Pawn Shop (2)

Graham followed the old man back into the pawn shop and watched as he carried out a large black rectangular machine with a handheld scanner attached from the backroom.

THUD!

It was dropped on the countertop with a large thud, and the old man put on plastic gloves before holding out his hand.

"Give it here!"

Graham obligingly gave him the smallest Mirystal that he had, putting the bag away.

The old man placed it into the machine and pointed the scanner at it. 

The machine began glowing with a blue light and humming slightly.

A thick metallic smell filled the air as a red pointed laser from the handheld scanner hit the glowing blue machine.

Then the old man seemed to tap several buttons that Graham couldn't see, and then the blue glow slowly faded away.

"1 percent mana concentration and percent purity. Not bad." The old man held the scanner out for Graham to see.

Since the display matched the man's words, Graham nodded, "How much are you paying for that?"

"1 credit per pound. If you have more than the five you showed me, I can give you more."

Greed shone in the man's face once more. 

"Err! Try again! You think I can't use the internet, old man! The going rate is 20 credits per pound!"

"That's through official routes, with bigger quantities, and higher purity! The max I can give you is 5 credits per pound!"

"15!"

"Ahhh, you're killing me here. 10! Take it or leave it!"

The two of them glared at each other before Graham pretended to cave in.

"Tsk! Fine! Give it to me in cash. Stingy bastard."

The old man handed over five crisp 10 credit bills, and Graham pocketed them while throwing the ziplock baggie at the old man, who snatched it out of the air with a wild grin and pocketed it.

"If you happen to get some more of these, come back here. I'll give you a fair price."

"More like you'll rob me, Robert!" 

Fifty credits richer, Graham headed out of the pawn shop and headed to the first corner store that looked to be a decent size.

After nodding at the boy at the cash register, he immediately went to the female beauty section and gathered different hair dyes, contact lenses, and hair accessories.

At the guy's weird look, Graham pretended to groan, "My girl has decided that she needs a damn "makeover" for her new business, but instead of picking one look she's picked 3. And here I am buying hair dye that'll look good on her. What the hell do I know about hair dye?"

The cashier immediately nodded sympathetically as he began scanning the items Graham chose.

"That's rough, dude. My sister acts just like that, and it's so annoying. I hope she's worth it."

"She's pretty. Crazy, but pretty."

"Those are always the best ones. Your total is 35 credits. Good luck, my guy."

Graham took the bag but kept the change on the counter.

"15 credits if you tell me a good place to buy things in bulk? Like cases of water, flour, sugar, snacks, etc. I need them to deliver, so I'm not the one stuck doing it when my girl gets lazy."

The tired-looking cashier glanced at the money and Graham's face before he brought out and signed a business card.

- Supply & Co. -

XXx-xxx, Market St.

Referral Code: XXXX

"The owner and a couple of other shops use them to supply their stores. Their basement warehouse is not too far from here, so you can check it out if you show them this."

"Thanks, bro." Graham casually shook the guy's hand as he accepted the business card.

"What's your name?"

"Leon."

"Good looks, Leon. Would you have given me a card with a referral code if I hadn't tipped you?"

"Nah." The boy laughed and held up another business card that just had the name and address on it.

Graham laughed along with him and began to head out.

"Bring your girl next time! I wanna see her."

"I will."

Satisfied with his purchases so far, and seeing that his Mana power had recovered, Graham rushed back to the door of the store and entered before his mana ran out.

"Phew. I really need to increase that limit. The use time is way too short. But very, very useful."

[Welcome Back.]

The glowing golden ball that was IMES hovered over him, and Graham greeted with a smile as he transformed his clothing into simple jeans and a t-shirt.

"Thank you, thank you."

[Did you find my book?]

"Not yet."

[...]

"I'm heading to the general store on the other side now. When I come back and head to Market Street to trade the rest of the Mirystals, I'll look for your book promise. Can you please move the bookcase?"

Graham tossed his purchase to the side and went out the door in Bisbee, the small city where his great-grand-uncle originally had his store.

It seemed that he had missed those with trucks, so Graham walked to the general store while chatting lightly with the other people walking toward a destination.

By the time he reached the general store, 15 minutes had passed, he was completely out of breath, and his face was almost as red as his hair.

His physical strength was…..middling to say the least.

Another thing that he needed to improve.

After making himself presentable, Graham opened the door and headed inside the store.

Today, the Granny was wearing a neon red dress with pink hearts all over it.

Her makeup was very heavy, especially the blush on her cheeks and the crazy eyelashes that made her look like she would fly away.

"Oh my, you're early, Graham deary." a sugary sweet voice called his name, making goosebumps rise on his skin.

"Big Sis Lisa, wow, you look so beautiful today. I can't even look at you for fear of being blinded." Graham smiled widely as he approached her.

"Ohoho, thank you, sweetheart. Why did you come so early?"

"I came to spend more time with you, but also to buy more water. You know I'm from the city. The water here is a little too harsh for me, so I've been using it to bathe and accidentally used it all up." Graham laughed as charmingly as he could.

"Oh, you~, so spoiled."

"And I tried making some homemade biscuits so I could share with the prettiest lady in town, but I burnt all of them and used up all my flour."

"There's no need to do that! I can cook for us both." As the old woman's eyes watered with pity, Graham pressed his face close.

"So if you don't mind, Big Sis, can I buy more things from you and get them delivered before our lunch date? That is, if you don't mind, of course. Then we can spend a longer time together."

Graham grabbed the old woman's hand and stroked it softly, as her wrinkled face turned red.

"Big sis?" his voice was soft as he made a pitiful expression.

"Of course. You still have lots of money left over, so tell me what you need!"

Score!

"Thank you, big sis."

Graham gave her the brightest smile that he could muster.