"What if the watermelon I buy from you isn't ripe?"
"It's... guaranteed to be ripe..." Topaz stared at Clara in front of her, feeling like she wanted to cry but couldn't squeeze out a single tear.
Beneath her black cloak, her hand tightened around a communicator, unsure whether she should notify Diamond about Clara's arrival...
"Just tell me what happens if the watermelon I buy isn't ripe." Clara casually picked up a watermelon from the stall and gave it a few taps.
"If it's not ripe, I'll eat it myself."
Topaz said it offhandedly, lowering the alert device in her hand. Given Clara's capabilities, Topaz figured that if she really intended to cause trouble, notifying Diamond probably wouldn't help anyway.
The bombing incident at the Interastral Peace Corporation headquarters last time was a vivid example.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have ended up here selling watermelons in the first place >.<
"Is that so?"
Clara smiled faintly and randomly pointed at a watermelon.
"Then I'll take this one. Wrap it up for me."
"Alright..."
Seeing this, Topaz hurriedly picked out the largest watermelon and started wrapping it.
But why choose the biggest one for Clara?
Well, it was simply because Topaz had absolutely no idea how to judge a watermelon's quality...
So she picked the biggest one for Clara—surely a bigger one couldn't be bad, right?...
"That'll be 300,000 Credits."
After handing the watermelon to Clara, Topaz repeated the price.
"Mmm..." Clara took the watermelon, hefting it in her hand.
"Is this watermelon at least fifteen jin?"
"Uh... it should be..." Topaz replied, sounding rather unsure.
Twenty thousand Credits per jin, 300,000 Credits for one melon—that meant each melon had to be at least fifteen jin, let alone the one in Clara's hands, which she'd specifically picked as the biggest...
"Either it is or it isn't. What do you mean by 'should be'?"
Hearing Topaz's words, Clara feigned a frown.
"Whether this melon is fifteen jin or not—shouldn't you, the seller, know?"
"Uh... how about we weigh it?" Topaz genuinely didn't know. After a moment's thought, she cautiously suggested.
"Am I selling the melon, or are you?" Clara said, slightly exasperated, and handed the melon back to Topaz.
When Topaz wasn't looking, a faint energy emanated from Clara's hand, secretly seeping into the watermelon.
"We'll weigh it, weigh it..."
Topaz took the watermelon and found the scale Diamond had gifted her when he heard she was setting up a watermelon stall.
'Diamond really is Diamond. Watermelons that only cost 3,000 to produce, and he managed to sell them all for 400,000 each.'
Thinking about how Diamond had already sold half his stock, and at 400,000 per melon no less, Topaz couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Here she was struggling to sell hers for 300,000 each, yet Diamond had sold his so effortlessly.
Topaz shook her head, dismissing the thought. She placed the watermelon on the scale and took a simple measurement.
"7450 grams."
That was the number the scale displayed.
"Uh..."
"This isn't fifteen jin." Clara let out a cold laugh as she looked at the number on the scale.
"That can't be..." Topaz stared at the scale's reading, disbelief washing over her.
She picked up the watermelon, repositioned the scale, and measured again.
"7400 grams."
Topaz: Huh?
Topaz blinked in confusion. Why did it get lighter?
Unconvinced, she measured once more.
"7350 grams."
Topaz: ...
Watching the numbers on the scale steadily decrease and seeing the cold smile on Clara's face, Topaz understood.
Clara was here to pick a fight...
The whole weighing thing was just a trap. Clara must have tampered with the watermelon somehow... that's why it kept getting lighter.
But what could she do even after figuring it out? Topaz seemed utterly powerless.
"Sigh... I'm sorry. How about this—I'll compensate you with another watermelon, okay?" Once she realized Clara was just causing trouble, Topaz felt somewhat calmer inside.
"Counterfeit compensation requires tenfold payback. That's the most basic rule of business. You're not going to ignore that, are you?"
Topaz: ...
"Alright... alright."
Topaz knew that if she refused, Clara's demands would only get more outrageous. In that case, it was better to just agree.
"Well, looks like you do have some business principles after all."
Clara hadn't expected Topaz to agree so readily, a flicker of surprise crossing her face.
"In that case, I won't make things difficult for you."
"I don't want the fake one. Just give me the ten you owe me."
Topaz: ?
"Fine..."
Hearing this, the corner of Topaz's mouth twitched beneath her cloak, but she still agreed to Clara's request.
"Then wrap up those ten for me."
"Okay..."
...
"They're all packed. Where should I deliver them?"
After wrapping the ten watermelons, Topaz asked Clara.
Ten watermelons were quite a load. Just Clara and Firefly alone probably couldn't carry them all.
So, Topaz kindly offered free delivery service.
"Oh, that won't be necessary."
Clara shook her head, picked up one watermelon, and stuffed it directly into her pocket.
"?"
Under the stunned gazes of Topaz and Firefly, Clara proceeded to stuff the watermelons, one by one, into her pocket.
Topaz, Firefly: What the heck?!
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Sensing their stares, Clara turned a puzzled look toward the two of them.
"That pocket of yours..." Firefly stared at Clara's pocket, curiosity burning in her eyes.
"Oh, it's just a fourth-dimensional storage bag. Don't you guys have one?"
Hearing this, Clara instead gave them a strange look.
"How could anyone possibly have something like that?"
"Is that so?" Clara tilted her head, genuinely confused.
"Well then, just consider it my special ability~"
With a light laugh, Clara slipped the last watermelon into her pocket.
"Firefly, let's go."
Once all the watermelons were stored, Clara was ready to leave.
"Hey, wait."
Seeing this, Topaz quickly called out to stop her.
"Um... you haven't paid."
"Paid? For what?" Clara turned back, looking at Topaz in confusion.
"For the one melon. Even with the tenfold compensation, you still have to pay for the original fake watermelon, right..."
"Did I take the fake one?" Clara retorted.
"No..."
"Well, there you have it. I didn't even take the fake one, so why should I pay?"
"Uh..."
Topaz wasn't stupid. She understood instantly.
Clara wanted a free ride.
"But I..."
"Is there a problem? There's no problem, right?"
"No... no problem..." Topaz forced a faint smile, though hidden beneath her cloak, Clara couldn't see it.
"Anything else you want to ask?"
"Nothing..."
"Shall we go then?"
"Sure... have a safe journey."
"Thanks, I'll be sure to visit your stall often in the future." Clara waved cheerfully, a playful grin on her face.
Topaz: ...
Please, I beg you, don't come back... These ten watermelons, three million Credits—Topaz had no idea how she was going to explain this.
Ah, whatever. She'd just tell the truth. Clara's "notorious reputation" was well-known among the corporation's upper echelons.
"We're off now."
"Here's a little tip for you: no matter what happens later, don't go near the Interastral Peace Corporation, okay?"
"See you later, Topaz~"
After saying that, Clara left with Firefly.
Topaz: ...
At first, Topaz was puzzled by Clara's words, but remembering what she'd done before, Topaz had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen.
She immediately started packing up her stall, ready to leave.
That way, if the company came asking, it wouldn't fall on her shoulders.
Topaz really didn't want to sell watermelons ever again...
…
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