Little Tyrant Doesn’t Want to Meet with a Bad End

There was a huge assortment of items to Sorofya’s latest winter collection, ranging from cosmetic products—that had all sorts of bizarre ingredients in them but boasted miraculous effects—to daily necessities, jewelry, perfume, and even unique food and drinks. There was nothing lacking at all.

As for clothes, the catalog only detailed the fabric available and the names of the designer and embroiderer; the design itself wasn’t shown in the catalog.

One of the most awkward situations that could happen amongst noblewomen was for them to be caught wearing identical clothes to a banquet.

For this reason, the designer would pay a visit to the customer’s house for measurements and fittings, and they would design a set of clothing specific to the individual. This way, they would be able to ensure that every single article of clothing was unique.

The dress that Alicia wore during Nora’s visit was a gift that Carter gave her when she first came to the Ascart House. Even Roel had to admit that it was quite a spectacular dress. It was now the little girl’s most prized possession.

That being said, Roel didn’t get Anna to bring the catalog over to look at these items. The items inside the catalog were all quite amazing, but he was only interested in the very final page of the catalog—the request list.

One of the business functions of merchant associations was to purchase goods, and the request list was essentially items the Sorofyas were seeking to purchase.

It was not uncommon for nobles to have special requests for the merchant, and the request list was created with the purpose to fulfill these requests.

Take for example if Roel wanted a scented soap right now but it wasn’t available in Ascart City or its vicinity. What he could do was leave a request for an item, something ‘scented and capable of cleansing the body’. Once the Sorofya Merchant Association received the request, they would place it on their catalog’s request list and purchase it from other regions in the Theocracy or even other countries.

It was possible for the item that was eventually procured to not be a scented soap but, perhaps, a stone that fulfilled the same criteria.

Only major customers were allowed to make these requests, and they would have to place a deposit with the merchant association first. After the transaction was made, a commission fee would be collected by the merchants. It was basically a special service provided to its VIPs to satisfy them.

There were two reasons why Roel wanted to sell his item through this request list:

First, the ones who placed these requests were high-net-worth individuals, so the prices they offered would usually be much higher as compared to the prices merchant associations offered.

Second, this request list was anonymous, be it the buyer or the seller. Only the Sorofya Merchant Association would know the identities of those involved in the transaction, and for the last few decades, there had never been any instance where it was caught leaking the confidential information of its clients.

To summarize, it was profitable and safe!

That being said, there was still one condition that couldn’t be avoided. Roel needed there to be a request for an item with criteria matching what the System could fulfill. It would really take quite a great deal of luck.

To his delight, there was actually one request on the list that was compatible with what was available in the Gold Coin Shop!

Request Criteria: Has the effect of calming souls, suppresses the power of hexes, and prevents corpse reanimation.

Roel took a careful look at the criteria before turning to look at his System’s Gold Coin Shop.

【Sarchorme’s Soul-calming Lamp

An oil lamp created by Priest Sarchorme. It brings peace to those who have returned to Mother Earth, so there’s no fear of weird things crawling back out.

The effect lasts till the oil runs out.

Price: 5000 Gold Coins】

“…”

Seems like it’ll work?

Roel stroked his chin as he looked to and fro between the request criteria and the description of Sarchorme’s Soul-calming Lamp.

Name itself contained ‘Soul-calming’— ✓.

Prevention of corpse reanimation— ✓.

All that was left was the part about suppressing hexes.

Well, if the effect of the hex was the reanimation of corpses, arguably, the lamp could be said to have the effect of suppressing hexes, right?

Suppression of hexes— ✓.

Nodding to himself, Roel placed the catalog down on the table as he began contemplating how he should go about doing it.

--------------------------------------

“Father, I would like to make a trip over to the Sorofya Merchant Association.”

“Hm? Is there something that you would like to buy? You can just send a servant over to place the order.”

Inside Carter’s study, Roel’s father looked somewhat perplexed by his son’s request.

As a spoiled young master, used to getting what he wanted simply by commanding his servants to do it for him, Roel had never needed to head to the merchant association before. Sending over a purchase order was just a small errand anyway, so it was fine to leave it to a servant.

To be honest, Roel could have chosen to head there without informing Carter beforehand, but it would have likely incurred Carter’s suspicion. So, in order to not undo the trust he had built up recently, he decided that it was best to consult Carter about it first.

“Actually… I’m not buying something for myself.”

Roel appeared to ponder for a moment before rubbing his hands together awkwardly and replying with a slightly embarrassed look. This reaction immediately hooked Carter’s curiosity.

“It’s going to be winter soon, but I haven’t gotten Alicia any welcome gift ever since she joined our house. So, I’m hoping to personally browse through the recent additions the Sorofyas’ have in stock and get her something she’d like.”

“Ahhh, I see.”

Carter put down his pen as he looked at his own son in surprise. He didn’t think that it was possible for his son to change by so much in just a few short months. To think that he would actually know how to care for someone else!

Having a younger sibling to take care of does make one mature!

(Affection Points +200!)

With a green light flashing over his head, Carter nodded with a wide smile of approval.

“It’s an excellent idea. Go ahead then, I’ll pass the money to Anna.”

“Thanks, father, I’ll be right back.”

Having succeeded in his plan, Roel quickly thanked his father before turning around to walk out of the study gleefully.

With this single move, I got money, a wave of Affection Points, and managed to conceal my reason for heading to the Sorofya Merchant Association. This is killing three birds with one stone!

As expected of me!

But while Roel was celebrating his little victory in his heart, Carter suddenly called for him.

“Wait a moment.”

“Hm?”

The sound of a chair being pushed backward sounded, and Carter stood up from his desk. He took a close, intent look at Roel, to the point that the latter started to sweat a little.

W-what is going on? Did he notice something amiss?

Recalling how his father possessed transcendent powers, Roel’s heart skipped a beat as he waited nervously for Carter’s following words.

“You’re heading there to buy something for Alicia, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“You can take your time and have a good look at the items they have. You’ll have to prepare another gift on top of Alicia’s… Her Highness’ birthday is coming up soon.”

“Alrig… What?”

Roel, who was just about to reply by reflex, suddenly processed what Carter was saying and halted in shock.

“Her Highness?”

“Yes, Her Highness Nora. You had a high fever last year, so you weren’t able to attend Her Highness’ birthday banquet. No matter what happens, you have to attend this year to make up for it.”

“T-this…”

“Usually, since we’re from the same house, it’d do for us to just send one gift. But, now that you’re friends with Her Highness, and considering that you were absent last year, it would be best for you to give her a personal gift this time around… It’s settled then!”

Carter clapped his hands together and ended the discussion there. The gleam in his eyes showed that he was very satisfied with himself for having been able to think of this, but meanwhile, Roel’s face had already started scrunching up bitterly.

Dad, can you stop talking nonsense? Who’s friends with who? How can you trust that woman’s words?!

“It doesn’t have to be too valuable. It’s best if you could choose something that’s in line with Her Highness’ preferences,” said Carter with a smile.

Something that Nora likes and shouldn’t be too valuable…

It was almost frightening how an answer immediately surfaced in Roel’s mind. He couldn’t help muttering to himself.

“A dog leash.”