第三十五話 売買の交渉
金銭の分配比率については結局平行線のまま......ひとまず金銭を得てから考えよう、ということになった。
俺とルーチェはアイテムを売り捌くために、まずは〈破れた魔導書堂〉を訪れることにした。
......ここの店主は腹黒そうなのであまり高値で買い取ってくれるとは思えないのだが、〈
〉を非合法に販売しようとしている、という噂が立っても困る。
「へえ、また来たさね。今度はめんこい子連れとるね、アンタの仲間かい?」
前回同様、煙管を手にした老婆が出迎えてくれた。
「......まだアレはあるよな?」
「疑り深いね。〈燻り狂う牙〉の〈
......どうだか、全く信じられない。
値段を上乗せして置いておいて、あっさりすぐ買ってくれる客が見つかったら手放しそうな気がしてならない。
前回も一応約束には応じたが、俺も別に信じたわけではない。
ただ1%でも〈燻り狂う牙〉が売り飛ばされる可能性を減らしたかったのだ。
汎用性では〈中級風魔法〉に劣るが、稀少性では〈燻り狂う牙〉の方が〈
規制の厳しいこの世界で、ここで逃せば次に手に入るのがいつになるか、わかったものではない。
正直、一億ゴルドでも、払えるなら支払って即決で買っている。
「エルマさんが欲しいものあるって言ってたの、ここの店のアイテムだったんですね」
「純粋そうな子さね。まさかアンタ、そっちの子にあのスキルツリーを覚えさせるつもりかい?」
店主が口許で小さく笑みを浮かべる。
「......馬鹿なことを言うな、そんな趣味の悪いことをするか。俺用だ」
「ふぅん、どっちにしろアレを......それも新人冒険者が欲しがるなんて、けったいな話だけどね」
俺と店主のやり取りを聞き、ルーチェは不思議そうに首を傾げていた。
店主の言いたいことはわかる。
「今回は買取じゃない。アイテムの査定を行ってもらいにきたんだ」
「へえ? 聡明そうなアンタなら、ウチでの売却なんて端から考えないと思ってたんだけどね」
店主は赤裸々にそう口にした。
俺からの印象が最悪だったことは自覚しているらしい。
ルーチェは店主へと細めた疑惑の目を向け、それから不安げに俺の顔を見た。
俺は〈天使の玩具箱〉でドロップしたアイテムを次々に見せていく。
〈ブリキソード〉二本に、続いて〈輝くラーナの飾剣〉二本である。
これだけで市場価値は総額四千万ゴルド近くになる。
「こりゃ驚いたさね。〈輝くラーナの飾剣〉が二本......妙に自信ありげなガキだとは思ってたけど、この短期間でまさかこんなとは。へぇ、こんな大物だと知ってれば、こんな明け透けには接さなかったのに。こりゃ損したね」
「面倒な駆け引きはしたくない。三千万ゴルド出してくれるなら、ここで売っていい。それ以下なら別の店を当たる。元より、あまり期待はしていない。参考までに聞きに来ただけだ」
「三千万は、良心的な店こそ難しかろね。ウチみたいに貯め込んでなけりゃ出せんさ。ここなら一括で引き取ってやれるから、変に噂になって妬まれることもない。アンタの実力で、少額を惜しんで余計な危険を負うべきじゃないよ。二千五百万さね」
こ、この婆さん......!
