"Please forgive my impoliteness, miss, I just wanted to say that you bought too much."

The man said directly while handing me coffee. I grabbed the cup and held it close around my nose.

The fresh scent seeped in.

Inhaling and sipping quality spices could increase the Dopamine levels in my brain. I then closed my eyes as I tried to savor the sweet flavor that lingered on my tongue.

This worries me a little because excessive sugar can cause obesity.

Really, fighting fat is a serious problem for every woman.

The old man in front of me should know that women are always trying to keep our bodies attractive, so I put the cup of sweet coffee down while listening to what he had to say.

"I know that we are both merchants, but miss, please understand my situation. There are many people who might freeze to death if you don't give them those furs."

There are many ways to deceive others. Some use reverse logic, and some use an emotional approach to justify their actions.

Unfortunately, although humans were given reason through various evolutionary processes for the continuation of the species, but the fact is that most humans tend to follow their survival instincts through a simple word called "Emotion" And this way proves to be effective to influence others rather than using a logical approach.

Simply put, I just want to state that the man in front of me right now is trying to cheat me because the clothes that can be made from these furs are actually made to be sold to nobles or rich merchants and certainly not to the poor. But if this man continues to brag about saving people, it means that he might just have seen an opportunity to gain more profit than I thought.

Hearing what the man said, I then opened my mouth to make a low sound while playing with my fingers to create a clean air circulation.

"Hmm..sir?"

"Gustaf."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Gustaf. I understand your concern, but unfortunately I cannot be of much help."

"Why? Don't you believe that God will surely repay your kindness, donating will not make you poor."

I wanted to spit out what he said. Just tell me that you want to ask for free for all the things I have. Even a con artist should at least have some boundaries.

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It seems like I'm being underestimated here, he thinks of me as a rookie. living in any age, being a woman is not an easy thing.

"I was recently robbed by a group of heartless bandits. My employees were all slaughtered, leaving me alone. Mr. Gustaf, everyone has their own problems, I can't just donate to the poor while I'm in a bad position."

Taking a bite of the cake and then finishing it, I knew that all the ridiculous kindness Mr. Gustaf gave me by buying me all this food was just to make me think that he was a good guy, so that he could cheat without any suspicion.

As the old saying goes, where there's sugar there's bound to be ants.

If I threw sugar grains on a wooden board, it would only take a few minutes before they were swarmed by tons of ants.

This is just a simple analogy where I want to mention that someone who adheres to the concept of profit and loss, will always follow profit more than anything else. Any means is permissible in their eyes, even if it means deceiving others, but at a higher level, such people like to see it as a game. Just like what this old man was doing now.

"Poor thing, I didn't know that you had just experienced some kind of misfortune."

"I'm disappointed, even though this is my first business after leaving home."

I lowered my head while trying to look miserable, once again, making such an expression was very difficult.

The old man then replied while wearing an expression as if it surprised him.

"This is your first business, miss?"

"Yes, I come from a noble family that is in debt and in order to repay that debt, I'm trying to establish a business in this town."

"Miss is from a noble family? Sorry, I should have known that."

"No problem, my family doesn't have much of a reputation so it's rarely mentioned by others."

The old man then looked down at me as if trying to plead.

"If the lady doesn't mind, I'd like to know which noble family you actually come from?"

Bringing the piece of cake closer to my lips so that the sweetness came into contact with the tip of my tongue, and then I pointed towards the east while then mentioning a noble family name that I recognized.

"Thedore La Charlotte."

Gustaf replied with a face full of confusion.

"Theodore, Charlotte? Which noble family is that?"

Instantly, I stopped chewing and placed the cake onto the plate, my eyes slightly glanced at Gustaf's old man before looking back in the other direction.

"As I told you, Mr. Gustaf, my family does not have any reputation."

Mr. Gustaf was silent for a moment, he then put on an expression as if he sympathized with me.

"Being a businessman is not easy. I understand your predicament Ms. White. There's not much I can say, but I just want to give you some advice, keep trying while being careful about everything. For example, if you want to trade outside the city, you need guards to fight off bandits or monsters on the way. Your safety is more important than all the money you make."

I nodded in agreement to him. Then after a while, I tried to offer his something.

"Mr. Gustaf. You want those furs, don't you? What if I sold most of them at the exact same price I bought them, for 145 copper per pelt. I'll keep 381 feathers and you can take the rest."

Vaguely, I saw a small smirk escape Gustaf's lips. He seemed to be planning something.

"You're serious? I'll gladly accept."

"I also want to thank you, there aren't many good people who would give advice to a rookie like me."

Gustaf in front of me then chuckled, he kindly handed me a small card from behind his shirt pocket.

The card was placed on the wooden table below my face. Mr. Gustaf then took a breath and said.

"In the past, I had a son who was the same age as you. But unfortunately he fell ill and left me for dead, even though I had planned to leave all my wealth, connections and knowledge to him. Unfortunately, God said otherwise."

I reached for the card on the table, it read executive membership of a merchant guild, indicating that Mr. Gustaf really did have money and connections. In this case, he wasn't lying.

I played the card in my hand as if I was thinking about all of Mr. Gustaf's words. My short white hair slightly covered my eyes when I blinked.

"...Mr. Gustaf, if you want to invite me to join, I'm sorry I have to decline for now."

"It's okay, there's no need to rush. Miss can keep the card, use it when miss wants to meet me in the northern town. I will be there to welcome you."

he seemed very confident that I would follow him. Hmm..the classic way.

It's actually a good way to make a profit, but I can't just trust Mr. Gustaf, even among the ants looking for sugar, there are some red ants that have another purpose. Those kinds of ants can remember at any time.

If I had to let myself get caught up in Gustaf's plan, then I had to calculate and prepare everything.