I Snatched The Duke - Chapter 12. Date(3)

Who would sell something this expensive in a street stall? It was clear that he changed the price by looking at people’s appearances.

 

“That’s an outrageous price.”

 

Mihalis, who couldn’t stand it, said.

 

“Aigoo, sir knight. Considering its rarity, it is absolutely not expensive.”

 

“Rarity?”

 

“It’s pink lightning.”

 

The merchant from the Eastern Empire proudly shrugged his shoulders at Mihalis’ question.

 

‘Outrageous.’

 

Seeing that, Mihalis cursed inwardly.

 

One thing was certain. This was a crazy guy. To add color to lightning, it is normal to increase the power if he’s already putting that much effort.

 

“Liana, there’s a few suspicious things here. Let’s just go.”

 

“20 million Riums? It’s a bit expensive…. Let me think about it for a moment.”

 

Eliana was also troubled. The price was way too unexpected.

 

It was a strangely appealing thing. From Eliana’s point of view, the merchant was also suspicious. If it was this expensive, why was it being sold in a stall, without a care about being robbed at all?

 

“Mihal, can you give me a minute to decide?”

“Alright.”

 

‘Dream.’

 

As soon as Mihalis gave permission, Eliana called the system.

 

[Yes, I am listening. Please select the desired function.]

 

It was time for her to use her own perks.

 

‘Search for that item.’

 

Eliana thought as she stared at the necklace in the hand of the Eastern Empire merchant.

 

There was a fact that she learned from experimenting with the search function in her alone time. If what you want to search for is an object or a person, you need to know their exact ‘name’ in order to search for it.

 

Other than that, you can search for what you see with your eyes instead. Even if she didn’t know the name, she could use the ‘Image Search’ function.

 

[Starting image search.]

[Data search has been completed.]

 

============================

Image search results.

 

Name: Intaglio Locket Necklace

Use: Self-Defense

Grade: C+

Material Quality: Silver, Lowest Grade Magic Stone

Price: No transaction record

Function: Lightning Magic

Producer: Callahan

Counts Remaining: 3/3

 

*Special note: Pink lightning is emitted.

============================

 

‘Dream, can’t you calculate the price?’

 

Eliana looked at the search results that popped up in front of her eyes and thought again.

 

[Searching for the accurate price.]

[This is a one of a kind product. No transaction records for the same product could be found. Applying transaction records for product groups with the same use.]

[Data search has been completed.]

 

============================

Fair price: RM30,000,000

(Average price of items with the same use: RM5,000,000 +Rarity value RM25,000,000)

============================

 

’30 Million Riums?’

 

Upon seeing the search results, Eliana’s eyes widened.

 

It looked cheap as it was made of silver and a magic stone of the lowest quality. How rare was it that…. the value for its rarity was priced that high.

 

‘As expected, it’s suspicious.’

 

Eliana, who was suspicious of the strange pricing, this time, turned her attention to the merchant of the Eastern Empire.

 

‘Dream.’

 

[Yes, I am listening. Please select the desired function.]

 

‘Search for that person’s information.’

 

[Starting image search. Data search has been completed.]

 

===========================

Image search results.

 

Name: Callahan (private)

Age: 136 years old (private)

Occupation: Wizard (private)

Nationality: none

Affiliation: none

Body: 171cm, 60kg (Private)

 

*Special note: Disguised using magic.

===========================

 

Eliana, who was in deep thought for a while after checking the retrieved data, came to a conclusion.

 

‘Oh! I must buy this!’

 

The merchant who was disguised like a swindler in front of her was a 136 year-old archmage. She didn’t know if he did it intentionally or by accident. She had a hunch that it was something she must buy.

 

“As expected, I will present you with something better.”

 

Mihalis, who had been watching Eliana, shook her head slowly.

 

“I want that one not something else… .”

 

“There’s no helping it then. I will buy that for you.”

 

Eliana immediately restrained Mihalis by grabbing his hand as he pulled out his wallet.

 

“It’s a silver necklace, but 20 million Riums is too expensive.”

 

“Oh, then I’ll give you a small discount.”

 

The Eastern Empire merchant, no, wizard, who was anxious about the wallet that had gone back in after coming out halfway, said smirking.

 

“Then will you give it to me for 15 million?”

 

“Why are you hitting me like that? That’s absurd.”

 

“Then how much will you give it for?”

 

“Since you like it so much, I’ll give you a special price of 19 million.”

 

“18 million.”

 

“Oh no, I can’t. Then there’ll be nothing left.”

 

“Haa, then I guess it won’t work out. Hope you sell a lot. Let’s go, Mihal.”

 

“Good job.”

 

Satisfied with Eliana’s decision, Mihalis took her hand and took one step.

 

“Alright. Yes, 18! I’ll give it to you for 18 million!”

 

In the end, the anxious wizard shouted at their backs.

 

“As expected, if I don’t buy it now, I think I’ll keep thinking about it.”

