Gram emerged from behind the counter with a dark face, holding up his belly with both hands as he slowly made his way to the shop entrance.
Some of the customers in his Golden Ship Dye Shop had already gone to the door and were looking across the street. For Gram, having a competitor open up across the road was unquestionably infuriating; but to these customers buying dyes, such a competitor was heaven-sent good news.
They were all in big business. If a pound of dye could be one gold coin cheaper, they could save tens of thousands of gold coins over a year. Tens of thousands of gold coins! Although the Western Continent had seen a fair bit of inflation in recent years, tens of thousands of gold coins was still not a sum anyone—even the nobles—could take lightly.
"Silver Dolphin Dye Shop!" An old man with an enormous beard and fingers mottled with dye stains said gravely, "That's an auspicious name. And its owner must be a true master who understands the art of business!"
Looking at those pretty maidservants, then comparing them to the dull-witted clerks in his own shop, who earned only ten silver coins a month; looking at the other side's six-bay storefront, then comparing it to his own three-bay premises; looking at their enormous signboard and the line of self-praising words beneath it—Gram's mood darkened still further.
With a grim face, he walked down the steps and slowly took a few steps forward. But when he reached the middle of Golden Leaf Street, Gram turned around, intending to return to his own shop. Yet the moment he turned, Gram's face darkened again, and he strode toward the Silver Dolphin Dye Shop.
After making a quick circuit through the other dye shop, Gram's expression became