こっちは余計な駆け引きはしたくないと言っているのに。
「エルマさん、店主さんの言うことにも一理あるんじゃないですか? 二千五百万でも大金には違いありませんし......」
「流されるな、ルーチェ。弱気の姿勢を見せれば付け込まれるぞ」
店主の言っていることは正しい。
三千万はやや強気の額だ。
頑張って店を回っても、二千八百万前後の額になりかねない。
それなら余計なリスクを考えれば、ここの店主に二千五百万で売ってしまうことも一つの手だ。
ただ、この店主のペースに乗るのはあまりいいとは思えない。
最終的にはもっとずるずると値を下げられそうだ。
乗るにしても、弱気な姿勢は見せたくなかった。
「元々魔石の換金分もある。〈輝くラーナの飾剣〉は資産として持っておいて、いい機会があるまで持っておけばいい。無理に纏めて売ろうとするから目を付けられるんだ」
俺は堂々とそう言い切った。
「へぇ、じゃあ無理強いはできないね。残念さ」
店主が嫌な笑みを浮かべている。
......見透かされている感じだが、ひとまず強気のポーズは崩さずに済んだ。
しかしこの婆さん、明らかに駆け引きを楽しんでいる。いい性格をしている。
まあ、この店だと二千五百万......粘っても二千六百万辺りだろうことはわかった。
それだけでも収穫だと思うべきだ。
「でだね、別に本題があるんだろ? ここで捌かなくてもいいっていうのは本音みたいだからね」
「......〈夢の主〉からドロップした〈
使おうか悩んでいる......というのは、ちょっとでも値段を吊り上げるためのブラフである。
どうせ他所では売れまいと、そう足許を見られては敵わない。
「この短期間で、本当にたまげたね......。アンタ......いや、アンタら、近い内に英雄サマと呼ばれるようになるかもしれんね。なるほど、そいつは売るならウチでやりたいわけだ」
店主の顔から笑みが薄れた。
交渉に乗り気になったようだが、この婆さん相手にどこまで引っ張れるかは怪しい。
「市場価値は二千万ゴルド......アタシだって、これを扱うには危ない橋を渡る。ギルドで引き取ってもらったら、七百万ゴルドってところだろうね。アンタはやり手みたいだし、今後のことも考えて、ちょいと色付けてやってもいい。千四百万ゴルドなら引き取ってやってもいいさ」
「どうせまた法外な値段で店に並べるんだろ? 〈中級風魔法〉なら、欲しがる奴も見つけやすい。相手見て引っ張るのも楽なはずだ。仲良くしたいって言ってくれるなら、二千二百万ゴルドくらい見てくれてもいいんじゃないか?」
〉の価値をようわかっとるさね、ガキの癖に。前ここの相場見せたのも響いてるか。でもね、アンタら、自分で使う気なんてさらさらないだろ? あんまり欲の皮突っ張るもんじゃないよ」
「そりゃそっちの方だろ? 俺は今後、客としても利用させてもらうって話になってるんだ。ちょっとくらい隙を見せてくれてもいいんじゃないのか」
ここは退けない。
〉の相場は、取引が公に禁止されている上に、一つ一つが稀少すぎてあってないようなものになっている。
油断すればカモにされる。ここはしっかりと取っておきたい。
「その歳で見識がある上に、度胸があって、おまけに弁が立つね、アンタ。生意気な」
店主がぺろりと舌舐めずりをする。
店主が目を細めて彼女を睨んだ。
「なんね、小娘。今が一番楽しいところだってのに、水を差して。そっちの重騎士のガキが欲しがってるのは、五千五百万のレア〈
「ご、五千五百万ゴルド......。話の流れで覚悟はしてましたけど、凄い高い......」
ルーチェは額に驚いたらしく、顔を強張らせていた。
「......市場価値でいえば、三千万ゴルドが相場なんだけどな。なかなか足許を見てくれる」
俺が補足すると、ルーチェは真剣な表情で頷いた後、口許を押さえて考え込んでいた。
それからぱぁっと表情を輝かせ、手を打った。
「あのっ! 店主さん、アタシ思い付いたんですけど、〈中級風魔法〉の〈
「はんっ、何を言い出すかと思えば。そんなの交渉になってないさね。思い付きで口をはさんで、邪魔するのは......」
店主はそこまで言ってから、顔を顰めた。
「......むむ、いや、なかなかどうして、痒いところに届く提案するさね。買い手が少ない〈燻り狂う牙〉が捌けて、かつ扱いやすいアイテムがバラで手に入ると思えば悪くない」
確かにルーチェの提案は、金額でいえばこちらもかなり美味しい。
今回査定してもらったアイテムの市場価値は四千万ゴルド......一括で捌けば、せいぜい二千八百万ゴルドが限界だろう。
〉も、この調子だと高めに見積もっても二千万ゴルドより上にはならない。
合わせて四千八百万ゴルド......元々の〈燻り狂う牙〉の値段は五千万ゴルドで、これも改めて交渉すれば値段を吊り上げられかねない状態である。
魔石の換金額やエンブリオ討伐報酬がまるまる手許に残った状態で、〈燻り狂う牙〉が手に入る。
「もうちょっと遊んでやりたかったけど、そこまで丁度いい塩梅の条件出されると、商人として何も言えんさね。その条件なら飲んでもいいさ」
「ルーチェ、それだとお前の分配金を渡せなくなる」
「......エルマさんにはパーティーの件といい、レベル上げを手伝ってもらった形になったことといい、感謝してもし足りないくらいですから、これくらいいいですのに」
「い、いや、恩で済ませていいような額じゃ......」
「仲間の装備に投資するのは当たり前のことじゃないですか、ね? 活動経費みたいなもんです。お互いの装備も整えていかないといけないのに、あんな比率じゃ今後効率が悪いですよう? しばらく稼いだ分は共同って形にして、必要に応じて分けて行ったらいいじゃないですか。それがあったらエルマさんがぐんと強くなって、いっぱい活躍して稼いでくれるんですよね? じゃあ問題ないじゃありませんか!」
......確かに〈燻り狂う牙〉は早めに確保しておきたい。
しておきたいが、しかし、今五千万ゴルドもらうのでは、あまりに俺に有利すぎる。
「あのな......ルーチェ。今回は上手く行ったが、次も上手く行くとは限らない。例えば事情ができて、パーティーをすぐに解散するようなことになったらどうするんだ?」
「......エルマさん、まさかアタシを切り捨てて他の方とパーティーを組むおつもりなんですか? なんだか後腐れをなくそうとしているように思えてきたんですが......」
ルーチェがジト目で俺を上目遣いに睨み、がっちりと俺の腕を掴んだ。
「い、いや、そうじゃないけど......万が一だな......」
ルーチェの表情がぱぁっと晴れた。
「だったら問題ないじゃないですか! ね? アタシからの感謝のプレゼントだと思ってください。どうしても折り合い付かないんだったら、ばっちり活躍して取り戻してくれればいいですから!」
