MTM 26

The clerk who found Harto laughed awkwardly.

“Oh. He could eat to his fill for a year, not just a day.”

“A year?”

Zed was startled because he never expected that answer.

“Yes… but, sir, where and how did you get something like this…?”

Of course, the clerk seemed more curious about the elixir’s origin than its price. Zed understood what he meant, and he spoke more calmly.

“Well… as you know, elixirs are extremely rare, so if I speak honestly, not only me… but you might also be in trouble because of it.”

He shook his head to mean the clerk should not ask more.

“Ahem, I see…”

The clerk cleared his throat as he understood what Zed meant.

“I need to have an expert appraise it to know for sure, but if I speak with my hand on my heart… this is one of the highest grade elixirs I’ve ever seen.”

The clerk spoke with certainty, he then pulled open the counter drawer. He took off his glasses and replaced them with a magnifying pair. Then he took one elixir and began to examine it with a careful gaze.

“Oh oh…”

A dim light was shining from the elixir reflected in the clerk’s eyes.

“Look at this! The pure holy power is glowing on its own. It’s an exalted and sacred force that fake holy power can never imitate.”

The clerk exclaimed loudly and gently placed one pill on a silk handkerchief he pulled from his inner pocket. Then he brought his nose close and inhaled.

“Ha… even the fragrance is reverent.”

Fragrance…? Zed was dumbfounded. He had never smelled his own elixir before. No, he had never even thought of it, the clerk’s behavior looked very bizarre.

“Whoa…”

Whether Zed thought so or not, the clerk was completely absorbed in the elixir.

“It feels like the essence of sacred water flowing from an ancient sanctuary… I can feel divine energy. Maybe, this could even revive the dead… oh! I shouldn’t mention something like that carelessly.”

“That much?”

Zed’s eyes turned piercing because he started to suspect the man might be a fraud.

The clerk raised his head quickly, not noticing Zed’s glare.

“Of course! This is an elixir beyond price.”

“You mean…”

“Yes… I really want it, but it seems impossible for me to buy it.”

“What?”

Zed got angry because the clerk had praised it as something incredible and then suddenly said he would not buy it.

“You say it’s a top-class elixir, and yet you can’t buy it?”

“Yes… uh, that, that’s…”

Frightened by Zed’s cold look, the clerk hunched his shoulders. He wanted to explain, but it seemed useless before Zed. In the end, the clerk started sweating and said,

“T-then… h-how about buying just one…?”

“How much?”

“T-the price… I can only offer about all the property I own…”

Zed gave a look that asked how much that meant, and the clerk removed his magnifying glasses and gestured for him to come closer. Zed was not very eager, but he leaned in as told.

“……!”

When the clerk whispered something into Zed’s ear, his eyes widened. Then, as if nothing had happened, Zed smiled.

“Fine. I’ll sell one.”

“Let’s do that… whew… but even if I buy it, I wonder if I’ll ever use it. I might just pass it down as a family heirloom…”

The clerk smiled as he wrapped the elixir in the silk handkerchief, but Zed grabbed his wrist.

“Whether you eat it, resell it, or keep it as an heirloom, I don’t care.”

A shadow fell over the clerk’s face.

“But you should never speak about where or how you got it.”

“Eek…! Y-yes! I-I understand…”

Terrified by Zed’s menacing aura, the clerk trembled and nodded repeatedly. Only then did Zed release his wrist.

While the clerk gathered every bit of money he had, Zed went to the window to look outside.

“What’s that…?”

Not much time had passed since the deal, so he thought Harto would be waiting quietly. But Harto was surrounded, not alone. Fortunately, they didn’t look like thugs, but around six or seven children.

‘He isn’t getting bullied by kids, right….’

He thought it probably wasn’t that, but he still started to feel uneasy, as if he had left a child by the river.

When he thought about it, even when Harto wasn’t a monster, he was small and light, so it wouldn’t be strange if someone suddenly carried him away. He himself had considered that once. Besides, this was the middle of the city. There were far more dangerous people here than in a mountain village.

‘That kid… will fall for food again….’

If someone gives him even a candy, he might laugh and follow them happily. Or, if someone calls his name and pats his head, he might give in just like that.

When Zed thought about Harto acting that way toward someone else, his chest started to boil.

Zed clenched his teeth and pressed his face against the window. Harto’s soft black hair shook among the children.

When he saw that, he couldn’t stay still.

‘…I knew I shouldn’t have left him alone.’

“Alright, sir. You waited long, didn’t you? Here it is…!”

At that moment, the clerk placed a pouch full of gold coins on the counter. Zed quickly snatched it.

“Oh my!”

He didn’t care whether the startled clerk fell backward or not. His head was filled only with Harto.

Bang!

“Harto!”

As soon as Zed came out of the shop, he shouted loudly. Then the children surrounding Harto scattered and ran away.

“Huh…?”

Harto looked confused when the children around him suddenly disappeared. Then, when he saw Zed running toward him, he smiled brightly.

“Zed! You’re done with your business?”

“Who were they? Did they do something to you?”

Zed asked in an agitated tone. He checked Harto’s face and body to see if he was hurt.

“They didn’t do anything… ah! Zed, I have something to show you.”

Harto dug into his pocket with a proud face and held something out to Zed.

“Look! The kids gave me chocolate to eat. Aren’t they nice? They told me to try it right away, but I wanted to wait and eat it with you. They said it’s really good.”

Harto unwrapped the chocolate.

“This is….”

Zed’s pupils trembled. Inside the paper wrapping were small, round, black pieces. No… it wasn’t chocolate when seen closely.

“Huh? But it doesn’t smell like chocolate, it smells a little strange…”

Sniff sniff. Harto, who knew nothing, brought it near his nose, and Zed slapped his hand away.

“Ah!”

The strange things flew out of Harto’s hand and scattered across the ground.

“Zed! Why’d you do that suddenly?! If you don’t want to eat, you could’ve just said so…!”

Harto shouted with an angry face, looking shocked and wronged, his face turned red. Zed suddenly hugged him.

“Eh! Z-Zed…? W-why…”

Because Zed hugged him and even lifted him, Harto almost became like a cicada clinging to a tree.

“Zed…?”

While Harto blinked, not knowing anything, Zed looked at him with a pitiful gaze.

“Harto, what should I do with you…”

Even if the children played a prank and gave him goat droppings pretending they were chocolate, this boy got fooled so easily….

Zed couldn’t continue and sighed. Harto seemed to misunderstand and whispered softly in Zed’s ear.

“Zed… do you… hate chocolate…?”

“Yes… I hate it a lot.”

Zed answered quietly because he thought that would be better than telling the truth.

“I see. I didn’t know that…”

‘Then next time, I’ll just eat alone.’

Zed realized what Harto was thinking and grabbed both his shoulders.

“But don’t even think about eating alone.”

“W-why…?”

Harto flinched, startled that his thought was seen through.

“…Eat when you’re with me.”

Zed said whatever came to his mind. More than anything, he didn’t know why he had been so angry since earlier.

“With you?”

“Yes. I’ll drink tea, and you’ll eat chocolate.”

“Ah. Should I?”

He probably felt bad about eating alone.

“But that goes for tea too. If someone offers you tea, don’t drink it.”

“Alright. If someone gives me delicious food or tea, I’ll eat it with you. Okay?”

“Yes…”

When Zed saw Harto finally nod, he thought he was surprisingly childish.

Of course, Zed didn’t care what Harto thought. It was enough if something like today never happened again.

But to make sure of that….

“Harto. You’re ready now, right?”

“Huh? Ready?”

“I’m rich now.”

Zed smiled while raising the heavy pouch of gold coins.