S-Rank Swindler

From that night to the following days, Hayato didn't say much to Rafe. But Rafe himself didn't really care. He didn't care if Hayato hated him, his principles wouldn't change just like that.

"I want to buy clothes first, don't think I want to buy you too. You can go on your own," Rafe said as he left the inn room.

"Tch. Who are you shopping for," Hayato grumbled without even looking at Rafe.

Rafe just smiled as he left the inn. He immediately went to the market to look for clothes, as Nia had requested. There were many merchants who were still preparing to open their shops this morning, some who used carts also seemed to have just arrived at the market.

Rafe's gaze immediately fell on a middle-aged male merchant who was preparing goods on his cart, he felt that this merchant was different because the overflow of mana from his body was stronger like an adventurer. Suddenly, Rafe approached him, the merchant in shorts seemed to be crouching and tying something to his right leg.

"What are you selling with those vegetables?" asked Rafe when he reached the merchant's cart.

"Eh? Ah, I sell fried noodles, I mix them with vegetables," the vendor replied with a shocked look on his face as his right leg was bent up to his thigh and tied with a rope right at his calf.

"Hoi, are you an adventurer in disguise?" asked Rafe.

"Ah no, I really want to be an adventurer. But after my wife died, there's no one to take care of my five small children. I'm forced to trade, and it's not enough to treat her illness, which is getting worse every day," the merchant said quietly.

"How much does this food cost?" asked Rafe.

"I'm selling it for only ten silver coins, actually I used to sell it for twenty silver coins, but it didn't sell well, now I'm forced to take a profit of one silver coin from each portion, it's better to sell than to lose, although the proceeds are still not enough to buy my son's medicine," the merchant explained while shedding tears.

"Then I'll buy a portion, here's a gold coin. There's no need to give change," Rafe said with a smile, handing over the gold coin.

"Thank you, sir, this is the first time I've met a kind person like you. Thank you very much, I will tell all my descendants about your kindness. What is your name, sir?" the merchant asked while crying.

"Hehehe... you don't need to exaggerate. My name is Rafe Lostfield," Rafe replied happily.

The vendor continued to praise Rafe as he prepared the food Rafe had ordered. After Rafe finished eating, he went to the clothing store and bought five pairs of clothes.

"How much is each, sir?" Rafe asked.

"Just one gold coin, sir," the merchant replied kindly.

"Hehehe... isn't that too cheap? Maybe your clothes don't sell as well as the fried noodle merchant over there, he only takes one silver coin profit per serving because they don't sell," Rafe said jokingly as he handed over a gold coin.

"Hmm... it looks like you've been cheated by him. If the price of these clothes is reasonable in any store," the clothing store owner said as he accepted Rafe's gold coin.

"Huh? What does that mean?" asked Rafe in surprise.

"This fried noodle vendor is notorious for cheating. He used to be an adventurer, but because he liked to cheat, he was banned from accepting quests and his adventurer card was taken by the guild. Now he is forced to sell in order to survive, but it seems that his habit of cheating still continues. He often pretends to have only one leg and tells his customers sad stories to get them to give him more money," the shopkeeper explained.

"Is that true? Doesn't he have five children who are all sick?" asked Rafe again, as if he still didn't believe him.

"I'm not lying, you can ask other stores. We didn't dare reprimand or report him because he's an adventurer. He hides one leg folded on his thigh, and then he wears long pants to cover both legs, so it looks like one leg is missing because the pants wave from his knee. He wasn't married either, let alone had children. He's so famous that the merchants have given him the nickname Rank S Swindler," the shopkeeper replied with a smile.

"Tch. Damn him too," Rafe grumbled as he walked out of the clothing store.

Rafe wanted to get back at the crook, but the distance was too great. He decided against it and went straight back to the inn. After all, Rafe felt that it was his own carelessness that had caused him to give the money to the impostor.

"It turns out there are a lot of people in this day and age who like to take advantage of other people's kindness," Rafe thought as he opened the door to his room.

"I'm going out to buy some clothes," Hayato said curtly as Rafe entered the room.

"He still seems upset about what happened the other night," Rafe muttered as he straightened the clothes he'd bought.

"The price is cheaper than in the Acedia era," Rafe said as he remembered his past, when the price of a single pair of clothes could reach ten gold coins when Xavier ruled the world.

Rafe sighed deeply as he straightened his clothes. In a few weeks, he would be leaving for Elexia Academy to become a student there, and he could only hope for clues about his friends there. Rafe thought for a long time before the door to his room was finally opened.

"Hey Rafe, I found some good food. You should be grateful because I bought it for you too," Hayato said with a happy face, even posing as usual. His right hand held the bundle of leaves while his left hand held a paper bag filled with clothes.

"You're not mad at me anymore?" asked Rafe while scowling.

"Hahaha... a main character like me is the embodiment of justice and goodness, I can't possibly have evil traits like vindictiveness or anger. Don't confuse me with an ancient person like you," Hayato replied as he handed Rafe a package of food wrapped in leaves.

"Well. Actually, I understand what you said that night now, after seeing it from a different perspective," Hayato thought.

"Tch. I don't know what your strange words meant, but I know you were making fun of me," Rafe grumbled as he unwrapped the leaves.

"This food, where did you buy it?" asked Rafe with a shocked look on his face after seeing the contents.

"Hahaha... it smells delicious, doesn't it? These fried noodles taste really good! I bought them from a crippled merchant who lost a leg, and as a good hero, I even gave him some extra money," Hayato replied proudly.

"Hahaha..." Rafe immediately laughed out loud while holding his stomach.

"Hoi, why are you laughing?" asked Hayato in surprise.

"Hahaha... was the merchant missing his right leg?" asked Rafe with a laugh.

"Yes. The pants of his right leg are waving from his knee," Hayato replied in confusion.

"He has five children who are all sick? Did his wife die? Did his goods not sell for twenty silver coins? Does he worship you and tell your name to all his descendants?" Rafe asked again, trying to hold back his laughter.

"Yes. Do you know him?" asked Hayato, even more surprised that Rafe seemed to know the person he was referring to.

"Hahaha... how much money did you give him?" asked Rafe, laughing again because he couldn't hold it in.

"Four gold coins," Hayato replied, starting to worry.

"Hahaha..." Rafe laughed out loud this time, even louder than before.

"Not funny! What's going on here, huh? I'm not the main character in a comedy story, it's just weird that you're laughing like that!" Hayato grumbled.

"You idiot! You've just been fooled, I saw for myself that his right leg was intact. But he folded it over his thigh and then wore pants to make it look like his leg was missing. He also told me about his five sick children and his dead wife, even though the other traders said he was never married," Rafe explained with a laugh.

"Damn it! I'm going to chop up that merchant's meat right now and mix it with his fried noodles!" shouted Hayato with a red face, he immediately put down his clothes and ran out of the inn.

"Hahaha... kill him, main character!" shouted Rafe with a laugh.

"Fuck! Even though I realized what Rafe said because of him, I was touched because it turns out that there are poor people out there who are disabled but still try to make money in good ways," Hayato grumbled, holding back his anger.

"Asshole!" Hayato shouted as he came out of the inn building, everyone outside was shocked to hear Hayato's shout.

Continued...