[Marien] Mana stones? Well, I can appraise them right here, though their value will vary depending on how fully charged they are.
[Sakyo] (I'm glad she'll take them. I'm curious to see how much I can get for these things.)
He pulls one stone out from his pocket, placing it on the counter. Immediately after seeing it, Marien practically jumps on top of it, admiring its pure white color.
[Marien] A-a white mana stone?! That is the highest color they can reach! How did you get your hands on such a treasure?!
[Sakyo] Well, uh... (I can't tell her I have a closet full of these things.) ...I happened to notice them being used in a cheap jeweler's shop, and I got them for a good price. I guess they didn't notice the value of them. (mumble) Yeah, that sounds believable.
[Marien] Well, you got a splendid deal. You said you wanted to sell a few of these. How many do you have on you? The guild will buy them all!
[Sakyo] I-I have two more.
He places the other two stones on the counter, though they barely stay there for more than a second before Marien swipes them up.
[Marien] So precious. I'll be right back with your gold.
[Sakyo] (Please hurry.)
She takes the stones to the back room to get the gold coins. During his wait, Sakyo can hear the murmurs of the surrounding adventurers. Among them, a group of three walks up to him. Their leader, a man clad in a half-cape and jagged steel armor snickers when he reaches him.
[Man] Well now, what do we have here? A little brat trying to act like a big shot, selling some high grade stones. Tell me, what's a kid like you doing selling stuff that could make you a small fortune?
[Sakyo] (This guy's a walking cliché.)
Sakyo doesn't respond, merely eyeing the man without emotion. His attempt to stay quiet seems to have only provoked him though.
[Man] Hey, I'm talkin' to you, brat! You shouldn't act all high and mighty when you don't even know what real power is. C-rank doesn't mean you're untouchable. You're no match for Dreg the Almighty.
The other two step up from behind the man. On the left, a broad-shouldered brute. He carries a two-handed broad sword on his back, clearly more brawn than brain. On the right, a whip wielding woman clad in leather, looking at Sakyo like a predator eyeing their prey.
[Sakyo] (I see, an attacker, a tank, and a speed type. They've got all boxes checked other than mage.)
[Woman] Now Dreg, you shouldn't bully such a kid. Although, it is suspicious how he got such high grade mana stones. Maybe a noble's vault, or even the black market~.
[Dreg] Could be. This brat's either a prodigy, or a thief. Risa, why don't you wring the truth out of him.
[Risa] Oh, I'd love to~.
She takes her whip out, ready to use it on Sakyo.
[Sakyo] (sigh) How pathetic.
The three adventurers stop in place, surprised at the boys arrogant words.
[Sakyo] You boast about your strength, yet you don't have anything better to do than try bullying someone half your size. If I were you, I'd be embarrassed to be so shameless in public.
Those words clearly get to the three. Dreg even moves forward, reaching for the sword at his waist, but he's stopped by the brute behind him.
[Dreg] Hobrin! What are you doing?
[Hobrin] Settle down, there's no need to fight a brat who's just running his mouth.
[Dreg] But-
[Hobrin] Look around, you're making a scene.
He looks at the people around. Just about every adventurer in the building stopped what they were doing to see what the sudden commotion was, unsure if a brawl was about to happen.
Dreg jerks his shoulder free from Hobrin's grip, stepping closer to Sakyo, just enough to test his reaction, but Sakyo doesn't flinch.
[Dreg] (tsk) You may be safe now, brat, but this world's not as nice as you think. No matter where you got those stones, bringing them here just painted a target on your back. You may think you're strong, but there's always someone stronger ready to feast on you.
[Sakyo] Is that a threat? Cause it doesn't seem like you're in the right weight class to make one to me.
Sakyo steps towards him too, his eyes glowing with a faint red. The tension between these two could be cut with a knife. It's only broken when Marien comes back with a pouch of gold coins.
[Marien] Mr. Sakyo, I have your payment here... What's going on here?
[Dreg] Just looking out for the guild. Wouldn't want this newbie passing out fake goods.
[Marien] While I appreciate your concern, the guild is more than capable of properly appraising items.
He steps away without another word, the other two adventurers following shortly behind him.
[Marien] Are you ok?
[Sakyo] Yeah, just enjoying a bit of entertainment.
