Chapter 20:The old man

Vendors and merchants have started flocking a month before centenary, the market is boisterous and every house is decorated festively.

There are many outsiders and distant relatives who are out of town that came especially for the Huin town Centenary.

Austin walks absent-mindedly along the crowds, not able to feel the joyous and festive atmosphere.

He has never attend such thing in his past life, his father who is a drunkard and like to beat him and gamble away money will not care him or care to take him to such kind of festival. He has died for his beloved alcohol even before he, Choi Min reaches 10 years old.

His mother left the family early for another man and does not even want to come for him when his father passed away and is even less likely to take him out to enjoy festivity.

Even in this world, his mother who loves him is not in a good health condition to play with him, not that he wants to anyway. He has passed an age to enjoy such thing. But his mother insist he went out and enjoy the rare occasion, not wanting to worry her more and make her feel more guilt, Austin could only promise to go and play with his 'friends' which he didn't have any.

"…Austin"

Austin looked up on reflex and as he did so, his sight met a girl who has dark eyes and hair.

Right...

Even though he didn't have a friend, he has someone he is close to other than his mother, someone he cherishes, some one important.

The girl looks at him with an inquiring gaze.

When she looked at someone and their figure get reflected on her clear eyes, it feels as if the person she look at is her whole world. It makes one heart beat in palpitation.

The dark eyes resemble obsidian.

Precious and beautiful…

Hardly retracting his gaze, Austin asked "You seemed busy, do you need help?"

His feet had unconsciously led to this person.

Yuna raise her brow and look at Austin who appears more desolate than usual.

"I won't give labour fee"

Austin smile faintly and took a step forward, pulling Yuna inside the shop "You can use me however you want with no charge" As long as you want me, that is enough.

When he was used by those people, he felt so suffocated and repulsed, but if its' Yuna….

Austin picks up the load that Yuna order him to pick up…..if its' Yuna, he felt immense satisfaction. He like the feeling of being wanted and needed.

At the door step, a cute mascot doll was placed beside the door of the shop, its' cute and innovative used of dolls attract people who walk around the town eliciting people not being able to help but entering the small bakery shop.

The sweet fragrant that waft out from the kitchen whet the appetite of the potential customer. The beautiful and eye-catching display of the placements of cake and others pastries soon capture their attention.

"The customers are more than I expected, thankfully, grandpa like to make super extra but we are short on hands, go quickly and restock the pastries as soon as it run out"

Yuna without any pressure command the free labour that deliver itself to her door, she was too busy to care about any other thing.

Sitting at the counter, customer kept coming to check out and Yuna have to continuously receive money and keep account of what they sold.

It is the peak moment where they could earn money and Yuna does not want to let go or rest even for a second.

At the end of the day, Yuna was sure that the net capital that will be earned will be enough to open an account in the bank. Although the world resembles middle ages, it was not entirely so and there are places which are quite developed-- Like the bank unlike the real middle ages where bank appear only on the later stages of middle ages.

To have a bank account, a person minimum net capital has to be worth 20 gold coins.

Actually, the bread and other pastries although people like it could not generate much income. The cost of flour and other materials are not cheap, Huin town has a small population and not all of them could come travelling especially to buy the pastries in their shop.

The means of transportation is quite lacking and behind in the small Huin town.

Yuna also does not want to sell old bread and want to restock a new warm bread everyday which put a strain on their capital. The pastries that are old can only be discarded or give away. It was also not without reason when Yuna gave the bread and pastries away to Austin.

Because of fear of too much remaining of pastries at the end of the day, Yuna could only instruct her grandfather to limit the amount produced a day.

In fact, the one that generate money more will be the toys and dolls that are sold at the shop because wood can be obtain for free, the only cost will be the garments for the dolls but because they are so small, the cost is somehow negligible.

But it is not every day that they could sell toys and not many parent indulged on their children to buy whatever toy they wanted.

When she said they are poor, she really meant it!

This time, when Yuna put on a smile, it is not the usual standard polite smile but a genuine smile due to the ever increasing income.

The business decline after the noon and grandfather Orion came out patting his granddaughter and said "You should go out and enjoy the festival"

Yuna shakes her head because she didn't like lively place but she halt when she saw Austin who was bringing out another cake.

Right…..the smell of money almost let her forget.

"Will you be able to manage all by yourself?"

Yuna still inquired.

"Haha…customers should not come much before 4:00 pm, you should go and have some fun while the customer is sparse"

Grandpa Orion Reassured.

"Umm…okay, I will come back before 4" Yuna replied concisely.

Austin just put down the cake in the cabinet when his hand was grabs by Yuna.

Because he has no vigilance towards her, his instinct does not react and retaliate towards the person who came behind him and caught him out of nowhere.

Austin looks down at the white and fair hand that grabs him.

It was right that even his most intuitive instinct does not repel Yuna but even so, he should at least be aware of her approaching, her breath or movement but he does not feel any of those things.

It was like there is no one who approaches him from behind, the person who grabs his arm does not seem to have any breath…..or more like her breath blend with nature itself such that he could not perceive a 'human' being. Her existence too faint if a person does not give concentrated focus.

'Is this because she is an all elementalist?'

Austin quickly reject such conjecture, he has met a person who awakened as an all elementalist in his past world and that person could not conceal his breath or rather does not have a breath that resemble nature. The person still have the lively breath of a living beings.

"Let's go out and look around the goods that the merchants brought" Yuna said.

Austin put away his meaningful thought and follows behind Yuna who let go of him.

The old man who sells the sword manual sits beside a pavilion and Huin town have one rather large pavilion.

"Lets' go to the pavilion" Yuna said, not exactly proposing but more like a demand to go there, her tone rushed.

Anyway, she want to go there quick, fetch the thing quick and then go back to the shop and help her grandfather! Nothing is more important than making money!

Austin obediently nod his head, he does not have any particular place he want to go and meant on just following Yuna.

When they reach the pavilion, there are many vendors who open a shop at the side.

'Who will it be man, there are so many old man around, tsk' Yuna look the row of white head and long beard with speechlessness.

"Let's walk around and check them all out"

Yuna could only come up with a primitive method.

• Young boy, it seems you have an affinity with this old man thing, why don't you look at it

That is what the old man said when he saw Austin.

So, any old man who said that should be the person she was looking for. With such thought, Yuna deliberately visit many old man who sit beside the pavilion, not particularly keen on buying anything or carefully checking out the goods unless it is the old man she was searching for.

"Young boy, you seem to have an affinity with this old man thing, why don't you look at it"

At the fifth old man, Yuna finally heard the phrase she was waiting for. Finally, she can snatch and head back. Too many people, her social battery is exhausted.