Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Even Newton himself could not have anticipated that his next journey would elevate his reputation. Of course, it was not just the name "Newton" that spread, but the person behind it. With a large backpack, one could buy weapons and potions here, and even commission their creation. The term "Wandering Merchant" circulated widely, and thus, Newton grew into a twelve-year-old.
"Why must they add 'short' to it?"
Newton tugged at the corner of his mouth, silently sipping his mushroom soup, while the whispers from those around him only added to his annoyance.
Over the past few years, Newton had grown not only in height but also in his mastery of Alchemy. His understanding of knowledge and magical power had increased significantly. His Alchemy Array had become much simpler, transforming into a single circle. The Rune had been removed, and the Seven-Pointed Star inside was now a pentagram, with symbols representing the five elements.
"Excuse me, Mr. Wandering Merchant, we would like to purchase some Explosive Potions."
A middle-aged man approached, first bowing to Newton before stating his request.
"Oh, how many do you need?"
Though he asked this question, Newton rummaged through his backpack and found only three bottles of Explosive Potion.
"Just give me them."
The middle-aged man pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to Newton before happily running off with the potions.
Newton could have sold more, but much like dynamite, who would dare buy too much? Even now, he had to avoid soldiers; after all, his name was still on wanted posters. If it weren't for the high demand for his goods and people turning a blind eye, he might have been captured long ago. Of course, this was also due to Newton's own cleverness; otherwise, with such valuable items in hand, he would have been taken by someone long ago.
"Thank you."
Newton placed the money on the table and left.
There was no choice; despite being clever, he often moved from place to place after a single transaction. He usually stayed in the forest and only ventured into town occasionally to catch up on news, exchange some currency, and enjoy better food.
"Is it happening again?"
Furrowing his brow, Newton realized that someone was already watching him from the shadows as soon as he stepped outside.
Just as he prepared to pull out a smoke bomb from his sleeve, a figure suddenly dashed out from the side—no, not one but three figures cloaked in hoods. One was quite large while two were slimmer; however, one of the thinner figures stood at the forefront.
"Are you the so-called Wandering Merchant who can buy anything?"
It was a girl.
Newton shook his head.
"First of all, I'm not a merchant, and secondly, I can't buy just anything."
"Aw..."
The girl clearly looked a bit disappointed, but she still tried to keep her spirits up.
"Do you have any potions that can get rid of demons?"
"No, and besides, about demons..."
Newton felt a sudden spark of interest; it seemed that demons were quite a good source of materials in the legends.
"Can you show me that demon?"
"Um..."
The girl hesitated and glanced around.
"Let's talk in the forest."
This time, she finally threw out a smoke bomb. However, everyone seemed quite familiar with Newton's tactics; in the past, he often used this trick to escape amidst chaos. But this time, there was no crowd around. So everyone just watched the smoke, waiting for it to dissipate. Yet when the smoke finally cleared, there wasn't a single person left.
"This is a sewer?"
The girl looked around curiously. They had just been on the surface, and now they had suddenly arrived in a sewer; it was a bit magical.
"Yes, but I guess this trick will be seen through after a few more uses, right?"
Newton sighed. The tricks were becoming fewer, and those guys were getting smarter. He glanced at his backpack; if this identity had become too well-known, it was time to change it.
"Let's go. Once we're outside, you can tell me all about the demons."
"Okay."
The girl was somewhat curious about Newton, but just then, an untimely sound interrupted them.
"Grr..."
Newton looked over, and the girl who had been talking to him immediately retorted.
"It wasn't me!"
"It was me, sister."
The voice belonged to a boy, the tallest among the cloaked figures.
"Here."
Newton pulled some rations from his bag and handed them to the boy. The boy hesitated for a moment, wanting to take them but first looking at his sister.
"Go ahead and take it, Elfman."
The girl said.
"Thanks."
Elfman expressed his gratitude to Newton, who waved his hand dismissively and then handed rations to the other two as well.
"Thank you."
The girl looked hungry as well, but Newton was slightly curious as to why she was only using one hand. Was the other hand disabled?
