Chapter 9: Gun-Wielding Florida Man Invaded Local Bank and Sold Two Handmade Pistols to Bank Manager for $20 Million
The commotion caught the attention of bystanders and other security guards, who paused to watch the drama unfold. Felix put away his gun and turned from the guard, proceeding toward the building. Two other security guards in chain mail stood by the entrance, but they simply saluted, allowing Felix to enter unhindered.
Inside the giant establishment, Felix was greeted by a line of female attendants in revealing bikinis, covered by thin see-through fabrics. Their faces were average, but their figures were comparable to nude models in adult magazines. The first girl in the front row politely bowed to Felix and looked up.
When the women noticed Felix's clothes, some of them furrowed their brows. However, the first girl maintained her expression and welcomed him.
"Welcome to the Turo Guild, dear guest. Could I ask if this is your first time here?"
Felix nodded, "Yes. I'm here to sell some clothes and specialties from my village. How do I proceed?"
"Certainly, sir. Please excuse my rudeness, but," the girl glanced outside, noticing that Felix didn't have a retainer like other nobles or merchants. She asked to be sure, "Where are your goods, sir? I don't see a retainer or caravan outside."
Felix raised his right hand, and a crate of clothes materialized.
"There. Is there any other issue?"
"…N-No, sir." The girl broke into a cold sweat, "A-Are you a mage?"
Not answering the question, Felix collected the crate back into his inventory and gestured to the girl, "Lead the way, please. Who do I need to talk to?"
"T-This way, sir."
.
.
Entering the establishment, the girl guided Felix to a private room on the second floor. She opened the door for him but did not follow him in. Inside, Felix found a reception room filled with empty vases on pedestals. Two long gold-framed sofas stood at the center of the room, and a pure marble table reflected the sunlight streaming through the glass windows.
The soft fur carpet covering the entire room made Felix feel guilty for walking on it with his boots.
Sitting on the overly luxurious sofa, Felix observed the room's decor. The walls were lined with portraits of elderly men near the ceiling, while the ceiling itself featured plain white plaster tiles supported by wooden frames. Vases were the primary decorations.
On the marble table, an assortment of snacks awaited. Hungry from his journey, Felix devoured the cookies until none were left.
After an hour, a short, plus-sized man with a jiggling belly dressed in frilly red clothes decorated with gemstones and jewel necklaces entered the room. Two bodyguards in knight armor followed him in. The man sat on the opposite sofa while his followers stood behind it, staring at Felix.
"Welcome to Turo Merchant Guild, esteemed mage," greeted the fat man. "I'm Bill Turo, the guildmaster of this place. I manage this establishment and our businesses. May I ask your name, sir?"
Felix coughed, feeling it necessary to correct the misunderstanding. "I'm Felix Ariel, a commoner from Jacksonville Village. I'm here as a representative of my village to establish a trade route between this city and my hometown. I also carry goods with me using my... personal storage magic. But I must correct you—I'm not a mage."
His words were contradictory. Felix said that he was not a mage, but he carried items here with storage magic.
Bill wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief. The fat man misunderstood Felix. He thought that Felix came here while hiding his status as a mage. Respecting his customer, Bill maintained his tone throughout the conversation.
"I see! I see! Of course, you're a commoner, sir. I understand! Then, may I examine the goods, sir?"
Felix nodded and summoned a crate of clothes from his daily quest. He opened the crate and waited for Bill's reaction. Bill peeked inside. Without pulling out the clothes to examine them, he wryly smiled.
"These products are quite low quality. I'm afraid I can't give you much, sir. How about one silver coin for all of these?"
Seeking to obtain some funds for future expenditures, Felix accepted the offer. "I guess that's fair."
"Another thing, sir," Bill Turo rubbed his hands and leaned forward, his voice cracking. "I heard that you used thunder magic when you arrived and that you used an artifact. Do you have any magical artifacts or other wares that you, um, don't need?"
"Artifact? Oh…" Felix recalled firing his gun twice and realized this man might have heard about it. Since Felix had already created two defective handguns, he wondered if he could exchange the junk for some coins.
With a wave of his hand, Felix withdrew two of his makeshift handguns and placed 20 rounds of ammo on the table. "Are these what you were looking for?"
Bill Turo's eyes widened. His trembling hands grabbed a pistol to examine it with great interest. However, unfamiliar with guns, he pointed the muzzle at his face and played with the trigger. Fortunately, the chamber and the magazine were empty.
Watching a novice randomly pulling the trigger made Felix's heart skip a beat. He wanted to snatch the gun back, but the two knights behind Bill might misunderstand his intentions.
Calming his nerves, Felix coughed. "Ahem. You shouldn't point the muzzle at yourself or others. You might hurt someone unintentionally."
"How do I activate the artifact, sir?" Bill Turo drooled and smiled, his eyes glittering like a child seeing his favorite toy.
Felix sighed and taught Bill the basics of handguns, including how to disassemble and assemble them with minimal effort. He demonstrated by disassembling and assembling the two handguns, then taught Bill the most dangerous part: loading the ammunition into the magazines. After loading all 20 cartridges into the two magazines, Felix locked both handguns and placed them on the table.
"Now, the artifacts are loaded. Each contains 10 rounds of bullets, so you can use them 20 times in total. The firepower is so-so. Be careful not to randomly shoot and kill any innocent bystanders."
"Oh!" Bill burst into laughter, his face reddening with excitement. "Can it instantly kill a person?"
Felix hesitated, then decided to give a warning and change the subject.
"Those artifacts can. Anyway, how much are you willing to give me for these and the ammunition?"
Bill grinned widely and gestured to his bodyguards. One of them nodded and rushed out of the room. Several minutes later, he returned with a trolley cart carrying two large leather bags.
Bill placed the bags on the table and rubbed his hands.
"Artifacts from a thunder mage are rare these days. How about 2,000 gold coins for these?"
Felix inhaled deeply and glanced at Jessica's floating avatar screen, who had been observing and listening to their conversation. Jessica sneered at Felix and mocked him.
"I have a feeling that you're being scammed."
Felix smiled wryly and thought, 'Me too. How much are 2,000 gold coins anyway? Also, what's the value of a silver coin and a copper coin again?'
Jessica replied, "From my observation, 100 copper coins are worth one silver coin. 100 silver coins are worth one gold coin. Therefore, 2,000 gold coins are equivalent to 200,000 silver coins or 20,000,000 copper coins."
Felix was stunned. One copper coin could be exchanged for a fruit. Wouldn't this deal be beneficial to him? Felix thought.