novelraw Chapter 236: We Are Friends
Chapter 236: We Are Friends
“I’m making money, making money! I don’t even know how to spend it! A Nokia in my left hand, a Motorola in my right!”
Stuffing the cash into his pocket, Leon couldn’t help but hum a little tune as he hopped on his bicycle. He headed straight for Pelican Town, parked beside the graveyard, then stowed his bike in his System Backpack. Pulling out a rusty key, he unlocked the Sewer Drain, lifted the manhole cover, and jumped down.
“Krobus, you there?”
Leon made his way through the sewer to Krobus’s usual spot. Not seeing the short, stout Shadow Person anywhere, he raised his voice.
The moment he spoke, darkness began to creep toward him, swallowing the torchlight lining the tunnel. Then Krobus stepped out from the shadows.
“Hello, Leon.” Krobus smiled the moment he appeared and greeted him warmly.
“Long time no see, Krobus. I’m here to buy one Solar Essence and one Void Essence.” Leon returned the greeting and got straight to the point.
“One of each? Sure.” Without hesitation, Krobus pulled out the two different essences and handed them over.
The Solar Essence felt pleasantly warm in Leon’s hand, while the Void Essence was cool to the touch. The instinctive fear he had once felt when handling Void Essence was gone now.
Leon wasn’t sure if it was because he had grown used to it, or if his increased strength meant that the hidden menace within the Void Essence no longer affected him.He handed over 180G to Krobus to settle the deal, then gave him a teasing look. “Did you forget something?”
“Did I forget something?” Krobus looked puzzled.
“Last time, I bought forty Void Essences from you. I never paid for them.” Leon reminded him.
“Oh, I didn’t forget. But since you didn’t bring it up, I assumed you hadn’t gathered the money yet,” Krobus replied.
“Come on, real friends don’t just take advantage of each other’s trust.” Leon gave him a light punch in the chest and pulled out a stack of bills.
In full view, he counted out forty-five hundred-G notes and handed them over.
“You only owe me 4,000G.” Krobus took five bills from the stack and returned them.
“I don’t like taking advantage of friends. And as you can see, I’ve made a lot of money recently—I’m really not short on cash.” Leon pushed the bills back into Krobus’s hand.
Krobus didn’t argue further. He took the money and asked, “Do you still need Void Essence?”
“You still have more?” Leon perked up. He didn’t like exploiting friends, but the Mermaids were another matter. Aside from Anya, he didn’t know any of them personally, and Anya clearly wasn’t involved in their finances. So if he could profit off the Mermaids, his conscience was clear.
“Not much left. Ever since the Mermaids put a bounty on it, the price has tripled. It’s not worth buying at that rate, so I haven’t been stocking up. The one I sold you earlier was from my reserves. If you need more than ten, I can’t get them.”
“You knew about the price hike and still sold it to me at the old price?” Leon was about to add the missing 200G for the market difference, but Krobus waved him off.
“My trading rule is no haggling—but also no price hikes,” Krobus said simply.
“All right.” Leon respected his friend’s principles and didn’t push the matter.
“I take it you’ve been reselling these Void Essences for a profit?” Krobus asked with a knowing smile.
“Mm.” Leon saw no reason to hide it and nodded.
“You’ve got a good head for business, Leon. I’m glad you caught this wave. I’m happy for you. Maybe now you can afford my most precious item.”
“What is it?” Leon asked instinctively.
“A Return Wand. A magical tool with three spatial anchor points. The wielder can teleport to any of the three pre-set locations instantly, with no cost and no cooldown,” Krobus explained.
Leon knew about the Return Wand—at least, the one in the game that could only take you back to Stardew Valley Farm. But from Krobus’s description, this one could link to three different places.
“How much?” If it were the simple game version, Leon might only buy it when he had money to burn. Time was something he had plenty of, and teleport totems were a cheaper alternative. But three anchor points? That was tempting.
“Two hundred thousand gold,” Krobus said, quoting the same price as in the game.
Leon immediately waved it off. “Can’t afford it. Not even close.”
“I know. I just wanted you to know I have it. Too bad I can’t lend it to you—you could use it first and pay me back later.”
“Fair enough.” Letting someone take Void Essence on credit was one thing—it wasn’t rare and wasn’t worth much. But a magical tool worth two hundred thousand? Leon wouldn’t loan that out either.
“It’s actually on consignment for a friend. The wand is still in his hands. I can only bring it to you once I have the money,” Krobus added quickly, as if afraid Leon would think him stingy.
“What are you apologizing for? How could I blame you?” Leon gave him an exasperated look. Krobus seemed to carry a bit of self-doubt, maybe even a need to please others. Leon told him plainly:
“We’re friends, aren’t we? Friends share common ground, value each other’s company, trust one another, respect each other as equals. You get what I mean?”
“I do, Leon. But I’m not human,” Krobus reminded him, touched.
“As long as you understand, that’s all that matters. Being human has nothing to do with it. What, you think we can’t be friends just because you’re not human?” Leon said, rolling his eyes.
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