When Durin approached the small book stall, the woman sitting in the chair spoke in a lazy tone, "Pick what you want from inside. Tell me which one you like, and I'll give you a quote. Also, I don't accept any bargaining. If you can accept the price, buy it; if not, put the book down and leave."
Durin rummaged through the pile of books for a while but still couldn't find the dictionary with translation annotations for Ancient Shurima script that he wanted. He had to give up searching on his own and asked, "You must be Kaleti, right? I want to buy a translation and language annotation book for Ancient Shurima script. The Toad Witch Doctor from the back alley introduced me; he's the one who sent me here."
Hearing the stranger call her name, the woman who had been lying on the lounge chair instantly sat up and put down the book she was reading. Her gaze was somewhat suspicious as she began to size Durin up, eventually locking onto the mace at his waist and the backpack behind him, her eyes filled with alertness.
"Who are you?"
"Don't be nervous. I suppose I'm a customer," Durin raised his hands and smiled to show he had no ill intent.
Only then did he see clearly that this woman was a typical Shuriman. She was about 1.75 meters tall with a large frame. Her brown hair was surprisingly thick, densely covering her shoulders and chest, and was even tied into twin tails.
She had healthy bronze skin and wore a flame-red cloak over her clothes. A massive hood blocked out the sunlight, allowing her to read in peace. Underneath, she wore a linen short-sleeved shirt, form-fitting black trousers, and lace-up boots.
Her overall figure was elegantly streamlined, but from the arms exposed by her short sleeves, Durin had no doubt that with just a little effort, the muscles hidden beneath her skin would bulge like mountain peaks.
Even while wearing a filtration respirator, her features were still clearly exquisite and well-defined, and her beautiful brown eyes revealed a resolute gaze.
The woman called Kaleti raised an eyebrow and asked with her arms crossed, "The back alley? Did that guy Urada charge you 50 copper circle coins under the guise of an 'introduction fee'?"
"Urada?"
Durin was momentarily stunned and looked at her in confusion.
Could this be the Toad Witch Doctor's real name?
He had never known!
"The black market doctor in the back alley. This guy just forgot to charge me once, so he's trying every possible way to get that money back. As long as someone is interested in Shurima, he introduces them to me, regardless of what they actually want to do!" Kaleti said with some indignation, "He even does it under the name of an introduction fee, making it sound like I'm running some kind of shady business!"
Kaleti had clearly encountered something frustrating in the past, so she looked resentful the moment Urada—the Toad Witch Doctor—was mentioned.
Just then, a man riding a bicycle approached from a distance.
His eyes lit up when he saw Kaleti's book stall, and he actually parked his bicycle right next to it. An insulated box was tied to his back seat. The man spread out a straw mat, took out the insulated box full of ice cream, and then sat on the ground, waiting for his first customer.
"Come and take a look! Cold and refreshing ice cream! For just 2 copper circle coins, you can feel the chill of winter!"
Listening to the neighboring ice cream stall, Durin was actually a bit tempted.
It was June 12th, and the weather was gradually becoming hot. But selling one ice cream for 2 copper circle coins still made Durin's heart ache; he could buy two loaves of black bread for that, enough for two meals.
Just as Durin was hesitating whether to buy an ice cream, he suddenly saw a Patrol walking straight toward them from the street corner.
Leading them was a man in his thirties with a square-faced appearance. He walked up to the ice cream vendor and shouted impatiently, "Who gave you permission to set up a stall here? Don't you know that to set up a stall, you have to go to a fixed market and pay a stall fee?"
"Captain, this is my first offense; I didn't know about this rule at all," the man's expression changed instantly, and he hurriedly pleaded. "Besides, I saw this Shuriman woman setting up a stall here, and she's perfectly fine, isn't she?"
"Cut the crap, I'm talking about you! Either get lost right now, or wait for us to impound that bicycle! Then, get lost!" the Patrol Leader waved his hand impatiently and scolded.
"No, no! I... I'll leave right away," the ice cream vendor stammered in response.
Then, he laboriously wrapped up the straw mat and the insulated box, placed them on the bicycle's back seat, and pedaled away from the street.
The Patrol Leader walked toward the book stall. Durin thought he was going to drive the Shuriman woman away too and was about to speak up to warn her, but then he saw the Patrol Leader greet her politely, "Miss Kaleti, you have time to set up your stall here today!"
Kaleti smiled and nodded at him as a greeting.
After the Patrol left, the Shuriman woman turned her head and asked again expressionlessly, "What book did you say you wanted to buy?"
"I want to buy an annotated dictionary that can translate Ancient Shurima script, and it has to be a Noxian version." As Durin answered, he realized that this Shuriman woman named Kaleti must have some sort of distinguished status, which could be seen from the two completely different attitudes shown by the Patrol Leader.
As for why an upper-class person would come out to set up a book stall, he didn't know.
Kaleti, however, showed a look of surprise. She hadn't expected to encounter an Ionian in Zaun who was interested in Ancient Shurima script.
This was truly a rare sight. Even in Piltover, which prides itself as the City of Progress, there weren't many people interested in Shuriman script, let alone the even more obscure and difficult Ancient Shurima script.
The probability was equivalent to buying a lottery ticket in Piltover and winning.
Kaleti, who had always wanted to spread Shuriman culture, saw her attitude improve significantly after learning that Durin was interested in Ancient Shurima culture.
[Kaleti's favorability toward you +5, Charm +1, current proficiency: 7/25]
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