"What are you talking about?"
The young girl stopped in her tracks, her wide eyes full of confusion. Zane could tell—she genuinely had no idea what he was talking about.
What's going on?
Could the old man have lied? But it didn't seem that way—there was no reason for him to.
The girl stared at Zane, her brows gradually drawing together.
Was this guy some unstable stranger? That huge sack on his back looked heavy… who knows what's in it?
As Zane and the girl locked eyes in an increasingly awkward silence, a man in a suit and sunglasses stepped out from a small room inside the store.
"Apologies, sir. She's a student working part-time here and isn't familiar with much. I'll take over from here."
The suited man gave Zane a polite nod and smiled, then gestured for him to follow and led him into the back room.
Inside, the space was surprisingly spacious and tastefully decorated, with a large bookshelf along the wall.
"Sir, are you here looking for a place to conduct a transaction?"
Though he had already guessed Zane's intention, the man asked out of courtesy.
"Yes."
Zane nodded. At his feet, Panta poked its head out, curiously eyeing the man.
"Alright, but before we begin, may I take a look at what you're planning to sell?"
"Please don't misunderstand. If it's inconvenient, that's fine. I just want to see if it's something we can handle directly."
The man took off his sunglasses as a sign of respect, his friendly smile giving off a good impression.
Zane raised a brow. He didn't know why this man was being so accommodating, but he didn't mind letting him see what was in the sack.
After all, it wasn't anything particularly secretive.
He opened the sack. The man glanced at the dark stones inside with a puzzled expression. Seeing this, Zane reached in and pulled out a chunk of Ether the size of two heads.
With a wave of his hand, the Ether's true form was revealed.
The man's expression shifted. Staring at the softly glowing Ether, he looked visibly stunned.
He quickly took it with both hands and set it on the table for closer inspection.
After a while, he stood up, this time wearing a genuine smile instead of a polite one.
"Sir, what's in this bag…?"
"Yeah, they're all the same."
Zane took out the rest of the Ether, removing their disguises one by one to reveal their original forms.
Different sizes, but all of the same quality.
The man's expression grew visibly brighter. Crouching down as if discovering a treasure, he marveled,
"Honestly, I hope you don't laugh."
"We've only recently started operating here. We barely have any customers or foot traffic—our foundation is still weak. That's why we treat everyone so courteously."
"But today, sir, you've truly given me a huge surprise."
"We'll take all this Ether, no question."
"Please rest assured—we'll offer a fair price. But I'll need to report this first. If you don't mind waiting a bit."
He stood, then suddenly remembered something. Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a gold-embossed business card and offered it to Zane with both hands.
"Sir, this is Titan Technology's card. I sincerely hope we can continue our partnership in the future."
"Oh, and one more thing."
He pointed to a set of inconspicuous little boxes near the back of the store.
"Those are Titan Technology's latest products. Feel free to browse. If anything catches your eye, I can personally authorize it as a gift."
With a polite nod, the man walked off. Zane followed his suggestion and headed to the back to see what he was talking about.
"Titan Technology… sounds like a tech research company. Not sure what field they specialize in though..."
Zane wasn't familiar with the name. He opened one of the palm-sized square boxes and looked inside.
"This is… a W-Engine?"
His eyes widened slightly. He was very familiar with the design. The finely crafted orb inside looked nothing like a toy—he instantly recognized it.
So Titan Technology makes these.
They weren't cheap, and yet the suited man had offered them with no limit. That was surprisingly generous.
Still, Zane didn't use Ether weapons. He had no use for W-Engines.
Even so, these little devices—each barely half the size of a fist—would make great gifts. They were valuable, practical, and well-made.
It wouldn't hurt to keep a few on hand for when he needed to give someone a present.
Based on their descriptions, Zane casually picked out a dozen or so.
Satisfied with his haul, he nodded to himself.
That should be enough.
"Seems like a bit much… probably better to have them deduct it from the Ether payment later."
He carried the W-Engines into the back room, but before he could take a closer look, the man in the suit returned through the rear door.
"Sir, here's the Dennies for the Ether."
He handed Zane a physical card. Issued jointly by New Eridu and the Financial Union, its credibility was beyond question.
"This card is currently unregistered. If convenient, please link it to your identity soon."
The man noticed the W-Engines on the table but didn't bat an eye. Compared to the high-purity Ether, these were negligible.
Ether of this purity had never been seen in natural Hollows and couldn't be replicated by technology. To Titan Technology, it was priceless.
"How much is in here?"
Zane took the card, holding it between two fingers and giving it a shake as he asked.
"Sir, since there's no official market price for Ether of this purity, we took the liberty of estimating a value."
Glancing at the Ether on the floor, the man continued with a smile,
"This card contains 2.1 billion Dennies."
"Of course, if you're not satisfied, we can negotiate further."
"But trust me, sir—there's no one in the entire underground black market, no, not even in all of New Eridu, who understands the value of this Ether better than Titan Technology."
His calm tone landed like a boulder dropped into still water.
As the head of Titan Technology's Janus District operations, he knew exactly how the mad scientists at headquarters would react if they saw this Ether.
...