57 In the Auction House... a gem (b)
They returned to their station after that.
“Sorry. The quality of these items is too low to be put up for auction. We don’t accept raw materials extracted from level 1 to level 15 monsters. So… you are requested to take them back.” Fleur pushed the boxes closer to Roy. Gaynor patted her back. She did a good job, although her actions were a little stiff.
Roy rubbed the back of his head and spoke.
“My bad, I didn’t know.”
“Sir, it’s alright.” Gaynor gave him a beautiful smile. “And… I have good news for you. These rune stones aren’t half bad and can enter the top fifty of our list easily. Many have sought us out in the past week for them. They would act as the main attraction for many guests. Their starting price would be no less than 10000 gold coins. That I can guarantee.”
“Then… I would leave them in your care.”
An official contract was established between Roy and the auction house. The party that would break its rule would face legal repression, so Roy didn’t fear getting scammed by the auction house. The only headache was that it would keep 5% of the value at which the item would be sold, but no more than 1000 gold coins. Still, putting them up for auction would undoubtedly prove to be the most profitable for him. Thus, he didn’t feel wronged.
Roy waved his hand over the boxes, and they all magically disappeared. That’s what the onlookers saw. Actually, they entered his subspace. But it opened up in the shadow of the boxes and swallowed them instantly, so it was hard for others to tell. Subspace could be used in many ways; Roy was just finding out. “I will get going then.”
Just as he turned to leave, Gaynor urgently ran up to him and sweetly spoke.
“Sir, can you spare me some of your time. I would like to have a few words with you. I promise you won’t feel like having wasted time after hearing me out.”
Roy looked thoughtful for a moment. It would feel bad to reject her. And hearing her out might benefit him. Hence, he agreed. “Ok, what do you want to tell me? I’m all ears.”
Gaynor wasted no time before speaking out her mind.
“The furs of the snow wolves, if sold as raw materials, wouldn’t make you as much as selling the clothing made out of them. I’ve checked the quality of your fur. They are better than average. There are two unbelievably rare pieces of fur too. If you give them to ordinary tailors, you will make ten times the amount compared to just directly selling the raw material in the open market. But if you pass them on to master tailors that can transform them into costumes… the profit will be hundred or maybe even thousands of times more.”
She stopped. He saw her looking at him. Has she gained his interest?
“Go on,” Roy told her to continue.
“There are two groups that can make your pile of fine fur into hundreds of costumes before the fateful auction day. You might know of them. They are Bernice’s tailor and the Silver Luster Hall. The first is more famous, but I request you to try them both out. They each charge a lot as a commission, but they are excellent at what they do.” She said all that in one breath.
Roy interrupted her jokingly. “You know… I am not running anywhere. So… you can take it easy.”
Gaynor continued after a moment, “If you have spare change and are willing to get the costumes prepared, I would put them on the list for the guest. The costumes are sought out by ordinary folks and merchants alike crazily because of their special properties and snow-like color that represents purity. So… people are bound to come flocking in in huge numbers to buy them. They would be sold in no time. I would get an award for attracting customers while you would earn no less than revenue of 60000 gold coins. You can take my words as nonsense. And if you feel like I’ve wasted your time, I would apologize to you.”
She was questioned why she thought he had the power to invest. Her reply was quite direct. A guy who could casually take out rune stones to sell and had the power of a soul stone on top of owning materials worth thousands of gold coins would surely not lack money. His subspace was “mistaken” as a power gained through merging with a soul stone. She was certain he was rich. That’s why she struck up this lengthy conversation with him.
Roy felt amazed by her. “Had anyone ever told you that you have a high IQ?”
She was perplexed. “IQ? What’s that? Wait… Is it a new term circulating in the empire?”
Some technical terms were like a foreign language to the people of this land.
Roy stopped her from overthinking by flicking her forehead.
“… You’re a freaking genius. You have a knack for doing business. And you good at math.” He praised the lass.
Gaynor wasn’t flustered, but she felt happy to have been appreciated. Her words hadn’t fallen on deaf ears. “Thank you for your kind words.”
“I would get a hundred and twenty-four costumes prepared before the auction. Two of them would be of the finest fur. You can add the names of these items to the list too. And you don’t need to worry about my mind changing.” Roy showed her the medallion of his family. “I’m a noble. Going back on my words would do me more harm than good.”
She recognized he was a member of the count’s family and stopped hesitating about whether he was worthy of trust.
“Please give me details about how you got the rare furs.” Gaynor requested humbly but in a clear voice after a plan was formulated in her mind.
Uncertain of her reason, Roy felt undecided and questioned her. “Why would you want that?”
She gave him a foxy smile and earnestly said, “To have their value hyped up on the stage.”