Chapter 238: A Gentleman with a Tight Schedule

As the items on the page become visible, Auren immediately relaxes.“It’s not my merchant...” Joanne mutters immediately.

Despite losing his tension, Auren still quickly scans the page. It shows various pieces of jewelry, rings, chains, bracelets, and earrings, most of them made of gold and decorated with diamonds and other gemstones. Next to them are pitifully low prices, averaging between 5,000 and 10,000 Jenny per piece.

These are... 1% of their true value. So these items are worth between 500,000 Jenny and 1 million Jenny. Nothing special, but still valuable Jewelry. For anyone who isn’t rich, this is a chance to earn quite a bit of money... but for me....

Auren sighs and leans back, already losing interest.

“I knew we were wasting our time. It’s just worthless junk,” Auren says with a sigh.

“Jewelry is quite important for girls, that’s a rather rude statement,” Rakshala says with a small smile. “Still, we want to meet that rumored merchant, right?”

“I guess so... when does he show up?” Auren asks.

“First, we need to actually buy these items!” Jean explains. “You need to mark the items you want to buy and then sign at the bottom.”

“Sign...” Auren mutters, now in deep thought.

Signing... that sounds like a Nen contract? No... thank you.

“You do it,” Auren says, looking at Jean.

“Sure,” Jean replies casually. “Let’s just buy everything. We don’t know the final prices anyway, but nothing should be more expensive than a million Jenny, since the highest priced item displays ‘as low as 10,000 Jenny, which means it’s worth 1 million Jenny.”

As she says that, Jean marks the checkbox next to every single item on the page with a circle, clearly signaling her intention to buy them, before signing at the bottom of both pages.

Suddenly, the catalogue glows with Aura and snaps shut on its own, the color of the cover shifting to yellow.

“Yellow?” Rakshala asks, looking slightly confused.

“Why yellow?” Auren asks at the same time. “You said green means it’s ready to be used, red means we have to wait for new inventory, and black means you’re locked out if you break the rules and can’t pay. You didn’t mention yellow.”

“Yellow means that the salesman, carrying the items, is on the way,” Jean explains. “Sorry, I forgot about it.”

Auren sighs, his face growing stern.

I wonder what else they conveniently forgot... maybe they are just evil geniuses, trying to lure me into a trap, and I’ll end up dying by their sinister master plan. I fulfilled at least a dozen conditions by now.

“Don’t be so stern, it’s their first Hatsu after all,” Rakshala says, letting out a soft laugh. “I think they picked a suitable Hatsu, don’t you think?”

“I reserve judgment,” Auren replies immediately.

After drinking multiple cups of tea, the twins shyly ask Rakshala various questions, clearly enjoying every second of it, while Auren trains his En, remaining seated beside them and listening with half his attention.

Time passes quickly, and Auren feels almost at peace, actually feeling right at home. He looks out towards the giant open balcony at the end of the floor, the city visible.

Will they even find this place? I mean, Hatsus are not always logical... they follow their own rules. They found the twins last time... so surely they’ll be able to find us here as well?

Around eighty minutes after placing their order, Auren, still using En, suddenly notices a foreign Aura appearing near the large opening leading toward the city outside Rakshala’s office.

Auren and Rakshala both turn towards the presence at the same time, focusing on the intruder.

Just as Jean described, it’s a middle-aged man wearing a neat, expensive gray suit along with a classical-looking fedora.

Carrying a suitcase, he walks over to the table with astounding confidence.

Auren immediately stands up and conjures Eternity, resting his hand on the sheath.

It’s an entity made of Aura... maybe. No, not maybe, I can cut it. Well, just in case, I should be ready.

“Hello, dear customers,” the businessman says, his voice oddly cheerful as he removes his fedora, revealing a neat hairstyle, his brown hair combed back, and bows slightly before placing it back on his head.

“I’m here with your order,” he continues.

“What is your name?” Auren asks, still watching him carefully.

“Oh, my name? I’m just a nameless businessman. You may call me Greg, if you like,” the salesman replies.

“Why Greg...?” Auren mutters, caught off guard.

“It’s a nice name, isn’t it? I recently bought something from a kind man named Greg, and since he has my full admiration, I can only honor him by suggesting you call me that,” the salesman says with a faint smile.

Is he bullshitting me?

Auren slowly turns his head and glares at Jean and Joanne, who immediately flinch.

“Why are you glaring at us?!” Jean asks, confused.

Because it’s your damn ability...

“Now then,” Rakshala says calmly. “Welcome to my little community. Please, have a seat and present your wares. I must say, I’m quite surprised you managed to find this place on your own, sir.”

“Oho, not only is the lady dressed elegantly, but she also has excellent manners. I might lower your price by another two or three percent for that gesture,” he says as he takes a seat.

That works?

Rakshala then grabs another empty cup and pours him a serving of the same tea the others are drinking.

“Sugar? Milk?” she asks, smiling warmly.

“Just a little sugar to keep my brain from slowing down... thank you, dear,” the businessman replies.

