Are You a Scammer?

Three days have passed since the Polaris Festival began.

Cien, one of the merchants who participated in the bustling open market throughout the city, had been sitting at his stall for three days straight. Three days had gone by without a single glance at his wares.

Cien knew that selling here would be difficult, especially considering the number of other traders who were participating.

There were at least hundreds, even thousands, of merchants lining up neatly along the streets of the capital. He just didn't expect it to be this difficult.

Cien looked to his side, where a middle-aged woman was selling sandwiches, and it had to be said that many people came to her. Then, he looked across the street, where someone was selling farming equipment. Although not crowded, there were one or two visitors every hour.

Cien then remembered his own spot. For three days, he could only recall four people coming to him, asking questions before leaving and never coming back.

"Sigh…"

Cien let out a long sigh, realizing that becoming a seller was not as easy as he thought. Today was the fourth day, the day had already passed noon. There still hadn't been anyone visiting his stall.

He saw a few eyes glancing his way, but only briefly before the gazes moved elsewhere, filled with disappointment.

"Are my goods not attractive?"

"Cheer up, Mr. Millard. There are still three more days before the festival ends. I'm sure someone will come to your stall. Here, have some food first."

A middle-aged woman who was selling sandwiches next to him suddenly patted Cien's shoulder and handed Cien a sandwich.

Cien smiled, took the offered bread, and said, "Thank you, Miss Lina. It seems like your place is busy again, as usual."

"Hahaha, who doesn't like bread throughout the Kastia Continent? Mr. Millard, don't call me Miss, I'm old, you're too flattering."

Cien just smiled and didn't reply. Then a customer came to Lina's stall, calling her. Lina patted Cien's back hard, giving her encouragement before leaving for her place.

For the past three days, Cien had gotten to know some of the neighboring vendors. He also got to know the receptionist at the inn where he stayed and some other people.

Cien felt the most valuable thing he got from coming to this place was the relationships and connections that helped him start socializing again after living in solitude for years.

Cien even thought, even if his mission failed, he had received enough rewards for this journey.

Oh yeah, apart from selling his wares, he also got a leather craftsman to process some of the monster skins he brought with him. The Inferno Bear and Blackwood Stag. The remaining monsters weren't brought along because his coffin couldn't fit them.

Cien looked at the sandwich in his hand. He took a bite and tasted the sweet strawberry jam on his tongue.

"Mmm, delicious."

Cien enjoyed his meal while watching the stall with no customers.

***

Towards evening, the Polaris Festival was still bustling with activity. The town's residents and visitors strolled along the streets or gathered at famous scenic spots, including the stage on the town square.

On a street in the east of the city, two women strolled leisurely, admiring the wares displayed by various merchants.

The two women were of different ages; one had short blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing the military uniform of the Kingdom of Huntara. Judging from her appearance, she was in her late twenties.

Walking beside the woman was a young girl of around ten to twelve years old, with long blonde hair, wearing a simple white dress, while eating beef skewers in her hand.

"Veronica, this is the fourth day already. Aren't you satisfied yet? Uncle and Auntie said we'll be going back to Tristan the day after tomorrow. Shouldn't you start getting ready?"

"Ahhh~ because there's only a short time left, I want to satisfy myself by exploring all the streets. Who knows, maybe we can find some treasure!"

"What kind of treasure? All you've been buying is food. Are you looking for the tastiest food here? Go to Westya if you want delicious food."

"Tsk tsk tsk, what's wrong with you, Sister Jeanne? It's a festival! Relax, Sister. Since I came here, your expression is so worried and tense. Aren't you supposed to be off today? Why not just enjoy your day off?"

'I'm off because I have to watch over you, my sweet little cousin. And how can I relax knowing that a civil war will break out soon? Sigh…'

Jeanne grumbled in her heart. She couldn't reveal the news about the Blackwinter situation casually because it was still a secret of the kingdom.