[Marien] Well, I have your payment right here. For three high grade mana stones, the total payment is thirty gold coins.
[Sakyo] (Thirty?!) Um, i-is this the full amount?
[Marien] Of course. High grade mana stones are quite the rarity. It's easy to get low grade ones, but the stones you brought in are exceptionally full. Stones with such high concentrations of mana like the ones you brough in usually take weeks, or even months of high level mages pouring all of their mana into a single point. Even then, they can only reach the higher levels of mid-tier.
[Sakyo] (Wow, I'll have to thank those two the next time I see them.) Well, I think I get the picture. Before I go, can you give me any information on the Manavore.
[Marien] Of course, I've already gathered all the necessary information you'll need. Feel free to read it on your travels.
After handing him all the materials he asked for, Sakyo takes his leave from the guild. Marien waves a cheerful goodbye, but a sense of uneasiness makes her worry for him.
[Marien] (That boy, I hope he'll be ok. He already brought so much attention on himself with those mana stones, and now he's in trouble with the B-rank Iron Fang party. I should inform the guild master of this.)
...
Just outside Raynemor, Sakyo begins walking towards the village in the quest.
[Sakyo] Alright, everything's been taken care of. Garm's off to fight the troll, Naja's headed towards the boars, and Kaya's got the keystone relic. I can use the mirror to check in on everyone while I'm gone, and she can bring everyone back when we're done. There's just one problem, I have no idea how I'm gonna get there. I could walk, but the receptionist lady said it's already three days by carriage. Even if I had the keystone, it wouldn't do me any good. I've never been to this village before. Hmm...
As he keeps walking, lost in thought, he doesn't notice Lumi leaping out of his shadow. She keeps to his side, until she decides to nudge him with her head. Feeling the sudden touch, Sakyo jumps a bit from the surprise.
[Sakyo] Lumi?! Don't do that. You nearly gave me a heart attack. Have you always been able to do that?
As an apology, Lumi rubs her head against him again, purring softly. Sakyo tries to stay mad, but he can't resist petting her.
[Sakyo] Aww, you're lucky you're so cute and fluffy. Did you come to see me off?
[Lumi] Rawr (Lumi going with Papa.)
[Sakyo] You want to come with me? Wait, did I just hear you?
[Lumi] Rawr rawr (Papa's going hunting. Take Lumi too.)
[Sakyo] I did?! Maybe this is something like when your mom and I made a temporary pact.
[Lumi] Rawr! (Lumi going with Papa!)
[Sakyo] Alright, you can come along. I guess even though you've grown, you're still pretty young. Say, do you mind letting me ride on your back?
Lumi jumps up in excitement at the offer. She's clearly excited about going out for a trip to the unknown.
[Lumi] Rawr? Rawr! (A ride with Papa? Lumi wants it!)
[Sakyo] Alright then, let's go.
He hops on her back, and they ride off to the new village.
Meanwhile, back in the capital, at a bar located in the outskirts, Dreg and his party drink over the commotion caused at the guild.
[Dreg] Damn that brat, making me look bad at the guild.
[Risa] I should've tied him up when I had the chance. At least then we could've had a little fun with him.
[Hobrin] Just get over it. There's no use dwelling over some kid who'll just get himself killed.
[Dreg] He didn't even back down when I tried intimidating him, and that sword on his back. There was something off about it.
[Risa] He's probably just some noble's brat who used his daddy's money to get it, thinking he's untouchable now.
[Dreg] I wouldn't put it past him, but that's probably not all.
[Hobrin] What do you mean?
[Dreg] He stood against all of us. Not just anyone can stay standing against a party of B-rank adventurers like that. That look in his eyes gave me the creeps. You don't get that kind of look by being coddled your entire life.
[Risa] Well, if he's so great, maybe we should pay him a little visit~.
[Dreg] Go on.
[Risa] Ivala Village. We already know he's going for the Manavore quest there. The mana crystals that grow on their backs can be worth a house in the noble district.
[Dreg] And if that kid just happens to die fighting that thing, we can swoop in and pick up his scraps.
[Hobrin] Even if he doesn't get killed, "accidents" can happen where we get the reward from the guild.
[Dreg] Then it's settled. We're going to Ivala Village.
They click their mugs, their flawless plan already set in motion.