A disabled person.
Newton looked at the girl with pity, causing her to shiver involuntarily and glare back at him fiercely.
At this moment, the three companions had already removed their cloaks. With white hair, they seemed to be siblings, though the boy and girl appeared somewhat timid. The girl referred to as the elder sister had a fierce gaze, yet Newton could easily perceive the deep-seated insecurity hidden within her.
"Did your family get slaughtered?"
Newton knew that there were still demons in this world. It seemed that these three were victims of such demons. With that thought in mind, he couldn't help but reach out and pat the head of the eldest sister.
"You..."
The sister was furious and tried to shake off his hand from her head, but when she met Newton's compassionate and gentle gaze, it felt as if she was about to explode.
"Ugh!"
"Wah..."
Not only did the sister react, but the other two also erupted into tears, all three of them clutching their heads and crying loudly.
Newton tugged at the corners of his mouth. He had a kind heart and occasionally fed stray animals milk, but he truly didn't know how to comfort children.
Looking around, Newton thought that if he made some toys out of what was here, no one would be able to play with them anyway.
"Sigh."
Newton sighed and took out some herbs from his backpack. He extracted sugar from them and made lollipops. Then he glanced at the remaining powdered medicine on the ground and felt a pang of heartache.
"Do you have any money?"
Newton's words did not stop the three from crying; they simply shook their heads.
Newton sighed and removed the headband of Miraj from his sister's head.
"Then let this be my reward. Here."
Newton stuffed a lollipop into each of their mouths, and seeing their surprised expressions, he couldn't help but finally breathe a sigh of relief.
His sister looked a bit embarrassed and then turned to Newton.
"I am Mirajane Strauss, this is my brother Elfman, and this is my sister Lisanna."
Miraj introduced the names of the three of them.
"Newton..."
Newton hesitated for a moment, reluctantly revealing his full name. It was always so embarrassing to say it out loud.
"Newton... Isaac."
He silently thought that he would definitely have to give the author a good beating when he had the chance.
"Newton, don't you have any way to deal with demons?"
"Are you trying to kill a demon?"
Newton asked curiously.
"Have you really seen a demon?"
"Well..."
Then Miraj began to recount her experiences. It turned out that Mirajane's village had sealed away a demon, but accidentally, the demon escaped. In an effort to save others, Miraj absorbed the demon, only to be cast out as a demon herself. Thus, the three siblings began their journey of wandering.
To prove her point, Miraj gritted her teeth and extended one of her arms. It was not a human arm; it was covered in scales, resembling that of a demon.
"Interesting."
Newton looked at Miraj's arm, intrigued. He reached out and touched it, giving it a squeeze.
"Can you feel that?"
Scratching her head, Miraj couldn't help but laugh. Seeing this, Newton nodded in agreement.
"Do you think you're a demon?"
Newton had lost interest in the so-called demon. Clearly, Miraj was human, and her arm wasn't something attached later; therefore, the only possibility left was that this must be magic.
Magic truly is fascinating.
That was all Newton could think.
"I'm not!"
Miraj shouted angrily.
"Well, that's settled then. Although I don't know what this is, it should belong to some kind of magic."
Knowing that this phenomenon couldn't be used to gather materials, Newton completely lost interest. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to spend much—just a few words exchanged—and without any significant investment, he didn't feel the need for compensation.
"Is this... magic?" Miraj asked in disbelief.
"Well, if you go to a magic guild, you should find out. Your current situation seems to be due to a lack of mastery," Newton replied after a brief moment of reasoning, suddenly struck by an idea.
"Hey, can you transform your whole body into a demon? If you do, do you have horns or a tail? If so, could you cut them off and sell them to me? I can trade gold for them."
"No way!" Miraj shouted immediately.
"Suit yourself. I'm leaving now. Since you know all this, there's no need for you to follow me," Newton shrugged and started walking away.
"Hey, how are we supposed to thank you?" Miraj called out loudly, but Newton merely waved his hand as his figure gradually disappeared.
Comment 0 Comment Count