Chapter 174: The Whole City in Uproar

  A new day had begun.

  “Sigh…”

  Stepping out of his room, Billy stomped his feet. The chilly air rushed at him, making him involuntarily shiver. He blew warm air onto his hands before heading outside.

  As a noble’s servant, Billy had long grown aced to his monotonous daily routio outsiders, w for a noble meant being a cut above the rest—dressed in fine clothes and speaking with an air ance. But Billy knew better. This job was far from as leisurely and carefree as it seemed.

  As the head of the kit, Billy had been under immense pressure tely. No—rather, every winter, he felt like he was being crushed under a mountain of stress. His master had been pining about the meals, saying they were too repetitive and cked y. But there was nothing Billy could do—winter only offered a limited sele of vegetables. No matter how skilled he was, he couldn’t jure ingredients out of thin air.

  The only thing Billy could do noake up early every day ao the m market, hoping that the hunters from the mountains might have caught some rare game or that someone had mao fish up a few big ones. If that happened, he could introdue variety to the kit’s menu. Otherwise, it was only a matter of time before his master started pining again, saying he was sick of eating the same food over and over. And if Billy couldn’t ha, the master would just find a new kit steward.

  Every year, his master only made these threats in passing, but… who knew if this year, he might actually mean it?

  “Sigh…”

  Billy sighed again at the thought and quied his pace toward the m market. The city gates had only just opened, and the sun was barely up. If he wao get his hands on anything good, he had to be early. After all, his master wasn’t the only noble in Kehar City, and he certainly wasn’t the only kit steward under pressure to keep his job.

  Billy still remembered how, just a couple of days ago, a hunter had mao catch a wild boar. But as soon as he brought it into the market, it was snatched up almost instantly. Thankfully, Billy had been quick-witted enough to grab a hind leg. Others weren’t so lucky—like that unfortunate fool from the neighb household.

  Billy had heard that his master had ihe neighb noble over for a meal. When the urned home and found out his own steward had failed to secure even a single piece of wild boar meat, he broke the man’s leg and threw him out.

  All because he hadn’t mao snatch a pieeat.

  The memory made Billy shudder. He picked up his pace again—he was almost at the market now.

  The sun had yet to fully rise above the horizon, and the market was still cast in the shadows of the city walls, with only a few scattered lights flickering here and there. The merts who had ehe city early were already setting up their stalls. Kehar City allowed outside merts to enter an hour ahead of time to prepare, ensuring that everything was in order by the time the residents woke up and the market officially opened.

  But…

  “There’s nothing good today…”

  Gng around at the fresh vegetables on dispy, Billy quickly lost i. It seemed there were no lucky finds today. After a brief sweep of the market, he turo leave.

  But just then, a stra familiar st caught his nose.

  Billy khat st, but he couldn’t immediately recall where he had smelled it before. Still, his instincts told him it was important. Without hesitatiourned and sed the market, searg for the source of the aroma.

  Billy had absolute fiden his he only reason he had mao hold onto his position as kit steward for so many years recisely because of it.

  This wasn’t perfume. It wasn’t some other randra was food.

  It was fruit.

  Where was it ing from?

  Billy’s eyes widened like a guard on high alert, sing every er of the market. If he had been wearing armor, he would have looked more dedicated thaual city watch.

  And soon, he found it.

  A peculiar little stall.

  It was tucked away at the very edge of the market, suggesting it had only just bee up. Behind the stall stood an old man with his eyes half-closed. Uher vendors, he wasn’t dispying fresh produce, meat, or any reizable goods. Instead, a single wooden pushcart stood behind him, carrying several paper boxes—bigger than cake boxes but giving no indication of what they tained.

  Had the bakers e up with some new creation?

  Curious, Billy approached the stall and g the old man. Theiced a handwritten sign hanging beside the cart:

  "One box per person. One gold per box."

  What in the world?

  One gold ?

  Are you joking?

  Billy stared at the box, his mind rag. What could possibly be ihat was worth a whole gold ?

  “Sir, may I ask what’s inside?” he finally asked, uo suppress his curiosity.

  The old man slowly opened his eyes and looked at Billy before calmly replying:

  “You’ll find out if you buy one.”

  You’ll find out if you buy one…

  Billy almost choked on his owh.

  What kind of business was this?!

  No wonder no one was buying anything from this stall! Not only was it located in a remote er, but the seller didn’t even bother to expin what he was selling!

  But still…

  Should he buy one?

  Billy hesitated as he stared at the paper box in front of him. As the kit steward, he could certainly afford to spend a gold . More importantly, if his nose hadn’t deceived him, theig aroma he had caught earlier had indeed e from this stall. After all, he had already looked around—there was nothing else for sale nearby. But… what if the tents weren’t worth it?

  Fet it—he would take the gamble!

