As Deverick was wandering the city, he came across Emy. Similar to the first time he met her, she seemed lost. 

"Hey Emy, are you lost?"

"Emy not worried about being lost. She exploring."

"I guess that's fine. Care to join me for lunch again?"

"Are you going to bring Emy to get good food?"

"Yeah, I know a pretty good place nearby."

"Then let's go." Emy had a bright smile on her face as heard this. The places that Deverick goes to eat seem to always have good food. They have hanged out together a few times in the past few months and every time Deverick brings her to get food, she was very satisfied. There was a good reason the two of them get along so well. It's because both of them enjoy eating good food. For Deverick, it is one of his joys in life, while Emy might have been influenced by him.

As they were walking to the restaurant, they met Lia.

"Hi, Deverick. Are you having another date with Emy?"

"I guess by the definition of a date, yes. Care to join us? We're getting lunch."

Lia's eyes lit up when she heard this. Similar to Emy, she might have a "slight" appreciation for the places Deverick eats at. It can't be helped. The food was just so good. Lia sometimes wonders where Deverick finds such places though. When she asked him about it one time, he answered, "I have my ways."

It's weird because Deverick never seems to eat at places with mediocre tastes. It's almost like he has a secret channel dedicated to finding him good restaurants. But how is that possible? He's a professor so where could he find people to work for him?

Despite the questions in her head, Lia decided to tag along.

The restaurant they visited seems to be pretty popular as the tables are all filled. They waited a few minutes before getting a seat. Deverick looked at the menu and placed his order. Knowing Deverick, both Emy and Lia ordered the same dish.

"So what are you going to present at the event?" Lia decided to make some small talk as they waited for their meal. "Knowing you, it will definitely surpass expectations."

"You said it yourself, so I will leave it as a surprise."

"Can't you even give a hint?"

"Would it still be a surprise if I spoil it?"

"Not even a clue?"

"No."

"Come on, don't be like that. Emy help me out."

While this was happening, Emy was bobbing from side to side, waiting for the food.

"Emy not curious. Emy just watch the show later."

A few minutes later, their meal was interrupted by a commotion.

"I told you I'm not interested!"

"How dare you? Do you not know who I am?"

"I don't and I don't care. All I know is that you are an asshole."

"Girl, let me tell you, this is the young master of the Proudgong family," a lackey said. "It's your honor that he took an interest in you"

From what Deverick can tell the prick is trying to pick up someone and got rejected. Now it became a situation of pride. The two parties went back and forth a few more times. Then Deverick heard a familiar voice.

"*sigh* So this is the classic annoying young master trope that always happens in novels. I knew it was too convenient to be a main character."

Deverick looked in the direction of the voice. 

"I didn't know you like to read novels, Shin."

Shin looked over. "I used to. Now I barely have time anymore."

"You can't blame me for that."

"No, I can't. I signed up for it after all. Now if you will excuse me, I have a mission to complete."

Shin started walking towards the bickering group.

"I never realized this, but Shin says some weird things sometimes."

"You might not know this but Shin usually becomes like that when there's someone in need of help," Lia explained.

"I never thought there would be such people in the world, but I guess I have just been dealing with reasonable people so far," Shin interrupted the commotion.

"Who are you? If you know what is good for you-"

Shin ignored whatever the person was going to say and winded his arm back before letting it fly at his face. The arrogant person got sent flying backward at an arc. Shin nodded and congratulated himself for the well-honed technique. It's not every day he gets to punch someone so annoying after all.

The person got up and glared at Shin. An appearance that is hard not to laugh at, especially with a giant fist mark on the side of his face. His lackeys scurried over to him and helped him up.

"How dare you! Do you have any idea who I am!?!?" He was furious. This was the first time someone dared to treat him like this. 

"I don't know and I don't care." Shin was way too nonchalant. It's almost as if what he did just now was not a big deal.

This familiar answer and Shin's casual face, only made the person angrier. His anger reached levels he didn't know was possible. 

"How dare you. I will make you wish you were dead."

Shin stuck one of his pinkies in his ear. "Seriously, is that the only phrase you know? You have already said that enough times already. Look my ears have become crusty from hearing you talk."

Shin then removed his finger from his ear and blew the earwax on his finger.

"You!" He pointed at Shin.

"Look. I am kind of getting bored listening to you so how about you take your group and leave me alone?"

The person didn't know how to retort this. Seeing this, his lackeys quickly whispered something in his ears. He nodded before saying, "Do you dare give me your name?"

"Shin Kinemasu of Star Bound."

*gasp* So he's a student of Star Bound. No wonder he dared be so bold. When the group heard his background, they hesitated. They might have hit a hard wall this time.

The person, though seems to not realize this fact. Instead, he yelled, "Just you wait. This isn't over!"

Deverick simply shook his head at this display. With how unrealistic that scene was, the person had to be acting, right? Deverick just couldn't imagine how someone would be able to act so stupid and ignorant. As Shin even pointed out, this act seems to be something straight out of a novel. If it was not intentional, then Deverick will lose all hope in the world. What circumstances would produce such an entitled moron anyways? For the sake of his own brain cells, Deverick decided to stop thinking about this.

