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Chapter 318 – Negotiations at the Hunter’s Shack

The door opened, and a middle-aged male trader-looking fellow was waiting.

He didn’t look like anyone that could use psychological magic...or even like a magician.

Or even like an adventurer.

「Master Tolf! Thank you for coming!」

「Ah...yeah...」

He hadn’t gotten rid of his nervousness.

I could see the older trader looked a bit puzzled.

「Is something wrong, dear boy?」

「N...no...nothing.」

「I see. Let’s speak inside.」

「Sure.」

And so Tokul also entered the house.

『Cruz, wait by the window.』

『Roger.』

『Femm, you check the back.』

『Leave it to me.』

『If there’s a back exit, wait there, if not, wait with Cruz.』

『Sure.』

Cruz quietly crept near to the window.

Femm disappeared around back.

『Moofy, you say with me out front.』

『Do my best.』

So we both waited outside the front door.

I did my best to magically examine the place.

There was a magic lock on the front door.

A normal magician would take an hour to uncast such a well-made lock.

It also had a shock-resistant and fire-proofing protection over it.

There was no way to get in easily.

『Was there a back exit?』

『Yes. Tell me when you want me to creep in.』

『There’s probably a magic lock on it. Just stop the guy from fleeing if he runs.』

『You got it.』

『Cruz, the window’s protected by magic.』

『Okay...』

『If this turns bad, just bust it open.』

『Sure.』

『Also, get your face covered, just in case.』

『Okay.』

We put on our masks as I started working on a spell to unlock the door.

We couldn’t just wait around if Tokul fell into the enemy’s hands.

After all this, I used magic to feel inside the house.

There was Tokul, the old trader...and someone else.

They were talking, but I couldn’t hear what about.

So I cast a keen-listening spell.

Now I could hear inside somewhat, as no one had cast a prevention spell for this type of magic.

「Who are you?」

I heard Tokul ask. I knew he wasn’t talking about the old man, but about the other person.

「He’s just my business partner.」

「...I see...」

The other person was silent. I couldn’t tell the race or sex.

I don’t think Tokul was accepting the old man’s explanation either.

But Tokul ignored it and just continued, 「About the spirit stone contract...」

「Can we come to the end of our contract, finally?」

「Well...」

「Is there a problem?」

「Because the seller doesn’t know who he’s selling to, he’s not going to sell the stones except at a very high price.」

And just like that, Tokul’s nervousness changed to banter, as if it were a dream.

I guess he could negotiate, as long as he wasn’t fooling any one.

「Is that the only reason?」

The old man seemed disappointed.

「Yes, they said these stones may be used for dangerous reasons, so they can’t sell them to someone they can’t trust.」

「Hm...」

Then it seemed like the older man was talking to the other person present.

「For now, let’s just buy a small amount.」

「Understood.」

「If we buy bit by bit, they’ll come to trust us.」

「And...」

「Is there more?」

「Yes. If you are to buy anything, something this tiny will cost you this much...」

Tokul was talking about the massive price I gave at Linmia’s.

「There’s NO WAY!」

「No, that’s what the seller said.」

「That’s some rip off!」

「Even so, the fellow said he wouldn’t sell it at a lower price.」

「With an offer like that, you must have sadly turned tail and come home, right?」

The old man sounded quite frustrated.

「Of course I negotiated further. And there were new conditions.」

「I see. Sure...so what were they?」

「If he could meet the buyer, the price would drop to this, and he could make much more available.」

「But that...」

「And unprecedented request, I think.」

「It certainly is...」

The old man was still a bit angry.

「...they are extraordinary, but I guess we can’t refuse...」

「I did say that the buyer did not want to reveal himself.」

Then Tokul’s voice went to a low whisper.

「The seller also said that he was able to produce these stones.」

「Oh?」

「And from now, if you and he wanted to come to a longer-term agreement, you could meet him and make your own terms.」

「Hm.」

「Also, I told him that I couldn’t continue the negotiations until I spoke to you directly.」

「That is important.」

「Yes.」

The old man was thinking now about meeting us, after all.

Tokul was quite good at negotiating.

He might be a good tradesman with more experience.

Just then, a sharp voice emerged, 「So you’ve joined the enemy?」

It was a voice different than the other two.

The other person was speaking.

「W...what...what do you mean?」

Tokul’s voice shook.

「Seems like I have to kill this traitor.」

「Eeep!」

Suddenly, the other person was angry.

There was no reason to wait until Tokul got killed.

So I charged right into the house.