If you wanna read ahead of my stories, you can check out the advanced chapters on my subcribestar, at the same username - 0Jordinio0
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Hephaestus gave her a blank look, "Use one of my stores…as in to sell things from?" she asked, getting a nod from the twin tailed goddess as confirmation, "I know you definitely don't have a product to sell, which means this has to do with your child, Caelan. Unless he comes from some merchant background or something like that or more likely going by what you said before about him being special, he has some form of skill let lets him produce a product that would make a profit selling."
As always, her best friend was far too sharp. Her mind was as razor sharp as the blades she forged!
"…Yeah," she admitted, and found herself opening up, but only because Caelan urged her on and Hephaestus was her best friend that she trusted with her life, "His skill basically lets him consume magic stones and grow stronger and even gain the abilities of monsters. I gave him that magic stone that was in the lamp you gave me when we first found the skill and he's been able to make equipment from-"
"Crystal of a Crystal Mantis," Hephaestus' cut her off, her single eye widening in realisation, "I see…that's some skill. A set of armour made from that crystal by one of my smiths would go for over a million valis easily. And that's just from that one monster alone."
"Yeah…he can make a bunch of stuff already and wants to open up a shop," Hestia admitted, "While he could open a shop on the streets pretty easily, the best place to sell stuff for adventurers is in Babel Tower."
"I see," Hephaestus mused, cupping her chin in one leather glove clad hand and staring at Hestia ponderingly for a few moments, "…Alright, but it won't be for free."
"Really?" Hestia's eyes lit up.
"I'm only doing it because you're my friend and you still need to pay me back for mooching off of me, this way it might happen sometime this decade," Hephaestus snorted, "I'll let you rent one of our shops on the first floor for three hundred thousand valis a month."
'Eeesh, so expensive!' Hestia winced. And that was just for renting a small shop! But that just went to show how amazing sales were in Babel Tower!
"Okay!" she agreed, bouncing off of the couch and wincing as pain flared in her hips, but ignored it, "Should I pay now?" she asked.
"It would save time and I'll be more inclined to help you if you pay up front," Hephaestus pointed out with a smirk, "Still, while we're on this topic, make sure you lock the falna on your child's back, if any of the others see he has that kind of skill they'll won't give you a moments peace."
"…Eh?" Hestia tilted her head to the side in confusion.
She could lock the falna?
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…This couldn't be real.
Could…it?
Lili was in a bit of a daze as she stared down at the table in front of her. Atop it, sat a large pouch she'd just received from the guild exchange point after she turned in her loot.
The loot Caelan had allowed her to keep in full.
147,000 valis.
In total, she'd had thirty six Killer Ant mandibles and one War Shadow claw that she traded in. Killer Ant mandibles was where they secreted their pheromone from and was used by those who had the Mixing ability to create items such as perfumes which was why they were worth so much, being worth four thousand valis each.
Caelan had killed over seven hundred killer ants over a period of seven hours. They went in early in the morning and it was already late afternoon now, the blue sky that greeted her this morning a dusky orange.
As she stared down at the glittering gold coins, Lili felt her breath come in short, quick pants and her hands were shaking slightly.
It was…almost too good to be true.
She half expected Caelan to swipe the bag from her here and now. But, that was not what happened when he made his way over, a huge sack containing all the magic stones she'd collected today hung over his shoulder.
"Here you go Lili," he casually dumped a second pouch, just as large as the one she already had sitting before her, "That's a hundred thousand valis, took me a bit to count them out. You can count em' if you want."
She looked up at the younger boy, taking in his grinning face and couldn't help but wonder if he was actually a mirage and she was still sleeping and hadn't woken up yet.
…Both of those bags together were only a few thousand valis off of two hundred and fifty thousand.
That was a quarter of her total savings not counting the magic sword she'd stolen from a rich moron a few months ago.
Savings that had taken her over three years to build up.
And she'd gotten that much…in a single day. A crazy day for sure, supporting what had to be the most powerful and suicidally stupid level one she'd ever seen, but a single day nonetheless.
Lili swallowed heavily, "No, it's fine, I believe you," she replied and surprised herself by the fact that she actually did, there would be no point to him lying about it when he had no problem with her taking all the item drop loot as well, "What about you, are you not going to trade in those magic stones?" she asked, to get her mind off of the money in front of her and try and calm down.
"Nah, I've got a better use for them." Caelan laughed, reaching up into the sack atop his shoulder and bringing it to his face, then opened his mouth and bit down on the magic stone, crunching through it easily, chewing it up…and swallowing it all in a second or so.
…Eh?
What?
"Mr. Caelan….why did you?!" she couldn't help but ask, gaping at him in shock. He just literally ate what amounted to more than an average persons daily wage!
Actually, how did he do that even? Magic stones were as hard as stone, even with how strong he was, he shouldn't have been able to chew through one like it was a piece of bread!
"I'm just built different cute stuff." Caelan just laughed again, giving her a wink and a pat on the head, "I'll see you tomorrow Lili, same time!" he then promptly bid her goodbye.
Leaving her staring after him stupidly.
It took longer than she cared to admit to regain her mental faculties, "I don't understand that guy at all." Lili mused to herself, before turning her attention back to her pay for the day.
247,000 Valis.
That was the kind of pay day only top tier adventurers of like level three got to see!
'He's weird and a bit stupid, but Mr. Caelan is competent, strong and honest if nothing else.' she thought to herself as she giddily snatched up both pouches of coins and left the area.
She had to quickly go store this away with the rest of her savings where nobody could get their hands on it!
…So caught up in her giddiness over the massive amount of valis she'd made that day, she never noticed the short, muscular older man with raccoon ears atop his head trailing her form with a gleam in his eyes and a grin on his face.