You do not have a brain... Nen entity! It’s a puppet, based on Jean’s and Joanne’s memories... still, it actually looks convincing. I have to say... I’m slightly impressed the Twins managed to create a Hatsu on this caliber.

After smelling the tea and taking a small gulp, he smiles. “Simply wonderful... but alas, all good things must come to an end. I fear I must turn the conversation back to business.”

He then opens his briefcase and slowly places all the items Jean ordered onto the table. As he does so, he briefly mentions a few key details about each piece.

Afterward, he takes out an empty invoice, carefully fills in several numbers, one for each item, and then looks straight at Jean before handing it to her.

Auren stands up, walks behind her, and glances at the invoice.

“13 items... necklace... earrings... whatever... altogether... 4,277,000 Jenny,” Auren reads aloud.

“Quite the discount indeed,” Rakshala says with a faint smile. “It’s not even half of their value, it seems.”

Nodding satisfied, Auren takes out his card. He feels a hint of Aura on it as he holds it, the salesman looking satisfied.

“Indeed, you’ve just made a bargain. I thank you for your business,” the salesman replies. “Only the best deals for my valued customers. Please honor me again by ordering my services. It pains me to say, but I must bid my farewell.”

“Wait,” Auren says. “Bring us better items next time, alright? Weapons, armor... things infused with Aura. Or maybe items with special effects, like the gem on my neck.”

“I am afraid I cannot do that,” the salesman replies. “I only sell items that fate allows me to acquire, such is my creed.”

Suddenly, without any warning, he vanishes. Even Auren is unable to sense what just happened.

“Gone...” Auren mutters. At the same time, the Unlimited Surprise Discount Second Hand Shopping Catalogue turns red again.

“So we earned, what, around 4 to 5 million?” Auren asks. “I think I may have overestimated the consequences and reach of this ability.”

“I disagree,” Rakshala says calmly. “Girls, from now on, you will come to me whenever you make a purchase. I will not only help you sell your items, but I will also bankroll you. Aside from a meeting with a certain man, described to me as a rat, I am not particularly busy. The Elders are doing excellent work in the East.”

Pariston... so she’ll meet him soon....

“Thank you, Lady Rakshala,” Jean says, her eyes practically shining with greed.

“If it’s something I’m interested in, I want it,” Auren says, looking at Jean, who now appears slightly conflicted.

“Of course, this isn’t a competition after all,” Rakshala adds. “You may take whatever you want. In the end, you will inherit everything I own one day anyway, won’t you, my son?”

She’ll drop it eventually... but I learned something today. Never talk carelessly in this place. Is she really that bored?

As Jean, Joanne, and Auren leave, Rakshala escorts them to the end of her floor. Before Auren leaves, she gently grabs his shoulder and kisses him on the cheek.

“No need to thank me,” she says, smiling before she turns around and leaves, leaving Auren stunned.

In the following days, Auren continues his training. A few days later, he joins another tea party and business session with the twins and Rakshala, during which they acquire a collection of various garden gnomes, paying 560,000 Jenny for items worth roughly 2 million Jenny.

A decent profit, but nothing that would impress or excite a Nen user. Still, at this pace, a yearly profit of several hundred million Jenny seems entirely realistic, making it a surprisingly profitable ability.

In the end, under Joanne’s insistence, much to Jean’s displeasure, the twins decide to hand over all profits to Hollow Blade, choosing instead to receive a small monthly stipend along with a percentage of the earnings. In return, Hollow Blade’s staff handles all logistics, whether that involves selling the items or putting them to use, depending on what is most suitable. The twins, however, are now fully involved with Hollow Blade, now fulfilling an official position, and are also being taught other jobs by Rakshala and her assistants.

Much to Auren’s annoyance, a certain rumor begins to spread throughout the city. Not only is he occasionally harassed by excited children asking ‘the angel’ to “make it rain,” but even some adults start whispering about him being the son of the Scarlet Goddess, apparently a new nickname that has taken hold among the people.

He also can’t help but notice people reading a small booklet, apparently authored by Rakshala herself. It contains a collection of stories, rules, suggestions, guidance, and even some poetry. After briefly skimming through it once and finding it rather unimpressive, Auren immediately tosses it into his library, with no intention of ever reading it again. Much to his annoyance, the people in the mountain city keep reading it and discussing its contents among themselves.

Time passes quickly, and eventually, on December 12th, he, along with Neffi, leaves the city, getting a ride from Jolt toward this year’s location of the Hunter Exam, which had been sent to him by Netero.

Zepile and the twins, the three people closest to Auren with a good shot of passing the exam, decide not to participate this year, choosing instead to focus on their respective work. They also show little interest in obtaining a Hunter License, despite likely being more than capable of doing so.

To his surprise, the exam is being held on the Yorbian Continent. Auren has been formally invited to participate as an examiner at the request of Chairman Netero himself.

Because of this, all examiners are required to meet on December 15th at the Yorknew branch of the Hunter Association to discuss and finalize the structure of this year’s Hunter Exam.