Chapter 102: The Moonlight Grass.
Chapter 102: The Moonlight Grass.
The young merchant watched Osborne carefully as the armored knight held the silver blade of grass close to his helm.
He had expected the man to ask about the price almost immediately.
Instead, Osborne remained silent.
The merchant smiled.
’This herb costs seven silver coins.’ he said inwardly.
That was the normal price he would tell most customers who didn’t know much about herbs, although he had no intention of actually selling it for that amount.
’But since it’s your first time visiting our store, I suppose I can be generous and sell it to you for six silver coins.’
The young merchant almost laughed. But held back.
He had been working in this shop long enough to know exactly how much Moonlight Grass was worth.
The usual market price was only five silver coins per piece.
But there was no reason for him to tell that to someone who clearly didn’t know much about the herb.
’He probably doesn’t even know what he’s holding.’ he teased.
The merchant watched the armored knight carefully.
The noble armor, the large sword, and the strange silent personality all made him believe that Osborne was probably some wealthy adventurer who had recently started traveling.
Those types of customers were easy to deal with.
They usually cared more about getting what they wanted quickly than checking whether the price was reasonable.
The merchant prepared himself to name the price.
However, Osborne suddenly lowered the herb.
He placed it back onto the counter.
The merchant blinked.
Osborne then turned around.
"Wait." The sales boy quickly realised that something was wrong.
His expression changed.
"Sir, if you’re worried about the price, I can lower it." He tried persuading him, but Osborne continued walking toward the entrance.
The merchant hurried after him.
"Since this is your first time here, I can lower the price by another silver coin."
Osborne didn’t even turn around.
The merchant’s smile disappeared.
"Sir?"
Osborne pushed open the door and stepped outside.
The merchant stood there for a moment before quickly following him.
"You misunderstand, sir."
He tried to keep his voice polite.
"I can give you a very good price. Please just reconsider."
’ No no no, does he already know the market price?’ the boy panicked.
If word got out that he was trying to scam customers, who knows what could happen.
Judging by Osborne’s attire, he seemed to belong to a noble household, at least he looked like he should. Which meant he could even get fired for this.
" Sir please!"
Osborne ignored him.
He simply raised his hand and hailed a passing carriage.
The carriage slowed down.
Osborne then stepped inside without saying anything.
The merchant stood on the side of the road, staring at him in disbelief.
"Sir, surely we can discuss the price." He said, his expression blank, like one who’d just made a grave mistake.
Osborne looked at him through the window, but didn’t respond.
The carriage began moving.
" What if I give it to you for 4 silvers!" It pained the boy to say this because it meant he’d have to pay out of his own pockets, but right now, he felt like he didn’t even have a choice.
Osbornes helm tilted a bit, the boy finally saw hope.
Yet that hope was dashed when Osbornes head turned forward, by then, the carriage had already gone past the store.
The merchant remained standing there.
His mouth opened slightly.
’What just happened?’ He had never encountered someone who simply walked away from a good discount without even trying to negotiate.
The young merchant watched the carriage disappear into the distance before sighing.
"... I’m fucked"
He dropped to his knees, his expression blank.
Meanwhile, Osborne sat quietly in the back of the carriage.
His attention was no longer on the merchant.
Instead, he was focused on the scent of the Moonlight Grass.
He had held the herb close enough to his nose to memorize its smell.
It wasn’t particularly strong.
In fact, an ordinary person probably wouldn’t have been able to notice it at all.
But Osborne’s enhanced sense of smell was different.
He could still faintly detect the scent even after leaving the shop.
’I’ve got the scent.’ Osborne leaned back slightly. ’Now all that’s left is to find them.’
He didn’t need to buy the herb.
The entire purpose of visiting the merchant had been to learn what the herb smelled like.
As long as he could identify the scent, he could use his enhanced sense of smell to track down where it grew naturally.
It was much easier than wandering through the forest and hoping to stumble across it.
If only the young boy knew that, instead of beating himself up.
The carriage continued toward the outskirts of town.
Osborne remained silent during the journey, occasionally checking the mission paper.
He already knew the general area where the herb was supposed to grow, but the information wasn’t very precise.
That didn’t matter anymore.
His nose would do the rest.
Eventually, the carriage stopped near the edge of town.
"We’re here."
Osborne stepped down.
He paid the driver before turning toward the forest.
The carriage soon disappeared behind him.
Osborne began walking.
The trees gradually became thicker as he moved farther away from the town.
The sounds of people quickly disappeared, replaced by the rustling of leaves and the distant cries of birds.
Osborne slowed his pace.
He took a deep breath.
There it was.
The faint scent of Moonlight Grass.
It was weak, but it was definitely there.
He followed it deeper into the forest.
The further he went, the more difficult the terrain became.
Tree roots covered parts of the ground, while thick bushes made some paths difficult to pass through.
Of course he couldn’t care any less, non of this truly possed a hindrance to him.
He simply moved through them.
After walking for some time, he suddenly heard movement.
His eyes shifted toward the trees.
A large wild boar suddenly appeared from behind a bush.
The creature stopped.
Its eyes immediately locked onto Osborne.
For a moment, neither moved.