Volume 28 - CH 2

Serina seemed to have gone out, but Saki came down when she was called.

「I've heard the story. There's something going on there! Then I'll go ask the merchants. Darling, if I find the potion, can I buy up a lot of it?」

Saki seemed to have expected the price to rise.

「No, don't do that. It might be profitable, but potions are important to all adventurers. That means we'd be putting a lot of people at a disadvantage, creating animosity and conflict. We don't have to go to all that trouble to make money, right? Saki」

「That's right. Darling's got it in the bag. I'm not good enough as a businessman to make my customers lose money. Besides, the honor of the clan was at stake. Well, I'm off!」

「Ouh」

「Oho! I see! Now that the potions are gone from the city! If we can get our hands on some, we can sell them for a good price! All members "Grey Wolf Fangs", get down here! This is an emergency call! I've got a big job for you!」

Murphy shouts upstairs, but I hope it's really a big job. I wonder if a novice who doesn't even know the first word of business would do well imitating a merchant.

I once lost a lot of money imitating a day trader in Japan, and the lesson I learned was that even if you buy when the news spreads, it's already too late and you can only buy what has gone up in price.

But since I don't know anything about this yet, I'll let Murphy do what he wants. He's not a member of the Black Cat of the Wind. We're different party and he's a full-fledged leader. It's not my place to tell him what to do.

「――and, unlike girls, Glass doesn't betray me. The more I love them, the more they shine, you know. And they don't deteriorate with age!」

「Hmm.」

I waited for the results of the investigation in the inn's dining room, using the boring stories of the glass idiots as background music.

「Oh, there you are, Alec!」

「It's you, Serina. What's up?」

「Well, I heard that the town was selling out of potions, so I ran all over the place to get this one. It's the last bargain!」

Serina proudly placed five potions on the table.

「So they were bargains, meaning they were cheaper than the regular price?」

「Indeed, I bargained with them and made them lose 20%!」

That's the effect of your 【Price Reduction】 skill, isn't it? Well, if she didn't lose any money, that's fine.

「Did you find out why it sold out?」

「Hmm, not that much. But I heard that a few days ago, there were some people who bought a lot of the potions.」

A buyout. And this should be seen as organized. But ...... for what? If the purpose is simply to raise the price, the current situation is still difficult. I'm sure that there are many routes to purchase potions, but what happens if another potion is purchased from somewhere else and sold at a lower price? In that case, the price won't go up as much as you think, and it will be a huge risk just to hold a large amount of inventory.

Maybe there's something I don't know about this.

「Serina, go ask around and find out why the price of the potion is likely to go up.」

「Yeah, I got it. I was wondering the same thing too. I'll be off then.」

Serina left the potion on the table and ran. Hans grabbed the potion and I glared at him.

「Hey, it's ours. I'll fire you if you screw it up, Hans.」

「Oh, no, no, no, don't get me wrong, Alec-san. I didn't mean to steal it, I just wanted to take a closer look at this glasswork. Well, I'm sure this craftsman is experienced and skilled. See, all five of these pieces are evenly shaped, right? The shape and surface are clean and stable. It's hard to break and you won't cut your hand. But you know what, ......, there is no sense of artistry in these portion bottles. It's not beautiful at all. It has zero originality! There's no soul in it!」

「You know, Hans, no one is looking for art or soul in a potion bottle. You don't need originality. Just give it back.」

「Auh!」

「Brother~!」

Jouga came waving at me.

「What's the matter, Jouga?」

「Look at this! I managed to buy some of those potions that are currently sold out all over the place!」

Jouga proudly showed off his two potions.

「How much did you pay for that?」

「Huh? One hundred gold. Well, it's a little more than usual, but it's not much, right?」

You're an idiot. That's ten times the regular price.

「Jouga, if you're out of potions, that's one thing, but you've been carrying around a lot of them, haven't you?」

「Hell yeah, I've been carrying around a lot of potions and antidotes ever since I got my foot broken. Here.」

「If you had them, you wouldn't have needed them. Don't buy them at a high price when you don't need them.」

「Well, don't say that, brother. Everyone was looking for it, and some of them even said they'd pay 200 gold.」

It's the herd mentality. When you know that everyone wants it, it seems more valuable.

「You should try not to buy a luxury futon.」

「Huh?」

「Alec~!」

Now it's Lily. Whew, I'm getting a headache.

「Look, look!」

「I don't see any potions. Just tell me how many you bought and at what price, Lily.」

「Eh, what's your problem? Everyone's desperately looking for it right now.」

「But don't try to buy something you won't use right away without thinking about it.」

「What?」

Then there are housewives - Oops, I guess there are smart housewives, and there are smart husbands, let's just say they are not the smartest buyers out there. It's the same thing.

「Just because you're desperately looking for something doesn't mean it's going to help you, and the deals you're getting are just a sham.」

I told her so.

「No, I don't get it! I can sell it for 200 now!」

「That's right, Lily had worked so hard to find them for everyone!」

Lily says something healthy and wonderful, but of course, I'm not fooled by such a good cause, you know?

「Lily, did you really go out and buy that for everyone? If I asked you to give it to me at a fixed price, would you give it to me?」

「No, I wouldn't sell it to you unless you doubled the price! No, if it Alec, I would triple it!」

I knew it. You're just trying to make money for yourself, aren't you? What's in it for everyone?

It's up to her to add a commission for her hard work.

But I don't want her to become a foolish adult who pretend it's for everyone's sake.

「Jouga, notified all of the "Black Cat of the Wind" members. Don't buy potions from Lily for more than the list price. I'll give them to anyone who's don't have enough potions.」

「Ohhhh! That's very generous of you, brother. All right, I'll go tell everyone!」

「You can't~~! Not until Lily sells it! Jouga, wait!」

I hope this will make Lily reflect it. Well, let's not get my hopes up too high.