The Salesman placed some items onto the carpet in front of them, pulling them from within their cloak.

  The one that Ashton couldn't help but pay attention to first was a small pouch that, when opened, revealed a good amount of Asterian tobacco that should last Ashton a while if he bought the whole thing.

  "Ahh, yes! Perfect!" Ashton grinned from ear to ear. Now this was the good stuff. The tobacco on earth was so bad that it almost made Ashton actually quit for good. "But now that I can get this, I don't have to worry about that anymore~!"

  Ashton noticed a stare from the side, where the Backpacker was standing. Their eyes weren't visible, but it was still a penetrating gaze.

  "What? I know it's not good for me, but come on... I get stabbed like every couple hours at this point, what's so bad about having a few cigarettes in-between?" Ashton pointed out, quickly focusing back on the other items that the Salesman laid out. They were mostly... not that great.

  Of course, this was just random stuff that the spirit was able to get their hands on using Ashton's offering or already had with them. There was little to no curation beyond what this particular Salesman found interesting.

  However, hidden amongst these items that were mostly quite low in quality were some that seemed to have a little potential.

  First, a dagger of decent quality with a nice flow of mana within it. The mana pattern had been intricately woven together in a way that showed that this was made by someone that knew what they were doing, even if it had clearly aged a little bit already.

  Then, there was roll of parchment that looked of a quality that could be used for spell-scrolls. Now that Ashton understood the principles of spells properly, he should be able to make these scrolls, too. And if he did, those spells could be used by anyone that could control their mana enough to activate the scroll. It might be a good way to give Sam and Clementine some emergency-tools.

  And then, there was the last piece that caught Ashton's eye; a marble with a massive amount of mana within it. And it wasn't a magic stone, no, there was something contained within the bead that was containing all of that mana, but Ashton had no idea what it was.

  But either way, whichever it was, this small marble was clearly quite valuable, but just in case, he figured he should channel the spirit and see it for himself. He focused his mana and quickly focused on all the items. Almost immediately, he could tell their approximate value as it would be judged by the Salesman.

  At first, it was just a vague feeling, but if he focused on it a bit more, he could have that feeling represented with a rough coin value that floated above the objects. These weren't perfectly accurate though, since the Salesman's level, and as such their magic, was still quite low.

  Either way, he could tell that the tobacco was worth around 900 coins, the dagger 500, the parchment 700, and the bead 800, coming to a total of 2900 if Ashton wanted to buy all of them.

  If he did, that would put him to 500 coins... or Ashton could barter with some other items he had. After all, at the end of the day, as long as both sides agreed, a trade could happen at any time using any thing, not just actual currency.

  And so, Ashton also channelled the Backpacker at the same time to view what was in the bag at the moment. Since both spirits' powers were used simultaneously, Ashton basically learned the value of all the items within it. He should try this out in Sam's office later, too, so that he could check out what the Salesman considered useful amongst the objects there.

  Either way, there were a few things that he could add together. Materials gathered from monsters, some magic stones, some plants that he didn't quite know what to do with, but that the Salesman seemed to have a use for; with all of that, at least the things that Ashton could part with at the moment, he could scrape together around 600 coins.

  That way, he would have a little more coins to use in situations where only coins could be used, like the different shops scattered around town. It also wouldn't take too long until the coins became more useful within the camps, so Ashton couldn't just throw all of them away.

  For now, he had the Backpacker take out all the items that he wanted to trade in, and then placed the remaining coins that he figured he would need next to them, and waited for the Salesman to look it all over.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Satisfied, they nodded their head and quickly clicked their finger. The payment disappeared in motes of mana, as Ashton was given the four items he bought.

  "Great, thank you," Ashton smiled, and put them aside for now. He already tagged them through the Pen of Insight, and would let the pen write everything out in a second.

  But for now, there were some more matters to discuss. Right now, the items that the Salesman brought and laid out on his carpet were really just random things. However, Ashton could ask them to look for specific items. It was part of the general deal with the Salesman, so it generally wouldn't cost a lot, but the more valuable the things Ashton asked for, the more he had to pay, obviously.

  Some general categories didn't actually cost anything. He could ask the spirit to only bring weapons, armour, or potion ingredients; those sorts of broad categories. But once he asked for something specific, like 'ingredients for healing potions', or 'just swords', he would have to pay for it.

