Book Eater

Chapter 11 - Dealings with a Black Market Trader (3)

Theo started to explain the deal he had envisioned. He was offering a chance to turn potentially useless products into viable stock in return for low-grade artifacts. The black market trader fell silent for a moment as he considered it.

"So... you'll appraise the items, and be paid in defective or low-grade artifacts?"

It was a rather suspicious proposal. Professional appraisers were expensive, often charging between three and five gold for appraising a genuine product, or fifty silver for a defective product. Meanwhile, the black market trader would only make a profit of one gold on genuine products, and nothing at all from defective products.

It might be a gamble worth taking if he had genuine products, but how likely was it that he would have any genuine products? If he appraised ten items and found eight duds, the cost of appraising eight defective items would be higher than the profit from two genuine products. This probability of making such losses was the reason why he sold his items, both genuine and defective, like cheap lottery tickets. However, Theo's proposal would balance his costs and profits nicely.

Theo nodded. "Yes, I will take some of them."

The black market trader's poker face finally cracked into a smile. Theo was well aware that appraisers were too expensive for the black market trader and guessed that the black market trader wouldn't be able to cover the costs.

This is an offer that a black market trader absolutely can't refuse. I'm the only one in this world who would offer such a great deal.

Theo was correct. The black market trader was frantically calculating the benefits of hiring Theo. It was as if a jackpot had walked into his store out of the blue. When the black market trader scrutinized Theo's proposal from every angle he could conceive of, he could only come to one conclusion.

No matter how I look at this, I would gain an enormous profit!

Even if nine out of ten items were defective, it was enough for the trader to pay for the appraisal. The most he would be risking was fifty silver, while the profit would be several times that. And if he got lucky and got two genuine products? Or three? His earnings would skyrocket. Although the black market trader wanted to agree to the proposal on the spot, he cleared his throat and shook his head instead.

"Hoo, I am at a loss. I don't know what to do."

Theo frowned. "What do you mean? These are exceptional conditions."

"You are right. You have indeed made me an offer that can't be refused." A smile flashed across the black market trader's face. "But it's too strange. What benefits will you gain, Young Master?"

"You don't need to worry about that."

"I see."

The black market trader stared at Theo like he could read his mind. But Theo didn't look away from that uncomfortably sharp gaze.

The black market trader smiled as he assessed Theo's response. "I've learned to stay away from one-sided deals a long time ago. After all, I never know what I might pay in the end. In fact, the person who taught me to live by this rule was killed for not following his own words."

The black market trader was rather wary, since he couldn't understand Theo's intentions. In this world of humans, he wouldn't believe in anyone but himself, so he couldn't bring himself to accept this deal.

It's a shame to reject the deal, but it's also too good for me to accept.

Should he give up a good deal because it looked too good or prioritize profit? The black market trader was accustomed to a rough life, so he thought about it calmly.