I Have An SSS-Rank Service System: Hire Me For Anything!-Chapter 8: What A Hassle, Wow! My First Haggle!

Liam frowned. "Yes. My dad told me most humans had migrated from different regions in the world during the Genocidal War and moved to the desolate West—which was a century ago, of course. Now, this West is much better. As for why we’re led by a demon, I have no idea. You know it’s all politics and deceit. I hate royalty."

Dory nodded, assimilating all that he said.

He still had no idea what the Genocidal War was, and he knew even Liam wouldn’t have much information either since it was such a long time ago. In fact, everything he had said, Dory would have to take with a grain of salt. A century ago was a long and perfect time to change facts into myths, covering up truths and coming up with sugar-coated ones.

’Truly, it’s all deceit and politics.’

Dory smiled and stopped the cart under some shade.

"You know what, Liam? I don’t think you hate them because of their deceit. It’s because they didn’t involve you in it. Corruption is wrong when one isn’t part of it. When one is part of it, it becomes an obligation. When you’re involved, you’ll enjoy the same royalty. Makes sense."

Liam looked at him with respect as Dory took an oil lamp from the cart and lit it, placing it under the shade to brighten the area.

"...You see, once you get there, you’ll be sleeping at night, peacefully with no care in the world. Two kids will walk through the gates and come under this shade, placing iron ingots ready to sell when the market becomes busy. But one of them will describe his hatred for you, and the other will tell him to get there first and see what it feels like to get lost in power and influence."

Liam wanted to say something but closed his mouth before finally opening it back and asking in a somber tone, "Do you think we’ll ever get there?"

Dory looked at the spires in the distance as a smile appeared on his lips. "I don’t know. If your motivation and reason are good enough, then you’ll surely get there."

Liam carried one of the ingot honeycombs and placed it on the ground. "Yes. I want to prove you wrong. You’ll see. No one will complain about royalty again. Two kids won’t have to wake up early to take money back home to their father. They’ll live a good, peaceful life. If that motivation isn’t good enough, then I don’t know what is."

Dory looked at Liam in awe for a few seconds. Ignoring the part where he addressed Horg as both of their fathers, or the fact that he was two years older than Liam, a warm, proud smile appeared on Dory’s lips.

"Get there. Don’t worry, there will always be a very smart businessman helping you organize things."

After that, they finished arranging before the sun rose, preparing for their first customer.

When the sun rose, a few traders arrived. By the time it was fully morning and the sun had already brightened the whole city, the market was already filled with different traders and buyers.

During the morning, Dory was able to sell three ingots for ten coppers each. He really did not know how that went so easily. He gave the money to Liam to hold and offered to get him a... second breakfast.

He still had the advance from yesterday, so he went to a restaurant and bought two plates of food for both himself and Liam.

"Thanks for your patronage," the food seller said as she handed his change to him. Nodding with his usual smile, he walked out of the shop and went back to their spot. During his little journey, he noticed another iron ingot seller, making him frown a little.

"I’ll study the market after breakfast."

After breakfast, Dory headed out immediately, leaving Liam alone again.

"I’ll be back soon, Liam. Remember: ten coppers."

Liam smiled. "Okay, Dory."

With that, he studied the market. The market was large, with shops, stalls, and carts everywhere... mostly humans and a few non-humans, probably travelers.

He noticed that grocery shops dominated the market by a large margin.

He visited the few ingot shops, acting like a customer.

Turns out he really had competition at hand. Overall, there were twelve iron ingot sellers in the whole market. Each was selling at a price between seven and nine, with only two selling at eleven and twelve respectively. This made him one of the high-price traders.

"What a hassle," he hissed as he walked away from the last ingot seller.

He guessed he shouldn’t have been so overconfident. Now the chances of even selling everything in a week were low, not to mention in a day.

He finally got back to the shade only to see Liam haggling over a price with a customer.

"Huh? Why does he look so tense?"

He immediately joined the haggling and pointed toward the iron ingots, welcoming the man with a warm smile.

"Good day, sir. No need to ask who I am; I am the one selling the iron ingots. And if you must know, these iron ingots are of high quality and in a moderate quantity, in fact. And not to mention the official Eagle Brand. Ah, what a beauty to behold. In this case, you don’t even need the beholder’s eyes. So, how about you pay a really affordable price and we have a great deal?"

As he haggled, Liam watched him with amusement as his expression calmed. The customer was a slender man dressed in a clean brown tunic who held a brown horse beside him.

The man shook his head in disagreement. "No, no. I will pay only seven for each. In fact, there are those selling at a cheaper price, but I decided to stop because I think you guys know what you’re doing. But that still doesn’t mean I’ll buy them at such a high price. Seven or nothing."

The smile didn’t fade from Dory’s face as he immediately ordered Liam to get a seat for the customer and tie the horse close to the shade. In seconds, the customer was already sitting in the shade, ready to begin "professional haggling," as Dory liked to call it.

Dory got a bag from the cart and brought out a pleasant snack that seemed to surprise both the customer and Liam.

"Before we start, do you mind having a taste of our homemade snack? A very special one at that."