It was craftsmanship no jeweler could even imitate. Determined to buy it at any cost, Antony took a deep breath and looked at Damon.
“So, how much do you want?”
The expression Antony showed on the outside was entirely different from what he felt within. His listless tone, as though he were not particularly interested, fully revealed the experience he had accumulated over the years. But Damon, his counterpart, was no ordinary man either. Though he had never engaged in commerce, he was a man of the Central Plains born with a gift for profit, and his perceptiveness was unmatched. His life experience, too, was beyond comparison with that of ordinary men, so he was able to see through Antony’s thoughts at once.
‘Hm. It seems the jewel is worth more than I expected.’
Having reached that conclusion, Damon stared intently into Antony’s eyes.
“How strange. Isn’t it customary for the buyer to offer a price first?”
“I imagine you must have come here with a price in mind. So tell me how much you wish to receive. If I hear it and judge it appropriate, I shall pay you at once.”
It was a sly way of turning the matter around, but Damon did not fall for it so easily. In cases like this, the orthodox method was to make the other party grow impatient. Damon reached out and picked up the ruby.
“You seem to think I’m some fool who doesn’t know the value of jewels, but you’ve misjudged me. It seems I’d be better off going to Pelzentin and disposing of it as planned. It was so far away that I thought I might simply sell it here, but I suppose that won’t—”
A hand grabbed the hem of Damon’s clothes as he rose.
“Wait a moment. My, what an impatient fellow you are…”
When matters did not proceed as he had expected, Antony grew urgent. Judging from his appearance, the man had seemed like someone who would not properly know the value of the jewel, but he was unexpectedly difficult to deal with. Looking at the traveler staring straight at him, Antony swallowed.
“Very well. Then I shall offer a price.”
“Let’s hear it.”
At that moment, Antony’s eyes turned cunningly. He thought of a price that was neither too high nor too low, but just appropriate. It was nowhere near the ruby’s true value, yet it was an amount that a traveler would surely consider an enormous sum.
“I’ll pay fifty gold. How does that sound?”
Damon’s mind was working quickly as well. To be honest, fifty gold would be more than enough for traveling. One gold was one hundred silver, and five silver was enough to live for a full week, even if one ate the finest meals and stayed at a good inn. However, since he judged that the ruby’s value was surely far beyond that, Damon silently turned away. Jewelers were everywhere, and if he went around to several places, he thought he would be able to learn the ruby’s true value.
“I shouldn’t have come in.”
Seeing Damon mutter briefly and put the ruby into his pouch, Antony grew even more anxious.
“Very well. Seventy-five gold. At that price, I’m being quite generous.”
Damon moved without another word. But before he could even reach the door, Antony ran over and blocked his path. It was movement one could hardly imagine from him. Taking out a handkerchief and wiping the sweat from his forehead, Antony shook his head.
“I’ve lost. I’ll give you ninety gold.”
Without saying a word, Damon stared directly into Antony’s eyes. At times like this, silence was the best method of negotiation. Inwardly, a sense of resentment toward the man also flashed through him.
‘Damn bastard. He dared try to knock me down to fifty gold?’
Irritated, Damon resolved to raise the price as much as he could. There would surely be other jewelers besides this one, so it did not matter even if he failed to sell it.
Facing such a Damon, cold sweat trickled down Antony’s forehead. If the other party said even a single word, it would give him something to negotiate with, but since he merely remained silent, Antony’s eloquence was of no use at all. In the end, unable to endure it any longer, Antony spoke first.
“I’ll give you one hundred and ten gold. I guarantee you that no matter which jeweler you visit in Lorvain, you will not receive more than this.”
Even then, Damon remained silent. He merely glared at Antony’s face with expressionless eyes. In the end, Antony had no choice but to name the full amount he was authorized to offer.
“The total amount I can give you is one hundred and fifty gold. As you know, that is an unimaginable sum for a single jewel. Anything beyond this is absolutely impossible. I have neither the ability nor the authority to pay more.”
Only when the negotiation had progressed that far did Damon finally open his mouth.
“I’m sorry, but one hundred and fifty gold won’t do.”
“T-then how much, exactly…”
Damon spread three fingers wide and held them out. Seeing that, Antony’s face turned deathly dark.
“T-three hundred gold?”
“I think that much would be a fair price.”
Antony’s face contorted miserably. The negotiation had ended, contrary to expectation, in his complete defeat. Of course, Antony was confident that if the ruby were put up for auction, he could easily receive more than five hundred gold. Dwarven craftsmanship was that difficult to obtain, and if wealthy nobles saw the item in person, it was obvious they would throw themselves at it with bloodshot eyes.
If the auction went well, even more than seven hundred gold would be entirely possible. Therefore, even if he had to pay three hundred gold, purchasing the ruby was the correct judgment. The problem, however, was that Antony did not have the authority to do so. He was, strictly speaking, an employee, and there was a limit to the amount he could pay.
Moreover, even if he emptied the jeweler’s entire safe, it would not amount to three hundred gold, so in the end he had no choice but to make a decision. His expression hardened as he looked into the other man’s eyes.
“Very well. I will purchase it at that price. However…”
“…”
“I do not have the ability to pay that amount. So would you come with me to meet Baron Romain, the owner of this jewelry shop? He is fully capable of paying three hundred gold.”
“You weren’t the owner of the jewelry shop?”
