Leonard continued counting the coins for minutes. His fingers moved lazily through the pile. Just as he was halfway through the last pouch, a familiar voice called from the entrance of the den.

"Boss Leonard!"

He looked up and saw that Ferio was running towards him.

"A woman named Maren was looking at you outside," Ferio muttered as he pointed at the door. "She said she has something important to say to you."

Leonard's gaze followed his fingers. In there, he really saw Maren, looking around. She looked uncertain as if she was double-thinking where to enter since the den hadn't opened yet.

"Oh, she's earlier today," Leonard muttered. With a smile on his face, he nodded at Ferio, "You can let her in."

"Okay, boss," Ferio hurried back to the door. He waved at Maren, who hesitated for a second before stepping in slowly.

Just like yesterday, she was wearing presentable clothes—a brown dress that reached her knees. Her eyes darted around the den carefully, afraid of disturbing anyone. There was a faint nervous smile on her lips as she approached Leonard's table.

"G-Good morning, Sir Leonard," she greeted softly, before bowing her head slightly.

Leonard leaned back in his chair, resting an elbow on the table. He looked at her kindly, "Good morning, Maren. Did you find something good for me?"

Maren's eyes lit up immediately, a hint of excitement replacing her shyness.

"Y-Yes! I did!" she said quickly, her voice trembling because she was nervous and excited at the same time. "I already found the crate of fruits and grains you told me to look for!"

"Oh? That was fast." Leonard straightened up, clearly interested.

"I—I talked to the farmers directly," she continued, her tone was more confident now that she had his attention. "It took me a while, but I managed to get a good deal. A whole crate with about 32 kilograms of fruit was only for 70 silver coins! It's the lowest I've seen so far, Sir."

"70 silvers for 32 kilos?" Leonard blinked, pleasantly surprised. That was also the lowest amount he had seen so far.

"Yes! Since I went straight to the farm, there were no middlemen to increase the price," Maren nodded eagerly. "They were hesitant first, but when I told them we will pay first, then they became happy! They said they'd rather sell to us directly than give their fruits to the merchants who sometimes don't pay them that much."

Maren's expression softened a little. There was a genuine happiness shining in her eyes. Yesterday, while she was going through several farms to inquire about their fruit, she saw the hardwork of the farmers.

Her heart pitied them when they shared stories about how some merchants bully them to sell their crops at a low price. Sometimes, even goes as low as 1 silver coin per kilo of fruits.

So when they heard that Maren was looking for fruits at a cheap price, they were hesitant to entertain her at first. Luckily, one of the farmer's daughters turned out to be an old friend.

Her friend was the one who explained to others that Maren was there not to take advantage of them, but to do good business.

After that, the atmosphere became lighter. The farmers began to talk openly and even joked around. One of them said that if it's for someone honest like Maren, they wouldn't mind giving a better price.

"They were so happy that we're buying the fruits at the right prices!" Maren said with a small smile on her face.

"Good job, Maren." Leonard chuckled, nodding his head in approval.

Maren's widened slightly. For a brief second, she just froze. The warmth in his voice caught her off guard. Compliments weren't something she often received, especially not at her old workplace, where she was either ignored or scolded all the time.

"Th-thank you, sir…" she said quietly, lowering her head as heat rushed to her cheeks. She could feel her heart beating faster for some reason.

Leonard, who was unaware of her flustered reaction, even gave her a big thumbs-up. He was genuinely happy with the news she shared. "That's really a good deal. You did great."

"R-Really?" Her eyes slightly widened as she looked up just enough to meet his eyes.

"Of course." Leonard smiled again before exhaling, tapping the table with his finger.

However, he soon realized what the problem was.

He glanced down at the pouches of coins in front of him. They still had a good amount of money. However, since he also needed to pay Old Marrek for his service, he realized that their coins wouldn't be enough.

"How many are we buying again, Maren?" Leoanard looked at her.

