Pathfinder
Chapter Seventeen
“Mr.
Rabun?
Haha, just call me Rabun.
Well, it’s true that I’d be at a loss, but there is no end to human greed, so I’m trying to restrain myself.
I haven’t gone so crazy for money that I’d be greedy even with a little miss like you.
Just don’t forget to stop by sometimes and sell me some of your fascinating items.”
After saying that, Rabun asked Garam to wait a moment and then went behind the counter and came out with a pouch in hand.
From the pouch, Rabun took out a coin and showed it to Garam.
“It’s a mithril coin.
Go ahead, take a look.”
Mithril, also known as true silver, was a sacred metal that expelled demonic and sinister energies just by being in possession of it.
At first glance, it looked like silver, but in dark places, it emitted a faint light on its own, unlike other metals.
Garam received the coin, which seemed to be about the size of the circle made with her thumb and index finger.
“Do you see the number 10,000 written here on the front?
It’s enchanted, so if you go to the bank and show it, saying you want to withdraw a certain amount, the number in front will decrease accordingly.
Did we say I owed you about 9,000 gold in total?
Forget that, I’ll give you 10,000 gold.
Just don’t tell anyone about this.”
On the front of the mithril coin, two dove wings were drawn.
In the center, a white gem was embedded, inside which something bluish, like smoke, seemed to ripple.
It was faint enough to be mistaken for an illusion, but it was definitely there.
On the back of the gold coin, the number 10,000 was written in light characters, shifting between a very faint blueish purple and an almost blackish purple.
“Do you see the color of these light characters?”
Rabun pointed to the embossed numbers on the coin which were like a hologram.
“Yes, it’s kind of a strange color, like purple or navy.”
“That’s the coin’s mood, also called its ego.
It’s for theft prevention.”
Garam briefly inferred the poetic meaning behind Rabun’s words.
Seeing Garam’s puzzled expression, Rabun began to explain patiently.
“It has weak enchantments to prevent forgery and theft.
If you’re not the owner, it turns completely black; if you are, it turns green, and when it’s very pleased, it turns bright green.”
“It’s black right now.”
“Listen carefully.
First, I’ll give this to you, and you need to convince this coin that you’re the owner.
But there’s something more important.
When the coin’s mood turns red, the number also changes, and you can’t find the money.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know; I’m not a wizard.
By the way, this coin seems to like being soaked in slightly warm water.
It doesn’t like rough clothes.
Other than that, you don’t have to worry about much.”
Saying this, Rabun inserted the coin between his hand and Garam’s hand and mumbled softly, “Paraks!”
The color of the coin’s number changed to yellow.
Then, it slowly transformed from yellowish-green into a clear emerald hue within Garam’s hand.
It didn’t brighten up any further as if it wasn’t in a good mood.
“With this, you’re connected to this coin.”
“Never thought I’d have even to please a coin.”
Rabun shrugged at Garam’s incredulous remark.
“It’s not that difficult.
I’ve never seen it in an angry state.
I’m giving you this because I thought, why not use this instead of regular gold coins?
If you ever lose it, just go to the bank and ask them to find it.
They can track it with a tracking spell because it costs them two gold to make one of these.
Oh, and by the way, it looks like the jewelry shop is closing.
You should hurry; didn’t you say yesterday that you were going there?”
Garam, who had been staring at the coin, responded to Rabun’s words by nodding and left the general store.
Rabun, who waved Garam off, looked pleased and then removed the “Closed” sign from the storefront and returned inside.
The jewelry shop was right in front of Rabun’s general store.
The jewelry shop, known as Eye of the Sun, had a completely different atmosphere from Rabun’s general store.
While Rabun’s general store was dusty and plain, this place was sparkling.
The building was made of stone, and the interior was meticulously polished.
The light emitted by the gems reflected off the shimmering walls, creating a very luxurious atmosphere inside the shop.
Unlike the general store, the jewelry shop had several attendants.
Among them, Garam hesitated for a moment before approaching a random attendant sitting in the center.
“Um, I’m here to sell some things at Mr.
Rabun’s recommendation.”
In the jewelry shop, everyone was wearing dresses and embroidered clothes that looked high-end except for Garam, who was dressed in an ordinary tunic and pants.
As a result, Garam’s attire made her appear impoverished, and the attendant thought that she might be trying to sell some cheap trinkets with sentimental value, perhaps something inherited from her mother or some stolen items.