「まあ、そうなんだが......いや、しかし......」
「ささ、店主さん、さっさと交換しましょう! エルマさんがまた余計なこと言い出す前に!」
「よく説き伏せたよ、小娘。しっかり捕まえときな、逃がさんように」
ルーチェと店主が、互いの奮闘を讃えるようにハイタッチをしていた。
なんで意気投合しているんだ、この二人......?
Ch 35
On the topic of the division of our shares we weren't able to come to a compromise.... Finally we decided to come back to it when we have the money at hand.
To try and sell the items, Luce and I decided to first visit the Broken Grimoire Company.
....the shopkeeper seemed pretty black-hearted, so I don't think she would be buying our things for a good price, but since there aren't that many shops that deal with Skill Books, we will most likely end up doing business here in the end.
It would be a problem if clumsily going around trying to sell a Skill Book in an illegal manner caused rumors to start.
"Hoh, so you came again. You even brought a lovely girl with you this time. Is she a teammate?"
The same as last time, the old lady with a tobacco pipe in her hand greeted me.
"....do you have that still?"
"How mistrustful. If you are talking about the Skill Book for [Smoldering Fang of Madness], then of course I have it. We place high value on trust, especially because of the type of business we do."
....somehow, I don't believe her the least bit.
I have a feeling that if someone tried to buy it for more than I promised, she would've sold it in a heartbeat.
The last time she did make a promise, but it's not like I really trusted her to keep it.
However, I wanted to decrease the chance of the [Smoldering Fang of Madness] getting sold, if even by a single percent.
In terms of usefulness, strictly speaking the [Intermediate Wind Magic] is better, but in terms of rarity, the [Smoldering Fang of Madness] Skill Book takes the cake.
With how tightly regulated those Skill Books are in this world, if I miss this chance, then there is no telling how long I will have to wait for another opportunity to get it.
Honestly, if I had that much on me, I would buy it right away even for a 100 million gold.
"You said that you wanted a certain item, Elma-san. So, it was something from this shop?"
"She seems like an innocent girl. I hope you aren't about to make this girl learn that Skill Tree?"
The shopkeeper's lips curved up to a slight smile.
"....don't even joke about it, who would do something distasteful like that. It's for me."
"Hmm, even then....that is not something a beginner adventurer should be looking for. It's somewhat strange, that's all."
Seeing our back and forth, Luce tilted her head questioningly.
I understand what the shopkeeper was trying to say with that.
"We are not here to buy something right now. We came here to get a few items appraised."
"Hoh? I thought that someone seemingly sensible like you would not even consider doing business with us."
The shopkeeper spoke frankly.
It seems she knew that I did not have the best impression of this place.
