Chapter 58: Novice Profiteer
“Ow, ow, ow…” Stina clutched her head, the blow from the large tail seemingly making her even dumber.
Karina quickly pulled her back, a strained smile on her face. “My apologies, Miss Little Fox. My sister is… an idiot.”
“…I can see that,” Bai said, resisting the urge to say the same about Karina.
But these two, despite being Diana’s sisters, were surprisingly… not annoying.
Perhaps because they were both idiots.
“Miss Little Fox, are you looking for an offering? We have a variety of payment plans!” Karina said, handing Bai a menu-like document.
“And you can become a member! First hunt, fifty percent off, then twenty percent off after that…”
“And, and, if you refer a friend, after ten referrals, you get a free hunt! And it’s stackable!”
Bai’s expression flickered, a corner of her mouth twitching. “Where… did you learn all this?”
It sounded familiar, a certain… profiteering aura.
“From a great human merchant… hey! Sister, why did you hit me!” Stina blurted out, then yelped as Karina smacked her on the head.
“Because you’re an idiot!” Karina hissed, a look of utter frustration on her face.
How could she say they had learned it from humans? Most beastkin despised humans.
And even those who respected them knew the reputation of human merchants…
“Profiteer” was too kind a word. “Capitalist” was more accurate.
Bai, though she knew this, found it amusing. She had been wondering how these two fools had come up with such a scheme. It seemed they had stolen it from a human merchant.
Beastkin who were on good terms with humans… a rare sight.
“I don’t want to become a member, and I don’t want to promote you. Just charge me the regular price,” Bai said, pulling out a bag of gold coins from her tail and placing it on the table. “Here’s a thousand gold coins. That should be enough.”
Before coming to the Wild God Altar, she had… acquired some of Isabelle’s assets, about ten thousand gold coins.
Although it wasn’t much to a high-ranking beastkin, it was more than enough for Bai to spend freely.
“A thousand!”
Karina, who had been struggling financially, or rather, was completely broke, had never seen so much gold. She almost fell to her knees.
Stina was so shocked she dropped the flatbread she had been gnawing on, her mouth agape.
“Is it enough?” Bai asked. She was still… not very good with money.
“Enough, enough, enough…” Karina quickly scooped up the gold, her gaze on Bai now filled with a new reverence. She was a rich young lady.
And a closer look revealed that Miss Little Fox was different from an ordinary fox-kin. Her three tails, her ears… they were so noble, elegant, beautiful. And her delicate face… an indescribable beauty…
She was a hidden, wealthy little girl!
(Even without the filter of money.)
“Adopt me!” Stina cried out, hugging Bai’s leg.
“…Can we please get back to business?” Bai sighed, exasperated.
Were all of Queen Arachne’s children this… difficult? Or were these two just special cases?
“Right, right, business,” Karina said, her spirits lifted. This was their first big client, a chance to make a name for their Nana Studio.
And she was a rich, beautiful, fox-kin little girl.
“So, what is your… strength?”
“Hmm… it’s not for me. It’s for a friend,” Bai said, hesitating.
If she said she needed two Calamity Class offerings, it would be… strange.
And besides, she wasn’t sure if Karina and Stina were even capable of completing such a task.
Well, it was worth a try. If they couldn’t do it, she would find another way.
“A friend? And what is your friend’s strength?”
“Two Calamity Class,” Bai replied.
“Alright, two Calamity Class,” Karina said, jotting it down, then turned to her sister. “Let’s go, Stina. Let’s get Miss Little Fox two Calamity Class offerings.”
“Right!” Stina said, grabbing her weapon and heading for the door.
“Two Calamity Class offerings… is that even possible?” Bai asked, surprised. Could offerings be… stacked?
“Of course… wait, two Calamity Class?” Karina’s eyes widened. She looked at her notes, then at Bai, her voice trembling. “M-Miss Little Fox, are you… are you sure? Are you joking? H-how can it be two Calamity Class?”
“So you can’t do it?” Bai sighed, reaching for the gold coins.
To her, it was simple. If the deal was off, she would take her money back. Only a fool would just give it away.
And Bai was not a fool.
“Wait! Miss Little Fox, wait!” Karina cried out, clutching the gold. She couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.
“I’m sorry, but if you can’t do it, I’ll have to find another way,” Bai said.
“We can do it!” Karina said, her voice firm. “But… it’ll cost more!”
It seemed she would have to use… that thing. Although she didn’t want to, she had no other choice.
“How much more?” Bai asked.
“A thousand… no, two thousand, two thousand five hundred!” Karina said, holding up three and a half fingers, her voice tight. “Three thousand five hundred in total, Miss Little Fox. I have to use a… special method. It’s very expensive—”
“Here’s two thousand five hundred,” Bai said, pulling out three more bags of gold, pouring out half of one and pushing them towards Karina.
“Sister, Calamity Class…” Stina said, worried. She knew a Calamity Class offering wasn’t easy to obtain.
Was it a good idea to accept a deal they couldn’t fulfill…?
“It’s just Calamity Class… we’ll do it!” Karina said, pulling out a small, egg-like fragment. “Besides, this thing is useless anyway…”
