MTM 184

“Hey, hey! Look over here!”

Inside the bustling market of the Land of Abundance, filled with the clamor of people coming and going from all corners of the continent, the merchants’ voices echoed loudly even under the merciless, scorching midday sun.

“Come see the giant-eyed tuna we just hauled in from the sea this morning! We brought these in while they were still flailing about! Their vitality is on a whole different level!”

“Hey, buddy! If you want to really enjoy yourself, you’ve got to try these abalones, they’re as big as my fist! You’d never see anything this size up in the north!”

The market in this land of plenty was filled with a vibrant energy and excitement unlike anything found anywhere else on the continent. The faces of the merchants selling all kinds of fish and fresh seafood were radiant with vitality, and their tanned skin glistened with beads of sweat.

Moreover, they were all wearing straw hats with brims that curved down to their ears. Although it was winter, being at the southern tip of the continent meant that days when the heat was unbearable, were not uncommon. Perhaps that was why a hat to shield against the scorching sun was not a choice but a necessity.

That was precisely why Allen had sought out a hat shop in the midst of this bustling market.

“Huh? Is this hat made of gold thread? How can a single hat be this expensive!”

“Expensive? What are you talking about! It’s worth more than gold thread, that’s why!”

Allen was in the middle of a heated argument with the merchant as he looked at the hats displayed on the counter. Although the Land of Abundance was famous for its exorbitant prices (a natural consequence of the superior quality of their goods) to Allen, it was an outrageous rip-off no matter how he looked at it.

“Just give it to me for half price!”

“Half price?! Are you in your right mind, young man?!”

“Of course I’m in my right mind!”

As Allen’s persistent haggling showed no signs of ending, the merchant finally sighed with a face full of irritation.

“Fine, if it’s too expensive, just don’t buy it… That’s why northerners are… Tsk!”

The merchant turned his head away, the price Allen had offered was out of the question.

‘Ugh… This isn’t working….’

Allen’s blood was boiling. Just hearing the absurd price of the hat made him want to spit in his face Read on and walk away. More importantly, the merchant’s snide remark about “northerners” made him so angry he wanted to storm out of there.

“……”

But the snow-white straw hat sitting right in the middle of the stall looked so beautiful that he couldn’t bring himself to walk away. It wasn’t one of those rough, haphazardly woven hats made from the yellow straw you see everywhere. Whatever materials had been mixed together to weave it, the way it emitted a soft, white sheen whenever it caught the sunlight made it obvious this was a meticulously crafted item.

It wasn’t simply a pretty luxury item that tempted him. It was just that if Ser wore this hat… it would look absolutely perfect on him. As the image of Ser smiling while wearing the snow-white straw hat flashed through Allen’s mind, he simply couldn’t bring himself to leave.

“Ugh! Here, take it!”

After pacing back and forth in front of the stall for a while, he finally thrust a silver coin at the merchant. The northerner, who had been acting as if he would overturn the stall and walk out at any moment if the price wasn’t lowered, handed over the coin, causing the merchant’s eyes to widen in surprise. Then, before he could change his mind, the merchant quickly took the coin.

“Well… wear it proudly. It’s a beautiful one.”

After he handed the white hat to the man, the latter smiled slightly and turned on his heel without a word.

The merchant shook his head in disbelief as he watched the man’s retreating back

‘He acted like he wasn’t going to buy it. Why did he put up such a fight? Well… maybe he’s [visit our site]buying it for his lover?’

Allen’s steps looked so cheerful that it was hard to believe he was the same person who had been arguing with the merchant just moments ago.

***

“Ser, I told you to stop already!”

In a small inn kitchen in the Land of Abundance, Ser, who had been sweating profusely while peeling potatoes in a corner of the sweltering kitchen, looked up in surprise at the loud voice.

“Rose…”

The voice belonged to Rose, the innkeeper and head chef of the kitchen. Though her face was covered in freckles and her frame was slender, she was a woman brimming with as much vitality as her bright brown hair. Rose snatched the potato and knife from Ser’s hands without hesitation and scolded him.

