For the next 30 or so minutes I could not really describe to you what actually happened as I spent most of that time with my head facing down and the Princess asking the generic, non-descriptive inn lady whose only real importance in the story, as of right now, was to show that Riki and his theater network were possibly tracking us. Not that I would be able to describe her anyways if I was looking at her as the Princess commented about how she was wearing a mask again when she talked to her.
"There's a flea market 1000 meters north from here," she said, pointing the Princess in that direction as she remained on my back while I kept looking at the ground.
"Alright slave, you heard her, march."
I could hear the Innkeeper's laughter as we exited towards the market. It was a soft gentle laugh that almost reminded me of…"
"Actually slave, you're not allowed to think either!"
"..."
"You only ever have dirty thoughts when you think, so actually it's better if you don't think at all!"
"..."
-15 minutes of not thinking at all later-
"Stop,"
I stopped in my tracks still carrying the Princess on my back.
"You can look up now, slave."
As I did just that, before my eyes was the lovely sight of the large flea market. I took a whiff of the aroma and indeed I could still smell it; the fresh scent of newly minted coins, as well as the sounds of hundreds of Jiples being exchanged at once.
"So Hu, how does this work exactly?" the princess asked, returning somewhat to normal as she jumped off my back.
"Well…"
I reached into my backpack to take out a book.
"The Merchant Guild's Prices To the Market 4th Edition" the princess read. Her eyes were glowing in excitement, "so there is a guild!"
"What? No no it's not a guild, more like…"
"A community?"
"No, more like…"
It was pretty hard to explain.
"You see Princess, the price of items cannot be determined by a single person, but instead, a collection of people. The author here, Smith Adam, started a "guild" as in, a subscription business for merchants who wished to purchase his price guide books as Mr, Adam is pretty well acclaimed as one of the most well traveled merchants as well as one with connections to many different industries and thus in theory would know the prices of many of the goods in many different countries."
"... but that's so boring. And doesn't that open the opportunity for insider trading?"
"Yes… yes it does. Welcome to capitalism."
I opened up the book to show to her the "about the author" page.
"But we don't really have a choice in this matter as these books contain pretty much the accepted prices due to their widespread reach through Adam's connection to the book industry. I never met him personally, but those that knew Mr. Adam, say they trust his word on prices of commodities in other countries because he doesn't just use opinion, but does actual price research at some of the flea markets he goes to."
I closed the book.
"But I suppose we can't fully confirm or deny their accuracy without testing the market waters ourselves."
I looked around the market to see if I could demonstrate, when I saw a Silver dealer.
"Now take a look here," I said, flipping to the precious metals page of the book. "We can see here that silver is listed at 200 Jiples per ounce as a Kaijie average. But, as you can see, depending on what country we go to, the price of silver can fluctuate. Here in Riguo for example, we can see that the exchange rate is 60 Cive, which converts to 300 Jiples per ounce, much higher than the rest of Kaijie. And indeed, due to this princess, silver is one of the metals I buy and resell the most between countries."
I went over and walked up to the silver dealer eyeing a solid silver bar he had on his counter.
"I say good sir, this is a fine piece of metal you have here laying on the counter. You wouldn't mind if I tested it for authenticity, would you?"
"Sure, go ahead," he said, "I guarantee it's authentic, for I am a craftsman you see."
"Oh, it's not that I don't trust you," I said, pulling out from my bag a scale and a magnet. "I just don't trust anyone when coins are involved."
I held the silver bar to my magnet which did not have any impact on it, showing that it was authentic. I then placed it on my scale which measured to be exactly 10 ounces.
"Alright, it checks out, and how much are you offering for it? 1000 Jiples, and I take it off your hands now."
He laughed, "I can see from your complexion and speaking mannerisms that you are not from this country."
He looked up at me.
"You're a merchant, no? I was hoping to get exactly your type here when they said they were opening up the seas to the outside world. Plus, don't think I didn't take notice."
He reached down from under his desk and pulled out the exact same book I had just shown to the princess, "The Merchant Guild's Prices To the Market 4th Edition" by Smith Adam.
"We read the exact same books as you folks. I know damn well how much silver goes for here and elsewhere. 1800 Jiples, that's a discount from the standard price."
I looked over at his other goods. The other items he had on the table were not silver in the bar form, but rather what one would expect to see in a jewelry store containing a variety of bracelets, rings, and necklaces.
"You craft these yourself?" I asked, picking up one of the necklaces.
"Oh, so you noticed?" he said smiling, "fine work isn't it?"
To be honest, it wasn't really much higher in quality compared to the average jeweler in the area, but I had been doing this long enough to know to hold my tongue in that regard. I placed the necklace on my scale which read 4 ounces.