Maren counted with her fingers. "I asked them for 1 crate of grapes, strawberries, barley, and wheat, and also sugar. The sugar costs less. It's only 20 silver coins for every 30kg!"

"So that's 300 silver coins in total if we buy 1 of each…"

"Yes, Sir," Maren nodded quickly.

'Damn… I forgot that it's actually a lot.'

Leonard's eyes narrowed slightly. Currently, he has 420 coins in front of him. If they take out 300 silver coins, then that'll only leave them 120 coins. It should still be enough to fund those barrels of Old Marrek.

However, the problem was that they still needed to leave money to start the business today.

'Let's see how many coins I got left on my own.' He was too lazy to count his own when the system got the total of it.

- - -

Name: Leonard Runesforth

Age: 19

Mana: 20/20

Status: Beginner Merchant

Wealth: 20 gold coins & 145 silver coins.

Luck: 2

Mystery Box: 0

Skills:

[Golden Fingers ( Active Skill) - Your hands possess unnatural dexterity, capable of working on their own instinctively if you wish to. Whether crafting, repairing, gambling, or handling delicate tasks, your hands will move with precision beyond normal human limits. Even in chaos, your fingers will know what to do.]

- - -

Leonard still has enough money.

'I guess I'll just spend my own money then. Since this would go back to me once these wines and beers are done.'

"Alright, Maren. Wait for the coins."

Maren nodded her head quickly once again. Her eyes darted at the pouches of coins on the table.

Leonard took 3 pouches. They were heavy as they contained 100 silver coins each inside of them. He tied the pouches neatly and pushed them toward her. The coins clinked softly against each other.

"Here. Take care of this money, Maren. That's 300 silvers in total. Make sure it reaches the right people."

Maren's eyes widened a little at the sight of the heavy pouches. She straightened her back, her hands carefully taking them as if she were holding something sacred.

"Y-Yes, Sir Leonard! I'll make sure to take care of it. I promise!"

Leonard couldn't help but laugh. Her seriousness mixed with that shy enthusiasm of hers made the moment lighter.

"You look like you're not planning on making any mistakes," he muttered jokingly at her.

Maren's cheeks turned pink again before she quickly shook her head. " I just… I just don't want to make any mistakes."

"Relax, I trust you," Leonard said with a small chuckle. He reached into another small pouch and pulled out a few more coins. "Here, this is for you. Ten silvers for today's service and an extra five so you can travel back to the farm quickly. Consider that as your little bonus."

Maren's eyes blinked in surprise. "F-Fifteen silvers? A-again? Sir, that's too much!"

Leonard waved his hand dismissively. "You earned it. You did great today, Maren. I'm looking forward to seeing those fruits tomorrow."

At his words, Maren's face reddened even more. She nodded quickly, clutching the pouches close to her chest. "Y-Yes, Sir Leonard! Thank you so much! I'll bring them right away tomorrow!"

"Good. Travel safely, alright?" Leonard smiled, leaning back in his chair again.

"Yes, Sir!" Maren said one last time, bowing slightly before hurrying out of the den.

As the door closed behind her, Leonard chuckled to himself.

"She's a bit shy… but she's reliable," he murmured, before turning his attention to the people around.

Leonard clapped his hands once, catching everyone's attention.

"Alright, everyone! Go to your respective tables already," he said with a huge smile on his face. "The den's opening soon, so make sure everything's ready before the customers start coming in."

"Yes, Boss!" they all answered in unison, their voices echoing through the den.

The men scattered around the room immediately straightened up. Some started fixing the chairs, while others began checking the dice, cards, and coins they'd be using.

Leonard gave a small nod, satisfied. He stood up and stretched a little, glancing toward the entrance where faint murmurs were starting to grow louder.

Outside, a few familiar faces were already waiting for them. It was their regular customers who hit the jackpot yesterday so they wanted to bet more today.

"Looks like it's going to be a busy day," Leonard muttered under his breath with a small grin.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.