A Base Method to Get a Discount
A Base Method to Get a Discount
"Ahem, ahem."
I felt a little embarrassed.
Not wanting to show my crying face, I had my back to Mrs. Arisa.
As I quickly tried to wipe away my tear stains, Mrs. Arisa spoke in a benevolent voice.
"Kalle stays in the village for about three days when he comes, so let's work hard together."
"Yes."
Of course, I hadn't even tested my magic aptitude yet.
"Oh dear... I apologize. It took me a while to find it."
Just in time, Kalle returned.
In his hand was a large, round, purple Crystal Ball.
"If you place your hand on this, a color matching your aptitude will appear, like red for fire magic."
Kalle handed me the Crystal Ball and said.
"Please give it a try."
"Hoo..."
What if, after all this, I have no magic aptitude at all...?
With a mix of worry and anticipation, I hid my anxious feelings with a deep breath and placed my hand on the Crystal Ball.
"............"
"............"
"............"
About five seconds passed.
There was no reaction.
Could it be that I truly have no aptitude?
My heart slowly began to feel empty, and just before falling into despair.
-Paaaat...!
Only then did the Crystal Ball begin to emit light.
And its color was,
"Rainbow...?"
"Hup...! This is...!"
It was rainbow-colored.
From what Kalle said, it seemed I was born with an aptitude for all elements.
"Haaah..."
-Thud.
My legs gave out, and I collapsed right there.
When no light appeared even after waiting for about eight seconds... my heart truly almost dropped.
Come to think of it, since I'm the game's protagonist character, I wondered if it was even possible for me to have no aptitude at all.
"In my life, I've never seen a rainbow color before..."
As Kalle marveled, Mrs. Arisa asked in return.
"If it's rainbow-colored... doesn't that mean an aptitude for all elements?"
"There's aptitude, but... the most important thing is that there's no elemental resistance, or so I've heard... Since I'm not a mage myself, I don't know the details."
Did I receive a special perk because I'm the game's protagonist, or am I just naturally lucky?
Honestly, no matter how much I thought about it, it didn't seem like the latter.
At this point, I even wondered if I might receive bonuses for melee weapon types, not just magic.
'Not only do I not have money to buy other weapons, but I also don't have time to build up proficiency.'
In job-based games, you typically only raise one type of stat.
If you try to raise various stats, you'll end up as what's commonly called a 'Jack-of-all-trades character'.
Of course, if that Jack-of-all-trades character had all full stats, it would be a different story.
In any case, Mrs. Arisa's investment did not disappoint.
Thanks to her contribution, from the 27 Silver I had, 25 Silver remained.
I wasn't sure if it was an amount I could gather in three days, but I planned to earn money by maximizing efficiency as much as possible.
Even though it might not look like it, I have a lot of experience playing grind-heavy Adult Games.
Drawing on that experience, I began to search for the fastest and easiest way to reach my goal.
##
Cutting down on sleep is certainly not good for the body.
But I had something I absolutely had to buy.
The first day went smoothly.
I went to the forest to gather, processed the materials, and sold them to Kalle.
I set traps, caught animals to get their hides, and picked berries.
I thought it would continue smoothly, but the problem started on the second day.
Perhaps the wild animals knew instinctively, as they didn't come near the village at all,
and even the traps that used to catch at least one animal became useless.
Still, I thought it was just bad luck for that day.
#
The day Kalle was leaving the village.
Fortunately, he wasn't leaving early in the morning, but in the afternoon.
Thanks to that, I gained a little more time, earned as much as I could efficiently, and went to Kalle.
"Indeed, you've worked hard for three days. Here, 20 Silver."
In a way, it might have been obvious.
When I sold the items I had made over a week, it was 15 Silver.
If I had earned more than a week's worth in three days by maximizing efficiency, that would have been very good news.
But it wasn't such good news for me.
The money I earned over about ten days was 35 Silver.
But the price of the Magic Staff was 40 Silver.
A situation where I was short by just 5 Silver.
I wanted to go to the forest to gather and earn 5 Silver right now, but
"That's unfortunate. I'll probably be leaving the village within an hour..."
Kalle's words made it impossible for me to head to the forest.
'Ah, isn't there any way...?'
A way to get money right now.
