That i with the tanuki hunting made me a-san experiehe terror of Nel's real luck firsthand, and we were on edge, fearing that some kind of backsh would drag us into serious trouble afterward.

  Because of that, we watched over Nel as she huanuki in the forest, all while beiremely cautious.

  In the end, she returned home without any issues. pared to the exhausted fae a-san, who had been overly cautious, Nel was all smiles as she reported her results to her parents, and that day came to a close.

  "Seriously, I got it."

  As for me, I had been wanting to get my hands on it, but I never expected to obtain it so quickly. I stared at the key lying on my straw bed.

  It was a rare item that dropped at aremely low rate from all mohe Dungeon Key.

  A rare item that, once used, could gee a dungeon where only the mohat dropped it would appear.

  Even though it was the weakest among them, I couldn't believe I had actually obtained such a rare item. It felt like I was still dreaming.

  "Is this also thanks to Nel?"

  Since my real luck is garbage, I might have never gotten my hands on this in my lifetime. Grateful for the objeow in my possession, I thought about how I had to repay omorrow fing this to me. Exhausted from the journey, I fell asleep.

  "Liberta, good m!"

  "Ah, Nel. Good m."

  And the m, Nel appeared before me, full of energy as usual.

  "What are we doing today?"

  "Today, we're doing something mert-like!"

  In one hand, she held the strap of a backpack filled with the tanuki pelts from yesterday's hunt.

  "Mert-like?! Are we haggling?! Or are we increasing the buying price?!"

  The number of tanuki pelts in the basket totaled forty.

  It was signifitly more than pnned, and I khat selling them as-is would still a det profit.

  "We're bartering!"

  "Bartering?"

  The selling price of tanuki pelts is at most five zeni each, so selling all of them would only amount to about two hundred zeni. While that's a lot pared to a daily wage of twenty thousahere's a way to increase this even further.

  "Nel, do you know the basics of business?"

  "Buy low, sell high!"

  "Correct!"

  "Hehe!"

  "By applying that basic principle to bartering, we'll keep exging cheap tanuki pelts fher-value items!"

  "Amazing!"

  Well, it's only possible because I have game knowledge about who wants what, but being respected and appuded like this feels pretty good.

  "Our ultimate goal is to aim for ten times the inal value!"

  "Whoa!"

  If I didn't have game knowledge to rely on, at worst, we might only double the value and call it a day.

  "Alright! Let's head out!"

  "Let's go!"

  "Don't fet your lunch!"

  "Ah!"

  Excited about what we were about to do, we almost set off without our lunches, but Teresa-san reminded us, so we grabbed them a out again.

  "Where are we going first?"

  "First, we're heading this way."

  "This way... huh? Wait, isn't that the potion shop?"

  We set off, but our first destination was just a stohrow away—the potion shop, three stores down from the owner's accessory shop.

  "Oh, wele. What adorable ers."

  Here, various medies and items called potions were sold. NPC-made potied from the lowest rank, Css 1, up to Css 3.

  Beyond that, you'd either have to -order potions with a ce of failure or rely on pyer-made potions, which were guarao succeed but required cultivation.

  But in this world, potions were valuable and in high demand.

  "Do you anuki pelts?"

  "Do you need any?"

  "Oh, my, what cute little merts. Let's see yoods."

  In the game's quest system, NPCs you could trade with had a set difficulty level and specific items they would exge.

  This potion shop had a low difficulty level and would exge for potions, which were in high demand.

  "Hmm, that's quite a number. How many do you have?"

  "Forty pelts!"

  "Is that so? Well, I was just thinking about getting a new p b, so I'll take them all. Let's see..."

  Potions came in various types: Life Potions that restored HP, Mana Potions that restored SP, and various potions that cured status ailments, among others.

  The most in-demand were Life Potions and Mana Potions.

  "How about three Css 3 Life Potions?"

  "Throw in a bit more!"

  What was offered was the pinnacle of store-bought Life Potions. A Css 3 Life Potion sold for a hundred zeni. In terms of value, it was already a 50% increase.

  Thinking it wasn't a bad deal, I was about to agree, but Nel seemed to think we could push for more and started iating.

  "Hmm, how about five Css 2 Potions instead?"

  No, that's a decrease in value. Css 2 Potions sell for fifty zeni each, and Css 3 Potions are in higher demand and easier to trade.

  I tried not to let it show on my face, but it was definitely a misstep. Maybe they thought that, as kids, we'd be satisfied with just getting more items.

  "Hehe! Don't uimate me, Marsha-san! The number increased, but the value decreased! That won't do! If it's Css 2, I'd want a ten bottles!"

  "Ten bottles is pushing it, little dy."

  "Tanuki pelts don't e to market often, right? That's because adventurers don't like hunting them! The demand is high, but the supply 't keep up! So if you were to make a p b with this amount and sell it, this would still be a bargain!"

  "Well, there's the bor cost to sider. If you factor in the craftsmen's fees, the inal price of the goods would drop even further. How about six Css 2 Potions?"

  "Even so, I'm a mert's daughter! I know that's too cheap! Even after dedug bor costs, it wouldn't go that low! Two Css 3 Potions and five Css 2 Potions!"

  "Don't bully an old dy, now. How about two Css 3 Potions and three Css 2 Potions?"

  "I'm already giving you a dist because we're neighbors. How about three Css 3 Potions and two Css 2 Potions?"

  But Nel didn't back down at all. She used all her knowledge to go toe-to-toe with the old shopkeeper. Whether it was because she was iating with a neighbor and didn't hold back, or because she simply ehe act of iating, she was actively sparking a lively exge.

