Road to the Crown 202 Obligatory pucharse

"I'm sorry sir, but I will be closing my stall for today. Please, come tomorrow."

As if this world wanted to play with my feelings, as soon as I reached the place where one of the sailors brought me, the owner of the stall that might hold the American treasures, announced that he was done with his business for today!

"I don't think you understand why I came running here. I don't care whether your business is still open or not, as I came here to most likely buy every single item that you possess. Just tell me the price."

Even if I knew that this kind of approach was one of the worst I could take when negotiating something, in this scenario, it was most time-effective. After all, even if he put a huge price on his products, the fact that I could use them to cultivate new types of crops was worth any amount of coins for me!

Especially when it came to two things. Rubber and corn. While the chances of this merchant possessing any quantity of this insanely important products was… low to say the least, with how popular corn was among the native American population, there was a huge chance that he had a bit of this grain!

"Sir… With all due respect, I can't agree with that. Selling it in the detail allows me to put the rationally high price on my products, but selling in bulk would require me to dangerously cut into my own profits, making the entire prospects of going so far to acquire those items simply unreasonably dangerous and unprofitable!"

With how rare it was for the merchants with such merchandise to reach so deep into the continent, it was no wonder that this man was reluctant to part with his wares so easily. At the same time, it was no wonder that when a noble approached him with the intention of buying out his entire stock, he would be hesitant to even consider the option, as he might be worried whether or not I would try to use my influence to forcefully lower the price!

"Okay then, how about doing it like this. For now, I will give you ten golden coins, and in return, you will give me the right to pick whatever I want from the wares that you have left as long as it will be within the cost of five gold coins. And after the initial business will be set, we will sit down and discuss something that I would like to propose to you."

Seeing how determined I was to make business with him, the unsurprisingly young merchant only sook his head in defeat before leading me through the streets. With how his entire stall could be turned into a simple pull-cart, he didn't have any troubles taking it with him, especially after all his wares were already sold.

After manoeuvring through the several streets we finally reached our destination, one of the many Taverns present in the city. Putting his cart aside, the young merchant leads us into the building only to ask us to wait at one of the free tables.

"Sir, do you really think it's smart? We don't know what is he going to prepare for us now. What if he attempts to sell us some kind of poison?"

Hearing the fearful voice of the sailor that initially guided me towards the merchant and now was following me with one of my rifles hidden under his loose shirt, I couldn't help but dress a charming smile.

"Don't worry about it. While this rifle of ours might be capable of missing the targets at long range… When it comes to brawls like the one that could occur in here, there is no better weapon!"

Even in the future, the number of snipers that a company would employ was abysmally small when compared to the number of foot soldiers that would be the ones storming the cities and taking the buildings one by one. Just like the tacticians and planners all the way in the future realised, in close-quarter combat, it wasn't about the perfect accuracy, but about who was capable of sending a greater hail of bullets towards the enemy!

Yet all our dire expectations turned out to be nothing more than a stupid farce when the merchant returned while caring several sacks on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry it took me so long, but I don't really want to move around with greater quantities in the open."

Putting the bags that he brought directly onto our table, he lined them all up and gestured at each of them while explaining what was inside.

"This one here is the spicy herb, that when smoked allows one to clear his mind a bit. This one is golden grain, far bigger than the one we are capable of harvesting locally, while this rough powder is made from what the tribal communities of those foreign lands used as currency."

Whenever the merchant would point at another ware, my eyes would turn even brighter. Seeing how he was about to start going on a rampage with his explanations, I raised my hand to shut him up for a moment.

"First thing first. Do you have a pipe?"

It's been simply too long for me since I last smoked a damned cigarette! While I was more inclined towards electrical ones back in the future, it wasn't something that I could create just like that in the current times, even if the recipe was actually quite easy to come up with! 

"A pipe? Yeah, but as they all come from the tribal people themselves and are handcrafted, they are quite…"

Stopping the merchant once again with just a wave of my hand, I looked him in the eyes.

"Cuz the crap and give me the tobacco and the pipe. I had the chance to try it once, and I craved it ever since! Surely, you are not going to keep an old man like me waiting?"

While saying those words, I reached with my hand to my belt. Just this movement alone was enough to alert both the merchant and the sailor standing on the side of the table, yet rather than pulling some kind of weapon, I lifted my money pouch before unwinding the thin, steel chain that kept it closed. 

Pulling out fifteen red goldens I made sure to keep them hidden in my hand as I was passing them to another small pouch. After all, even with that rifle of mine and its smaller version dangling from my side, it would be highly unwise to casually move around about half a year worth of craftsmen earning like that!

"Here, fifteen, both for all the tobacco I can buy with five, five for agreeing to meet with us and five for the pipe. Now, did I caught enough of your interest to invite you to a talk on my ship?"

In the end, it wasn't safe to speak business in a place like this. While our surroundings were relatively safe, there was no telling when someone would enter or bother us by inviting us to drink or even attempting to rob us!

Chapter end