Chapter 53
The Arrow That Left the Protest (12)
Anton, who had tried to hunt the swan beastman Clara but ended up in a complicated situation, bowed his head again and spoke.
“How strange that fate brought us together like this. I’m glad the baby is safe.”
“The baby seems fine. It must have been tough, but I guess it held on well in the mother’s womb.”
“Ah… ‘baby’ is Clara’s nickname. Its placeholder name is Kong. It was conceived on the day the lake froze over.”
Anton’s cheeks turned red, and he cleared his throat awkwardly.
Wait… who asked that?
The person who just perfectly avoided death suddenly blushing like that—this is terrifying in its own way.
“Yes, yes… both the baby and Kong are fine…”
“I thought I was the only one called when the baby was imprisoned. Not being alone, I can’t imagine how hard it must have been… I hope they’re safe now.”
Anton’s face, still flushed from shyness, now sank heavily with worry for Clara.
Even your own conscripted situation, falling in love with a beastman, isn’t exactly easy.
Not a couple yet, but both of them act exactly the same.
I thought Clara had Stockholm syndrome, but after seeing Anton, it seems their love is genuine.
“But what was that thing that attacked you just now, Anton?”
“That was Chris. He was a colleague of mine, but he was tainted by Agemor’s corruption… and ended up like that.”
Of course.
If someone is tainted by Agemor’s corruption, they lose themselves and turn into a black monster.
It was shocking that after being repaired, they turned to dust and disappeared.
Would purification have made a difference?
For a moment, I strangely missed Guild Master Lee Hwa-yeon of Baekdan, who never longed for anything.
“They say that if you come into contact with Agemor’s corruption, you can hear voices. They soak you in sharp emotions like resentment, jealousy, and anger. If you accept them, you change like that… I held out to the end, but eventually…”
Anton muttered sadly, bowing his head deeply.
“Still, it’s a relief. At least they won’t suffer anymore.”
Well, if you put it that way…
The living must survive.
I waited quietly for Anton to regain his composure.
After a long while, Anton let out a quiet sigh.
It seems he finally collected himself.
His legs, which had been trembling like leaves in the wind, seemed steady again.
“Stand up first. But how did you get all the way out here? Isn’t this far from the frontlines?”
“Yes. I was on a reconnaissance mission near the frontlines.”
Anton looked around, worry written all over his face.
“I felt reassured since I didn’t see signs of Agemor’s corruption, so I never imagined something like this would happen.”
Who would imagine my friend would try to kill me, Anton?
I didn’t comment and simply patted his shoulder.
“We should head back. Clara should be safe if she returned to Kona, and I need to get back safely to her side as well.”
Anton’s eyes burned with the will to survive.
Though his terrified trembling from before looked pitiful, seeing him determined to return to Clara’s side made him a truly commendable husband.
“Do you have somewhere to stay tonight? The sun will set soon.”
“…What?!”
I looked up in surprise.
As expected, the sun was setting beyond the hill.
My plan to reach Kona before nightfall was dashed.
Reading the despair on my face, Anton smiled lightly.
“Why don’t you stay with me for tonight? There are a few inns built from houses. It’s near the frontlines, but the rear is relatively safe.”
I needed to sleep anyway, so this was a good suggestion.
Of course, being near Kasabl made me slightly uneasy.
‘But for now, I’m disguised as my brother, so they won’t notice.’
My brother and I don’t look alike at all.
I nodded calmly.
Anton smiled back, relieved.
“Oh, I didn’t even ask your name, the savior of my life. What should I call you?”
“Call me ‘Hae.’”
I smiled naturally, like a confident trickster.
Something felt off.
There seemed to be more people near the frontlines than in Kasabl.
On one side, tents were lined up, and behind them, buildings welcomed guests.
Hundreds of soldiers and civilians bustled about, creating a scene surprisingly lively for a front.
Perhaps because I was staring curiously, Anton kindly explained.
“That large tent over there is the infirmary. The small ones are for knights, so it’s better not to get too close.”
I nodded quickly.
Having been caught by knights and sent to a stone prison, there’s no way I’d appear in front of them.
“The inns are this way. I think it’s about 70 gold per day, but I’m not sure now.”
I barely listened, too busy looking around.
There really were a lot of people.
“It’s fascinating, right? This is where the frontlines meet the village, so it’s crowded.”
Ah, that explains it.
It felt like the edge where the rear of the frontlines and civilian areas meet.