  Recalling the poor fool who had his legs broken, Billy gritted his teeth, pulled out a gold , and ha over.

  “I’ll take a box.”

  “No problem. Pie yourself.”

  The old man took the aured toward the boxes on the cart. Billy sighed helplessly at the man’s nont attitude before randomly seleg a box. Then, he looked up at the stall ain.

  “So, I open it now?”

  “Of course. Once you buy it, it’s yours.”

  “Good. Let’s see what exactly you’re selling that warrants such a mysterious act.”

  Billy shot the old man a gre before flipping open the box. And in that instant—he froze.

  A burst of fresh, fruity fragrance greeted him, mingling with the crisp m air, filling him with an inexplicable sense of refreshment. But soon, Billy’s focus shifted to the five round, crimson fruits ihe box. Their smooth, glistening skin still bore tiny droplets of dew, as if they had just been plucked from the branch. And most importantly—these were e fruits!

  Billy’s eyes widened. For a moment, he almost let out a shout. But his rationality quickly kicked in, f him to shut his mouth. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He even reached out, gently toug the fruit in the box—yes, they were real. These were e fruits.

  But how?

  Why were there fresh e fruits here, in the middle of winter?

  Just moments ago, Billy had thought a gold was far too expensive for a mere box of fruit. But now—he felt like it was a steal! He knew very well that his master loved e fruits more than anything! And with these being so fresh, clearly picked just retly—if possible, he wouldn’t hesitate to pay a hundred gold s per box!

  “I—I’ll take them all!”

  Billy suppressed the surge of excitement in his chest and lowered his voice. He had no idea where these e fruits had e from, but finding such fresh ones in the dead of wihis was something out of a dream!

  “Sorry, the sign clearly states—one box per person.”

  The old man remained unfazed, gng at Billy before replying in an indifferent tone.

  Billy instantly panicked.

  Only one per person? That was nowhere near enough!

  “Do you know who I am? I’m—”

  “Gods! e fruits!”

  Before Billy could finish his sentence, a shriek pierced his ears. His heart dropped. He spun around—only to find another man standing beside him, eyes locked onto the e fruits in his box, utterly stunned.

  Damn it!

  Billy cursed internally. He had been so focused on haggling with the old man that he had fotten to hide the fruit!

  Realizing his mistake, he hurriedly shut the lid and tried to back away. But the other man lunged forward, stepping into the stall’s space, eyes darting to the sign beside the cart. Without hesitation, he waved his hand.

  “I’ll buy them all! Send them to the Tax Officer’s residence immediately!”

  “Wait! I was here first!”

  Billy hadn’t even had time to get angry before the man tried to cim everything for himself.

  “I’ll pay double! Send them to the Law Enforcer’s estate!”

  And just like that, more people started gathering. Several had already spotted the e fruits in Billy’s hands, their faces filled with shock. When they heard these two men trying to buy up everything, they exploded.

  “I’ll pay three times! Send them to the City Lord’s mansion!”

  “I’ll pay five times! The Barbarov Trading pany will buy the eock!”

  Chaos erupted in an instant. The once-quiet stall was now a battlefield of bids, with everyone shouting over each other. Yet, through it all, the old man stood calmly, unmoving.

  Only when the shouting finally died down did he clear his throat and speak.

  “The rules are clear. One box per person. First e, first served.”

  “Wait, old man! Do you knoe are?”

  The ainers and officials’ aides were ed. They were not used to being treated this way.

  “I don’t know who you are,” the old man said indifferently. “But I do know this—this belongs to the Alchemist Guild.”

  “What?!”

  Everyone froze. Those who had been ready to seize the stall immediately backed away. Only now did they notice the insignia of the Alchemist Guild carved onto the cart.

  If this had been just an ordinary vendor, they might have forcefully takeire stall.

  But the Alchemist Guild was different.

  Their influence spread far and wide, eveer than that of mages. Magic required talent, but the Alchemists impacted every aspect of daily life. No one could afford to offend them—not even nobles. After all, not everyone had the luxury of casting Ice Magic to keep cool in summer.

  For a moment, they hesitated. But then, as if ohey rushed fain.

  “I’ll take a box!”

  “Me too!”

  “Mine! Don’t even think about stealing it from me!”

  As the crowd surged forward, Billy clutched his box tightly and slipped away. Right now, he only had ohought—get bae and send more servants to buy more.

  The old man had said “one per person,” not “one per household.” Billy was certain—if his master saw these fresh e fruits, he would be greatly rewarded!

  Before long, word spread throughout the market, and soon, the entire pce acked with people. Within moments, the cart e fruits was pletely sold out. Those who arrived too te could only stand there, staring at the y pushcart, sighing in frustration.

  At the same time, those who had mao buy a box were already rushing back to their respective masters.

  And when these fresh, sweet e fruits appeared before the city’s nobles and officials—

  All of Kehar City was shaken!

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