Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Merchant Firm Deals
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[Chapter 104 - Merchant House]
First things first for the sales: sorting and categorizing the items.
Step one: the experimental tools, glassware, and assorted knickknacks from the ruins. Best to sell them as-is. They came with a premium as freshly excavated goods, and besides, no one knew how to process them anyway.
The few books had already been skimmed by Arsen, but nothing particularly groundbreaking in them.
Maroon had comforted him by saying it was rare to find technically or historically significant texts in ruins anyway, but it still didn't feel great.
The most annoying to handle were the armaments taken from the bandits. They decided to keep the highest-quality usable ones—especially any relics—and repair and sell the standard gear.
Of course, that required a proper forge, but Eloise, the mage-cum-blacksmith, could turn a bare basement into a functional smithy with just a few other mages assisting.
Finally, all the unusable relics and mechanical beasts were melted down into ingots.
Better to offload them quickly like this than insist on recycling.
Now they needed connections to help with the actual selling, and Arsen already had someone in mind.
The preselected contact spoke to Arsen in a polite tone.
"You were looking for me, I hear."
The man he'd sought was Captain Yohun of the Tiger Claw excavation team.
The ideal choices would have been Rasur, vice-captain of the Dawn excavation team, or their captain Kren, but both were out of the city at the moment.
The Tiger Claw team was still in town, reorganizing after the damages from their last dig.
Conveniently sharing the same inn, all it took was a word to the innkeeper to summon him.
"Yes. I have a favor to ask. Could you help with selling some goods? I'll pay the fee."
"Hmm... sure. No problem."
Yohun nodded readily, even after hearing the commission terms.
Truth be told, it wasn't something to agree to so easily.
Introducing someone meant vouching for them with your own reputation, so if Arsen caused any trouble via Yohun's referral, some of the blame would fall on him.
In other words, agreeing so straightforwardly wasn't just about the commission—it was a gesture of goodwill.
"Thank you so much."
"So, what kind of goods?"
"Take a look."
When Arsen showed him the prepared items, Yohun's jaw dropped.
All sorts of ancient artifacts clearly straight from the ruins, shiny weapons and armor that weren't relics but still high-quality, and finally ingots of various metals used in some relics.
"This is... impressive. All of it yours?"
"Yes."
As Yohun inspected the items, his expression suddenly hardened.
Wondering what was up, Arsen followed his gaze to a certain knight's sword.
Arsen realized it was the weapon of the knight who'd clung to life right up until dying in that trap.
"If I may... this sword feels familiar, like I've seen it before."
"Could be."
At Arsen's calm reply, their eyes met.
A moment later, Yohun looked away.
"Not the highest-quality bunch, were they."
"No issues selling them?"
"Merchants don't fuss over that. Outside squabbles are outsider problems to them."
"Good to hear."
After the inspection, Yohun suggested two places to sell.
The experimental glassware, knickknacks, and books to the "Truth Trading Company," connected to the Dawn excavation team, which he'd introduced before.
The weapons, armor, and metal ingots to the "Winter Eye Trading Company," tied to the Black Lion.
"Black Lion, as in the inner district ones?"
"Yes. Can't go into details, but our excavation team has a good rapport with the Black Lion side. I'll arrange for you to get the best price."
The Black Lion: the most renowned armed group in the inner district of the ruin city.
Arsen already knew why the Dawn team was close to them—something about current captain Kren being close kin to the Black Lion's leader.
Arsen nodded silently in agreement.
"Understood. Appreciate it."
* * *
Following Yohun's introduction, Arsen's group first visited the Truth Trading Company, linked to the Dawn excavation team.
The plan was to sell the books obtained from digs and the reinforced glass lab equipment here.
The main store was on the third floor of a building adorned with red bricks.
The interior was quite flashy and refined. The floor was laid with smooth, glossy stone, the walls papered in bright hues, and the windows were glass.
For Arsen, who'd woken up that morning in a medieval-style inn, the cultural shock felt like time travel.
However, the atmosphere didn't match the upscale design—it was far from welcoming.
Sharp-faced guards patrolled from the entrance, no doubt hardened from dealing with rough diggers. Their presence was intimidating.
Not just burly rookies, but battle-tested veterans every one.
One was even a fully intact knight, graying but still spry.
Only Arsen, Yohun, and Rino entered the store—three in total.
Due to bandit concerns, the firm discouraged large groups of knights visiting en masse, armed or not.
Passing the guards, Arsen handed a letter of introduction to the receptionist.
"Please process this."
The receptionist took it, squinted slightly as he read, then grabbed his glasses from the side and read properly.
