Chapter 57 - Expert Haggler!
A woman with a voluptuous body appeared in front of Ban. She was a little tanned and is wearing a revealing leather outfit. She was holding a cup of alcoholic drink in her hand with a drunk look on her face.
"Oh- a new customer? Are you the one who said that my shop is shabby?"
There was a pinkish blush on her cheek as she stared at Ban, or more precisely, the Ant Mask he was wearing.
After observing it a bit, she turned her head towards another direction and when she saw George standing there with a gawking expression, her expression was immediately replaced with a frown.
Even though Ban had no particular reaction to it, George who saw her revealing outfit could not help but stare at it with wide eyes. This was not even his first time seeing her in that outfit but it really hit different every time he saw her like that.
"So it was just you, little Georgy! You didn't bring any customers for a week, I thought you already died while driving your carriage!" The woman said while drinking a mouthful of that alcoholic drink she's holding.
"And, I assume that you're the one who said that my shop has a shabby appearance right? Right? Little Georgy?" She stared at George with a threatening look in her eyes.
George gulped a mouthful of saliva as he moved his gaze in a different direction. He wanted to deny it, but if he did so, it would look like it was 'Sir Leon' who said it and it might lead to George offending him.
"With that, you'll only be getting 1% if this deal went through!" She said while turning around with heavy steps.
"Come in!" She then added to let Ban follow her inside the shop.
Ban followed her inside.
George also followed suit and when he arrived near Ban, he bowed his head to apologize for what happened.
In the meantime, he also introduced her name to Ban.
"Her name is Joana, she's the owner of this shop. And just like you, she's also a Gold Rank Adventurer!"
Ban stopped for a moment when he heard her being a Gold Rank Adventurer. He was just a fake while the woman in front of her was a legit Gold Rank Adventurer with a D-Master Rank strength.
He could not help but feel nervous about it. He's worried that his cover might get blown if he became careless.
However, recalling the Ant Mask's description, he somehow felt confident about it again.
-Total Conceal: No one can recognize you while wearing this mask, not even those who are close to you. Even those one realm higher than you won't detect a single thing behind the mask. Your voice will be altered in every person that hears it.
He resumed walking as if nothing happened.
The shop was big and while they were walking, Ban could not help but look around in interest. There were many kinds of Beast parts displayed behind the glass beside the path and there are also weapons, armors, and other items that were made from Beast parts displayed on it.
Each has a different price and Ban could not help but gulp a mouthful of saliva after seeing their ridiculous price. He could not help but rethink his decision about becoming a full-time Adventurer or just set up a shop around here and sell expensive items.
Sometime later, they finally arrived at a table at the center of the shop. Joana sat at the chair behind the table and beckoned for Ban and George to sit on the chair before it.
"As it was Georgy here who brought you here, I'm assuming that you are here to sell some Beast Parts?"
Her shop sells and purchases Beast parts at the same time. However, the Summoners and Adventurers around knew of her shop as a weapon and armor shop. Only a handful of them knew of the fact that she's buying Beast parts.
Ban nodded his head in response to her question.
"Alright, but you must note that I don't just buy any Beast part that you wanted to sell. Show me what you got and I'll decide if I'll buy it or not."
Ban did not think about it as he responded with a nod before waving his arm in the air.
A ripple suddenly appeared and after a moment, two fist-size reddish-white balls suddenly materialized out of nowhere, falling to her table gently.
A surprised gasp escaped from her mouth when she recognized the Beast part in front of her. She did not even mind that it materialized out of nowhere as she was so excited upon seeing that.
"A Red Hermit Termite's Eyes, and there's two of them!"
She was about to touch it but when she recalled how important this Beast part was for her, she immediately retracted her hand, lest she contaminated it.
"Yes, that came from the eyes of a Red Hermit Termite!" Ban nodded his head. He was surprised that she was able to recognize it at first glance but he later thought that it was just right as she might have encountered one before.
"100 Gold Coins, no, it is well-preserved so I'll buy the two of them for 200 Gold Coins." She hurriedly said while she slumped back to her chair, trying to act calm. She then crossed her arms under her bulging chest as she waited for Ban's reply.
'How much?' Ban could not help but tilt his head to the side after hearing the number. He even thought that he was hearing things because he was thinking about coins earlier.
However, the tilting of his head appeared different in Joana's perspective. Her assumption even sounded more reasonable when Ban didn't talk and instead just stared at her with a tilt head.
She thought that Ban did not like the price she offered. She felt nervous and not long after she finally decided to change her offer.
"Alright, Alright Sigh, I really need this Hermit Termite's Eyes and I doubt I could still find another one which is as preserved as this. I only have 200 Gold Coins at the moment as I've already used them to pay for the new weapons and armors that just arrived."
"How about this… 200 Gold Coins and a Weapon of your choice."
Joana could only cursed herself by getting haggled too easily. She also could not help but commend Ban's way of haggling- staying silent to create tension! Even though she also wanted to use such method, she refrained from doing so as Ban might suddenly decide to turn around and not sell her the two precious Hermit Termite's eyes.
'Sigh! This man must be an expert at haggling!
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Thanks for reading!
Let'e reach 1000 Power Stones next time and I will release 2 extra chapters aside from the daily one.