Jeanne let out a long sigh. She really wanted to have fun, but the current situation in the Huntara Kingdom made it difficult for her to show a smile on her face.

Tug, tug...

She felt a small pull on her dress.

"Hm?"

She looked down to see her little cousin, Veronica's small hand tugging at her, the little girl's face looking towards one stall. Jeanne looked to see what her little cousin was looking at and found a middle-aged woman selling bread.

"Do you still want to eat? You haven't even finished the meat in your hand."

Veronica turned to Jeanne, looking at her beautiful face with disbelief. She grinned mischievously and gobbled up all the meat on the skewer in one bite, chewing in her mouth until her cheeks puffed up like a squirrel, and then pulled Jeanne towards the bread vendor.

"How did you fit all that food in your tiny stomach?"

Jeanne whispered, following Veronica's lead. In front of them were several others waiting in line to buy the sandwiches. Maybe the food was really good, Jeanne thought.

She then glanced at Veronica, who was now looking at the vendor next to the bread seller.

Jeanne followed her gaze and saw that it was a merchant selling weapons and potions. She could see a few wooden spears with sharpened tips, herbs and some healing potions, but there weren't many.

'...is this person really trying to do a business?' Jeanne thought, shaking her head, and then looked back at the dwindling line in front of her.

"Big sister Jeanne, can you buy me three filled bread rolls? I'll wait over there," Veronica said, letting go of her hand and moving over to the next stall before Jeanne could say anything.

Veronica walked over to the next table and saw a white-haired man whose expression seemed to announce his boredom.

She was not drawn to Cien's place because of the potions or weapons on display. But, it was the two wooden dolls in the corner of the table that caught her attention.

Cien had made the wooden dolls after finishing all the preparations and crafting his greatsword. He made the dolls out of boredom and also hoped to attract children and customers to come to his place.

And after so many days, the wooden doll finally succeeded in luring someone!.

"Welcome, young lady. Can I help you?"

"That, did you make that doll, sir?"

Cien smiled kindly, "Yup, all the items I sell are made by my own hands."

He then took the wooden doll from the corner of the table, manipulating it with a puppet controller connected to the doll with several strings.

Cien played with it for a moment, showing it to the little girl. Although he was not skilled, Cien could at least make basic movements such as waving, bowing, and running.

Veronica chuckled. Cien handed the wooden doll to her to try it out herself. The little girl seemed quite interested, playing with the doll with a crisp laughter.

"How much is this doll?"

"Only three Tia."

"Three Tia?! That's so cheap!"

Well, Cien made the doll just out of boredom, and the wood he used was not a rare wood like Hellteak. It was just ordinary young tree wood that had not absorbed Hela miasma. A

The toy was made for children, and he did not need to charge a high price for a simple toy.

Not long after, Jeanne returned with a bag of bread in her hand. She saw her little cousin playing with a wooden doll.

"I thought you wouldn't be interested in anything besides food. A doll, huh? Do you like it?"

"Yes, Big sis, buy this for me, it's only three Tia."

"Oooh~ okay," Jeanne turned to the seller, "Here, three Tia."

"Thank you, young lady."

After paying, Jeanne briefly looked around at some of the items on the table. Seeing a pair of black gloves, she remembered that her usual gloves were starting to wear out.

"How much for these gloves, sir?"

Cien saw the woman pointing to the Fire Gloves, he smiled broadly and said calmly, "If just one glove is thirty thousand Tia, if you want a pair then it is fifty thousand Tia."

Thunk!

The bag of bread in Jeanne's arms suddenly fell to the ground as she was shocked to hear the price quoted by the seller.

"..."

"..."

Both sides fell silent. Jeanne and Veronica were stunned, while Cien just smiled without saying a word. The same went for the customers at the two stalls next to Cien. They felt like they must have misheard.

"Thirty thousand... are you a scammer?" Jeanne asked with suppressed anger.