- VOL 1 – THOSE UNITED BY THE FATE -
Chapter 1: A New Journey! (4/10)
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''Hmm... So it's the same war...''
A chestnut-haired boy wandered thoughtfully through the crowded streets of the city. It seemed that the crowd at the center of the celebration had dispersed to different areas. Unlike the big guild buildings that were closed, many shops and inns in the city were open. People who could not enter the full buildings were just exploring the streets and trading amongst themselves. After all, this was Katim, the city of trade!
‘The celebration must have really revitalized the city. Maybe I should check out some of the shops, it should be a few more hours before it gets dark. At night, especially with this celebration going on, it might be hard to find an inn. With so many new people coming and some returning back, the inns would be full. But the city seems so big to me that it seems like no matter how many people arrive, a few inns would remain empty!’
With these thoughts in his mind, he was examining various buildings on the streets. Although some time had passed since he first arrived in the city, neither his excitement nor his curiosity had diminished. Soon, he came across a shop that attracted his interest, so he gave his attention to it.
‘I think the only thing that might be valuable on me is this strange plant. It was very useful to me, let's see what the people here know about it.’
His mind was on a plant he had found on his journey in the forests. He had only one of it left with him, but it would be useful for him to at least find out what this plant was. This plant had helped him a lot when he was trying to reach the city. Strangely, it gave him extra energy when he consumed it and also made his wounds heal faster.
Shin entered the herbalist that interested him.
‘Ooo... It's quite cozy inside...’
When he entered, a little surprise covered his face. There were a lot of shelves and all kinds of herbs on them. In the middle of the shop, there were a few bookshelves too. The shop was not very big, but it could be said that quite a lot of materials were fit inside. Despite so much stuff here, the environment was still well organized and made the place look more welcoming.
‘I think the person who organized the shop did a good job.’
While Shin was thinking this, a voice from behind the bookshelves greeted him.
''Welcome!''
In fact, the sales booth where the woman was, was just opposite the entrance of the shop. However, it was not visible from the entrance due to the bookshelves in the center of the shop.
After passing the bookshelves in front of him, he saw a woman in her early twenties, with black hair down to her waist, wearing a special outfit for the shop. Although her emerald green eyes did not seem to carry any trace of emotion, they were full of energy, almost glowing.
''Are you looking for something to buy, or are you going to sell some ingredients?''
Even though she seemed to be emotionless and cold, the woman greeted Shin with a smiling face. It seemed that she was quite serious about her work.
Shin thought that the plant he brought with him might be something valuable, but perhaps it was something quite common and ordinary in the city. So he didn't know what to say and spoke with hesitation.
''I think I'm here to get some information. I thought I could show you a plant I don't know about and maybe sell it.''
The woman responded to Shin's words with a smiling face.
''Then you have come to the right place. Even if you just want to have it analyzed, everything about herbs and medicines is here.''
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
As the black-haired woman said that, Shin slowly walked towards the booth. When he arrived in front of the woman, he saw another person sitting on a chair on his side of the booth.
‘Hmm? Have I seen this person somewhere before?’
As he looked at the woman sitting in the chair, she was also looking at him. This woman in the chair looked quite young and beautiful. Her blonde hair was the same color as her hair and her eyes, which were almost luminous, illuminating her face.
''You don't have to mind me. I'm here just to have a little chit-chat.''
After the two looked at each other for a few seconds, the woman said these words to the boy in front of her.
''So that's it.''
Shin didn't care much about someone else being here either. In fact, compared to the crowd outside, it was quite quiet here. So he wouldn't mind if there were a few extra people inside.
When he heard that the woman sitting in the chair was not a customer, he turned to the black-haired woman he thought was the shopkeeper and took out the plant from his pouch.
''I found this plant while traveling in the forest. I'm new in the city and I don't know this neighborhood very well. Also, I've never encountered this plant before.''
He took out a ball-like plant from the bag, which fit his palm perfectly and was a color between red and orange.
''Actually, I suspect this is a medicinal plant, though it looks and tastes more like a fruit. It has a sweet and pleasant flavor like many fruits.''
