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Seeing a group of slickly dressed men walking straight towards his party, the burly man leading them immediately became alert.
He could clearly sense the faintly hazardous aura coming from the man in the lead. The smile on the other's face, however, didn't seem to harbor any malice, but in Cyprus City, he dared not trust anyone. These greedy mortals were filled with filthy desires to the core, even their blood was steeped in avarice. Without even thinking, he knew what they were up to, and some of the men at his side even quietly reached for the thick blade machetes at their waists.
Approaching the group of towering guests, Komer didn't show any discomfort or restraint, casually pulling over a chair and sitting down with his legs crossed, "May we talk?"
The fluency of Mountain Language from his mouth startled the several exceptionally burly men, especially the muscular man at the forefront, who was baffled with surprise.
It was unusual to find mortals who spoke Mountain Language these days, and the man across with a grin that just didn't sit right seemed to have an impeccable accent. He couldn't even find fault with it compared to his comrades' speech. The large head subconsciously nodded, yet his eyes remained fixed on Komer, as if trying to see right through to whatever trickery he was planning.
"Hehe, big brother, don't look at me like that. I'm not a bad guy. I'm just an ordinary person who wants to make friends with you. Perhaps we're destined to become good friends," said Komer, relaxing his body nonchalantly as he smiled broadly and explained, "I heard there's been a disaster in your area?"
With eyes brimming with vigilance, the muscular leader asked gruffly, "How do you speak Mountain Language?"
"Heh, what's so strange about that? I learned it from someone else. Can't mortals learn Mountain Language?" Komer retorted, understanding the other's suspicion. The idea of a mortal learning Mountain Language was unheard of, and this indeed raised doubts about his true intentions.
Shaking his head, the muscular leader gently stroked the beautiful metal wrist guard on his wrist and calmly said, "Please, don't avoid the question. If you want to become our friend, then kindly answer my inquiry truthfully."
"Hehe, I learned it from my mentor. He died a year ago. He wasn't a Barbarian, nor a Beastman, just a mortal like myself. Where he learned Mountain Language, I don't know; he never told me," said Komer, as if seeing through to the thoughts of the other, he decided to lay it all out to satisfy his curiosity.
"Mortals? How could mortals know Mountain Language?" the muscular leader muttered to himself, exchanging questioning glances with his comrades. He knew he was unlikely to get any more than that from Komer, but his expression had already softened considerably, "What do you want?"
"Nothing much. Just heard that you've come to Cyprus to trade and that you seem inexperienced, and got cheated quite a bit?" Komer maintained his nonchalant demeanor, casually picking up the Red Maoshao Liquor from the table and taking a sip. The intense burn made his face heat up, and he shook his head, "Good liquor, just too strong for me."
The muscular leader was a bit taken aback by Komer's audacious behavior. Although he didn't show it outwardly, he felt a twinge of closeness in his heart. Mortals rarely chose to drink with Barbarians at the same table. Even if business necessitated it, they wouldn't sit together with their kinfolk, let alone share food and drink. Such conduct, seemingly rude, brought the two parties much closer.
"The liquor you mortals drink are but tasteless and bland concoctions, no different from plain water. How can they compare to such fiery and potent beverages?" blurted out a burly companion of the muscular leader, clearly offended by Komer's comment.
A sharp look silenced his about-to-protest comrade; the muscular leader skipped the small talk. His broad, distinctively contoured face showed more straightforwardness and candor, and with a pensive gaze upon Komer's face, he bluntly said, "If you have something to say, speak your mind. I do not care for beating around the bush."
Komer nodded, speaking plainly, "I have a bad reputation, but I prefer to lay things out clearly. You Barbarians aren't too adept at trading, and I fear that the goods you've brought will hardly exchange for the food you require. If you trust me, you might as well let me take charge. Perhaps it could prove to be an unexpected boon."
His heart stirred, the chief-like burly man once more fixed his deep gaze into the eyes of Komer, yet to his surprise, the other still maintained a disrespectfully carefree smile that seemingly lacked sincerity.
