Chapter 5

  Hidden Valley's Goods was not nearly as organized nor as clean as Hidden Treasures. No one stood at the door to greet them as they went inside and within the building was a lone cashier and two other workers on the floor.

  This was all too visible as the place had only a few people currently looking through its items. The items were placed in a random manner with no directions or signs leading to where each one was. The prices were also more expensive than what was sold on the first floor of Hidden Treasures.

  Drakkel immediately went to the cashier to seek out the owner.

  The cashier wore a bored expression on his face as his eyes seemed to stare into the distance. He didn’t even notice Drakkel’s group in front of him until Drakkel loudly cleared his throat.

  Upon hearing it, he snapped out of his absent-mindedness and stared curiously at Drakkel’s group, before speaking. “Hello, sir. Would you like to check out?”

  Drakkel’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

  “Call the owner out here. I would like to speak with them.”

  The man took a moment to measure the request. However, Drakkel didn’t have the time. He flashed his permit and upon seeing it, the man apologetically bowed several times before rushing off.

  As the four stood there, Drakkel couldn’t help but remark, “How disrespectful. I can see why the place is in its current state.”

  No one answered to what he had said but Drakkel wasn't surprised. The three behind him were demons after all and had already lived a long time. Because of this, they developed a somewhat insouciant attitude about most things.

  Not long after the man left, a woman approached them from one of the back doors.

  “Hello young gentleman and guests.” She said. “I’m apologize for making you wait. I heard you called for me?”

  She spoke in a respectful manner, her hands drawn together and her countenance open and welcoming.

  Drakkel smiled.

  Now this was what he was expecting.

  He turned his body around to face her. “Yes. I see that your store isn’t doing well, so I have come with a proposition.”

  The woman’s face fell, her lips forming a grimace.

  She took a step forward. “No!”

  Drakkel’s eyebrows shot up. “Don’t you want to hear what I'm going to say first?”

  “No need.” She said. “Your people have come here several times requesting to buy my business, but my answer will always remain the same!”

  Ah! Drakkel understood immediately. Being more popular than Hidden Valley's Goods, Hidden Treasures had probably tried to buy up their only competition in the area while also securing another building for their sales. Likely, the owner was getting harassed by the people working for them to persuade her to sell her business.

  Drakkel’s smile widened as he attempted to exude a friendly air. “I’m not with those people and I don’t want to buy your business.”

  “Really?” The woman asked, appearing skeptical.

  “Yes.” Drakkel replied. “I only wish to enter into a deal with you. One where I invest into the business and attain some of its shares.”

  “But sir.” The woman said, her face now fraught with worry. “I’m sure you see the state we’re in. Aren’t you afraid that you’ll be throwing money away?”

  Drakkel reassured her. “No. On the contrary, I may have some ideas that will help you regain some customers. How about you tell me how this situation with Hidden Treasures came about and we discuss our business plan afterwards?”

  The woman’s eyes widened. She hadn't mentioned her situation but he already saw through it. She figured that if the man in front of her was not from Hidden Treasures and already knew so much, it wouldn't hurt to take a chance on him.

  She nodded. “Alright then. Please, follow me.”

  She led the four to a backroom and sat them down on a plain wooden table. Then she left to retrieve some tea. When she returned, she served each of them a cup before sitting down and taking her own.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  With everyone seated comfortably around the table, Drakkel took a sip of tea and said, “I believe we should introduce ourselves.”

  The woman nodded.

  He continued, “I’ll go first. I am a foreign merchant that has just come to Dragon’s Dwelling. I’m looking into several business opportunities with the most important being to set up a business here where I can buy some local goods and sell them to my homeland.”

  The woman smiled. “I see. Your use of our language is good, I’m afraid I can't tell where you're from. Could you enlighten me?”

  Drakkel nodded. Moving his hand to his chest, he answered, “I’m from the Kingdom of Boray.”

  The woman's eyebrows went up.

  the Kingdom of Boray was a Western Empire inhabited by people of different ethnicities. The Empire of Lironte where they currently were, also contained people like that, but not in as great a number as the Kingdom of Boray.

  The Kingdom of Boray was known for housing talented individuals in terms of scholarly pursuits. Its court system was solid and corruption was minimal only because the current ruler was wise beyond her years. She was just in her lower thirties, but had eliminated all corrupt officials as well as hostile heirs to the throne and had placed competent individuals in their place. Those who weren’t hostile heirs were either deemed useful enough to be offered a seat in the court or married off to other Empires.

