Chương 47: The Traveling Merchant

It started with just an idea.

When he was escorting the merchant, he realized it. The money that he so desperately required could be gained through trading and selling.

But, what could he sell? It's not like he had suppliers.

"And, you're asking me... why?"

Balanos glared at Sebastian from her throne.

"Well," Sebastian scratched his cheek awkwardly, "you're the only one I know who has knowledge of both the distant past and the present. Maybe you've seen what merchants sold back in the day or something like that..."

Balanos rubbed her temples and sighed, "I'm your guardian. I am here to help you get stronger and give you solace for when you're cornered. Why do I have to help you solve your financial problems?"

Putting it like that, she really did have no obligation to help him.

"Fine, I'll see what I can remember."

Nevertheless, she was still the same as she had been a couple of weeks prior. She complained and insulted Sebastian but she always complied with most of his requests—no matter how unreasonable.

"...Is salt a rare commodity nowadays?" Balanos asked with closed eyes.

"Salt? Well... I suppose that an entire bag with about five kilograms would cost nearly 25,000 Aur. It isn't much of a problem for the big cities to afford salt but villages typically go with bland food and normal spices."

After Sebastian finished, Balanos opened her eyes. "That's your answer. Salt. I can teach you a way to create salt. Although you can't sell it right away, you can sell it for a lot cheaper to the villages and make a profit that way. Herbs from the forest also work and potions created from them are even more valuable though you wouldn't be able to sell the latter in rural areas."

After staying for around two hours, Sebastian left. He didn't need to worry about the Wardes as he hadn't announced his visit and simply snuck in.

'I'll go buy them some gifts later.'

Once he had his money, that is.

The Wardes have taken care of him quite a bit recently and he hadn't given them anything in return. Though he felt bad, his funds were too tight as is.

'I should buy a dress for Linet and then a painting or a book for uncle.'

Once Sebastian finished his mental note, he was reminded of his aunt. The Head Professor of Aurora Academy.

He remembered that she had sided with Gilbert. Thinking back, did she make any other moves? He couldn't recall at all.

Could it be that she wasn't allied with the Walt House? He was warned. The same as when he was warned about the banquet yet there wasn't anything in particular happening.

He could write it off as a mere coincidence but it didn't feel like it was. Was he being protected by someone? His aunt hadn't called him to her office since the day he was challenged by Gilbert. Now that he held power, he could understand but before that, Sebastian had gone absent from school many times. She would pick on every little thing he did so it didn't make sense that she had suddenly left him alone.

'I wouldn't even have the guts to think about my aunt betraying the house in the past...'

Sebastian sighed. With his growth, he had gained plenty of new qualities but lost a lot in exchange. Just less than two months ago, he had killed a person and suffered internally. However, when he had fought off those assassins, he didn't even hesitate in giving them potentially fatal wounds.

...

"I need a cart."

After a few days, Sebastian confronted Pine with a serious expression.

"...?"

Pine looked at him in confusion. "As in a cart for transporting?"

Sebastian nodded and showed off several small bags behind him.

"What's that?"

"Salt," Sebastian responded without missing a beat.

"Eh? Salt? You bought this many bags? This would cost you at least 10,000 Aur..."

Pine was asking him why he bought that many. He was from the House of Sol, after all, it was only natural for him to have salt in his daily meals as their house could afford much more than that.

"No, I didn't buy it. I made it."

Pine's eyes widened and he inspected the bags. He dipped his finger into an open bag that Sebastian handed to him and licked it once.

"It really is salt! Not just that, it actually tastes a bit better than regular salt too... So you want a cart to sell these?"

Sebastian nodded several times in exaggeration with glittering eyes. Those eyes of his seemed pure—if not for the obvious greed hidden behind them.

"...So you want some advice from me, someone who owns a store."

Again, Sebastian nodded several times at Pine's words.

"I'm not a merchant... I can't help you much. But, I can introduce you to someone I know. He travels to nearby villages to trade often."

"That would help, thanks. So, how goes the progress on the crossbow's improvement?"

Pine walked over to the back room and took out a smaller version of the crossbow he showed last week.

"I've gotten around to making it this small and the accuracy is even better than before. And, how do you feel about adding attachments to your arrows?"

"I'm all for it! I've been wanting to do that for the longest time."