"Do you like that one?" He asked, "oh it is one of my finer works, but okay, if you insist, I will let it go for 600 Jiples."
I didn't say anything as I was calculating the conversions in my head, when I noticed the necklace, despite it being crafted, cost less at 150 Jiples per ounce than the silver bar the man had offered before. No doubt, even if he lost monetary value, because it was something that "he" crafted, he would still be okay selling it to someone as they would be wearing specifically his work.
I took a closer look at the necklace, where indeed a personal marking was etched inside. He wasn't the first amateur craftsman I had met. And from what I gathered from them, there was always a sense of pride within them when they sold something they made. That something they made was worthy of value. Even if the reality was, the person buying the item is probably buying it for an entirely different reason than appreciation of their work. Different reasons, like how the smelters that sold to the actual professional craftsman when I returned to Riguo. paid the exact same for silver in any form, bar or crafted..
"It does indeed look really nice."
I turned to the Princess who had just been staring at the two of us the whole time.
"You don't mind if my companion here tries it on, do you?"
He looked over at the Princess.
"Sure, go ahead."
"Here, Riko," I said, placing the necklace around her neck. A bit of her hair had grown back now but her hood still covered her mostly bald head. Even so, as I said before, you can never hide things that are truly beautiful.
"See," the jeweler said, "look how nice your companion looks. Such a lovely lady."
"True, she does look beautiful with it on."
Of course, I agreed that she did look nice of course, but not for the same reason as the jeweler. For it is not the lovely jewelry that makes the lady shine, but the lovely lady that makes the jewelry shine. In any case though, it did seem I had fed the man's ego enough to get a good deal.
"Even so," I said, removing the necklace from her neck, "I am still here for business, and as you know, I'm going to be incurring all the risk by buying this and taking the journey back to Riguo. So, how about we make a deal then? I buy this necklace for my companion, and then we settle on a price of 1500 Jiples for the bar. That sounds pretty fair all around, no?"
He pondered this for a moment, but like many men before him, he caved to the sight of the princess's pouting face.
"Hu…" She fake pleaded, grabbing my sleeve. "Pleaseee, I really want this one."
"I know, it looks lovely on you dear. But still…"
I placed the necklace back on the counter, "We need a way to pay for such an item. So if we can't buy the items for business first, we can't buy the ones for personal use either."
"Oh alright, I guess that 's just the way it is," the Princess said, sighing, and giving her best look of defeat.
"No wait,"
I smirked,
"Alright alright, you know what, it's not the best deal for me but… oh what the heck, it's more than fair especially if you are just buying the necklace for yourself." the jeweler said smiling.
"600 Jiples for the necklace, and 1500 Jiples for the bar, that'll be 2100 Jiples total!"
"Sounds good," I said, reaching into my bag and handing him that exact amount before he could change his mind.
"Yay!" the Princess said excitedly looking at the jeweler, taking the necklace, and putting it on her neck. "Thanks mister!"
"You're very welcome," he said. He reached his hand to give her a head pat which of course…
"Don't even think about it," I said, grabbing it before it went any closer to her hood, and giving him a death stare. He quickly pulled his hand back giving a weak smile before gathering himself.
"Ahem… anyways… It was nice doing business with you. Please come again!"
I placed the silver bar into my inventory bag and we left swiftly walking towards the areas of the market where there weren't many people around to hear us. I smiled as I could mentally feel the profits when I resold the silver instantly back in Riguo. I looked over at the Princess who was still wearing the necklace.
"Do you actually like it, Riko?"
"What, this thing? Hell no." she said, quickly taking it off and placing it into my bag.
"The palace jewelers make necklaces 10 times the quality of that man. But even then, you know I don't care much about this stuff."
I chuckled, "Still, you had fun playing the part, no?"
"Ah, I suppose, but only because I know it's necessary for us," she said smiling, "plus, I did like the words you used to describe me. Were you playing the part there as well when you complimented all my beauty?"
I blushed, not able to form words which she responded to with a giggle.
"It's alright Hu, you don't have to reply, your silence is more precious to me to be honest."
I looked away, taking a minute to gather myself.
"Ahem, in any case Riko, that is all the negotiation we need to do for the day. Let's find a place to eat shall we?"
"What? But…"
"What?"
She blinked, but did not stop walking besides me.
"I don't know. I just thought, shouldn't we be making more deals?"
I smiled as we kept walking.
"I don't blame you for thinking like that because I used to think the same way about it. Wouldn't it be better to make many deals in one day? And sometimes I do depending on where we are. It's not as if we aren't capable. Making just one big deal of course also has the drawback of losing a large part of your total wealth if that one item gets lost. But I assure you Riko, there is a way to minimize the risk of that."
I looked around to see if there was the exact type of shop I was looking for.
