Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation

Chapter 18. But isn't this child exploitation? (4)

On the second day, more than ten merchants came to see Patrick.

And on the next day, including the merchants from the first day, more than twenty people came.

They were impressed by the other monster materials, but they were astounded by the Saber Tiger's hide.

To see a Saber Tiger hide of this size in such top-grade quality was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

How could one be called a merchant if they missed such an opportunity?

"Young Master. Please reconsider."

"If you sell it in the capital, you might get more money. But please consider the transportation time and necessary expenses to get there."

"You will absolutely not regret it. Please trust me."

At the merchants' urging, Patrick showed a gradually wavering appearance.

"Mmm, can you really give me a better price than selling it in the capital?"

"Yes. Of course."

"If so, it can't be helped. I will sell the goods to you."

"Ooh…. a truly wise choice."

"In that case, to our merchant guild…."

"No, I can give you a better price."

"What are you talking about. Get back, you penniless fool."

"What did you say!?"

When Patrick said he would sell the goods, an even more heated fight began among the merchants.

Looking at those merchants, Patrick said.

"As they say."

“…….”

Patrick grinned at the merchants who were paying attention to him and said.

"Incite a bargain, and incite a fight."

“…….”

“…….”

No. That's not it.

Leaving the silent merchants aside, Patrick continued.

"Those who wish to purchase, gather at this inn with all available cash within the next hour."

"What are you trying to do, Young Master?"

"I will start an auction."

"An… auction, you say?"

"Yes. That's the fairest way. Isn't it?"

That's true.

When there are more buyers than sellers, it is right for the person who offers a slightly better price to buy the goods.

However, if they do that….

‘I can't guess how high the price will go.’

‘I might have to buy it for a much more expensive price than I initially thought.’

‘I don't have much cash available right now either….’

One of the merchants said to Patrick.

"Young Master. If so, would you please give us a few days? We are short on cash right now."

"No. In that case, I would rather fix the wagon and leave for the capital."

"Young Master, if you give us more time, we can prepare more cash. Then the price of the goods will also…."

"I don't need it. The auction is in one hour."

“…….”

Patrick firmly rejected the merchant's proposal.

The immature Young Master who had been eagerly listening to the merchants' temptations just a moment ago was now gone.

Patrick, with an expression reminiscent of a gambler at a gambling table, said firmly.

"One hour later. This place. The condition is to purchase all the monster materials we have in a lump sum, and only cash will be accepted. There will be no further compromises."

Then, the merchants' expressions crumpled.

‘Damn it, this little brat….’

‘Don't tell me we were had? By a kid like this?’

‘Damn it, this is troublesome.’

At Patrick's suddenly changed attitude, the merchants realized.

It wasn't that they had tempted that little brat and successfully made a deal.

Perhaps this situation was one where they had walked into a spider's web of their own accord.

So deep that they couldn't even pull their feet out now.

Patrick looked at the merchants whose expressions were souring and sneered inwardly.

‘You want time to raise cash? What kind of bullshit are you trying to pull, trying to collude.’

Patrick clearly anticipated what they would try to do.

If he held the auction with plenty of time, it was obvious that the merchants would gang up and collude on the price.

There would be no particular problem even if they ripped off Patrick, who had come from out of town.

But if it was one hour, the story was different.

No matter what, it was impossible to collude within an hour, and now it had to be a pure competition.

Patrick said to the merchants.

"Then I'll see you in an hour. If you don't come, I'll assume you've given up."

And looking at Patrick who turned his back as if there was nothing more to say, the merchants realized.

That they had been completely had by the child they thought was an immature Young Master.

An hour later.

Although it was a hastily conducted auction, the number of participants had actually increased.

Including those who had not actively approached Patrick until now and had just been testing the waters from nearby, several merchants participated in the auction, aiming for the Saber Tiger's hide.

Naturally, the excitement was very high, and the price went up just as much.

"70 gold!"

"72 gold!"

"75 gold!!"

The merchants raced to raise the price, and Patrick, who was presiding over the auction, said with a smile.

"We have 75 gold. Is there no one higher than 75 gold?"

"75 gold and 50 silver!"

"I'm sorry. The price can only be raised in gold units."

"Keuk, 76 gold!"

76 gold was an amount that surpassed the annual budget of the Baron Schneider family.

And the price did not stop there and went up even more.

"77 gold!"

"80 gold!"

"Get lost, everyone! 85 gold!"

One merchant raised the price by a large margin and looked around with glaring eyes.

Just you try and raise it more, you bastards!

At that gaze, full of meaning, the other merchants swallowed a sigh of regret.

‘Seeing him intimidate the surrounding merchants, he must be a person of some influence. Is this the end?’

It was a little disappointing, but it was a satisfactory amount.

Patrick, who had decided to be satisfied at this point since being too greedy could lead to indigestion, was about to declare the winning bid when….

"90 gold!"

Another merchant, who had arrived late to the auction, shouted loudly and raised the price.

Then, the merchant who had called 85 gold frowned and said.

"Joshua! How did you get here…."

"Did I come somewhere I'm not supposed to? Taylor."

The gazes of the two merchants looking at each other were filled with an animosity that went beyond mere rivalry.

And seeing that sight, the corners of Patrick's mouth crept up.

‘Is this…. that? Is this the exact situation I was hoping for?’

The merchant called Taylor said.

"95 gold!"

"100 gold!"

"You crazy bastard!?"

"What? Why? What are you going to do about it?"

Seeing the merchant named Joshua immediately counter the price, the merchant named Taylor ground his teeth and said.

