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Volume 8 Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 38: Negotiator

『Sherry』

Current Levels & Equipment:

Master Smith Lv.32

Equipment:

Powerful Steel Spear

Chainmail

Hardened Leather Helmet

Hardened Leather Gloves

Hardened Leather Boots

Sacrificial Misanga

I deliver the third Palmasque Mirror to the Duke during the early morning break from the Labyrinth exploration.

I didn’t bring Roxanne with me again, of course. The last thing I want is to have the Duke ogle her with those pretty boy eyes of his, so she stayed at home together with Sherry and Miria.

While in Bode, I received the payment for the three mirrors, as well as one other thing: the order for three more mirrors. When that part was all said and done, I have returned home and prepared the Amber Necklaces again.

Before we go to buy more Palmasque Mirrors, we have to get our preparations done properly, after all. When all was said and prepared, I jumped to Bode’s Adventurers’ Guild and head to the Amber Merchant’s shop.

「Welcome, Mr. Customer. Unfortunately, we don’t have any raw amber ores available at the current moment.」

「That is indeed a shame. Fortunately, I came here today with a different matter entirely. I want to buy a necklace.」

「Very well. Come inside, please.」

The old man with cat ears leads us inside the building.

「I’ll leave choosing the necklace to you three.」

「Certainly.」

「Please leave it to me.」

「Okay, desu.」

While following the old man, I instruct the girls to pick the necklace.

「Last time, you showed us a necklace that, according to you, had the best amber you obtained in the past few years. Is that necklace still available for purchase?」

Before taking her seat. Sherry makes the first move and asks the merchant about the necklace that he showed us during our last visit here.

「Of course. Here it is.」

The old man hurries behind the counter and brings the necklace in question to us. Yes, that is indeed the very same necklace that Sherry asked for the other day, the one with the cat’s eye which was supposed to be looking good on Miria.

「It’s wonderful, indeed. This color, this transparency; it’s certainly the amber jewel of the highest grade and quality.」

Sherry picks the necklace up and praises it. Is it alright for you to be praising it so much, Sherry? He may take unfair advantage of us if we show any signs of  weakness…. Unless this is actually an element of your strategy here?!

「Exactly.」

「If you don’t mind, then could you remind me what was the price of it again?」

「Like I said last time, usually this necklace would cost seventy thousand Nars, but I can offer it to you at a discount of sixty nine thousand eight hundred Nars.」

Same as last time, huh? Let me reiterate then: that is a big steaming pile of shit, not a discount, so you can go ahead and shove it up your ass. That matter aside, it doesn’t look like he’s trying to be taking an unfair advantage of us, so at least that’s a relief.

Nevertheless, Sherry sighs when the merchant tells her the price of the necklace and mumbles 「same price as last time, huh?」. See, I knew she’s going to be of the same mind that I am.

As such, she puts the necklace back.

「Is there any other necklace like this one?」

「Like this one? Hmm… here, this one may not be exactly like the thing that you’re looking for, but…」

The old man merchant says while taking out another necklace with a large amber jewel hanging in its center.

「I see. This one looks good, too.」

「This necklace boasts the Big Ball of Deep Crimson. It’s an amber that appears once in a fifty years. Therefore, unlike other necklaces, this necklace doesn’t contain more than one type of jewel. The price of this one is sixty five thousand Nars.」

「I see.」

Sherry folds her arms and tilts her neck. She appears to be deep in thought. In the meantime, the old merchant puts the necklace in front of Miria and Roxanne.

「It’s definitely beautiful.」

「Beautiful, desu.」

Roxanne and Miria say that thoughtlessly while staring at the necklace in front of them.

「What do you say about these two here?」

Sherry holds the two necklaces in front of Roxanne and Miria and asks them about their opinion in order to break them out of their trance.

「Err… well…」

「I think this necklace with multiple jewels is better, but its price… isn’t it a bit too high?」

「I-I see. W-Well, if you like it so much, then I guess I can drop the price to sixty eight thousand Nars.」

Seeing the troubled expression on Sherry’s face, the old merchant drops the price even further, although admittedly by not that much.

「Uhm, couldn’t you offer us a discount that’s a little but bigger?」

「The best I can do is sixty seven thousand five hundred Nars. I cannot go any lower than this though.」

「It can’t be helped any more than this. I think that deal is pretty good for us for all its worth.」

When the merchant reduces the price. Sherry brings the necklace over to me. She made him drop the price twice without me having to lift as much as a finger. She really is a truly formidable negotiator, without a shade of a doubt.

「All right. Got it.」

「Next, I want another necklace that’s within the price of up to fifty thousand Nars.」

「Very well. Here, how about these?」

The old man brings two more necklaces to us and passes them onto Sherry.

「What about this one?」

「The necklace in your left hand has an amber jewel of fine quality. It has a mild yet rich hue to it. The one in your other hand has an amber jewel with strong shine. Its quality is not much less than the other one. The left one is priced at fifty two thousand Nars while the price of the other one is exactly fifty thousand Nars.」

「I see. However, there seems to be a hint of impurity in this one.」

After listening to the explanation of the merchant. Sherry compares the two necklaces with her inquisitive eyes and returns one of them back to the merchant. It’s the necklace she was holding in her right hand.

「There are other necklaces, too. This necklace here is of fine quality but its price exceeds fifty six thousand Nars.」

「This is certainly good, but there’s an instruction from the customer to be mindful of. Please don’t forget about that.」

Sherry holds the necklace for a moment but ultimately returns it to the merchant immediately after she deemed it not worth its price. This old merchant is not a fool either. I bet he is completely aware of the fact that we intend to resell the necklaces after buying them from him, and that’s why he’s dictating such high prices for them.

「That’s right. Then how about this one? Its shine is strong yet its hue is harmonious. This one is priced at fifty four thousand Nars.」

「Seems good but the customer… un, what do you all think?」

「Err… well… let me think…」

「Y-Yes, desu.」

Sherry approaches Roxanne and Miria for consultation on the other necklace. I, for one thing, think that asking them about their opinion on every single one of them might be more than a little useless, because for one: I don’t think these two are in a position to answer, and two: it’s not like they’re going to have different opinions on every single Amber Necklace that Sherry is going to be showing them.

「Okay then, I can give it to you for a special price of fifty five thousand five hundred Nars. How about that?」

「Indeed, that is a pretty acceptable price… but… hmm…」

Sherry tilts her neck to the side.

「Then how about fifty three thousand Nars?」

「Don’t you think it’s still a little high? How about a little bit more?」

「H-How about fifty two thousand five hundred Nars, then? I cannot go any lower than that though, please understand.」

「Oh, I understand all right. It’s certainly a better deal than before now, I guess.」

Sherry passes me the necklace, the price of which has been reduced to Fifty two thousand five hundred Nars, but everything seems to be pointing that without my discount the merchant with the cat ears will not go any lower than that.