“I am merely an employee. The ownership belongs, quite properly, to Baron Romain.”
Seeing Antony answer with a forlorn expression, Damon wondered if he had gone too far. To be honest, he had not expected as much as three hundred gold. If the other man had immediately named one hundred and fifty gold, he would have simply sold it. But because of the manager’s shrewd attitude, things had come this far. In the end, Damon decided to follow him and meet Baron Romain.
“Very well. I’ll meet him.”
“Thank you. This way, please.”
Antony guided Damon with an extremely courteous attitude. Escorting Damon out with repeated bows, Antony loudly ordered the clerks.
“It’s urgent. Prepare the carriage at once.”
The clerks, not knowing what was going on, busied themselves, and before long a carriage drawn by four horses waited in front of the jewelry shop. It was a splendid carriage with the trade name Romain engraved on its side.
“Please get in.”
Damon nodded and climbed into the carriage. Antony, sitting beside the coachman, hurriedly urged him on.
“Quickly, to the baron’s mansion.”
“Yes. Hyah!”
The carriage carrying Damon began racing along the main road toward the outskirts of the city.
After about an hour of travel, an exceedingly splendid mansion unfolded before Damon’s eyes. It was a vast estate whose garden alone seemed large enough to contain an entire mountain. What was unusual was that guards armed to an astonishing degree were stationed at the mansion’s main gate.
Every one of the guards wore half plate mail over chain mail, and they were equipped with gauntlets and greaves as well. This level of armament could be said to surpass even that of the soldiers in charge of defending the outskirts of Lorvain. It was enough to call to mind heavy infantry composed almost entirely of noble sons. After looking them over, Damon frowned.
“That Baron Romain fellow must have quite a lot of money. Seeing that even his gatekeepers are outfitted like that…”
Though those casually uttered words might well have offended him, Antony was truly a merchant. Even at words that insulted his employer, he let out a laugh.
“He is, in both name and reality, the wealthiest man in all Lorvain. He holds twenty percent of this place’s wealth in one hand. Even the mayor of Lorvain City would not dare raise his head in his presence.”
Realizing his mistake, Damon gave a deliberate cough.
“I-is that so?”
“Not only the shop I manage, but more than a hundred stores in key locations belong to him. Of course, every single jewelry shop is also in his possession.”
“Astonishing.”
Damon spoke briefly and turned his gaze out the window. The garden was so large that even after more than five minutes had passed since they had gone through the main gate, the mansion was still not in sight. Thinking of the owner of the estate, Damon frowned.
‘If he’s accumulated this much wealth, just how many wicked things must he have done?’
Of course, no matter how wicked a man he was, it was none of Damon’s concern. All he needed to do was hand over the jewel and receive his payment. Resolving not to think further about it, Damon sank deeply into his seat. Before the carriage, which continued to run diligently onward, the mansion began to reveal itself, a structure that could only be described as the height of splendor.
“I have kept you waiting.”
At the sound of a deep, rich voice, Damon turned his head. After entering the mansion, he had been guided to a splendidly decorated reception room and had been waiting there for roughly ten minutes for the owner of the estate. Since he was in no hurry, he had been leisurely admiring the decorations in the room, and now the master had finally appeared.
A strange light flashed through Damon’s eyes as he turned his head. Based on what he had heard, he had expected a typical merchant with an appearance similar to Antony’s, but his expectations were utterly wrong. As if reading Damon’s thoughts, the other man smiled gracefully.
“I am Baron Romain. I apologize for keeping you waiting so long.”
The man who strode over with easy steps and sat opposite Damon was a handsome middle-aged man of tall stature. He had a somewhat lean build, gentle-looking brown eyes that left an impression, and a mustache that suited him perfectly—a typical nobleman. Since he did not look like a merchant at all, Damon frowned. Seeing that, Baron Romain smiled again.
“Is it hard to believe?”
“To be honest, yes.”
After saying that, Damon put his hand into his pouch and took out the ruby. In any case, whether the owner of the mansion was a merchant or a stylish nobleman was no concern of his. He only had to sell the jewel and take the payment. When he saw the ruby, a look of surprise flashed across Baron Romain’s face.
“I had some idea from Antony’s report, but this is beyond expectation.”
Baron Romain carefully picked up the ruby. The way he lifted a magnifying glass and examined it was enough to give one a sense of reverence. After watching him for a moment, Damon casually broached the subject.
“Is it worth paying three hundred gold?”
Baron Romain answered without even turning his head. His gaze was fixed solely on the ruby.
“Of course. But where on earth did you obtain this?”
Damon grinned.
“Don’t try to learn too much. Until I receive payment, it is still very much my property.”
“I suppose so.”
Baron Romain placed the ruby back on the table, then looked at Damon with a steady gaze.
“From the look of it, this ruby seems to have been part of a necklace. Am I correct?”
Damon raised his eyes in surprise.
“I’m amazed you know that. How did you tell?”
“From the form of the craftsmanship, it is typical Truvenian dwarven work. Arcadian dwarves do not craft things in that way. They are difficult to obtain, and their skill is inferior, so naturally Truvenian pieces are preferred… In any case, it is a pity. If you had sold it as a complete necklace, you could have received at least twice as much.”
“…”
“Do you have any other jewels? I shall pay you handsomely for them.”
Damon remained silently quiet. He could not help but be astonished by the fact that a single necklace had been worth so much.