‘Perfect marketplace.’
Many wounded soldiers, plenty of civilians.
The demand for potions must be very high here.
“Anton, are there merchants here too?”
“Yes, the market area is over there. Why? Do you need something?”
“I’m curious. Do medicines sell well here?”
“They sell because they’re scarce, especially for lower-class citizens who can’t even get proper treatment. Look over there.”
Anton pointed to a crumbling stall.
Not really a stall—it was just a table with things on it.
“That’s a medical supply stall.”
…But there were no bottles or ointments in sight.
Only piles of unidentified herbs.
Still, judging by the pale, sickly soldiers passing by, there was demand.
‘Why herbs instead of potions?’
Anton sighed.
“Even if we make them all day, we can’t get 20 bottles. But there are too many wounded soldiers. If we sold potions, they’d be gone in a day, so we sell raw materials instead.”
According to Han Romi’s past interview, taking raw materials alone is extremely inefficient.
And there’s no automated potion system here either.
‘Providing such golden information to money-hungry merchants…’
I knew I needed to ask the strike team to defeat Agemor and visit Provel to receive Paroxia’s blessing.
But as an E-rank with the title of “Open Market Manager,” without gold, I can do nothing.
Gold is my combat power.
Having calculated everything in my head, I casually asked:
“Do you need any qualifications to sell things here?”
“No, it’s the frontlines. We can’t check such things. But why do you ask?”
Why ask?
Because it’s my duty as a merchant.
[Yeonhee, send 100 B- and C-grade potions to the market stall.]
[No, maybe 300 each? As many as possible.]
I sent a message to Kang Yeonhee and got a reply almost immediately:
[> Middle Manager Message
Why B and C all of a sudden? I put them up for now! —Kang Yeonhee (Bar Manjangeom)
But when are you coming to Bar Manjangeom? T-T]
Yeonhee, a good middle manager who makes potions well and follows orders, is fast.
I smiled at Anton.
Startled by my smile, Anton stepped back slightly.
“I’m planning to sell something.”
“Alright, this isn’t an opportunity that comes every day.”
Have you ever heard of a temporary stall?
“Potions for sale! Highly effective!”
Though my sales pitch sounded archaic, I was confident.
Because potions were completely gone here!
Just saying the word ‘potion’ made every passerby curious.
Wounded soldiers, their families, even infirmary staff.
Questions poured in.
“Is it real? Not fake, right?”
“Where did you get them?”
“How much?”
I only smiled politely at the last question.
“C-grade potions are 3 gold each, B-grade potions are 20 gold each!”
I thought it was reasonably priced, but reactions were underwhelming.
“Kind of expensive…”
“But potions are sold out. Can’t ignore them now.”
“Are they effective? What if they’re fake?”
Compared to Bar Manjangeom and Babel Square, a little expensive but still reasonable.
On a collapsing inn room costing 70 gold per day, selling effective potions for 20 gold isn’t bad.
Still, reactions weren’t great, and I worried I’d fail at sales.
“B-grade potion, one please.”
A soldier with bandaged limbs called out.
“Here you go. 20 gold.”
I glanced at him.
His limping and trembling arms indicated serious injuries that hadn’t been treated.
‘This will be even more dramatic.’
Hearing the clink of gold coins, I handed over the potion with a bright smile.
In front of skeptical people, I was about to show the potion’s effects myself.
“How can I trust it?”
“Well, we have to check, right?”
The soldier accepted the potion without hesitation and drank it in one go.
A few seconds later:
“Wow…”
“Greg is really healed!”
The soldier dropped his crutches and broke down in tears.
Apparently, he was quite famous in this area.
“The news that Greg can walk without crutches” spread instantly.
What did that mean?
“Two C-grade, no, five, please!”
“Here, 10 B-grade.”
“I’ll take one of each type.”
“I’m an infirmary soldier. Can I buy about 100 potions?”
I greeted everyone with a warm smile.
It felt good.
Ah, so this is what it means to successfully sell.
The potions Kang Yeonhee had prepared were now steadily filling my pockets.
[Gold Held: 5,817G]
Seeing the growing balance warmed my heart.
Then…
“Hey, you filthy bastard!”
A hostile voice came from the front of the stall.
While happily serving customers, my expression stiffened, and I turned.
The voice was full of raw hostility.
Contempt and disdain as if it were natural.
“Get lost! You’re making people uncomfortable!”
And from the same person… to a very small child.
