"Sir Seller… are you sure this is the Item you desire? There are better Items we have to offer, and I'm not sure this suits you… style."
As Aldred said this, Rey took one more look at the Item that was resting on his palm.
The Enchanted Item that Rey got was a ring. It had a pure white surface, with an amber crystal affixed at the top.
The amber gleam it had reminded him of Alicia, which was when he remembered a big blunder he made.
'I totally forgot about her!'
They had both exchanged glances and smiles numerous times that morning, so perhaps she was expecting them to hang out.
'My mind was so swamped that I didn't even remember her!' Rey had thought in a panic.
That was when he decided to make the most irrational—but emotionally satisfying choice.
"It's not… for me." Rey answered Aldred with a fleeting tone.
He could already see Noah grinning from behind his hooded disguise, and he felt like punching his teeth out.
'So what if I got it for Alicia? It's normal for friends to get each other stuff…'
The ring was extremely beautiful. The craftsmanship on its white surface felt surreal, and the gem looked very pretty.
'Like her eyes…'
Many would fault him for making such a foolish choice, but he simply felt it was the right thing to do.
'I can just come back to get my items. But, I feel this would really suit her.'
The 'White Amber', as the Ring was called, had two major functions.
The first, and major ability, that it had was the [Automatic Healing] that it had imbued to itself.
As long as the Item was on, the wielder would constantly get healed if they sustained any damage.
Of course, this effect could be turned off, but it was a safe bet against surprise attacks and helpless situations.
'Alicia has a Healing Skill, but it consumes a lot of Mana. With the White Amber, she should be a lot safer.'
Then, there was the second function.
'Can boost the physical abilities of its user for a limited time, and can only be used once a day…'
It had the perfect effect for Alicia, who was a Tamer, and had weaker physical stats compared to her other qualities.
Rey had given this a lot more thought than simply its aesthetic.
"I-I see. It was my mistake to overlook the possibility of you having a significant other. Well, I absolutely understand." Aldred smiled in a knowing manner.
The kind of expression guys gave their fellow guys when it came to girls.
For a moment there, Rey felt like the two of them had become Bros.
"It's not… like that." Rey clarified, once again feeling Noah's smile pierce him from behind.
Something told him the boy was stifling a chuckle.
"I totally understand. She's very lucky to have someone like you who considers her safety."
Rey couldn't disagree with Aldred on that.
"By the way, Sir Seller… even with our solid business relationship, it hurts me that I have to address you in such a way."
Once Aldred said this, Rey's lips began to part.
'So that was his goal all along. To get close enough to me so I can tell him my name.'
"You initially introduced yourself as Yer, but I have to assume that it is a code name."
"That is correct."
"Then… I would like to know what to address you as."
This approach made Rey's grin widen even more.
Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to give Aldred his real name—though he doubted Aldred would know of his identity from just that.
Even if they were to meet later in the future, and someone called him 'Rey' in front of Aldred, he doubted the man would pay him a second glance once he saw how mundane he looked.
Aldred already had an image of Rey in his mind.
There was no way… no way in hell that he would ever suspect that he was actually the Masked Seller if they met in real life.
'Still… I don't feel comfortable sharing my real name.'
"Call me Ralyks." Rey spat out, generating the quickest name he could.
It was just his surname backwards.
"Ahh… Sir Ralyks. Understood…"
"Hm."
For a second, both stared at each other in silence.
Then—
"Well, I will personally package both Items for you, Sir Ralyks. It won't take long at all."
Rey and Noah nodded silently and waited to get the items they didn't have to pay for.
'I hope she likes it…'
*********
Rey and Noah walked down the street of the open-air market together, seeing chatters among buyers and sellers.
The ambiance of the public marketplace seemed to mostly consist of noise and the constant smell of spices.
Rey could see people haggling for their goods, and he observed some commotion in other areas.
'They'd never try something like this in a luxury store…' He found himself thinking.
After receiving the VIP treatment a couple of times, he couldn't see himself haggling like this.
'And then… there's the unpleasant side of this place…'
Rey could see beggars all around the marketplace.
Kids, adults—poverty did not discriminate here.
It reminded him of his own world.
'I guess even fantasy worlds have stuff like this too…'
It was heartbreaking to see the dirty beggars, with their desperate eyes and scrawny bodies, seek our scraps.
They made sure to stay in the shadows, considering the Capital's policies on vagrants and beggars.
'Life is harsh wherever you go.' Rey sighed, deciding to ignore them.
He indeed had enough money to make all of them set for life, but Rey knew he would never dispense a single Coin for these strangers.
It was a bit funny, though tragic…
All these people needed to survive in a day were a couple of Bronze Coins.
A single Bronze Coin could fill the belly of a beggar.
'Yet I just got Items worth millions of those in a single hour…'
"So, how exactly are you going to give her? Have you thought of it yet?"
Noah's voice interrupted Rey's thoughts, causing him to look at the boy in puzzlement.
He knew Noah had also noticed the beggars, but the fact that he chose to bring up this topic showed that he had noticed Rey's discomfort with the whole thing.
'He's trying to change topics for my sake? How cute…' Rey couldn't help but grin.
"I don't understand what you mean. I'll just give it to her… normally." I responded with a slight shrug.
"And how will you explain where you saw the ring? It looks very expensive, you know? Too expensive for the Gold Coin we were given."
Noah made a valid point, but it wasn't like Rey hadn't thought of that.
"I don't need to overcomplicate it." Rey smiled as he told Noah of his grand plan.
He planned on lying that he won it in a game where he had to stake some money. In essence… gambling.
"And I'll tell her that I got it practically for free, compared to its value."
People would assume that he meant that exchanging a single Gold Coin for something like this was what he meant, not knowing he meant it literally.
"I'll also tell her not to tell anyone it's from me. But, even if she does, and I am placed before a Truthseeker, all I have to do is be honest."
Noah raised his brow as Rey said this.
"I'll tell them that I won it in a game and got it practically for free."
Noah didn't seem to understand how Rey could equate what had just happened to the lie he had concocted.
However, in response to his skepticism, Rey only broadened his smile.
"In the end, isn't business just another game?"
*
*
*
Thanks for reading!
I ended up spending more time than I expected on this tangent.
We'll soon be getting back to the main story, so don't worry!
