Second Advent Patreon Chapter (Although It's Not Advent Anymore) (Patreon)

Way of a Merchant

“Are you done yet?”

Resting her head on top of the wooden divider, Lydia looked at her sister, who struggled with the ledger.

Although both of them wore uniforms just like in the past their current circumstances were quite different.

In the past, they were slave-like existences fated to die at the whim of the family controlling their fate. When a young master took a fancy to them, they were abducted into the Wilderness and easily thrown away to buy a little time with their deaths.

Now a far more prestigious emblem decorated the costume they both wore. And most importantly the two sisters no longer belonged to the slave caste. Lord Eldrin arranged for them the identity of free citizens, returning them control over their lives.

Just thinking about it made the girl threaten to spill tears, the debt they never had a chance to repay.

“Don’t rush me. You know I’m not as good as you with numbers. Why are you asking anyway, do you need my help?”

Returning the feather to the pot, Annabelle rubbed her hurting temples as the paper in front of her absorbed the drying ink.

“Master Kaufer returned from his errands and invited us to come along while he works.”

She pushed her glasses up with her wrist, carefully to avoid smudging or breaking them. Lydia had mentioned some trouble reading offhandedly once, in the presence of their friend while they stayed at the Dharnas mansion. Without delay the elf girl had ordered a servant to bring the sisters for an examination and subsequently paid for the costs out of her own pocket. The glasses became her most prized and valuable possession and took meticulous care of them, treating them with utmost care. Thankfully they also complemented her ability to read the dry and long texts both in the Dharnas’ family library and the regulations and works of their current location, the [Kaufman Merchant House].

Annabelle on the other hand often participated in the physical exercise course offered by the guards and had no issues with her sight. She did not envy her sister either and helped her take good care of them,

“Got it, let me finish my report and we can go.”

Weathering through her dislike of the written account, Anna forced herself to finish the task and put away the quill, using an already prepared towel to clean her hands of the ink stains.

“I really do not know what I did to the gods to deserve being punished like this. All the numbers dance in front of my eyes, and when I take my attention off them they like to change places. This must be a completely new species of beasts, let’s report them to the [Adventurer’s Guild].”

Circling around the partition, Annabelle hugged her more petite sister and dragged her into the corridor.

Lydia only rolled her eyes.

“You already mentioned this yesterday, the day before that and so on. Numbers are not monsters. They stay constant and reveal the truth behind things. Stop whining every time, in the future you can at least rely on me to take care of them.”

“This is why I love you, sister!

Let’s go and see what Master Kaufer has to teach us.”

The clerks working in the nearby stations gently smiled at the minor commotion, the exact same scene often repeated in the office.

After being recommended by a major backer of the merchant house, most of the regular employees had reservations regarding the pair of sisters that suddenly began an apprenticeship. Only after interacting with them for almost an entire moon, none of the initial concerns managed to sustain against the warm and friendly disposition the newcomers displayed and melted like snow in summer.

By this time, the cheerful sisters became somewhat of a mascot for the office.

At the end of the corridor, a major chamber occupied almost the same space as the previous room, showing the importance and lavishness of the owner.

Greeting the secretary, the two of them were allowed to proceed right away.

The door inlaid with golden bands and smaller gemstones offered surprisingly minor resistance. Hinges made with masterful precision permitted the massive wings to almost move by themselves.

Lydia freed herself of the other cheerful girl and carefully closed the door behind them. Although neither the master, the secretary or even the merchant house minded any damage to it, and wouldn’t fault them either if something happened, the smart young woman still respected the wealth and hard work that stood behind this symbol.

“Come in, come in. I have been waiting for you two.”

Sitting behind a desk made of treasured wood, Master Kaufer folded his hands over his bulging belly. Aside from the golden trinkets, high grade artwork and other luxury goods, the furniture made from dark [Gold Bark Wood], a material reaching the eighth tier, dwarfed the worth of everything else inside.

“Sit down, children.”

With a benevolent expression Master Kaufer gestured to the soft guest chairs in front of his desk. The sisters had long since given up protesting towards this treatment and obediently followed his instructions. Afraid to make the seats dirty, both of them patted down their uniforms and checked each other before actually sitting down.

As for the form of address, the aunties working as clerks and even the grey haired uncles driving the carriages enjoyed the same name, children, from the master. And considering his age, he was not wrong either.

“You do not always need to go through the motions. Material possessions, after all, are meant to be used. I know you two are mindful about their value and are afraid of being held responsible in case they need to be replaced, yet to me their worth pales in comparison to human lifes.”

Master Kaufer laughed and brushed his waxed white beard. Lydia had enough bashfulness in her to blush at the concised mention of their actions while Annabelle followed along and giggled as well. Her older sister wanted to elbow her to remind the athletic woman to conduct herself better in front of their teacher, but Lydia knew she was safe in front of Master Kaufer.

“May I ask what you called us for, master? We are delighted to hear about your intentions.”

Forcefully taking her mind off the rude behaviour, Lydia respectfully reported to the corpulent merchant. As trainees under the [Kaufman Merchant House] Annabelle and Lydia enjoyed almost the same benefits as they were having when staying at the Duke Dharnas mansion. Each of the employees treated them with respect and had patience when teaching them about the various proceedings and traditions a merchant had to know about.

