Volume 7 Chapter 13 Preparing A Gift Before The Business Talk
The 4 of us were heading towards a different location on our horse-drawn carriage.
"Coin the Big Merchant, huh..."
Our destination was the Traveler's Guild, a major merchant guild in this city, recommended by Lord Birk. It's a place where various races live together, and they're known for their arms dealing.
Indeed, when I looked outside, I noticed that unlike Karditsa, there were many non-human races standing out. If I looked closely, I saw beastmen with animal ears and a group of dwarves drinking from the morning till night.
"Karditsa was a human city, wasn't it? I never saw any non-human races until I came to Birk's territory."
As I said that while gazing outside, Ridge opened his mouth.
"That's right. Karditsa had a history of illegal sl*very with non-human races, so the place is despised by many. They won't even get close to here."
"...Nightfather?"
"Yes."
I felt like holding my head in frustration. The shame within my relative was affecting us here... It was no wonder I couldn't help but make a bitter face.
I heard Windy chuckle slightly from the coachman's seat, so I turned around and patted their head once.
Roman then brought the conversation back on track.
"From what I've heard, the Coin we're about to visit is a half-dwarf, half-human. He doesn't forge himself, but he has a good eye for selecting quality goods, and he's risen to prominence in just one generation."
"You've done your research, Roman."
"I got the information from our cooperators, who gathered intel on the important figures in this city."
"Cooperators who were bought out by Birk?"
"...It's hard to catch humans who won't be swayed by money."
Roman had a difficult expression. I could only force a wry smile. It was good that Birk was the one who had bought them out, I suppose.
As we continued our conversation on the horse-drawn carriage, our destination was a store to prepare a gift before visiting the Traveler's Guild, where Coin the big merchant was...
'Since Coin is a merchant, we need to communicate with him in a merchant's context. And in a merchant's context, business talks require gifts, so we can't neglect that.'
We had a conversation like that with Lord Birk. It's true, my friends from my previous life as a businessman were like that too, I think.
When a customer is hesitant to buy, you subtly offer them a slightly more expensive snack. Just that alone can change the contract rate. Even though what we offered was a high-priced snack worth hundreds of yen, we could get a contract worth tens of thousands of yen.
I don't really get it, but apparently, that's how business works. It's a crazy memory I have of listening to it while drinking.
The carriage stops. I get off with Ridge, and Roman says, "I'm not saying this to be rude, but..." and stays behind. Instead, Windy gets off and opens the store door in front of us.
"Thanks, Windy."
"You're welcome."
I say that and we enter the store. It looks like a store that sells baked goods. We seem to have chosen a high-end store, and the products are packaged in nice containers.
"Welcome! Please try our samples."
The busy store owner, who's moving around arranging the products, notices us and smiles kindly. We bow and say, "Thank you," and quickly try the small samples.
This is... a pastry or something. It looks like a cookie or a cracker. One bite.
"Wow, it's sweet!"
The rich honey flavor spreads across my tongue. If I weren't a sweet tooth, I'd be down for the count. I love this kind of thing, and it's knocking me out in a different way.
"Oh, this store is delicious~desuwa!"
Ridge is also enjoying the pastry Windy gave her. What is this? The honey is claiming it's the best, but is it sesame? It's delicious.
When it's like this, I get excited and think, "I'll conquer this store's samples!" Since I'm not short on money, I'll buy everything that catches my eye.
...I'm not sure if I'm not getting too caught up in the sampling strategy.
What's next? I hum a tune while looking around. What catches my eye is a cookie called "Kourabiedes".
One bite. Hmm, it's sweet. It has an almond-like flavor. The crunchy, hollow texture and the powdered sugar on top create a unique atmosphere. I like it. I'll buy it.
I've never really had a life surrounded by sweets, so I'm completely absorbed in them. Japanese sweets are different, but these sweets are ridiculously sweet.
I'm super excited, and I keep grabbing boxes of sweets and holding them under my arm. This one's delicious too! I'll buy it! This one's sweet too! I'll buy it!
I was so caught up in this that I didn't notice the atmosphere changing around me.
"What's with you, you piece of trash?! The sweets I bought from this store were broken! That's a huge loss of face for me! What are you going to do about it!"
Something's off, and I suddenly feel a chill.
It was a weird guy. He looked good, but his aura was bad. He had a yakuza-like vibe going on.
The store owner is trying to explain, "I, I mean, when I handed them over, they were definitely in perfect condition...," but that just adds fuel to the fire.
"What?! You think I'm lying?!"
"I, I mean... It's not like that, though..."
"Then what's going on?! Ah?!"
I join up with Ridge and the others. They're watching the exchange with a disgusted look on their faces, and I ask them, "What's going on?"
"The sweets from this store were broken, so he's saying the contract was void~desuwa. It's a real mess. The locals know about it... But then, you're buying so much, Wade-sama."
"Huh? Oh, Windy, can you hold this for me? I'll be right back."
"Understood, Wade-sama."
I hand the sweets over to Windy and approach the bad-aura guy. "Hey," I say, and he turns around, going "Ah?! "
"The store owner's in trouble. You're causing a scene in a store that makes such delicious sweets, you're a real nuisance."
"Shut up, you brat! You want to see me get angry?! Ah?!"
"If you can make me see your angry face, then go ahead and try."
It's not like I'm going to back down from a fight with someone like him. Can you do anything about it?
"Don't think you can take me lightly!"
The bad-aura guy takes a swing at me. I don't even need to dodge, and I take his punch.
The guy's fist hits my forehead. "Gah Ahhh " He's clutching his hand in pain, dancing around.
"What the heck, you! You think you're some kind of noble, don't you? I thought you'd cry and run away if I just hit you a little!"
"If you knew I was a noble, you'd be in big trouble, wouldn't you?"
I kicked the guy's leg, making him fall, and then punched him in the gut. With just one magic-free hit, he let out a "Gah...!" and lost consciousness.
"Windy, throw this guy out of the store."
"Yes, sir."
Windy picked up the guy and carried him out of the store. In exchange, I received a box of sweets, which I placed on the counter.
"Here, take this."
"Ah, thank you so much! You've saved me...!"
The store owner was bowing his head, tears in their eyes. At this point, I felt kind of bad for them. I waved my hand in a humble gesture.
"No, no, it's nothing."
"No, please let me thank you! Oh, by the way, our store's pride, isn't in the box, is it? Then, I'll give you a box of it for free!"
The kind-hearted store owner rushed to get the box. It was a pastry-like thing with "Baklava" written on it.
"Our store's specialty is this sweet Baklava! Please, try some."
"Then, thank you."
I took a bite. The crunchy texture, the deliciousness of the nuts, and the sweetness that covered the entire pastry hit my brain like a ton of bricks.
"Ahhhh...!"
I felt like I'd received a revelation, and my whole body was tingling. It was sweet. Too sweet. I loved this pastry. Ahhhhh...!
I nodded deeply, tears of joy in my eyes, and said, "I'll come back again," before leaving the store.
"...You were moved to tears by the Baklava, Wade-sama."
"I guess I'm just a sweet-tooth, unaware of my own nature."
The master and servant were saying something as they looked at me.
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