“What do you want to sell?”
The abrupt tone of the attendant made Garam feel uneasy, but she didn’t show it and took out a ring from her pocket.
As she haphazardly pulled it out, the attendant realized it was a diamond ring with various cuts that sparkled from different angles.
“This.”
Seeing the diamond ring Garam presented in an unimpressive way, the attendant’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.
He quickly changed his initial judgment of Garam.
He had not encountered a customer like her before.
The attendant struggled to keep his voice steady and wiped his chest, relieved that he hadn’t been too rude.
“You mentioned that you came here at Mr.
Rabun’s recommendation, right?
I’ll get Mr.
Merthan for you.
Bettine!
Please take her to the VIP room.”
Startled by the sudden change in the attendant’s attitude, Garam followed Bettine.
As she did, she naturally realized that the value of the ring she had presented was not ordinary.
Bringing it there had been a wise choice.
The room she was led to, like a VIP room in a jewelry shop, was magnificent.
There was nothing rough or plain about it, and the floor was covered with plush carpets.
A large sofa that could have been fit for a medieval king was placed with a stone table in the middle, and as Garam took her seat, Bettine asked in a courteous manner.
“If you don’t mind waiting a moment, Mr.
Merthan will be here soon.
Do you have any preferences for tea?”
“No, not particularly.”
“We have some jasmine tea.
Would that be fine?”
“Yes, that would be great.”
“I’ll prepare it right away.”
Bowing her head, Bettine left the room, leaving Garam alone in the reception area.
Even though it was still daytime, the room was illuminated by candles placed in ornate candleholders.
Garam was briefly gazing at the flickering red candles against the smooth stone walls when the door opened, and a man walked in, offering a polite greeting.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting.
I’m Merthan.”
“Oh, hello.”
Merthan quickly stopped her as Garam attempted to stand up, and with a courteous gesture, he took his seat.
As he did, refreshments were brought in, and Merthan, offering tea, got straight to the point.
“I heard you’re interested in selling some Dwarven rings.
Could I take a look?”
Although the term “Dwarven” puzzled Garam, she calmly presented the ring.
Garam’s expression had relaxed considerably because the taste of the jasmine tea was quite pleasant.
It had a refreshing floral aroma and a sweet taste as if it had been steeped in honey, making it quite addictive.
“Here it is.”
Garam turned her pocket inside out to pour out the ring and various other pieces of jewelry.
Merthan’s eyes widened like lanterns as they poured out one after another.
“Th-then, excuse me for a moment…”
Trembling, Merthan picked up each piece of jewelry one by one, examining them closely through a magnifying glass.
The clarity, cut, and intricate metalwork were all achieved through techniques that could only have been done by dwarves.
Jewels were graded based on the quality of their original gemstones, but how they were cut could also significantly affect their quality.
The transparency and intricacy achieved by dwarves were impossible for human craftsmanship.
Even the finest human-made jewelry appeared somewhat hazy when compared to Dwarven gems.
“These all seem to be genuine.
This one is silver, and this one is platinum.”
“Yes.”
Garam responded as she took a sip of tea.
While Merthan was inspecting the gemstones, Garam observed him carefully to see how he examined the items, what surprised him, and what he paid the most attention to.
Merthan reacted most indifferently to a simple pearl ring, showed the greatest surprise with intricately crafted metalwork, and seemed to be the second most surprised by items with embedded gemstones.
“The size of the gemstones may be slightly small, but it shouldn’t be a problem.
May I suggest a provisional appraisal value?”
“Yes.”
“The pearl gold ring doesn’t seem to be Dwarven.
It’s ordinary, but the quality of the pearl is good, so I would offer 100 gold for it.
As for the gold rings with gemstones on this side, they are outstanding and unlike any I’ve seen before.
However, since the stones are small, it would be 10,000 gold for the diamond, 12,000 gold for the emerald, and 15,000 gold for the ruby.
Is that acceptable?”
The price difference between a regular pearl gold ring and a gold ring with gemstones was truly staggering.
Garam was momentarily speechless.
Perhaps she could have negotiated a higher price, but the initial offer was already so substantial that she didn’t feel the need to haggle any further.
“Why is there such a price difference?”
In response to Garam’s question, Merthan extended his hand.
She couldn’t be sure that it was actually an emerald because while the stone had a green hue, it appeared somewhat cloudy, not as clear as genuine emeralds.
“This one is also quite valuable; it’s an emerald.
