43 Days of Scavenging

With a devout expression, the shop owner cautiously asked the little robot to let him try it out himself, and the little robot generously handed it to him.

The shop owner was overjoyed.

Not only the shop owner, but everyone in the neighborhood gathered around, their eyes filled with amazement.

It turned out that the sudden burst of white light had also attracted their attention.

They almost thought a distinguished light mage had come to the shop. Indeed, some mages enjoy browsing all sorts of shops, especially those selling curiosities; they find them quite appealing.

However, it is clear that this treasure, which can also emit divine light, brought them no less surprise than that of a light mage!

When everyone saw that the shop owner had made the "light bulb" shine brightly just as easily, they were overjoyed.

Anyone who frequents this shop knows that the owner is a Squib with very weak magic!

He could only sense the magic, but he couldn't control it. He couldn't even cast the most basic magic release spells, let alone release such a large ball of light.

Most importantly, the shop owner's magic isn't light-based, but earth-based!

Therefore, such bright light is indeed emitted by this treasure itself.

If everyone's eyes could shine right now, they would be brighter than this light bulb!

"This must be a gift from the God of Light! He still loves his believers, which is why such a divine object appeared! I'll offer a thousand gold coins!"

The shopkeeper, reluctant to put down the lamp, quoted a price that startled the red-haired boy next to him, who immediately started counting on his fingers how much salary a thousand gold coins would be enough for.

Well, that doesn't add up at all. His entire month's salary doesn't even amount to a single gold coin!

However, what surprised the red-haired shop assistant even more was yet to come.

Before the little robot could even comment on the price, a customer nearby was the first to object: "This is the unprecedented blessing of the God of Light! A mere thousand gold coins is blasphemy against God!"

"I'll offer 1,500 gold coins! Please sell it to me!"

As he spoke, the guest's gaze never left the lamp.

This person's words were like a switch, and suddenly everyone in the store started bidding.

The price is at least five hundred plus!

Hearing those strings of numbers, the red-haired shop assistant's heart was pounding!

This was more money than he had ever seen in his entire life!

Just hearing the numbers made him feel like he couldn't breathe.

However, looking at the magical light bulb, he thought that if he were a nobleman with enough money, he would probably feel it was worth it no matter how much he paid for it.

This is divine light!!

The red-haired shop assistant had no doubt that it wasn't worth it.

Anyone with even a slight capacity to sense magic can feel the unique warmth and comfort of the light element within this pure, dazzling white light. The moment this light touches them, all fatigue and aches vanish, the effect immediate and even better than the healing magic of a light-elemental priest!

The red-haired shop assistant firmly believed that if a patient were to be illuminated by this light, their pain would heal on its own without the need for medication or other means!

Therefore, if this is not a gift from the God of Light, what else would qualify?!

The auction was ultimately concluded with a price of 217,000 gold coins.

The person who took the photo was the shop owner.

As the bidding progressed, the shop owner couldn't resist revealing his surname, forcing the others to give up.

The shop owner's surname is Lukman, which is Lukman from the country of Lukman.

In other words, this shop owner was actually a member of the royal family!

He might even be wearing a noble title.

This startled everyone else.

Even the red-haired boy who worked in the store had no idea about this before.

However, these nobles often have strange temperaments and personalities. Instead of enjoying the aristocratic life in the royal city, some of them prefer to open their own shops and count their money.

The customers who didn't compete with him weren't afraid of him; after all, someone who could spend so many gold coins to buy a treasure must have a high social status.

They only considered that the shop owner had the king's backing, and as long as he wanted to present this treasure to the king, he could have as many gold coins as he wanted.

These individuals simply cannot compete with an entire nation's gold coin reserves.

So they had no choice but to back down.

With such an unprecedented treasure on display, the group lost all interest in browsing other items in the shop. They had the things they had previously picked out wrapped up and then left, feeling both annoyed and excited.

The frustration was naturally that I hadn't gotten my hands on the treasure.

The excitement stems from the fact that they've at least had a brief encounter with something divinely bestowed, and they have to brag about it to others!

The shop owner no longer allowed the red-haired boy to serve them, but instead personally greeted the little robot.

So, suddenly only the little robot and the shop owner were left there.

Of course, the shopkeeper couldn't just leave the more than 200,000 gold coins lying around like that. He carefully took out an exquisite box from under the counter, twisted it left and right, and opened it to find it filled with a bunch of colorful beads.

He picked out two purple ones, then took out one red one, and two pale yellow ones.

It was placed in front of the little robot.

"Please count them. There are 100,000 gold coins in one purple coin stone, 5,000 in one red one, and 1,000 in one yellow one."

