Not only was Julius being honest with him about the current market value, but he also agreed to buy his coins at the actual market price. He spoke the truth very often, but Elish knew that he was hiding something and he intended 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," Elish finally spoke up.
"Well… " Julius muttered, hesitating a little now, though he had a smile plastered on his face.
"Want to know what I think?" Elish's grin only grew wider.
"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 connections 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."
Julius appeared surprised by Elish's deductions.
"This means if I sell it to you at the current market price, when that time comes you'll make an unimaginable profit. Am I wrong?"
Once he was done with his conclusion, Elish's gaze pierced Julius' surprised green irises, and at that moment it seemed there was no longer any need to hide or pretend.
The truth was bare.
"T-that is correct, sir," Julius finally confessed.
"Knowing all this, what stops me from waiting for the prices to increase before selling my coins to the highest bidder?"
He paused at Elish's query. It felt like a leading question and it was. Elish had big plans for this man, so if he could just overcome this hurdle, then, for sure they could have a deal.
'What will you say now?' The Monarch grinned internally.
"I doubt you'd want to do that," Julius finally said after about a minute of silence.
"Oh? Tell me more."
"There are a couple of reasons for this," he said, his face now a mask of seriousness.
"Go on."
"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?"
"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 succinctly.
"Fair point. You may proceed."
"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, let alone a market stable enough to sell your coins," he pointed out.
'True. I shoul be able to take down any mortal threat that comes my way, but it wouldn't make sense for the whole conflict to have been started because of a couple million coins that I don't even need.' Elish thought to himself.
It seemed Julius noticed his deep thought into his last point, so he swiftly proceeded to add another reason.
"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 to release it in small quantities until your stash is exhausted, but I doubt you want to wait that long to sell your coins."
'Also a valid point.' Elish nodded internally.
The last thing he wanted to be was a merchant. Why would he contribute to the economy of the world he 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."
Julius was finally done elucidating his reasons, and it was now time for Elish to give hid verdict.
'It seems I wasn't wrong.' He smiled.
The man before him was indeed quite shrewd—the most he'd seen so far.
His analysis and deductions were on point as well. He even mentioned one thing that Elish hadn't thought of.
'I guess those are the merits of being mortal.'
"Very well. I'll sell them to you," Elish declared with a smile, causing Julius's face to brighten up instantly.
"Then—"
"But, I'll be changing the terms a little" Elish interrupted.
"Sure, what would you like to add?"
Elish could feel his lips spreading wider as they stretched to the corners of his face.
"Everything. This auction center, I want everything you have."
He noticed Julius' pleased look quickly turn to shock. He definitely wasn't expecting the words Elish had just uttered, and for good reason.
However, it had passed the point of no return, and Elish was no longer going to take no for an answer.
"So, do we have a deal?"
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[A/N]
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
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