4. Hanging Pearl Palace

 "Hey… stop right there? This isn't a Ration store!" 

As Kent stepped into the Property dealer's store, a young man draped in the clothing of an assistant halted him. 

Kent wasn't offended; his current attire looked worse than a beggar's. His clothes had turned yellow from the black substances secreted by his body.

"Sorry… sorry. Please, ignore my outfit. I came here to buy a villa," Kent replied humbly, wiping his face with a handkerchief.

"You are here to buy a villa?" the young man, Jake, asked with a surprised look. He then scrutinized Kent from head to toe. 

"Hey, Harry, Richard, come see this. A rich young master is here to buy a villa," Jack called all his staff, amused by Kent's presence. 

"Brat, do you even know how much a small house in the slum side costs? It's 1 gold coin per square foot. As for the Villas, it's two gold coins per square foot. Not just that, the commercial areas are multiple times more expensive than the standard prices," Jack said in a lecturing tone followed by a mocking laughter. 

"Hey, Jack… why don't you show him some villa pictures? Maybe he will understand what it really costs," suggested a girl attendant in a soft tone.

"Yes… I can really afford it," Kent tried to explain, feeling that it was also his fault to appear with this disheveled appearance. But Jack didn't give any chance for Kent to speak. 

"Lia, look at this brat. Do you think he can really afford a Villa? I bet he can't even afford six feet of land for a grave. I can guarantee that he came here just to experience the pure Aura inside the store," Jack spoke, staring at Kent with disdain. 

He despised people who tried to pretend rich and would come only to waste their time. 

Just as Kent was preparing to show them his golden piggy card, an old man dressed in neat iron clothes and holding a silver sword in his hand entered the store. The old man, flaunting costly ornaments, exuded the air of a wealthy family head.

Jack immediately ignored Kent and went to greet the old man, bowing and showing him the utmost respect. 

The assistant's body language took a drastic turn as he bowed down to the old man and accompanied him from the entrance with humble gestures. 

"Sir, are you looking to buy any property?" Jack asked, adjusting a chair for the old man. 

"Yes… yes… I would like to see villas. But before that, bring me some tea. My throat is a bit sore," the old man ordered as he sat down on the chair.

For some odd reason, the old man had asked for Jack to stand beside him to explain the new villa models. A deviation from the usual practice where the attendants would stand opposite to the customer to explain the models by showing pictures. Jack also complied with the old man's request and stood close to the old man.

Meanwhile, Kent stood in the same place, being ignored, growing increasingly frustrated since no one paid any attention to him even after a long time. Just as he decided to leave, a middle-aged lady in a nice thigh skirt entered. 

"Young man, what do you want?" the middle-aged lady who was also the manager of the store questioned Kent who stood there with no one asking him. 

"I want to—" but before he could finish, an annoying voice interrupted.

"Manager Mia, please ask the security to throw out this brat. He's here just to enjoy the pure aura of our store." Jack shouted with mocking laughter. Just as he finished, Jack felt the old man's hand on his upper back. He felt elated, mistaking that the old man was more concerned for him. 

After observing Kent's appearance, Manager Mia agreed with Jack. As Jack was a top salesperson in the store, she asked Kent to leave the store.

"What a shitty store. I was planning to buy a big villa. You're not the only store in this town," Kent said angrily and turned around to leave. 

"What a pretender… stop putting on airs like a rich young master. A poor brat like you, can't even afford a hole in this town," Jack jeered, his mocking laughter echoed by the staff. They all thought that Kent was just pretending. 

As Kent left the store, Jack turned his attention back to the old man. "Sir, this is a glass villa on the commercial street. Our store is offering a 25% discount on this." Jack continued to show various pictures, explaining everything sincerely.

Kent, meanwhile, walked into the property store across the road and directly slammed his golden piggy card onto their table. 

Back at the previous store, Jack was still trying to pester the old man to buy a villa, even offering extra discounts to the old man. However, the old man just enjoyed the tea while he continued to rub Jack's back. 

Suddenly, the old man's hand slipped onto Jack's rear. The young man tried to move away, but the old man's grip held him tightly against the old man's body. Jack was afraid to offend the old man since he was a Stage One Master Magus. 

Just as Jack was thinking of a way to escape, a Raka Beast the size of a large tree landed in front of the property store across the street. All the employees and workers inside hurried to the entrance to see the beast. 

"That's the Fire Raka Beast used for VIP customers. Looks like our competitors hit the jackpot today," the manager, Mia, spoke in a surprised tone as she stood among the group. 

But before others could say anything, they saw Kent accompanied by a beautiful lady climbing onto the beast. 

"What? Don't tell me he is the VIP customer they summoned the Fire Raka Beast for?!..." a sales girl with heavy make-up cried out in surprise. 

"Seems like our rivals got scammed today," Jack, who finally got away from the old man's hands, commented with mocking laughter. 

But the manager had a different view. The Fire Raka Beasts would only be summoned for the customer who makes the biggest purchase and only after a substantial deposit was made first for security.

Just as they were wondering about the truth… the opposite store manager, who was also a lady, hurriedly over to Jack's group. 

"Hey, Jack… thanks for sending over a VIP customer. That young master made the biggest purchase in my store." The manager, a lady named Rosie, replied happily and placed a small chocolate which was worth one bronze coin in Jack's hands. 

"By the way, this chocolate is a gift from that young master," Rosie added with a burst of mocking laughter and glanced at the store manager Mia with a smug smile. 

"Miss Rosie, did you make a mistake? That fellow is a pauper," Jack questioned. 

"What? Nooo… That young master already paid 1500 gold coins for the Hanging Pearl Villa in the commercial street. He promised to pay full price after seeing the place. By the way, I got a 10% commission from this sale," Rosie grinned as she left.

!!!!!

Manager Mia's face turned red from anger upon hearing about the purchase. The Hanging Pearl Palace cost 3000 gold coins and a 10% commission meant that her opponent earned 300 gold coins just from it– which was worth a year's salary for Mia.

Jack's face turned pale after seeing his manager's furious face.

Meanwhile, the old man who took advantage of Jack also slipped away from the store unnoticed. 

Remembering how Jack had ruined her fortune, Mia kicked Jack, sending him rolling down the stairs of the store.