A reflexive wave of refusal rushed through the leader's heart. He never trusted mortals, not even when pushed into such unwelcome trades.
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Although he didn't know how much profit those greedy mortal traders had made from the deal, he knew the food they promised to pay was far from enough to meet his needs. But no matter how he demanded, he was always told to either accept their terms or find another trader.
Wherever he went, his appearance signaled to others that he was a barbarian, as if "easy prey" were stamped on his forehead. The traders unanimously refused to raise their prices, some even bluntly told him that prices were the same throughout Cyprus City and the Homer region, and there would never be any changes.
It was this reason that drove him and his companions to a dead end, left with no choice but to drown their sorrows in the bar to alleviate the frustration in their hearts.
The words of refusal that came to his lips were retracted. As a chief, he couldn't judge matters based solely on personal likes and dislikes; that would be too irrational. After a brief thought, the burly man asked, "Why should we believe you?"
Shaking his head, Komer's confident face showed a hint of regret, "Simple, because you have no other choice. The Business Association of Cyprus City has already formed a tight organization among the traders; you cannot break their monopoly, at least not with the power you have now. Perhaps trusting me is a wise choice, though I can't guarantee absolute success. But compared to what you're presently able to exchange, what I offer is much more tempting. Besides, once I make the first move, I suspect the united front of the traders will be hard to maintain. In the end, you'll be the beneficiaries. So, I hope that for this first time, you bring your best goods to me."
Finally understanding the meaning behind the seemingly idle man's words, the chief quietly accepted the proposal in his heart, of course, only if the other side could deliver on his promises. But there was one question he still needed to ask, "Aren't you afraid of retaliation from those traders?"
To disrupt such a large business for the traders would not go unnoticed; they wouldn't just swallow their pride. Those with strong economic power in Cyprus City, if provoked, were cause for triple consideration.
The barbarian's rough and simple nature made the chief first consider the other's situation. As a chief, understanding how to handle consequences was also a way to judge if the other party was sincere about the deal. For them, strangers in a strange land, only this straightforward method could be used to evaluate others.
"Heh, the traders indeed have great strength, but they won't bother us. Don't worry about that; after all, Cyprus City is still a part of The Kingdom of Nicosia, under Grand Duke Philip's territory. This is a land of law, where illegal actions are not tolerated," Komer replied with a cunning smile, his answer vague but the confidence he radiated somewhat reassured the other party.
After a moment of hesitation, the chief finally nodded in agreement, reluctantly consenting to the deal. Seeing that he had agreed, Komer didn't delay and immediately had Proton, who had been standing by watching the negotiation with the barbarian in a daze, draft a trading contract. Then, he led the barbarian chief to a secluded place to sign.
Although barbarians used Mountain Language as their own, they didn't have a written language. Trading contracts were always written in the common language of the buyer's region. Taking advantage of the barbarians' lack of understanding of legal details and illiteracy, nearly all merchants played tricks in this area, causing the barbarians much suffering.
In the Homer region, no one was willing to truly help these barbarians. The legal officers looked down on these brutish people even more, and every complaint from the barbarians resulted in nothing more than lashes.
Seeing the other party solemnly explaining the terms of the contract, the chief felt perhaps he had made the right decision; if it was a deception, then he would just have to accept it. The seriousness displayed by the other at this moment was enough to prevent him from discerning the truth.
After discussing the details, Komer told him to wait for a reply in a week. He instructed the chief to spread the word that the goods had already been bought by the second son of the Reese Family, the Second young master from Lux's house, and the Third young master from Modo's house. He was to do nothing more than that and just wait for good news.
The barbarians were initially worried, but seeing that Komer and his associates had no intention of taking the goods with them, they immediately felt much relieved and dutifully acted as they had been directed.
Having arranged all of this, Komer knew that now that he had set things in motion, there was no turning back, but he hadn't planned to return to Cyprus City and lead an honest life for the rest of his days anyway; such a life was far too mundane for his taste.