a bit intimidated by the different atmosphere of the depths.

It didn’t seem necessary to come to such a dangerous place, but Yu-hyun said it was an important matter.

“I have an appointment.”

“An appointment? With whom?”

“I don’t know who it is. But they said they would come find us soon as time is almost up.”

The person he made an appointment with only told him the time and approximate location.

That meant they would come and get him themselves.

He had wandered around the vicinity of the depths leisurely, as if to admire the scenery.

It was also a way of saying that he was ready and waiting for them to come.

“Are you Kang Yu-hyun, the teller?”

Someone with a small stature and a hooded robe approached him from the front, calling his name.

Yu-hyun glanced at the being in front of him lightly.

‘This is unexpected.’

The other person had a book that looked insignificant, but Yu-hyun could not open or read it.

A small but dazzlingly bright book.

That meant that the other person was a transcendent being of very high rank.

The book was small because it was closer to a projection than his real body.

He had expected that he would send someone else to call him, but he came himself.

Yu-hyun nodded and confirmed.

“I’m glad. But I didn’t expect you to bring the collectors with you.”

“I thought they needed some kind of field trip.”

“Well, I didn’t say you had to come alone, so I’m not going to complain about that. Just follow me.”

The hooded person moved and Yu-hyun followed him.

The others also followed Yu-hyun quietly, wondering what was going on.

The place they headed to was not deep in the depths.

Rather, it was outside of the depths, a large building complex where the light shone brightly.

The hooded person entered the most refined-looking building among them.

“Here it is.”

“It’s not in the depths.”

Yu-hyun asked with his eyes why he had asked to meet in the depths.

The hooded person laughed softly.

“That? Just for fun. It would be boring if I told you to come here right away. I thought you would come alone, so I planned to make a dramatic entrance after setting the mood. But you brought so many people with you, so I just brought you here directly.”

“You’re not hiding that I would have gone through more trouble otherwise.”

“I can do that.”

It was a tremendous sense of self and arrogance.

The person who took off his robe looked like a little kid.

A boy with curly blond hair in the wall.

He looked similar to humans, but his essence was not at all.

The boy smiled at Yu-hyun.

“Come on. Let’s go up.”

“Where is this?”

“A small factory that makes stories.”

The boy climbed up the stairs leading to the upper floor and pointed his finger at the scenery beyond the door of that floor.

There were various races sitting at their assigned desks, carefully touching something with their hands.

It was pure white text.

Strange tools moved and broke down and assembled the text into sentences.

“They make various stories that are sold in the market. By the way, you have the title of an engraver, right? Those guys would be jealous if they knew.”

“You’ve been watching my paintings for quite a while. But this is a rather modest place for a factory.”

“True. Compared to the factories on Earth, this would be too embarrassing to call a factory. They are all handmade, one by one. On the other hand, Earth’s factories have conveyor belts, right? They can produce the most in the shortest time. Amazing.”

“You’re surprisingly knowledgeable about Earth’s knowledge?”

“Of course. I have to be. That world is worth it.”

Worth it?

Yu-hyun sensed that there was something on Earth from his words.

But before he could ask a question, the boy cut him off first.

“Anyway, let’s go up and talk more.”

“…”

Yu-hyun followed him silently.

They arrived at the top floor of the building.

It was a place where the light came in well and the view of the free market was visible far away, as all sides were open.

In the center of it, there was a white cushion-like thing where the boy sat down as if throwing himself.

“What are you doing? Sit down, everyone. Oh, secretary? Bring some delicious snacks over here.”

The boy muttered to someone as the door opened and a white robot appeared with a tray of snacks and drinks.

The robot quietly disappeared after placing the tray on the empty table.

“So, I understand that you came here to have a conversation.”

The boy’s gaze turned to the four collectors who came with Yu-hyun.

“But it doesn’t seem like a story that they need to join in.”

“I made that decision.”

“I didn’t agree with that.”

The boy said that and snapped his fingers.

At that moment, a transparent wall was created to block Yu-hyun and his companions.

Everyone was startled and tried to do something, but before that, the boy opened his mouth.

