The greedy necklace

"Here, take a look…!"

The shopkeeper said with such excitement that anyone in their right mind would be suspicious - and Melinda wasn't one to miss something like that.

…still…

"This is a one-of-a-kind artifact created by an eccentric craftsman who shows his face in Chainlink once every ten years! His newest masterpiece, the greedy necklace!"

"!"

The shopkeeper declared while opening a small wooden box and presenting a rather simple-looking chain made out of some silvery metal woven in a diamond-link pattern.

The name alone sounded promising. The gamer inside Melinda was very sensitive to any equipment with the name having a connection to the concept of one of the Seven Deadly Sins, as many developers made them rare and especially powerful items.

Although - of course - usually, those items had some sort of curse attached to them.

Still… even while playing through the game multiple times, Melinda never encountered an item like that…

There really was loot and equipment that she hadn't seen through the screen out there in the world.

And the novelty of that tickled her fancy.

A lot.

"You might not believe it, but the enchantment on the item allows its wearer to gain a percentage of the health of each powerful monster they have slain with their mighty strike!"

"!!!"

The man declared, and Melinda's jaw dropped.

"No! No way! You're lying!"

The gold-haired girl gasped, shaking her head with her eyes widened in utter disbelief.

"Not at all! Madam! Every word I say is true! I swear on goddess Perseverance!"

The shopkeeper straightened his back and laughed boastfully, tapping his chest twice with his right hand.

...back when the world was only a game, no healing or damage type dealt with percentage, but things like buffs, debuffs, and resistances certainly did...

Since gaining HP from the killed monsters wasn't technically healing... there was a possibility that it was a real deal...!

"I'M BUYING IT!"

"This might be hard to be… AH! Perfect! Well, the price is…!"

The girl gasped so fast that it took the shopkeeper a second to register what she said, but when he did, his face lit up even more as he announced the price.

"..."

Hearing the amount caused Melinda to go silent.

A quick word about Melinda's finances...

To fully have Adrianna on board with the plan to hushly apply for the exchange program, Melinda had to compile and present her projected expenses for the three years of attendance, including meals, upgrading the equipment, and potential accommodation.

Adrianna's pay in case the Fernioette family would cut of their financial support to put pressure her was also included, but that amount was already in the maid's bank account back in the Diamondium kingdom per her own request.

The remaining funds Melinda had to have with her - in Emeraldios Empire currency - to further prove she is prepared for the possible pessimistic outcomes.

And Melinda did all of that.

Actually, getting enough money was easier than compiling all the information—she simply told the Duke she wanted the money for the entire collection of dresses from the famous designer, and she received more than enough! And the Duke never even asked where the dresses were because he was sure that Melinda simply forgot about the whole thing because of training with Beo!

Returning to the situation inside the shop…

The price the shopkeeper requested for the insanely good-sounding item comprised almost the entirety of the sum Melinda had prepared for all three years…

Funnily enough, Melinda did have all of it on hand, too, just in case something like that happened—not exactly being able to get an item that could grant her the portion of the killed monster's health, of course, but still, it was the result that mattered.

"Deal. No refunds."

Completely certain that she stumbled upon the one broken, limited-time rare item the port city had to offer, Melinda agreed and began taking out the coins, ending with a rather sizable mound right on the shop's counter.

"Madam…! Dealing with you is pure pleasure!"

The shopkeeper sobbed, shading tears of happiness while shoveling gold without properly counting them.

"No refunds!"

"No refunds, madam~!"

Melinda snatched and equipped the necklace before putting on her hood and rushing to the door. She stared fiercely at the shopkeeper and made him cheer out in response.

"...haaahahaaaa…!"

As the girl ran out into the storm, the shopkeeper sat back down behind the counter and leaned into his chair, letting out a blissful laugh.

"Meri…! Meri!"

"Yes, boss?"

The man looked back and called, having a dark-haired youngster pop his head from the door in the back of the store.

"Go find my son and tell him he is allowed to come back."

The shopkeeper hummed gleefully and motioned towards the front door with his chin.

"AH! Boss! Does that mean that you sold that trash artifact?! How?!"

Meri gasped, stepping into the shop, having his eyes instantly glued to the pile of gold the shopkeeper began to count.

"With enough skill and a naive youngster not paying attention, everything is possible!"

The shopkeeper laughed triumphantly.

"I didn't even have to lie! What a foolish girl!"

He added, piping his fist into the air.

"You didn't lie and she still bought it?!"

The youngster's eyes bulged even more as he managed to look away from the gold.

"That's right! I told her that the enchantment on the item allows its wearer to gain a percent of the health of each powerful monster they have slain with their mighty strike!"

The shopkeeper returned to counting the coins with an elated expression.

"It's her fault that she didn't realize that I meant that useless thing grants a single percent of the health of a monster that has to be of a higher level than the wearer and killed in one strike with pure physical strength! HAHAHA! Nothing happens if the monster is of equal or lower level. Nothing happens if the monster is killed by magic skill, and nothing happens if the wearer's strength is enhanced by the spell of their ally or even their own buffing spell! No one can use it efficiently! It's literally made by a crazy idealist desperate to teach a lesson to the adventurers blinded by their greed for stat increase! PUAHAHAHAHA! Oh, dear Perservance! I need to buy John at least a drink for sending that lass here! She even was the one to request no refunds!"

The shopkeeper couldn't hold himself back anymore and burst into laughter, stomping his feet and rocking back and forth from joy.

"Go, Meri, go! Tell my son that all is forgiven and that him getting scammed into buying that trash necklace ended up earning us a fortune! Bring him back!"

"Yes, boss!"

The man took a deep breath and motioned to the main door once again, and the youngster rushed out with a cheer.