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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 209: Wandering Merchant (2)
Wandering merchants.
They suddenly appear among humans one day.
It could be in the capital of a kingdom or in a quiet rural village.
And they sold all sorts of precious artifacts.
They sold rare artifacts and materials that were generally unobtainable for a relatively small price compared to their value.
One of these artifacts was a pouch the size of a room that Ketal found very useful, which was also from a wandering merchant.
And now, the wandering merchant had appeared in the capital of the Denian Kingdom.
Barely regaining her composure, Milena spoke.
“Yes. They appeared just a few hours ago. So, I immediately had the staff get in line.”
“Good foresight.”
“Would you like to go see?”
“Of course.”
Ketal nodded promptly.
A wandering merchant.
A mysterious trader who appears suddenly and deals in everything.
What a fascinating existence.
Since hearing the first story, he had wanted to see one.
He wasn't going to miss this opportunity.
Above all,
‘They said the wandering merchant sells all sorts of things.’
They might sell something from which he could obtain some mystery.
He was excited.
Ketal followed Milena out of the building.
Then, he saw a line that was literally endless.
The people in line were women, men, old people, children, nobles, and commoners.
It seemed like the entire population of the capital had come out.
The line stretched across the square and beyond the street.
“Is that the line to the wandering merchant?”
“Yes. I guessed it would be, but it's already this long.”
Milena mumbled with a tired expression.
The wandering merchant sold precious artifacts at a cheap price.
People always gained from the trade and never lost, so everyone wanted to do business with them.
It was natural for the line to be long.
“Everyone, stay in line!”
“Anyone who cuts in will be punished later!”
Guards were sweating as they controlled the line.
The line was so long that it obstructed traffic, but instead of disbanding it, they only controlled it without intervening further.
When asked about it, Milena explained.
“You must not interfere with anyone trying to trade with the wandering merchant.”
“Hmm? Is that a rule?”
“Yes.”
The wandering merchant dealt with everyone fairly, regardless of status or wealth.
There must be no external intervention in the trading process.
If unnecessary control was attempted, the wandering merchant would disappear without a trace.
So the guards only maintained order and did not disband the line.
Ketal whistled as he looked at the line stretching to the edge of the capital.
“If it's this long, it will take quite a while. Don't we have to stand in line? I don't think the wandering merchant will wait forever.”
“It's okay. I already had the staff stand in line for us.”
“Is it possible to have a stand-in?”
“They say the wandering merchant doesn’t mind.”
“They see using people as a personal ability too.”
Ketal laughed, amused.
He looked beyond the line.
At the end of that line, there would be the mysterious entity, the wandering merchant.
As if guessing Ketal's thoughts, Milena spoke.
“Would you like to go see?”
“Of course.”
Ketal promptly nodded.
Milena, already getting a sense of what kind of person Ketal was, calmly moved to the front of the line.
At the front of the line, Maximus was observing the trade while keeping a low profile.
He looked ready to intervene if any issues arose.
Ketal was pleased to see him.
“Oh, isn’t it Maximus.”
“…Barbarian.”
Maximus’s face twitched momentarily at the sight of Ketal.
“I heard you arrived. You must be here to trade with the wandering merchant too.”
“That’s right. It’s good to see you again.”
Ketal smiled brightly.
“How have you been?”
“…I’ve been fine. How about you?”
“I’ve been great. It’s been a very enjoyable time.”
“I see.”
Maximus responded calmly to Ketal.
There was no longer any hint of rejection or disdain in his demeanor.
“So… the person up there must be the wandering merchant.”
Ketal looked at the front of the line with interest.
There, a figure was trading.
It was not in the shape of a human.
They were covered in a pristine white robe with no speck of dust, hiding their form.
Strange decorations and devices were operating around them.
Through the gaps in the robe, what could be seen flickered like the flame of a candle.
It was clear to anyone that it was not human.
“How does the trade work?”
Ketal's question was answered immediately.
A man who appeared to be a mercenary at the front of the line confidently stepped forward.
He boldly called out to the wandering merchant.
“Wandering merchant! Give me a weapon that can cut through anything!”
With that, the mercenary took out a handful of gold coins from his chest.
Ketal asked,
“How much can that buy?”
“…About a weapon made of steel.”
It was far from enough to buy the weapon the mercenary desired.
The wandering merchant, with eyes flickering like flames, looked at the gold coins and opened their mouth.
[Not enough...]
A voice echoed as if from a dream.
[The value is insufficient...]
“Uh, uh.”
The mercenary stammered.
Just as he thought he had failed the trade and was about to step back with a dejected look.
[You can’t have a weapon that can cut anything... But you can have a weapon that can cut many things...]
One of the devices floating beside the wandering merchant clicked and activated.
Soon, a space opened.
Clang.
A sword fell in front of the mercenary.
It was an incredibly sharp sword with strange decorations, making it look very valuable.
It was a sword that the mercenary’s gold coins could never buy.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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[Take it...]
“Uh, uh.”
The mercenary hurriedly handed over the gold coins and took the sword.
He stood there blankly for a moment before he left, chuckling.
Ketal watched the process with interest.
“So that’s how it works.”
“He’s lucky. He could sell that sword for several times the price he paid.”
“Can’t he trade again?”
“No. Each person can only trade once. It's an absolute rule, and hiring someone else to trade multiple times doesn’t work.”
“Hmm? How can they prevent that?”
“They can. It's like they can read the desire to trade. No method of proxy buying works. If it did, people would have swept everything up.”
