Chapter 9 Act V-1

Lawrence sneezed loudly. It didn't matter when traveling alone, of course, but Lawrence was traveling with long-winded arrogant guys these days, so he kept paying attention.As a result, I accidentally sneezed loudly. When Lawrence panicked to check whether his traveling companion who slept in the quilt with him had woken up, he felt that it was extremely cold today. Later, he finally found himself sleeping alone next to Mark's vendor. "..." Although Lawrence had awakened a long time ago, he deliberately chose to sleep alone: ​​but when he woke up, he still felt a great sense of loss.

There is always someone by my side when I wake up. This kind of thing always adapts quickly.However, once it is lost, its value is discovered. Lawrence decided not to cling to the warm feeling under the quilt, so he stood up resolutely. As soon as he stood up, the cold air quickly surrounded Lawrence's whole body. At this time when the sky was still dark, the young man had already got up to sweep the floor in front of the vendors. "Ah, good morning." "Oh, morning." The young man seemed to get up at this time usually, and started to prepare to open the shop. He didn't look like he was deliberately showing that Lawrence, the owner's friend, was by his side.The young man casually greeted the teenagers passing by the vendors.

He was a respectable apprentice. It should not be that Mark is well educated, but that the young man is already quite good. "correct." Hearing Lawrence's remark, the young man turned his head cleverly. "Did Mark tell you what to do today?" "No, the master didn't explain... um, is it to help you push the unrighteous people into the trap?" The young man's expression changed, and he said exaggeratedly in a low voice.When Lawrence heard this, he couldn't help being surprised for a moment.However, he immediately showed his business skills, nodded quickly with a serious expression on his face, and said, "I can't tell you the details, but it's about the same. Maybe I'll ask you to take care of the difficult work."

The young man stuck a broom made of wheat straw to his waist like a long sword, and swallowed. Looking at the young man's appearance, Lawrence was convinced of one thing. That is, although the young man is doing errands in the wheat shop dutifully, in fact, he still has a longing for knights or mercenaries in his heart. Words like the unjust are only found in stories. As if he had seen his former self, Lawrence couldn't help but feel a tickle in his heart. "What's your name?" "Huh? Ah, uh..." When a businessman asks the name of the other party, it means that he agrees that the other party can be alone.

The young man should have never been asked for his name. Although Lawrence could guess this fact from the young man's flustered appearance, he thought that the young man was really outstanding. For the young man immediately replied in a steady tone, "Rand. I am Aiv Rand." "Were you born further north than here?" "Yes, I am from a village frozen in snow and frost." Lawrence immediately understood that the young man would describe it this way, not that it was easier to convey the appearance of the village: it was the village that he looked back at last.

This is called the North. "I see. Rand, I'll leave it to you today." Seeing Lawrence stretching out his right hand, Rand hurriedly wiped his palm with his clothes, and held Lawrence's hand. Although the palms of Rand's hands were calloused and hard to the touch, they were still hands that could hold any good future in the future. How can you lose to him? Lawrence let go of his hand while thinking this way and said, "Then, I want to fill my stomach first. Is there any place that sells food at this time?" "There is a vendor who sells dry bread for travelers, do you need me to buy it for you?"

"Then please take care of me." After speaking, Lawrence took out two Iledor silver coins as black as copper coins and handed them to Rand. "Well, you can buy a lot with just one." "The other one is an advance payment. Don't worry, of course I will pay another formal payment." Looking at Rand with a stunned expression, Lawrence smiled and added, "Stop procrastinating, and Mark will be here later. He'll say it's a waste of breakfast, right?" After hearing this, Rand nodded hurriedly and ran out. After watching Rand's back leave, Lawrence turned his gaze to the passageway between the vendors on the opposite street.

"Don't spoil our little boy." "Then you can stop it with your voice." Mark came out from the gap between the goods. He twisted a boring expression and said with a sigh: "After all, the weather is so cold recently. If you make him hungry and make him catch a cold, it will be troublesome." The person is me." From these words, it can be heard that Mark actually loves Rand very much. However, letting Rand eat breakfast was not purely out of kindness, but because he was indeed a very important role in Lawrence's plan. Merchants are not priests of the Church.When a businessman takes action, there must be other intentions.

