The snack shopping took a long time. I wanted to arrive at the arena earlier but there are no wine wholesalers. To think that we went to five different stores just to buy everything we needed.

Me and victor's taste for alcohol are easy to find since the dwarven liquor store sold them. I blame chatterbox and his oh so 'exquisite' taste. Don't blame it on some silly thing and just admit you want to taste all the alcohol available while we are here in the central island.

The good thing is that we have V.I.P. passes. We don't have to line up like the common masses that I see lining up three ticket booths here in front of the arena. The hero seems to have gone for a classy look, since these ticket booths look like the ones you can find in an old opera house.

It seems that the V.I.P. can already go inside and watch them set up the place or watch the other arenas. We still have to wait for the rest of the class to show up but it's perfect since I want to finish the evaluation of the kid before they arrive.

"Alright, here we are. It's time for your evaluation. I'll tell my evaluation last since I'm the one who hired him. Why don't you start victor? You were with him at the meat wholesaler, so he might have done something else after we left."
"Nothing really happened. We just waited there until they finished making this bag to put the meat in. I didn't really pay attention but he did walk to the shopkeeper for a bit for some time. I didn't hear the complete details but apparently, we got a discount."

Be honest, you were munching on the food you bought earlier and paid no attention to what is happening, right? Since the kid is the one who paid attention to the transaction, I will give him an extra point for that and another for the discount he found. Looks like he won't have to run around the outer walls now.

"A discount? How is that possible? I thought the shopkeeper already closed negotiations because we are outsiders? What did you do?"

I would have thought a merchant would know how to control their emotions better. The more you want something, the more expensive it is in a negotiation, so shouldn't a merchant know how to hide their desire to get the best deal?

"Chatterbox, stop shaking him and let him talk. Are you drunk already? I told you not to do those sample drinks."

The poor kid almost fainted. You need to watch out for that drinking problem you have.

"Right, Right, sorry for that. So, What did you do to bring the price down? I'll give you a bonus if you tell me."
"I didn't do much, I just asked that since I'm a resident here and since I am the one who is paying, couldn't they give me a resident discount? They said it was ok since your group would be consuming the food within the island. He did tell me that I can't sell it to outsiders to bring to their continent for trade though. If I do, they won't charge me with the same price the outsider's pay."

That seems to make sense but how come no one found this kind of loophole before? Is it because they can't bring it outside the island or that you need to eat their products soon? Either way, this could open up a small business deal between the kid and chatterbox's family. It won't be a big business but he could cut down some living expenses of chatterbox's family while they do business at the island. In return, the kid could earn some cash while at the same time, learn how to do business with them.

"I see, no one said anything about this. The islanders must have hidden this to me at the information center. No, if I thought about it, this won't amount to much since you still need to consume the food here at the island. They probably have some kind of emergency plan to prioritize the islander in case of a shortage."
"Chatterbox, your evaluation?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes, he did good. Most of the stores he recommended for us to buy drinks are already in my list and he missed some of them but it was still enough to give a normal person a lot of choices. He didn't really do much but he did give us a discount. It won't be much but maybe I could hire him again when our family comes here."
"Alright, I don't have much to say either. There wasn't anything that stood out negatively so I gave it a pass. That comes to a total of two points. Congratulations, you earned your keep. Here are some coins."
"Thank you for the opportunity."

He already has enough coins, so a couple of copper coins should be enough. This should also alleviate any suspicions the princess has on him, if there is any.

"Alright, you are dismissed. You can't come with us inside the arena. This should be the last time we meet. Find something useful to do."
"....ah!"

Looks like he received my clue. Although, this would have diminished the suspicion on you, if we meet again after this, all of today would have been for naught.

I don't know what you will do for the 'organization' but I wish you the best.

"Ah, before you go. If you want a job, list down the prices of these things from every hub and the top 10 major stores every week. No need to find a cheaper place to buy these things, I just need to see the fluctuation of the goods. Me and my family will start doing business here around 4-5 months from now. How about I let you apprentice at our place when we start a business here? Who knows, maybe we can even help you start your own company?"

That is generous. I thought the best he could be given was a small helper job at worst or maybe a manager of a branch office at best? Hmm, I guess chatterbox wanted him outside the company as an outside force, like the one I am doing. That way, in case of a hostile takeover, he and his family could still have something to lean on. Well, in the end, the one who will reap the bigger profit will be me.

*Stares*

Arghh!! Don't look at me, you don't need permission from me. Decide on your own.