“Ser, that’s enough! It’s already lunchtime. I’ll make you something delicious, so go sit down and let your sweat dry.”

“But…”

As Ser hesitated while looking at the sack still heaped with [visit our site]potatoes, Rose smiled gently and patted him on the shoulder.

“That’s more than enough. I’ll even count this toward tomorrow’s lodging fee, so stop complaining and get ready to eat. By the way, where’s your friend who’s been missing since this morning?”

Bang!

Just then, the inn door swung open at the perfect moment, and a sweat-drenched Allen walked in.

“Oh, there he is. Go on, get out of here!”

Rose gently ushered Ser out of the kitchen and disappeared behind the counter with the basket of potatoes he had carefully peeled.

“Ah, Ser…”

As soon as Allen stepped into the inn’s hall and came face-to-face with Ser bursting out of the kitchen, he hurriedly hid the item in his hand behind his back.

“Allen? Where have you been since this morning?”

“Ah… well, I just went to the market for a bit because Mrs. Rose asked me to….”

Given that Rose had asked about his whereabouts just a moment ago, he was suspicious, but Ser’s gaze was immediately drawn past Allen’s awkward posture.

“What are you hiding behind your back?”

When Ser asked point-blank, Allen flinched and cautiously brought the white hat he had been hiding behind his back forward.

“Well, um…”

Ser’s gaze turned cold instantly as he looked at the hat Allen held out. It was an unspoken accusation: could he really have spent money on such a useless luxury item in this sweltering heat? Allen, who had always relied on his wits to get by, couldn’t possibly have missed the implication. Before Ser could start scolding him, Allen blurted out a random name.

“I-I bought it to give to Harto as a present!”

He couldn’t bring himself to say that he’d spent a fortune on it specifically for Ser.

“For Harto?”

Ser squinted, wondering what he was talking about. Why would Harto, a monster, need a wide-brimmed hat like this? Even if he were in his human form, it ​Read on​didn’t make any sense. After all, the Eastern Kingdom, where Harto was currently staying, was in the dead of winter, the exact opposite of the southern region where they were now.

“Well… he might need it… don’t you think?”

Even though he knew his bluff had been called, Allen trailed off with an awkward expression. Ser looked at him as if he were a fool, and sighed.

“Allen, we didn’t come here on a sightseeing trip…”

Ser recalled what had happened two days earlier. After leaving the Silpirnoa Forest, the two had endured all sorts of trials and tribulations before finally setting foot in the Land of Abundance. By the time they had somehow managed to find their way to the Verdant Guild and successfully registered, it was already pitch black. To make matters worse, it was raining, so they hurriedly knocked on the door of a nearby inn, only to find that when they emptied their pockets, they didn’t have a single coin to their name.

In the end, they could only secure a single room after bowing their heads to the innkeeper and begging to help out with the work. They decided to stay here for a while to earn some travel funds, then head back to the Eastern Kingdom as promised to Leon. Fortunately, thanks to Allen (who was strong and took on all the inn’s menial tasks) and his decisive action last night in chasing away some drunken hooligans causing trouble, they had managed to save a decent amount of money over the past two days.

They had even made concrete plans to set out again tomorrow, but he never dreamed that Allen would go and spend the money they’d worked so hard to save on such useless trinkets.

Thunk!

“Now, now! If you’re going to fight, at least eat first.”

Just then, Rose emerged from the kitchen and set a pot of stew [stolen content]– filled with tender potatoes, corn, and generous chunks of chicken – on the table. Ser gave Rose a nod of thanks, then sat down with Allen and added matter-of-factly,

“Well… I suppose Harto would like this.”

“Really? So you think it’s pretty too?”

At those words, Allen’s gloomy expression instantly brightened. Though his uncharacteristic behavior made him feel uneasy, Ser replied casually and took a bite of the stew.

“It is pretty.”

“Then… why don’t you try it too….”

Bang!

Allen’s suggestion hadn’t even finished when the inn door burst open with enough force to nearly break it off its hinges. The uninvited guests who suddenly stormed in were hunters with fierce, rugged features. The men, with bows slung on their backs, axes in hand, and curved knives, tucked at their waists, reeked of blood.