'How will this go…?'
Aldred tightened his fingers that were wrapped around one another as he made a resolute stare at the man before him.
Despite his confident demeanor, he was quite nervous.
'He hasn't shown up to sell to us in a few days, so the expansion plan has been compromised because of him…'
There was a chance that the man before then had broken the Exclusive contract and sold to another party, but Aldred didn't want to think that.
He just didn't seem like that kind of guy.
But, even if he did break their agreement, what was he supposed to do?
'He had an S-Tier Skill. Father warned me not to make him our enemy no matter what…'
That meant he couldn't even be penalized for breaking the contract.
All that the Group could do was try to renegotiate and strengthen their bond.
'We've given him no reason to doubt our sincerity. And while it isn't much, by disciplining that lowlife, I hoped we could show just how useful and committed we are to him.'
The man's unimpressed tone told Aldred that this move wasn't as effective as he had hoped, but he couldn't give up.
'For the expansion to other markets… we need a bulk of goods.'
If possible; the same amount as what he brought last time.
No—even double.
It actually didn't matter the amount he could provide. The more Monster Cores he had, the bigger their profit would be.
Aldred just hoped their esteemed seller would cooperate with them.
'In all my years, I've never been pushed to this point…'
Aldred learned everything he knew from his father, and he had spent his entire life in the KariBlanc Group.
He knew the inner workings of business and he had long mastered the art of negotiation.
Bargaining Power, Equivalent Exchange, Demand and Supply, and various other concepts of business had been ingrained in his brain since he was little.
The only reason he was currently operating under his monika of Alfred Winsley—a mere broker—was simply a final test his father concocted to see if he was ready for the larger business world.
Aldred knew he couldn't afford to fail here.
"Are you sure… you can handle what I possess?" The moment he was asked this question, Aldred froze in place.
He instantly realized the error he had made.
'What did I just say? How could I have been so stupid!'
By saying they would buy all the Monster Cores in their seller's possession, he had implied that the KariBlanc Group could afford all of it.
For an individual with an S-Tier Skill, one who had long exceeded the limits of humanity, that would be nothing short of an insult.
Aldred knew he had to correct himself.
"I-I apologize. What I meant was that we'd buy as much as you're willing to sell. We only hope you can sell as much as possible."
It was impossible to decipher the seller's reaction to this since he wore a mask, so Aldred could only hope it was effective while gulping.
"I see. Very well, then…"
Aldred beamed a smile as he noticed the man straighten his posture.
'Thank goodness!' He sighed in relief.
'Looks like we've almost got ourselves a deal.'
********
'This… this is crazy!'
Rey couldn't believe his luck.
He had expected to be the one desperate to sell his stuff, but it seemed like he possessed all the bargaining power.
'It will be foolish of me to keep hoarding my stock now.'
It was clear that the KariBlanc Group was in need of Monster Cores of good quality. It was inevitable that word of this got out, so it would only be a matter of time before the influx of Monster Cores would come their way.
From what Rey could tell, these people had a lot of influence.
The fact that they were able to find a random scammer just to please him, and their readiness to buy so many Monster Cores proved they were very powerful.
'I can't miss out on this opportunity now.'
If he hesitated, there was a chance he would suffer a loss unlike any other.
'Since I've been given the opportunity, I'll sell everything I have!'
Rey opened his [Inventory], bringing out a couple of sacks from each box inside.
Of course, they were full to the brim with Monster Cores.
However…
'One of these sacks is different.'
Rey smiled as he opened the small sack—more like a pouch, really—in front of Aldred, and within it were Spatial Rings.
'Thankfully, I was able to get a good amount of Spatial Rings and implemented a prototype of my grand plan before everything went awry.'
It was regrettable that he could carry out his full plan to drain the Hobs of their stash of Monster Cores, but he at least got somewhere with it.
And now… Rey was about to profit from that sliver of quick thinking.
"Within each of these rings are three sacks of Monster Cores." Rey began.
"There are fifty rings in this pouch."
That was a total of 150 sacks of Monster Cores.
Adding that to the forty-five other sacks that were on display, it was a total of 195 sacks.
"This is what I am willing to sell to you, Mr. Winsley…"
Rey could see the man before him salivate as his eyes nearly popped out of his eyes.
The broker certainly wasn't expecting such an absurd influx of Monster Cores from Rey.
"The question is… can you afford it?"
As Rey's voice echoed in the room, he studied Aldred's overwhelmed expression.
'He seems surprised, but not to the point of being unable to pay…'
Rey couldn't be certain, so he kept his fingers crossed and waited for an answer.
Fortunately for him… luck was on his side.
"YES! WE WILL BUY EVERYTHING!"
*
*
*
What an absurd amount of money!
Goddamn!
This is nearly four times what Rey sold the last time.
He's gonna have over 5,000 Platinum Coins!
I want to be rich tooooo!
