- VOL 1 – THOSE UNITED BY THE FATE -
Chapter 1: A New Journey! (6/10)
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"I think I got what I wanted."
The crowd around the streets had not diminished even a little bit. All the people were running from one place to another and all kinds of activities were being carried out with the enthusiasm of the celebration.
A boy with chestnut hair and average height was walking among this crowd with a happy expression on his face. He was humming to himself as if he didn't care about the crowd and the noise around him. In addition to not caring about people, he didn't seem to know where he was walking.
‘It would be good to go back to that herbalist tomorrow and talk to her again. After experiencing the effect of the herb firsthand, I have no doubt that she will find me herself even if I don't go there.’
When Shin entered the herbalist at first, all he had in mind was to find out what the herb was. However, now he was officially trying to market this plant. The plant he had was quite mysterious and its value was unknown. At first, he was just surprised and had no idea what to do, but then he came up with a pretty good plan.
‘If we make a secret mixture using the effect of this plant, we will indeed do a remarkable job.’
As part of his new plan, he did not hide anything about the herb from the woman at the herbalist and on the contrary, he tried to impress her even more. When he learned that the plant was something mysterious, he actually wanted to keep it secret, but after his conversation with the woman at the herbalist, he thought that he could trust her a little bit. She also seemed knowledgeable about medicine and herbalism.
‘I don't think she's a bad person, and she also found out more or less where the plant and I came from. At least for now, I can trust her’
The main reason for his trust in her was not whether she was really knowledgeable or not. He was more impressed by her curiosity. As the blonde-haired woman who had been with them for a while pointed out, she was really interested in learning about herbs, and that was the main thing that convinced Shin.
‘I understand that she didn't believe much in the features of this fruit, but since she hadn't seen anything similar to this plant before, she was captivated by it. She has never seen anything other than a few potions used by adventurers that have the qualities I described, as she said. And also these potions require a lot of ingredients too. So it must have been very exciting for her to hear that only one fruit could be as effective as those potions...’
The smile on the boy's face grew even bigger. Although he did not have a big plan at the start of his adventure, he had already found a task for himself on the first day he arrived in the city. He really thought that he would do a good job if he could implement what he thought. The start of his adventure in this new city could be even bigger than he expected.
‘Anyway. I should wait for Riki-san about this matter. Besides, even if everything goes as I hope, it will take me some time to pick these fruits. So I'd better start thinking ahead now.’
As he continued to walk the streets, the sun was slowly setting. This was the first thing he realized when he woke up from his thoughts.
''Hmm... Looking at it now, today passed quickly. Still, isn't the number of people on the streets decreasing rather quickly?''
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He left his thoughts aside and looked around a little. He couldn't see anything different on the streets he walked, but the number of people was quite small even though it was getting dark. Especially on such a day of celebration. Whereas just a few minutes ago, the place was almost too full to take a step.
The handful of people who were around now were also dressed up as if they were hiding from something. The surroundings had a rather gloomy and mysterious appearance.
''Where did I come to?''
The happy demeanor on his face suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a serious expression. He could have simply returned the way he came, but this dark place had attracted his attention.
‘Something is definitely going on here. The sun will set soon, but I think I can look a little further.’
He was moving forward, examining his surroundings very carefully. He continued to move like this for a while. Although it hadn't been long since he entered these dark streets, the number of people around him had increased to an uncountable number once again.
However, everyone still seemed to be trying to hide, people were whispering and keeping their distance from each other. Many of the shops around were as full as in the city center and business seemed to be going on here as well.
As the sun began to hide behind the buildings, the boy sighed, lifted his head and looked up into the air.
''Sigh... Wait, what? How far did I walk?"
He had come almost to the bottom of the mountain he had seen before. Although he thought he was looking around very cautiously, he didn't realise the most obvious thing, that he was approaching the mountain in the middle of the city.
‘Since I've come this far, let's see what's there.’
As he was curiously approaching the skirt of the mountain, a large man coming out of the building on the boy's left called out to him. Making the wandering boy direct his focus in that direction.
''Hey young man! It's not common for someone like you to be around here. I guess the city guards couldn't handle so many people...''
Like the other people around, he had a hood over his head and covered his body tightly.
''Huh? Who are you? I don't know what you mean, I was just walking around.''
Shin was a little surprised at first because everyone here seemed to be focused only on their own business. Especially in this environment where everyone seemed to be hiding from something, it was strange for someone to call out to him and talk to him, but he soon got over his confusion.
He guessed that the other person was just a merchant trying to sell him something and turned his face back to the mountain. He was about to continue walking when he heard the footsteps of the man next to him approaching him and turned his head towards him again. Apparently he was persistent.
''Heh, I guess you don't know anything at all. You must be new to the city or something. You couldn't have mistaken these gloomy streets for a tourist attraction, could you?"
Shin threw his hand behind his back for a moment when he saw the man approaching him. He was slightly relieved when the man took off his hood and showed his face. He looked him up and down before letting his guard drop a little bit and responding to the man's words.
Although the man had tried to hide under the black clothes he was wearing, he had not been able to hide his bulky body. Even though the cloak of the hood he wore hid the sword at his waist, this did not escape Shin's surveillance either. When the man was right in front of him, Shin looked up and looked at the face of this tall person. His face was completely clean except for a few small cuts. His hair was quite short and brown. His eyebrows were furrowed and he looked quite serious.
He folded his hands across his chest and stood just a few steps away from Shin and waited. Shin decided that the man had no bad intentions and pulled down the hand he had placed behind his back and, putting a smile on his face, responded to the man waiting for him.
''He he. How did you know that I just arrived in the city? It's true that I don't know much about this place. Actually, I came to the city because it was a celebration and I was traveling around in my free time.''
Hearing the words of the boy in front of him, a pleasant smile formed on the tall man's face. After a short laugh, he continued the conversation.
''Hahaha! So you are a young man who came to Ardevant to celebrate!''
After saying this, he offered his hand to the boy and expected the same from him.
‘Especially in such a dark street, it's quite strange that a man I don't recognize at all, coming out of a random building, is offering me a hand. I guess people here are too friendly.’
Although he was lost in his thoughts for a few seconds, he did not keep it long and shook the hand of this mysterious man he met for the first time. It was clear from the man's strong grip that his size was not just for show.
''I guess I surprised you a little. To be honest, I don't think there would be anyone who wouldn't look suspicious in a place like this. My name is Kulong.''
Shin had already realized that the man was not someone who would cause any harm unnecessarily, but he was even more relieved when the man himself expressed it. Also, when he started a conversation, Shin began to think that he might even be able to get information about this place from him.
''My name is Shin. Nice to meet you."