"Sold! Sold! Sold!"

*Applause!!!*

"Thank you, thank you. And with that! The end of our auction for this week ends. Thank you very much for participating in the auction of the Orange Shield Merchant Guild! All winners of the auction, please proceed to the reception area along with your ticket number."

My items sold well. It sold above what I asked for and that is very much good. It sold so well that I am already tempted to do another auction item. However, I need to keep those items special to maximise the price and to serve as a reminder to myself that these items should be well above what I normally do.

"Our reception can handle all your needs in terms of payment. If you don't have the full amount available, don't worry as our receptionist can arrange a way that makes you and the person who put up the item up for auction happy. Those who put up their items for auction can also proceed to the reception area to collect your money. We wouldn't have a good auction like this without all of you, thank you very much and please collect your due. If the others are interested in putting some of their items for auction please talk to any of our sales crew and they will help guide you through the procedures! Once again, thank you for joining our auction house and may we see you next time again."

The reception area is flooded with all of the people who attended the auction, so I think I can go and eat first before collecting my coins.

Fame is the main reason for me making these 'auction special' items, so the money can wait until later.

Hmm, now that I think about it, shouldn't I also show my face at the reception area? I mean, they know the one who sold and built the item from the introduction but if they have a face to match with it, wouldn't I be more memorable?

Change of plans, I need to mix it up with the crowd, at least until the majority of the auction regulars know who I am if I am walking down the street.

Alright! Time to show off at the reception area.

"Next, please!"
"Hello, I am 'Brill Smith'!!! I put up some items for auction. I'm here to collect the money."

I honestly couldn't think of another way to broadcast myself other than saying my name out loud. Why? It's because the reception area is loud. There are even people arguing about prices. If you don't have enough money to pay then don't go crazy, bidding in an auction!!!

"Did you receive a ticket number for the auction items? Please show it to me along with your I.D."
"Here it is."
"Thank you, please wait a moment."

No one? Really? No one even paid attention to me when I broadcasted my name? I know that I am new in the auction scene but I have been relatively successful in the local market here. At the very least the people who won the items I auctioned off should have been curious about who made the item they bid on, right?

"Thank you for waiting. I confirmed that you match our records. Here is the amount your items combined have fetched in total. As per the agreement, 10% of the total have been deducted as part of the handling fee. However, you have a VIP card from our Merchant Guild, so the handling fee has been waived off. Thank you for doing business with us and may we see you again soon."

Well all the pushing and shoving I did was wasted now. No one even gave so much as a glance in my direction during the whole marketing strategy I did.

Let's just forget the whole thing and go for dinner. It's only been a week. The elder still hasn't finished with the whole meeting that he needs to attend, so I plan to extend my stay here for now. I already have a few commissions for this trip. I am almost sold out with the common items I put on my stall. I'm not in a hurry, so I will just treat this as a leisure trip.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Hmm? Who is it this early in the morning? I am still reminiscing on the cheese festival I had last night. The milk to make that cheese should have come from bron's herd and I could have gotten it cheaper if I bought it from him but it's not exactly convenient to go back to the village because I am hungry.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

"Yes, yes, I'm up. Give me a minute."

I wonder who and what they want this early in the morning?

"I'm Brill Smith, welcome to my stall. What do you need?"
"Yes, I'm sorry to visit you this early in the morning but I have completed the forms for my order. This is the description and specifics for my order. This is also the price for the materials plus 10% of their market price."
"Ah, the one from last week. That took you some time. Let me just double check everything. Pass that to me."
"Here you go."

Hmm, hmm, it's not that complicated. It's just a normal set of armour and weapons to match. The only thing that worries me is the quantity. It says here that he needs 50 sets. That would take me some time to complete. However, this will surely be profitable and most of all, it's not one of those 'trend' item things.

"Everything seems to be clear. This is your order ticket and a document that you need to sign. Please read carefully and ask me if there is anything that you don't understand."
"Hmm,......... Alright. I understand everything."

*Signs*

"Here is the document. Does it mean that you will take my commission?"
"Yeah, I don't know if I will finish everything by the next time I visit but I should have most of them finished by that time. Here is your copy of the document. Keep it with you at all times. Is there anything else that you need?"
"No, that is all."
"Thank you for visiting my stall. I hope our business will be successful. Bye"

I need to go to the market to purchase all of the items for this order. I might also need to rent an inn. The amount of materials that it needs is a lot and I don't think I have enough decoy storage bags to fit all of the items.

"Huh? This is the total for all the materials? Why is it this high?"
"I'm sorry but our prices change according to the supply. This is the total but since you have a VIP card with our merchant guild, this will be your final total after the discounts."

That new total isn't much better. Is this why that customer bothered me first thing in the morning? Did he already know that the price will increase like this?

I went to every merchant store here. Even the Large merchant guild that specialises in raw materials gave a price only slightly lower than this price. This place is only slightly better because I have a discount with them.

Tch, this is annoying. Next time, I won't accept commission orders in the morning. I need to see the market price first early in the morning and only accept commission orders after I finish doing that.

"Sir? Do you wish to proceed with the purchase?"
"Yeah, here is the total. Can you send it to this inn? Confirm the order with my I.D. card as proof. The inn owner should store it according to my instructions. Do you understand?"
"We understand, sir. This isn't the first time a customer asked us to send their item to the inn. Please be assured that your items won't be stolen or be given to someone else by mistake. Would that be all sir?"
"Yeah, that's it."
"Thank you for choosing us for all your materials needs. Please come back soon and may we have a pleasant business."

Why did the price increase like that though? This is the dwarf continent. I doubt supply would suddenly lower like that. Unless the mountains suddenly stopped producing golems, there should be no problem with the supply.

Are the miners on strike or something? I doubt it. The test for a miner is hard and gruelling. You won't take that unless you really like it. It's like that bomb alchemist. No matter how many times he explodes, he would still continue doing alchemy.

Did the bandit finally disrupt the merchant routes? This is even less likely. The large merchant guilds always have dedicated bodyguards. They are trained by them, armed by them, and they are always ready for anything. It's like they have their own little army.

Hmm? Is it because of what happened in the next town? Did it have something to do with the next town closing itself up? I did buy some materials there outside the city. I guess that delayed the trade route of the merchants or something.

I could travel all the way to the next few towns to get a lower price but It's not really worth the time. There is also a chance that I might even spend more money when tagging along with merchant caravans. It's not like all of them will allow a lone person without guards to just mooch off of the mercenary group protection that they have to pay for.

Well, I did make a good amount of money during the auction. I guess I can take this little loss. Well, it’s not really a loss but only me making less of a profit. Labour cost is a scary thing that changes depending on the maker. Especially here in the continent without the internet to compare with other makers. I just need to be more careful in the future.