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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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“I said no.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re suspicious.”
“Come on, suspicious~? What part of me is suspicious, mister?”
“It’s the same as the first time. As a merchant, you must have a lot of money. You can probably get most of what you want. A person like you.”
I fiddled with the amulet around my neck and watched Shasha’s expression closely.
“For you to take notice of it, this amulet must be of considerable value. So much so that I don’t need to sell it to you.”
“Hmm~ I think there’s some kind of misunderstanding. I just personally like that amulet, so even if you take it to another merchant, you probably won’t get much for it. In that case, I’ll give you a good price…”
I ignored Shasha’s words and glanced at the amulet once.
“Is the gem embedded in this amulet valuable? In that case, even if I just remove this gem and sell it, it would be worth a considerable…”
Thump!
Shasha, who had been smiling until just a moment ago, slammed the table and stood up, glaring at me.
It was a face that better suited the cold eyes that had been hidden behind her smiling eyes.
“If you damage that amulet, I won’t be able to hold back either, mister.”
Good, now was the time.
“Hmph, now we can talk.”
“What did you say?”
“I have no intention of dealing with a liar. Until now, you’ve only said that you just like it, that it looks nice… but there were too many suspicious things about it for that to be true. So, if you really want to make a deal, tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“What this amulet is. What it means to you. We’ll deal after that.”
Shasha sat back down in her chair, her winding tail moved, and after closing her eyes for about three seconds, she opened her mouth.
“In other words… you were testing me because you didn’t like that I was lying, mister?”
“One of the most effective ways to get a person to reveal their true feelings is to make them angry.”
Of course, in some cases, all sorts of things, both true and false, come out.
I had seen it a lot during keyboard wars discussing lore theories.
“Hahaha, mister… you have quite a personality, don’t you?”
“You’re the one who committed the discourtesy of spouting lies in a deal involving a precious item. To me, of course.”
I tapped the amulet with my index finger.
“Isn’t it also a discourtesy to this item?”
“Haa, you talk more like a merchant than a merchant, mister. I lose. I’m sorry. As you said, I was lying.”
“Good. Then spill it. What is this thing? Is it that valuable?”
I already knew what it was, but I guided the conversation so that Shasha would tell me herself.
By making her reveal her past on her own, the relationship between us could become deeper.
Just then, our tea and apple pie arrived.
Shasha took a sip of her tea and then began her story.
“That amulet… is a very precious item to me. It’s a memento of my late parents.”
“A memento?”
“Yes. My parents were also merchants. But while they were transporting their goods… they were attacked. When I was a child. Most of the goods were stolen, and my parents also passed away in the attack.”
“Hmm. Then how did you know this was a memento?”
“My mother showed it to me when I was a child. She said she would give me that amulet as a gift when she returned from her trade. I wished for my parents to finish their trade and come back quickly, but… that amulet never came back to me when I was a child. Oh, and by the way, that was a custom-made item, so there can’t be another one like it. It’s the only one in the world.”
“I see.”
“Even after my parents passed away, I wished to find their memento. I explained the features of that amulet to the people of the guild and always told them to let me know if they ever found it. And two days ago, I got word. That you, mister, who has recently become famous as the Bandit Hunter, were walking around the streets wearing the memento.”
“I see. So that’s why you came to find me.”
“Yes, that’s right. That’s the end of my story. So now… you’re really willing to make a deal, right?”
Shasha looked at me, her eyes smiling again.
If I played hard to get one more time here, it was clear that our relationship would become very strained instead of deepening.
“Alright.”
As I answered, I took a bite of the apple pie that had just arrived.
“Let’s make a deal.”
Shasha’s lips curved up into a wide smile.
“Great! Then shall we set a price right away? Mister~ Since you took care of that bandit captain who might be my parents’ enemy, I’ll make sure you get a very generous amount!”
“No, I refuse to sell it for money.”
“What? What do you mean by that? Don’t tell me! You were so moved by my story that you’re giving it to me for free…!”
“That’s not it.”
“Oh, what a shame. Then what do you want, mister?”
“Before that, let me ask you one thing, Shasha. In your eyes, what do you think my value is?”
“My value, you say? Hmm~.”
Shasha brought the tips of her fingers together, repeatedly opening and closing them as she thought for a moment before speaking.
“I’d say you’re a talent with a lot of potential. To be frank, I did some background research on you before coming to find you.”
“Tell me.”
