Volume 1 Chapter 26 The One Who Sells Fate, The Obsidian Merchant
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Ten loaves of bread and a bag of walnuts, plus a bottle of almond milk.”
”Sure thing, thanks as always!”
As usual, the tavern owner sold nuts with a smile, and Sophia gave a vague smile back before quickly turning away.
The owner still didn’t know about her blunder.
She pressed down on the hem of her hood to keep it in place as she left the shop.
Adventurers were bustling about on the street outside.
Sophia lowered her gaze and hurriedly walked to the edge of the path.
(Yesterday, I got fired by the guild master.)
They said she infringed on the rights of the lowly adventurers.
She knew she had done something wrong.
But to be punished for protecting the rights of the poor, when she was of noble blood──wasn’t that just ridiculous? Kian should’ve just kept quiet and followed her lead.
After all, he was just some guy who’d be kicked out of the adventurer life and sent to the Great Ice Wall in the north in a month anyway.
(Why drag me down with you? If you’re gonna disappear, just do it alone.)
A strong feeling of anger bubbled inside her.
Yesterday, in front of the higher-ranked adventurers, she was condemned by Guild Master Friedrich.
That’s right, Friedrich too.
The kind uncle she had known since she was little.
The adventurer her father was close with.
And yet, he humiliated her in front of everyone! She couldn’t forgive that.
(Why is this happening to me…?)
She sniffled and hurried down the road.
She wanted to get back to her lodging quickly, to hide before word of her firing spread throughout the town.
”──────!?”
Suddenly, Sophia stopped in her tracks, staring ahead.
An adventurer walking behind her passed by, giving her a suspicious look as he went.
But that didn’t even register in her mind.
(Mr. Kian…! No, Kian…! That poor adventurer…!)
Up ahead, in front of the tavern, that black-haired Azraelian adventurer was talking to someone.
Was the person he was talking to also Azraelian? He had a turban wrapped around his head.
”…!”
Before he turned his gaze this way, he pulled the hem of his hood to hide his eyes.
He looked down, almost as if cradling his body, and started walking quickly.
(Why’s it gotta be like this…? It’s like I’m some kinda thief or something…)
”Still, why head to the main street?”
”I ain’t just stickin’ around the shop all day. I’m on my way to collect a debt from someone I gotta deal with today.”
The voices of Kian and the turbaned man got closer, then drifted away behind him.
He wasn’t stopped.
(Thank goodness, looks like they didn’t notice me.)
She let out a sigh of relief.
If Kian had spotted her, he might’ve started shouting about Sophia’s crimes all over this town.
If that happened, Sophia would’ve had to run back home before the guild could deal with her.
She loosened her grip on the hem of her hood.
Sophia lifted her downcast face.
’Sophia Schwarzer’
”Eh…?”
At that moment, a whisper echoed in his mind.
”……”
She slowed his pace and quickly scanned the area.
No one passing by seemed to pay any mind to Sophia.
There wasn’t a single shadow standing still, staring at her.
’Sophia Schwarzer’
The voice whispered again.
It had a musical beauty to it, a noble sound mixed with arrogance.
’Waiting’
Suddenly, she felt a chill run down her spine as if something was whispering right in her ear.
She widened her eyes and shifted her gaze to the right.
For a brief moment, she thought she saw the lips of a man painted with red lipstick.
’In the garden of roses’
”────.”
(A garden of roses…)
That phrase hit too close to home for Sophia, who worked as a receptionist at the guild.
Labyrinth of Roses──.
It was a massive maze of rose gardens beyond the town, past the church, in the hills.
There was a legend that a countess, feared as a demon woman, was once imprisoned there…
(There was a quest for searching for relics there in the job Kian took.)
’Waiting’
She felt a strong wind blow.
Her bangs fluttered.
The hood billowed.
”Ow…”
It felt like something sharp, like a thorn from a rose, had poked her eye.
A high-pitched giggle echoed in her ear.
Sophia pressed her right eye.
”……?”
After a bit, the pain stopped.
There was no blood on her hand, and no tears were coming from her right eye.
She could see the bustling street scene just fine.
(What the heck?)
As she made a puzzled face, she suddenly caught a sweet scent tickling her nose.
Looking down at her chest, she found a single black rose tucked in her pocket.
The sweet smell was coming from it.
”A rose? Why?”
Was it someone’s prank?
She didn’t see any shadows that looked like magicians around, though──.
(────?)
After a moment, Sophia shook her head lightly.
Anyway, she should head home quickly.
Her stomach was growling since she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday morning.
As she was about to toss the rose aside, she felt her consciousness fade for a moment.
A black rose that had somehow ended up in her pocket felt really creepy.