"It is not the buying and selling part that's the hard part of the job you see, but rather, the risks you take to transport the items across the countries. Yes, you have the freedom of doing so however you like, but you still have to do it. And it is not easy when we live in a world where many poorer people have robbed others for a sum way less than this bar."
She pondered this for a moment.
"I see, in the end, it is still work after all. And you still have to get the system of how you do it correctly."
"That's right," I said as we found what I was looking for. A sign that read "Pawn shop" where I walked in taking the silver bar and necklace back from out of my inventory.
"Hello good sir, how much would you be willing to loan for this silver bar and necklace here as a pawn?"
The princess stood there with her curious face, observing me talk to the pawn shop owner.
"Hmmm… let me see…"
The pawn shop worker was an older gentleman, whose hairs were beginning to gray. He reached from under his counter taking out the same tools as I had before to ensure the silver we had was authentic. After everything checked out he gave me a price.
"2100 Jiples."
For a pawn shop, that was much higher than I expected. Even if I didn't come back for it I wouldn't have lost any money. We did get this for lower than market value afterall. Still, it was business, and it was important I still got the best price I could.
"Oh come now, surely that is too cheap, how about…"
"Offer is firm."
His expression turned to a grumpy one as he looked at my irritatedly.
"But…"
"Fucking youngin wannabes. Some dumbass guild publishes one book and now everyone thinks they can be a fucking merchant! Price is firm, take it or leave it."
"Uhhh…alright," I said, trying my best to remain calm and business minded and not take offense as he was pretty much spot on as to why I thought I could be a merchant.
"What's the loan interest?"
"5% within the first month, 10% for 2 months, I get to keep it after that."
"Hmm…"
"Those are the best rates in town, sunny. Take it or leave it."
"Alright alright," I said, extending my hand. As grumpy and unpleasant to deal with as the man was, I couldn't really argue, those rates were much better than what I could get in Riguo.
"You got a deal."
He went over to the counter counting out the money to me.
"Double check it."
I did just that before confirming and handing him the silver bar and necklace.
"Thanks again." I said as we began heading out of the building and walking on the street. The Princess tugged on my sleeve as we did.
"Hu, I'm very confused."
"I imagine you would be."
"Why would you…"
"Why would I pawn off an item for the exact same price we bought the item for?"
"Well…" she thought for a moment, "Yeah, that doesn't make any sense. Didn't you say we needed to make more than what we bought it for?"
I smiled.
"Like I said, the buying and selling parts of being a merchant is the least important factor in what I do. It's as the pawn shop owner says, with this guide book, anyone with the ability to read can buy prices when low and sell when high. I'll give you a hint as to why I did what I did and ask you this, you've enjoyed your time here so far dear Riko, no?"
"Well yes, but what does that have to do with making a profit?"
"Well, it's as simple as this, you see. Because you enjoy it here, and me as well as this place has been everything the books about it have said it would be, we feel we should stay here for a while. It's not like there's a deadline of when we should head back."
I paused, rethinking my words before I continued, "if we wish to actually go back at all."
"Oh uhh…" she blushed. "O…okay, but again, what does that have to do with making a profit? No matter how long we stay here, wouldn't it be better to simply not pay the pawn shop owner the extra 5 or 10% and just hold it ourselves? It's not like we need the loan money now."
"We don't," I replied, "But it's cheaper than paying for storage and insurance."
She didn't say anything and just continued looking at me puzzled.
"I'm just going to guess you don't have any experience in thinking about those aspects of it. As I said, since we are dealing with one item for a large amount of value, and therefore a large amount of potential profit, we are also dealing with a large amount of risk. There are options of course on how to reduce this risk."
I held out a finger.
"1 is going to an insurance company and… honestly I won't bore you with the details but basically we have to pay them a certain amount of money and then if our item gets robbed, they'll then pay us a much larger agreed upon amount to reduce the risk as we would still get compensated somewhat at least if we were to get robbed. But as you can see, that's very tedious and many procedures are needed. There are also sometimes unnecessarily high fees so…"
"You take it to the pawn shop," she said. I smiled, glad that she was able to follow all of that as I don't think I explained it very well.
"Exactly", I said.
"Urghhh, it's just so much work," she replied, "and that's just for one item!"
"True," I smiled, "true, it is a lot of work, and a lot of risk as well but still."
As we walked out of the pawn shop, the beautiful island sun was shining on us as we began our quest to find a cafe.
"Compared to what we could be doing for other jobs, and the fact it's not really a risk if we were going to travel anyways, I can't really complain. Anyways, what do you want for lunch? Seafood again?"
"I don't know," she said, "how about we just walk around and find the first restaurant that looks interesting?"
I smiled again as we began doing just that.