Luce looked at the shopkeeper with narrowed eyes, then she turned her gaze at me, looking a bit anxious.
I took out the items that dropped in the Angel's Toybox one after the other to show her.
Two Tin Swords, then two Rana's Radiant Ornate Swords.
With just this, the total Market Value nearly reached 40 million gold.
"Well, that's a surprise. Two Rana's Radiant Ornate Swords.... I thought you were a strangely confident brat, but I didn't think you would be able to get something like this in such a short time. Heh, if I knew that beforehand, then I wouldn't have been so frank with you. My loss."
"I don't want to go through all that annoying bargaining. If you give 30 million gold for all of that, then I don't mind selling these to you. Any less than that and we will look for other places to sell. I didn't expect that much to begin with, we're mostly here for a frame of reference."
"It would be hard to get 30 million in legal shops. If they don't have enough in reserve then they won't even be able to pay for them at once. I will buy all those at the same time, so you won't have to worry about rumors that might incite jealousy. You shouldn't worry about a small amount of money and risk yourselves needlessly with your current strength. 25 million gold."
Th-this grandma.....!
I even said that I don't want to go through all that useless bargaining.
"Elma-san, isn't there logic to what the shopkeeper-san says too? 25 million is still a lot of money....."
"Don't get caught up in her flow, Luce. If you show any weakness, she will take advantage of you."
What the shopkeeper said was true.
30 million is a tad high of a price.
Even if I made the rounds as best as I could, I would at most get something like 28 million overall from other shops.
So to avoid unnecessary risks it would be a valid choice to sell everything here for 25 million.
However, I don't think it would be wise to get swept up by this argument.
She looks like she would try to lower the price even further in the end.
Even if we were to finally accept it, I don't want to show any weakness in the meantime.
"There is the money from the magic stones too. We should just keep the Rana's Radiant Ornate Swords as hard assets and sell them when an opportunity presents itself. Only if we try to sell everything at once would we garner attention."
I declared confidently.
"Then I can't persuade you with that I guess. That's too bad."
The shopkeeper had a somewhat unpleasant smile on her face.
....it seems like she is just letting it slide, but with this we were able to keep up a strong front.
Although it seems this granny seems to be enjoying this haggling. What a wonderful personality.
Still, it's clear now that the best we could get in this shop is 25 or 26 million at most.
I should be satisfied with getting that much.
"You still have something else, right? Since it seems you are serious about selling those items somewhere else."
"....we have a Skill Book that dropped from a Dream Lord. We are thinking about possibly using it, but if we could get a good price for it, then we might sell it instead."
I was bluffing when I said that we are thinking about using it, to pump up the price even a little bit.
It would be bad if she could use the argument that we won't be able to sell it anywhere else anyway.
"Getting that much in such a short amount of time is really something.... You... or rather, you two might be called Heroes by the public sometime soon. I see, I would like it if you sold that one here."
The shopkeeper smiled.
It seems she got really interested all of a sudden, but who knows what is this granny's aim with that.
"A Market Value of 20 million gold.... That will be a somewhat risky business even for me. If you sold it to the Guild, then it would be around 7 million gold. You two seem capable enough, so with the future in mind, how about I give you a bonus. I will take it off your hand for 14 million gold."
"You will just put this up for an exorbitant price too, right? It would not be hard to find someone interested in this [Intermediate Wind Magic]. You should be easily able to boost the price depending on who asks about it too. If you say you want to get along with us in the future, then shouldn't we get about 22 million gold for it at least?"
"Heh....You seem to know the value of Skill Books pretty well at that age, even though you are just a brat. I guess this is the consequence of letting you see the Market Value last time. However, you two don't have any intentions of using this one whatsoever, right? You shouldn't try to pull the wool over my eyes like that."
"That goes for you too, doesn't it? If you want us to be useful as customers in the future, then you should show a little quid pro quo here."
I can't back down on this.
Due to the legal trade of Skill Books being banned, every single one of them is so rare that they might as well not exist.
If I'm not careful, then I will get suckered into a bad deal. I need to hold out on this.
"You really are perceptive, gutsy, and have a way with words for someone so young. Cheeky brat."
The shopkeeper licked her lips.
The shopkeeper narrowed her eyes at Luce.
"Hey, little girl. This is the best part of the negotiation, why do you get in the way like this. The one this Heavy Knight brat wants is a rare Skill Book priced at 55 million gold."
