The young man looked at Gilgamel with doubt but did not reject his intention.
Gilgamel smiled and said, "The White Spider Fruit is a precious elixir and should be handled with care. If you do not intend to consume it, you can sell it. I can recommend three trustworthy places that may offer you a good price. The first one is Gil's Appraisal Room!"
The young man was surprised and blurted out, "Your store buys things, too?"
"Although my store's main focus is doing appraisals, I won't refuse if someone wants to sell precious items. My prices have always been fair, and I never let my customers lose out."
Gilgamel explained further, "The second place is the Forest Witch House. It is the residence of a witch named Madam Terresa, and she is a potioneer. She won't refuse rare elixirs like the White Spider Fruit. The downside is that you can't negotiate with her, but you can be sure that she will not try to take your elixir from you by force."
"The last place I can recommend is the Royal Treasure House. I don't need to explain what kind of place the Royal Treasure House is. However, let me warn you. Although this place is trustworthy, you can't expect to get much from it. After all, this place never lacks rare items, not to mention White Spider Fruit is only a Tier-1 elixir."
"That's all," Gilgamel said, clasping his hands while maintaining his smile.
After hearing everything, the young man was silent for a long time. Gilgamel couldn't help but say, "My friend, you don't have to answer right away. You can come back here after you have considered it well. Whatever you decide, I will do my best to help you."
The young man looked at Gilgamel as if the words touched him.
After hesitating for a while, he opened his mouth and asked: "May I ask how much you can offer to buy my White Spider Fruit?"
Gilgamel's mouth curled slightly as he heard the question. He crossed his arms and leaned towards the young man as he said, "As you know, the market price of the White Spider Fruit is 500 mana crystals. However, I am willing to pay as much as 1000 mana crystals."
"1000 mana crystals?!" The young man was taken aback.
As someone who had never saved more than 100, he was terrified by the offer of 1000 mana crystals.
"I can give you 3000 if you sell it two pieces."
Gilgamel's enchanting words kept ringing in the young man's ears, causing him to express disbelief and blurt out, "3000?! Really?"
However, he paused after realizing that he had almost revealed something. He quickly corrected himself, saying meekly: "I only have one..."
"Is that so? What a shame~." Gilgamel shrugged, clearly regretting it.
"I need to leave. I will return when I decide to sell it. Thank you!"
With that, the young man dashed out of the appraisal room.
Gilgamel rested his chin on his palms while watching this scene. He snickered and murmured, "What a transparent kid. No wonder he got cheated a lot."
Then again, he sighed deeply.
He really wished that the young man could sell his White Spider Fruit to him. Moreover, he suspected that the young man had more than one White Spider Fruit.
"Ah, right. I should call them in case that young man goes to them."
Gilgamel rubbed the black ring-shaped storage item on his thumb, and an adult fist-sized crystal ball suddenly appeared in his hand.
This item was a magic tool for long-distance communication called the Klein Crystal. Its function was similar to a cellphone, but it was limited to making calls.
He channelled his mana and sent his thoughts into the Klein Crystal. Then, the crystal flickered as if it was awaiting a response.
Soon after, the flickering ceased, and the crystal began to glow, accompanied by a voice from the other side.
[What's up? I'm busy.]
"How mean. I missed you~."
[I'm hanging up!]
"No, wait. I have a favour to ask you."
[I knew it: you only contact me when you want something. What do you need this time?]
Gilgamel giggled and said, "Darwin, you are the best~."
Darwin is a First Circle Wizard who works as a shopkeeper for the branch of Royal Treasure House in Evernight City.
The Royal Treasure House is one of the largest chambers of commerce in the Moniyan Empire, known for its reputation and trustworthiness. However, it's not uncommon for organizations to have a few dishonest employees.
Luckily, within the Royal Treasure House, Gilgamel knew Darwin, a person he trusted. Their friendship had proven Darwin's trustworthiness.
Gilgamel has known him since he first started his appraisal business.
At that time, Darwin tried to invite Gilgamel to work as an appraiser at the Royal Treasure House, but Gilgamel refused because he did not want to spend too much time on work.
However, Darwin was not discouraged by Gilgamel's refusal. They even became good friends after that happened and continue to be today.
