# Ch.25: An irresistible scam

After leaving a sizeable mess on the coast, the funny canids got moving.

J: Now, this is where your training comes in.

Scam the pawnbroker out of all his cash by making them buy your junk.

F4: What will we be selling them anyways?

G: Some old newspaper. Written stuff is considered priceless in here.

Z: Remember, be polite, but never as an equal.

Don't look desperate or ignorant.

J: And moreover, don't think out loud. Did you get all that?

F6: Yeah, I think so.

It must have been weird for the shopkeeper, waking up "early" in the morning,

and opening up shop to see a group of six people waiting at the door.

4: Um, what brings you here, fine gentlemen?

Not only did they looked important, but they physically towered over him,

and seemed to be armed to the teeth.

F3: What else but what this shop does best?

4: Right. Please enter.

They got to the counter.

The tallest person in the group occasionally

ducked to avoid hitting the ceiling beams.

4: My apologies if the shop is a bit cramped. What do you want?

F3: We would like to sell this special scroll.

It's written in demitongue.

They pulled out a certain text.

Except for themselves, everything seemed to lose colour around it.

4: Where did you get that from?

F3: From an expedition. Easier to carry than a hundred currencies.

Adventurers would find miraculous relics from time to time,

just like the knights. It checked out either ways.

4: It's a pretty rare find, but I don't think I can pay for that.

F3: We are not too concerned about the price, just give us an offer.

4: I can give you two thousand quid for that.

F6: I'm pretty sure even the church would cut us a better deal.

F5: You know what they say about pawnbrokers...

4: Alright, five thousand. I've still got to pay my bills, you know.

F3: Good enough. Don't try to swindle your customers, understood?

4: Understood.

F3: That is all for today. Thank you for your service.

4: Thanks.

Then they left.

Z: Maybe what we sold him was not priceless, but definitely worthless.

G: I feel sorry for the poor guy. He must have lost a fortune.

J: LA-LA-LA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER ALL THE MONEY I'M MAKING!

F2: Did we do well?

Z: Sure.

F6: 'A' just kept screaming at me.

J: And because of me, everything went smoothly!

F4: Well, I think that both 'B' and 'C' were a lot more understandable.

F5: No shit.

No shit.

Z: Obviously.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

J: Fuck off.

F3: How did he even fall for it?

J: Well, it only works if the mark is dumber than a brick,

but in that case, you can always point a gun to their face.

F2: What can I buy with this "quid" thingie anyways?

Z: A few months of food and lodging. We got it mostly so we wouldn't look poor.

F1: What should we do now?

J: Ummm... What were you supposed to do after you got rich?

G: Didn't you say you had planned everything already?

J: Yeah, I totally know! I just have to remember...

J: Mmm...

Z: You obviously haven't planned that far.

J: SHHH! I'm remembering!

G: How about we go to the-?

J: Government office! That's it!

G: I was going to say bar, but yeah, sure.

F6: Where to?

J: All roads lead to government. Duh.

F3: I don't think that's a very useful answer.

J: Funny you say that.

Z: The office is pretty much guaranteed to be near the town centre,

so we should go there.

And there they went.

The architecture changed as they got there.

F2: Wow, these houses are really big!

Z: Correct, there seems to be a large separation between social classes.

J: Plebs, royalty and nothing else. All according to keikaku.

F4: What?

J: Why can't you have culture!?

F6: Because I'm a week old?

J: Ugh, FINE!

F4: Wait, I think I saw some more normal buildings on the way.

J: No you didn't.

Z: Yes he did.

J: Ugh, you and your details! Okay, SOME minions have it better off.

G: Don't you think people are looking at us kinda weird?

Z: Because they are giant foxes talking to no one?

J: Well, what are they gonna do!? Just say it's telepathy if they ask.

Z: It isn't technically wrong...

J: Oh, that building looks important. How about we pay it a visit?

F2: Yeah, but there are plenty of other buildings like it.

How do you know it's that one?

G: Well, It's bound to have a sign somewhere,

so how about you get a bit closer?

They approached the building, since the opposite would have been weird.

J: See? It says 'Administrative centre' right there.

And it's on plain English!

F3: That's oddly vague.

Z: Just your typical paper centre.

F6: How do you know what's in here anyways?

J: Pfft. You see one and you've seen them all.

Even if it was called the theatre it would be the same thing.

F4: But wouldn't a building like that do something diff-

J: Enough dumb questions!

Faber, I need you to walk into the building with the group,

and ask when you can give your tributes.

F6: Did a loved one die?

Z: No. It's a common euphemism.

F2: For what?

G: Well, you pay them or you will be the one getting the tributes.

F2: So, can I give them a fish or something?

Z: No, they only accept that "quid" thing.

J: Anyways, we're here to hypnotize a public worker,

and a taxman will do just fine.

G: Hey, the man probably has a life!

Z: That is debatable.

J: I'll need to use Faber's eyes while he carries out the transaction,

for the hypnotism thing.

F1: I guess this is fine.

And there they went. Since they looked important, the queue wasn't very long.

42: Gentlemen. What do you need?

F1: We would like to report our income. *stare*

J: Keep talking while I do the thing!

42: Uh, source of income?

F1: After arriving to this settlement,

we headed towards a pawn shop near the sea,

where we decided to sell certain goods

which we had acquired during our travels.

G: You're doing great, keep it up!

42: ...You're an adventurer, right?

F1: Affirmative. We have travelled long distances to get here,

and have dedicated ourselves to adventure.

It was in such an adventure that we acquired

the goods which we sold at the pawn shop.

42: ...A-amount?

Z: It's working. Don't stop now.

F1: During our sales, and as is expected from a pawn shop,

we were originally presented two thousand quid for our offering.

F1: However, this was a very small sum considering the quality of our items.

Because we knew this, we negotiated for the sum of five thousand quid,

which we would like to present to you now,

as to maintain our financial responsibility and impeccable citizenry.

J: I'm done.

42: ...Sure. You can hand them over.

Economics 101 kids. Just own the taxman.