We all got along on our way back, learning about how Veera took over her family business after her father’s death. She tried her best in collecting monster materials for her store back in Avalon. Her main concern was making new clients as most hunters sold to the same traders and stayed loyal to the original buyers unless there was a major difference in prices. It explained her going out and taking part in hunts to hopefully steal clients away from other traders.
Even though the commute was longer than yesterday, I didn’t mind the extra company as we talked most of the way back. More about Veera’s life and less about Eris or mine. Veera even calculated the total for the entire cart since she was willing to buy the entire pile off of us.
“How’s 6 emerald coins sound?” Supposedly I’m easy to read from what Veera says as she spoke again. “I’m still making a huge profit, so there’s no need to worry about the amount. If anything, I’m ripping you off.”
“Well, since you put it that way, I’d like an emerald coin to be split into gold coins and other smaller amounts to make things easier for me if that’s alright.” I asked since money wasn’t something I knew much about.
“Diamond coins equal a hundred thousand gold coins so I’ll give you ten of those and some extra gold coins as a bonus.” Veera smiled, and I liked the way she handled business.
To my surprise, she handed over coins from her open palm. It appeared like a sleight-of-hand trick. “Where did those come from? Did you create money?!”
Veera giggled. “What? If I could do that, we wouldn’t be here.” She turned her hand exposing an emerald ring. “This ring carries some of my money, but is limited in space.”
She said her ring was a family heirloom, though low quality compared to others. If she had to guess the cost of her ring, it would run in the tens of millions. A ridiculous price for what it can hold, but I already started figuring out how to get one that could replace the cart. We arrived at the outpost as our cart attracted a lot of attention. We ignored all the curious eyes and parted ways after she told us to stop by and visit her store in the city some time.
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Walking to the cafeteria to eat one last time before riding the gravity train back to Avalon, I saw the group I saved from the forest earlier. They were being treated with medical care and it looked like their numbers dwindled even further. I wondered if the beast parts and core they kept was enough to cover their medical expenses. Definitely not worth the casualties.
The sky darkened by the time we got back to Avalon. The only train of thought right now was to head straight to the slave trader’s building. Our first milestone felt satisfying to achieve and within such a short amount of time. The only issue was I couldn’t remember how to get there until I pulled out Marcus’s business card.
It would be buried deep within the rucksack, eventually handing it over to Eris for her to activate its spell. He mentioned this capability on our way, which led us to the building entrance. We entered together; to my surprise, Marcus stood waiting to greet us in the lobby. The card must have notified him once the card’s spell was activated.
“Great to be seeing you again so soon, Sir.” Marcus bowed as he welcomed us into his office.
Once seated, the same attractive slave from last time entered to serve us beverages. Her long golden blonde hair perfectly highlighted her smooth long legs. A challenge to keep my eyes off her.
“I’m interested in buying a slave. Also, I’ll need assistance in purchasing a place to stay since staying at a hotel will be inconvenient long-term.” I drank the tea waiting for a response.
“Do you have any preferences you require of a slave? As for housing that’s no problem, we'll handle that matter afterwards.” Marcus asked.
I couldn’t help from glancing at the one by his side. “I’m looking for someone with a good foundation in martial arts or at least in good physical shape.”
“I’ll show you around based on your preferences, this way please Sir.” Marcus got up, leading us to the tenth floor.
The floor felt spacious, similar to the lobby with an employee working a desk counter. Marcus spoke to the employee and had him round up all the slaves that matched my requirements. In a few minutes, slaves filled up the empty floor into a practiced formation. They were even organized to the point that they lined up cheapest to most expensive from left to right.
Unfortunately, not a single slave stood out at the moment. I already had it in my right mind to purchase the blonde beauty, but also wanted to get a cheaper slave who met the physical fitness requirement. Marcus seemed to notice my disinterest and approached closer.
“Not quite what you’re looking for?” Marcus was a hard read, difficult to figure out his thoughts.
“No... Could you show me the ones you think are special in your eyes?”
Marcus paused and looked to be in deep thought over whom to show me next as if I was testing his ability.