The team split into two groups. Tala set off with Teal toward the city of Arka, while Carlos and Ryan headed toward the suspicious forest. Considering the nature of their journey, Carlos only took the essential supplies, leaving a pile of luggage for Teal and Tala to carry.
Tala and Teal had already left the city, heading toward their designated destination, while on the other side, Carlos and Ryan were still gathering some information that might help them on their journey. While wandering around, Carlos decided to return to the shop they had passed by earlier that morning.
"Hello," Carlos said as he pushed the door open and entered the shop with Ryan.
"Oh, it's you again. Do you need something? Did you find the friend you were looking for?"
The woman really sounded somewhat sympathetic toward Carlos, and her tone made that clear.
"Well, actually, I apologize in advance if this causes you any trouble, but I have a few questions, if you don't mind."
She replied with full understanding and friendliness:
"No, there's no problem. Is this still about your missing friend?"
"Uh, sort of, yeah. What I want to ask about is that forest. How long has it been like that?"
"Hmmm… well, I can't give you an exact answer, but I think it's been in that state for around four or five years. However, according to the rumors going around lately, it has become even more dangerous in the recent period. The number of deaths among hunters entering that forest has increased significantly. Entire parties have even vanished the moment they entered it."
From the woman's words, something was clearly strange about that forest. But somewhere else inside the shop, there was someone who didn't care about any of this at all, instead examining the clothes on display while leaving his friend to gather information alone.
That was, of course, Ryan. Carlos glanced at him.
Carlos's expression summed it all up:
"Hey! Don't you think leaving all the questioning to me alone is unfair? Why don't you go out and gather some information too?"
Those annoyed words didn't please Ryan one bit.
To him, all of this was pointless to begin with. In his eyes…
"And why should I? Aren't you the one who suggested this? Deal with your own decisions. If you want information, then gather it yourself."
Their situation already seemed hopeless, and anyone could tell. While the two of them were busy blaming each other, the shop owner stepped forward toward Ryan.
"You've got good taste, kid. This outfit is specially designed for adventurers and has resistance to fire. It's really suitable for someone like you."
It seemed Ryan had been examining some outfits, but while arguing with Carlos, he'd placed his hand on one of them without realizing. Judging by the woman's expression, she clearly intended to sell it to him.
You couldn't really blame her. Ryan's clothes were truly pitiful—torn from his last battle, worn out and old. Naturally, the shopkeeper saw this as the perfect opportunity to sell him something.
But Ryan looked completely stunned. He couldn't understand anything she was saying. Fire-resistant clothes? They don't burn!? That was the only thought in his head while the woman enthusiastically continued explaining the features of her merchandise.
"Ugh, okay, okay, that's enough! I'll just buy the clothes, so stop talking. My head is about to shut down from all this useless information!"
"Hm? You'll buy it? Good. It costs thirty silver coins."
Thirty silver coins—that was the price of the outfit. It was quite expensive, and Ryan was clearly shocked by the price.
"Hold on! Why thirty? That's way too expensive! You're not trying to scam me, are you?"
Yeah… that was Ryan's natural reaction. Even if it were cheaper, he'd never accept the listed price. He always had to get a discount.
"No, no, it's a very reasonable price these days. Besides, this outfit has fire resistance, and that alone is rare even among adventurers. Thirty silvers is a good price for it."
"No way! I'll only buy it for twenty silvers. I won't add a single coin more!"
Negotiations officially began between Ryan and the shopkeeper.
"What!? Only twenty!? I said thirty! I won't accept less than that! Thirty means thirty!"
"And I said twenty means twenty! I'll buy it for twenty silvers and nothing else! That's what it's worth. Don't try to steal my money just because I'm a twelve-year-old kid!"
Ryan was extremely determined to get the outfit for twenty silvers, and he clearly wasn't backing down. Meanwhile, the shopkeeper had no intention of lowering the price either.
"You're accusing me of stealing from a child!? You're unbelievably rude! I told you this outfit is worth thirty silvers, and I will only sell it for that price!"
Her words were crystal clear; she wouldn't accept anything less. The conflict between her and Ryan only intensified further. Neither side showed any signs of retreat. If left alone, they could've argued for hours. But to Carlos, this was completely unnecessary. Twenty or thirty didn't matter to him. What mattered was reaching their destination quickly.
But knowing Ryan, it was impossible for him to leave empty-handed, so Carlos had no choice but to step in as a mediator.
"Okay, okay, calm down, both of you. How about we end this pointless argument with a middle-ground solution? Twenty-five. What do you think? You can sell it for twenty-five instead of twenty, and you can buy it for twenty-five instead of thirty. It's a fair deal."
That was Carlos's reasonable suggestion. Logically, it was a great solution. But the two people in front of him were anything but reasonable.
"Impossible! Rejected! I said thirty means thirty!"
"And I said twenty means twenty! I'm not changing my price!"
Carlos's attempt failed miserably despite being an excellent compromise. His facial expression said it all. He stepped back, sat on a chair behind him, and just waited for the negotiation to end… Annoyance, frustration, impatience, wasted time, and rising anger—that perfectly summed up his mood. He spent an entire hour waiting for them to reach an agreement.
"Finally! Are you done? Let's go! We're in a hurry. We don't have time to waste any longer!"
At last, it was over, and both parties ended up with a deal they were satisfied with.
"Ryan, you better hurry now. We have to head for the forest immediately and forget about gathering any more information."
"Tch! Damn you and your information! Isn't it enough that we know Raven headed to that forest? You're overly cautious. Besides, this isn't bad at all! Look, I got proper new clothes, and on top of that, I got a light protective armor too. It protects the shoulder and even has arm guards. Not bad, right? I got them for thirty coins even though that old woman insisted on thirty. Still, it isn't a bad deal."
It seemed Ryan truly believed he'd struck a good bargain. But for Carlos, the whole thing was just ridiculous. They'd wasted a whole hour messing around in that shop, and now they were forced to rush to reach their destination on time.
"Ugh… I really can't understand you. I'm not arguing about this anymore. We need to hurry. I want to enter the forest before sunset if possible."
Carlos wanted to get inside before nightfall. Time was crucial, and they'd already wasted too much on this mission. He thought their instructor might already be busy with something else since they'd exceeded the time limit he had given them.
While the duo were doing their utmost to finish things as quickly as possible, somewhere else in the world, someone was enjoying peace and tranquility—relaxing comfortably, as if he had truly missed such silence.
"Aaah, silence really is beautiful… I'm truly glad those troublesome kids are late. Maybe something happened… but ahh, who cares? They'll figure something out. What matters now is getting some rest and making the most of this opportunity."
It seemed someone was thoroughly enjoying solitude and peace, contrary to what the team believed. Meanwhile, back with the rest of the team, Teal and Tala were heading toward the city of Arka as planned. They were advancing quickly, and at this pace, they would reach the royal capital of Arka by tomorrow evening if they continued like this.
End of the Chapter