  In fact, one of the Emperor of Lironte’s, consorts, Royal Consort Song, actually came from the Kingdom of Boray. Because of their general reputation and good dealings with The Empire of Lironte any who came from the Kingdom of Boray were looked upon favorably. However, in the past, this wasn't the case and it had only gotten better in the last decade or so.

  “I hope you understand.” Drakkel continued. “I would prefer to keep my exact identity a secret until we have turned your business around. For now though, you can call me Sylas. Those who are with me are my assistants.”

  He gestured to Shia, “This is Shia.”

  Then he gestured to the rest, “This is Drion and this is Fargos.”

  Because their names weren't known like his, Drakkel saw no reason to hide them. the Kingdom of Boray itself, as it held many ethnicities, was also not so particular about the types of names its citizens were given. There were names given with no particular origin and names influenced by other countries. One could call them a Empire of immigrants.

  The woman bowed her head. “First, I would like to apologize for how I treated you. You didn't deserve that.”

  Drakkel smiled. “It's not a problem. I understand. You must be having a hard time.”

  The woman nodded, clenching her fists and looking down. “I won't say it's been easy… “

  She looked back up, “But I thank you for your understanding. Let me start again.”

  She bowed her head. “It's nice to meet you, Sylas and company. I’m Palta Stone.”

  Drakkel bowed his head in return.

  Palta Stone continued, “Then, since we’ve handled the introductions, I will elaborate on the current state of my business.”

  Palta Stone took a breath. “Hidden Valley's Goods has been around since my father's time. It's around thirty years old now. Back when my father ran it, it was prosperous. This was because he made connections with poorer locals. Those who had no skills but were talented in learning embroidery were taught how to do so by my father.

  They were given free classes which were later paid with part of the salary they were offered when they began to work for us. The classes took around ten percent off their paycheck for the first three months of working with us. Afterwards, they owed nothing else and could move around as they pleased. But most chose to stay.”

  She sighed. “The arrangement worked and back then, we grew so large that other businesses in the area had to either move or close down. These businesses were owned by rich merchants. We thought that nothing could go wrong, but…”

  Drakkel could guess what she was about to say next.

  “My father died after a while and although my mother tried to keep the business going, she was too stricken with grief over the death of my father. She was pregnant at the time too and I was only a year away from being an adult.

  As time passed, the stress caught up to her. When she was finally due, she couldn't handle it. She and my baby brother died.”

  Palta Stone paused to wipe a tear falling from her eye.

  “I was alone with my father's business and I was young and incapable. Because my father had no other heirs, he taught me about embroidery and running the business. But, his death was unexpected. I hadn't learned everything I could. With the help of my managers, I was doing fine for a while and catching up with what I missed. Profits were stable and everyone was happy. That was at least until…”

  She paused for a moment before continuing. “The restaurant across the street was bought five years ago. Then, Hidden Treasures was opened up. I was assured at the time that our business would be ok. The people in the capital had trust in our clothing quality and we had already built a reputation for ourselves.

  But, upon opening, Hidden Treasures offered a discount that never went away. Their clothing was unique and beautiful and also cheaper than ours. Soon, they began to look for embroiderers.

  Somehow, they offered more pay than us even though their clothes were cheaper. Half our embroiderers flocked to them. Those who didn't were older and still loyal to my father and my family. But, we were still losing funds.

  In the end, I was forced to close my embroidery program as people would use it to learn the skills then transfer to Hidden Treasure after 3 months. As we began to lose more and more money to Hidden Treasures, my managers left one by one until it was just me and one other. Now we’ve come to the point where our savings are drained.

  I want to realize my father's dream of making our store the most popular one in the capital and maybe even expanding it to other cities, but… I’m at my wit’s end. I apologize for all this. It would be reasonable if you didn't want to help me. ”

  She lowered her head.

  Drakkel understood.

  How powerless she felt, it was something he was familiar with. This was why he knew something about her story was off. So many negative events happening at once, it would be rare for it to be a natural occurrence.

  “I’m sorry that all of that happened to you. After hearing your story, how could I refuse to help?”

  He reached out a hand. “Your days of being stepped on will soon be over. We’ll show the capital that Hidden Valley's Goods isn't beaten yet.”

  Palta Stone stood up and shook his hand.

  Smiling, she said, “Thank you.”