While he was saying this, the woman in front of him was carefully examining the plant in the boy's hand.
''I've never seen anything like this before. If it's as sweet and fruit-like as you say, I don't think it can be used for medicinal purposes.''
Shin was observing the woman in front of him very carefully as she said this. Because he thought that this strange plant in his hand might really be something important. That's why he didn't want to be deceived. He only had one last plant with him. That was because he thought that he might be able to sell this plant when he entered the city. Although he had carried about a dozen of them on the way here, he had eaten the rest.
Even though the place where he had found these plants was a little far from the city, it wouldn't do him any harm to at least find out what the plant was. Even if it turned out to be nothing worth going back for, he could use the plant later, knowing what it was. For this, he first wanted to learn something from this herbalist, but he could not get anything out of the woman's facial expression.
Either she was really good at pretending or she didn't know anything about this fruit. Shin believed the second possibility, he didn't think that someone would act so much for a single fruit.
''You really don't know anything about what this is?''
Shin put the fruit in his hand on the counter. The black-haired woman took the fruit she was staring at without asking him and began to examine it.
''It's really surprising... This may be a small shop, but I can say that I know about most of the plants in Ardevant. However, I've never seen anything like this... I wonder if you're from some distant place I'm not familiar with."
The woman had a slightly surprised expression on her face as she examined the fruit in her hand. In addition, crumbs of excitement and curiosity began to form in her emerald eyes, which seemed to be emotionless just moments ago.
''If I don't know what it is, this fruit either really comes from far away, or it is not a plant used for medicine.''
''Actually, I didn't come from that far away. I found it in one of the forests outside the city, and there were quite a lot of them."
''As I said, I know most of the medicinal plants in Ardevant, and I know about many plants other than medicinal plants too. However, I have never seen this fruit before.''
The woman's face was getting more and more excited. It seemed that she was not really pretending, and judging from what she said, this fruit was something unknown.
''You said you found it in a forest near here, but do you know exactly where you found it? Especially since I thought I knew almost everything in this neighborhood.''
''I'm sorry, but I don't know where I found it either. But in terms of direction, I think it's in the forests to the east of the city."
''So, do you think this fruit is medicinal? I need to examine the fruit to find out if it can be made into a medicine. But I don't think you came here just to show me a normal fruit. Could it be that you felt something different when you ate this fruit?"
‘Hahaha, I think this woman is really careful. It might be good if I tell her directly a few little things I know. The effect was quite surprising to me, but I didn't think that this fruit would be unknown to other people. Maybe I've discovered something really big.’
Shin carefully chose his words. He himself didn't know exactly what this fruit was and had come to the herbalist to find out. However, contrary to his expectations, the fruit turned out to be completely unknown.
In fact, this could have been a much better opportunity for him to sell the fruit. So Shin would try to attract more attention by saying good things about the fruit. However, he didn't want to reveal all the secrets he knew about this fruit that was very valuable to him.
''I didn't fully understand it at first. I picked some while walking in the forest, thinking it was an ordinary fruit. Then I continued to move through the forest. After a while, I got tired and ate some of the fruit I picked. After eating it, I felt strangely energetic. I also think I traveled a little further than usual when I started moving forward again. So, I'm guessing that my stamina also increased a little bit after eating the fruit.''
''Hmm... It might be temporarily strengthening your body.''
While the woman was talking, she quickly checked a few books near the booth where she was standing. There was not much to examine on the fruit. So she put the fruit back on the table and focused all her attention on examining the books. She looked for a while, but couldn't find what she was looking for in the books there, so she turned her attention elsewhere.
''You guys can talk, I'll look at some books and come back.''
Saying that she disappeared to the back of the shop as if nothing had happened.
While Shin was looking at the woman who was leaving the room, a sudden voice came beside him.
''Don't stand there. Although Riki doesn't seem that surprised, after seeing something she doesn't know, she won't let it go without finding out what it is.''
The blonde-haired woman who had been there for the entire conversation said this. Then she pointed to the chair next to her with one hand. Shin also sat on the chair without questioning her too much.