The cunning NPC and the heroine who misread the situation (part 1)

Just as she decided on the previous day, the next morning, Ava dragged Theo back to town.

This time her objective wasn't just spending time with the dark-brown-haired boy but rather finding the newest errand boy for the local gang.

Whoever it was, he must have been one of the new arrivals... or so one could think, but Ava figured out it was someone young who had arrived in the Startinton in the past four years and managed to get a good opinion amongst the people.

After all, the cunning boss of the gang would not mention him as the most suitable option for being in contact.

Ava was looking around quite restless because of that – after all, the only anchor point she received was that the errand boy would be wearing the long earrings with yellow marbles.

Earrings weren't uncommon amongst all genders, but one thing was sure – the ones with yellow marbles were definitely uncommon.

The pixie-cut gurl began even feeling a bit weirded out – it wasn't some outlandish design, probably not very difficult to recreate – but all in all, despite walking around the town square market at its busiest, nothing similar came up.

Nothing – not even a similar design but with different colored marbles.

|Should I just ask some of the merchants peddling the accessories – if it is something that unique, even if they didn't sell it themselves, they must have noticed it.|

Ava thought to herself and began pulling Theo toward the same area where many had learned a valuable lesson the day before.

"Young Miss...! Please don't. Yesterday was enough, don't you think?"

The dark-brown-haired boy noticed what was happening, but without being in the hazelnut-haired girl's head he misunderstood her intentions.

"..."

Ava looked at him, not sure whether to be angry at herself for being a good enough actress to trick that capture target into thinking that she was some innocent and naive girl or at him for not realizing the truth about her.

|He even is in similar circumstances! He also hides his real self!|

The pixie-cut girl thought to herself, getting a little bit irked off after all – but most of her anger came from the fact that she knew the answer, but she absolutely didn't want to consider it viable.

"...I will consider listening to you if you will start calling me by my name without any honorifics."

"?!?!"

While looking at Theo's troubled face, Ava shot her shots in the most by-the-book-innocent-heroine manner she knew – even that little caused the dark-brown-haired boy to flinch as his eyes widened.

"Y-young Miss...! You and I might be commoners, but let's be honest, you and your uncle getting a proper noble title is only a matter of time! I do not dare to be as forward as to imply to others that we are on that level of familiarity...!"

Theo declared in a slightly exasperated voice, although Ava knew full well that he, of all people, did not care about titles and social status in the least.

The only reason he said that was because that sentiment fit the persona he had taken on.

"Fine. Then a kiss. On my cheek if you don't have the guts for the proper one.

"Young Miss! That's even more out of the question!"

Ava shrugged her shoulders and generously offered him another option, but Theo rejected it just as readily – if not more.

"Young Miss... we were here for so long already... how about grabbing something to eat? Look, it's the stall with sweets that you mentioned a few times!"

Theo sensed – to some degree at least – that he pissed Ava off, so he changed the topic without giving her time to say something back.

|...I mentioned the stall because I wanted you to invite me to visit it – but not like this!|

"Sure."

The pixie-cut girl thought to herself, but on the outside, she pulled off an excited gasp and let herself be led away from the stalls with the accessories.

"Miss Ava!"

Initially, the sweets stall had a queue of people waiting their turn, but once the hazelnut-haired girl showed up with the dark-brown-haired boy by her side, the line cleared, giving her a free pass.

"What to choose~"

"...!"

The girl said, doing her best to sound cute, but for some reason, Theo wasn't quite there – Ava could swear that he even flinched!

"No, no. Young Medea. Those fruits are quite exotic and hard to come by – that's why your master send you to pick them up! There's no way that I sell them off for one small copper like two pounds of common apples!"

"What I'm hearing is one small copper for a pound of those things~"

The next stall over was selling fruits, and it sounded like the customer was quite the haggler.

"No, no, no. Impossible. Because I know your master and I quite like you, it will be two big coppers for two pounds."

It might have sounded like the merchant was angry, but someone with a knack for reading between the lines – like Ava and Theo – could quickly tell that the merchant was actually excited.

Just as if his customer was a worthy opponent that posed a remarkable challenge.

"Mister – you are lucky that I like you, and I know that your fruits are the freshest, sweetest, and most delicious ones from here to the capital because otherwise, I would walk right off without buying a thing for suggesting such a high price. Three small coppers for a pound."

And indeed, the customer was both sweet-talking and advertising the fruit merchant, clearly intending to use that to get a hefty discount.

"One big copper and three small coppers for two pounds."

But even so, and even while giving a discount, the merchant was holding his ground far better than

Ava did the previous day.

"I don't want two pounds, mister... how about one big copper for one and a half pound of those fancy things?"

"Deal!"

"Theo, I can't decide. What would you li...?"

As the transaction by the fruit stall was being finalized, the pixie-cut girl on the sweets stand to the left tugged on her companion's arm but then closed her eyes in confusion as she peeked at his face.

Theo was so tense, as if he was facing his mortal enemy, and he didn't even notice that Ava was peeking at him.