Deep Sea Pawnshop (2)

"I asked if the policy had changed?"

Graham doubled down rather than pull back with a firm expression on his face.

If he caved in here, he wasn't sure how he would continue to be treated, even with Chubsy vouching for him.

The air was thick with tension as the Charon stared at him without blinking for what felt like hours.

Just as sweat dripped down the back of Graham's neck, Charon smiled gently while bowing his head, "Of course not, Mr. Graham Kubera. It's just standard procedure to ask for further details about the item. It helps us identify potential buyers, especially those with particular requests or specifications."

"I see." Graham replied cooly as his heartbeat calmed down.

"With your permission, I'll show you the various sales avenues available to you, and you may choose the one that best suits your needs. Additionally, I must inform you that Deep Sea Pawn Shop collects 25% of the transaction fee when acting as the intermediary. The 25% fee covers many things like guaranteed customer anonymity, and various services like providing offshore and off-world bank accounts, rare items, and access to our yearly auction."

"Auction?"

Graham's ears immediately perked up at the term auction while he mentally blocked out the 25% cut that had just disappeared.

If he didn't acknowledge it, then it didn't exist to him.

Back to the auction, it was his very first time hearing about it.

"Yes. We have a large auction once a year in collaboration with many high-end pawn shops for our most lucrative clients. Forming a recurring trade relationship with the main trade item being mana stones guarantees you an entry into that group."

"I see." Graham nodded in understanding while absentmindedly wondering what would have happened if he had brought an item other than mana stones.

I guess I'll never know.

"Regarding the auction, can I ask what kinds of items are being sold?"

"Anything you can imagine, from magical to non-magical items, as well as some living specimens. Additionally, if you decide to proceed with the trade partnership with us and gain access to the auction, you can list your item through us. For a small fee, of course."

"Of course," Graham murmured sarcastically before nodding at the folder in Charon's hands.

"Is that information on the different sales avenues?"

"Yes. Based on the quantity and lack of uniformity in the mana stones you brought, I assumed you were only planning to operate on a small scale at first, so I only brought the small options out of the businesses with which we have a good relationship. Was I correct in thinking that, Mr. Graham Kubera?" Charon placed the folder in the middle of the tree trunk coffee table with a small smile.

"…You were."

Sharp Bastard. Graham had to give him his props.

"Very good. Would you like to read it yourself, or shall I give you a summary?"

"Let's summarize while I ask you questions."

"Sure. There are 10 sales options listed, but the three we would recommend are GM."

"General Mana? The big conglomerate?" Graham interrupted incredulously.

It was a warranted reaction because General Mana was a conglomerate with sticky paws in everything. 

It was owned by the Durant family and had continued increasing its prestige as the Kubera family declined.

Even though he wasn't involved in the Kubera family business or any business, Graham had frequently heard his siblings griping over them and seen articles about them on the news.

"Yes. Although they're a big company, they have many subsidiaries that buy and process mana stones at the best market rate. They prefer to buy in bulk, but the details can be hashed out later. Do you have any thoughts?"

Graham thought about everything he knew about the company before shaking his head.

He remembered the story that had been trending in social circles about how one of the GM executives had tried to buy a small business that repeatedly refused to sell and refused to take investment to expand.

Instead of moving on, the exec had leveraged their influence to ruin the family and business, driving three generations to death so miserably that the exec's name was written on a cursed will in their blood.

Of course, after they died, there was public outcry, but the exec didn't care. They just bought the business at a low price and continued on with their lives.

As somebody who had suffered for 21 years because of his insane half-siblings, Graham had no interest in being hounded by a crazy exec of another company on the slight chance that they gained interest in the source of his mana stones.

"Pass. Hard pass. If they start pressuring you to reveal the source of the mana stones, I don't think my business is worth enough to you to keep it secret or avoid them finding out."

"Fair enough. Then next is ….."

Graham spent the next three hours listening to Charon summarize the different sales companies with their pros and cons while asking questions he wouldn't be able to find the answers to online.

Although he was sure the answers might be biased, he felt a little less out of his depth. Especially with such a capable manager like Charon explaining everything. If he could, he absolutely wanted to poach Charon to work for him. 

But he doubted he could afford the nail clippers Charon used, much less his salary.

"Then, Mr. Graham Kubera. Which do you feel best suits your needs? At least at first glance?"

Graham flipped through the papers before looking at Charon's neutral expression.

Although these all looked good and sounded good, it all seemed a little bit…empty to him. 

All except the one that Charon talked about in detail.

He looked at the man, folded the folder into a roll, and tapped it on the table, before asking point blank.

"What would you recommend?"

"Pardon me?" Charon looked slightly surprised as he pushed his glasses up on his nose.

"There's no need to act surprised. You're an expert with lots of experience, and I welcome your opinion. Ah, I'm not saying I'll choose what you select. But what do you recommend?"

"Well, since you're interested in quite a few of our services, I recommend the direct partnership with the Trench Family. It will offer you great flexibility as you scale and grow, and of course, provide advice and other financial services you seek. I recommend a 1-year Earth exclusive contract term to allow both parties to gauge if it's a right fit. Additionally, the ease of doing business is there, especially with the Pawn Shop acting as the intermediary."

Graham thought it over for a bit before nodding.

"Okay. Let's do that then. For now, I'll sell these stones to the Deep Sea Pawnshop, and you can send the contract electronically for me to review. Shall we meet again in about a week?"

"That sounds wonderful. I assumed you would want to sell the mana stones, so here is the total for 1140 credits. I placed it on a single-use card so you don't have to carry cash around, but I can retrieve cash if you prefer." Charon glanced at him with a small smile.

"You are quite the mind reader. I'll take the card."

Charon slid a simple black card across the coffee table, and Graham tapped it on the table.

Sturdy.

"It's my duty as a manager to anticipate the customer's needs. Now I was also informed that you were in search of a magical weapon. We have quite a few in stock. Would you like to take a look? If any of them catch your eye, we can talk about a loan using mana stones as collateral, "Charon smoothly asked, seeing that Graham wanted to end the conversation.

"Sure, why not?" Graham agreed easily, even though he knew he couldn't afford anything that the Deep Sea Pawn Shop had to offer, and he had no plans to use the mana stones as collateral just yet.

Still, it would be good to check out items he might be able to afford later.

Graham stretched as he walked to the door before recalling something that might finally fluster this almost impenetrable wall that was the manager.

"By the way Charon, if you're trying to maintain a monopoly on the mana stones, I recommend you head to a place called Robert's Pawn Shop at the end of Gold Street. I sold five to him this morning, and from that look in his eye, he's probably in the process of getting rid of them."

"Oh no. Mr. Graham Kubera, you should have come straight here without stopping at that rabble."

"Would you have given me this treatment if I had come alone without Chubsy's recommendation?" Graham asked plainly.

"The snacks, private entrance, the research, and favorable conditions. If I walked in here, by myself, without Chubsy, would you treat me how you are now?"

Charon stared at him silently because he couldn't lie and say he would.

As the manager, he saw many important figures every day. Why would he pay attention to Graham, who was wholly dependent on his family, and according to the social circles, was thrown away?

Seeing that Charon was silent and looked a little awkward, Graham snickered, "That's what I thought. It doesn't really matter to me, so let's go check out these weapons. I'm looking for something that can aid in my defense or escape, and I hope you can give me a good recommendation here, too."