Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest

Chapter 714 161.3 - Market

Irina stared at the receipts in her hands, her hazel eyes growing wider with every passing second. Her gaze darted between the numbers again and again, as if hoping they would magically rearrange themselves into something that made sense.

200 Valer.

300 Valer.

No charge.

Her jaw dropped. She raised her hand, pointing at Astron with a trembling finger, her mind spinning in disbelief. "How!" she exclaimed, her voice tinged with equal parts outrage and confusion. "How did you do this?!"

Astron's gray eyes met hers, calm and unbothered as always, "I told you," he said simply, his tone maddeningly composed. "I observed."

Irina gawked at him, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. 'Observed? That's it? Just observed? He didn't use mana, didn't pull out some hidden skill. He didn't even haggle the normal way!!

She threw up her hands, her receipts fluttering to the ground as she began pacing in small, frustrated circles. "This doesn't make any sense! The scarf-200 Valer?! That vendor practically begged me to take it for 2000! And the carrings-300?! I spent 6000, and I thought I was being clever!" She stopped abruptly, spinning to face him. "And the pendant! Free?!

Astron watched her tirade with an unreadable expression, his hands tucked casually into his pockets. "You're overthinking this," he said, his voice steady. "I pointed out flaws in their products and leveraged their circumstances. That's all."

"That's not all!" Irina shot back, jabbing a finger at him. "You didn't just point things out-you made them fold like wet parchment! That's not normal!"

Astron tilted his head slightly, the faintest hint of amusement flickering in his eyes.

"What's abnormal about it?"

Irina's eyes narrowed, her frustration bubbling over. "Everything! You didn't even raise your voice. You didn't argue, or charm them, or-I don't know-bribe them! They just... caved! It's like you hypnotized them without even trying."

He raised an eyebrow. "Would you prefer if I had?"

She groaned, throwing her head back in exasperation. "Astron, I'm being serious!"

"And I'm answering seriously," he replied, his tone infuriatingly even. "I observed their weaknesses, applied pressure where necessary, and allowed them to make a choice. Simple"

Irina glared at him, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. 'Simple? Simple?!

There's nothing simple about this! He makes it sound like some mundane chore, like sweeping the floor or folding laundry.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing thoughts. "Okay," she said finally, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Let's break this down. The scarf vendor-what did you say to get him to drop the price to 200?"

Astron shrugged slightly. "I pointed out the low-grade mana infusion and the lack of craftsmanship. He understood the value wasn't what he claimed."

Irina's eye twitched. "And the earrings?"

"I informed him of the actual material costs and the poor quality of the enchantment," Astron said, his tone as calm as ever. "I also mentioned a few... external factors that persuaded him to be more agreeable."

Irina threw up her hands. "External factors?! What does that even mean?"

".....

But as Astron didn't reply, Irina finally came into a thought!

'Wait.....'

She stood frozen, her hazel eyes narrowing as a realization struck her like a thunderclap. It wasn't just about Astron's ridiculous haggling victories. No, this was about her. About the truth that those vendors had likely known all along.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

She clutched the receipts in her trembling hands, her mind replaying every moment of her supposed "triumphant" negotiations. The scarf vendor's hesitant smile, the jewelry seller's mock indignation, the pendant vendor's exaggerated explanations-it all clicked into place.

"Those shameless bastards,' she thought, her jaw tightening. "They were playing me the whole time!'

She could almost hear their smug inner voices now: Oh, look at her, thinking she's being clever. Let's humor her-she'll never know she's still overpaying by triple. Her hands clenched into fists, crumpling the paper. "Those... those scamming parasites!"

Astron raised an eyebrow at her outburst, but wisely kept silent.

Irina's face flushed as the humiliation settled in. All that effort, all that haggling and it was a lie. A performance, with her as the fool, dancing to their tune. She could practically feel their invisible laughter trailing after her as she walked away from each stall, proud of her "victories."

Her teeth ground together as she imagined the vendors chatting amongst themselves after she left: Did you see how she thought 2000 was a bargain? Hilarious. She was practically begging to be overcharged!

Her anger flared, hot and uncontrollable. "How dare they!" she hissed, her voice rising with each word. "How dare they scam me and pretend like they're doing me a favor?!"

Astron, still maddeningly composed, watched her with faint amusement. "You're taking this personally," he noted.

Irina rounded on him, her fists clenched at her sides. "Of course I'm taking this personally! I spent hours negotiating, thinking I was outsmarting them, and the whole time they were probably laughing behind my back! It's infuriating!"

