The fat man shook his head.
"I don't give discounts on my stuff."
Elric looked at the fat man's unyielding demeanor, and a surge of anger rose within him.
He could barely resist the urge to punch him.
"Not even for two silver coins?"
Elric tried to keep his voice calm.
The fat man smiled and shook his head again, continuing, "Young man, this is good stuff, no discounts. I have to make a living too."
Elric gritted his teeth, pondering his next move.
He didn't have enough money to buy the purple stone, but he didn't want to give up the opportunity either.
Suddenly, Calista's voice echoed in his mind.
"He's testing you. Hold firm, and he might lower the price."
Hearing Calista's suggestion, Elric decided to try one more time.
He calmed himself and then pretended to be indifferent as he said, "Alright, since you're so firm, I'll go check other stalls.
Maybe I'll find something better elsewhere."
He turned to leave, deliberately slowing his pace, hoping to pressure the fat man into lowering the price.
"Four silver coins, no less," the fat man finally said.
Elric, hearing the man drop the price, felt a bit satisfied, but he remained calm, pretending to look displeased.
He only had four silver coins. If he gave them all to the fat man, he would have no money left for food.
He stopped, frowning, and said, "Four silver coins is still too expensive.
I only have this much left, and if I buy this stone, I won't have enough for food.
Two silver coins, plus fifty copper coins.
That's my final offer. If that doesn't work, I'll have to look elsewhere."
The fat man stopped smiling this time.
His expression turned serious, and he lowered his head in thought, clearly weighing whether to accept Elric's offer.
Elric stood there, waiting for the fat man's decision, the atmosphere tense.
Just as the fat man was about to speak, a crisp voice from a little girl suddenly interrupted the negotiation.
"Five silver coins, I'll buy it."
Both Elric and the fat man turned their heads toward the voice.
A little girl, accompanied by a woman, stood behind them.
They looked like a mother and daughter pair.
But when Elric saw their faces, his eyes widened in surprise.
These were the same two who had been handing out free food on the street not long ago.
This time, they were dressed very plainly, with simple hairstyles, making it hard to tell their true status.
The fat man's eyes lit up at the sudden appearance of this buyer, clearly pleased with the little girl's offer of five silver coins.
"Alright, five silver coins, deal!"
The little girl nodded and signaled the maid to pay.
The maid casually tossed five silver coins to the fat man, who gleefully bent down to pick them up while the maid grabbed the purple stone.
Elric recognized them, but it was clear they hadn't recognized him.
As they were about to leave, Elric's heart stirred, and he immediately called out to them.
"Wait."
The two turned around, their eyes falling on Elric.
The little girl frowned slightly and gave him a dismissive glance.
"What is it?"
Elric quickly shook his head and explained.
"No, I just wanted to thank you for the food you gave me the other day."
The little girl and the maid looked slightly surprised, clearly not remembering Elric.
Elric pulled out the four silver coins from his pocket, his eyes filled with determination as he faced them.
"I don't have much to repay you, but this is all I have. Thank you for your help that day."
"Who are you?"
The little girl clearly hadn't recognized Elric.
Patiently, Elric explained.
"I'm the beggar in the tattered coat from that day."
The little girl thought for a moment before replying.
"Oh, it's you. Is there something you want?"
"Please take these four silver coins.
Consider it my thanks for that day."
The little girl, showing little interest, replied coldly.
"Keep them for yourself."
Without another word, she and the maid turned and walked away.
Elric stood there, feeling the weight of the silver coins in his hand suddenly become heavier.
At that moment, the fat man spoke up.
"Ah, young love, so sweet."
Elric ignored him, lowering his head and walking forward, feeling dejected.
His heart was filled with frustration, his lips tightly pressed together in disappointment and helplessness.
The gratitude and sincerity he had wanted to express were met with cold indifference.
He had thought he could show his thanks, but he received an unexpected response instead.
"That little girl is no ordinary person. She's already at the Fourth Realm," Calista's voice suddenly echoed in Elric's mind.
Elric froze.
Fourth Realm? He was stunned.
This little girl was even stronger than the powerful figures from the Crow Gang and Wild Dog Gang.
"Mama, is that true?" Elric asked, his mouth open, ready to ask more about the girl.
But Calista seemed to know what he was thinking and cut him off.
"It's true, and her background is very powerful.
But don't ask any more. Knowing this won't help you right now."
Elric could only nod in resignation.
"Okay."
Seeing that he had calmed down, Calista reminded him.
"Remember, today you need to buy a small shovel and a pair of shears, right?"
Just as Elric was about to continue walking, the fat man called out to him.
"Hey, kid. Looks like you got dumped by your girlfriend, huh?
Here, take this. Don't be sad.
No need to mope over a girl."
With that, the fat man casually tossed something to Elric.
Instinctively, Elric caught it and looked down to find a small stone disk, just the size of his palm, with some small indentations on its surface.
He turned to see the fat man grinning at him mischievously, waving.
Elric frowned, not responding to the fat man's teasing.
He continued walking, still pondering the strange disk.
At that moment, Calista's voice echoed in his mind again.
"That fat man clearly knows the value of what he's selling.
He's pretending not to."
Elric's senses sharpened.
"What do you mean?"
Calista explained further.
"The fat man knows exactly what that purple stone and this disk are worth, but he's pretending to act indifferent, like it's no big deal."
"So, is this stone disk valuable?"
"It's a little less cheap than the purple stone, but it's still something good.
First, go buy the shovel, shears, and a backpack. I'll explain more when you get back to the inn."
With that, Elric rushed off to buy the shovel, shears, and backpack.