The little robot didn't show any expression on its face.

Her eyes blinked a few times faster.

Is this how money is stored in this world? Like a bank card from the last world.

The little robot didn't know how to operate the "dot" function the shopkeeper mentioned, but it didn't care whether a few coins were missing from the menu.

After all, he originally only intended to test the waters with a light bulb, but he didn't expect that just this one would fetch such a high price.

The little robot had already roughly figured out the consumption level here by observing the conversations of passersby and the transactions of others in the shops. Basically, a middle-class family would be considered well-off if they spent one gold coin a month.

Those who are poorer may not even earn a single gold coin in a year.

Therefore, it is entirely possible to imagine just how strong the purchasing power of the two hundred thousand gold coins he currently possesses is.

Anyway, there are definitely enough shops that the little robot wants to open.

He took the colorful beads, which were called money stones, and twirled them in his palm.

It feels different from real colored beads; the coin stone has a higher density and is heavier.

Moreover, it seems that the more money is inside, the heavier the stone becomes.

After satisfying their curiosity, the little robot then puts them into the recycling bin.

When the shop owner saw the little robot take away the items out of thin air, his smile became even more genuine, and his attitude towards the little robot became even more enthusiastic than before.

However, these subtle changes are beyond the ability of the small robot to discern.

He paid with one hand and ordered the goods with the other, handing the light bulb to the shop owner and telling him how to charge it, how long a single charge would last, and other precautions.

Upon hearing that the light bulb could be charged simply by placing the lamp outside, the shop owner kept muttering, "Truly a gift from the gods! It can even absorb magic power directly from the air. A treasure, a real treasure!"

The little robot remained silent in response.

Let it be a misunderstanding; it seems there's no way to explain it away.

After discussing the light bulb, the little robot thought for a moment and asked the shop owner how to operate the shop if it wanted to open one.

"Open a shop?" The shopkeeper was curious, but he was very tactful and didn't ask any questions. He only told him, "As long as you rent or buy a shop, you can open it right away. After you open, patrolmen will come to talk to you about protection money. Don't worry, there won't be many."

"Another thing to note is that if you're going to open a shop on either side of the main street, you must pay attention to hygiene. All trash needs to be collected and disposed of properly. The main street is frequented by distinguished guests, and even magicians often come here."

"So if the main street gets dirty and messy, and it upsets these adults, the consequences will be very serious."

As soon as the shop owner finished speaking, fearing that he had spoken too harshly and made the other party feel uneasy, he quickly reassured them, "But don't worry, it's very easy to operate. Once your shop opens, someone will come and explain the detailed rules. Everyone has gone through this process."

After the shop owner asked the little robot and learned that he didn't have a preferred location for his shop, or even knew which shops were for sale or rent, he immediately called the red-haired boy over.

"James, take the guests to Scott. Tell them that old Fred recommended them and that he should serve them well!"

The red-haired boy named James ran over quickly and beckoned the little robot to come with him.

After thanking the shop owner, the little robot followed behind the red-haired boy.

James did not take the little robot with him on the main street.

The little robot followed James and slipped right through the side of the shop into the alley next to the main street.

Upon entering the alley, the little robot immediately understood what the shop owner meant by "keeping the main street clean."

The cleanliness of the alleyway was in stark contrast to that of the main street!

The place is covered in mud and filth, and to make matters worse, you can see clumps of unidentified objects in the middle of the road.

After scanning, the small robot discovered that most of the unidentified objects were animal excrement.

There were even humans among them.

However, some household waste is not very common.

The little robot roughly understood this after seeing the people living in the alley.

The people living here have very poor material conditions; they basically won't throw away anything that's still usable, even if it's just a wrapping paper bag from a shop on the main street.

Even containers and pottery jars, unless they are completely broken and can't hold anything, they won't throw them away, but will try to make use of them.

Hearing footsteps, the people looked up curiously.

However, upon discovering that James and the little robot were dressed in a manner clearly different from their own social class, they immediately shrank back and lowered their heads.

He even hid his entire body in the cover next to him.

Seeing how scared they were, the little robot gave up its plan to pick up the trash on the ground.

James walked quickly, without glancing at the people around him.

Noticing the little robot sizing them up, James quickly explained, "If you'd like to choose a slave, there's a special slave market. The slaves there are of much higher quality, both in appearance and skills. Look carefully, you might even find a treasure."

"Much better than these useless public slaves."

The little robot never imagined that slavery still existed in this world.

“…No need.” He answered hesitantly.

Fortunately, there were quite a few people who didn't want slaves, so Jaime didn't say anything and quickly took the little robot to its destination.

A courtyard covered with wooden planks and parchment.