Buying a Shop.

Rune, familiar with the general knowledge of the layout of cities from his time as an orphanage and in his past life, walked resolutely to the nearest clothing Shop.

A middle-aged beautiful woman in her late thirties warmly smiled at him.

" Welcome young Sir, what can I do for you today?" She stood from where she was sitting and came to attend him.

" I'm looking for clothes that fit me, I mean of my size" he stated with a flat voice. " And durable " he added as an after thought.

" You are in the right shop, please follow me "

Rune followed the woman near the back of the shop where clothes were neatly folded and placed in drawers.

She politely chatted, mostly to herself as Rune occasionally nodded and yeahed.

The clothes were all of quality material. Some even had runes on them. This was a new application of runes to Rune, spelling them on clothes!

After some trials, he bought two pairs of trousers, three shirts and a cloak. His had long been stored in System Storage Space along with his sword, Severance.

He visited a shoe shop next and bought a pair of shoes at six silvers after deducting a ten percent discount.

.....

A barmaid led Rune up the stairs to his room. After buying his clothes, he had come to the middle class region and booked a room in one of the moderate inns, The Golden State Inn.

The room was spacious, and at premium, he will receive three meals a day. Nevertheless, three gold coins a month were too much.

He quickly settled in and went down for supper.

Be careful down there and keep your head down.

Rune took Lenthandra's warning seriously.

...

The following morning, he visited the nearest weaponry Shop. An old looking frog croaked from the counter top announcing his presence.

A young man frowned when he saw Rune. This wasn't a place for kids. And this one didn't look wealthy enough to be here, let alone using a weapon!

" This is no place for kids , leave before I call the city guards."

The man said with venom lacing his tone. How could a peasant enter this shop! How preposterous!

" I said get out!"

.....

Rune moved from shop to shop all morning with almost the same results. He was either chased away or treated with disdain.

Are my clothes so bad? Did that woman scum me?

Don't be silly, you bought the clothes on your own. She didn't coax you. Plus if you had been paying attention, you would have a seen how sad and desperate she was. I suggest, if you want a foothold in this city, that lady is your besgt shot. Lenthandra admonished him.

Now, thinking about, he realized that beside the kindness of that woman, she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

And me busy trying not to get scammed didn't even see it. Am I really this kind of person? Who no longer feel anything for others? Is that how the nobles ignore the poor? Because they don't see anything amiss? No! I'm not going to be one of them.

With that he headed straight back to the lower class where he had bought the clothes.

"Oh it's you again, do you need more clothes" her smile and happiness at seeing him was genuine.

" Ah yes, it's me again. But no, I don't need any more clothes." Rune saw the disappointed on her face even though she tried to hide it.

" Okay, so how can I help you today?" She politely inquired.

" I'm looking for a job" Rune seriously stated without ceremony.

" You are too young to work in a shop, people will take advantage of you. Plus even if you were older. Tsk forget it. I have no job kid. Where are your parents anywhere? They will take care of you until you are of working age"

"No, tell me, even if I were older what?"

Ugh

She sighed and sank into her seat.

" This shop is about to close, to change hands to be exact. After my husband died, a gang sat its eyes on our shop.

They harass anyone who enters this shop, so I rarely get customers now. Most of my friends have turned their backs on my plight. I don't even know how I'm going to pay my daughter's next semester fees in the Cario Sect." She took a deep breath calming herself.

" Have you ever thought of selling the shop?"

" Yes I have, but no one is willing to buy it for fear of the Crimson Gangster."

"How much were you willing to sell it for?"

" if I were to get at least a hundred gold coins, I could go and buy a new shop somewhere."

Rune took out three hundred gold coins from his system and placed them on her counter with a thud.

" I'm buying the shop from you and everything in it for 300 gold coins. Deal?"

The woman looked at the money and then at the young boy before her. He was slightly younger than her daughter.

She was conflicted between her need of money and morality of doing a huge money transaction with a junior.

"No son, take your money back before anyone comes in. That's is more than the price of this shop."

"I insist, plus I need somewhere to live."

After haggling for some time, the woman finally gave in. She was delighted and partially ashamed of herself for selling such a shop at such a price to a junior.

Rune would continue to stay at the Inn untill the month-end.

He immediately began renovations to the shop. Hiring artisans to repaint the interior to white, putting weapon shelves behind sliding glass doors. The shop looked more clean and smart and classic than most from the high class region.

The quality materials he had used had cost him dearly, slightly above five hundred gold coins! But it was worth it. He was going to start his new business here, he needed to make a sound entrance in the market.

Mrs Amaroc was the most pleasantly surprised at the changes to the shop she once owned. She was staying here until the new owner moved in.

Rune closed the shop for the whole duration of the innovations and for a whole two months on top of that!

During this period, he went about the blacksmiths buying reject weapons and all kinds of scrap metal. All this, he refined and made weapons with his Soul Smithing attribute.

All the weapons he made were top notch weapons. He only runed a few for premium prices but otherwise, left the rest as ordinary weapons. In this part of the city, only a few could afford runed weapons.

....

Scar menacingly looked at the young man before him. The messages he had been receiving since three months ago did not make sense.

When the Paramount Garment Shop had closed, he had been ecstatic that his patience was paying off. It was only a matter of time before that miserable widow runs out of her savings because he had made sure to cut off her income.

But now, the shop had been closed for three months and the woman was still oozing money like a fountain spewing water. How deep were her pockets? Had he misunderstood and miscalculated?

"Are you sure that she never leaves the premise?"

"Yes Scar" a timid voice replied

" Call one eye in on your way out, it's time to change plans and visit that woman" he dismissed his informer.