After the person left, a spectator came up to Shin.

"You should be careful. You have offended the young master of the Proudgong family. They won't let you off for this."

Shin thanked the person since, but he didn't feel like it will be a problem. Who would be crazy enough to attack a student of Star Bound in daylight? The alumni of the school are no joke. With the number of connections the school has, the person who should really worry is anyone that dares target him. And even if some suicidal idiot plans to do something, Shin won't give them an opportunity.

When the spectators dispersed, Shin walked over to Deverick's table and had a seat. Deverick nodded at him before returning to his meal. As someone who appreciates his food, it is a sin to talk while he is eating. He has dedicated his entire attention to enjoying the meal in front of him and nothing can stop him.

After Deverick finished, he looked up at Shin. 

"What's up?"

"Nothing much. I was just wondering if I could join you. Going around by myself isn't that fun when I could go with a group."

"Why not." Dveerick then turned to Emy and Lia for their opinions.

"Sure."

"Emy doesn't mind."

A few minutes later, they paid for their food and were walking down the street.

"So any of you have any idea what you want to do?" Deverick asked the three students that were trailing him.

"Actually I was hoping you would be the one leading us since you always seem to know everything," replied Lia.

"Same here. That's why I asked to join you," Shin shrugged.

"Emy no care. Deverick is always fun." Emy is the same as usual.

Hearing these responses, Deverick couldn't help but wonder how he became the tour guide. He thought for a few moments before making a decision for the group.

"In that case, I know an antique shop nearby that we can visit."

Deverick pulled up the network and punched in some coordinates to let the kata guide them. A few minutes later, they are in front of a median-sized building with glass revolving doors at the front. They walked through and a scene of wooden countertops and glass display cases greeted their eyes.

"Welcome to Harry's Contratoriam," greeted the man behind the counter. The four of them looked at him weirdly. It can't be helped. He is wearing a top hat, a gold-rimmed monocle over his left eye, and a business suit with a blue undershirt. Quite a weird getup for anyone really.

"How can I help the four of you?" The man continued as if he doesn't see the weird looks from them. 

"To bargain a treasure buried of time" Deverick replied.

When the man heard those words, he crossed his legs and interlocked his fingers behind his head. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. 

"Why do you seek to mess with such depths of time?"

His previous welcoming tone had changed to an indifferent, cold one. This change unnerved the other 3. Where did Deverick just lead them?

"The sands of time leave many traces," Deverick continued as if he didn't notice the change.

"Yet devours many travelers."

"But a certain particle of sand leaves everyone a chance."

After that sentence, the man switched back to his usual happy tone.

"Rune bargain, normal, or gamble?"

"Gamble," Deverick replied.

"5 per attempt."

"30 attempts," Deverick handed over his Nori card.

All this while, question marks formed above his student's heads. After Deverick came back to them, they decided to ask their questions.

"What was that?"

"A series of code phrases."

"I know, but for what?"

"Letting us browse his collection."

"What kind of collection is it?"

"A bunch of stuff. Some good, some trash. All of them bizarre."

"Okay?"

"You'll see in a moment."

"Then what were the options after that about?"

"It's our method of payment."

"Care to explain?"

"Let me start with normal since that is the easiest to understand. How that would work is that he would display a portion of his collection and their prices. If we fancy any one of them, we could just pay for it, but this option doesn't let us see the good stuff.

Then there is rune bargain. How that works is that we would present him with rune-related knowledge. He would evaluate its worth and what he is willing to exchange for it."

"That sounds risky. What happens if the item he exchanges is not worth the knowledge?"

"That's why it's called bargaining. We could decide if we want to accept his trade, but we are limited to what he wants to show us.

Lastly, there is gamble. We would pay a set amount to have access to his entire inventory. He would fill it up with junk and we get to keep whatever we pick."

"That really sounds like a gamble. One that seems rigged against us."

"What we get out of it will depend on our luck and skills. That's why it's called a gamble."

"That makes sense. So what was the set price? 50,000 demas?"

Deverick chuckled at that number. "Too low."

Shin gasped. "Are you telling me it's 500,000?!?!?"

"No. It's 5 million."

"Wait a moment. Are you telling me you just spent 150 million just now? And this is clearly a ripoff!" Lia was also shocked.

"That's exactly what I am telling you, but I wouldn't worry about the money part."

"Why did you spend so much? How do you even have all this money anyways? And how do you even know all this stuff?"

"One question at a time, Lia. The first is that since I am guiding you on this event, I have to make sure it's something memorable. No pressure. It's only 150 million."

"ONLY 150 million! How can you say such a thing?!?!"

"Well that ties into the answer to the second question. Being a famous runemaster on Nemesis has it's perks, you know? Otherwise, why would people put so much importance on the ranks?"

"That's not the problem."

"The problem is that you don't think it is a worthwhile purchase."

"Exactly."

"Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"Fine. Can you answer my last question now?"

"Let's just say I have my ways."

"Arrggggghhhh I hate when you give me that answer."