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"Excuse me, sir... Are you sure you have the money to pay for that?"
I hear a pompous voice next to me and see that it's one of the people manning the weapon shop I'm in.
Kaelion hasn't woken up yet, so, since I think it would be good to let the elder orc rest if I don't want him to die on me today in the labyrinth, I decide to go out and buy a firearm while I wait for him to wake up.
I didn't get much sleep last night, as I ended up spending a lot more than 10 minutes practicing on my new tattoo, but I woke up first thing in the morning anyway.
'I guess it was a matter of habit.'
I'm a bit sleepy, but the option of staying in bed trying to get back to sleep while my idle mind starts wandering off into subjects dangerous to my state of mind is not to my liking, so I went out to explore.
I was in the first gun shop I came across, looking at some of the firearms they have on display, when one of the shop assistants decided that I was an unwanted customer.
The salesmen in this place are dressed in a manner more befitting of people selling luxury clothing than guns, which struck me as rather odd when I entered the shop.
But I didn't think they would judge their customers by their appearance.
'I guess the fact that the name of this place is 'Golden Armament' should have given me some clue as to what kind of shop it is.... After all, who would be foolish enough to use a weapon made of gold?'
When I saw the large number of people shopping and how big the place was, I thought it must be a good shop.
But it seems the clerk wasn't the only one who had misjudged things by their appearance.
"I don't know... How much is it worth?" I say, playing dumb since the comment has annoyed me.
'I know my outfit gives me a shady look, but I never thought I'd be mistaken for some kind of undesirable.'
"That's a top-notch flintlock pistol that can dent steel if it's not too thick, has an effective range of 10 meters, and only takes 3 minutes to reload. Obviously, thinking of a person trained to use it.... If you know what I mean. In anyone else's hands, a weapon of this caliber would be a waste," he says, looking at me with dismissive air.
'Wasn't it supposed that if I covered my skin, I wouldn't be treated like dirt on this shitty continent? What the fuck is wrong with these people? I'm sure they can't cater to all their customers like this; otherwise, this place would have gone out of business long ago'
"Yeah... I think I understand you, but you still haven't answered my question. Price?" I say, almost in a growl.
"9 gold coins; it clearly says so on the label on the handle." says the clerk, and takes the gun out of my hands to show me a small label I hadn't seen on the underside of the pistol grip. "And now, can you be so kind as to let me escort you to the exit?"
"All right! But first, I want you to wrap that gun for me. I want to buy it," I say, very irritated with the attitude of the bloody shop assistant.
The clerk looks at me for a few moments as if he doesn't understand my words and then says, "Look, sir, I don't like you wasting my time. You obviously don't have any money. I doubt you can even read. How about you leave this respectable establishment peacefully? I wouldn't want to have to call security."
'This bastard! Even if I didn't want it to acquire the Engineer class, I'd still buy the stupid gun to force him to apologize.'
With that thought, I put both hands in front of me, bring up nine gold coins in my right hand from my inventory, and drop them into my left hand, where I put them back into my inventory.
"I think someone is going to have to apologize. I'm really upset now..." I say, smiling even though I know the vendor can't see my expression because of the mask I'm wearing.
"Ahh... What? I..." says the clerk, blushing slightly and looking back at one of the people serving the customers.
'I guess that's his boss...'
"It's a shame... a friend of mine who is related to the owner of this place had told me that I could buy a decent firearm here, but I guess even friends can fool you. I would never have expected to get this kind of treatment. I think I'm going to have to go talk to the owner," I say, as I start walking in the direction of the person I think must be the owner of the place.
"No! Wait, sir.... This was my mistake; I admit it. Please, don't tell my boss.... I might lose my job, and I really need the job," says the employee in a low voice, hurriedly, while holding my arm tightly.
"Hmm, well... But what can you do to make up for the bad time?" I say, pretending to be undecided on what to do.
"I... I could sell you the flintlock pistol for 8 gold coins," says, practically in a whisper the shop assistant, looking worriedly towards the people nearby, although there are too many people in the shop for anyone to overhear our conversation.
"Fine, but make it six," I say, yanking myself out of the clerk's grip with a jerk.
"Please, sir, keep your voice down. Three gold coins are a lot of money. I'm going to have to put up the difference out of my own pocket..." says the orc, pleading with me as quietly as he can.
"Ahh, but that's not my problem…" I say, not feeling the least bit sorry for this jerk, since he's only getting what he deserves.
At the end of the day, who knows how many people he may have treated the same way he treated me, simply based on the appearance of his customers?
".... I was just coming to buy a firearm like any other customer, but I was insulted for no reason. I think 3 gold coins is a fair punishment for the mistake of not knowing how to treat your customers.... However, if you disagree, we can always ask your boss. He's bound to have an opinion on the matter."
…
In the end, I was able to buy the gun for 6 gold coins, and now I'm going to rent a place to stay that's close to the labyrinth.
Every time I came with Kaelion to the area near the labyrinth from our inn, it has taken us several hours to get there, as we have always walked through the crowded streets.
But now that I am alone, I can switch to a much more comfortable way of getting around, and I simply hop from building roof to building roof, avoiding any delays and going as fast as my abilities allow me to.
After a few minutes, I reach my destination and search from above for an inn.
Three minutes later, I see an inn that is only about 50 meters away from the association.
"Hello? I would like to rent a room for two people, or two rooms if possible..." I say, as I enter the reception area of the place, but I don't see anyone anywhere.
After a few seconds, I raise my voice a little more and say, "... Is anyone here?"
"I'm coming... I'm coming... Excuse me, Mr. Customer, I was in the kitchen preparing the food for today..." says a skinny, stooped little orc of very advanced age, giving the impression of being around 80 years old, who appears as a door opens.
"No problem," I say, and I repeat my request.
"Ohh, it won't be any trouble for me to rent you two rooms… I already have several of your kind staying with me." he says, watching me from below with a friendly smile.
"My kind?" I ask, not understanding what he means.
"Labyrinth explorers... or coliseum fighters. They both have a certain... something that characterizes them. I don't know how to describe it, but it's easily distinguishable when either of you come to rent a room." He says, coming up to me, whereupon I see that his head barely reaches the level of my stomach.
"Ahh, yes, you're right.... But back to the subject of rooms..."
…
After a few words, I was able to rent two rooms for 3 gold coins every 10 days, food included.
Which is quite a bit more than what I used to pay at the inn in the capital of Liones, but considering we can get 10 gold in a single day of exploration in the labyrinth, we can afford it.
'The old inn keeper may have swindled me, but maybe that's the normal price… I'll ask Kaelion later. I hope he agrees with my choice of location....
But if he doesn't agree, he will have no choice but to accept it.'
I had to pay half up front, as the owner told me it was a necessary measure to make sure in case the customer disappeared before the deadline.
But I think it was worth spending most of the little money I had left after the purchase of my flintlock pistol.
'The owner of the place is a very nice person.... It's good to see that not everyone in this damned empire judges people by their looks...' I think, as I'm walking back for the last time to the inn we were staying at so far and where Kaelion is probably still sleeping.