Constant trouble

For the first time since he arrived in this world, Sebian got some time for himself. With some spare change in his pouch, after leaving the stall to the girl, he ventured into town. Justifying this kind of lazy behaviour with the need to learn more about the local market, Sebian then went on a shopping spree, stuffing himself full of all sorts of delicacies sold by the street vendors.

But the sense of duty still held the alchemist tightly in its grasp. Flooding the man with a feeling of urgency, this second nature of the man soon forced Sebian to return.

Yet, contrary to his expectations, the situation at the shopping hall was far more interesting than what Sebian believed could happen within just the first day. Starting with some kind of lass unceremoniously pushing him aside as he attempted to enter the place only to politely talk Aina up and introduce someone important.

'Looking at their robes… I guess they are from another sect or something like that…' While there was nothing wrong with people banding together to achieve greater things, there was one explicit rule to all organizations like that. If you weren't there while it was founded, then you could never reach the true table where the real deals would be made. And amongst many other things, this was the main reason why Sebian was so against the idea of joining any established group.

Only by making a brand new one himself could he get his hands on those sweet, sweet benefits of being the head of something!

"I'm sorry, but we ran out of the Kubian pills for now." Saying those words out loud, Sebian released all the annoyance that he experienced ever since that damned lass dared to push him aside.

"Excuse me?!" At first, Lassla flared up, unwilling to believe that someone wouldn't spare the face of her master. But then her eyes widened a bit when she recognized Sebian's face. Then, her expression darkened, as she moved a single step back.

"Excuse you what? Do you have any problems with how I manage my own property?" Casting an annoyed look at the girl, Sebian openly invited her to cause a scene. But with a swift wave of her elder's hand, Lassla properly backed off.

"Young man, was my attempt at negotiating so insulting for you to act like that? I can understand that you are clearly not from this city, but according to our customs, haggling is an essential part of trading!" Taking up the authoritative tone, the elder looked at Sebian on the other side of the counter. Yet, as logical as his plea might sound, there was way too little respect in either his voice or eyes for Sebian to spare him any thought.

"Those pills are my property and I can do whatever I want with them. On the other hand, despite clearly knowing the real value behind each of the bundles, you came to demand the price to be even lower?" Putting a momentary pause to his words, Sebian shook his head. "Since you couldn't enjoy the low price that I already set, you will have to forget about doing business at this stall ever in the future."

Just as the elder was about to respond, another commotion started at the doors of the shopping hall. Taking a quick glance to the side, Sebian could see the tense face of the place's owner, despairing over his decision to let this stranger use his place for his shenanigans. With huge figures appearing one after another, instead of using the opportunity to curry some favours with them, Sebian was doing his absolute best to antagonize absolutely everyone he could!

"Are you really sure you can say no to three grade three stones?" Placing his hand back on the pouch he threw at the counter before, the elder sent a taxing glance towards the alchemist. Unperturbed by the situation at all, Sebian only smiled in response. "And do you really think I would be selling those pills for less than half of their normal price if I cared about money, to begin with?"

For a moment, the elder turned completely silent. With his deep, wrinkled eyes watching every single twitch of muscle on Sebian's face, the elder finally released a deep sigh before backing off. Before he could say something, the commotion that appeared at the entrance a moment ago moved towards the stall. Casting a quick glance towards its source, Sebian barely managed to stop himself from erupting in laughter.

Because right through the middle of the main alley, a man was carrying a heavy chair along with huge sacks hanging from every single part of his body. Ignoring the elder and the female standing in front of the stall, the man dragged the chair behind the counter only to drop all his additional luggage on top of its seat.

"Sir, I know fifteen minutes passed long ago, but I still made sure to bring everything that I was ordered to." Hanging his head low, the man tightened his lips as he gathered the courage before rising his head up and looking at the alchemist with pleading eyes. "Sir, I spent all of my savings on those things. Even if not the full reward…"

Noticing the plight in the man's eyes, Sebian smiled before pulling out the same stone that he left behind the counter before he left the girl for the second time. Passing the grade three stone to the man's hands, Sebian pretended not to see the shocked stares of everyone else in the shopping hall.

'Just as expected.' Smiling internally, Sebian reached underneath the counter while grabbing the hardened paper only to turn it into a box and pour fifty pills into the cheap container. Closing the lid, he then brought it out to the open before passing it to the man's hands. "Treat it as a token of gratitude and my acknowledgement of how quick you were to act."

Pushing the small box on the counter towards the man, Sebian's smile grew proportionally to how the faces of the elder and Lassla soured.

'Didn't he say that they ran out?!' Tightening her delicate fists, Lassla threw a hateful look towards the man. In the situating that appeared, she simply refused to acknowledge that her hastiness to bring her master to this wondrous stall would result in their dignity being stepped upon!

'You could at least wait for me to leave…' Gnashing his teeth against each other, the old man forced himself to calm down. Right now, openly showing how infuriated he was, would only worsen the already bad situation.

"Since we are not welcome at this stall, we shall take our leave." Flicking the front cloth of his robe forward, the elder harumphed before nodding at the girl. The next moment, they promptly left the scene, but they were still too slow.

"Oh, Gods! Sir, are you for real?!" Not knowing the details of what transpired in this place ever since he left to fetch the things Sebian requested, the man allowed his curiosity to guide him, opening the box right away. Then, his face turned white when the sight of tightly packed pills entered his eyes.