"Y-You're really going to sell your items to Starter Yield Traders?" Cody asked with a slight stutter, feeling a bit bad for not being able to help.

He should've been more decisive back there…

"Yeah, why?"

"U-Uhh, hate to break it to you, but the shop is small, and their prices couldn't compare to Novice HarvestHub at all, you'll be getting less money for your loot…"

But they'd already arrived.

So, Daru didn't respond, thinking that since they were here already, why not check the store first?

Cody also soon thought the same.

The exterior of the Starter Yield Traders indeed looked relatively shabby compared to Novice HarvestHub.

But Daru still entered, giving the decent but rather standard interior a brief scan before walking towards the small counter, where the shopkeeper, a young man who seemed to be of the same age as the two of them, was rubbing his temples, staring at the countertop, and seemingly deep in thought.

"Hello," he greeted.

However, the shopkeeper didn't respond, causing another frown to appear on his face.

Was he being ignored this time?

"Hey!" Cody snarled, snapping the gray-haired young man out of his thoughts.

"A-Ahh! Sorry, c-customers! Welcome to Starter Yield Traders. You may call me Max. Are you here to sell your loot?" Max asked with a gleam of hope in his eyes.

Maybe if he can satisfy these two, word will get around!

He could start from there…

The frown on Daru's face eased upon realizing that the young shopkeeper wasn't being rude like John.

"Ahh, yes. Here's my Academy ID."

They'd wasted a lot of time because of the plump shopkeeper of Novice HarvestHub.

Daru can't afford to waste more time, or his afternoon routine would be affected.

"Thank you, Sir..uhh…Daru!"

Naturally, the young shopkeeper also saw his rank, but whatever.

Max was more desperate than an F-ranker. How could he be picky?

Also, who knows?

Maybe F-rankers can bring good items too…

The young shopkeeper immediately went to work, eyes laser-focused as he logged in to his computer and verified that Daru's identification card was valid.

He then turned to face his customers.

"Thank you for cooperating, Sir Daru. May I see your yields?"

"Ahh, yes."

Daru lifted his eco bags, placing them all on the countertop and taking his items out one by one.

He didn't think about the order in which he would take them out. So, he simply started with the one closest to him.

He took out Barberries, Bobcat Ears, Black Chitin, and what Max and Cody thought to be the highlights of his goods: two bottles of Monkey Wine.

The young shopkeeper celebrated inwardly.

While not top of the line, the goods brought by his first customer since the shop was put under his care by his father were decent, and if this F-ranker could maintain such deliveries every weekend, then he could hold on for another month.

Perhaps he could figure something out with such an extension…

Max was already happy with everything Daru had placed on the countertop, not expecting much from the other bags.

If he were an F-ranker, he would lay out his best goods at the start, too.

Perhaps Daru was just as desperate as he?

Max could somehow resonate with the customer in front of him, his young, rather naive mind thinking that this could perhaps be a sign from the gods.

But then, the faint smile on his face froze, and his eyes widened as the "desperate" F-ranker's hands left the second eco bag for the first time.

Clamped in them were two ivory horns from Ruthless Rhinos.

Even Cody was dumbfounded.

He had never once thought he was qualified to underestimate Daru, especially since he hadn't won against the guy a single time in four years.

Yet, only now did he realize he had been unconsciously doing so all this time.

The fact that he was stupefied right now was proof of this.

"D-Daru, you…" were the only words that came out of his bewildered mouth.

Cody could vividly remember the time he fought the damned tough and recklessly aggressive rhinos for the first time.

If Daru could take such swordspawns out on his own…

The A-ranker's heart skipped a beat, excitement washing over him.

'Hahahaha! I knew it, brother Daru is a special case!' he thought, now well-equipped to handle whatever comes out of the bags.

Cody didn't know to what extent he needed to prepare his heart until Daru made it to the last bag and took out his highest quality goods: a unit of Lurker Leopard Hide, Thick Hides of the Sunblade Lionesses, and a unit of Bronze Chitin—an item even the A-ranker hadn't seen before

Max's eyes and jaws were wide open, unsure if he was merely dreaming.

He didn't look like someone cut out to be a merchant at that specific moment…

After all, which shopkeeper would show such an expression and give the advantage to the customer?

Max couldn't help it.

Like Daru, he was also a beginner—one who didn't expect such impossible luck to fall right at the center of his palms.

What the hell was this?!

He had spent the entire week trying to think of a solution to his problem of not a single customer entering his shop, but now, the solution came to him!

Who could've expected that the heavens indeed had eyes?!

His important customer, unfortunately, had gone back to frowning, unsatisfied.

"Please process the transaction. I still have to train and attend swordsmanship classes later." Daru nudged, snapping both Cody and Max out of their stupor.

"A-Ahh! Right away, sir!"

The displeased expression on Daru's face eased at the response, followed by immediate action.

Max checked each item carefully, pressed buttons on his calculator, and jotted things in his notebook, finishing the computations in just around five minutes.

He then showed the encircled total to Daru and Cody, greatly surprising the former.

"Oh? Starter Yield Traders can give such good prices?" the latter remarked, to which the young shopkeeper responded:

"Ahh, to be honest, these prices are beyond our shop's capabilities, and we will probably be barely breaking even at most."

Daru frowned at the explanation, thinking: 'then why did you give me such prices if it's disadvantageous to you?'

Again, these people are making things complicated for no reason…

Max naturally had a reason: he wanted to secure trade partners, especially one as enigmatic as Daru.

He might be inexperienced, but his instincts were sharp.

He believed that there was something special about this F-ranker. Otherwise, why would even his friend be dumbfounded by his loot?

'Perhaps this guy was a secret SSS-ranker?!' was the crazy, optimistic thought Max convinced himself was true.

His brothers would laugh at him while pointing their index fingers right in his face if they knew what was going on in his head.

"Our shop isn't doing too well, but I believe that if I can secure a few valuable trading partners like you, Sir Daru, we'll eventually be able to compete with prominent shops with hundreds of branches like the Novice HarvestHub! This is why I'm willing to operate at a loss this time. I hope you will continue to sell your stuff here…" the young shopkeeper continued, locking his sincerity-filled eyes with Daru's.

"I probably won't be able to give you the same prices after this…b-but I promise that once our shop finally has the ability to, I'll give you offers on par with—no, even better than the renowned shops!"

Cody fell silent.

From the viewpoint of profit, this wasn't a good deal at all, but at the same time, Max seemed to be an earnest young man who was trying to make it just like them.

He could sympathize with the young shopkeeper…

"Ahh, yes, that's fine. I plan to sell my loot at this store for the entire school year." Daru said in a nonchalant manner, as if profiting from the transaction was the last thing he cared about.

"You can buy my items at the price your shop can afford. However, I would appreciate it if the transactions are faster next time. The less time I spend here, the better."

Max was dumbfounded for another moment before the realization that his customer valued time more than money struck.

How lucky could he be?!

"I see, Sir Daru! I can definitely promise shorter transaction times in the future!" the young shopkeeper vowed energetically, bringing a faint smile to Daru's face.

"Good. Now then, please finish up the transaction so we can leave."

"R-Right away, sir!"

Max quickly took out what little money remained in the register, giving a good portion of it to his dream of a customer.

He'll have something good to report to his father this week!

"Here's a hundred and fifty Neo-dollars, Sir Daru. Please do visit and sell your goods once a week if you can. I look forward to working with you again!"

With a sincere bow from the young shopkeeper, Daru and Cody left, the former lost in thought.

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