Her gaze swept across the bustling market, now teeming with activity as the vendors called out their wares. The vibrant colors and cheerful voices grated on her nerves. She could almost hear the whispers: That girl? The one who overpaid for everything? Yeah, she's an easy mark.

Her blood boiled. "I should burn this entire market to the ground," she muttered, her fingers twitching as though itching to summon flames. "Teach them all a lesson about

cheating their customers."

Astron's lips quirked into the faintest smirk. "That seems... excessive."

"Oh, excessive?" Irina snapped, turning her fiery glare on him. "Excessive is scamming an honest buyer and treating her like a fool! Excessive is letting someone walk away thinking they've won when you've been mocking them the whole time!"

She began pacing again, her thoughts spiraling. 'How could I not have noticed? I've been shopping in high-end markets for so long that I didn't even question their pricing! They must've pegged me as a clueless noble from the moment I walked up!' Her frustration bubbled over as she kicked a stray pebble, sending it skittering into a nearby stall. The vendor gave her a startled look but quickly averted his gaze when he saw the storm brewing in her eyes.

Astron stepped closer, his calm presence irritating her further. "Are you planning to torch the entire market, or just the vendors who wronged you?"

"Don't tempt me," Irina growled, her fists still clenched. "They deserve it. All of them."

"And what would that accomplish?" Astron asked, his tone annoyingly reasonable. "You'd waste your energy, and the market would rebuild. Meanwhile, you'd be remembered as the noble who lost her temper over a few coins."

Irina glared at him, her lips pressed into a thin line. "A few coins? I spent thousands,

Astron! Thousands on junk!"

"Junk you chose to buy," he pointed out calmly.

Her eye twitched. "You're not helping."

"I wasn't trying to," he replied, his expression neutral.

Irina's frustration was palpable, her fiery hazel eyes practically daring the market to

test her patience again. But when she paused to glare at him, he tilted his head slightly and spoke with a measured calmness.

"You're upset because you feel cheated," he began, his voice steady. "And you have a

right to be. But before you burn the market to the ground, consider this: these vendors aren't just random scammers. They're meeting a demand."

Irina stopped mid-step, her frown deepening. "Meeting a demand? Astron, they're lying! Overpricing junk and passing it off as rare or valuable. How is that meeting a

demand?"

Astron raised an eyebrow. "Think about it. You came here expecting authenticity. Something tied to the experience of this place. These vendors know that. They sell you the idea of value, wrapped in the atmosphere of this market. If you hadn't pushed me into revealing the truth, you'd still be marveling at your purchases, connecting them

to the charm of your trip."

Irina blinked, her frustration momentarily giving way to surprise. Is he seriously justifying this?" she thought, her lips pressing into a thin line. "So what? That makes it okay to rip people off?"

"I didn't say it was right," Astron replied calmly. "But it's not as simple as you think. These vendors provide exactly what many customers are looking for-something they can take home and feel good about. It's supply and demand. If people stopped paying these inflated prices, the market would adjust. But as long as people are willing to pay, the system sustains itself."

Irina crossed her arms, her expression skeptical. "That's ridiculous. It's still dishonest."

Astron's gaze remained steady. "Is it? Or is it just business? They're not forcing anyone to buy. They're creating an illusion, yes, but one that the customer willingly participates in. And before you realized the truth, you were a willing participant,

weren't you?"

Her cheeks flushed with indignation. "That's not the point! I thought I was getting something real-something valuable!"

"And to you, it was real," Astron said, his tone soft but unyielding. "Until I pointed out the flaws. Without that, those items would still hold value in your mind. The authenticity you sought wasn't in the products themselves but in the connection you made to this place. The vendors know that, and they cater to it."

Irina clenched her fists, her frustration bubbling over again. "So what, I'm just

supposed to accept being scammed?"

"No." Astron replied evenly. "But you should understand the system you're

participating in. If you truly want to change it, then don't just rage against it. Stop participating. Spread the truth, and the demand will shift. But blaming the vendors alone won't solve anything-they're just the other half of the equation."

Irina stared at him, her hazel eyes narrowing as she absorbed his words. 'Of course, he's turning this into some philosophical debate,' she thought bitterly. But deep down, she couldn't entirely dismiss his point. The logic of it gnawed at her, frustratingly sound despite her emotions.

"Fine," she said finally, her voice clipped. "But it doesn't change the fact that they're

taking advantage of people like me."

Astron nodded slightly. "True. But they're also providing exactly what people like you

are looking for. The question is whether you value the truth more than the illusion." Irina glared at him, her frustration warring with reluctant acknowledgment. She exhaled sharply, brushing past him with a huff. "You and your sophistry..." And then just like that, they did head to the inward of the city.