Reconciliation

Rick raised his eyebrows upon hearing Pen's words, curious as to what the boy have up his sleeve this time.

"Go on," Rick urged.

Composing himself, Pen dusted himself off as he coughed dryly, "Ehem..That soup is precisely what we're looking for. Particularly, its core ingredient.."

"W-what nonsense are you spouting now, twerp?" Jon barked, his amiable face crumbled into one of agitation

"Nonsense? Hardly. In fact, you could only count on one hand the souls who are privy to the origin of such precious materials. That's why I'm pretty certain now, you were the ones who took snatched benefactor's stuff."

"Like we've said, prov-"

"It's sweet, right?" Pen asked while shutting Sonia down who tried to butt in.

"Right, it is," Rick nodded in confirmation.

"As far as I can tell, you don't have honey stored here. Well, it's pricey, and it's not like your depressing tavern can afford such expensive condiment."

"Forget about sugar gravels, even the nobles find it hard to get their hands on a generous quantity," Pen voiced confidently.

"Just get straight to the point, brat," Rick impatiently said.

"Well, in short, whoever prepared that pottage must have fortunately chanced upon something incredible. For example, this.." Pen rummaged his pocket and then unveiled a fruit dyed in yellow.

"What's that, a golden dick?"

"Of course not, you vulgar woman!"

Jon reproached her sister sternly as he held his head in defeat. He could now feel the veins on his head pulse into a headache. Obviously, he knew what kind of produce Pen displayed for everyone to see.

As Jon's telling actions spoke volumes, Rick emphasized in a serious tone, "Jon, have you dipped your toes onto something troublesome?"

"No, father! Our latest excursion was just about a dubious peddler who thinks he can scam people by selling stale goods. These brats just happened to be there, and happened to be unlucky enough to get picked by our people."

"Seriously.."

Rick then turned to Pen and asked, "So, you're telling me, this bowl of soup here, and that thing in your hand are one and the same?"

"Indeed, they are. The moment we passed that door, the familiar aroma couldn't be mistaken for what we have eaten before. Although you've mushed it to an indiscernible degree, the smell is all the same." Pen said, then handed the slab of fruit to Rick, "Here, taste it for yourself. Slowly peel away the skin from the stalk."

"Are you sure about this, isn't this quite rare as what you've claimed?"

"Yeah, but that won't be the case soon."

Doing as what Pen instructed, the fruity texture revealed itself, and without further ado, Rick chomped on the thickened flesh, savoring every bite.

"Truly..the same. It's quite inconceivable that something like this remained so fresh after a long freight from who knows where."

"What's more unbelievable, though, is how can two tramps have any relation to all of this? Don't tell me, you got adopted or something?" Rick mused.

"It's nothing like that, we were just asked to run some errand as benefactor is busy with his newly opened shop"

"Benefactor? Shop? Did something happen…?" Sonia asked.

"That's a story for a later time, can't you just hand over what's ours and close this matter already?" Paper demanded.

"Before anything else," Rick paused and glared at the twins. "I'm quite wary, won't this benefactor of yours go for our necks after we scratched his back."

It was understandable, if one came to know his possessions, no matter how trivial, got pocketed by a bunch of miscreants, anyone would be peeved if not downright humiliated. A fair payback would then be in order in the name of saving face.

At least that's how Rick viewed the entire situation he was in. And he would be on the receiving end of a likely retaliation.

'Hmm.. I'm not a madman who's into murdering children for the purpose of silencing them,' Rick thought, deliberating on how he'd cushion the possible consequences his son brought upon them.

However, Pen's nonchalant remark calmed down Rick's spiraling thoughts.

"Ahh, I believe you're misunderstanding things. These goods are meant to be dispensed. That's why it would be a bit problematic if you hog all the quantity to yourselves."

"So, you know, if you could give back a considerable portion to us, that would be more than enough," Pen proposed.

Although he initially planned to retrieve the entirety of the goods, that was impossible now. So he chose the safer approach, which was to curry favor with Rick also known as Deft Paw.

Among the three ring leaders of Blunt Edges who are notoriously known for their unmatched combat prowess, that inspired fear throughout Bleakstone's outskirts, Rick was the most level-headed. However, there were fellows clueless enough and tested Rick's temper only to end up getting maimed into bloody pin cushions.

And Pen wasn't about to lose his wits and join the ranks of perforated corpses.

Rick's gaze lingered on Pen's small figure for a while and finally answered, "That's fine. Jon, tell your friends to return half of the goods."

"Got it"

"H-half..! only?"

Pen shouted in protest, but instantly dragged his voice to a mumble upon meeting Rick's imposing gaze.

On the side, Jon just exited the tavern through the back door, and sooner than expected, he entered once again with a gunny sack in each hand.

"Here you go, twerps. You're lucky there's even left," Jon said in dismay.

Paper leaned over, peeked inside the sacks, and confirmed its contents. There was an assorted mix of familiar harvest which Juanito had entrusted to them. Although the quantity has diminished significantly, they had no choice but to proceed with what they have.

To a certain degree, they've fulfilled what Juanito had instructed them. Additionally, Rick is an owner of a tavern, he could effortlessly spread the information about an incredible store that vends otherworldly merchandise to a considerable crowd.

And if Rick and his company could come up with recipes that utilize Juanito's stuff, that were supremely more appetizing, then surely his business would see an unprecedented rise in patrons frequenting his shabby tavern.

Paper was not as bright as his brother, but she knew very well the implications of Juanito's goods, and the inevitable reforms that would follow, being one who had experienced it firsthand.

Pen then signaled to his sister, finally time to leave The Moaning Widow.

"If there's nothing else, then we're off. I'll make sure to send a message to benefactor," Pen said as he started walking towards the exit.

However, Rick's voice poured cold water over the twins when they thought they'd finally passed the hurdle.

"Hey, Jon, go with them," Rick declared.

"Excuse me?"

"huh?"

Pen and Paper blurted in chorus, visibly taken aback.

Rick then stated as a matter of factly, "Jon here will serve as an escort. Wouldn't it be bad if a similar incident happens again? And, you might not come out unscathed the next time.."

"Well, you have a point, but-"

"No buts...this is the least I can do to honor the memory of Jess."

The pair felt Rick's sincerity and without thinking too much about the matter, Paper convinced his brother who was still mulling about the possibility of a hidden agenda behind Rick's actions.

"Relax bro," Paper patted his brother's head. "Not all things are about gain and loss. You might overlook the things that actually matter if you brood over every little stuff."

"I get it," Pen acceded while staring directly at Rick, "Then, we're in your care, good Sir."