Pine crossed his arms and closed his eyes in contemplation for a few seconds, "I can make you explosive arrows. All I need is gunpowder."

Gunpowder was even more costly than salt. Sebastian quickly deflated. "I'll see what I can do about it."

...

"Huff... That's the last of it." Sebastian poured the salt from the pan to several bags and sealed them. Then, he loaded them onto the cart and began carrying it.

"Let's do this!"

Sebastian began jogging. Today, he planned to up his training by bringing the cart loaded with goods on his travel. His cart was filled with salt. It weighed at least fifty kilograms. That weight would've been child's play for him if he were to use his stigma but it was a different story with his bare body.

Needless to say, he regretted his decision quite fast.

"Haa... Haa... I can feel my lungs trying to kill me..."[1] Sebastian collapsed on the roadside outside of town. He could barely go through the town jogging while holding the cart. He could walk but that would defeat the purpose of his training.

The cart was leaning on a nearby tree while Sebastian collapsed with rough breaths.

'Still... It's way better progress than I would've made before.'

If Sebastian were to attempt to do the same thing before he had acquired the stigma and began training his physical body, then he'd collapse as soon as he left the property.

Happy about his progress, Sebastian forced himself to stand and carry the cart. He started with slow steps and then he slowly moved faster and faster. His body slowly but surely persisted through the pain.

More and more days passed as Sebastian continuously trained his body.

In the early morning until noon, he would run from the town to the village while carrying his cart. From twelve hours to ten, to eight, to six. The time he took to get to the nearest village with a cart took only six hours.

Many times, his mind and body were yelling at him to stop. 'You've done enough, go get some rest.'

But, each time those thoughts appeared, the overwhelming sense of foreboding that his life would be destroyed because of his negligence would set him straight.

Amy's smile, his mother's care, Pine's trust. He felt that if he were to become negligent, then all of those would disappear in a single night.

At first, he relied on that fear to keep going but when he saw the results—and the money—he actually felt joy in running. He added more and more weight and with that added weight came more money.

His cart was now filled with not just salt, but also herbs and food.

The cart became twice as heavy in the past two weeks of training. Although he did become slower as a result, he could feel his body's stamina and overall endurance improve greatly.

It was an uneventful few weeks.

Sebastian continued his pattern of training, selling, and then occasionally visiting Pine. He would also go on dates after every week with Amy. Though they were called dates as they were engaged, they mostly just hung out anywhere they thought of as per usual.

Little by little, Sebastian's body became refined. His abs which were hidden in his body became visible and the muscles on his arms became more evident. Because he trained his body, he also became taller and was nearly a head taller than Amy.

Sebastian was still in his growing phase but the change that had stemmed from his bodily training was just too unbelievable. In the span of a month, he practically looked like a different person. Even without the stigma's energy, Sebastian could incapacitate a grown man with a single hit.

He had earned a reputation as The Traveling Merchant. He sold goods that were cheaper than the market price and earned that nickname. Again, it was an alias that he wished he never had heard of.

'What is with the creativity of the people in this kingdom?!'

Sure, he had earned a lot of money because he was a merchant and the nickname had increased his customers as well. But, would it kill them to come up with something better?

"That'll be 750 Aur."

Sebastian handed the buyer a small bag with 250g of salt. That was the reason he was profiting so much.

Normally, salt is sold in bulk. Sebastian was the only person who sold them in small packs and when totaled, they were cheaper too. Although he could only travel to three villages at the moment, he made at least 50,000 Aur in just two weeks. His profits slowed down but that was only because salt doesn't disappear that fast.

Aside from the salt which he sold in 250g, 500g, and 1kg, he also sold herbs that he deemed were safe. The sales for the herbs weren't as prominent but that was only because he sold herbs that could be found after a few hours of walking into the forest.

With that, his financial problems were temporarily solved.

"I get that you want to share your joy, but could you not visit me for something so pointless?"

Balanos sighed from atop her throne. Sebastian wasn't even asking for advice anymore, he was just hanging out.

"But I wanted to see you too."

"...Fine."

Through his visits to Balanos' main body, he could somehow sense similarities with his mother. Not with the harsh berating tone, but with the care she gave him.

'Though if I called her my second mother, would she get mad?'

As Sebastian was thinking about stupid things again, a smile formed on his face.

One day, he would be able to solidify this joy. Until then, he had to work hard.