"Hello here, we would like to meet with the owner of the store." Samantha said as she looked at a young man in front of her.
The young man looked at the newcomers with a frown on his face. It was not that he had never seen beauties like them, but, he had never seen the beauties of their caliber coming to such a small store.
Most of the time, people with the aura like the one that the two ladies possessed would always belong to certain organizations.
So, it was strange that the two ladies had come over to a small store like the one that he was managing. Additionally, they came over looking for the owner of the store immediately. Although he did not expect that they were going to come over to purchase anything, but, he did not see the reason why they were going to look for the owner.
Just from the way that Samantha had spoken, it was clear that she did not know who the owner of this store was. Still, because he was not sure about the organization that the two ladies belonged to, he decided to be careful.
"What is it that you want?" The young man asked. Although it was true that currently, Samantha was hiding the armor that she was wearing beneath the trench coat, but, the shape of the armor could not be completely hidden.
So, it was quite easy for the young man to be able to easily tell that Samantha was putting on an armor. As for the reason why she was hiding the armor, he was not sure about It. Nevertheless, he had to know the reason why they came over, before knowing what step he was going to take next.
"We want to rent this shop of yours together with everything inside. We want to discuss the price as long as the owner is willing." Samantha stated.
The young man on the other hand could not help but squint his eyes. Rent a shop? What was the reason behind that? People from the organizations were going to rent a small shop like this? This did not make any sense to him.
Still, he responded, "I'm sorry but I will have to inform you that this shop is not for renting or sale. It is a private property, so, you can forget about getting it." The young man responded.
Although he was pissing people from an organization, of which he don't know, he was not that much afraid. After all, all the people that lived inside the stronghold were not simple, or were protected by the laws of the stronghold.
So, unless he had done anything wrong, he believed that there was nobody that was going to take a drastic measure like killing him or something like that. After all, with all the organizations neck to neck on each other, they would definitely take any opportunity that was presented to them to attack the other.
Samantha on the other hand did not like the response that she had gotten. Of course, she knew that it was going to be a little difficult for them to be able to rent a store. After all, why would a person give away his source of income?
Although it might be true that they were going to be compensated as long as they agreed to give away the store, but still, the majority of the people were not willing to do that. That was unless they did not have any other choice because they needed money.
"We are going to pay for that. And, I don't believe that you are capable of making that decision if you are not the owner of this store. So, why don't you call over the owner of the store so that we can discuss the matter with him or her?" Denali spoke.
When it came to the matters concerning business, she was more skilled as compared to Samantha. Although it might be true that Samantha was more informed about the strongholds, but, the mindset of humans was not that much different when it came to business.
After hearing what Denali had said, the young man showed dissatisfaction on his face. He looked at Denali and responded, "This is my father's store. And, I am his only son, implying that in the future, I am the one that is going to take over. So, there is no difference at all when I say that I am the owner of this store."
Denali was just about to respond when suddenly, a voice reached them from within the store.
"What is going on out there Martin? Is there a problem with the customers?" The voice was that of an old man.
Currently, they were at the entrance of the store, but, the store had two rooms, one of which was used to serve the customers, and another one perhaps was used as a warehouse or resting quarters of the owner of the store.
Immediately after the voice, an old man stepped out from the door that led to the back of the store. He was having a head full of gray hair, and wrinkles covered his face. According to estimation, his age should be in late 70s or early 80s.
Currently, he was wearing a gray trouser, as well as a worn out yellow shirt. It seemed that even in the stronghold, there are those that were regarded as the poor, and those that were regarded as the rich. It seemed that social division did not part ways with humans.
The old man was a little surprised when he saw Denali and Samantha. But, he managed to regain his composure only after a moment. Then, he looked at his son, Martin, a young man with a bald head, an ordinary face, currently wearing a green short sleeved t-shirt, and a pair of matching pants.
The old man only glanced at Martin, before shifting his gaze back to Samantha and Denali. "I am the owner of this store. May I know what it is that you want to purchase? We have several serums, pellets, and other medicinal substances that can be used to improve a person's strength." The old man questioned as he looked at the two.
Although he was not sure about the reason why they were here, but, he decided to act like how a normal shopkeeper would. Anyway, why would people visit his store if they did not want to purchase something?
"We are not here to purchase anything. Instead, we are here because we want to rent this store of yours together with everything inside. You can tell us the price so that we can see if we are going to take it or not." Denali stated.
Along the way, Samantha had been informing her about a lot of things about the stronghold and the prices. So, although Samantha had not interacted that much with the people from the low side of the society, but, she knew about one or two about the prices of the buildings and items that were sold outside of the organizations.
The old man was not expecting that they came over to rent his store. Although he could easily tell that they were not here to purchase anything, but, renting his store was definitely not within his expectation.
At the end of the day, from the way that he could see them, it was clear that they were from a certain organization. And if that was the case, what was the reason for renting a small store like this one? It was not as if there was anything that could fancy them that they could not get from the organization that they belonged to.
"Are you sure about this? Are you sure that you did not come to the wrong place or something?" The old man asked, just to make sure that what he had heard was right.
"Of course. We have the intention to start a small business. We thought that this store of yours is quite suitable, so we decided to rent it. But, that is on the premise that you agree to that." Denali responded. Currently, they did not hold any initiative, so, they had no choice but to play low.
The old man looked at the expression on Denali and Samantha's faces, and he saw that they were sincere. But still, he felt that there was something wrong. After all, why would people of their level, from the organizations that they belonged to, come over just to get a small store?
Start a business? What was the reason for that? It was not as if there was something that they were going to gain from running a small business like this one, right? They were supposed to be training at a moment like this, ensuring that they became stronger, so that they could hold higher positions inside the organization.
As if seeing through the old man's doubts, Denali spoke once again. "You don't have to worry much about the reason why we are taking the store. Other than the business that I have just mentioned, you can be assured that we don't have any other intention.
Additionally, the only reason why we want to run a small business like this is because we want to experience a normal life. You know, we have always been training all this while, so, we need to be away from all that for a moment so that our minds can relax."
After hearing this, the old man was convinced. Although not thoroughly convinced, but, he thought that what Denali said made sense. Most of the times, all the people that were born inside the stronghold usually wanted to practice and become strong warriors.
But, only a few of them managed to join good organizations. And even within the organizations, there are those that usually practice from time to time, making sure that they improved their strength to the maximum level. So, they did not have that much chances of enjoying their lives.n)-o()v/.e)-l//b-/1.)n
So, it was not unreasonable for Denali and Samantha to come over because they wanted to experience how life it was without training.
"But I am not ready to rent out the store. This is the only asset that I possess." The old man stated. Although he believed what they had said, he was not willing to give away the business that he had been running for several years now.