"Today should be good weather too, and business will be good." Lawrence nodded in response to Mark, then took a deep breath. The icy cold air of the morning felt very comfortable. And, when you exhale the air, you exhale any excess thoughts. Then just think about how to make the project successful. After success, it is still too late to hesitate or think. "Then let's fill our stomach first!" Lawrence said vigorously while watching Rand running back panting. The atmosphere here is completely different. After Lawrence came, he was the first to feel this way.

At first glance, it seems as calm as a lake, but when you reach out your hand, you find that it is as hot as boiling water. After the dawn and the rising sun, only one corner of this place has a strange crowd density, and everyone's eyes are on the same vendor. It was the only vendor in Camelson that specialized in buying and selling ore.Everyone's eyes are focused on the improvised price boards placed in front of the vendors. The shape and weight of pyrite are written line by line on the price board, and next to each line is a wooden sign with the price and the number of buyers waiting for it.

Although the price board did not forget to leave a space waiting to be sold, but there should be no chance to hang a wooden sign on that space. "The average price is... 800 Iredos." This amount is about eighty times the original price. It can only be said that the price is too exaggerated.However, this truth is like no one can calm down a mad horse, and it is not easy to curb the rise in prices. Faced with a good opportunity to get something for nothing, people's rationality is no different from a rope made of mud, and there is no way to control the horse. Although there is still some time before the market opening bell rings, everyone acquiesces in prior transactions.Therefore, after Lawrence came to the vendor, he still saw businessmen approaching the vendor and whispering in the boss' ear from time to time. After a certain amount was accumulated, the boss slowly replaced the wooden signs on the price board one by one. The reason why the boss didn't change the price wooden sign immediately is probably to prevent everyone from knowing who spent how much money and what kind of pyrite he bought. No matter what the boss's intentions are, the number of people waiting to buy has not decreased but increased. Just as Lawrence secretly calculated all the amounts waiting to be bought, a figure flashed in the corner of his vision. He looked in that direction and found Amati's figure. Although it was Lawrence who first discovered Amati last night, Amati is also a businessman who will not miss any opportunity to make money, and his eyes seem to be as sharp as Lawrence.When Lawrence looked at him, as if he heard the sound of moving his eyes, he also looked at Lawrence. As far as the relationship between two people is concerned, there is no need to greet each other warmly. However, Lawrence and Amati agreed to collect cash after the market opening bell rang, so it was inconvenient for Lawrence to be too indifferent. Just when these thoughts flashed into Lawrence's mind, Amati smiled and nodded slightly. Before Lawrence could be surprised, he immediately discovered the reason for Amati's behavior. Because Holo was by his side. Somehow, instead of being a city girl, Holo is dressed like a nun.She pinned three large pure white feathers on her robe, which could be clearly seen even from a distance. Holo kept looking at the vendor, without any intention of looking at Lawrence. Looking at Amati's smiling face, Lawrence couldn't help feeling a slight heat deep in his abdomen. However, when Lawrence saw Amati whispering in Holo's ear and walking towards this direction through the businessmen sitting side by side, he pretended to be calm, as if the feeling in his heart didn't exist at all. like. As long as it wasn't Holo, Lawrence was confident that his disguise wouldn't be easy to see through. "Good morning, Mr. Lawrence." "Good morning." In front of Amati who greeted with a smile, Lawrence took a lot of effort to pretend to be completely calm. "As soon as the market bell rings, crowds of people will show up in droves, so I want to give this to you as soon as possible." As she spoke, Amati took out a sack from her bosom. The sack was as small as a fanny pack. "this is?" Lawrence, who thought that Amati came to pay the silver coins, couldn't help but ask back. He thought to himself that it was too small to hold three hundred silver coins in this sack. "This is what I promised to give you." However, Amati still said so.Although Lauren felt suspicious, he could only accept the sack offered by Amati. Then, Lawrence untied the mouth of the sack he had accepted, and his eyes widened. "This may be a little meddling, but I think it's not convenient for you to move around with three hundred silver coins, so I decided to pay you with Lima gold coins." There were indeed gold coins in the sack, where exactly was Amati and how did she exchange them? Although the value of Lima gold coins is not as good as that of Lumioni gold coins, in the country where Camelson belongs! ——Proyani, Lima gold coins are a large number of gold coins circulating in the western coastal area, and the market price should be around 20 Trini silver coins. Having said that, Amati must have paid a lot of handling fees for