Still, it felt like something she shouldn’t throw away.
”A garden of roses──.”
She tucked the rose back into her pocket.
It felt like someone whispered again.
Come this way──.
* * *
”Stone to iron, lead to gold, obsidian to rose. Hey, it’s you, my old customer. What a coincidence to run into you in this town!”
On his way back from Aliona’s place──.
Kian couldn’t just stay down in the dumps.
He figured he’d head to the guild and pick up some rewards to fund his future endeavors.
He was walking down the main street of East End.
On his way to the guild, he bumped into the merchant who had sold him glasses a few days ago.
The guy still had black hair and dark eyes, wrapped in a turban.
He started with the same sales pitch he had used before, smiling like they were old friends as he approached.
”Oh… hey, long time no see.”
Kian returned the smile and stepped aside to let people pass.
Adventurers on the road avoided him as they walked by.
”Got something else you want? My shop has everything. You can get what you need at a fair price.”
”Aren’t you off duty right now?”
Kian chuckled wryly and glanced around.
”This isn’t a street market, is it? You don’t have anything to trade, do you?”
”Even if I ain’t got stuff, I can still make a deal. Like, for example, rights or somethin’.”
”Rights? What kind of rights?”
When Kian asked, the merchant let out a low chuckle.
Seemed like he was laughing.
”Any ‘rights’ you want. Like the position of the East End adventurer guild leader, or the ‘love’ of that fragile princess from Izerland way over there. But maybe that’s not quite right──maybe I should say status instead.”
”Haha…”
Kian laughed, crinkling his eyes.
”Of course, I’ll expect a fair price for it.”
”Sounds like it could be a pretty pricey deal.”
”But there are folks who want it, so that’s why I’m a merchant.”
The man smirked, clearly enjoying the joke.
”Is that so?”
”Yeah. By the way, I see you liked those glasses you bought before, huh?”
The merchant’s dark eyes locked onto the glasses in Kian’s chest pocket.
”Uh, yeah, well… They’re kind of strange, but I think they were worth more than a copper coin.”
”What’s that? You gonna say ‘the glasses talked’ again? Like they’re your conversation partner?”
”N-no… Haha…”
Kian scratched his head.
The merchant never believed that the glasses could talk when they made the deal.
He was a quirky guy, but if he started rambling about the talking glasses and the adventures they had, folks would just think he was weird.
”By the way, what brings you to the main street?”
”I ain’t just stuck at my shop all day. Today, I’m goin’ to collect a debt from someone I did business with.”
’Oh…’
In the middle of their casual chat, the glasses suddenly gasped in surprise.
Was it really that shocking that this merchant was out collecting debts?
’No, it’s nothing. Just keep talking to this person.’
”…?”
Looking over, Kian noticed the merchant was staring intently at a woman in a hood who was hurrying away behind him.
”…Is there something up with that woman?”
”Naah, it’s all good. ──Anyway, I gotta head out soon. You got stuff to do at the guild too, right?”
”Yeah, but how did you know that?”
When Kian furrowed his brows, the merchant grinned.
”Come on, it’s already famous that a Rank 9 adventurer from Azrael took down a griffin solo. That’s gotta be you.”
”Uh…”
”Hahaha! Go grab your reward from the guild and treat yourself to something good to eat. Not that cheap skewer from the usual food stall.”
The man laughed cheerfully, gave Kian a light pat on the shoulder, and walked away.
Kian turned to watch the merchant until he disappeared into the crowd.
(So, you traveled with that merchant for a while, huh?)
’What of it?’
(What kind of guy is he? Who is he?)
’Just a merchant. He says so himself.’
”…, I see.”
Kian frowned and said just that before turning on his heel.
He was a strange guy, but their paths probably wouldn’t cross again.
Better to think about how to spend the silver coins he’d get today.
(Should I go for a sword? But unless it’s really high quality, it’ll just wear out.)
’Don’t be stingy. Nothing is worth more than your life. A club might be enough to take down small fry, but it won’t cut it for big beasts like griffins. You should splurge a bit and buy a decent sword.’
”Yeah… you’re right.”
Kian was set on mastering ‘Shot’ to become a magician-type warrior monk of Azrael.
If he followed that path, he’d probably end up buying a staff.
Unlike swords, staffs don’t wear out much, and in the end, they’d cost less than swords.
But──’Shot’ takes too long to show results.
He wasn’t even sure if it would work out.
There was a risk that after investing time and money into ‘Shot’, he’d find out it was useless.
(It’s definitely safer to hone ‘Impact’ and stick to being a swordsman. I’d rather take the less risky route. …So, I’ll buy a sword.)
Kian nodded once and started walking down the main street again.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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