Chapter 398 398-Encounter with Injustice
Antalya spoke, "Considering the time, my companions should be almost done with their purchases. It's time for me to leave. I'll find an inn to stay in the settlement and will keep an eye on your daughter from the shadows, ensuring her protection."
"You could stay here, you know. With a bit of tidying up, we should have enough guest rooms! It might make protecting easier," Harry suggested.
"The difference wouldn't be significant. Active protection is still a passive approach in the end, as you've mentioned, Red Eye is expected to visit the town."
"Yes, because he demands we deliver Lorinda mushrooms quarterly, he should come to collect them himself or send his men while lurking nearby," Harry said with certainty.
"You must have reported this to the authorities in Breeze City, right?" Antalya asked with a smile, though her eyes held a hint of ice.
"Yes, we've reported it. They should have sent someone over by now."
"That will do." Antalya stood up.
"Eliminating Red Eye will ensure complete safety for you and your daughter."
Antalya walked towards the living room door, with Greg rising to follow her silently.
Throughout the conversation, Greg had remained quiet, almost forgotten by Harry until he suddenly stood up, startling Harry moderately.
It wasn't until the two had left the living room without looking back that Harry remembered he should have seen them out.
By the time he got to the door, however, they had vanished into the distance.
While Harry was still puzzled by Antalya and Greg's sudden disappearance, the duo had already exited the yard and run into Vivia, who had just returned from shopping.
However, the moment they met, Vivia burst out in panic, "Antalya! It's terrible! Howard is about to get into a fight!"
Let's rewind to an hour earlier, just as Antalya and Greg were being shown into the courtyard by a servant, and Howard and the others set off to make their purchases.
Despite being a small settlement with a population of just two thousand, the market here was surprisingly bustling.
A significant number of traveling merchants chose to conduct their business here for two main reasons: it allowed them to avoid the entry taxes of Breeze City, and the local authority was relatively more approachable.
As he walked through the lively market, Howard curiously surveyed his surroundings.
After all, he had claimed to be a refugee from the countryside, so it was only natural for him to appear inexperienced.
Everything here was novel to him, and he was also gathering information that might come in handy in the future.
Upon closer observation, Howard noticed a difference between the mainland and the depths of the new continent.
It wasn't due to the political system or culture, but because of mana.
Howard could see the shadow of mana in these transactions! This realization gave him a new understanding of the power dynamics here.
Although their magic couldn't compare, in terms of firearms, his Oli Kingdom held an advantage.
Under Howard's significant development efforts, Oli Kingdom's cannons feared no magus, though they lacked mobility.
"Hey, how about two kilos of apples? They're really sweet, just picked from the tree!"
A middle-aged fruit vendor noticed the trio wandering around the market and called out loudly.
Though Ali knew the shopping list, understanding what needed to be purchased and successfully completing the purchase were two different things.
So, in reality, they hadn't made any progress, just meandering through the market.
Jumping down from the cart, Howard brushed off some straw from his clothes and waved his hand, "Since we're not getting anywhere by sticking together, why don't we split up? Let's meet back at the market entrance in an hour?"
"No problem, I've got some things I'd like to do anyway," Ali agreed readily, pulling out a part of the list from his pocket and handing it to Howard.
"Here's part of the list, you take care of this bit."
"Eh! Are you sure that's okay... well, if you all insist, go ahead then," Vivia huffed, neither approving nor disapproving, but she grabbed the reins, showing no intention of continuing with Ali.
"How much for these apples, then?" Howard asked, taking the list and heading straight for the fruit stand.
"Two bronze coins and you can eat your fill!" The vendor chuckled heartily, his words belying his shrewdness.
"That's not very fair of you, is it? If you don't make me a better offer, I might just go to another stall.
That lady across the street looks quite friendly; maybe her fruit is as pleasant as she is." Howard glanced at the middle-aged lady across the street, who was smiling warmly, and waved.
