After Xing Liyun and Ying was gone, the four teens decided amongst themselves to split up into two groups and check out the surrounding shops and stalls that were laid out for anything they might like in order to amuse themselves.
With their decision made, they set out to patiently wait for Xing Liyun and Ying to return.
Their crew of four had separated into 2 groups and Robby was paired with Andy.
"Hey, Robby, why do you think we got to tag along with boss and Ying?" Andy asked with a silly expression on his face as he looked around at the lively market area next to the Mercenary Guild as they wandered in. Andy's "boss" obviously referred to Xing Liyun. Xing Liyun had instructed the four teens to call him boss from now on since he was going to be their head.
Frankly, it was because the Mercenary Guild was located in this area that many shops and stores were built near it, prospering due to the former's influence. With the Mercenary Guild there, the lands around a 360 degree radius of it had their values appreciated, the more nearby ones increasing the most.
However, the Mercenary Guild wasn't always this powerful nor influential at the beginning. They did not just rise to fame over night.
The history of the Mercenary Guild was far deeper and complicated than anyone would think. Before people even heard about them, at the time before they became the famous and world-renown guild they are now, they were just a minuscule, unnoticed, and small-time guild out of everyone's eyesight, hardly anyone, especially those of importance, knew about their existence at that time.
It was only thanks to their previous leader that they came out of the shell and became so powerful and influential amongst the people of this world.
Whack!
Suddenly, Andy was caught unprepared and smacked in the back of his head.
It was Robby who had unceremoniously hit him without mercy. It wasn't his curious question that made Robby hit him, no, it was the silly look on his face that Robby couldn't stand. It was as if the poor kid had never ever gone out and seen society before!
"Ouch!! What did you do that for?!" Andy exclaimed in shock at the sudden attack from the one who he called his friend, and rubbed the part of his head that was in pain with the intention to soothe the aching pain. He pouted as he looked at his friend who's also his leader for an explanation.
Out of his expectations, though, Robby only looked back at him with a face full of disdain and spat out, "Wipe that stupid look off your face! You're being embarrassing!"
Andy gasped, looking offended by Robby's remark. But honestly, Andy thought nothing of it as he had been told off many more times than he can count. This light 'insult' won't affect him in the slightest.
Almost as though deaf to Robby's words, Andy's attention was attracted just like iron to magnet by something he saw on the laid out cloth on the ground where an old man was currently selling his things at, although there were no customers at all.
Shaking his head at Andy's usual antics, or more like, empty-headedness, Robby shifted his attention elsewhere. Staring up at the sky in deep thoughts.
'Who knows why we came with them when they could've just gone by themselves to register to become a mercenary. Maybe he was afraid that we would run off to somewhere without them looking. But that shouldn't be it, or else they would've taken us in with them to not let us out of their sight. Perhaps boss wanted to test us?' Robby thought hard about all the possibilities, but he started to get a little frustrated thinking about this. Scratching his head, he thought, 'Or maybe... he had his own thinking that I can't guess?' Robby was uncertain, however, he wasn't actually that concerned about it, although his hard-thinking session says otherwise. Sure he can be hot-headed at times, but that doesn't mean he's not a thinker. It was just in his nature to be curious and want to have the answers to his questions even if it's not important. He always had this incurable urge to find the answers to his questions.
Unexplainable but it exists.
Though none of this means that he would do anything and everything to find out what he wants to know just so he can quench his thirst and extinguish his own life while at it. That would only make him an obsessed manic.
"Ah! Andy! What are you doing?!" Snapping out of his thoughts, he was just in time to see Andy persuading the old man of a stall to sell him something. Robby had yelled in a panic and surprise as he made a grab at Andy who had at one point in time made his way over to the old man and started negotiating the price with him over a thing that had caught his eyes.
It was completely fine that Andy wanted to buy something, but it was not that that Robby was alarmed at; It was the fact that Andy wanted to exchange that thing with a pretty stone that he had picked up on their way here!
Although they may rob people in alleyways and in secluded places, they generally don't harm them unless the other side doesn't do as they say and they had to get rough with them---but they don't cheat others. They only do what they do for a living after all and not for some sick kind of fun.
And what Andy is doing right now in that situation is considered 'cheating others' by Robby's standards. In Robby's eyes, no matter how pretty or rare a rock is, it will never be worth anything.
Before, while Robby was still in thought, Andy had gone over to the old man's area and squatted down to meet the latter's eyes. Solemnly and politely holding out his hand containing an extremely pretty stone that shone brilliantly in the sunlight, Andy pointed at a pair of rusted and dirty daggers on the old spread-out cloth and asked the old man seriously while staring intently into the other's eyes, never breaking eye contact---even using formal language---, "May I exchange this pretty stone for them?" He pointed at the two rusted daggers with his free hand that was not holding the stone.
The old man looked incredulous as he stared in disbelief at the young teen in front of him who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and wanted to buy the two dirty daggers which he thought would never be bought by anyone. More than that, he couldn't believe that the young kid wanted to pay for them with a rock and with only one rock, not even two or three.
Well, it's true that the stone the 16-year-old child in front of him showed him was very beautiful and enchanting, and mind he add, rare looking, so the old man actually considered trading the pair of rusted and useless daggers he had accidentally picked up while wandering around for the other's stone. It wouldn't be a bad trade in the old man's mind as he calculated. They were unwanted blades after all.
In fact, he might actually be able to sell that stone for some money and attract customers. He hadn't seen a single customer coming up to him to inquire of his goods from early morning when he set up his stall to now, until the arrival of the young lad in front of him.
