Chapter 42 – Haggle

I knew someone would ask me this so I prepared an appropriate answer.

"I'm acquainted with a talented enchanter."

"What's this person's name?"

"That's a trade secret, sir."

I thought this was better than just hiding everything completely. This way, people interested in stealing the technology would try to find that non-existent enchanter to get direct access to the source. Which meant, I was guaranteed to keep the exclusivity forever.

"I see… You're selling these for 25 a piece, right? What about I buy all of them for 100 silvers?"

"All of them?"

"Right."

Contrary to his mostly unimpressed exterior, he sure was willing to go big.

"I can't give such a hard discount, even if you buy all of them. You saw it for yourself, this is something you'll never get anywhere else. 120 silvers."

His eyes lit up a little at my words but he wasn't one to go down so easily.

"I'm taking a risk since I don't even know if they truly last two days. Plus, I'm buying in bulk. 105 silvers."

"You saw their manufacture. It's solid and they won't break easily. The batteries can be recharged as many times as necessary. 118 silvers."

That wasn't completely true but he didn't need to know that.

"No can do. I can't buy them at that price. You've lost your chance, merchant. I don't think anyone else would get interested in your goods."

He started to leave while shaking his elongated head, his whisker and tail swaying as he did so. I knew the trick and was completely unphased.

"So be it. Have a good evening, sir."

He continued to leave for several more steps but I could see him slowing down progressively. After ten or so steps, he finally stopped himself and acted like he was having second thoughts. Eventually, he slowly came back, a small scowl on his face.

"115 silvers. That's my last offer."

"Deal."

We exchanged coins and goods, the two of us sporting a smile. I negotiated hard because I saw he wanted the fans very much. And that worked fine. I only manned this stall for two hours and I was done for the evening. I made a huge profit from basically nothing since it all started with free water. 115 silvers was a lot of money, maybe enough for a family to live for a few tens of days.

"That was a good trade, young man. Tell me if you get more of these "selnic" items. I might be interested in buying them too."

"Thank you, sir. I'll do that."

He seemed to be quite happy about how things went, even though he didn't manage to haggle as much as he wanted. We separated on this good note and I closed my booth for the day. I went to see the current market manager on shift, a mid-sized species with grey and white fur called Kinsen, and paid to keep my current spot for the next day.

In a great mood, I thought about what to do with the money and headed back to the market. There were two items I was interested in. I wanted to buy meat to have more nourishing and varied meals at Suuru's place and I also wanted to buy something more present-like.

I first bought something for myself, a warm meal made of soup and bread that would serve as dinner. It was cheap and tasty, only costing me 30 coppers. I then stopped in front of a random meat stall and checked what they offered. There were mostly three types of meat, which were similar to what was offered in the dome. The options were chicken, pork, and beef. Since I had no idea what any of these were and which one was better, I bought some of each.

As for the present, I wasn't sure yet what to get. Most of the stall owners were selling food, probably to accommodate late workers and partygoers who were still roaming the streets at this hour. Even though they had to deal with drunk people from time to time, which was probably intimidating when you were a small species and your opponent was five times your size, they seemed to be used to it and there were few incidents. Plus, most of the large species seemed to have a relatively mild character.

After roaming the market a little, I finally found something interesting. One booth was selling candies based on sugar, with a few different colored types and forms. I bought a small round one as a trial and the sugar I was tasting for the first time in a long while melted deliciously in my mouth. My decision was made. I bought two bags of it for four silvers, happy with my purchase. It was so liberating to finally have some financial leeway, even if still wasn't much yet.

After that, I didn't have any business in the outer world anymore. I entertained the idea of visiting the brothel again but was too tired to truly enjoy it. After a long day of work, I just wanted to go back home and sleep.

I teleported back to Suuru's place. Since I told her I would come back very late, she had given me her backup key, which I used to open the door. The interior was dark and silent and I was glad that Suuru had followed my instructions of not waiting for me.

I quickly washed myself in the bathroom, replenishing her water reserves there with mine. I then changed into the pajamas she had gifted me, which I always used at night, and headed toward the bedroom.

Suuru was deep in sleep, only occupying half of the bed as if to show she had left room for me to join. With a grin, I inserted myself under the covers, trying not to wake her up.

"Tila…"

She mumbled in her sleep and instinctively wrapped her arms around my body. She then smiled and resumed her rest peacefully. I returned her hug and it didn't take long for me to fall asleep too, her pleasant smell and warmth surrounding me.

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