Visit to the Rose guild Part 2

Excuse me," the female attendant said as she gently began to inspect Kyle's physique. The inquiry was concluded in seconds, and the girl deemed Kyle completely disarmed with a nod to the other attendant.

"Thank you for your cooperation, sir. I will now lead you inside—please follow me."Under the guidance of the store attendant, Kyle proceeded into another room, surveying the shop as he walked three steps diagonally behind her. The first floor revealed a spacious area with several partitioned conference rooms where store attendants conducted business with potential customers. Kyle was led to one such room. The rooms were divided by partitions, ensuring private discussions as long as they kept their voices low.

"Please, have a seat here." The girl offered Kyle a place on a plush couch in the room, which he took with a word of thanks. She then sat down on the opposite seat, facing him.Once again, welcome to the Rose Guild. My name is Amira, and I shall be assisting you today. Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir." Amira bowed her head politely.Based on her age, Kyle had assumed she was only an attendant in training and expected someone else to come and meet him instead, so he was caught slightly off guard. He wasn't foolish enough to let his discomposure show on his face, though. Seeing Amira's mature manners, which rivaled that of a noble daughter, made Kyle sure that she was more than adequate to see to him.

Could she be...? Nah.

A ridiculous thought flashed through the back of Kyle's mind for an instant, but he immediately dismissed it as highly unlikely. Judging by Amira's lack of awkwardness, which was typical for a newbie, her capabilities were probably legitimate. Kyle braced himself and greeted her respectfully."Thank you for your hospitality. My name is Kyle. I am traveling alone due to certain circumstances, so please forgive me for leaving my hood up like this."

Kyle's greeting was carefully calculated; Amira wasn't disrespectful enough to ask a customer to remove his hood, but if he worded it this way, she would come to her own conclusion about his circumstances. That being said, she could see a glimpse of Kyle's face under the hood from where she sat directly opposite him. The refined features of his appearance that peeked out made her eyes widen a little in surprise.

"That should be just fine, sir, as it causes no inconvenience on our behalf. Now, would it be alright if we moved on tobusiness?"

Faint flames of curiosity ignited in Amira's eyes, but her customer service smile did not wane. She had no intention of intruding on her customer's privacy, so she got straight to the point.

"Yes, I have come today to inquire about purchasing pasta. If it can be preserved to last longer in storage, I would like to purchase some in bulk. I'd like some other ingredients and spices, too."

"I see. We do have a dried type of pasta available for purchase. As long as it's not left in a hot and humid environment, we can guarantee that it will last at least a year in storage."

"May I ask what the price is?"

"Certainly. We charge one large copper and five small coppers for every 500 grams."

Thank you. And how much do you charge for barley?" Kyle asked, placing a hand against his mouth as if in contemplation. "One large copper for one kilogram, sir."

"Then... could I request fifteen kilograms of pasta and ten kilograms of barley?"

Amira's eyes widened slightly at the quantities Kyle mentioned.

That's quite a substantial amount for an average customer... Is this alright While fifteen kilograms of pasta and ten kilograms of barley was normal for a

merchant intending to resell the product, it was a rather large amount for an

adventurer to buy for personal use. On top of that, pasta was still a new

product — most of the general public had no idea how much was needed in one

serving. Only merchants and nobility really had any sort of understanding of its

weight.

Since there had been many cases where misunderstandings had brought

conflict to discussions pertaining to business, Amira double checked that the

numbers were correct. 500 grams of pasta will feed five or six people. Fifteen kilograms will be quite

a large amount for one person to consume... Are you sure that this all right with

you, sir?"

"Yes. Fifteen kilograms would feed roughly 150 to 180 mouths and cost four

small silvers and five large coppers, correct? Those are indeed the numbers I

intended." Rio gave a faint smile, immediately calculating the numbers in his

head.

"My apologies, sir. We will prepare fifteen kilograms of pasta and ten

kilograms of barley for you immediately." Amira bowed her head deeply,

impressed at Kyle's instant arithmetic skills.

Just then, a store attendant in her late teens brought in a tray of tea.

"Excuse me," she said in a quiet voice, and began to pour the tea. The mellow

fragrance of the high quality tea leaves wafted through the air, tickling at Kyle

and Amira's senses.

Kyle nodded to the attendant in gratitude. "Thank you very much."

"Please help yourself, sir." Amira offered him the tea. "Thank you. Then, if you don't mind..." Figuring it would be rude not to touch

the offered tea at all, Kyle accepted the cup.

The table was a fair distance from the couch, so he picked up the saucer

together with the cup and admired their color and design first. Then, after

appreciating the color and fragrance, he took a sip of the tea. Amira found

herself unable to tear her eyes away from Kyle's graceful movements.

"Do you enjoy tea often, Mr. Kyle?"

"Yes. I have a acquaintance who is very fond of drinking tea, and I

picked up a lot of relevant knowledge drinking with her." Kyle nodded with a

fond smile. He recalled the times when he would drink tea and chat with Williamalmost every day. Thanks to those experiences, he had perfected tea-drinking

etiquette to a point where he could easily attend a tea party hosted by a noble

daughter without any kind of awkwardness.

"Oh, that's wonderful to hear, sir. People often say that tea is not a drink for

everyone to enjoy, so not many people are interested in it. Might you know

what kind of leaf is in this tea?" Amira asked, expression brightening like a

blooming flower.

"Judging by this unique scent and faintly bitter taste, I'd say it is a leaf

produced in Lis?"

"That is correct."

"Then you're using good quality tea indeed. And I see the tea set is also of

wonderful quality. Forgive me for saying this, but from what I can see of the

couch, as well as the table... Isn't the furniture a little too high-quality to be

used for greeting small trade customers?" Kyle asked, trying to draw out more

on the topic from Amira.

The space they were sitting in was set up with partitions to imitate a private

room. The couch and sofa placed there were both of such high quality, they

could easily be used in a conference room for high profile guests.