Though unfamiliar with the market prices here, it didn't mean he was easily fooled.
"You're a sharp one, eh? Interested in working at my shop? Four days a week, meals included, and two silver coins weekly," the middle-aged man, instead of continuing to sell his fruits, started recruiting Howard.
Howard was slightly surprised again.
Had it not been for the tavern owner offering him a wage of half a gold coin yesterday, which had already shocked him and given him an understanding of the purchasing power of gold coins here, he might have been even more astonished.
Laughing, Howard responded, "You've got a good eye, sir, but I'm already employed. And I get meals plus half a gold coin weekly, which is quite a bit better than your offer."
"How much for these apples, then?"
"Three bronze coins for four kilos."
"That's too expensive," Howard shook his head, turning to leave.
"Wait, wait, wait! How about three kilos for two bronze coins? That's really cheap!"
Howard paused in his steps, turned back, and said, "I'll take three kilos."
The price was not far off from what he had expected, so Howard readily paid.
Handing over two bronze coins to the middle-aged man, Howard received his bag of three kilos of apples, both buyer and seller smiling happily.
A successful transaction.
"By the way, young man, by the looks of it, you're out shopping for someone else, right? Take a look, do I have what you need? For your sake, I'll give you a discount!"
The uncle was very forward in promoting his goods.
Howard glanced over the fruits displayed on the uncle's stall.
There were many varieties, some Howard recognized, and some he had never seen before.
...
"What did you buy?"
Vivia was the only one left where the carriage had been parked.
Seeing Howard return from his purchase, she instinctively asked.
"Apples." Howard pulled one out of a roughly made paper bag, wiped it on his clothes, and took a big bite.
"Want some?"
Vivia didn't say anything, but her gaze fixed on the paper bag betrayed her desire.
Howard, catching on quickly, took out another apple, wiped it, and tossed it to Vivia.
"This is officially mine now!" Vivia said, her eyes darting around.
"Yes, yes, eat up. They're pretty good," Howard said, looking away.
"Do you... want to walk around with me?"
Vivia didn't respond.
"Then, I'll go on my own!" Howard declared and moved forward.
Yet, his ears caught the sound of someone dismounting, footsteps following behind him, and the crisp sound of someone biting into an apple.
The two of them walked through the market, one in front of the other, one carrying a big bag of apples.
The other led a pony, and anyone passing by could hear the continuous, crisp sound of apple biting.
From one end of the market to the other, there was no communication between them, not even walking side by side.
Howard felt uneasy all over.
Something felt off.
Glancing down at the paper bag, now about a quarter less full of apples, and then back at Vivia, he blurted out, "I... I... I was just heading this way by coincidence!"
Just as Howard was about to lose his patience and criticize Vivia, a commotion erupted from a nearby stall.
"Thief! Catch that thief!"
A slim figure darted out of the crowd, sprinting towards the other end of the market.
Although it was just a fleeting glance, Howard noticed a distinctive feature of the figure: a pair of fuzzy ears.
Beast ears?
"Is that a street child?" Vivia murmured softly.
"Street child?"
"This place was once occupied by the Orc Kingdom, also known as Akadira Kingdom across the Silverwind Prairie, and some incidents occurred. As a result, there are quite a few descendants of Orcs here. But because the war ended abruptly, those of mixed blood became targets of hatred."
Howard was astonished; there was even an Orc Kingdom here?
It seemed conquering the new continent to incorporate it into his Oli Kingdom was a long and arduous task indeed.
Howard slowly said, "Such hatred is senseless. They haven't done anything wrong."
"I'm going to check it out," Howard stated, his voice low.
"Places like this can be very xenophobic," Vivia warned.
"You might get into trouble."
"So, we just let it be?" Howard handed the apple he was holding to Vivia.
"What big crime can a street child commit? At most, they steal some fruit or food. Hold this for me; I'll be right back."
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