Bab 17: Chapter 17: Bargain
We laughed for a good minute before calming down.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please continue," I pleaded.
"No, I won't," she crossed her arms, "Not if I'm going to be laughed at again," she turned away from us.
"I doubt that young lady," the old man said seriously, "Unless you accidentally poured some in the soup and knocked the whole church out! Bahahaha!" We all laughed our tears out again.
Lia stared at us with contempt and pouted her lips.
I put on my serious face and asked Lia, "So what happened in the end?"
She ignored me.
"Come on, young lady! Let us know the end of the story…" the old man persuaded.
"Hmmph!", she harrumphed coldy.
"Why did the church even have a knockout potion formula in the first place, anyway?" I asked.
"It's used to help us treat patients who are suffering from intense pain, so that we can prevent them from doing harm to themselves and others around. We usually dilute it heavily before administering them to patients," Liarelle replied.
The old man stroked his beard and seemed to consider something for a moment, "How about this, if you finish your story, I will allow you to have these vials for free!"
"Grandpa!" the young man cried.
My eyes lit up in excitement. Considering the exorbitant prices of the average item on this shop, merely telling a story for it would be a bargain of a lifetime! I observed Lia's expression and she seemed hesitant, fighting to resist the temptation of the old man's deal. Her expression suddenly hardened, I can tell that she had made a decision, though I doubt it was a good one. My eyes widened in panic. She let out a tiny voice, "I-I'm sorry, but I don't-"
She's hopeless, I must interfere!
"We'll tell you the rest of the story," I interrupted.
"But-"
I stood beside and her and whispered, "You must accept the deal, Lia! Do you have any idea how expensive the things you're gonna buy?"
She looked at me innocently. I sighed, "I knew it." She was too caught up in her shopping spree, she forgot to check the prices.
"Excuse me, shopkeeper. Do you mind telling me the total of her purchase?" I asked the young man.
"Sure, Mister. The totals of the 14 vials in her cart amounts to 11 Gold and 5 Silvers," he said painfully. I gave him a nod of sympathy. Must be tough running a business with a whimsical grandpa like that. I turned to face Lia again and gave her a meaningful look. She looked down in embarrassment and said "I'll finish the story."
"Attagirl," the old man said, "Johnson, wrap up the vials and give them to the young lady!"
The young shopkeeper sighed and did as his grandpa asked. "11 golds and 5 silvers worth of wares just for a story? Just how profitable can an apothecary shop be?" I pondered to myself.
Lia continued with her story, "As soon as the Bishop fell, the entire classroom went in a state of panic and I was immediately arrested for drugging the Bishop. They locked me up in a cell and questioned while deciding how to deal with the issue. It was only after then Bishop Meldana, who pieced along the evidence after three days, finally declared me innocent. After the ordeal was over, I was released and brought directly under her wing. In recognition of my talent, I was given a special curriculum by her and practiced potioneering relentlessly," Lia finished.
The three of us gave an applause and nodded in admiration. I even saw Johnson wiping away some of his man-tears while wrapping the vials. Truly a good story with a great moral in it. It takes luck and hard work in order to be successful. In this case, bad luck.
Johnson handed Lia the box full of vials and we thanked both the shopkeepers.
Before we left, the old man asked, "Are you both in any chance, adventurers?"
"We just signed up yesterday and was about to take the rank-allocation-test today!" Lia replied cheerfully, like a puppy who had just received a treat. How shameless. Still cute, though.
"I see. What's your name?"
"My name is Liarelle and my companion here is Mike."
"Mine's Jerome and the lad there is Johnson. Come by if you ever need anything from this shop, we'll be sure to give you a special discount."
"Thank you, sir."
We exited the shop with our bountiful harvest, ringing the shopkeeper's bell once more on our way out.
Knowing there's still time before our test starts, we decided to wander around for a while before heading to the guild. And along our way, unintentionally ended up at the outer edge of the market district. The shops here don't seem to be as extravagant as the ones closer to the center. I checked out some of the prices and found it significantly cheaper that the ones deeper inside, most of them being either secondhand items, damaged, or flawed. A flea market, just what I needed. We continued browsing along, passing the shops one by one, trying to find anything of good value. Amongst the items sold were old leather armors, chipped swords, a handle-less warhammer, even some cheap potions that makes you doubt it isn't actually watered down wine. I shook my head in disappointment. Although cheap, only a few of the items sold are actually worth spending money on - the rest are no better than trash. Just as we were about to leave, I suddenly caught a glimpse of what I've been needing all along. I walked over to the shop and asked for the price.
"That'll be 3 Gold." the merchant smiled at me, a few of his teeth missing.
"What? Three Gold for this piece of junk?" I was taken aback by the audacity of the little plump man.
"You needn't need to be so loud, venerable customer. It's made out of a wyvern's hide and inlaid with silver on its mouth. I'll tell you what, I'm willing to part with this treasure of mine for only 1 Gold and 6 Silvers instead. It's already a bargain for me to go this low," he said sincerely.
I considered his words and run the leather with my fingers. Hmmm, maybe I should buy it. I do need it for my future adventures after all. I looked at the merchant expression and saw a slight grin on his face. Trying to swindle me, eh? Now that I think about it, the texture feels kinda familiar.
"Don't try to trick me! This isn't really made out of wyvern hide isn't it? It's actually made from the hide of a river lizard!" I snapped at him.
The merchant took the item and inspected it, soon later his eyes widened in shock, "You're absolutely right, esteemed customer! Forgive me for making such an incompetent appraisal! I must've accidentally switched it with another item. I usually sell this for 9 Silvers, but since I've made a huge blunder, I'll lower the price to only 3 Silvers. Please accept my apologies, most respected customer!"
I nodded in approval, "I'll take it." I handed him 3 Silvers and accepted the item. Another great bargain for today.
"Why would you even buy that?" Lia asked curiously.
I smiled victoriously, "You'll see."
As I finished hanging the sheath on my belt, I noticed a beautiful figure, walking away from afar.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone