Alex lit up at the offer. He hadn't expected his first customers to be other stall owners, but now that he thought about it, it made perfect sense. Compared to the passing tourists, vendors had a real incentive to make their booths more eye-catching, especially as night approached.
In just a few hours, once the sun dipped and shadows stretched across the market, the visual impact of the atmosphere lights would become even more dramatic. And maybe… this could be his in. A way to advertise without lifting a finger.
"No problem at all!" Alex responded quickly. "Normally, the ambient lamp sells for five Galleons, but here's the deal, if you're willing to let me hang a small sign that says Wilson's Arcane Alchemica on the lamp, and if anyone asks about it, you just point them to my booth, I'll sell you both for three Galleons each. Call it a partnership."
Truthfully, that was the original price back in Britain anyway. The real money wasn't in the lamp itself but in the energy cores inside it.
Just like Muggle lightbulbs, the lamps needed replacements after a few weeks of use. Alex had already built a tidy income back home just by swapping out the cores, doing hardly any work, and still earning more than ten Galleons a month.
With a friendly smile and a little charm, he was already planting the seeds for something bigger than just a simple sale.
Since this was a foreign country, Alex wasn't surprised that the prices were higher than back home. It was normal for things to carry a premium, especially at events like this. In fact, he figured that most of the stalls here were probably charging even more than the domestic market.
The smoked meat vendor beside him, a cheerful uncle with a thick accent, chuckled when he heard Alex's suggestion. He immediately caught on to what Alex was thinking and laughed heartily. "No problem, lad. I don't see any reason to say no."
Grinning, he handed over two Galleons and took a pair of ambient lamps from Alex's booth. They looked like desk lamps at first glance, but once he set them up and turned them on inside his stall, colorful orbs of light floated up into the air, drawing curious glances from passersby.
"Hey, your magic lamp works pretty well!" the uncle said with a wide grin. "Here, as a thank you, try some of our Romanian specialty, dragon meat sausage. If you're interested, I can even offer you a discount." He passed over two lightly grilled sausages that gave off a delicious smoky aroma.
Alex took one with a curious smile. 'Dragon meat sausage? Only in the wizarding world.' He took a bite and raised his eyebrows in surprise, the taste was rich, tender, and packed with flavor. While he chewed, he took a proper look at the uncle's stall.
It turned out the man was selling more than just sausages. There was dragon meat jerky, smoked Riem beef, and all sorts of ingredients Alex had never seen before.
His stomach rumbled. He swallowed hard, eyes gleaming with interest. The food looked amazing, but even with plenty of money, he didn't want to spend recklessly. Then, an idea popped into his head.
"Hey, Uncle!" Alex called out, waving to him. "Do you want to make a deal?"
The uncle looked up. "A deal? You want to buy more of my food?"
"Yes and no," Alex replied, smiling slyly. "How about this, you help me sell my ambient lamps to the other stall owners. I'll keep the price and terms the same as before, but for every lamp you help me sell, I'll buy one Galleon's worth of your meat products. Sound fair?"
Truthfully, Alex just wanted to eat more without spending too much. And rather than wasting money directly, he figured it'd be smarter to use the food as a reward and get some marketing help in return.
The uncle had a team of three looking after the stall, it wouldn't hurt to have one of them help him out.
The middle-aged man squinted at him. "Are you serious?"
Alex nodded. "Dead serious."
That was all the uncle needed to hear. He clapped his hands. "Easy work for some good food? Deal!"
He called over another Romanian wizard to man the stall, then scooped up a handful of ambient lamps and dashed off into the market, eager to make some sales.
Before long, the results began to show. Thanks to Uncle Sausage's enthusiastic salesmanship, more and more stalls lit up with colorful floating lights, and the glowing orbs started popping up even in the central square market.
The initial wave of attention created by the sound and light show, combined with the lamps being spotted at other booths, brought plenty of curious witches and wizards over to Alex's stall. His booth became a small hotspot, with people constantly stopping by to ask about his products.
By the time the sun set and the sky darkened, Alex had already sold eight ambient lamps, six enchanted gramophones, and three magical accessories. He didn't offer any discounts for regular customers, business was too good to need one.
As night fell, nearly every booth in the market had picked up one of his ambient lamps. No one wanted to be the odd one out, especially when the glow of the lamps helped draw in more foot traffic.
The soft lighting made the stalls look more magical, more inviting, and it didn't take long for Alex's little corner to become one of the busiest spots in the square. And it was exactly this bustling scene, vibrant lights, crowded booths, and a growing crowd of eager shoppers, that Medea, Vanessa, Barnabas, and the others stumbled upon when they arrived at the night market.
"Oh my Merlin, what happened to the Kara Black Market?" Vanessa asked, munching on a scone as she gazed around the glowing night scene. "Aren't those magic lamps supposed to be Alex's signature product? Why does it feel like every single stall has one now?"
Medea glanced around and let out a soft laugh. "You didn't notice? All the lamps have that Wilson's Arcane Alchemica crest hanging off them. Looks like Alex is using some kind of promotional tactic. I didn't expect he'd already set up shop here and gone full-on entrepreneur."
"Well, looks like he's doing great," Barnabas added, glancing up at the floating orbs of light that filled the square and nearby alleys. "This place really suits his magic lamps. Makes everything feel festive, almost more cheerful than Christmas."
Colorful balls of light shimmered above the stalls, casting a gentle glow across the night market and adding a magical charm to the air. The entire Kara Market felt like it had been transformed into a festival ground. But as the girls strolled further in and finally approached Alex's stall, they realized they hadn't yet seen the real crowd magnet.
A huge group of wizards, three, maybe even four rows deep, had gathered around Alex's booth. Some were shouting over the noise to ask questions, others were already trying to buy items, and a few were waving Galleons in the air, eager to snatch up whatever was still in stock.