exchanging gold coins during this period of currency shortage. He would do this on purpose, it must be to tell Lawrence that he has a lot of money and shake Lawrence's heart. Amati's move with Holo must be to divert Lawrence's attention to this aspect. Because Lawrence couldn't help but widen his eyes, he couldn't hide his inner wavering at all. "I prepared the money based on today's latest market price, a total of fourteen Lima gold coins." "...Understood, I did receive it." "Don't you need to count the number of gold coins?" According to Lawrence's original intention, he should calmly say "no" at this moment.However, even though he managed to utter these two words, it only gave people the feeling of being brave. "Then, can I trouble you to give me a contract for three hundred silver coins?" Even for this step, Lawrence was reminded before taking out the contract. Lawrence was completely one step ahead of Amati. When the exchange of cash and part of the contract was completed, it was also Amati who first said the must-say line "received". Looking at the back of Amati leaving, Lawrence kept flashing bad premonitions in his mind. In the contract signed yesterday, Amati proposed three horses to make up for the lack of cash, which may be his tactic. Keeping cash on hand at all times is a basic concept common to all businessmen. Moreover, before dawn, Amati may have also used the method of Lawrence and others to search for pyrite. The more stocks of pyrite there are, only a slight price increase is enough. Thinking of the way Amati, who had just accepted the contract, bowed gracefully and then turned around, Lawrence really couldn't think that he was just bluffing. How much inventory does Amati hold? Lawrence bit his thumbnail as he pretended to rub his nose. According to Lawrence's original plan, after noon, he can sell a certain amount of pyrite in time according to the plan, so as to slow down its price rise. Is it time to act early?Such thoughts flashed through Lawrence's mind. However, Diana's men still did not show up. It would be difficult for Lawrence to take action before he could determine whether he had dispatched a large amount of inventory. Although Lawrence can buy another pyrite with the gold coins paid by Amati before knowing the dispatch result, but in case Diana succeeds in negotiating, Lawrence will obtain pyrite worth 400 silver coins. That was nerve-wracking for Lawrence, too. Although Lawrence had other silver coins to pay to Diana, so there was no problem of not being able to pay, but this would cause a big problem of having too much inventory in his hands. Although Lawrence purchased pyrite in order to cause the price of pyrite to fall, he controlled the quantity of pyrite he purchased in order to avoid the loss caused by the price drop and cause his own bankruptcy. If Lawrence was determined to stop Amati's plan with the bankruptcy of his life for Holo, maybe Holo would be willing to accept his sincerity. However, being accepted in good faith does not bring about a happy ending, and Lawrence still has to make a living after that. The limit called reality is heavier than the gold coins in your hand. The price board of the Ore Shop has been updated again. It appears that someone has bought a large quantity of pyrite, and the price on the board and the quantity waiting to be bought have risen substantially. How much will the value of the pyrite held by Amati increase due to this price increase? Thinking of this, Lawrence couldn't help feeling restless. However, failing to stay calm loses. Lawrence closed his eyes, put down his hand biting his nails, and took a slow, deep breath. He thought to himself, those thoughts just now were induced by Amati, this is a trap he set. After all, Holo was behind Amati after all.So as long as you can see the intention behind it, you shouldn't be wrong. At this time, the bell passed over Lawrence's head. That's a signal that the market is open. The battle officially started. In the strange state of excitement, people seem to obey the rules instead. Although everyone was waiting in front of the vendors before the bell rang, they still waited until the bell rang before starting to act. And, if you look closely, you can see people who look like travelers, or farmers who are doing bad things, selling pyrite secretly. However, a small amount of selling is only what makes the market bullish. In the case of no sale at all, only those who already hold inventory can benefit.It is precisely because a small amount is sold, and someone is willing to buy this amount again, that everyone desperately stands in front of the vendor and refuses to leave. It is precisely because they know that they also have the opportunity to gain benefits, so everyone will stay here and not leave. Judging from this chain reaction, it is indeed necessary to prepare a considerable amount of pyrite to cause the price to drop. The price boards that are blocked by crowds of sight and appearing in a hurry are like a market thermometer that is constantly heating up, and the temperature on it is rising all the way. Diana's men still did not show up. In the event that scheduling fails, and failure to act sooner, the opportunity will be missed. While staring at the price board with a flustered mood, the figure of Amati standing in front of the vendor came into view. Lawrence was terrified at that moment, and