"F-fifty five million gold..... I expected something like this from that conversation, but that's really expensive...."
It looks like Luce's face stiffened from the surprise.
"....as for its Market Value, it's 30 million gold. She is wringing every gold she can out of it."
After my addendum, Luce nodded in a serious manner, then started thinking while holding a finger against her lips.
Soon after her expression brightened up and she tried another angle of attack.
"Umm! Shopkeeper-san, I just thought of this, but how about we trade the [Intermediate Wind Magic] Skill Book and all the items you have there for the [Smoldering Fang of Madness]?"
"Hnn, I was just wondering what you would come up with. That's not even remotely equal. Don't just try to butt in on impulse...."
After saying that, the shopkeeper's expression turned into a frown.
"...mm, no, you bring up an important point. If you see it as being able to get rid of the [Smoldering Fang of Madness] which is not too in demand, and getting a bunch of easy to sell items in turn, then it's quite a good deal."
Luce's suggestion is indeed good for us too in terms of gold value.
The items we put up so far have a total Market Value of 40 million.... but if we were to sell them individually, then the most we can expect is 28 million gold.
Also, even if we take the higher estimate, the most we would get for the [Intermediate Wind Magic] Skill Book is 20 million gold.
Together that would make 48 million... As for the [Smoldering Fang of Madness], she might even try to haggle up its original 55 million gold price after all this.
We could get the [Smoldering Fang of Madness] without touching the money we got for the magic stones and for defeating the Embryo.
"I wanted to play for a bit more, but when you suggest a good deal like that, as a merchant I can't say no to it. I can agree to that deal."
"Luce, I won't be able to give you your share of the money like this."
"....I can't even properly thank Elma-san for helping me by inviting me to the party and also for ultimately helping me raise my levels, so something like this is not a big deal."
"N-no, this is not a sum that can just be hand-waved away by calling it gratitude...."
"It's normal to invest in a teammate's equipment, right? We can call this an operating expense. We each need to upgrade our gear, so that division of shares would be inefficient in the short run, right? We should just pool our money together and divide it as needed for now. That way Elma-san would get a lot stronger right away, which would let us be more active and earn more, right? Then there is no problem at all!"
....certainly, I would like to get the [Smoldering Fang of Madness] as soon as possible.
I would like to get it indeed, but spending 55 million gold for my sake feels disproportionately in my favor.
"Hey.... Luce. This time things went well, but that doesn't mean it will be the same in the future. What would you do if we soon had to disband the party due to some unavoidable circumstance?"
"....Elma-san, do you intend to throw me away and join another party? It's starting to sound like you are trying to avoid future troubles...."
Luce started glaring up at me and tightly grasped onto my arm.
"N-no, that's not it....just in the worst case...."
Luce's expression cleared up in an instant.
"Then there is no problem at all! Right? Just think of it as a thank you present from me. If you still aren't satisfied with that, then you just need to keep working hard and pay me back later!"
"Well, that might be fine, but....no, but...."
"Well then, shopkeeper-san, let's exchange those right away! Before Elma-san tries to bring up something unnecessary again!"
"You handled that well, little girl. Hold onto him well, so he won't get away."
Luce and a shopkeeper high-fived to congratulate each other on a job well done.
Why are those two getting along so well all of a sudden....?
The Reincarnated Heavy Knight Who Was Exiled After A Supposed Big Miss Is Unparalleled With His Game Knowledge
大ハズレだと追放された転生重騎士はゲーム知識で無双する
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-reincarnated-heavy-knight-who-was-exiled-after-a-supposed-big-miss-is-unparalleled-with-his-game-knowledge/
Action Adventure Fantasy Romance Shounen
Abandoned Children Adapted to Manga Adventurers Alchemy Arrogant Characters Artifacts Blacksmith Calm Protagonist Clever Protagonist Determined Protagonist Dungeons Fallen Nobility Fantasy World Game Elements Guilds Hot-blooded Protagonist Level System Love Interest Falls in Love First Lucky Protagonist Male Protagonist Mystery Solving Naive Protagonist Nobles Poor to Rich Previous Life Talent Reincarnated in a Game World Romantic Subplot Skill Books Strategic Battles Strong Love Interests Strong to Stronger Sword Wielder Underestimated Protagonist Weak to Strong
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n8465gx/
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