The Goddess Granted Me the [Hatching] Skill and Somehow I Became the Strongest Tamer, Commanding Mythical and Divine Beasts - 162

Chapter 162: Item Bag

Relieved that I hadn’t broken it, I suddenly had a question pop up in my mind.

“So, when do people even drink this stuff?”

I got why the price was so high—being wine from an ancient civilization meant no more production. But who in their right mind would drink wine that cost as much as a whole house?

“The last record of someone drinking this was when the Yggdra Empire’s emperor ascended the throne. In the Yggdra Empire, they make it a tradition for each new emperor to drink it as part of the celebration…”

With booze of this caliber, it seemed they kept official records whenever it got opened.

The Yggdra Empire was a major power north of Stesia, separated by a mountain range, and it matched Stesia in strength on this continent.

Even in a place like that, they only cracked it open for an emperor’s coronation, so if I bought one normally, I’d probably never find an occasion to touch it.

“What do you think? As Lord Klaus, you might end up with a chance to drink it if you buy one now.”

“Come on, no jokes. I’d never get an opportunity like that!”

All I could picture was Rock accidentally smashing it if I brought one home.

“Is that so? That’s a shame.”

Edward let out a disappointed-sounding voice without changing his expression.

“Then how about the three great mythical beast whiskeys—Behemoth, Titan, and Carbuncle?”

“These are cheaper?”

A bad feeling crept up on me, but I asked anyway.

“We’ve confirmed a thousand bottles of each still in existence, so they’re a bargain at five hundred gold coins apiece.”

“That’s expensive?!”

Sure, compared to the mythical beast wine from before, it felt cheap, but the baseline here was all wrong.

No way could I bring myself to drink whiskey that could feed fifty households for a year.

Maybe because I’d just sold those gemstones, or perhaps because he figured nobles dropped this kind of money all the time, Edward didn’t bat an eye as he kept recommending items to me.

“We also carry mithril goblets etched with magic arrays that react to any poison, orihalcon goblets that bring out the full flavor of any drink, and holy grails that turn poured alcohol into holy water.”

Once he picked up that I had no intention of buying booze, he switched to explaining the accessories.

From the prices he quoted, most ran from a hundred gold coins up to not quite three hundred, which somehow put my mind at ease.

These made great gifts, apparently, and handing one over carried the message of “I want to get along with you—let’s share a drink sometime.”

As he shared those tidbits, we moved to the next room, which handled jewelry.

Necklaces made with gems rarer than scarlet diamonds gave off a dazzling shine that hit you right in the eyes. There were earrings with high-density magic stones too, and their effect let you store your own mana for later use—I figured Celia would love a pair—but I gave up once I heard the price.

I’d thought the gold from the gemstones might cover it, but every item in this shop blew past my expectations, and without tens of times more coins in my pocket, I couldn’t even pretend to shop.

Just like Edward had said at the start, if everything had price tags, I would’ve bolted without hearing him out.

Finally, we looped back to the first room, and that’s when something caught my eye.

I’d seen all sorts of high-priced goods by now, but on the central pedestal sat a plain-looking shoulder bag, nothing fancy about it.

It seemed out of place in a shop like this—something you could grab from any old store—and as I stared, Edward started explaining.

“This is an item bag.”

“You mean that S-rank item?”

I’d never seen one in person, but I knew of them.

The hero in stories I’d read as a kid carried one.

“Item bags are items on par with divine artifacts in rarity. They’re enchanted with space expansion, time passage reduction, and weight reduction magic, and they can hold at least as much as a whole house’s worth of luggage.”

Its convenience put every other item here to shame—it was the kind of thing that made doing business a breeze just by owning it.

“This one came in recently, but the previous owner said they suddenly needed cash and had to part with it reluctantly.”

Item bags rarely saw the light of day because owners kept ownership under wraps.

So when one hit the market like this, it was a rare event, and even if you wanted one, luck had to be on your side to snag the chance.

“So, how much for this?”

It seemed too good to pass up, so I asked the price.

“This one’s two hundred platinum coins.”

“It’s surprisingly cheap… wait, platinum coins?!”

I’d only caught the number at first and figured I could swing it, but the currency threw me for a loop, leaving me frozen.

“Platinum coins are the world’s second-most valuable currency. One equals a hundred gold coins.”

“So that’s twenty thousand gold coins?!”

Hearing the bag cost enough to buy four of my houses made total sense in an instant.

Just like the mythical beast wine, the method to make item bags had been lost to time.

The only way to get them was raiding ancient civilization ruins, but the triple-layered enchantments must’ve required top-tier tech even back then, because so few existed.

“By the way, several nobles are currently scrambling to raise funds just to buy this one.”

With utility like that, the uses were endless. You could stash valuables and carry them anywhere, or haul massive loads of supplies.

“Yeah, it’s tempting… No wonder everyone’s after it.”

It pulled at me hard, but no matter how I sliced it, I didn’t have the funds right now. As I wrestled with giving up…

“If you’d like, how about we do installments?”

Edward made an unexpected offer.

“You’d do that?”

I was stunned he’d even consider payments.

“Anyone else, and I’d turn them down, but you’ve risen to prominence in the capital in just a year and become a noble. I figure making an exception here will pay off for us in the long run.”

He laid out the calculated reason plain, but it also showed how much he trusted me.

“Well… that feels like too much credit…”

I didn’t see myself as some upstanding pillar of society. I still had my doubts about keeping the money flowing steadily.

“What do you say?”

But he’d gone out of his way to suggest it, and for something this rare, skipping it felt like a waste.

“I’ll take that deal.”

I couldn’t resist the temptation and went ahead with buying the item bag.

We headed back to the negotiation room, settled the installment terms, and I took possession of the bag.

“Thank you for your purchase. We look forward to doing business again.”

We signed a contract for five years’ repayment. I’d have to hustle on the job front from here, I thought…

“Manager.”

An employee approached and spoke to Edward.

“I see… Understood.”

“Something up?”

“No, the next guest arrived a bit early…”

“Huh, come to think of it, there weren’t any other customers while I was here.”

I voiced the realization aloud.

“To keep who buys what under wraps, we don’t overlap guest times.”

“Makes sense—you’re thorough.”

Yeah, you couldn’t relax and shop if someone else was wandering the store.

“In that case, I’ll head out now.”

I’d sold off my items, seen all sorts of magic tools and luxuries, and felt satisfied.

The item bag solved my worries about hauling high-end stuff too, so it opened up way more options for me going forward.

“Thanks. Sorry if the end felt rushed.”

Edward walked me out the back door.

“No, looking forward to more deals down the line.”

As I said that, Edward flashed a warm smile.

“Of course. Whether buying or selling, we’ll never turn away Lord Klaus—please come back anytime.”

We shook hands one last time, and I slipped out the back.

It was to avoid crossing paths with the next guest.

“Man, I’ve got a great story for Celia now.”

She had this huge fascination with magic tools. I headed home, already excited about which parts to tell her first.