Selling Meat

"I will. It's just that it's getting harder to find children outside. I'll have to target the townspeople, but with Berling here, it's not the best idea…" Glas sighed.

"Ha, those damn knights. They were a pain back in the last era, causing trouble for the adults, and they made my life difficult as well. But fate is fair. All those powerful figures who were once so dominant have disappeared one by one. Meanwhile, I, who was practically invisible back then, am still here," the voice replied, as if lost in memories.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Heh... it's simple. We just need to wait. Those knights will eventually leave. When they do, that's when we can act."

"But we can't be too obvious. The officers here are still difficult to handle," Glas nodded, then thought of the reports from his subordinates and muttered, "Bayerk... it's a strange place. Should we send someone to investigate?"

"Let's not cause more trouble. There's some kind of unknown force there, I can feel it."

"Alright, I'll listen to you."

...

In the center of Dud Town, on a bright and busy street, Im set up his stall as usual. He placed the fresh meat he had prepared the day before on a wooden board, hanging it from a simple canopy.

By this time, it was already midday. The other stalls selling fruit and bread had been up since dawn—far more industrious than him.

But Im didn't worry about his business. As one of the few butchers in the town, the locals were always eager to pay him in copper coins.

Just as expected, as soon as Im finished setting up his stall, several townsfolk, who had been lingering nearby, rushed forward.

"I'll take two bellas' worth of chicken, thank you!"

"I'll have three bellas, please, thank you!"

Bella was the weight unit of the Zern Kingdom, with one bella being roughly equivalent to one pound.

"Quiet down! One at a time, or I won't sell to you!" Im barked.

"Here you go. Two bellas' worth, that's it. Get out of here!" he snapped, shoving a bundle into the customer's hands.

"Yours too, no time to waste. There are others waiting!" he shouted at the next person.

Im's attitude was terrible, completely ignoring the idea of customers being kings. He relied on the fact that the townsfolk had no choice but to buy his meat.

Naturally, the disgruntled townspeople didn't dare protest, but they were clearly annoyed.

As time passed, the meat on Im's stall dwindled, and he knew his work for the day was nearly done.

"You want some too? Hurry up, I'm trying to get some rest!" Im said as he finished serving the last customer and began sorting through the remaining meat.

"Uh... I'm not here to buy meat. I'm here to sell it," came a young voice.

Im looked up in confusion, seeing a slender young man, well-dressed with sharp features, his clothes slightly too large but his posture straight and dignified.

"Sell meat?" Im raised an eyebrow, thinking he must have heard wrong.

The young man was none other than Glen. He stepped aside and revealed the black pig he had brought.

"Just hunted it. It's still fresh," Glen explained.

Im wiped his hands on his dirty leather apron, walked around his stall, and closely examined the black pig, occasionally touching it with a skeptical air.

"This is a black pig?" Im asked.

"Yes, sir," Glen replied.

Im returned to his stall, glancing at Glen with disdain, and said, "Thirty copper coins. I'll take this black pig."

"What? You charge forty copper coins for a chicken, and you're offering me only thirty for this big black pig?!" Glen exclaimed.

"It's forty-two copper coins, kid. A chicken costs me forty-two copper coins," Im corrected him.

"Can you tell me why? Although black pig meat isn't common, it shouldn't be priced so low," Glen tried to keep his tone calm.

"There's no reason. It's the price I'm offering. That's it. If you don't want to sell it to me, you won't be able to sell it to anyone else," Im replied indifferently, clearly expecting Glen to back down.

"Have you never been beaten before?" Glen crossed his arms, his voice cool.

"You want to fight me, kid? Don't think just because you're small, the town's police won't make a move," Im sneered.

"Then I wonder if your skull is as tough as the wood," Glen said, and without warning, he jabbed his finger into the thick wooden board in front of him. The friction was so intense that smoke began to rise from the edges of the hole.

Im's eyes almost popped out of his head. He swallowed, unable to speak.

"You'd better not let me run into you outside," Glen said, grabbing his cart. He wasn't really angry—he'd met plenty of people like Im in his past life. A quick lesson would usually make them back off. But making a big scene wasn't worth it. His priority was turning his catch into money quickly.

"Ha, full of yourself," Im muttered quietly, but still added in his head, I won't leave the town, so what can he do?

He glanced cautiously at Glen's retreating back. Once he was sure he hadn't been heard, Im went back to serving the customers.

Glen, however, had been paying close attention to the scene. He couldn't stand watching any longer, so he set the cart down and walked back toward the stall.

As Im was clearly about to lose his temper and make a move, he suddenly noticed Glen approaching and quickly lowered his head, trembling.

"Ma'am, you wanted to buy some meat?" Glen asked softly, his voice warm.

The elderly woman, hunched over with worry, looked up and saw Glen's young face.

"Who are you?" she asked, confused.

"I'm a butcher too. Why not buy from me? I can guarantee it'll be much cheaper," Glen spoke gently.

"But I don't have any copper left," the old woman said, searching through her clothes, her face still filled with concern.

Glen smiled and, much to her surprise, slapped the wooden board next to the meat with a thud. Turning to Im, he said loudly, "How much copper did this lady just give you?"