couldn't help but want to hold the pyrite in his arms and run out quickly. However, if this is Amati's destabilizing tactic, the results will be disastrous.If the quantity of selling is not enough, it will only make everyone have more expectations that they can buy pyrite as long as they wait to buy, and the more they wait to buy, the price will rise more and more. Lawrence managed to restrain the urge to sell the pyrite, and he prayed that this was just Amati's tactic to shake people's hearts. At this time, he suddenly discovered something. Holo was gone. Lawrence looked around, only to find that Holo had somehow moved outside the human wall surrounded by such strange heat, watching Lawrence. When Lawrence's eyes met Holo's, she narrowed her eyes with a displeased expression, then turned around and walked away slowly. Watching Holo go away, Lawrence felt a lot of sweat welling up his back. This must be a trap Holo pointed out from the sidelines. If Holo had learned about the pyrite market from Amati, she could of course have come up with a trap for Lawrence.For a person as sensitive as Holo, I believe that even Amati, who was in charge of explaining, could not notice, and Holo must be able to easily notice it. Moreover, Holo is good at reading people's hearts.In such a situation, there was nothing stronger than Holo. The moment Lawrence thought about it all the way here, he couldn't help falling into the illusion that everything in front of him was made of mud. He felt that no matter where his feet stepped, he would sink deep into the mud, and no matter how his eyes followed anyone's action, he would feel that action was false. It's all Holo's strategy, right?Lawrence thought suspiciously. The fear of being an enemy of the cunning wolf hit Lawrence bit by bit. Even so, Lawrence still couldn't give up one hope, that Holo did it out of passion. The poison of assumption and suspicion was gradually invading Lawrence's brain. Lawrence didn't stare blankly at the price board on purpose, but he could only do so. The price of pyrite rose step by step. The only fortunate thing is that the price of pyrite has risen too much, so it will only rise by a small margin at present. Even so, if it continues to rise like this, I believe that by noon, the increase will easily reach nearly 20%. Amati's stock of pyrite held by Lawrence is 800 silver coins. If the price increases by 20%, adding 40 coins can reach the goal of 1,000 coins. If it was only about forty coins, it would not be a problem for Amati to raise enough. At that time, Amati will definitely take out all her property on the spot to reach a contract.Under such circumstances, the credit sales that Lawrence expected may not be effective. "Why haven't Diana's subordinates shown up yet?" Lawrence couldn't help murmuring as a feeling of impatience that seemed to melt everything was churning in his stomach. Even if you start searching for pyrite everywhere now, how much can you buy? Now it's not like last night when the market was closed, and you don't know if the price will rise or fall after dawn; instead, you can clearly and clearly know that the price of pyrite will rise. Under such circumstances, Lawrence didn't think that everyone would be willing to sell him the cash cow in their hands. Thinking about it this way, it means that Lawrence's plan really has to wait until Diana sends the pyrite before it can be said to be possible to succeed. However, if things go on like this, Lawrence may also suffer a severe blow because of signing a credit sales contract with Amati. Lawrence rolled his eyes and fell into thought.He felt that he had kept calm all the way and was moving straight towards the goal of the plan, but now he felt like he had entered a dead end. "No." Lawrence changed his mind. He knew in his heart why the plan was not going well. The rise and fall of the price of pyrite is only a secondary issue. Behind the question, Lawrence harbored hopelessness for Holo. Take the fact that Holo and Amati acted together early in the morning, it is possible that they did not wait until after dawn to reunite, but spent the night together. After Lawrence and Amati completed the credit sale transaction, it would not be surprising if Holo invited Amati to the hotel again. Depending on the situation, Holo might have already exposed her ears and tail and told Amati who she really was. Although Lawrence wanted to tell himself that such a thing was impossible, he remembered that Holo had not hesitated to reveal her true identity in front of him back then.If you want to say that it's because Holo sees that Lawrence is a particularly generous person, it's just Lawrence's wishful thinking. After all, Amati is obsessed with Holo, and I believe Holo will be able to judge whether it is possible to tell her true identity in front of him. Then, assuming Amati accepts Holo's true identity—the smile that Amati showed just now vividly came to Lawrence's mind. Holo was terrified of being alone. However, Lawrence wondered if Holo only wanted to be with him. The moment Lawrence realized that he shouldn't be thinking about this question, his feet wobbled unsteadily. The reason why Lawrence didn't fall by the side of the cabin was just a coincidence. The voice that sounded in the next second pulled Lawrence back to the real world. "Whoa whoa……" Lawrence looked in the direction of the sound, and