It was truly amusing how the human mind worked, especially after the passage of time. Humanity has advanced so much that even I did not know what went on in their heads.
"A bargain of a lifetime uhn?" I repeated to the man in front of me.
He smiled at me. Something about him made him likeable, at the same time it threw me off.
"Could it be... ?" I asked myself.
I smiled. So that's how it was
"Firstly, I'd like to know the value of a single ancient coin. We can move further up in our negotiations from there." I said to Julius.
He initially looked a bit taken aback, but then he proceeded to speak after thinking about it.
"It is difficult to estimate its value since it is not something fixed. It changes based on demand, as well as other factors. However, currently a single ancient coin is worth a million coins." He said to me.
My eyes widened, I was surprised, though I immediately cautioned myself. However, I noticed Julius had already seen my surprise, maybe he was even looking forward to it. What a shrewd man.
"That's quite a huge sum" I said, sipping my tea.
"Indeed. It is unnaturally high now since there is a high demand for it." He told me.
"I see then. For how much do you want to purchase it off of me?" I asked him.
He paused. Perhaps he wasn't expecting me to be so straightforward.
"I'll buy it at market value" He said finally, smiling.
What? I wasn't expecting this.
"Why?" I thought to myself, though I didn't voice it out.
"You must be surprised and questioning my decision. Normally I ought to haggle on the price and settle for a discount. To be honest on good days I should be able to settle for a discount of thirty percent since we're dealing in bulk" He said.
"Huh, and why would I agree to such?" I asked, amused by his calculations.
He smiled.
"For one, according to the events that have happened so far, it seems these coins are of very little value to you. The fact that you were able to so casually manifest them proves my point." He said.
"True. I didn't think much of it at the time, but after this recent discovery concerning their actual value, don't you think I might change my mind?" I asked him.
Two could play the game!
He nodded, still maintaining his professionalism.
"That is a possibility, however, I highly doubt it." He said.
"Really? Why would you say that?" I asked with a mild laugh.
"You don't seem to be that kind of person." He told me plainly.
I paused at his words. What did he mean by that?
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.
He smiled, and then stood up from his seat.
"I'll be honest with you, I'm currently in the possession of a relic which allows me to gauge a client, and even to an extent, charm them." He said to me, showing me a ring he wore.
I was surprised. Not because of the relic though, I had noticed that from the start of our conversation.
"You've surprised me. I didn't think you would tell me this easily. I was wondering how long we would be playing this game." I smiled.
He laughed lightly.
"To be honest, I had a feeling you already noticed. That's one of the reasons I came clean. I'm even more surprised that you're not upset. Most people would be." He confessed.
"Why would I be? You are simply using what you have to get what you want. Isn't that trade in its simplest?" I remarked.
It seemed that my response truly amazed him that he burst into laughter and lost his composure for a moment.
"I apologize sir, you're a rather peculiar one. I have never met anyone like you." He said, calming down.
"Naturally" I replied.
"So, what did your relic tell you?" I asked him.
"To be frank, the relic had no effect on you. I was surprised initially since it's a grade five relic, and it works for nearly everyone, unless you're under the protection of a more powerful contradicting relic" He said.
"Well, if you could count this as one" I raised up my hand, showing him my ring.
"As I thought, you are a relic wielder, you're no ordinary man. To also be able to resist my charm, the relic must be of a very high grade." He remarked.
"Yes, indeed" I said, noticing that we were diverting from the main topic.
"Let's continue where we left off. You said I don't seem like the kind of person who would change my mind even after finding out the real value of my coins" I said.
He smiled sheepishly, also noticing that he had diverted from the matter at hand.
"Oh, that." He said.
"Was that also an effect of your Relic?" I asked.
"No. It was just a hunch" He told me.
"A hunch?!" I asked.
"Yes, exactly. A hunch" He repeated.
"As a merchant, especially one of my standing and experience, hunches and gut feelings are very important. I just had the notion that you have little use for the coins, even with their high value" He said.
I smiled. This man was sharp, very much so in fact.
If I could, I would love to drain his memories, but it would be such a waste since he'd be very useful for me in the long run. Fine, he deserved my attention. In my opinion, he was the first human to have truly impressed me in that new world.
"You have my attention now." I said to him.
Not only was he honest with me about the current market value, he also agreed to buy my coins at the actual market price. By using Hex of Truth, I was able to detect lies. He spoke the truth very often, but I knew that he was hiding something and I intend to find out just what it was.
"While I appreciate your good deal, I still remain undecided. A merchant such as yourself would never propose a losing deal." I told him.
"Well." He said, hesitating a bit.
"Want to know what I think?" I asked him.
He remained quiet. I went on.
"For you to know the exact market price of the coins, as well as the high demand for it, you must have a personal interest in it, or rather, one of your clients does. Auctioneers such as yourselves have connection to top tier members of society as well as a very wide network of information. You must have discovered with certainty that the current market price for the coins will skyrocket drastically." I said.
He looked surprised by my deductions.
"This means if I sell it to you at the current market price , when that time comes you'll make unimaginable profit. Am I wrong?" I said to him.
"T-That is correct sir" He said in amazement.
"Knowing all this, what stops me from waiting for the prices to jack up before selling my coins to the highest bidder?" I asked him.
He paused at my question.
I had big plans for this man, if he could just overcome this hurdle. Then, for sure...
"I doubt you'd want to do that" He said.
"Oh? Tell me more" I said.
"There are a couple of reasons for this." He said.
I silently waited to hear what he had to say.
"Firstly, inconvenience. I doubt you'd have the means of selling so many ancient coins at once. Besides, doing so will draw a lot of suspicion and attention to you, which I'm sure you wouldn't want." He said.
"How sure are you I don't like the attention?" I asked him naughtily.
"Well, if we take into account the fact that you are a relic user and I have never heard of you, plus the fact that you followed our secretary when things were getting too crowded for you back at the desk, then we have our answer." He replied smartly.
"Fair point, continue" I said.
"Secondly, you could attract unwanted attention. From top criminals in the underworld to even the Royal family. A person with so many ancient coins will disrupt the balance, and in that state of chaos, you won't even have national stability talk less of a market stable enough to sell your coins." He pointed out.
True. I would most likely be able to take down these enemies, but it wouldn't make sense for the whole conflict to have been started because of a couple million coins that I didn't need.
"There's also the fact that if you're willing to sell so many coins at the same time, the market value will decrease. You could decide releasing it at small quantities until your stash is exhausted, but I doubt you want to wait that long to sell your coins" He added.
True. The last thing I wanted to be was a merchant. Why would I contribute to the economy of the world I was going to destroy anyway.
"Finally, the issue of our auction center. It seems there is something of interest to you in this auction house, and you do not actually have the currency we do. This means you'll need to sell some of your coins anyway, in order to get the proper currency to use. Why not just sell them to us? I can guarantee that no other place will buy this many coins without any questions as to their origins and even with the full market price. Of course with confidentiality as well." He said.
I smiled. I hadn't been wrong. This man was indeed very shrewd, the most I'd seen so far. His analysis and deductions were on point as well. He even said some things that I never even thought of.
I laughed. How amusing and interesting!
"Very well. I'll sell them to you!" I told him.
His face brightened up as soon as he heard that.
"Then." He said.
"But, I'll be changing the terms" I said.
"Sure, what would you like to add?" He asked.
I smiled.
"Everything. This auction center, I want everything you have!" I declared.
His pleased look turned quickly to shock. He definitely wasn't expecting that.
"So, do we have a deal?" I asked with a dark glow gleaming in my eyes.