Milena grumbled.
As the head of a huge merchant family, she probably would have indeed done that.
Ketal laughed.
The trades continued.
People handed over their money and asked for something in return.
Sometimes it was a weapon, other times it was food or jewelry.
The wandering merchant silently provided the various requested items.
“They have quite a variety.”
“As far as I know, the wandering merchant has never said they didn’t have something.”
Watching the trades, Ketal became curious.
“Are the trades limited to physical items?”
People handed over gold and silver to the wandering merchant and asked for trades.
Milena shook her head at the question of whether the wandering merchant only took material things.
“No. They value things.”
“Value?”
“Yes. Values we can’t understand. They sometimes accept things that can't usually be considered a price.”
As Milena finished speaking, it was a boy’s turn.
His clothes were very worn, and his face was dirty.
His hands were empty.
The boy trembled as he spoke.
“I want medicine to cure my mother’s illness!”
[The price is...]
“I-I'll give you anything!”
[...]
The wandering merchant silently stared at the boy.
The boy trembled and closed his eyes.
After a moment, the wandering merchant spoke.
[Taste...]
“W-what?”
[Give me your sense of taste... Then I’ll give you the medicine...]
“O-okay!”
[Then stick out your tongue...]
The boy stuck out his tongue.
One of the devices beside the wandering merchant approached and touched the boy’s tongue.
“Ah...”
The boy’s face changed.
It was as if he had lost something he thought he would have for his entire life.
[Here... This is it...]
The wandering merchant handed over the medicine.
The boy, who had been standing in a daze, hurriedly took the medicine.
“Thank you!”
The boy hurried away.
Ketal stroked his chin with interest.
“Even a sense of taste can be a trading commodity.”
“If they deem it valuable enough, anything can be traded. Though what they consider valuable, I have no idea.”
The next person after the boy was someone who appeared to be a noble.
He shouted aggressively.
“Kill all my rivals!”
“Oh?”
Ketal's eyes sparkled.
“Maximus. Shouldn’t you stop that?”
If the noble's enemies were other nobles, many nobles in the Kingdom of Denian could end up dead.
However, Maximus looked indifferent.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s impossible anyway.”
[The value is insufficient...]
“I have a price. Take all my gold and silver!”
[That won’t do... You must stake your life...]
“W-what!”
The noble’s eyes widened.
“Nonsense. Why should I stake my life! You can take all my wealth!”
[The scales do not balance... If you won’t stake your life, leave...]
“T-then how about the lives of my servants...”
[No... It must be your life...]
“I-I would never make such a trade!”
[Then leave...]
“Grrr!”
The noble trembled with anger but didn’t persist any longer.
Instead, he received poison that could kill anyone.
Maximus grimaced.
“I’ll need to confiscate that later.”
“Trades involving lives are strict.”
“Because life is precious. You must pay an equivalent price. It’s well known, so you must not be aware.”
The wandering merchant didn’t trade just anything.
There were clear criteria for judgment.
Watching for a moment, Ketal became curious again.
“What if someone tries to force a trade?”
“I want to trade!”
Just as Milena was about to explain, a man’s voice rang out.
Seeing his face, Milena frowned.
“That man...”
“Someone you recognize?”
“Yes. He owes my family a debt. He couldn’t repay it and lost everything.”
He was the head of the Diablos family.
Unable to handle the expenses from gambling and luxury, he had eventually lost everything to Milena.
The man shouted loudly.
“Make my Diablos family shine even more brilliantly! The price is my future!”
[Impossible...]
The once confident man’s face faltered.
“W-why!”
[The price is too insufficient... And the Diablos family is no longer yours...]
Unable to repay his debt, the Diablos family had become Milena’s property.
[You’ve lost your qualification... Wish for something else...]
“Don’t be ridiculous! I am the head of the Diablos family!”
[You are not... You have lost your qualification...]
“Grrr!”
Feeling insulted by the wandering merchant’s words, the man roughly drew his sword. People screamed.
The man brandished his sword threateningly.
“Shut up and make the trade! Make the trade!”
[...]
The wandering merchant, as if annoyed, moved one of their devices.
Click.
At that moment, the device shot up.
It was so fast that even Swordmaster Maximus missed it.
The man’s eyes widened.
“W-what?”
That was the last thing he said.
The man was swallowed by the device and vanished.
In the silence, the wandering merchant spoke calmly.
[Next...]
“If someone tries to force a trade, that’s what happens. They disappear and are never seen again.”
“Got it. A good lesson.”
Ketal muttered cheerfully.
The wandering merchant.
A mysterious being clad in a white robe, with pupils like candle flames.
As Ketal observed this being, he suddenly tilted his head.
‘...Huh?’
He felt a strange sense from the wandering merchant.
After a moment’s thought, Ketal realized what it was.
It was a sense of kinship.
He felt a kinship with the wandering merchant, who traveled the world trading, while he had been trapped in the white wilderness.
It was a very strange feeling.
Just as he was about to ponder this further, Milena asked,
“Ketal, are you going to trade too?”
“Of course.”
The wandering merchant.
A trader of all things in the world.
And what Ketal desired had been decided from the beginning.
“Then I’ll arrange a spot for you. I had several employees stand in line, so it’s certainly possible.”
“Please do.”
Ketal grinned broadly.
Milena cautiously asked,
“Might you be interested too, Maximus?”
“...Yes, please.”
“Understood.”
After witnessing someone vanish, there were no further complaints, and the line began to move quickly.
And after a day,
It was their turn.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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