“You may know what you’re thinking, but this is a deal. And the only ones involved in this deal are Gang Yu-hyun, you and me. No one else can interfere. That’s not a deal. Are you asking me for a donation?”

“…Well, if that’s what you want.”

Yu-hyun signaled with his hand to sit still.

The wall was not dangerous.

It only blocked the sound.

His companions were also surprised, but they soon sat quietly as Yu-hyun acted calmly.

The boy looked at them with interest.

“You’re all quite talented.”

“Do you know how to see that?”

“When you live for a long time, you naturally see things that you didn’t see before.”

As Yu-hyun expected, the boy was indeed a transcendent being who had lived for a long time.

The fact that he couldn’t even read books meant that he was on par with the first-generation Divine Spirits.

But no matter how Yu-hyun looked at him, he couldn’t feel that the boy was a Divine Spirit.

“First of all, since you’re here, let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Gang Yu-hyun, an assistant manager at Celestial Corporation.”

“Yeah. I already knew that because I’ve been watching you for a long time.”

“Who are you?”

“Me? I’m a bit disappointed. Why don’t you try to guess?”

The boy asked back playfully instead of answering the question.

“I’m not in the mood for jokes right now.”

“Hmm. Well, okay. If you want it that badly, I’ll be more serious.”

The boy picked up one of the unidentified snacks that the robot secretary brought and threw it into his mouth.

“But it’s a bit of a shame. Even though I’ve been watching your library since it first opened, I’m a national hero.”

“A national hero?”

“What? Don’t you have any clue from my tone?”

“…Don’t tell me, are you [The Drunkard of the Tavern]?”

“Oh, you got it right.”

The boy, The Drunkard of the Tavern, clapped his hands as if he was happy that Yu-hyun recognized him.

Yu-hyun felt more suspicious of him.

“Why. Are you surprised?”

“Surprised indeed. I didn’t think you were someone who had been watching me from the beginning.”

“Why? Because you couldn’t see it with Laplace’s Eye?”

“…”

Yu-hyun didn’t show any sign of surprise or anything like that at his words that pierced through his ability.

However, his silence conveyed quite a lot of emotion to the person in front of him.

The Drunkard of the Tavern was a viewer who had been in Yu-hyun’s library since the beginning, but when he met him face to face, Yu-hyun couldn’t help but doubt him.

Is he really a Divine Spirit?

“He’s not.”

Did he read his mind?

The boy said first that he was not a Divine Spirit.

“But I lived as long as they did. Like the great lords of Great Sage Army, the first-generation Divine Spirits who said they were with the beginning of the universe.”

“You’re not a Divine Spirit, but you have the same history and status as them. Is that possible?”

“It is possible. There are not only me who are such beings. Why. You know. There’s also where you work.”

“Where I work… Ah.”

Yu-hyun soon realized who the boy was talking about.

“The Chairman.”

“Oh, yes. That friend of yours, Lotfiout, is called the Chairman. He’s quite an amazing guy.”

“Friend… you say?”

“Of course, he’s a friend. Or, should I say, we’re like brothers?”

Yu-hyun couldn’t follow what the boy was saying.

How could he be brothers with Lotfiout, the true owner of Celestial Corporation and the peak of the Tellers?

“There are only three well-known Tellers of the Beginning, the Kings of Stories, in the world. The fourth one likes to wander around freely, so he doesn’t get much attention from the gossipers.”

There are always three names that come up when mentioning the most famous Tellers, the Kings of Stories, in the mixed world.

Lotfiout, the Chairman and King of Rumors of Celestial Corporation.

Damcheon, the Leader and King of Banquets of Comedy Group.

Catharsis, the Pope and King of Tragedies of Exodus (exodos).

They are all called the first Tellers and they have gathered huge forces of Tellers in the mixed world.

There was only one person that Yu-hyun knew who was considered to be on the same level as them.

“Could it be, you are…”

“That’s right. I’m the fourth Teller of the Beginning. I don’t have a king’s title, but if you want to call me something like those other guys, it would be this.”

The boy nodded and pointed at himself with his thumb.

“Oelo, the King of Travels. That’s me.”

He then pointed at Yu-hyun with his finger.

“And you are also the one who is desperately looking for the scattered fragments of the Book of the Genesis.”