Chapter 6: Two People Destined to Meet

The next day, after leaving the inn, I considered my future.

If my choice was between becoming a merchant or an adventurer, then merchant was clearly the better way to use my skill. Watching my money dwindle day after day was rather terrifying. I had to find a way to earn more. Only now did I realize that people able to calmly wonder what they should do with their future were people who already had some breathing room.

“For now, I’ll go to the stalls.”

In the worst case, I was literate. I could consider asking some merchant to take me on as an apprentice.

Morning seemed to be the busiest time on the street of stalls, and the area had been bustling for some time. Negotiations took place everywhere.

“This tableware is used by Artemian nobles. It was made at the noble-appointed Cremia Workshop. The dragon painted on it is magnificent, isn’t it?”

“It certainly is beautiful.”

A negotiation was taking place at the stall in front of me at that very moment. The person studying the cup and saucer was a young girl.

Her beautiful sapphire-blue hair was cut into a neat bob that stopped above her shoulders. She had large, lovely blue eyes and finely shaped features.

She was about 140 centimeters tall and looked to be in her early teens. With her lively, energetic gaze, “spirited beauty” described her perfectly.

The girl stared at the cup and hummed indecisively.

‘Is this cup genuine?’

‘No.’

Apparently, it had not been made by the Cremia Workshop. It would have been more surprising to find a purveyor to nobles selling its wares from a stall like this.

“I’ll buy—”

“Hold on. Sir, is that really from the Cremia Workshop?”

The vendor’s expression twisted slightly when I suddenly interrupted.

“What’s this? Of course it’s genuine! It would normally cost 100,000 G, and I’m letting it go for half that—just 50,000 G.”

“Is that so? You can tell from my clothes that I’m a noble—an Artemian noble at that. I know the Cremia Workshop. I use its wares all the time. But I’ve never seen this design. Who painted it?”

Every word was a bluff. I had never even heard of the Cremia Workshop, and honestly, I could barely distinguish one piece of tableware from another. I could tell if something looked somewhat good, at most. Still, yesterday’s failure had taught me one thing: bluffing mattered in business.

The vendor’s agitation became visible.

“Uh… What’s a noble doing in a place like this? Hmm, I’ve forgotten who painted it.”

He blatantly averted his eyes.

“Well, I suppose it’s only natural to forget after leaving it here for so long. But it’s certainly not the work of any famous painter. Miss, perhaps you should pass on this one.”

Calling it a fake outright would create unnecessary hostility, so I indirectly advised her not to buy it.

“You’re right. Sorry, sir.”

The girl must have understood what I meant, because she abandoned the purchase.

“No, it’s fine. It’s my fault for forgetting.”

Apparently, the vendor noticed that we had spared his pride, and he backed down without complaint.

I led the girl away from the stall. Once we had put some distance between ourselves and it, she spoke.

“You saved me! I can’t believe it was a fake! What luck that a noble who knew the genuine article happened to be standing beside me.”

The girl thanked me with a brilliant smile.

“Sorry. The noble part was a bluff. It’s true that the cup was fake, though.”

“What?! That was a lie?! I completely believed you… Then how did you know it was fake? Or was it actually genuine?”

She was a straightforward girl who believed absolutely everything.

“No, I learned it was fake through my skill. That doesn’t mean I possess any detailed knowledge about it.”

The girl tilted her head. No wonder. That explanation told her almost nothing.

“Do you have the Appraisal skill?”

“No.”

I hesitated over whether to tell the girl about my skill. Many people refused to believe it, and a person generally didn’t go around telling others the details of their skill.

‘Can I tell her about my skill?’

‘Yes.’

If Lady Metis approved, it should be safe. I began explaining Divine Answer.

Perhaps because she was so trusting, she readily believed my account of the mysterious Unique Skill.

Once she heard everything, she trembled with excitement.

“That’s an incredible skill! It would give us an enormous advantage in business! I’m poor at judging goods, but I’m excellent at selling them! With your eye for value and my salesmanship, we could even build the greatest trading company in the empire! Join forces with me!”

Her eyes glittered as she held out her hand. The complete lack of hesitation with which she believed in my skill had already inspired a little trust in me.

She was trustworthy. I could feel it in my instincts without even asking Metis.

“I look forward to working with you.”

I took her hand. And so, the two of us joined forces.