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*****
Hearing George's words, the crowd of onlookers who had been drawn in by the bag of treasures, now squeezed outside the trading post, collectively let out a gasp of astonishment.
Among them, some of the bolder and quicker-witted individuals had already turned and left, preparing to gather their things and head up the mountain to investigate.
This sort of thing had happened before. The last time Whiterun had dispatched a small squad of soldiers to clear out the bandit watchtower, they had left behind some valuable items simply because they couldn't carry everything.
The clever residents of the town had immediately rushed up the mountain and hauled those remaining items back down.
Although they hadn't sold for much, it was still equivalent to the income from half a month of regular farming.
This time, not only had the bandits been dealt with, but even the Draugr within Bleak Falls Barrow had been completely cleared out. There was bound to be much more left behind.
If they ran fast enough, they might just be able to make a small fortune.
No one was a fool. Upon seeing the first few people leave, everyone else immediately realized this was an opportunity to get rich. They all hurried off to call their friends and family, preparing to head up the mountain together.
"The total value is one hundred thousand Septims!"
Lucan appraised the items one by one, and finally, clicking his tongue in amazement, he announced the total value of the burlap sack's contents.
"Adding the three thousand Septims reward for the Golden Claw, that makes it one hundred and three thousand Septims. That should be enough for the short term."
George did a quick calculation in his head and then nodded, accepting Lucan's quoted price.
He knew that there was actually still some room for negotiation with this price. If he were to take these items to Whiterun and sell them off individually, it was quite possible he could get two or three hundred thousand.
If he happened to encounter nobles who had a passion for and actively researched ancient Nord culture, the price would be even higher.
But for him, this was completely unnecessary.
With his level of strength, making money was entirely too easy.
Whether it was finding another ancient Nord tomb to sweep through, or seeking out some notorious bandit gang, Forsworn camp, or vampire castle, it was all very simple.
He could easily earn one or two hundred thousand Septims in just a few hours.
Besides, the man was running a business; this was precisely the profit he was supposed to make.
When you are a long-suffering working person, trying to buy a 200-Septim pair of shoes, you might haggle with the shop owner for several long minutes, finally getting them for 150.
But when you are already the richest person in the world, would you still haggle with the owner over a 200-Septim pair of shoes?
If the owner's attitude was good, making you feel that you were well-served, buying the shoes for 200 and then giving another 200 as a tip would also be perfectly normal.
Compared to Lucan, the shop owner of Riverwood, George was practically the richest man in the world.
Lucan, who had been fully expecting George to counter-offer, was stunned for a moment when he heard George agree to his price without even thinking.
A moment later, a look of joyous surprise spread across his face.
"Excellent! However, I don't have that much cash on me right now. I will need two hours to raise the funds."
One hundred and three thousand Septims. This was no small sum.
As the owner of the trading post, most of his money was tied up in the shop's inventory; his liquid capital on hand was not very high.
But this wasn't a problem. He could borrow from Alvor the blacksmith, Gerdur the sawmill owner, and Delphine at the Sleeping Giant Inn.
The assets of those three were no less than his own. As long as he offered a bit of interest, it would be very easy to borrow the money.
And these one hundred thousand Septims worth of ancient Nord treasures—he could spend a few months and resell them for two hundred thousand, no problem. If he was willing to be patient and slowly wait for the right buyers, he could sell them for even more.
"I was just wanting to look at the items in your shop anyway. Perhaps there is something I need."
George nodded again. He was not in a hurry for these two hours.
"Mr. George, please, take your time and look around. Whatever items you see that you like, I will give you a thirty percent discount on all of them."
Lucan hurriedly waved to his sister, who was still standing there in a daze.
"Camilla, come and introduce the shop's items to Mr. George. I am going to raise the money!"
Camilla snapped back to reality, immediately dropped her broom, and came over to take her brother's place, her eyes sparkling as she looked at George.
"I never thought you were actually this amazing!"
How could he just be amazing? He was unbelievably amazing.
She had heard adventurers in the tavern boasting about their experiences, claiming to have killed three Draugr or five Draugr all by themselves, and those people were already considered very impressive.
But this Mr. George standing before her had not only wiped out the entire bandit den, he had also taken care of all the Draugr in Bleak Falls Barrow.
She felt that George was probably almost as strong as those people in the Companions.
If George could use his psychic abilities to read Camilla's thoughts at this moment, he would say to himself:
"Right now, you are not an adventurer, so seeing me is like a frog in a well looking up at the moon. If you are fortunate enough to become an adventurer one day, seeing me then will be like a single mayfly seeing the vast blue sky."
The Companions? The entire Companions guild, all added together, wouldn't be enough to fight a single one of his fingers.
"I told you before, I have a little, tiny bit of confidence in my own strength."
George smiled and winked, taking the complete inventory list of the general store's items from Camilla's hand.
He wanted to see if the trading post had any magic books; he could buy some to start self-studying.
As a mage, always using his physical body to fight was really not elegant enough.
Moreover, if he wanted to join the College of Winterhold, it seemed he would need a certain foundation in magic, or else they wouldn't accept him.
While he was at it, he would also buy two sets of decent clothing. This clone's current clothes were far too cheap and did not befit his status.
Finally, he would also buy one copy of all the ordinary books in the store. Through these books, he could gain a more detailed understanding of this world.
With Camilla's help, George quickly found all the things he needed. After getting them packed up, he sat down, sipping tea and chatting casually.
Mostly, it was Camilla asking the questions, and George answering offhandedly.
In less than two hours, Lucan returned to the trading post carrying ten large-denomination bank notes.
What George hadn't expected was that in the world of The Elder Scrolls, there was actually something similar to a bank.
This was because the game world didn't have banks; everything was either carried by oneself, given to a follower, or stored on a horse.
The banks here were established by Imperial merchants. The ten large bank notes Lucan had exchanged were each worth ten thousand Septims and could be redeemed at banks in every city across all provinces of the Empire.
Even in the territory of the Stormcloaks, who were currently at war with the Empire, they could still be exchanged normally.
"The total for your items comes to two thousand five hundred Septims."
George accepted the ten large bank notes, and then settled the bill for the books and clothes he had purchased, after the thirty percent discount was applied.
In the end, Lucan took out another five hundred Septims and handed them to George.
Bidding farewell to a very reluctant Camilla, George carried his new belongings and walked to the Riverwood carriage service.
That's right, it wasn't just the large cities like Whiterun, Solitude, and Windhelm that had carriage services.
In this world, all cities and even small towns had carriage services, where one could hire a carriage, and it was relatively safe.
This was because the carriage service itself also provided accompanying guards.
Without opting to share a ride with others, George spent two hundred Septims to hire a private carriage, which pulled him and the books he had bought, heading north towards Whiterun.
As they crossed the bridge and passed the fork in the road, he picked up Avel, who had been waiting there.
The carriage ride to Whiterun would take five days. He could use this time to enjoy the scenery from the carriage while also finishing reading all the new books he had just purchased.
(End of this chapter)