At a glance, the lenses looked made of crystal-like material.
"Sir Arsen of Belluan... and the recommender is team member Sir Yohun, correct?"
"Yes."
The receptionist nodded at Yohun's confirmation.
"If the quantity you claim is real, it's a bit much for me to handle... Mind waiting? I'll fetch the proprietor."
"Please do."
At Arsen's approval, the receptionist yanked a long cord a few times before leaving his post and disappearing somewhere.
Shortly after, an elderly man with snow-white hair and beard appeared, bowing politely in greeting.
"Welcome. I'm Nitran, the proprietor. It's an honor to host esteemed knights of renown."
The old man wore what looked like a butler's formal suit, his hair slicked back with oil and a neatly trimmed mustache.
His "aristocratic" appearance was rare here—like a fairy-tale character, almost out of place.
Arsen returned a light bow.
"Pleased to meet you. Arsen of Belluan."
"Shall we move to the parlor?"
"Sure. But the goods are outside."
Nitran smiled courteously at Arsen's words.
"We'll handle transport and inspection. Daru?"
"Yes, proprietor."
The burly man called Daru led underlings out of the building.
"They'll bring the goods. This way."
* * *
The parlor made even the impressive exterior look shabby.
From taxidermied magic beasts to a large still life painting with precise, surreal beauty dominating one wall, and black furniture with an eerie sheen that seemed almost slippery to the touch.
Seated as guests, Arsen voiced his honest impression.
"Nice room."
"Thank you for the praise."
They chatted briefly about the room's aesthetics when the burly man returned with his crew, hauling the goods.
Nitran inspected the neatly stacked items one by one, letting out a thoughtful "hmm."
After a thorough examination, he sat across from Arsen, sipped some tea, and spoke.
"All verified. Definitely excavated from ruins."
"You can tell by eye?"
"Yes. Though it takes training."
Arsen smiled and praised the pride in Nitran's voice.
"Impressive. The books?"
"Checked the covers and some early sections—unrecorded texts. Need appraisal for content, but titles suggest no earth-shattering info..."
Nitran trailed off slightly before declaring.
"Eighty gold coins. All standard city mint, pure and sized right."
Arsen had Rino check relic market prices beforehand.
Eighty gold wasn't bad, but a tad underwhelming.
Not worth the trip for that amount.
"Sir Rasur mentioned you'd give better prices on books."
"You know Sir Rasur, then."
"We've met a few times. Sir Kren as well."
Arsen recounted sparring and chatting with Kren, suitably sanitized without spilling secrets.
Conveying their acquaintance matter-of-factly, Nitran pondered long, then spoke cautiously.
"One hundred gold, then."
"Deal."
* * *
After handshakes and parting on good terms, the second stop was the Winter Eye Trading Company, run by the Black Lion.
Unlike the courteous Nitran from the start, this proprietor seemed utterly indifferent—until he saw the goods.
"This..."
"Look new, don't they?"
"Ahem."
He coughed to cover, but couldn't fully hide the satisfaction on his face.
They seemed to recognize the weapons and armor—not unfamiliar shapes, very similar to a certain vanished bandit crew's gear.
But they didn't pry.
As Yohun said, for these inner-city security and power players, diggers killing each other was outsiders' business, irrelevant.
All they cared about was potent relics.
Plus, Yohun from Dawn vouching helped.
"Thanks for the good price."
"No trouble. Come back if more turns up."
The Black Lion firm head chuckled, patting his belly.
Money circulates, after all—trade is twins of buyer and seller weighing the scales.
Arsen had no intention of hoarding useless gold, so instead of taking payment from Winter Eye, he paid them.
Combining proceeds from the gear and Truth Trading, he bought a few special items.
* * *
Back at the inn, they sorted purchases and rested.
Arsen was resting in his room too—but not alone.
For some reason, Eloise had come to his room to study a new magic book they'd acquired.
Naturally, bought from the firm.
"Coming along well?"
"Yeah. So-so."
Eloise answered Arsen's question.
She dove back into her studies, leaving Arsen to idly watch from his chair.
How much time passed? Eloise flipped the book toward him and asked.
"Sen, doesn't this format feel familiar?"
Arsen peered at it, but all he saw were bizarre runes and baffling explanations.
"Not to me. Does it to you?"
"Yeah. Similar to the style Groom taught me back then. Heavily modified, but still."
Magic teaching methods in books might converge universally, or perhaps Atar estate's transmission derived from this city's style.
Though the distance made that a stretch.
"Anyway, learn that spell—it'll help. Thanks."
"Got it. Aptitude fits well too; shouldn't take long."
Eloise grinned confidently.