 

With a brightened expression, Eliana immediately turned around and took Mihalis’ hand and dragged him. It was up to him, a wealthy man, to open his wallet for her.

 

***

 

“Do you really like it that much?”

 

Mihalis asked Eliana, who was sitting across from him at a table, fiddling with her locket necklace.

 

“Yes.”

 

Eliana had a faint smile while she fiddled with her necklace for a while.

 

‘I don’t get you.’ 

 

Mihalis looked at her like that and swallowed his question without saying anything.

 

She looked happier right now than when she was presented with a dressing room; a woman’s mind truly is an unpredictable and uncharted world.

 

“The food you ordered is here.”

 

Shortly after their conversation was cut off, a plump middle-aged woman brought a large tray and began to set the food down on their table.

 

“This is one of the places I know that serves food that is most similar to the one Liana mentioned earlier.”

 

“Oh, that’s right. Chicken and beer!”

 

Eliana laughed heartily at the food on her table.

 

On the rough wooden table, there was a caramelized, glazed whole chicken and two glasses of sparkling beer. It wasn’t fried in oil, but it was the perfect ‘chimaek’ in terms of oven chicken.

 

“But you know a place like this, that’s quite unexpected?”

 

Eliana shrugged her shoulders as she looked at Mihalis, who was skillfully cutting the chicken.

 

A shabby restaurant located in an alley near the plaza. It was a place that could only be frequented by commoners. It was not a place for a great aristocrat with power equal, perhaps even more, to that of the imperial family.

 

“This is where I often came when I served as a knight.”

 

“You were a knight?”

 

“I started as a squire at the age of 14.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Eliana’s mouth dropped at Mihalis’ unexpected words..

 

Although she often felt that his demeanor and the way he dressed seemed down-to-earth, she dismissed it as just the leisure of the ‘haves’. He must have started from the bottom.

 

“Here you go.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Eliana, who was dazed for a moment, took the plate of well-prepared meat.

 

“Try it, I hope you like it.”

 

“Oh, yes.”

 

‘Wow, this is the first beer I’ve had in a while.’

 

The heavy weight of the wooden cup and the fragrant smell of barley raised her expectations.

 

Gulp.

 

Eliana took a sip of her beer, greeted by a pouring gaze all over her body.

 

“Ack.”

 

“Is there something wrong with it?”

 

Mihalis, nervous at Eliana’s slightly distorted expression, asked in a cautious tone.

 

“Oh, no. It’s delicious….”

 

She tried to smile, but the tips of her eyebrows quivered slightly.

 

‘Beer, beer! My beer is lukewarm!’

 

It was an unacceptable temperature for Koreans.

 

“Your expression doesn’t look too good though?”

 

“Oh, no. It is delicious. I think it just needs some ice.”

 

Eliana wanted to bury the beer cup into a bucket full of ice.

 

“Ice is too expensive that it is difficult to obtain outside the castle.”

 

“Pardon? The ice is expensive?”

 

“Probably, I understand that it is about 10,000 Riums per piece.”

 

A regular soldier’s monthly salary is 1 million Riums.

 

If the Rium unit is converted at the same rate as the won, a piece of ice the size of a 500-won coin is 10,000 won. Considering that the meal for a commoner is priced at about 1,000 to 2,000 Riums, it was very expensive indeed.

 

“Oh.”

 

Eliana suddenly remembered how casually she had been drinking iced drinks every day.

 

“Wow…. I was too extravagant.”

 

Eliana was stunned.

 

It was information that Eliana did not remember, as she was from the North, where ice was easy to obtain. The drink she drank in the office today had at least 20 ice cubes in it.

 

‘200,000 won for a cup of ade?? That’s crazy.’

 

“That’s nothing.”

 

Mihalis smiled at the sight of Eliana, whose expression had become completely bewildered.

 

She didn’t care about the necklace worth 18 Million Riums, but was quite shocked by the value of the ice. Just looking at her expression, she looked like a child who had swallowed a diamond.

 

“Well, I’ll just drink it.”

 

Learning the price of ice, Eliana sipped her beer again.

 

As she drank, she gradually got used to the lukewarm temperature. It was a pretty well-made beer, judging from the carbonation that moderately scratched the throat and the savory aftertaste.

 

“By the way, how do you get the ice?”

 

She always thought they were getting ice from a place like an ice cave that vaguely maintains a constant temperature all year round. She suddenly wondered where the hell they were getting such expensive ice.

 

“We purchase it through the Mage Tower.”

 

“A mage tower?”

 

“If you put in an order, they put the amount of ice you ordered in a box enchanted with preservation magic and send it.”

 

Eliana immediately noticed something strange about Mihalis’ answer.

 

‘Why preservation magic?’

 

If you have a box that maintains a certain temperature like a refrigerator, you can continue to produce ice…. In conclusion, it was a shaky business tactic.