Golden Bartholomew

Back in Bartholomew's House of Witchery, a bald middle-aged man broke out in a sweat as he bowed several times to Michael.

"Thank you, Sir… Thank you so much!" He expressed his gratitude repeatedly, "The House of Witchery would have been ruined without you!!"

The bald middle-aged man was the manager of the House of Witchery, who came rushing to his shop when he heard what happened.

''There is no need to exaggerate,'' Michael murmured to himself in a muffled voice. He stepped forward to pat the manager's shoulder in hope of stopping the man from bowing again.

"It's fine. I acted because of the little boy, not to protect the shop."

Michael didn't really like bootlickers, and he was certainly not one himself. Thus, he pointed out the facts bluntly rather than making it seem like he had protected the little boy for the shop's sake.

"Of course of course. It was all for the boy..." The manager said hurriedly. He wiped the sweat from his forehead before he bowed once again, "But your actions protected the prestige of the shop, nonetheless. Frederik Kolbenheim and Jacqueline Orlando are known for stirring trouble and breaking things. Everyone knows them, but you took action despite that!"

"...Okay."

"It would be too shrewd of me, if I wouldn't reward you for acting when nobody else did. Seeing your selfless action, I feel a little generous today. You saved the shop today from getting destroyed, so I might as well reach deep in my pockets to thank the savior of our prestigious shop!" The manager gave him a proud smile before he snapped his fingers.

A staff member rushed to the manager from farther away upon hearing the snap. He was carrying a pair of leather boots in his hands which he held out for Michael to take. Simultaneously, a golden card with the logo of Bartholomew appeared in the manager's hand.

"To express my gratitude, I would like to reward you with the Boots of Taran, and the Golden Bartholomew Membership. With the membership, you'll be able to use all facilities affiliated to Bartholomew. Furthermore, we will always use the highest possible price to purchase your goods and provide a discount whenever you purchase something!"

Michael stared at the manager with a stupefied expression for a while. He felt the gaze of dozens lingering on him, while the manager stared intently into his eyes as well.

'You won't let me leave if I don't take all of this, will you?' Michael thought with a wry smile on his lips as he accepted the gifts. "That's very generous of you. Thank you!"

He accepted the membership card along with the Boots of Taran while his mind began to rattle.

'He is genuinely thankful for what I did, but the staff seems a little stupefied,' Michael perceived with a single glance across the room, 'Is he trying to please me to turn me into a repeat customer to use all the Bartholomew facilities? Sorry, but I am just a normal guy, and not a bigshot. Your investment is not worth it.'

Despite thinking like that, Michael felt that the manager was a sly man. Granting him various benefits inevitably improved his business relationship with the shop.

It was only obvious, but Michael would keep visiting it since he was promised discounts for all purchases and high prices whenever he wanted to sell something. Furthermore, with the rewards he was given, the House of Witchery's image would improve on the outside as well. Word would spread that they're not stingy when it comes to rewarding those who stand up for others when nobody else does. It would improve the shop's public image and goodwill by rewarding their 'savior' for his actions.

"The Boots of Taran is a Tierless 2-Star Artifact with an enchantment. It won't increase your physical strength of agility drastically upon binding to your War Rune, but you will be able to use the enchantment called 'Swiftness'. Winds will gather around the boots to increase your speed by decreasing your weight slightly," The young man explained with a subtle smile.

Meanwhile, the bald manager received a call. One moment he was happy, and the next, his face was drained of its colour.

"I am terribly sorry, but I will have to leave," The bald manager said before bowing to Michael, "Once again, thank you very much. I hope you'll have a nice shopping trip!"

After bidding goodbye to Michael, the bald manager whispered something to the staff member next to him. He ran away afterward and disappeared a few seconds later.

'What now? The deal?'

Michael smiled lightly while scratching the back of his head and turned back to the clerk from earlier.

"Can we adjust the price according to the rates I would receive with the Golden Bartholomew Membership, please?" He asked the clerk.

The clerk nodded his head immediately, "Of course, Sir…but please don't misunderstand…I gave you the best rates for ordinary customers. However, since you've become a member of the Golden Bartholomew the rate changes a little…"

The clerk didn't want Michael to think that he dupped him earlier when he promised the best price.

"I understand, don't worry," Michael replied calmly.

That was enough for the clerk to sigh in relief and get back to work.

In the following minutes, Michael waited patiently before he received a new contract.

"The Golden Bartholomew membership card is also connected to a separate bank account. The annual interest rate is 3%. Do you wish to transfer the money to your Golden Bartholomew membership card, or to your private bank account, Sir?" The clerk asked at last.

"You can transfer it to the membership card. I will use up most of it in the next few minutes, either way," Michael answered nonchalantly. The clerk smiled lightly in response and gave him a nod. "As you wish, Sir!"

The clerk retrieved Michael's Golden Bartholomew card before asking a few questions. Michael answered all of them to link his ID to the Golden Bartholomew before he received two notifications on his crystal watch.

[The Pandemonium Bartholomew Bank has been successfully linked.]

[50,630$ have been transferred to your account!]

'Huh?! Over 50,000 dollars? Isn't that a little too much?' Michael's eyes widened in shock.

He knew that a Low Tier-1 Monster corpse was worth roughly 500$, but that included their meat, organs, and bones. Michael hadn't brought any meat and he didn't have enough space to squeeze all monster bones and organs inside his War Rune either. Despite that, he had earned 50,000$. That was insane!!

"The hide and Gemstones of Gem Jaguars are valuable because they're hard to procure without damaging them. Gem Jaguars are also pretty hard to find. The Gemstones you sold were in perfect condition, just like the Frenzy Deer Antlers and everything else you sold. It will be quite easy to work with the materials you've provided, which is why the Shop's AI gave your goods a high evaluation score," The clerk said when he noticed Michael staring stupefied at the notification on his crystal watch.

"Oh, nice…" Michael blurted out after listening half-heartedly. His mind was still processing the fact that he had earned so much in such a short amount of time.

For a moment, he forgot that he was in a rush, and he continued to stare blankly at his crystal watch.

Only when he felt someone pulling at his sleeve did Michael regain his senses. He looked to his right where a female staff member was waiting for him. She stared at him with a smile and bowed lightly when he finally took note of her.

"The manager told me to guide you around the shop. If you like something, just say the word!"

Michael could only nod his head before his shopping trip began.

Ten minutes later, he left the shop with a grave expression.

'Why did I think that I was rich? I am dirt poor…'