Reborn as the Villain in a Romance Fantasy

While the blacksmith complained about his items not selling well, Layla decided to look around his smithy, and she was not surprised to find that most of his stuff was lackluster.

Well, lackluster was not the right thing to say in this situation.

It would be better to say that this smith was ordinary and had nothing going for him. But compared to that, his rates for these weapons were too high.

This created an imbalance in things and caused people to not buy from here.

Just across the shop was a better smith with sharp weapons and considerably lower rates for swords or other weapons.

'High prices and inferior goods. Yeah, it is clear why this smith is not doing well. Maybe I can buy out this shop and open something else here. The location is prime, and I feel a business could work out in these parts for me.'

Layla considered whether to invest in this place, but to the smith, it looked like she had zoned out and did not want to listen to anything he said.

It made his temper boil, and he raged quite hard before he reached out to grab Layla's collar and pull her face closer to his own to yell at her.

"Are you listening to me at all? I am trying to talk to you, young man-"

Layla's eyes flashed, and she gripped the smith's arm to push it away. She did this before Luna could break the smith's wrist and end his career.

"I would prefer not to be touched by anyone, including you. If you try that again, the consequences won't be pretty. Also, I don't see anything worth buying in this shop. The goods are lacking, and the smith has a bad temper."

Layla had been dressed as a man in disguise to walk around, and the magic helped her blend in as a man as well.

That was why the smith had been rough with her when she spoke about his shortcomings.

Her words made the smith pause before his eyes flashed in anger.

With a reddened face, the smith looked at Layla, and his words barely left his mouth when he spoke.

"T-That is not…how dare you say that…I am not lacking-"

The smith tried to voice his words out, but none stuck. Ultimately, he could not finish his words, and his hesitation made Layla sigh.

She felt bad for the smith but would not go easy on him because she felt sorry for him.

He needed to hear the truth once, or he wouldn't improve.

"Since you are someone I visited, I will give you earnest advice on how to run your business and make a profit. First, move out from here, where you have too much competition, and go to a town with rich people but lacking smiths.

And second, do some market research. No one would want to buy a tool twice the market price. You have not even made a name for yourself to put such a large price on your goods."

Layla advised that the smith's will to live had left him. He looked exhausted and annoyed that he was lecturing a kid 1/4th his age.

He wanted to rage, but he knew in his heart that this kid had managed to hit all of his sore spots.

It was what was wrong with himself and his business, so the smith decided to grit his teeth and accept his shortcomings.

"I know. I will make sure not to make the same mistake next time."

The smith seemed to be considering moving away when Layla picked up a sword and placed it on the table.

"Good! That would be the right thing to do. Now, put a fair price on this sword, and I will buy it from you. Mediocre or not, I want a weapon to hold during the next fight."

Layla's words made the smith hesitate.

He did not want to put a price tag on the weapon, but he also needed to make a profit to move away.

So, he quoted his initial high price, wanting to see if Layla would pay.

The look he got from the female chilled his heart and made the smith nervous.

"I will pay you half of the price you are quoting. If that is a fine deal with you, then take it. Otherwise, I will take my business somewhere else."

Layla warned the man, and the smith reluctantly agreed.

Technically, he was still making a killer margin on profit even while selling his weapon at half its original price. But Layla decided to cut this man some slack this time.

It was not like she would meet this smith anytime soon after this.

Within the next few hours, the smith left this town, and his shop was empty. Layla managed to get her hands on that shop, and she was the owner by the end of the day.

This was good news for her because it gave her ample time to participate in the competition with a local identity that was part of this town. It would make bending in easier for her.

"Oh well, it is time to have some fun. Ever since I came back, I have not faced anyone significant. I wonder how much better or worse I have gotten than the others."

When Layla asked this question, she did not mean her magic. She suggested her skills in hand-to-hand and weapon handling.

She had also learned those during her coma, and now she wanted to use them to see how far she could go.

And if she failed, she always had her magic to fall back on.

No one among these people could compare to a dragon in magic. So all Layla had to do was sit there and flung her magic at these people if she wanted to win.

Luna rubbed its head against Layla's neck excitedly. Somehow, the dragon looked more excited about this competition than Layla was.