Chapter 29
After meeting the Princess...
Jake and Jessica immediately headed toward Lutetia City's Mercenary Street.
They had postponed selling the ancient gold coins until after their meeting with Rachel.
Now...
It was time.
Carrying backpacks...
The two entered an antique shop near the entrance of the street.
[Lutetia Relic Main Store]
This antique shop was completely different from the black-market relic store Jake had visited in the Imperial Capital.
For one thing...
It was enormous.
And unlike the mysterious atmosphere of the capital's relic shop...
Everything here was clean and neatly displayed.
It almost reminded Jake of a jewelry store from his previous life.
"This is the highest-class antique shop on this street."
Jessica looked around.
"Even I've only been here a few times."
Jake examined the interior with interest.
Fortunately...
None of the employees ignored him despite his young appearance.
A middle-aged man approached them and asked politely,
"You're mercenaries."
"Have you come to sell something?"
Any experienced mercenary would know what kind of shop this was.
The fact that Jake and Jessica had entered anyway...
Meant they were carrying something valuable.
"We'd like to conduct the transaction somewhere private."
Jessica answered.
The middle-aged man's eyebrow rose slightly.
Apparently...
They were more important customers than he initially expected.
He politely guided them toward the rear.
They crossed a hall displaying various antiques and relics...
Then entered one of several rooms along the back corridor.
High-quality sofas stood on both sides.
A low table sat between them.
It was a tasteful private lounge.
"You must have had quite a successful expedition."
Another employee served tea and left.
The middle-aged man smiled.
This was Lutetia Territory...
A land bordering the Great Forest.
If mercenaries brought valuable items here...
There was little mystery about where they had come from.
And there had only been one major dungeon expedition recently.
So he did not bother asking.
The middle-aged man clearly was not an ordinary employee.
He only checked their mercenary badges.
He never asked who they truly were...
Or exactly where the items came from.
As long as they were registered mercenaries...
He apparently did not care about the origin of their goods.
How is this any different from a black-market dealer?
Jake complained inwardly.
Still...
This was convenient for both him and Jessica.
According to Jessica...
The store was famous for never leaking information about its transactions.
Jake placed the backpack from his back onto the table.
"Ancient gold coins."
"We want to sell them."
The middle-aged man opened the bag.
His expression immediately became serious.
There were far more coins than he expected.
"Would you wait for a moment?"
"This quantity is too large for me to process alone."
He bowed politely.
Then he sent for a mage...
And an employee responsible for accounting.
A short while later...
An elderly mage and a young man entered.
The mage first used magic to verify the authenticity of the coins.
"They're all genuine."
The old mage shook his head in amazement.
"Impressive."
"It's been a very long time since I've seen this many ancient gold coins."
After confirming the coins...
The mage left.
The young employee immediately became busy counting and weighing them.
"You don't need to worry about rumors."
The middle-aged man noticed Jake continuing to watch the departing mage.
"He's under a magical contract."
But Jake had not been staring because he was worried about confidentiality.
He had found the man's magical ability strange.
For his age...
It was far too low.
The mage looked nearly elderly...
Yet he was only a Second Circle Mage.
-That's how magical technicians are.
Fatima spoke with faint pity.
-The amount of mana each of them can contain within their body has an individual limit.
-Once they reach that limit, they cannot progress any further no matter how talented they are.
-They simply don't have enough mana.
"Will you exchange all of these coins?"
"Yes."
While Jake was lost in thought...
Jessica continued negotiating.
"Do you have any other items?"
The middle-aged man asked carefully.
"Magic items, perhaps?"
With so many ancient gold coins...
It was only natural for him to test the waters.
Jessica immediately shook her head.
She and Jake had already agreed not to sell their magic items.
This store might protect the identity of its customers...
But there was no guarantee it would remain silent after actual magic items appeared.
Magic items were strategic resources used mainly by Mana Users.
Of course...
Some brooches and similar items existed merely to satisfy noble vanity.
But the wrong item could attract dangerous attention.
The ancient gold coins already gave them enough money.
They decided to reconsider selling magic items at some later date.
"What a shame."
The man looked disappointed.
"A place containing this many ancient gold coins might have held other treasures as well."
"This was all."
Jessica answered firmly.
After confirming once more...
The middle-aged man clicked his tongue.
The number of ancient gold coins was astonishing.
But they were still a step below real magic items.
A powerful magic item could easily be worth more than this entire pile of coins.
For example...
The dagger hidden on Jessica's body.
Or the boots she was wearing.
Of course...
Jake's Ego Wand was by far the most valuable.
But an Ego Item was not something they could casually show anyone.
"Four hundred and twenty-eight coins."
The young employee finally finished calculating.
"After deducting fees, the current market value is 23,968 shillings."
The middle-aged man nodded.
"Then I'll round it up."
"We'll pay you 24,000 shillings."
Twenty-four thousand shillings.
Enough to buy two hundred old horses like the one that brought Jake and Jessica here.
Enough to employ one hundred servants for an entire year.
Compared with the luxury of great nobles...
It might not be an unimaginable fortune.
But for mercenaries...
It was absolutely enormous.
With that much money...
A person could immediately retire to the countryside, become a landowner, and live comfortably for the rest of their life.
The offered price was also around fifty percent higher than what the black-market dealer in the capital had paid.
Perhaps because this shop operated through legal channels...
The price was much better.
Jake looked slightly surprised.
Jessica smiled.