“When you came to Valendia, you were a man with only a single spear and three goblin magic stones, without any proper equipment. Looking at just that~ you’re an ordinary young man from the countryside. But on that very day, you immediately went to hunt bandits, and for two weeks, you continued to hunt bandits, a true Bandit Hunter. You’ve taken down not only minions but also elites, and just the other day, you even took down a captain… an extraordinary talent. For now, excluding the information about the amulet, that’s my assessment of you.”
“Is that so? Then Shasha….”
This was the main point.
“Have you ever thought about investing in me?”
“Investing? Are you planning to start a business? Hmm~ In that case, I can provide you with investment funds and some simple advice.”
“No, that’s not the kind of investment I’m talking about.”
“Then?”
“I want you to be my sponsor.”
“A sponsor?”
Shasha blinked her round eyes.
“I’m going to enter the academy.”
“Oh, the academy! With your skills, mister, you’ll definitely be able to get in. But I don’t think the academy requires tuition, does it?”
“What I want is equipment support.”
“Equipment support….”
“As you can see, my equipment isn’t what you’d call good. Especially compared to the standards of that academy.”
“Well… that’s true. The academy accepts anyone regardless of their status as long as they have the skill, but most of the students are from wealthy families, renowned martial families, or noble families.”
“While attending the academy, I will form a party and hunt countless monsters. To do that, I need high-quality equipment. Of course, this isn’t just a good deal for me. All the materials and magic stones from the monsters I hunt will be traded through Cat’s Commerce Guild. However, I would like you to buy them at a price slightly higher than the usual rate.”
Like Meow-Pay in Lu-Fan.
“Aha, what you want isn’t a simple transaction, but… a contract, is that right?”
Shasha’s smile widened even more, becoming the face of a true merchant.
“But I have a question, mister.”
“What is it? Are you not satisfied with the terms?”
“No, no, the terms are understandable. Considering you’re returning the memento and avenging my parents, that’s more than! Yes! More than possible. But… the problem is whether you’ll really keep your end of the contract. I’ve met all sorts of people while working as a merchant. Among them, I’ve seen people who, despite making a contract while emphasizing words like ‘definitely,’ ‘absolutely,’ ‘never,’ and ‘certainly,’ would run away, make excuses, or shamelessly pretend they didn’t know anything~.”
As expected, since this was our first meeting and not through an event story,
it was impossible to gain Shasha’s complete trust.
“Of course, I don’t completely distrust you, mister. Still. While you’re at the academy, you could use another guild, right~? If you happen to obtain a rare material, and a merchant who just happens to be passing by offers to buy it for a higher price, you might sell it, right? That kind of disappointing thing could happen, couldn’t it? How will you prove to me that something like that won’t happen?”
Perhaps because she had been talking a lot, Shasha took a sip of her tea, and with a clink of the teacup being set down, she continued.
“Oh, of course, I’ll still make the contract even if I have some doubts. I’m just asking, so please answer with a light heart.”
Shasha’s question was one that couldn’t be answered with a definite answer or proof.
A question asking me to prove my trustworthiness using a hypothetical situation that hadn’t even happened.
If we had known each other for a long time, I could have used the trust we had built as proof.
But I had just met Shasha today, so there was no such trust.
All I had was the goodwill from returning her memento and killing the man who might have been her parents’ enemy.
Goodwill couldn’t substitute for trust.
The contract was as good as made anyway.
‘It might be okay to test this out once.’
“Proof… This is all I can offer.”
“Oh, what is it?”
Shasha looked at me with curious eyes.
When I taunted the bandit captain Rubid.
I had spoken with the intention of making sure the taunt would work properly so that Rubid wouldn’t run away.
And the result.
[You have pierced through taunt resistance.]
Along with the notification sound, an unexpected phenomenon had occurred.
The skill that had changed upon coming to this world.
Spearmanship Mastery, as if I had reached the pinnacle of spearmanship, made it so that the moment I used a spear, the trajectories of the spear became visible, and I could move according to them.
The Penetration skill was described as being able to pierce through anything.
If that was the case, then a person’s emotions or heart could also be a target for penetration.
I had already experienced the result of that in my fight with the bandit captain Rubid.
I looked straight at Shasha, focused my will, and imbued it with my intention.
So that Shasha could believe me.
So that Shasha would not doubt me.
I put my will into my tongue and spoke, as if firing it at Shasha’s doubting heart.
In other words, a penetrating mouth-jutsu.
“Trust me.”
[You have pierced through doubt.]
It worked?
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