  Ashton had written down a list of things that he needed to get his hands on. Books about summoning and spellcasting, as well as books about wyverns and dragon 'Words'.

  The only good thing that Ashton had going for himself right now was that all he was asking for were books, so technically a single 'category'. As Ashton gave the note to the Salesman, they looked at him a bit confused. It seemed like they wanted to say something, and Ashton obviously already knew what this was about.

  "Yes, I know I'm blind. I've got some ideas for how I'll be able to read them, so don't worry. Don't be too concerned about the language, either," Ashton reassured the spirit, and of course, they had no reason to doubt him. If a blind man wanted to buy books, let him buy books!

  It was actually something that was relatively easy to get around, either with a spell or with another summon that he could call on. The summon would probably be more useful long-term, but while Ashton had much more space for lowest-grade summons, he still didn't want to waste space.

  Plus, for the volume he would probably be dealing with, a spell made a lot more sense resource-wise.

  For now, the Salesman asked for another 250 coins to look for these specific items. Ashton paid them, and with that, the Salesman started to pack up. They grabbed the remaining items that Ashton wasn't interested in, and seemed ready to go on their way. But there was something else, something that Ashton couldn't help but try to ask. He slowly started to draw something on a small piece of paper, and handed it to the Salesman.

  "... This... this isn't a request. I'm not asking you to look for any information to sell to me, though if you want me to pay you for this service, I will. This is the symbol of another summoner. They were a terrible creature, forcing numerous beings into contracts," Ashton said under his breath, giving the paper with the symbol drawn onto it to the Salesman. "If you meet any spirits, or any other being, that fell victim to this summoner... tell them that Ashton is safe. Okay?"

  The spirit took the note, confused. That was a weird request, clearly not the sort that they had heard of before. But then, they looked down at the paper. It didn't seem like they recognised it for a few moments... until they did.

  They snapped their eyes away from the paper and stared at Ashton, while he was still sitting in front of the Salesman. He didn't like the look on their face right now. But at least it wasn't hostile, it was just... pity.

  "... So you know about them?"

  The Salesman nodded.

  "I guess that's not too surprising. Rumours about a bastard like that would spread like a wildfire." Ashton laughed a little as he stood up. "How much do you want?"

  Slowly, after some thought and deliberation, the Salesman held up five fingers, and then a fist.

  "... Just 50 coins? Are you sure?"

  The spirit nodded, and Ashton slowly got the amount out and handed it to them. "Thank you. I appreciate it. I'll make sure to buy tons from you when you're back."

  With a slight, satisfied smile, the Salesman stood up, grabbing the edge of the carpet as they did. After a quick nod at the Backpacker and then at Ashton, they pulled the carpet up by the edge and fell backward, so that they would be covered by the carpet completely.

  However, it was just laying there completely flat, and slowly seemed to melt away into the ground until the spirit disappeared entirely. Actually, maybe not entirely.

  As the Salesman themself disappeared, a small bracelet showed up on Ashton's wrist. This was a useful ability that certain summons could have, especially ones with slightly stronger magic and more abilities like a low-grade summon. This was a 'proxy' that allowed Ashton to channel part of the Salesman's powers without them actually having to be here. This way, Ashton could fully use the rest of the summon time that he technically paid for without keeping the spirit here for no actual reason.

  With this, Ashton could know two things. One, he could roughly view the items that the Salesman currently had 'in stock', so that if a really useful item showed up, he could quickly grab it. At least right now, it really just let him know the general type of item that it was. But, and maybe more directly useful, was that Ashton could use the ability to view the value of things.

  Plus, this proxy used up less of the offering than the Salesman, so this way, the summon would last much longer. He could still put it away into his vessel, or call on the Salesman fully whenever he wanted while the summon period was active, even if most of the time he would just be using this bracelet.

  Satisfied with the way things went, Ashton quickly started cleaning up. The paper from the contract circle was still laying all over the place. And, just as the last few pieces were picked up, it started to rain again.

  "Good timing, I guess," Ashton smiled, relieved that everything worked out. Taking a deep breath to collect his thoughts, he walked back inside to get ready to head out. There were still some Marked that he had to take care of.