Chapter 273: A Self-Opportunistic Man (Han)

"Our influence even by name is extraordinary than the likes of peasants like you. Surely you'd benefit if you actually knew how to put your greed behind and see how better it is to earn favor than dislike."

"Well, some people can't help but want something—and you call it greedy?" Han slammed his hand on the table. "What's so wrong with wanting something and doing your best to go for it? If a Noble tries to get something… then nobody will probably bat an eye, but oh please stop this filthy Peasant from actually wanting a better life."

He swallowed for a moment.

The Lady eyed him with a plain look.

The feeling of having over spoken and placed too much force into those words was obvious. He couldn't change a thing by yelling them out. And yet it felt great to get them out of his chest. Maybe it was scummy to ask for a thousand coins for a necklace… and withhold them from this Lady trying to find her brother—but could anyone blame him for wanting to get something out of this?

Han Jing knew he was no Hero.

Any efforts he might have shown and put into could be self-serving. But what was so wrong about that? Deserving. Undeserving. Did it actually matter in this kind of world? The world of the Creators granted some people the opportunity for power and wealth, for being born lucky. He had nothing like that. Maybe it was a fool to dream that something leveled out this world. He tightened his fist and stared back at the woman before she could say another thing, "I'll accept five hundred pieces of gold."

"One hundred and fifty gold pieces." She replied. Lady Crowel looked like she was studying his expression. "And a chance to be honored by the Crowel House for assisting us."

"Four hundred?" He hoped he didn't sound like he wavered at that amount. Maybe he was just getting tired at fighting—the idea of… he blinked and glared at her. She probably realized that her control wavered and resumed it. He ignored the pressure building around him. It almost felt like she was squishing him like some ant.

"Two hundred gold pieces."

"Three hundred and fifty gold pieces." He kept his glare on and focused on expelling his mana around him. It took him about a minute before the weight eased from his shoulders. He wasn't being buried into the ground or floor anymore, and he sighed in relief.

And then nearly staggered to his knee.

The Lady crossed her arms, a smile on her face. "Two hundred and fifty gold pieces is my last offer, do not turn it down now. That's already a considerable amount."

"Alright," he said.

One of her eyes twitched for a moment, before she glanced over her shoulder. "Contact the Merchant Guild and have the amount transferable to this Han. You can go to this guild and claim the money there. But consider this as the end. Give me the necklace."

He 'dug' it out of his pocket, almost hesitant to give it without the gold in front of him. But he could at least trust a Lady's word that was supposed to be out of honor? Han paused and then said, "Can you give me a partial amount now?"

"What?"

"I want to see the gold in the table, Lady Crowel." He cleared his throat, putting away the necklace. "It is a difficult thing for me to comprehend unless I actually see the money on the table and touch it. Surely, Lady Crowel will be considerate of this Peasant's poor ability to comprehend how a Guild can keep her money?" It was too much of an act of pretending to be stupid.

The Lady also knew it, but she had to keep her appearances.

She grunted and looked at a couple of her men, quickly pointing at them. "Take out the money that you have with you." The Lady herself seemed to have no gold on herself, but she got her own people to leave their coins on the table. Now, it wasn't like they all had gold coins, but it was enough to make him feel a little more reassured that the moment she received the necklace wouldn't be when she'd decide to dupe him.

Some men and even women glared at him.

He hoped they wouldn't take it too much to hear. Han now had a neat little pile of copper and even silver coins—which was a suitable type of change if anybody asked him. He didn't have to look for a money-changer or someone similar. He picked one up and bit into the coin, "Hah...Hard." he said and then pocketed it. How much money did he have on the table?

What exactly could he buy with it? Could he upgrade into a sword or maybe buy something like a light-weight armor?

"The necklace?"

"Oh, you're right." He sheepishly took it out of his 'pocket' again and handed it to her. "Here you go, Lady Crowel. Thank you."

The woman had a dour look on her face, but nodded. "Thank you so much for wasting our time, I shall leave now." The Lady turned away from him and motioned for her men to follow her towards the door.

Somehow, her attitude almost reminded him of Timothy. There was some sarcasm to her tone, but she also kept her word and kept up with all of his demands.

He hesitated and nearly called out to her.

Han could have mentioned that it was Timothy all along, but she was leaving immediately. He was being a little too opportunistic, wasn't he? He glanced around the room and noticed some people eyeing him, or the table rather. The man collected the coins and wished he had a bag or something to keep them all.

There was only so much he could 'carry' in his pocket without it being suspicious.

Did they have storage bags or something? He should get something like that if it was actually possible. For now, he glanced around and hoped that there might be someone to help him. It was a bad thing that Timothy and Sir Leon went out. Were they coming back soon?

He looked up and nearly missed the doors throwing itself open.