Business (1)

"How much is it?"

"Hmm, I don't know", He said with a smug look on his face.

Before I could say anything back to him, Alicia called for me so I stood up, gave him back the hat, and went to where she was.

Apart from the normal suits, hats, and more, there were a lot of casual clothes like sweaters and more that looked quite comfortable.

Alicia picked a lot of clothes and we spent I don't know how long trying them on, sadly though, I had to try on the clothes from the kid's section as I was too small.

In the end, we ended with 10 sweaters, 5 pairs of pants, and 10 shirts. And as I was about to head to the counter, Alicia put her hand on my shoulder and called for George.

"We still haven't tried on the suits, you know", She said while looking at me.

Sigh

George soon arrived a second later.

"Well then, if you would follow me to the back, I will gladly take your measurements", He said.

"Ok", With no other choice, I followed behind him.

We went into the back of the store and George started to take my measurements, but since we were alone I tried to make some business with him.

"George, how much do you think it will be if I want to invest in your store?"

"Hmm, that's an interesting question, I didn't know that Alicia's underclassmen would be a young master"

"I'm not, I just know that this store has value and the clothes you make will become a big thing in the future"

"Is that so? Then how big do you think I will become?"

"Well, I believe, your clothing brand will become so big it could even reach into the other realms"

At my words, George widened his eyes and gave me a look that said he was interested. He finished taking my measurements and sat on a chair, I followed after him and sat in front of him.

"You are quite the interesting child, you know that?"

"That would be so", I said with a confident look on my face.

"Then how about this, If you tell me about what this hat's traits are, I will give it to you and also tell you a price for 15% of my profits", He said.

It would seem that he was quite interested in this hat, and probably after many years of search, he still couldn't find anyone to appraise it.

So when I appeared, he must have decided to do anything to be able to know about this mysterious hat. So without any further ado, I began to explain.

"The hat is quite special you see, it has a function that allows it to never be taken off without the will of its owner, it also has the same traits as all of your clothes and finally it has a trait that calms and relaxes the mind, and allows it's user to be able to think clearly in any situation"

I did leave the fact of the analysis skill out of my explanation but I didn't want him to think of the hat as too special and not give it to me at the end.

He looked surprised and he then put his hand on his beard and started to think of something for about a minute or so.

"So you do have a high-level appraisal skill, huh?"

"Yes"

"You know, you could easily make a lot of money with that skill alone, right?"

Now that he mentions it, appraisals do charge a lot as they are one of the most demanded things in the human realm as artifacts are a crucial part of human society with heroes protecting and governing us.

As of right now, I have 5 million RP in my bank, but I also do own 150000 stocks from the Bright Guild and 20000 from the Black Horse Guild, which I should be able to cash out soon enough.

But I don't really have any other source of income apart from those stocks, yeah I would be cashing out big with their growth to the top 20 ranks but that would not be enough for the future, most likely.

And I could just move the library of the bookstore to the third floor and use the first floor as my place of appraisal to get some money.

But since I would need to attend school and will probably be busy a lot of the time, I could make it into a sort of premium service, that people will have to get in line for and I can take a customer whenever I want.

Snapping me out of my thought was George asking me a question.

"So you thought about it, didn't you?"

"Yes"

"So, are you going to make a store or something?"

"most likely"

"Hmm, well let's leave that out, for now, I said 15%, right? for helping me appraise the item"

"Yes that is correct, and you also said you would give it to me"

He clicked his tongue, probably because he thought I didn't actually have a high enough appraisal skill when he said those words before.

"Ok so how about 150 million for 15%?"

My eyes widened after hearing what he had just said and before I could answer he then stated.

"You look surprised don't you, well it is indeed a high price but didn't you also say I would become so big that the other realms would want items, or is it that you were just lying?", He said while making a smug face.

"No, I wasn't lying, I do believe that this store will become one of the greatest in the world", Or I know because of the novel but that didn't matter.

"Hahaha, then how about tomorrow you meet up with me and we make a contract in the Round Table branch that is in the market", He said.

