Chapter 181 The Deal with the Dwarves

After leaving the guild, we turned into the alley, which, like the main road, was undulating and gradually extended downwards. There were also stone steps leading up to the main road on one side of the road. Judging from the material, they were probably just piled up with earth magic, and their quality was somewhat worrying.

The alley is not long; you can walk to the end in just a few minutes. Turning left, you'll find a shop that looks like a foundry. It doesn't look very big, but it's very clean, and the area around it is filled with various iron products and forging tools.

"Hello! Can you manufacture prosthetics?"

Lilith was still in charge of the negotiations. Sitting at the shop entrance was an old man with a white beard wearing some kind of metal helmet. Since dwarves generally live twice as long as humans, he looked like an old man, but he was actually just a young man.

"Hmm? Of course!"

He first sized up me and Katya, who were standing behind Lilith, then picked up the wine glass that could be called a "barrel," took a big gulp, and smiled with enjoyment before answering Lilith's question.

"Is it possible to make a controllable prosthesis?"

Judging from the images provided by "Human God", the prosthetic limbs created by Lilith are not decorative items, but rather prosthetic limbs that are no different from normal arms and can be freely controlled.

I don't know how expensive those mechanical prosthetics would be, but I do know that even if it costs all my savings, it's a price I have to pay.

Not as a price to pay for finding my family, but... the one who dragged Lilith into danger and lost her arm... is me.

"Gurgle gurgle... Ah... Little one, are you questioning my skills as a dwarf?"

"No, no, no... I just wanted to ask a little something?"

"Hahaha! Good lad! Two hundred silver coins! I'll craft a piece that will satisfy you!"

"silver……?"

Hearing what the dwarf said, I realized that the currency of "Kelorans" was not used here!

I had indeed learned about similar things before. Currency is not universally accepted in the world; almost every country has its own unique way of trading.

Some countries practice bartering, while others use expensive goods as payment.

"Oh no! I completely forgot about that!"

—Market research!

At the beginning, I did do some market research, but that was back in "Kelolans". The research showed that the same item could be expensive here, but cheaper by a few magic crystals in other shops.

That was based on the fact that circulating currency could be used interchangeably, but the current situation is completely different. The so-called currency not circulating means that the only way to settle accounts is to exchange existing currency.

In other words, if you have 100 magic crystals, they might be worth 200 silver coins or 1 silver coin, depending entirely on the value of the currency you have in this city!

"Hmm? Are you from out of town?"

"terribly sorry!"

I was completely careless, and since Dororo is a nation that can be called an empire, the currency of Kylorans is very likely to be devalued! This is a very bad situation!

“There are people like this every day. No need to apologize, little guy. Tell me what kind of currency you have, and maybe I'll give you a satisfactory price!”

"Hmm...it's the universal magic crystals of 'Kylorans' and...copper coins."

"Hmm, a little guy from 'Kelorans'? Magic crystals aren't worth much here!"

"Just as I thought!"

—This is really bad.

According to the dwarves, I currently possess about one gold coin's worth of magic crystals. But if converted into Dororo currency, would that make me a complete pauper? Although I'm not particularly wealthy in Kylorans.

The common currency of "Kylorans" is divided into three types: gold coins, copper coins, and magic crystals.

If you set the highest-priced currency in "Kylorans," the "Gold Coin," to one Gold Coin, it will look like this.

One gold coin is equal to one hundred copper coins.

One hundred copper coins are equal to one thousand magic crystals.

Ten thousand magic crystals are roughly equivalent to one gold coin.

The common currency of "Dororo" is divided into: royal notes, general notes, silver coins, large copper coins, iron coins, and stone coins.

If the highest price of "Kylorans" were set to one gold coin, it would probably look like this.

Wang Chaoyi

fifty banknotes

One hundred silver coins

One thousand large copper coins

Five thousand iron coins

10,000 coins

In other words, all I have in Dororo right now is a little over a hundred silver coins, barely enough to cover half the cost of making a prosthetic limb!

"No, no, no... I clearly paid the dragon carriage and the inn with magic crystals just now. With this conversion method, I've made a huge profit."

"But when I made the payment, it was still in Magic Crystals..."

I don't know why, but I always feel like this dwarf is lying to me. Aren't they supposed to be a very kind race? Turns out they're the kind of bastards who would even lie to a child?

"The value of the working-class area and the aristocratic area is different!"

Is that the explanation?

"Indeed, since Dororo is a port nation, the flow of funds certainly doesn't rely on just one country's currency. This conversion method is naturally the most unfair to ordinary people. They work hard to earn 200 magic crystals, but in the end, they can't even afford a single imported hair?"

I finally understand why commoners never set foot in the noble districts, not only in "Dororo," but also in "Kylorans" and "Robebia." Even with the common currency, the prices of goods there are still unattainable for people in the commoner districts.

Moreover, if the area is divided according to the Adventurers' Guild, this alley is indeed classified as part of the Noble District, which explains the exorbitant price.

"Alright then, I'll charge you one gold coin based on the price in the commoners' area, but there's a condition!"

"Ah... so the dwarves' reputation only exists in adventure stories after all?"

"Wh...what conditions?"

"Hahaha! Don't look at me like that, we dwarves are always trustworthy! All I need is for you to go to the rainforest of Ny'alotha and get me a sip of their strong liquor—just one sip! Maybe I'll even give it to you for free!"

"Just for a drink?"

To be fair, the dwarves are indeed a race that is enthusiastic about all kinds of spirits, especially the special spirits from different races. It seems that only in this way can they taste the advantages and disadvantages of them and then brew more delicious and mellow spirits.

"What's wrong? You don't want to?"

"No... I just think this might be... too simple."

"Hahaha! Little guy, don't be so sure of yourself. How about this: if you can really bring me some strong liquor, I'll make you a prosthetic leg for free, and with the best materials, how about that!"

"It's a deal!"

"Stake the dwarfs' reputation!"

Just kidding, these conditions are completely in my favor, okay? I'd be a fool not to agree!

Just like in Sylvie's adventure stories, a guy who likes strong liquor isn't necessarily an alcoholic, but he's definitely not a bad guy like the dwarves. Of course, there are exceptions, but such exceptions are rare.

Of course, I'm not talking about the kind of guy who just drinks heavily in Hukou, but rather the kind of guy who has a special feeling for wine, like the saying, "There are houses of gold and beauties in wine."