ALL MAKER

A Little Scammer

ALL MAKER

CHAPTER 8 - A Little Scammer

There clothes were worth it, although 10 silver. Literally half of my non illegal money.

I like the hoodie though, I don't know why a hoodie was being sold in this era but probably because it was so high-priced that's why I can't see anyone were a hoodie.

Well she was wearing a hoodie too, I thought she made it.

She said she is going to buy something that I can use, A magic weapon or something like that.

Its all over now, I can't even run away from the tournament because that king and his big pride will found me anyway. "Sigh.. Can't do anything about it now."

Running away will be the best choice but there is now way to run.

He walked through the busy medieval market, his eyes scanning the various stalls filled with glowing stones ,food etc.

He went to a table displaying glowing stones that shimmered in different colours. He tilted his head and asked the shopkeeper "what's that ?"

The shopkeeper noticed his curious gaze and grinned. "Never seen these before?" he asked. "They're mana stones."

"Hmm, they come in many colors," he said, eyeing the stones closely. I thought using magic was banned here?

"Each person could required specific colour which correspond with the body."

Is that blood type or what?

Probably for the church and that psycho king must have a lot of them wait...

"What are they used for?" he asked, he glanced between the stones and the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper shrugged. "I don't know much about them. I just sell 'em, people buy 'em. But they're used to cure paralysis."

"Recently many people are getting paralysis so they had to order it from outside."he sighed and said"It all started happening 3 years ago must be that things curse. "

"How much?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the glowing stones.

"Ten gold coins each," the shopkeeper replied with a sly grin.

"10 GOLD COINS?" he exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.

Medical things are always costy huh? its bad for the patients.

Well patient word came from the Latin "patiens," from "patior," to suffer or bear. 

Same thing everywhere.

It's good for the doctors though. I mean priest or whatever she was.

he sighed and said"Well I can't afford it thanks for telling me that though."

"No worries, please come again," the shopkeeper said with a friendly wave. He turned and walked away, his footsteps fading into the noise of the bustling market. 

If mana's nature is what she said ,then no wonder they are getting paralysed. A body that works on mana will not function without it.

She said "a body naturally recovers mana most of the time." probably due to not using mana for a long time their body stops recovering mana naturally.

Buying these stone from outside huh? at least the king is doing something good.

Wait..he is the one who created this problem. I take back what I said.

Suddenly, a tiny little girl with cat ears and a collar appeared in front of him, her wide eyes looking up at him with curiosity. 

She paused, as if unsure whether to speak, her small hands clutching the fabric of her worn dress.

hhm.. she is totally not from here, so other races exist too. Sorry I'm not a kind protagonist of an Isekai.

He tried to walk past her, but before he could, the little girl reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him in his tracks. 

Her grip was surprisingly firm for such a small figure, and her cat ears twitched as she looked up at him with wide, pleading eyes.

"Do you want something?" he asked, his tone a mix of curiosity and impatience as he looked down at her.

"Please give me some money," she said, her voice trembling. "I haven't eaten anything for two days." Her eyes were downcast, and her small fingers gripped his hand tighter, as if afraid he'd pull away.

"Sorry, I don't have any money for you," he said, gently pulling his hand away. Sorry but I am not giving anyone free money.

"Huhh... I wasted my time on someone poor like you," she said with a sigh, her tone shifting to annoyance as she dropped the act and crossed her arms.

"Scamming kind people into giving you money?" he asked.

"I'm not scamming anyone," she replied quickly, her expression defensive. "They gave me money of their own will."

"You're just turning out to be too selfish." she said mockingly, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips as she eyed him with a raised brow.

"You little...!!" he began, frustration creeping into his voice, but he sighed and shook his head. "Go scam someone else."

As he said that, he turned and walked away, his footsteps growing louder as he moved through the busy market.

As he walked further, his gaze landed on a wall covered in missing posters. Each one displayed a face. The stark contrast to the lively market made him pause for a moment.

"Wondering what happened to them?" the little girl asked, her voice quiet but curious, still trailing behind him. Her eyes flicked to the posters as she walked, her earlier attitude replaced by a more thoughtful expression.

"You're still here?" he asked, glancing back at her with a raised eyebrow, surprised she hadn't left after their earlier exchange.

"I'm not going anywhere without taking at least some money," she said, her tone mockingly defiant as she crossed her arms.

"Then I'm probably stuck with you forever," he muttered looking at the posters.

She blew out her cheeks in a pout, looking up at him.

"Bandits took those people," she said, her tone serious now, as she pointed to the missing posters.

"How did you know?" he asked, looking at her.

"They tried to take me and my big sister long ago, but they were unable to because we were in a cage," she said, her voice dropping slightly as she glanced down, her ears twitching.

"And nobody did anything about it?" he asked.

Cage? oh she has a collar, must be a slave or something. Well I am not in a position to worry about it. Good that she has a sister.

"Nope," she replied.

The king is surely involved, ringing that bell is not for protecting people it's for hiding bandit.

He sighed, shaking his head. "Thanks for the info," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a few copper coins, handing them to her.

Although I already knew that.

As he started to walk away, she suddenly stopped him. "Hey!! You're not that bad," she called out, her voice softer now, a hint of sincerity in her words.

He waved her off with a slight smile and muttered to himself, "Kids these days," shaking his head as he continued on his way.

___

In a shadowed  alley, the air thick with the scent of damp stone and forgotten secrets, Zoey's footsteps echoed softly as she walked through the narrow passage. 

As she passed an old, weathered stall draped in tattered black cloth, the sharp glint of eyes watched her from the shadows. 

A figure clad in a black robe, the hood pulled low over his face, stepped into the dim light, his voice rasping like the wind through a cracked door.

"Welcome, traveler," he crooned, a sly smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "What would you like to buy?" 

END OF CHAPTER