Chapter 41: Name Your Own Price

"Alright! Name your price."

The female mage, Whisper, was surprisingly straightforward. The word "borrow" used earlier by the Scavenging Kirin was a clear hint that he wasn’t a wealthy person—and besides, it was unheard of for a level 10 commoner to give away something equivalent to a gold-tier item.

Moreover, the magical properties of the Kodo Beast’s magic stone confirmed the rumors were true. She had no intention of accepting it for free, so she asked him directly to state his terms.

She also believed that a shameless person would never willingly lend a precious item for someone else to examine, nor would he ask for an outrageous price.

The moment Whisper spoke, both White Festival and Red Tea grew excited.

They’d heard of the Whisper Mercenary Company’s strength and reputation. The fact that Whisper cared so much about this magic stone and openly showed her fondness for it… Scavenging Kirin had struck gold this time!

If he hinted at needing top-tier first- and second-tier equipment for leveling up, wouldn’t that be easy enough to ask for?

But then…

Just as they watched Scavenging Kirin anxiously, wondering what price or terms he’d propose, a classic line popped out of my mouth:

"Tsk! How about this, since we’re all so familiar with each other, I’ll give you a bottom line—ten gold coins…"

Before the words had even finished, the giant and the elf, both already steeling themselves for an outrageous price, rolled their eyes in unison, their wounded hearts suffering another blow—ten gold coins… Had the three of them struggled for nearly ten days for something worth only ten gold coins? This bastard!

…

Whisper’s expression now grew strangely charming, afraid she’d misheard, she asked again, "Only ten gold coins?" This time, she didn’t even bother to challenge the "since we’re all familiar" line.

"Ten gold coins? Are you kidding? That was just the appraisal fee... Even if we’re pretty close, you think I’d sell a magic stone for ten coins? Do you take me for a fool?"

I purposely made a face as if accusing her of trying to cheat me, nearly making the giant and the elf explode with rage right then and there.

Whisper gave me a look somewhere between laughter and tears, and said bitterly,

"It’s your own fault, you always stop halfway through your sentences…" She paused, then continued, "Alright, besides ten gold coins, what else do you want?"

"Hmm…" I pondered a moment, then said,

"You name it…"

"Huh?"

All five of us were stunned.

This time, no one spoke. They just waited quietly for my "second half"…

Until I repeated myself, very clearly, that aside from the ten gold coins appraisal fee, Whisper could set the price herself according to the value of the Kodo Beast’s magic stone. White Festival and Red Tea were dumbfounded.

Brilliant! First, he pretended to be stingy and shameless to grab their attention, then, when the other party acted generous, he responded with even greater generosity…

"Little Kirin’s a smart one! Looks like he doesn’t need us to find him a girl in the company—just with that kind of skill… How many girls could resist?" Red Tea whispered to her husband with a chuckle.

White Festival just smiled wryly, "You’re right, but it’s a bit of a shame…" The leader’s intentions were clear: if Scavenging Kirin named a reasonable price, she’d give it to him. Now, though, he’d handed over all the power—what if she only added a single gold coin?

Just as he thought this, Whisper asked the question that had been swirling in everyone’s minds:

"Aren’t you worried I might only offer you one more gold coin?"

This time, I shrugged casually, "Whatever. Honestly, you all deserve half the credit for this magic stone; if you hadn’t stepped in when you did, I’d have been bitten to death, and it wouldn’t have ended up in my hands."

I paused, and, seeing Whisper, the giant, and the elf staring in surprise and realization, continued,

"And besides, you helped us out, saving White Festival and his wife. So even if you only give me ten gold coins for appraisal, I don’t mind…"

At that, I smiled at White Festival and Red Tea—this was the real reason I was willing to hand the magic stone over to Whisper so easily.

White Festival and Red Tea were struck by the moment, and after a long silence, White Festival sighed, "You foolish boy…" With that, they could now justifiably and confidently hand over the magic stone.

Still, the two were deeply moved.

The giant and the elf were touched as well, their previous hostility fading, and they looked at Scavenging Kirin with newfound admiration and respect.

Only Whisper cursed inwardly:

Where’s the foolishness in this boy?

He was clearly counting on the fact that a dignified mercenary leader would never stoop to offering a paltry price for such a magic stone, so he’d grandly handed the initiative to her… Hmph, what a clever retreat to advance.

"Scoundrel! Swindler!"

This was Whisper’s first lasting impression after meeting him!

As expected, Whisper not only paid fifty gold coins as a deposit like a true leader, but also gave White Festival and Red Tea a set of rarely traded second-tier warrior gear and a set of second-tier water mage gear. Furthermore, after I changed classes, I could contact the deputy leader of Whisper Mercenary Company, Violet Thunder—the skilled elf always by her side.

From him, I could receive a set of top-tier first-tier gear, and later exchange it for a set of top-tier second-tier equipment suitable for me.

Three sets of top-tier gear—if sold, would fetch at least a thousand gold coins! Converted to credit points, they could even be worth twenty thousand. The total value far exceeded my expectations!

Whisper’s generosity even made White Festival and Red Tea later suspect I’d only said that to win her sympathy…

I felt wronged, sighing that Whisper was just too clever—getting her revenge in the end!

Then I thought: Never mind, women are always like this. I’d better hurry up and change classes, get myself a set of top-tier first-tier equipment, and start grinding levels—that’s what really matters…