[So, what is it this time?]
"Nothing serious, actually. I just want you to inform me if your Royal Treasure House has a White Spider Fruit."
[White Spider Fruit?]
"Ah, you probably don't know about it..."
Gilgamel began to describe the appearance and characteristics of the White Spider Fruit to Darwin.
[There's such a magical fruit?]
Darwin sounded surprised by the information that Gilgamel provided.
Gilgamel rolled his eyes and said, "You should learn more. Otherwise, you'll miss out on a lot of good things."
[I'm learning from experiences.]
"Suit yourself," Gilgamel shrugged and continued, "Anyway, help me keep an eye out for the thing I mentioned earlier."
[Sure. Right, I heard that the First Trial is about to take place, will you be alright?"]
Gilgamel sensed the worry in Darwin's voice. His heart would have felt warm if he hadn't heard the next word...
[Can a weakling like you survive competing with the other members? I mean, the Owl members are talented, and their strength is far above yours. I'm a little worried-]
Without waiting for Darwin to finish his words, Gilgamel ruthlessly turned off the call.
"Let's call Madam Teressa," Gilgamel did his best to act as if he hadn't heard Darwin's words just now and decided to make another call.
However, he hesitated for a moment before ultimately going through with it.
Afterwards, Gilgamel sent his thoughts into the Klein Crystal. It took a while for the Klein Crystal to receive a response.
The angry woman's voice came from the other side.
[You still have the nerve to call me after six months?]
Gilgamel twitched his mouth and said, "Ma'am, it was only three months, not six months."
Madam Teressa was a member of the Owl and lived on the third floor as a Third Circle Wizard.
Gilgamel met her two years ago when she still working as the Head of the Health Department on the first floor. He got to know her through voluntary work at the infirmary, just like Madam Illeas.
Gilgamel also learned potions from Madam Teressa for two years, and she considered him her apprentice as a result.
Madam Teressa was a fierce and strict mentor, which made Gilgamel choose to avoid her as much as possible.
[If I say six months, it's six months. There is no need to reduce it!]
Gilgamel cowered as he heard his mentor's shout and couldn't help but say, "Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry."
[How's your potion-making practice going? I hope it's not falling behind because of the upcoming First Trial.]
"Don't worry, ma'am. I haven't neglected my potion-making practice. I even created an original potion. I meant to show it to you, but I was too busy preparing for the First Trial," Gilgamel bragged.
The potion Gilgamel was talking about is the Sweet Night Potion. He successfully developed this potion a month ago and personally tried it. The results were very satisfactory, and there were no side effects.
However, he never exposed it to others in case he overlooked something. Therefore, he intended to meet his mentor first before submitting it to the organization and receiving credit for the royalties.
[.... You managed to create a new potion?]
Gilgamel could sense that the other party was having trouble believing what he had just said.
"I will show it to you after the First Trial, ma'am. For now, I have a small request-"
[Hmph, I knew it! You only dare to contact your mentor when you need something.]
'This sounds like déjà vu...' Gilgamel pondered for a moment.
Ultimately, he repeated to Madam Teressa what he had previously told Darwin.
Luckily, Madam Teressa has no intention of making things difficult for her apprentice. She even assured him that she would make Owl Tears Potion for him once the White Spider Fruit appeared at her doorstep.
Afterwards, Gilgamel and Madam Teressa chatted for a while. Well, "chatted" might be an overstatement since it mainly involved Gilgamel listening to Madam Teressa's naggings. He obediently listened until Madam Teressa grew tired and ended the call herself.
When all was said and done, Gilgamel rested his head on the table and let out a bad breath.
For some reason, speaking to those two people was more exhausting than interacting with his customers.
In any case, Gilgamel had made every effort to obtain the White Spider Fruit and prevent it from falling into the hands of others.
If it still didn't end up in his possession, then it meant that it wasn't meant for him.
In that situation, he could only let it go.
He, Gilgamel Shad, a traveller from Earth and a fortunate individual who owned Goldfinger, has his own pride. He would never forcefully take something that did not belong to him.
If he desires something, he will acquire it himself without taking it from others.