found that the price of pyrite marked with the highest value had been greatly updated. Someone bid high. Others must be affected by this and follow up one after another. Perhaps it was impossible for Lawrence to prevent Amati from reaching the contract. Lawrence has not yet received a notification from Diana, so he said that the other party is hesitant to sell it; if the price of pyrite shows an upward trend, the possibility that the other party will be willing to sell will be lower. It seems that maybe we should give up this possibility and take quick action is the smart decision. In this way, if Lawrence wants to make the plan successful, it is tantamount to begging for a miracle from heaven. The only weapons in his hand were pyrite worth four hundred silver coins, and the rumors that Rand was supposed to spread. Such a weak weapon made Lawrence want to laugh at himself, and he couldn't help doubting that he really wanted to rely on the power of rumors to achieve his goal.Yesterday, Witness Lawrence believed that this idea was based on actual experience and an unknown secret method. Now Lawrence clearly knew how drunk he was last night. He couldn't help but think pessimistically about how to find a way out. If no action was taken like this, Lawrence could at least receive a thousand silver coins from Amati, even after deducting the loss of credit sales, it would still be a sufficient income. The moment he thought of this, Lawrence felt that his body was much lighter, even though it was sad for nothing. "You must be thinking that if you can get a thousand silver coins, there is nothing to be reluctant about, are you?" Holo's past accusations really hit the mark. Lawrence remembered having letters from Diana in his arms. The information on the letter is a clue to find Holo's hometown—Yoiz.Perhaps the letter should no longer be in Lawrence's custody. I'm just a businessman after all. Lawrence was thinking this while looking for Holo. What happened in the estuary town of Pazio and the church city of Rübinghagen was only a dream. When Lawrence thought about it, it was unbelievable that all of this had really turned into a dream. Among the crowd surrounded by heat and desire, Lawrence smiled wryly as he looked around.Since he couldn't find Holo, he moved to another location to continue searching. It has been a while since the market opened, and since the festival has not yet started, the market keeps flooding. Lawrence was unable to find Holo for a long time. Just when Lawrence was secretly complaining about why he couldn't find it at such a time, he suddenly remembered. After Holo's eyes met Lawrence's, she walked towards the direction outside the wall. Did Holo just go somewhere else? If so, where would she go?Lawrence couldn't help but think that maybe Holo was sure he would fail miserably, so he went back to the hotel early. Presumably this is a matter of course. Although the idea of ​​being hopeless and saving Lawrence himself was unbearable, but he found that he had already agreed with this idea. I really want to have a few drinks. Lawrence thought so, and in the next second he couldn't help calling out shortly: "Huh?" After all, they are looking for people in a narrow range, so it is only natural that this existence will come into view sooner or later. When Lawrence's sight caught Amati's figure, he made a sound of surprise and suspicion. The reason why Amati pressed her right hand on her chest was probably because there was pyrite and cash there. The focus is not on Amati's movements, but on his anxious face, which looks around in the same panic as Lawrence. Lawrence suspected that it was Amati's acting skills. However, the crowd sandwiched between Lawrence and Amati miraculously vacated a small space. Within a few seconds after the space was vacated, Amati also saw Lawrence and showed a surprised expression at the same time. expression. Then, Lawrence caught a glimpse of Amati's reassuring expression.Although Lawrence's sight was immediately blocked by the crowd, he was sure that he saw it right. An idea popped into Lawrence's unturned head. Amati was looking for Holo, and more than that, he was relieved to see that Holo was not with Lawrence. Lawrence felt someone bump his shoulder on the back. He looked back and saw that a man who looked like a businessman was having a lively conversation with someone. Just when Lawrence was thinking "that's weird" to himself, he felt the impact again from his back to his chest. This time he finally noticed it. The force of the impact turned out to be from his beating heart. Amati looked anxiously for Holo, even thinking that Holo might be by Lawrence's side. This meant that Amati didn't trust Holo from the bottom of her heart. In this way, it means that there must be some uneasy elements. What could it be? "Could it be?" Lawrence couldn't help blurting out. Amati would be looking for Holo, which means Holo didn't tell where she was going. Also, Amati looked flustered just like that, which made it impossible to think that Holo would trust him enough to show her ears and tail. Lawrence couldn't help but want to abandon the series of dark and heavy assumptions just now, and remake a series of scenes leading to the bright road. However, Lawrence did not have the confidence to calmly judge that this was not his wishful thinking. Such anxiety made Lawrence sick for a while.