"Do you think you can make a proper profit after buying it at that price? No matter how top-grade it is, it's useless if you don't have a route to sell it."

"Small-time merchants like you might think so. Our Wilder Merchant Guild has connections with nobles in other foreign countries. For a rare item like that, we can make a sufficient profit. No, we can gain more than just a profit."

‘Yes, yes, that's right. A very commendable way of thinking.’

He was probably planning to sell the item to a noble or a high-ranking person in another country at a low price or give it as a gift to make a connection.

This is why the value of rare items increases.

When you think about long-term benefits instead of immediate gains, its uses become more diverse.

‘Thanks to that, I also make money.’

Patrick looked at the merchant named Taylor with great expectation.

Now, you have to bid too, right?

A man has his pride, you can't back down here, can you?

‘Bid~♪ Bid~♪ The money is growing. On and on~♪ On and on~♪.’

But unfortunately, it seemed that Taylor's funds were at their limit.

"We'll see about this, Wilder."

"Get lost, loser."

Taylor stood up furiously in anger, and Wilder smiled a victorious smile triumphantly.

These two probably didn't have a good relationship on a regular basis.

And Wilder, who had come with the intention of making a profit and simultaneously screwing over his rival with this auction as an opportunity, had seized victory.

For Patrick, it didn't matter who won.

But from the moment he planned the auction, he had a hope that if things went well, their pride would be ignited, the competition would overheat, and he could make more money.

And that hit the mark.

"Sold! I declare that the participant from the Wilder Merchant Guild has won the bid for 100 gold!"

And Patrick banged a wooden gavel, which he had picked up from who knows where, on the table.

100 gold.

It was Patrick, who had earned a huge sum of money that far surpassed the annual operating budget of the Schneider fiefdom in just three days.

* * *

"Good heavens…."

"Is all of that really money?"

"Wow…. I've never seen so many gold coins before."

The laborers were mesmerized by the pile of gold coins in front of Patrick.

When else in their lives would they see such a sight?

That pile of gold coins and….

“Ehehehe. Money. Money! Shiny golden money~♪. Shining beautifully~♪ Kehehehehehe!”

A ten-year-old noble Young Master so openly losing his mind in front of money was probably a scene they would not see again in their lifetime.

In any case, the jackpot was a massive jackpot.

The initially expected profit from this business trip was around 30 gold.

Even that was a huge sum of money for the Baron Schneider family.

With that money, they could have bought farming tools and daily necessities for the fiefdom residents, and they could have stockpiled food to spend this winter warmly.

But Patrick had earned more than three times the initially expected income.

And that, in the short time of just three days.

What if they had proceeded with this matter normally?

First, they would have had to find merchants, negotiate prices, and go through all sorts of tug-of-war, which would have taken more than a month.

And they would never have been able to get more money than they did now.

Patrick's achievement of saving time and simultaneously earning much more money was amazing.

It was truly an amazing feat.

But….

‘Amazing. Truly amazing.’

‘It's amazing, but….’

‘Seeing that sight, it's just….’

“Uhehehe, this is a money shower. A money shower! It doesn't hurt at all! Uahahaha!”

Watching Patrick, who was throwing heaps of gold coins over his own head and catching them with his forehead in joy, they just couldn't be impressed.

If they felt that was amazing, they felt like they would lose something precious as a human being.

At that moment, Patrick spoke to the laborers.

"Where did Chandler go?"

"Yes. He has left for a moment to carry out your orders, Young Master."

"Really? Then it can't be helped."

And Patrick threw a money pouch to the laborers and said.

"Everyone worked hard. For today, go and have fun with that!"

"Yes?"

"Things went well, right? Then you should eat, drink, and be merry without a care in the world."

“…….”

Well, that's true.

It is, but are there usually nobles who give money to even the lowest-ranking laborers and tell them to do that?

To the bewildered laborers, Patrick said with a stern expression.

"You'll be in trouble if you come back before you've spent all that money. You know what I mean, right?"

"Yes, sir! Young Master!"

"We will follow your orders."

The expressions of the laborers, who had been looking at Patrick with a mixture of pity and patheticness, now overflowed with respect and loyalty.

‘Cute little things….’

As expected, money was the best, no matter where you went in the world.

Having achieved great success in his main purpose of business, Patrick spent his time looking around various places in the Count Parmas' fiefdom.

‘Hmm, I knew our fiefdom was a backwater, but compared to a big city, it's quite serious.’

The population and scale, as well as the city's infrastructure, were incomparable.

Compared to the Count Parmas' fiefdom, even the expression "backwater" was too good for the Schneider fiefdom.

A slum? A beggar's den?

Patrick hadn't properly experienced the development of this world until now, but after looking around a proper big city, he felt like he could understand the level of civilization in this world.

‘The overall standard of living seems higher in this world. The existence of magic, in particular, is a big factor.’

The streetlights that illuminated the city at night.

The communication orbs that were far more convenient than signal fires or carrier pigeons.

The slave seal scrolls used to punish criminals, and so on.

Because of magic, the civilization of this world was far more developed than the Central Plains.

‘Can't I find a magician somewhere?’

Magicians were said to be rare and expensive because their manpower was so scarce.

But if he could hire one, they would be well worth the money, so he wanted to hire one if possible.

As Patrick was spending a few days like that, Chandler came to find him.

"Young Master. I have returned after carrying out the mission you ordered."

"Hoooh, really?"

"Yes. As you said, I have found a way to make contact with the thieves' guild."