Selling the wand

Today my daughter and I were visiting one of our branch stores in the capital city of Asten. It's really a necessity for us to show our face there, as that store is one of our company's most successful branch stores that we have.

To be honest, just my presence alone is enough, but I also invite my daughter, Melody, to join me in my visit today. It also serves as her learning experience. Maybe she'll also see how to run a medium-sized shop like this one. So, I assign her to attend the front desk as I meet with the branch head in the store back.

"Father, do you have time to spare? I need your help for a bit", She said while her hand gesture calls me.

So it indeed surprised me when she came back after a while, calling me to meet someone at the store. For her to meet something that she couldn't handle is one thing, but to see that boy again a few days after meeting him is another thing.

"What can I help you with, dear customer?", I ask him with a typical greeting from our store employee.

Now that I've taken a look at him closely, he really looks like a different person. It seems like even the slightest bit of his old self is gone. He has a gloomy and melancholic aura around him, but his gaze still has confidence in it, which means that he still has hope in living, even after what he went through.

"I'm looking to sell this item, sir", He said while showing me an object in his hand.

This... It's the wand that I gave to duke Amberster when I heard that his son is going to attend the magic academy. This is a custom-made wand that I produce solely to give to the duke, so even our store never sells this kind of wand anywhere.

Being a merchant, it's essential to keep in touch and have good relationships with many influential people. So, what I thought at that time, was that even though the duke's son will probably fail at learning magic, I still give him this wand as a kind gesture. I know that the duke probably realizes this too, but he's not rejecting my gift.

That being said, although I gift him as a kind gesture of a merchant, I still give them the best wand that I could give. The most important thing about a gift is that it had to be impactful. I know that the duke will probably has many people gift his son a wand, but as a merchant, I still have to make the most impact.

Now, seeing that this wand has returned to us, makes me think, why does he want to sell this wand?

"Are you really want to sell this item?", I confirm.

"Yes", He said with resolute words. There's no doubt to be seen in his eyes.

"Where do you get this wand?", I ask, confirming whether he truly knows the value of this wand.

"An acquaintance of my parents, which is a merchant, gift me this I think....", He seemed to recall something while thinking hard.

Oh, so he really knows the real origin of this wand huh? So he must know that it's us who gave it to him, but why's he acting like he doesn't know us? Even if he doesn't know me, he should probably be familiar with my daughter, Melody. But he's acting like it's our first meeting here.

"Do you know the value of this wand?", I asked.

"I don't know the exact value, but, I think it should be quite high"

He's confident about that.

"This wand...", I took the wand from his hand and examine it, "It's as if still brand new. You rarely use it?"

"Yes, to be exact, I never use it even once", He said with an awkward smile.

"Why? Judging by your age are you a student at the magic academy?", I tried to provoke him.

"Indeed, I'm a student at the magic academy", He said, "it's not like I don't want to use the wand or something. Rather, I can't use it"

"Is the wand broken or has a malfunction issue?"

"No, it's because I don't have any talent with magic", He explains while scratching the back of his head like it's something he regrets.

Oh? So he's ashamed of it now? In the past, he talks about magic like he doesn't care about it. Whether he's good or bad at it doesn't concern me. Maybe he thought the academy was like some sort of playground or something. I mean, everyone knows that the reason he went to the magic academy was not to study magic.

"You really can't conjure any magic? even the basic one?", I confirm again.

"Yes, really sir, I'm not lying", He seems like trying to convince me, "I can't even conjure the basic magic taught by the academy. I realize that I didn't have any talent in magic. That's it"

"Hmmm... to be honest, we usually don't do any transaction like this, especially buying a used item from a store visitor", I said while examining the wand again, "But seeing that this wand has a really good condition, maybe we can make this an exception"

And then I see him making a happy expression. A childish expression that I never thought would come from this boy. Maybe experiencing hardship has indeed changed him. I hand over the wand to the branch head and look at him again.

