Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2426

Chapter 2426 The Fine Nuances of Printing Money

Bastion was too vast now to travel across it on foot - granted, Aiko's destination was not far from the lakeshore. Leaving the ferry, she thought about hailing a carriage, but then stumbled upon a shop window and became enthralled, staring at the displayed items with gleaming eyes.

It occurred to Aiko that she had made a terrible mistake when choosing her outfit. Living in the darkness of the Dark City must have messed up with her fashion sense, after all. She had gotten so used to only seeing the world in shades of gray that she neglected to add a splash of color to her ensemble! 'Ah, what an oversight!'

Aiko was utterly mortified.

'That red scarf. those ruby cufflinks. those shoes with scarlet soles!'

No, no. She couldn't. After all, her outfit was an homage to the criminally underappreciated icon of fashion, Morgan of Valor herself - not a shameless imitation. Morgan had those breathtaking vermilion eyes, which held the entire ensemble together. That was why her outfits went well with red accents and ruby accessories!

Aiko, sadly, did not have vermilion eyes. Her eyes were brown, so.

'Blue? Green? No, those won't go well with silver. Pink? How about purple?'

She glared at the store window, almost burning a hole in it.

In the past, when Aiko was poor and destitute - long before her Awakening, even - she had spent many hours in front of shop windows like this one, staring at gorgeous things that she knew would only be hers in her fantasies.

But now, she was not one for window shopping.

Why stare at windows when she could buy anything she wanted in the shop, or even buy the shop itself?

Walking inside the boutique, she gave the staff a neutral look. The professionals immediately evaluated her clothes, accessories, and general appearance. A moment later, their expressions changed, and bright smiles illuminated their faces.

"My lady! Welcome!"

Aiko allowed a corner of her mouth to curl upward.

'Ah. Being rich is really the best.'

Then, she raised her hand and pointed to a shelf.

"This. And this. And this one, as well. Also that one, and that one, and that one over there."

She lost track of time. After a while, a mountain of colorful boxes was in front of her, and the smiles of the staff grew so wide that their faces were on the verge of cracking.

"That would be one hundred coins, my lady."

Aiko produced her coin purse, untied it, and emptied it onto the counter.

The clerk's eyes glinted sharply.

Hers did, as well. Now came the important part: haggling!

Of course, as civilized and refined people, they were not going to haggle over the price of purchased items.

Instead, they had to haggle over the price of her money.

Aiko pointed to her coins.

"As you can see, these are prime-condition Ravenheart coins. So, I am willing to pay fifty of those."

The clerk smiled pleasantly.freēwebnovel.com

"Ah, but the quality of recently minted Ravenheart coins is not as superior as it used to be. Even if it was, surely, they would not be twice as valuable. Possibly a tenth more valuable, at best. I am very sorry to say this, my lady, but I can't surrender these gorgeous things to you for less than ninety of these coins."

Coins minted in Bastion and Ravenheart were supposed to be identical, containing a set amount of soul essence. But the way they were minted and infused with essence was not completely precise. Different mints, and even different batches from the same mint, produced faintly different results. Ravenheart coins were generally more valuable, although that too depended on numerous factors.

Aiko raised her hand and shook a finger.

"Oh, but your eyesight must not be sharp. It seems that you failed to notice that these coins over there are not merely Ravenheart coins. They are in fact Song Domain coins in pristine condition. Come to think of it, I think I failed to notice that as well. My, how silly of me! So, I am willing to part with forty of these gorgeous coins."

The clerk's face paled in fear.