Chewing up this matter a little more, the old man agreed to Andy's trade-off offer. Handing the pair of rusted daggers over to Andy and gaining a pretty, glittering stone in return.
At this time, Robby arrived at Andy's side and took him by his shoulder.
Andy seeing Robby at his side grinned and said as if asking for Robby's praise, "Look, Robby, I got a great deal!"
However, much to his disappointment, Robby didn't even spare him a single glance, let alone praise him.
Both Robby and Andy had never seen him before so the old man must be an outsider.
Nevertheless, Robby was still courteous to the other party, somewhat forced. As his smile and tone could both be made out to sound fake, faker than fake, but at least he tried, for he felt somewhat ashamed that one of his friends had cheated the old man of his things, even if he was only an outsider.
There was a big difference between the treatment of an outsider and the native of a town or settlement.
"Mr., are you sure that you want to trade your... p-precious daggers for that piece of stone?" Robby asked with a forced and ugly smile on his face as his grip on Andy's shoulder tightened, causing the latter to grimace and flinch wondering what he did wrong. He thought he had done great, he saved money after all. He didn't steal anything either, he only fairly exchanged something. With a stone.
It seems Andy's IQ was lower than he had thought. Was what was in Robby's mind as of currently.
The old man looked with suspicion and askance at Robby who also had suddenly appeared, just like Andy, but nodded his head anyway. Indeed, he had agreed to this "fair" trade and he doesn't have much regret. Nobody would want to buy those rusted daggers that cannot be used anymore.
Robby, seeing the other side node, was a bit anxious. He still didn't consider this trade-off to be fair even though both sides were satisfied with the result. He wasn't satisfied!
So he hastily blurted out, despite the disapproving and aggrieved looks Andy kept on sending him, "Don't you feel a little cheate---!"
Right at this moment, an exclamation like they had unexpectedly come across a treasure suddenly sounded out from somewhere inside the crowd of passersby walking down the street like waters flowing along a stream. Someone could be seen squeezing their way out of the mass of people.
"Ouu!" The person escaped out of the trapping with a jerk and skittered forward a few steps before coming to a screeching stop.
This person who appeared was an elegantly dressed man. With his appearance somewhat ruffled due to the sea of people he swam out from. He exuded an air of nobility and intellect.
He straightened up, dusted off his clothes, and coughed to clear his throat. All of his actions so far made him look like a dignified gentleman.
At least until the refined expression on his face morphed into one of childish excitement and glee.
Literally jumping to where they were from his previous position, the man swiftly squatted down and mannerlessly grabbed ahold of the hand of the old man holding the stone that was just exchanged for the pair of daggers currently in Andy's possession.
Looking at it with sparkling eyes and taking in every little detail, he nodded his head excitedly for who knows what reason.
Having his hand grabbed out of the blue, the old man was shocked and stunned to the spot as his heart nearly suffered a heart attack from the abruptness of it all.
"It's a Blue Royal Gemstone! It's definitely a Blue Royal Gemstone without a doubt!" The man exclaimed in exhilaration, as if he had just found a world-class treasure by chance, which actually isn't that far off from the truth.
The old man furrowed his brows and asked trepidly with a face full of doubt and question as he tried to pull his hand free from the man's iron-grip but to no avail, "Wh-what are you talking about?" He had never heard of a gemstone called Blue Royal Gemstone before, was it supposed to be something amazing?
At this, the man's sight snapped up from the gemstone to meet the old man's doubtful eyes. He spoke seriously with intent, word-by-word, "This is a rare and precious gemstone that's not easily found. Once found must be immediately reported to the king to which the king will reward the finder handsomely! In other words, you, my friend, have found a treasure!" He spoke dramatically, almost sounding exaggerated, however, he was not, not even the slightest bit, making it a bigger deal than it actually was.
To this point, the old man's eyes widened in shock and his hand trembled. Then as if realizing something, he whipped his head down to stare intensely at the small gemstone lying at the center of the palm of his still captured hand.
Opening and closing his mouth repeatedly in a daze like a goldfish for a few seconds, he gasped and exclaimed, "A-a-a treasure!---" Following that, he failed to say anything else as his tongue had seemingly glued itself to the roof of his mouth, his mind going blank from his unexpected fortune.
A treasure for a pair of rusted daggers....
It was definitely a good trade-off! The best trade-off!! Exchanging a pair of unusable daggers for a national treasure! Absolutely worth it!
The elegantly dressed man cut in again at this time, "I'm willing to buy it from you for 50 gold coins!" He offered as he continued to stare relentlessly into the eyes of the rejoicing old man, albeit a bit anxious.
While all of this was happening, they had unintentionally attracted a crowd of onlookers wondering what was so precious and good about that pretty stone in the poorly-dressed old man's head to garner such a reaction from that well-dressed man.
They gasped in disbelief once they heard that the king would be willing to pay another so handsomely just for a tiny piece of rock. They truly can't understand the minds of the wealthy. They were well-off but no rich or wealthy at all.
However, not understanding is only not understanding, it had no effect on their profit-making brains.
Their minds turned as they wondered and dreamed about they themselves going in front of the king, handing him the Blue Royal Gemstone, and getting rewarded handsomely.
Just thinking about it makes them...
So when they came back to their senses and heard the man offering to buy the Blue Royal Gemstone from the old man for 50 gold coins, they immediately geared up and started a bidding war.
It's not like they couldn't afford to dig out a measly 50 gold coins from their pocket!