  "...Alright, that seems like a fair middle ground. Holy, if it were just the boy over there, I could've gotten it cheaper."

  "..."

  "Hehe! As long as I'm here, I won't let you get away with such a bargain!"

  "Jink's boy has raised quite the successor, hasn't he? Here, the promised potions. If you ever have empty bottles, bring them by, and I'll buy them."

  "We'll be ting on you then."

  This was the raw essence of a mert's battle—a sense of iy that I never felt in the game. And apparently, I was seen as an easy mark by the shopkeeper, who looked at me with a hint of pity.

  The tanuki pelts were pced on the ter, ted, and ohe number was firmed, the potions were handed over as payment.

  "Bring more pelts when you get them. Lately, the tailor's been raising prices, and I need a winter coat, but they're taking advantage of the situation."

  "Got it! I'll bring more when I ."

  "Please do. If y a bit more, I'll evehem for you."

  "Looking forward to it."

  After receiving the potions, Nel packed them into a small basket, adding cushioning to prevent breakage and c it with a cloth.

  "Where to ?"

  " is..."

  And so, the mert journey had only just begun. With the first exge a success and Nel in high spirits, we headed to our destination.

  "Throw in a bit more!"

  was the stru Guild. In a workpce where injuries were on, potions were a crucial item. Having potions on hand for emergencies wasn't a bad idea.

  This time, the iation was for all the potions.

  "Alright, how about we throw in some wheel mainteoo?"

  "Deal!"

  It was a beat-up, sed-hand wagon.

  The price of sed-hand wagons varied, but if it came with some maintehe durability would be restored, making it a pretty good deal.

  Fag off against the tough-looking stru Guild staff, Nel didn't flind pleted the trade with a satisfied smile, shaking hands with the guild member, who could only chuckle at the child's determination.

  After receiving the trad deed, with the wagon to be delivered ter, we moved on to the destination.

  "Throw in a bit more!"

  "I-I 't go any higher..."

  The Mert Guild, where our oppo was a rookie mert.

  For merts, wagons were essential, but they weren't something you could just buy right away when starting out.

  In this world, everything was ade and produced to order. Acquiring materials and the time it took to make them meant that getting a new wagon required a signifit amount of money and time.

  As the saying goes, time is money, and for merts, losing busiime was a serious blow. Thus, a wagon that could be obtained by a certain deadline was in high demand.

  The rookie mert, uimating us because we were kids, ehe iation, but now Nel had caught onto their weakness and was shaking them down, bringing them to the brink of colpse.

  "O-okay. Then, how about these magic gems?"

  "Deal!!"

  Finally, we made the rookie mert cover the Mert Guild's mediator fee and drew up a tract.

  We successfully exged for five fire-attribute magic stones, a higher-tier version ur magic stones.

  At this point, the selling price had already exceeded three thousand zeni. We had achieved fifteen times our inal goal.

  The rookie mert, shocked at having lost to a child, received looks of pity, while Nel was now seen as a force to be reed with.

  "Liberta, what's ?"

  However, Nel gracefully ighose looks and rao me, holding the magic stones with a satisfied grin.

  "Hmm, we're almost out of time."

  "Eh? Already?"

  Because we had so many tanuki pelts, we mao increase the value this much, but inally, this quest would have taken more time to reach its limit. But we had already far exceeded the amount of money you could normally get from it.

  It was almost evening.

  "Don't worry, I've prepared o big challenge."

  "Really?!"

  "Yeah, it's a wall you'll have to overe, Nel."

  As we prepared for the final iation, Nel's eyes lit up with a fierce, almost beast-like grin.

  It was the perfect time to things up, so we left the Mert Guild and headed back.

  "???? Hey, Liberta, this road..."

  "It's fi's fine. We're on the right path."

  The further we went, the more familiar the road became. Nel seemed to have an idea of where we were going, but she couldn't figure out ere taking this route.

  "Dad's shop?"

  "Yep, Jink's shop is an accessory store. So..."

  We arrived at Jink's shop, where I was staying iable.

  For his was her home.

  "It's selble, and if this is the end of the series of exges, this is the best pce, right?"

  "! Yeah! I'll do my best!!"

  Normally, we'd ehrough the bad head to the main house, but Nel, excited to face her father as a mert in this important challenge, ehrough the front door of the shop.

  "Wele—oh, it's Nel and Liberta. What brings you to the shop?"

  "Dad, I need an appraisal."

  "...I see. I'll have to take this seriously."

  When Nel presehe basket, now filled with magic stones instead of tanuki pelts, the shopkeeper's eyes shifted from looking at his daughter to those of a mert evaluating goods.

  "I could give you a better deal at home, but are you sure about this?"

  "Of course!"

  "Then I won't go easy on you just because you're my daughter."

  Seeing his daughter's determination, Jink nodded in satisfa before seriously appraising the magic stohe result?

  "Ugh, Liberta..."

  Nel was pletely crushed.

  "Hahahaha! You'll o sharpen your eye for quality!"

  The buying price was reduced from my estimate of three thousao two thousand five huhe fws, crity, and mana accumution were pointed out, and while ried to ter with her knowledge, the gap in experience was too wide.

  It might seem petty, but the price was ving, aeary-eyed, showed me the remaining amount.

  "Well, sidering the inal value, it's still a good result."

  "It's frustrating!! One more time!! I'll do it again!!"

  Given that the tanuki pelts had turned into such a rge sum, I thought it was more than enough, but Nel seemed dissatisfied with the final result and vowed tain.

  However, it seemed she had pletely fotten about her inal goal of getting back at that Dasse guy. But I guess that's fine?