Dealings with a Black Market Trader #3
Theo started to explain about the ‘deal’ he had envisioned.
Right now, he was offering a chance to turn meaningless products into a viable commodity. In return, he would take a certain amount of low-grade artifacts and merchandise. In other words, it meant paying for appraisal of genuine products with defective goods.
The black market trader thought about it before giving Theo a look of caution. He didn’t understand. No, it was incorrect to say that he didn’t understand.
“So… you will appraise the goods in my store, and the cost will be for you to take the defective or low-grade artifacts?”
For the black market trader, it was a suspicious proposal.
The cost of hiring appraisers was expensive. The price of appraising a genuine produce was around three to five gold, and the profits obtained from selling it was only around one gold. By the way, the fee for a non-genuine item was 50 silver. If he called the appraiser in vain, 50 silver would go flying into the sky.
Of course, the story was different if it was genuine, but… how likely was a genuine item at a black market trader to be worth the expense? If there were 10 items appraised, would there be any good ones?
Let’s say that eight of the products were deficits. The hole made by the eight defective artifacts would be larger than the profit from the two genuine artifacts. Thus, he had been selling off genuine products like cheap lottery tickets. However, he would be able to reduce the cost significantly with Theo’s suggestion.
“Yes, I will take some of them.”
The black market trader’s poker face finally cracked as he smiled at Theo. Theo was well aware of how expensive appraisers were. He 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 am the only one in this world who would offer such a deal.’
This was actually the case.
In the black market trader’s head, an abacus was calculating frantically at the thought of such a jackpot. What seemed like a boring day had turned into a drastic change in the store’s books. Anybody would be confused. Before long, the abacus in the trader’s head gave a result.
‘No matter how I look at this, it is an enormous profit!’
Even if nine out of ten items were defective, it was enough to pay for the appraisal. The largest damage would be 50 silver, while the profit would be several times that. Besides, what if he got not one but two genuine products? Or three? The money the black market trader could earn would vary.
He wanted to agree to the proposal right there. However, the black market trader cleared his throat and shook his head.
“Hoo, I am at a loss. I don’t know what to do.”
Theo frowned at his words.
“How come? These are exceptional conditions.”
“Of course. It is because I am well aware of that. This is an offer that can’t be refused… So, I am worried.”
A smile flashed over the black market trader’s face.
“It is strange no matter how I think about it. What benefits will Young Master receive from these conditions?”
“You don’t need to know that.”
“I see.”
The black market trader stared at Theo with snake like eyes. It was like the eyes could see into his head. Quite a few people would jump at those eyes, but Theo didn’t look away. The black market trader smiled as he assessed the response and explained the reason.