"Even if you can't conjure up any magic, as a student you'll be going to need a wand. Are you sure want to sell it?"

"I... I'm sure I won't need that wand anymore", He said while looking sad, "And I don't think I deserve that wand anyway"

I look into his eyes and at him too. We both silently exchanged looks at each other. I know for certain that he's telling the truth.

"And, I'm in a dire need of money too by the way hahaha", He said truthfully too while joking. As I know there's no way he'll be going to survive without any source of income after the death of his family.

So just like that, we proceed to finish the transaction. To be honest, it's quite hard to determine the exact value of this wand, but in the end, I give him the sufficient amount that he'll need until he graduates the academy. I just consider it as a token of gratitude to his father, the duke. Not as a merchant, but as a friend.

"Here, I hope you're alright with this amount", I said while gesturing to the branch head to extend him the money.

"Thank you sir", He said while taking the money with both hands and bowing, "I'll never forget this gratitude"

"No, it's a business transaction for both of us. It's not like I making a loss by making this business transaction", I tried to assure him.

"No, I still want to thank you", He said while shaking his head with a smile.

And then he turns his back towards the exit. After all this interaction, I know for certain that he's not the boy he used to be anymore. Everyone deserves a second chance, and that's included him too. So, I stop him before making exit.

"Wait", I call him.

He turn his back and see me with a puzzled expression, "Pardon me, sir?"

I gestured to my daughter to give him an item that we'd prepared before, "Give it to him"

My daughter, with a complex expression, approaches him slowly and extends her hand to give him the item, when he sees the item in her hand, he shows a confused expression.

"A wand? what's it for, sir?"

"It's my gift for you"

"Gift? but what for?"

I walk to approach him and stop beside my daughter. I look him in the eyes closed while touching the shoulder of my daughter, and said, "My daughter, she's going to attend the magic academy soon"

Then I see him turn his gaze to her, still with a confused expression on his face.

"I just want you to take care of her when she's there", I explain.

He, finally realising what's my intent, suddenly sighed. He extends one of his hands to the wand in my daughter's hands, but instead of taking the gift, instead, he pushes it towards her chest.

"I get what you mean, sir", He avoid my stare with an ashamed look on his face, "But I'm afraid that I can't take care of your daughter even if she attends the magic academy"

"Is there any reason for it?", I asked, still don't understand why he can't accept my gift.

In fact, it should help him as he's going to need another wand soon and it's lessened his financial burden.

"When I said I don't need a wand anymore, I was telling the truth", he said with a resigned expression, "The fact is, I'm not going to attend the magic academy anymore. I'm being moved to the knight academy soon. The principal decides that"

So, it's the circumstances we have here. I forgot, as he loses his influence, it's easy for the magic academy to punish a commoner student like him. And the fact is, being moved is a light punishment, as you can get kicked out of the academy in the worst case.

"So I'm sorry sir, I can't accept any of your gifts", He said while shaking his head.

"No, please accept my gift still", I said.

I still believe that he has a passion for magic now. Even if he's not talented at it, maybe he can make it up by working hard to study it. In any case, the wand is still useful in his hand.

"Cancelling a gift always leaves a bad taste in my mouth, so please accept it", I persuade him.

"This...", He said while taking the wand when my daughter hand it to him, "I appreciate it. Thank you", He bowed to me again.

He turn his body towards the exit and nodded slightly to my daughter before he leaves this time.

We all just stand there while seeing him leaving back. I believe that I made the correct decision to give the wand to him. I believe that it's still useful for him, now seeing that he has changed.

"Hm... curious", Mutters the head branch standing near me.

"What is it?"

"N-No, it's just that, I heard that the son of duke Amberster is a thug, but I guess the rumour is just wrong"

"No, you're right about that. It's just, he had changed"

His being a knight is also continuing his family bloodline. As he comes from a militaristic family and his father always wants him to join the knight academy. I believe this is for the best.