Actually this deal wouldn't be bad for you, and for me. You don't know anything about business so this is an easy route for you to take. I know chatterbox and his family isn't one to leave you on your own to learn the ropes. They would teach you, though some things are kept in their family.

Also, this would make it easier for me to assist him. Chatterbox will be the main tutor but I could passively help him without garnering suspicion from those human continent royals.

"You're already paid. Our previous business deal is done. What you do in the future is up to you. The deal doesn't sound bad and, even though I'm a friend of this guy, his deal doesn't sound bad. At the very end, it's up to you."
"I accept!"
"Good, then we will contact you when we arrive. Do you have a residence here?"
"No, not yet. I just arrived yesterday."

I should have given him enough money to buy a small house here. Is he taking his time until I leave? I guess it's a prudent thing to do.

"It can't be helped. I already bought a store and a house as a base of operations for my parent's merchant company. I already hired some cleaners and some people to maintain it, so you can stay there in the meantime. I left someone in charge, so take orders from her as long as it doesn't interfere with my previous request, I told you before. Find your own place to stay as soon as possible though. Here is the address and a letter to explain the situation to the caretakers I hired."
"I will. Thank you for today and I hope to see you all again soon. Goodbye!"

There he goes, and I see someone tailing him. A part of the eyes on us separated to watch him. The problem is if they would just tail him or question him. I'm glad that I don't have to worry about safety here. Unless those spies are suicidal that they won't care about the kraken. However, if they did that, wouldn't the princess group be affected too?

"That was generous of you. Sharing your mansion like that."
"It's not a mansion, it's just a three-story house with a carriage shed, garde, horse stables and a decorative fountain."

Sheesh, that is fancy and expensive.

"You brought that much money with you?"
"I signed a loan, using the name of our merchant company. My parent's already gave me permission for this. They also gave me a big down payment to lower the interest."
"Hope you pay that off or the kraken might come for you."
"Brill's right, chatterbox. If you break a contract like that, the kraken will take you and your family's merchant company."

Really? I was just joking though. Is the kraken that big or are there more than one kraken?

"Relax, my parents are already gathering some personal guards to help us travel here. Don't mind something like that and just enjoy the night."
"Speaking of the night, where are the rest of the class and teacher?"
"They should be inside already, watching the games before the title match."

They're already inside? I thought we were supposed to meet them here outside?

"Then what are we doing here?"
"I'm trying to count how many people will arrive for a title match."
"You're serious about working with them? I thought you said they are cheapskate scammers?"

I really doubt whether you can make a decent profit working together with them. Even if you cooperate with them and make a small profit, they would take the bulk of the profit with a lot less effort. In the end, it isn't worth the effort.

"I know, I was thinking if we can set up something like this on our own."
"This place was created and endorsed by the hero. What makes you think you could ever beat them?"

Even if you somehow get a fair bit of regulars, you can't beat them in the long run. They are supported by the islanders and they have the hero fanatics to back them up if they are ever in a tough spot.

"I don't mean here, of course. You can't build another arena here. The city won't allow it, I already tried. I'm thinking that maybe I can set up something like this in our continent. I can even make a special deal with the school to let fresh graduates work at the arena for a few years if they don't have anything in particular to do after graduating."

That could work but they would have to ask the elders to allow a place where violence inducing places like that to exist.

Hmm, Actually, unlike the human continent, we don't have a very clear and protected continent with rules to prevent monsters from attacking. This could help the mercenary economy from distant travelers, encourage travelling and another way for the elders to make money. I think they would like this idea very much. It's not like we have a prison farm system here to help the less fortunate. I don't know the specifics but I'm sure a merchant company has the necessary eloquence to make this a great idea from the elder's point of view.

"Argghhhh!! Stop talking and let's hurry inside!! You can just count the number of people inside when the match actually starts! The V.I.P. box has a good view. The arena size can't fit everyone but there should be a lot of people trying to squeeze in from the hallways, you can count them too if you want!"
"Victor is right, let's get in before he becomes more excited and wants to do a pre-title match spar. I will gladly push you to him as a candidate if that happens. Besides, you aren't going to build an arena of this size at the start. The one you see here is popular because different continents could clash. If you want to build one in the dwarf continent, you would first build a small arena to test how many people are actually interested in it. Otherwise, you would just be throwing away your money building a huge arena without an audience."
"I guess that's true, alright let's go in. Hey victor, no eating and drinking before the actual title match begins. I want something to munch on while watching, so don't think of finishing everything before the main event starts."

Now that I think about it, I don't know who are fighting. I guess it doesn't matter either way, it is a title match so it should be good.