Borrow money from a villager?
This was dismissed, as I had thought before.
No feasible method came to mind.
Do I have to give up on the staff like this?
In an urgency I had rarely experienced, I unconsciously bit my nails.
Seeing my anxiety, Kalle cautiously opened his mouth.
"Hmm... Do you wish to receive a 5 Silver discount?"
Discount.
Or price negotiation.
I didn't expect Kalle to bring up such a thing first.
For a seller to bring it up meant he was willing to negotiate, I supposed.
But on the other hand,
"...What's the condition?"
"As expected, you're quick-witted."
It also meant there was no reason to negotiate the price without any conditions.
"I am a Traveling Merchant who travels through various villages. Due to the nature of this profession, it's difficult to form relationships. So, I usually satisfy my desires at brothels in the city."
From Kalle's words, I somewhat understood what he was trying to say.
"Ha."
I stared at Kalle as if dumbfounded,
and my fists involuntarily began to clench.
"So, you're telling me to sell my body like a prostitute?"
Even my tone towards Kalle turned aggressive.
Any lingering affection I had for him vanished.
Then Kalle hastily hit his handcart.
"Haha, surely I wouldn't make such a request to someone who isn't a courtesan. Please, hear me out first."
In the end, was there any need to listen to him talk about wanting to satisfy his desires with my body?
But Kalle, as if unaware of my feelings, began to speak as he pleased.
"I have no intention of disrespecting Lunia-ssi or anything like that. Haha, it's embarrassing, but I absolutely adore women's breasts..."
"Even when I first met you, only Lunia-ssi's breasts caught my eye. My request to Lunia-ssi is simply for you to hold your breasts together and stay still."
"............You crazy bastard."
"Haha, Lunia-ssi might not know this well, but men are absolutely crazy about women's breasts."
I know.
Because I was a man in the first place, I know very well how obsessed men are with women's breasts.
But precisely because I know it so well, I'm calling you a crazy bastard for daring to state that as a condition.
So, in short, that old man is saying he wants to masturbate with my breasts right now?
And I even have to hold my breasts together to make it feel better for him?
'Ugh, fu...ck.'
It's physiologically impossible.
You're telling me, who used to be a man, to give someone a handjob? And with my breasts?
Just thinking about it made me nauseous.
"Ahem, ahem, it might be a bit cheap of me to say this, but isn't it mutually beneficial? I'm not asking for anything special from Lunia-ssi. You simply have to stay still and you'll receive 5 Silver."
At first, he brought it up as if he had no choice, but once he revealed his true intentions, he was now trying to persuade me.
"Even if I were to return here, it would be at least two months, and if something unfortunate happens, it might take more than six months... Lunia-ssi, don't you desperately want to buy that staff?"
"...Ugh."
"I've also never seen someone with a rainbow elemental aptitude before. I truly want to sell a staff to such a person."
True to a merchant, Kalle was very good at smooth talk.
Honestly, I desperately needed a staff too.
But even so, I didn't want to sell my body just for money.
As if Kalle had noticed my feelings, he began to pour all his effort into persuading me.
"This is absolutely not an act of Lunia-ssi selling her body! This is simply a contract between two parties."
After a long time of trying to coax me with such honeyed words, he finally,
"Alright. I haven't been considerate enough of a woman's feelings. Actually, I have a Magic Book that I've been saving to sell when I go to the city. I haven't properly identified its element, but for Lunia-ssi, who is rainbow-colored, anything would suit you well."
"Its price would probably be at least 50 Silver. I'll give it to you along with the staff. I can't do any more than this. If you refuse until the end, I won't sell the staff to Lunia-ssi either. There's less than an hour left until I have to leave the village, so please decide quickly."
Kalle's words made me inwardly start to waver.
Should I just grit my teeth and accept his demand this one time?
Was I simply trying to uphold my pride?
In truth, the moment I started to hesitate, it was already as good as over.
Cracks began to appear in the iron fortress I had vowed never to yield.
And the cracks, which began to grow in size, eventually became so large that they were uncontrollable.
Before I knew it, I had crumbled and accepted Kalle's demand.
"............Instead, there will be no sounds or actions that you desire."
"Haha, of course! Didn't I tell Lunia-ssi from the beginning that you just need to stay still?"