Harlan considered himself a good seller, really.
As a knowledge mage, he could answer every question of any product, comparing them to the ones of other shops, and convince anyone of the superiority of the Traversa’s quality.
Because they had the best materials, and no one could doubt that.
Even so, dealing with his fellow knowledge mages was a pain.
Right now, his time was being spent watching Velvet pick random things, him saying the price and Velvet saying ‘It’s too expensive, too expensive’ before she tried going to the door.
Just to get stopped by Harlan again.
Now, if it was any other mage, he wouldn’t even bother, but it was the current owner of Frenese’s Book.
Harlan didn’t have any personal interest in it. He liked crafting, not politics. But the Traversa had a nice relationship with the Tarius, the previous owners of the book.
By building a supplier relationship with Velvet, the Traversa could make an offer for Frenese’s Book in place of the Tarius, who were forbidden from approaching Velvet.
That would be a debt the Tarius would have to remember.
She is unable to use the book in any way, after all. Just the siphoning formation to get his blood needs at least ten mages, and she is alone. The book, for her, is a nuisance.
Of course, as a mage, the best option is to hold onto it until an irresistible offer appears. So, as long as I’m the one doing the offer, the family would be extremely proud of me.
She can act as smug as she wants, but it's obvious that Frenese won’t be helping a novice mage in any way. Money is more helpful than a stubborn sealed devil.
…
“Ngh… I really like the glass ones, but metal is better for certain things…” Velvet said, once again putting something down and grabbing something else.
Harlan’s customer smile didn’t change. “If I know your budget, I can give you a personalized offer including as many things as you like as possible.”
“Let me think about it…” Velvet pondered for a few seconds. “7000 auris. That’s how much I want to spend on materials for artifacts.”
She didn’t miss the slightly widening of Harlan’s eyes. For a novice mage not pertaining to a family, 7000 auris was quite the sum to spend.
“And the material you want to work the most with is?”
“I like stone, glass and metal.” She didn’t give him a preference, not interested in giving him any knowledge about her.
Harlan started picking stuff from the shelves, and putting it on a table. He wasn't the only one working, so it wasn’t like there were unattended customers.
He didn’t sell to official mages, for example. Novice mages didn’t really interact with official mages who weren’t their Selectors and vice versa. The biggest and almost only exception being classes.
Velvet simply stared at him with interest, not helping at all, letting him be the one choosing everything for her.
Harlan wasn’t an idiot, he knew that Velvet was waiting for him to make a 7000 auris worth package just to say ‘Great! Lemme see what the other shops offer me for 7000 auris’.
And he was ready, ready to answer with ‘If, after buying this package you find a better, legit offer in another Mergifari official shop, we will compensate you for the difference’.
At this point he wasn't doing it for the devil’s book, he simply wanted the bragging rights of getting a deal worth 7000 auris.
So he used all his knowledge to plan what to say, what to do, what to grab and what to avoid.
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It didn’t matter what Velvet complained about, he had all the answers ready, all the options planned, down to every little detail.
Sweating slightly after all that work, Harlan smiled proudly at Velvet, motioning to the pile of objects upon the table. “Here it is. This is the best offer you’ll get.”
Velvet looked at the neatly piled things. Harlan had included the engravers for stone, glass and metal, next to an array of different materials, which included staff handles.
As much as he wanted to start speaking, Harlan waited until she finished checking all the stu-
“Okay, deal.”
“If, afte- Ah?” Stunned for a few seconds, Harlan stared at her in silence, his mouth open.
“The container for carrying all of this is included in the price, right?”
“Ah, uh… yes.” Clearing his mind fast, he corrected himself. “Yes, of course!”
You didn’t even finish checking the stuff! Complain about something! I know exactly what to say!
For a knowledge mage, there was no worse thing than having the chance of proving their knowledge taken from them.
“Great! Now, pack it up, the course is gonna start soon.” Velvet said, watching how Harlan’s smile flinched again.
As he started packing the stuff, he expected Velvet to just stare at him mockingly, but she seemed to be taking out and counting the money.
He… wasn’t going to complain about that one.
…
Once everything had been stored on a container made to transport crafting materials safely, Harlan offered to accompany her to the engraving class. Since his Selector was the teacher, he also had to attend it.
There were ten minutes before the class started, but Harlan had to get some stuff ready.
Not like Velvet planned to help him, anyway. She could simply wait the ten minutes sitting and relaxing…
No, she really couldn’t. Those ten minutes would be spent making charms.
She also wanted to appear more ‘relaxed’ to anyone who was watching her. She could even play the part, since Hyde was guarding her.
Yeah, that was the perfect plan.
Harlan opened the door, entering, and she followed suit.
Inside, there were three mages.
Two were together, very together, on the side opposite the door, talking, and the other one was laying back on the chair, his eyes closed.
Pale hair, a tacky white coat and an air of self importance without the need of opening his mouth.
It was Dianthus, alright.
Harlan cleared his throat, not because of the Chosen One being this close to slipping backwards from the chair, cracking his skull; but because of the other two mages, who were more than just friends and wanted everyone else to know.
In the end, the noise worked more to wake Dianthus up than to stop the other mages, who simply glared at him annoyed.
Dianthus, who blinked slowly, looking towards the noise.
Velvet looked at Dianthus.
And Dianthus looked at her. Then, his sight went down her arm.
Frenese’s sudden voice in her head almost made her flinch. “He knows we’ve made a deal.”
Ah? Now that made her really flinch. He knew? She had taken all the measures possible to keep their deal a secret, and she hadn’t seen Dianthus since the incident. Who told him?
How many people knew already? Most of her plans depended on the deal being kept a secr-
Dianthus caressed his face slowly, as if he’d really just woken up. But one signal didn’t get lost on Velvet.
He had slid his index finger upon his lips in a shushing motion. Just for an instant, only noticeable for someone who knew the signs.
That’s to say, her.
Only he knows it. Velvet understood. As for how he found out… she wasn’t going to ask.
Keeping a secret went in both directions, after all.
Harlan excused himself, using the excuse of starting to set up stuff for the class to separate the couple.
So Velvet went to sit next to Dianthus. She could allow herself to be prideful and ignore him, but that was an useless idea.
“I didn’t know you had any interest in engraving. Is this what they call being a novelty seeker?”
Being number one on the novice tier had too many benefits, really. One of them being free classes.
“Oh, I don’t have any. I was taking a stroll when an old woman started saying that she had a great, interesting class I had to try. She then brought me here. Didn’t know it was about engraving.”
Velvet’s smile twitched. “Dianthus, did you get kidnapped?”
He turned to look at her, and shrugged. “It happens sometimes. Must be fate.”