Episode 16
“Why are you suddenly raising the price? What are you scheming?”
Ceres furrowed her brows slightly. Seeing this, the shopkeeper hurriedly spoke.
“W-we can see you’re in a tight spot… I could go up to 300 gold.”
“…….”
“Hmm… three hundred fifty! Honestly, that’s an amount you wouldn’t get anywhere else.”
“…….”
“…Four hundred?”
What is this man playing at?
Watching Lons, the shopkeeper, silently raise the price each time Ceres frowned, she picked the mana stone back up that she had just set down. It seemed better to look for another shop.
“O-one… one thousand! I’ll give you one thousand gold!”
At that, Lons screamed as if in agony.
“…One thousand?”
Then what was the two hundred he initially asked for?
Ceres narrowed her eyes.
“This guy… you were just testing me, weren’t you?”
At that moment, a strange voice interjected into their conversation. It was a young woman who had been quietly looking around the shop.
“Just by looking, that mana stone is extremely high quality.”
“No, miss… you shouldn’t be interfering like this…”
“Good heavens! And isn’t this a mana stone with a special attribute? Ice, maybe?”
She seemed to be a mage herself and immediately showed interest in the mana stone.
“Even regular mana stones, if highly pure, go for at least 5,000 gold.”
“5,000 gold?”
“Yes. And with special attributes like this, it’s a whole different story. The price is exactly what it’s worth.”
Ceres gave the shopkeeper a sharp glance, asking silently if the woman’s words were true.
“Ah, no… Well… the thing about special attribute mana stones is that you need the right buyer to get their true value. Even if you go elsewhere, they probably won’t offer that much…”
“Still, a thousand gold is too much, sir. Don’t you have any conscience? That’s outright robbery.”
“R-robbery?!”
Ignoring the flustered shopkeeper, the woman turned back to Ceres.
“It’s better to sell this directly at the Mage Tower.”
“Mage Tower?”
“Yes. At least there, they’d give you a much better price.”
Ceres sighed softly. Indeed, it didn’t seem like she should sell here, so she gathered the mana stone.
“By the way… if it’s not too much trouble, may I record this with my video tool?”
As Ceres began to put the stone back in her bag, the woman stopped her, clasped her hands together like in prayer, and pleaded.
“I want to show this to my master. I’ve never seen a mana stone with such special attributes… Please, may I?”
“…Do as you wish.”
Since recording wouldn’t damage the stone, Ceres put it back down at the woman’s request.
“Wow… the quality of this mana stone is amazing. I haven’t been a mage for long, so I can’t say for sure, but this has the highest mana density I’ve ever seen.”
The woman rotated her recording tool, marveling at the stone from every angle. After a long moment, satisfied, she nodded and lowered the device. Ceres tucked the mana stone into her bag and prepared to leave.
“Wait! Just a moment! I’ll offer a higher price!”
Lons, who had been hovering nervously nearby, tried once more to negotiate. But Ceres, having no more business here, left without even looking back.
“Ah…”
Lons sighed, running a hand over his face. Perhaps he should have started with a higher price. She looked like someone clueless about the world, so he tried to undercut her.
Even after years of business, he had never seen such a pure and high-quality mana stone. If the transaction had gone through properly, he could have made a fortune.
“Sir, could you help me find the items listed here?”
“…….”
The woman smiled as if nothing had happened. Lons could only glare at her, frustrated that she had ruined his potential deal.
“Hey, you’re really not drinking?”
“Yeah.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not drinking with you, damn it.”
“So… why?”
“You turn into a beast when you drink.”
“What?”
The mercenaries’ spiritual sanctuary, the place where their footsteps lingered. The shop was packed as usual, but something had changed: noticeably fewer people were ordering alcohol.
“Don’t you see that?”
“That?”
A mercenary pointed to a paper attached to the wall corner.
- If you cause a ruckus while drunk, entry is forbidden for three days. Fellow companions who do not intervene will face the same restriction.
- Absolutely no fighting in the shop. Violators are banned for one week.
- If a member violates the rules three times or more, the entire guild is banned for a week.
“What’s that?”
“What do you mean ‘what’? If you want to drink, do it when I’m not around.”
“When was this posted? So… I can’t drink here anymore?”
…Damn it, there’s no way I can say I won’t act up if I drink.
The mercenary glanced at the paper again, bewildered.
“See that? If someone breaks the rules three times, their entire guild is barred for a week.”
“Yeah.”
“Our guild leader would die if he misses even one stew here. If you’re going to make trouble, leave the guild first.”
“Ugh…”
From some point on, mercenaries began to pay close attention to the new shopkeeper, Ceres.
‘Interesting.’
Mark, the long-time cook and staff member, was most surprised by these changes. When Ceres first proposed posting these rules, he had doubted their effectiveness. How could mercenaries follow a simple paper rule?
‘Yet…’
Surprisingly, the mercenaries treated the paper with utmost seriousness, as if disobedience would bring disaster.
‘Could it be because of the line at the bottom?’
“If these rules are not followed, the shop will close.”
‘What? Close the shop?’
‘No way!’
‘If this place disappears… where will I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner?’
‘…Wait, you eat all three meals here? That’s insane!’
‘But I still only eat two meals!’
‘My hangover stew will be gone?!’
Even as the mercenaries bickered and cursed, Mark couldn’t help but smile. Just seeing no weapons flying around was enough to make him happy.
Then, a rare silence fell.
A small figure peeked through the slightly opened door.
“……!”
The shop, previously filled with shouting, fell quiet.
“Ah! Yulia-sama!”
Her neatly braided pigtails made her look delicate. Mark immediately approached the child, who slowly scanned the room with her round eyes.
“Is your sister here?”
“She stepped out for a moment. Did you come alone?”
Behind the child, he finally noticed the maid, Jay, cautiously entering the shop.
