The Shady Merchant

After returning to town, Chuan Wenwu headed straight for a shop that specialized in buying monster materials. He had gathered so much balloon hide that he naturally needed somewhere to sell it and turn it into cash.

After all, that king was no longer providing him with financial support.

Gossip traveled fast in town. The shopkeeper-a slightly chubby man with a shrewd face-recognized Chuan Wenwu the moment he saw him. A contemptuous smile curled his lips, and his eyes filled with disdain. Clearly, he had heard the rumor that "the Shield Hero had attempted to molest a woman."

"This is bad. I'll have to find a way to clear my name, or people will be bad-mouthing me wherever I go." Chuan Wenwu sighed and joined the back of the line.

Another customer had arrived before him to sell his loot at the monster materials shop. He seemed to be a novice adventurer, and among the assorted monster materials he was selling were the same Balloon Monster scraps Chuan Wenwu intended to sell.

"Let me see... For materials like these, how about one copper coin for every two pieces?" The shopkeeper sifted through the scraps, leisurely assessing their value before naming his buying price.

The price was quite fair, so the adventurer naturally had no objection. "Deal."

"Thank you for your business."

The transaction was soon completed. The adventurer left with his money, and it was Chuan Wenwu's turn.

The shopkeeper's expression instantly grew more obsequious, yet there was something sinister beneath it. "Heh heh, welcome, Lord Shield Hero."

His laugh sounded awful, too.

Ignoring his mockery, Chuan Wenwu set the large bundle from his back onto the counter and opened it. "I want to sell these Balloon Monster scraps. See how much you can offer."

The shopkeeper seemed startled by the sheer scale of his haul. He adjusted his glasses and examined the astonishing quantity of balloon hide packed into the bundle, then gave a strange laugh. "Balloon Monsters, eh? How about one copper coin for every ten pieces?"

Chuan Wenwu immediately frowned. "You just offered that adventurer one copper for every two pieces. Why has the price changed for me? Do you have something against me, or do you think I'm easy to push around?"

The shopkeeper played dumb. "Did I? I don't remember that. Perhaps you saw wrong. In any case, that's my price. If you're unhappy with it, you can ask elsewhere-but I suspect they'll offer even less."

"Woof! Woof! Woof!" Bruce's fur immediately bristled. He bared his teeth at the shopkeeper, a low growl rumbling in his throat, as though he would lunge forward and give the man a vicious bite the moment Chuan Wenwu gave the word.

Bruce startled the shopkeeper, whose expression immediately darkened. Still, he forced himself to issue a threat. "Sir, you'd better keep your monster under control! If he hurts someone in town, paying compensation won't be enough to settle it!"

"Bruce, quiet." Chuan Wenwu waved a hand to calm Bruce, then stepped up to the counter with a "friendly" smile. "I think we ought to have a proper 'discussion.'"

"Hmph. Even if you're being nicer now, that's still the only price I can offer." The shopkeeper remained stubborn.

"Now, now, sir. You said one copper for ten scraps, and the price is firm?" Chuan Wenwu nodded, then abruptly changed tack. "Then let's discuss the price for me to buy them. I'll pay twice your buying price for balloon hide, and I'll take everything you have. How about it? You'll double your money. Not a bad deal, right?"

"You must be joking!" the shopkeeper shrieked, refusing without a second thought.

But Chuan Wenwu pulled out a large handful of silver coins and slapped them onto the counter, his gaze turning cold in an instant. "Whatever your king says to smear my name, I'm still the Shield Hero. Your attitude has made me very unhappy. Since you broke the rules first, you'd better swallow the consequences yourself."

He leaned toward the shopkeeper, lowering his voice, yet his words carried an unmistakable pressure. "Think about it. What matters most to a merchant? His reputation. If people find out you deliberately slashed your prices to cheat a hero, treating customers differently with such cheap tricks... do you think anyone will still come here to do business?"

The shopkeeper's face instantly went deathly pale. Reputation was what merchants valued most. If word got out that he had cheated a hero, his business would be finished.

"I... I give in!" The shopkeeper looked ready to cry. "But if I sell five scraps for one copper, I'll lose a fortune!"

"Heh. That's not my concern. You named the price first." Chuan Wenwu's smile vanished, and his tone hardened. "Now bring out all the balloon hide you have in stock and sell it to me at the price I stated. Immediately!"

"Woof! Woof! Woof!" Bruce barked again, "cheering" Chuan Wenwu on.

"I... I... I..."

After struggling to come to terms with the consequences of offending a hero while also losing his credibility as a merchant, the monster materials shopkeeper was practically drowning in regret.

If only he had behaved honestly instead of trying to be clever!

But there was nothing he could do. He had brought this upon himself, and he could only grit his teeth, bring out all his balloon hide, and sell it to Chuan Wenwu at an extremely low price.

Fortunately, balloon hide was cheap to begin with, and he did not have much in stock, so his losses were not too severe. Even so, he loved money as much as life itself, and the pain of losing it made him twitch.

"Good. You know when to be sensible." Chuan Wenwu nodded in satisfaction. "I won't make things difficult for you, but if you dare play games with your prices again, I'll be back to 'support' your business."

"I won't! I won't!" At the mention of Chuan Wenwu returning, the shopkeeper went pale. He hurriedly shook his head and waved his hands, insisting that he had turned over a new leaf.

"All right, then. Sorry for the trouble, but there's one more thing. Tell me where to find those other shops you said would offer even lower buying prices than yours."

"...?"

The unfortunate shopkeeper froze at the question. Then something occurred to him, and with a face full of gleeful malice, he gave Chuan Wenwu the addresses of his bitter rivals.

He could not be the only one to suffer this loss!

And so, with the "help" of a "concerned citizen," Chuan Wenwu visited several more monster materials shops and used the same method to "clean out" their balloon hide stocks. It was not that he was malicious; these merchants were simply too unscrupulous. Without a lesson, they would never learn how to behave.

It was not that he did not want to force down the prices of other, more valuable materials, either. He simply lacked the capital. Besides, if he truly went head-to-head with those money-obsessed merchants and cut deeply into their profits, they might throw caution to the wind, which would only cause trouble.

Finally, he returned to the first shop, set both the balloon hide he had bought and the hide he had farmed himself on the counter, and asked with a beaming smile, "Sir, let's discuss your 'buying price' now. One copper for every two scraps, correct?"

Looking at the mountain of balloon hide, the shopkeeper's mouth twitched. Half pleased and half troubled, he steeled himself and nodded. "Y-yes, that's right..."