At last, two weeks later, everyone began noticing that the price of the feathers was shooting upward. The Merchants’ Guild was now buying clarion-bird feathers for 25,000 G each—a fivefold increase.
Neon was in high spirits when she learned the news.
As we looked at the board displaying the announced purchase prices, a receptionist called out to us.
“I’d like to discuss something with you. It’s about the merchandise the Neonbil Trading Company has in storage.”
Here it came. We had entrusted the merchandise to the Merchants’ Guild. Judging by this rapid rise, they must have wanted to obtain it as soon as possible.
“Yes?”
“We’d like to purchase your clarion-bird feathers.”
“I’m sorry, but we’ll have to decline,” Neon stated plainly.
“We acquired them only after gathering reliable information. We have no intention of selling at this level.”
What a bluff! She carried herself with impressive composure.
“You must have quite an excellent information network… If you change your mind, please tell us at any time.”
The receptionist likely hadn’t expected us to agree. She immediately withdrew and left.
Three days later, we went to the Merchants’ Guild to check the purchase price. It had risen to three silver coins and five large copper coins—seven times the original price.
“You’re with the Neonbil Trading Company, aren’t you? Would you come to the back with me?”
A tall man in glasses whom we’d never seen before called out to us. Neon and I nodded, then followed him to a private room.
Once we were seated on a fine sofa, the man folded his arms and stared at us.
“I’ll come straight to the point. Isn’t it about time you sold them to us? Now is the time to sell.”
The man spoke with a serious expression.
“We don’t intend to sell yet.”
“A merchant who gets too greedy will get burned, you know. You may be too young to understand, but countless goods have crashed all the way down to one copper coin because merchants grew greedy and convinced themselves the price would climb higher still. Consider this advice from a senior merchant.”
The man certainly had a point—if you didn’t know how far the price would rise. But we knew it would keep climbing. It wasn’t time to sell yet.
As I wondered how to respond, Neon stood. Her eyes were remarkably clear.
“I’m grateful for your advice as a senior merchant, but my merchant’s intuition tells me the price will rise further. Therefore, we have no intention of selling yet.”
Neon delivered the declaration without hesitation.
Even though the information came from Metis, she told that lie so boldly… I couldn’t help being impressed.
The man let out a long breath at the sight of her.
“Whew… You’re young, but you seem quite confident in yourself. I’ll give up for today. I said all that, but I also think the price will rise further.”
The man laughed as he said it. Perhaps an experienced merchant could tell from the momentum that there was still room for it to rise.
After thanking him politely, we left the Merchants’ Guild.
Once we’d walked a short distance from the guild, Neon let out a long breath. She must have been tense.
“Haaah, I really went and said it! If we’re wrong, I’ll be so embarrassed.”
She laughed, scrunching up her face. Despite her words, I could tell she trusted my skill.
“Trust Lady Metis. She’s a great prophet.”
“You’re right. She’s helped us all this time. This time too… How many days until the peak?”
“Four days, if I remember correctly.”
“It really is an absurdly broken skill. Every merchant constantly wants to know when an item’s price will peak. Not even the most experienced merchant can predict that perfectly.”
“True. It’d probably be unbeatable at gambling too, though people would suspect us of cheating.”
“Of course they would. Anyone who got it right one hundred percent of the time could only be cheating.”
We chatted leisurely while waiting for the fourth day.