The sales pitch Miki gave was indeed one which wasn't at all expected from the merchants. The man with all the materials on his back seemed to be the one closest to being convinced. A meager ten percent of his overall profits wasn't nearly as much as the forty percent cut that had been taken by the Banker. The Banker had also bought all of his goods at a discount and resold them to the richer Atlanteans for an even greater profit, basically reducing this man's work down to slave labor. If he could take home even eighty percent of his overall profits, the benefits outweighed the risks even if she couldn't actually protect them for very long.
Miki on the other hand stared at the group, being held by a rather menacing Dragon who had nothing to say and only chose to watch. This gave her a strange feeling and reminded her of early contract negotiations as a child. Something about that made her a bit giddy. It'd been quite a while since she had such a presence on her side in a way that made her feel properly comfortable. There was one more question then, and this one was also from the old man with all his wares on his back, it seemed as if he was least scared so he'd taken it upon himself to speak the questions being murmured among the group at large. "How will you protect us? The banker could send his sharks at any time to tear apart our stalls and destroy our wares. If we won't sell to him, he'll steal and break anything and if our families work with us, he'll take them too," the old man said. He'd been protecting his family by not involving them in any of these things. But if he was to push his wares properly he'd need them involved. What protection could this young lass offer that couldn't be over-run by the Sharks and Merfolk who oppressed them so?
"Sou ka, well as part of the contract, I've created a bounded field around the Market Place," she said still twirling around the plaque in her hand which denoted her as a proper merchant and allowed the signing of contracts through a simple touch. "It's currently inactive because no one has taken the deal, if you take it though, and touch this..." she said stopping it with her finger so they could see. "It will offer you a seal of protection. This applies to all assets of your business, your wares, your employees, yourselves and your profits. Nothing of yours which could be bound to you as such can be taken. It can only be bought or sold and that only applies to the merchandise, so they can't make you sell your family or friends either. The seal itself will protect you from physical harm or robbery, even if you leave the area... so long as you are part of my company my protections are applied to you. You can conduct your business like you should without fear of the repercussions of such disgusting and underground business practices. And if he wishes to take your product from you... he'll have to buy it... and you can sell it for all its worth... right?" she asked the man looking at him with that same demonic smile on her face. She'd thought through all possibilities. And when the Banker discovered violence wouldn't work, he'd try to buy them out, making all of them advanced profits in the process which he wouldn't be able to take back by force. Such was the protection offered by Miki. To make as much money as possible, whenever possible. She extended the plaque to the man who spoke, knowing that his decision here would make or break the rest of the group. They all looked to him to see if he'd take it... and he stepped forward and carefully reached for it. "Easy does it, don't want to get killed by a Dragon today..." the old man said as his shaky hands made contact with the golden plaque. And when he touched it, the deal would be struck and a magical green pulse would happen over the whole of the Market Place... such would open it officially as the rest of the group decided if they wanted to do business with Miki. Several more stepped forward and would follow the old man's example.