Peaceful Life System: I only need to live peacefully-Chapter 163: Eye of Cauli (1)

"Who are you people?" Zella’s grandmother asked as her eyes tore into the two unknown people in her shop.

"Grandma! Grandpa! You’re back!" Zella chirped, rushing forward and throwing her arms around the old woman. "These are my new friends! They’re researchers!"

The grandmother, Hestra, raised a skeptical eyebrow, her gaze not leaving Riku and Sherry. "Friends? Zella, we leave you alone for half a day, and you’ve already made friends with a battle-mage who looks like he’s wanted in three different vassal states?"

"They’re very nice!" Zella insisted. "And they’re looking for a very specific, very rare artifact for their important research! And," she leaned in and whispered loudly, "they have the most amazing treats!"

The grandfather, Gror, finally looked up from his chamber pot. He saw the chocolate smudges near Zella’s mouth. "Treats, you say? Zella, how can you be so careless? What did we teach you about strangers?"

Riku stepped forward, offering a polite, disarming smile. "Apologies for the intrusion, ma’am, sir. My name is Riku, and this is my associate, Sherry. As your granddaughter said, we are researchers. We are tracking a faint magical signature, and our search has led us here."

"A light-magic signature," Sherry added, her tone flat and professional.

Hestra snorted, unconvinced. "And what makes you think we’d have such useless junk in our shop?"

"Grandma, please!" Zella pleaded. "They’re going to help us dig up the entire shop to find it! This will really help us sort the products, and maybe they will give us more of that choco-thing!"

The old couple exchanged a look. It seemed that their granddaughter was completely smitten by this duo.

"Fine," Hestra grumbled. "However, don’t think that you can take it away for free. You will have to pay us accordingly."

"Of course," Riku nodded.

The search resumed, now with four more hands. Gror, a fellow enthusiast of strange and forgotten things, joined in with gusto, pointing out the origins of various artifacts. Hestra just quietly worked her way through the mess.

Riku had already sensed the correct location of the artifacts; however, he did not want to directly point out the location. It was best to avoid any unnecessary attention.

After a good fifteen minutes, Riku finally happened to ’chance’ upon the artifacts - light magic imbued teleportation scrolls.

"Hah! I remember these!" Gror boomed, peering over Riku’s shoulder. "Light-magic scrolls! Useless for us dark practitioners, but the inscriptions were quite nice."

Hestra marched over, her hands on her hips. "Gror, you old goat! I told you not to waste coins on random treasures! Where did you even get this?"

The old dwarf suddenly looked very scared. "My dear, I would never! I won these. At an auction. A very high-stakes auction, I’ll have you know."

"Really? And how much did you pay for them?"

"That..."

"GROR!!"

"Ok fine. I paid 10 gold coins."

"Damn you, you old fool. Now you have done it..." Hestra immediately picked up a nearby cane and started waving it.

"My dear, my dear, forgive me. Granddaughter, save me." The old man started crying out loud and went to hide behind Zella.

Zella jumped between them, hands outstretched. "Grandma, stop! It’s okay! Don’t hit grandpa!"

Hestra stopped, the cane hovering mid-air. She glared at her husband, who was still peeking out from behind Zella. "Hmph. Lucky for you." She lowered the cane, but her scowl remained.

In the background, Sherry burst out in a giggle.

Riku decided to intervene before another domestic war broke out. "Elder Gror," he said, his tone calm and curious. "You mentioned an auction? What kind of auction house deals in items like this?"

Gror, seeing a chance to change the subject, puffed out his chest. "Ah, the finest in all of Dreadspire!" he declared proudly. "A place for discerning collectors. It’s called ’The Shadowed Gavel’. They can get you anything, for the right price."

The Shadowed Gavel, eh?. That could be a useful lead later. RIku made a mental note of the place.

"Thank you, Elders. You’ve been a great help." He reached into his satchel, pulling out a heavy pouch of gold. "For the scrolls, and for your time. 10 gold coins, was it?"

"Young man, I did not expect you to pay for it fully. It seems like I misjudged you." Hestra broke out into a smile and looked on expectantly.

Just as Riku was about to hand the coins to Hestra, a blue panel flashed in his vision.

Ding!

[System Advisory: Alternative Payment Suggested.]

[Offer the ’Eye of Cauli’ as payment. The value of this artifact is understood by those who deal in true rarities. It might open doors that gold cannot.]

The Eye of Cauli? he thought, his mind racing. He remembered receiving it as a reward after finding Lord Arnold. The System had called it a "Mystery Gift," an item of unknown origin that "might be useful later."

System, he questioned mentally, are you sure that they would accept something like this as payment? The old lady seems already pretty pissed at her husband for buying useless stuff.

The System’s reply was immediate and clinical.

[Value is not inherent, Host. It is assigned. This trade assigns a value far greater than gold. Trust in the System’s strategic analysis is recommended for optimal progression.]

Fine, but if they do accept it, I will not push it.

Riku slowly withdrew his hand from the pouch and looked up at the elders.

"Actually," he said, his voice steady, "gold feels... insufficient for an item of such personal importance for me. How about I give you something even more valuable for it?"

"Young man? You have treasures as well? Show me... Awoooo" Gror asked with an expectant face when Hestra pulled his ear, making him cry out loud.

"Young man, we are not doing well. Nothing is more valuable to us than the gold. Please do not listen to my senile old man."

Riku reached deep into his satchel, nonetheless, and pulled out something. "Just have a look. This might be something good for you."

He held out his hand.

Resting on his palm was a smooth, milky-white orb, about the size of a fist. At its center, a slit-like pupil of pure, liquid gold seemed to shift and track the light, giving the unnerving impression that it was alive. And watching.

"HOW DO YOU HAVE THIS??"

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