Compared to the past, when they suffered as servants with no rights, their current happiness was as vast as the ocean.

“Haha, as always you are mindful regarding the etiquette.

Jokes aside, I called you in to talk about a trade proposal that made its way on my desk. When I read the details, a good lesson stood out between the lines. Hence, I called you in.”

Taking them from a cabinet, made of matching wood, he handed them two identical folders, filled with several files.

Master Kaufer folded his hands over his belly and reclined into his chair. He patiently waited for the pair of sisters to read the details of the trade.

Neither party minded the silence as time passed and soon Lydia closed her folder and a short while afterwards Annabelle also finished her reading.

“This is a weird proposal. What did you have in mind when you gave it to us, do you want us to formulate a response?”

Annabelle directly addressed the old man. She learned about etiquette, manners and conventions both at the Duke mansion as well as a merchant trainee, yet she fearlessly interacted with big characters as equals. Lydia frowned but did not interject, she had a similar opinion albeit she would have worded it differently.

“As expected, you grasped the essential points. Before I tell you why I gave you the information about this trade, I have some questions that might broaden your horizon.”

Master Kaufer seldom teased them deliberately. Although he was shrewd and often had a lesson in mind when teaching them, he was not deceitful, a trait often common with more dishonest traders.

“This trade seems wrong.”

With one quick read, Annabelle confidently put the file down. Although she did not pin it down on a concrete factor, her instinct rarely failed her.

And as expected, her sister soon put the folder down as well. Wrinkling her brows, she pointed out the stated terms.

“My sister is right, the other merchant house is asking for several weapons of the fifth tier as well as provisions used in war.

Kaufman deals with luxury goods, rare commodities and exclusive items, especially goods with small volume and huge profit. While fifth tier weapons are rare and somewhat hard to come by in this number, it is not profitable enough for Master Kaufer to agree to it.

The other conditions confirm to the standard of the merchant house, but it is not the right category to trade in.”

As a capable accountant and a downright magician with numbers, Lydia gave her detailed analysis. Annabelle nodded along and expectantly looked at the massive man in the chair behind the desk.

“Generally, you would be right.”

The first words shocked both sisters, as it implied their instinct and analysis went wrong. Seeing their faces, Master Kaufer profoundly chuckled.

“Look at the item the other side offers first.”

Reopening their folders they looked downright dumbfounded. Instead of a payment, the other side neither offered goods of similar value, a business opportunity or gold. A single item. That was their proposal. And neither the well read Lydia nor the social Annabelle had ever heard of it before.

“A [Shimmering Cobalt Storm Fruit] is a very rare cultivation material that might not emerge once in several hundred years. And to others it might not be worth the trade, but to me, it is extremely attractive.

Take a guess what my cultivation is.”

The matter never came up before. As the head and owner of the [Kaufman Merchant House] the old man never had the need to prove his martial prowess or subdue bandits. Even if he had a miniscule amount of aura or mana, he simply needed to wave his hand and countless experts would fight to get the chance to be employed by him or sell him a favor.

Neither of the sisters wanted to carelessly guess and either offend him by underestimating him by a large amount or making him feel inferior by setting the level too high.

As if he expected their plight, Master Kaufer waved his hand and answered in their stead.

“My aura reached the seventh step a while ago. It’s harder to find goods with sufficient mana density, so I only have a fifth rank mana level though.”

Even if the second statement aimed to diminish the first shocking one, Annabelle and Lydia still gaped in shock.

They barely reached the second rank at their age and were considered quite good already, but the merchant with a potbelly had the same strength as the king or a duke? This possibility did not quite fit with the ideas in their heads.

“Don’t look at me like that, it’s nothing too unusual and it’s not that impressive either. My fighting strength is not really developed either. And with the [Shimmering Cobalt Storm Fruit] I have almost an absolute chance to break through the eighth aura rank.”

Unable to take blow after blow - mentally - the sisters stayed mute.

Master Kaufer chuckled, low but now with a deep power hidden in his voice.

“What do you think is the true purpose of a merchant?

Even if you have mountains of gold, that is but a means to an end. I have come in contact with countless materials and goods of all ranks, whether aura or mana, in my lifetime. Through working hard and going countless roads, I still advanced, albeit I do not know about swords or magic. It might be faster to cultivate through bloodshed, but it’s not the only path.

To me, having more or less gold is not of importance. My goal is to increase my merchant house to greater heights, watch it grow and improve my physique at the same time. Don’t look at my weight or missing muscles, I really am a genuine seventh ranked human. If I break through to the eighth rank, it means I have a few hundred years more to expand my business. Maybe future generations will know my name with the title of the greatest merchant to have lived in Leandar, or the whole continent.

Take it as a lesson.

Whether you want to improve your own physique, obtain influence or any goal that comes to your mind, there is no perfect occupation or path. A merchant can have a higher aura rank than a bandit, or a craftsman can work finer magic than a wizard.

The other employees are already working on the trade deal and it will be completed soon. Take this lesson to heart and think about your goals.

Now go and play with the other children.”

With that, Annabelle and Lydia were dismissed from Master Kaufer’s study, a pensive look on their faces.