"Unfortunately, I don't have the money to pay you...yet"

"Oh, so you are saying you will have the money soon though?"

"Yes, probably in about a month's time"

"That's great, but don't worry we can just write that you would pay me in 2 months or so and that if you don't pay, the contract is not valid, it is that simple you know"

"Yes, it is, but I would also like to change the 15%"

"Do you want more?"

"Yes, 45% and I will pay you 500 million, how does that sound?"

Soon, George's eyes widened and he had a look that would seem like he didn't understand what I had just said. A few minutes passed until I had to break the silence because Alicia was probably waiting outside.

"Then, do you agree?"

"Uuuuuuuh, y-yeah, o-f course, but are you being for real?", He said while stuttering and having a look of unbelief on his face.

"Yes, now get up and bring me some suits to the front, ah, and also my hat, would you?", I said in a tone that would make people believe I was his boss.

"Yes, of course, sir, give me a second?", He said in a hurried manner, almost falling after getting up from his chair.

He seemed to treat me more like a noble of some sort, but If I was offered this much money I would probably also treat my guest like a king. Anyways, while 500 million will be quite a lot, considering the fact that this store would become a leading figure in the future, it would probably make 100 times what I had just invested.

Soon I returned to the store and Alicia glared at me, with a pout on her face.

"Why were you taking so long, it's been almost 10 minutes since you went into the back, what did you do?", She said in an intimidating voice.

"Nothing much, it is just that we were trying the suits on the back instead because he had some new styles that he would be releasing soon enough"

"Oh, ok", She said, while looking unconvinced by my excuse.

George then came out from the back with 10 different suits and left them on the counter, together with my new hat.

"How much is it?", Alicia asked.

"Oh, don't worry about it, just a little gift for your little friend helping me by being a model"

Alicia then looked at me for a second before thanking George.

I then put everything inside my dimensional pocket except for the hat, that I decided to wear.

Suddenly after wearing it, I felt calm and more relaxed than usual, it was also extremely comfortable.

...

'Why are they taking so long in the back?', I thought to myself while waiting for Keith to come back.

It was then that I heard a sound coming from the back.

*Creak

I noticed a small child coming out with a serious expression.

That only made me angrier as now I really wanted to know why they were taking so long.

"Why were you taking so long, it's been almost 10 minutes since you went into the back, what did you do?", I asked.

He then flinched slightly and answered.

"Nothing much, it is just that we were trying the suits on the back instead because he had some new styles that he would be releasing soon enough", With a cute little smile.

I didn't believe it and just put a smile on my face and let it go.

Soon George came out with 10 suits with styles I had never seen before, one being fully white like Keith's hair.

'Oh maybe they were trying new suits', I thought to myself

Anyways, since I invited him, I should be the one paying, so I went up to George and asked.

"How much is it?".

"Oh, don't worry about it, just a little gift for your little friend helping me by being a model", He said.

'Huh, so they indeed were trying on the suits in the back.'

Keith then put everything inside his dimensional pocket except for a black beret hat, that he then wore.

He looked too cute with it, almost like a cute little writer kid. I also did notice that he looked more relaxed after wearing the hat.

Which made me quite happy as, after the incident, his eyes had a looked of sadness while also having more determination within them.

But most of all, he had a colder feeling around him, which was now gone.

So this new development made me quite happy, he was probably excited as he liked his new little hat.

We then left the store and it was already dark outside, so we decided to head back to the academy to grab a meal at the cafeteria.

We ate and said our goodbyes.

But now that I think about it, wasn't this like some sort of date. it was then that I felt my head get hotter and hotter.

'No, he is like a little brother to me, yes that's right', I thought to myself and finally calmed down.

I headed back into my apartment and took a cold shower after drying myself up I tried to sleep.

But I couldn't sleep and the only thought inside me was of how I was falling for a child. Well, he did look like a child but he was fun to be around and also had this sense around him that made him look mature.

I kept thinking about him all night and I couldn't sleep before I even noticed it was already 5 am.

...