Chapter 299: Gift [1]
"What’s taking them so long?"
It had been ten minutes since I had been waiting for Diana and Alicia to arrive at the address that I had sent to Alicia.
Though going by logic, ten minutes wasn’t that much time, still I found it difficult to come to terms with the fact that I had to waste my time for others... the same time that I could have used productively elsewhere.
But then again, it was me who suggested trying the street food to Alicia, so it wasn’t like I could back out of it.
"There he is."
Hm?
Hearing a familiar voice, I turned to look at its source, only to see Diana pointing towards me, as she along with Alicia walked in my direction.
"You are late."
Though I wasn’t petty enough to be upset over the loss of my time, I still had to make the two of them understand its importance.
"Diana had lost her way."
"Huh?"
Alicia’s words made Diana look at her with a betrayed expression on her face.
Her eyes had widened as she was taken aback by the ease with which Alicia had shifted the entire blame on her.
"If not for me, did you even know the way here?"
Diana asked while gently grabbing Alicia by her arm, as the latter made attempts to ignore her gaze.
"I could have asked anyone around... not a difficult thing to do."
"..."
Alicia tried her best to avoid Diana’s eyes, which kept staring at her.
"Let’s try that stall."
Having no interest in entertaining the childish argument before me, I pointed at a stall that stood on the right side of the street.
My words seemed to have put their argument to a stop, as both Diana and Alicia followed my line of sight before looking at the stall I was pointing towards.
Not waiting for either of them, I began to move in the direction of the stall.
The street was a wide one, with enough space for people to move in both directions.
Several stalls were lined up on either side of the street, with their owners trying to attract the attention of the people by shouting the names of the food items that they sold.
But food wasn’t the only thing sold in these stalls.
Many stalls had different items ranging from basic necessities to goods that could be bought as gifts—
Hm?
Looking closely, there was even a stall that sold some daggers.
Though I had no interest in buying the weapon, curiosity got the better of me, as I changed my direction midway before moving towards the dagger stall.
Walking closer to the stall, I noticed it was fairly empty compared to the other stalls in the area.
Though that should have been expected as this street was mainly meant for the diversity of food.
All the remaining things were mostly a bonus for people to buy along the way.
"Want to buy a gift? You are at the right place, young man."
The stall owner, seeing me walk towards him, was quick to start his pitch.
He stood at a height of around 5’7" with a head that looked like it had been recently shaved.
"You don’t wish to disappoint the beauties, do you?"
As I stood before his stall while looking at the daggers that were placed for sale, the seller briefly glanced at Diana and Alicia, who stood near me, before whispering in my ear.
Not caring to respond to his words, I took a look at all the daggers that were up for sale.
The daggers were of varying lengths and designs, with most of them meant solely for decoration, as their designs didn’t look combat-friendly.
There was one dagger with its tip curved to an angle that made it look like a metal strip that was forcefully bent, though I couldn’t deny the aesthetic feel that the dagger had.
Lowering myself just enough to reach the dagger, I lifted it in my hand before inspecting its hilt.
A red dragon had been inscribed on the hilt in a way that made it look a little majestic.
I had to commend the craftsmanship of whoever had designed it, as their creativity was clearly visible from every line that they had carved into the hilt.
Even the blade had some carvings on it, though looking closely they resembled some sort of pattern.
"How much is it for?"
Turning to look at my right, Diana had picked up another dagger whose length was merely the size of my finger.
Maybe it was meant to be held between the fingers, though I doubted how someone would be able to fight in such a way.
Or maybe they could... by using the dagger as a sort of projectile by holding it between the fingers of their hand.
Going by the logic, around four to five daggers could be held in a single hand and be launched at the same time by a flick of the wrist with enough force to make them head in the desired direction.
Still, I doubted the efficiency of such an attack.
Diana had now begun to ask about the cost of every dagger out there in the stall.
I didn’t think she was going to buy any of it, but looking at her actions, it felt like the girl was hell-bent on trying to purchase the entire stall.
"Do you want to buy anything?"
My question was meant for Alicia, who stood near me, not knowing what to do, as Diana had already been immersed in her own world while talking to the stall owner.
"I—"
"Is there a smaller version of this one?"
My words made the vendor look at the dagger in my hand with narrowed eyes, but his expression brightened within moments, as he moved closer to me.
"You have an eye for things. This is one of the best pieces—"
"Just answer my question."
I had no interest in entertaining his sales pitch.
"Huh? Y-Yes... please wait a moment."