The difference lies in craftsmanship.
Only dwarves can craft gemstones with such transparency.”
“I see.”
Although it wasn’t the most appropriate response, Garam accepted it reasonably.
She could interpret the price difference as being similar to the disparity between cheap street-market jade rings and expensive branded jade rings sold in jewelry stores.
“May I continue with the appraisals for the remaining items?”
“Yes.”
“This silver ring with a sapphire is quite exquisite, although the sapphire is rather small.
Given the quality of the gem, it’s worth 3,000 gold.
The ones without gems are just ordinary silver rings, and I can offer fifteen silver each for those.
As for this bracelet, it has a considerable number of gemstones and excellent craftsmanship, so it’s worth 100,000 gold.
The one without gemstones is worth 1,000 gold.
Finally, this necklace with gemstone pendants has rather large gemstones, so it’s worth 30,000 gold, and the one without gemstones is worth 3,000 gold.”
After calculating and noting down the amounts on a piece of paper, Merthan spoke, “Altogether, it comes to 174,100 gold and fifteen silver.”
With that statement, Merthan remained silent, awaiting Garam’s response.
Garam was thinking about the numerous gems she had hidden under her bed at that moment.
Considering the cost of living Garam had experienced so far in that world, it seemed like an amount she couldn’t possibly spend in her lifetime.
With that amount of money, she felt she wouldn’t need to worry about finances for the rest of her life.
Garam nodded.
“I agree to sell them for that amount.”
“Really?”
Merthan, who had been worried about how much Garam might raise the price, was taken aback by her straightforward agreement.
While he understood that haggling was a necessary part of trading, Merthan, who had become a gem merchant out of his love for gemstones, disliked devaluing the beauty of precious gems with his own words.
“Instead, could you please tell me how much they would normally sell for?
Regardless of how much it is, I will sell them at the price you mentioned earlier, so don’t worry.
I’m just curious about the value of these gemstones.
Even 174,100 gold is an amount I couldn’t spend all by myself, so I have no intention of raising the price.”
Was she serious?
Merthan pondered.
A verbal contract had no real binding power.
If Garam changed her mind and wanted to raise the price, Merthan would have nothing to say in the matter.
However, if he didn’t say anything, Garam might just walk out with the gemstones.
Merthan, torn between his conscience and calculations, closed his eyes tightly and spoke.
“It’s five times the price.”
“I see, it’s worth five times the original price.
Thank you for telling me.”
Compared to the regular pearl gold ring priced at 100 gold, it was almost a scam-worthy difference in price.
However, luxury items were common everywhere, even on Earth where Garam used to live.
To use a watch analogy, while the ordinary pearl gold ring was like a 5,000-won wristwatch, the Dwarven ring was equivalent to a luxury watch that fetched millions of won.
Considering that the customers who bought the items were usually nobles, the price was only natural.
Treasures were scarce on the continent.
“Alright, I’ll get the money.”
After a moment, Merthan returned with the mithril coin that Garam was now familiar with.
Unlike the one Rabun had given her, this coin was rectangular and had the number 170,000 written on the front.
Merthan handed the mithril coin to Garam, followed by a pouch containing other coins.
The 1,000 gold coins were rectangular, and the 100 gold coins were semicircular.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Please take care!”
Garam checked the pouch and then left the jewelry store.
When she left, all the store’s employees sent her off with bowed heads, which drew the attention of nearby customers.
However, soon their attention shifted back to the exquisite gemstones on display.
As Garam left the jewelry store, the sun was setting, and she realized that she had not eaten anything since her rushed breakfast.
The tempting smell of food from street vendors filled the air, but she hurriedly made her way to the horse market.
If she delayed any further, the market might close.
She could just buy a different horse, but Garam had already taken a liking to the one she already saw.
Fearing that Tolan might sell the horse to someone else if she didn’t arrive in time, Garam practically rushed to the horse market.
Despite the smell of horse dung and her breathing nearly being out of control, she managed to reach the horse market just in time, moments before it closed.
“I’m sorry for being late.”
Due to the long distance she had run, Garam’s hair was disheveled, and sweat clung to her forehead.
Her hair, tousled from the run, along with the strands sticking to her sweaty forehead still showed signs of her hasty arrival.
Despite her appearance, Tolan refrained from scolding her.
“Ugh, what a shame, miss.
You must have come running, but…”
At that comment, Garam felt a lump in her throat.