Ch 82 -- It Seems Baths Are On Sale

　　"h.e.l.lo. My name is Mukouda, is Lambert-san available to speak to me?"

　　I went to Lambert-san's shop but unfortunately today Lambert-san was not in the shop that day. I spoke to one of his employees who seemed to recognise me. He immediately went off to call Lambert-san.

　　Lambert-san came from the back of the store. "Mukouda-san, welcome."

　　"I've brought the Black Serpent's skin that you wanted, Lambert-san." I got right down to business.

　　"Oh, that is excellent news." Lambert-san said with a smile on his face. "Please, this way."

　　I followed Lambert-san into a reception room at the back of the store. A maid brought tea as soon as I was shown to a chair. The tea smelled and tasted like oolong.

　　"So may I show you the skin of the Black Serpent?" Lambert-san nodded so I extracted the Black Serpent skin from my Item Box and displayed it to him.

　　"Ho ho, this seems to have few scratches. It is in wonderful condition." said Lambert-san, examining the skin minutely. "Truly wonderful". It seems that skins with only small amounts of damage are rarely available.

　　"Because this is such a good skin I will make a good offer... hmmm, how about 50 gold coins?"

　　Huh? 50 gold coins for just the Black Serpent's skin? Lambert-san explained his thinking to me.

　　"As I said before, this skin has only a few scratches. Scratched or torn parts of a skin can't be used to make high-quality leather items such as bags. This skin is almost undamaged so I'll be able to use more of it than usual."

　　I see. Still 50 gold coins seemed a lot. It is an unexpected extra income but welcome all the same.

　　"Very well, I agree, 50 gold coins it is."

　　When I said that, Lambert-san went off to a back room and returned with 50 gold coins and stacked them on the table before me, five stacks of ten coins each.

　　"50 gold coins, please check the total." said Lambert-san.

　　"Yes, I have received 50 gold coins." I said formally, completing the deal. I carefully put the 50 gold coins in the Sand Snake skin wallet I had bought in this shop earlier.

　　"Oh, that's from our shop." said Lambert-san appreciatively, noticing the wallet.

　　"Yeah, I've been a little hesitant to use it but since this money was earned at Lambert-san's store, I thought it appropriate to start keeping coins in it from now on."

　　"Heh, I hope that you use it profitably for a long time to come." Lambert-san said. A Sand Snake skin purse with 50 gold coins made me feel rich somehow even though it's a small part of my entire fortune.

　　I remembered I wanted to consult with Lambert-san about selling goods so I put a serious expression on my face and sat up straight.

　　"Well, I'd like to discuss some other business with Lambert-san if I may...."

　　"Discuss busniness with me?"

　　"Yes, but before we begin... I got hold of a lot of b.l.o.o.d.y Horn Bulls so I felt I should share the bounty." I brought out the b.l.o.o.d.y Horn Bull's skin Johan-ojisan had disa.s.sembled for me and presented it to Lambert-san.

　　"Are you sure?" he said, admiring the skin.

　　"Of course it is. As I said, I got a lot of them." It's easier to ask someone to do you a favour if they feel they're indebted to you because of something you gave them. It's not a bribe, honest. Since Lambert-san seemed ready to accept my 'gift' I continued with my explanation.