Kays Translations

Chapter 12: Negotiation

"Um, how about this?"

"Hmmm… isn't that a little too cheap? These are the scales of an ancient fire dragon that my guards worked so hard to kill. A dragon's material should be quite rare…"

“As you said, the scales of the old fire dragon are certainly rare, but it’s difficult to process them, so considering the labor cost, it will be about this.”

“I see… so that’s how it is. Thank you for the appraisal.”

The fat man in front of me replied to my words as if it was obvious. Of course, I've checked the market price, so I know that it sold at about half the price.

Well, I guess that's to be expected. 

When we arrived in town, Vigna and I went to the Azure Trading Company, the best in town. I was certain that they'll take care of us even if we come to them out of the blue without a letter of introduction because I'm royalty.

However, the way they treated me after that was disgusting. I was dealt with by a lowly merchant who, perhaps underestimating me as an ignorant and foolish prince, tried to beat me to a bargain. The fact that he would do this when I would have noticed if I had gone to another store suggests that he didn't want to get along with me, maybe they were in league with my father or one of my brothers' factions.

“Is this my standing right now? it's just the same as when I was in the castle.”

My reputation was that of a naïve and foolish prince, who has been exiled to the frontier and has no power. As for me, I'm fine with the way I'm treated. But there was one thing I couldn't forgive.

“I'm sorry Vigna for making you uncomfortable.”

“What are you saying? I'm an abomination. I'm used to this kind of thing. It's okay. Rather, why didn’t you sell? I thought you were going to sell it and use it to fund your army.”

I was the first to apologize as we left the Azure Trading Company, but she was stroking her light blue hair with a look of real disinterest on her face.

Yes, what I couldn't forgive was the way they treated my escort, Vigna. She didn't even get a cup of tea and they stared at her uncomfortably, as if they were looking at a strange animal.

The term "abomination" refers to people with peculiar hair color like her’s, a characteristic of people with powerful magic power according to my World Library, but they’re often unfairly discriminated against because of their peculiar appearance. It's not so common in cities anymore, but it still seems to exist in these remote towns.

"Oh, it’s no problem cause my favorite is the next one. There was a company that Bowman was taking care of before he came to the castle, and I have a letter of introduction for them."

“If so why didn't we just talk to them from the start?”

I answered Vigna who looked disappointed with a grin.

“That's cause It would have been ignoring the face of the Azure Trading Company, the best in town… and they might have made trouble because of it in the future. We're selling something new, something that's never been sold before. We don't want to talk about it unless it’s to someone trustworthy. We need a reason for saying no right? Now we can say, "I made friends with this store because they paid more than you”. I can't wait to see that old pig barking. Hahaha, He’ll probably get fired one of these days.”

“You have a really bad personality don't you?”

“Hahaha, that's the best compliment, I can’t ignore anyone who makes my dearest friend uncomfortable.”

“I told you I didn't mind. But thank you."

While a little surprised by Vigna who says thank you honestly which was unusual of her, we head to my company of choice. The truth is It's hard to tell if it's going to work just because I have Bowman's letter of introduction.

“It's smaller than the one before, but it's still a pretty nice company, are you going to decide on this one?”

“I don’t know, it’s a candidate though… and although I'm the third prince, my claim to the throne is hopeless and I only have a small piece of land that’s being called a fiefdom (Estate). It’s also possible that they’ll try to take advantage of the fact that we’re in need of money and buy materials from us cheaply.”

They’re business people and Bowman’s letter of introduction is just a trigger for business negotiations with each other. If I'm not of any use to them, they'll just dismiss me. And I have no intention of partnering with incompetence.

“Having said that, I can't tell you what this business association is really like without talking to them. With an escort strong enough to defeat an ancient fire dragon, and the presence of Bowman, it's up to them to see the value in the goods I've brought. I’d like to make a deal with a company that has the wisdom to investigate and think “Let’s deal with this lord who may develop in the future in good faith,”. So if we fail here, it’s fine. We can go on to the next merchant association."

I stand in front of the door to the Harrison Chamber of Commerce with a letter of introduction. I wasn’t nervous when saying that to Vigna earlier, but I'm getting nervous now. I'm basically a recluse! Even in the castle, I'm just a guy who reads books and interferes with Bowman's experiments. Can I really do this? No, it's okay. I’ve simulated it many times. I can do it.

Pa!

When I was slumped in front of the door, I was slapped hard on the back. When I turned, Vigna was staring at me without hiding her waving hand.

“What are you doing?”

“What are you waiting for? I know you're the guy who does it when you have to. Rest assured, I'll follow for you if anything happens.”

"Oh, thank you."

I felt strangely comforted by Vigna's words. I can't betray the trusting eyes of this girl. When I thought about it, my trembling mysteriously stopped.

Also, this girl solves everything with violence. I can't fail!

“Excuse me. I'm Grace Vermillion. I've been appointed as the lord of the neighboring territory of Asgard. I'd like to ask you to purchase the scales of the monsters we hunted in our territory, is there someone in charge? This will serve as a letter of introduction."

When I opened the door of the Harrison Trading Company, I was greeted by a space that was neither too flashy nor too cheap, with furniture that wasn’t decorated but made of high-quality materials.

I’d heard that it was one of the top mid-ranking establishments in the city when I checked it out and it seemed to be in good financial condition.

“Please wait a moment. If you don't mind, just take a seat over there and I'll get the person in charge right away.”

“Thank you very much. I came here without an appointment, so I'll take your word for it and wait.”

I handed the letter of introduction to the employee who looked at me smiled and said thank you, and went straight to the back.

I felt her gaze on me, so I turned around to see Vigna looking at me with a look that said, "Who is this girl? Don't swoon over the prince”. I've learned some social skills, you know. I didn't get much of a chance to use them… but you’ve got a good face, so don't look like that.

"Welcome, Grace Vermillion. My name is Edward Harrison and I’m the Chairman of the Harrison Trading Company. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The man who came towards me was a blond man of about 50 years old, with a friendly smile on his face.

He was the one in charge, so I guess I passed the first step. The next step was to see if he would listen to us seriously.

Vigna and I were taken into the parlor by him.

“What the hell is this?!”

Half an hour later, Edward's indescribable screams echoed throughout the Chamber of Commerce.

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