BXBX NOVEL Chapter 33 33: The Village Of Start
The next morning Clair presented Keith with the news he wanted to hear the most. She had found out where the gladiator ring he had asked about was. She had even made sure to cross-check that this was the right one.,
Keith quickly sent a message to Shinzou and Long Dong to send their reports in writing since Keith would be out traveling. He finally had the chance to solve one death flag.
But of course, why would Keith\'s decision to leave on a journey be problem-free? And this time, the problem came in the form of Shimi and her stubbornness.
"B-But why should *I* stay back when your *slave Clair* is allowed to go. Is she more important to you than I am? How could you do this to me, grandmaster."
Currently, Keith was standing in front of his mansion door, wanting to go out on his journey but he was being stopped by Shimi and her crying face.
He could not even say anything to her since Shimi was not leaving any opening for Keith to speak. Every time he opened his mouth, Shimi\'s crying got louder and louder.
In the end, Keith had to turn to Clair for help regarding Shimi\'s issue,
"Shimi, do you have to be like this today? Have some dignity woman. You are an elf princess, not a servant."
Shimi gasped out loud at Clair\'s harsh words. She looked ready to cry and her eyes even had tears threatening to slip out of them.
It had been a mistake to ask Clair to help with Shimi. He had forgotten just how much of a disconnect there was between Clair and Shimi.
"G-Grandmaster, you cannot do this to me. You have to take me with you. Don\'t leave me behind and that witch with you."
A tear slipped out of Shimi\'s eyes and Keith had no choice but to follow her wishes for now. There were too many eyes looking at him.
He did not doubt that if he had been the \'real\' grandmaster, things would have never come to this point.
"Fine., you may come with me this time. But you must behave yourself and conduct yourself accordingly."
In the end, Keith agreed with Shimi\'s request. Clair\'s disappointed face was given but she had no right to look like that since she was the reason Shimi had gotten this opportunity to protest and come along.
......…
The trio arrived at the small town of Luminos. As soon as Keith arrived in the town, he realized that he knew this place.
\'This is the tutorial village in Amelia\'s story. I cannot believe I am here for real.\'
Despite the familiarity, there was a drastic difference between this place and the one in Keith\'s memory. This place was reality while the one in his memory was a mere game graphic
"Grandmaster, what is this shabby place? Is this the right address where you wanted to go? I can go and interrogate the driver who brought us here if you want me to."
Shimi yelled, informing everyone about Keith\'s real identity. Worst of all, she did not even notice what she had done.
Instead, Shimi had a proud look on her face that begged for her to be praised. Keith could just not handle her.
"Clair, since this is your fault, you will have to deal with her. I will be moving around alone for the time behind."
Keith did not want to do such a thing. It was safer with Shimi than it was alone, that much Keith knew. But he had to consider the security threat that Shimi was if she kept on being so unaware of her surroundings.
Clair did not look happy with this new arrangement but she could not say anything against it as well. She had been the problem this time and even she was willing to admit it.
"Alright, I got it. I will stay behind to take care of Shimi so you can go out and look around. But if you find anything suspicious, don\'t forget to call me."
Clair instructed Keith just as Clair found a small stall to shop on. As expected, it did not take long for Shimi to find faults with the stall owner\'s wares and a fight broke out.
Clair sighed and mentally prepared herself for a hard day ahead.
Meanwhile, Keith walked away to the side and entered a small shop. The first thing he needed to do to blend in was to change his clothes to match the local people. He could not move around in such a fancy get-up.
"Welcome to my humble shop. How may I help you - Oh my. H-How can I help you, my lord?"
The shopkeeper was rather relaxed when Keith entered the shop but his tone changed to nervousness as soon as he took in Keith\'s fancy clothes and dignified. Anyone could tell that he was not a normal person
"I would like to look around on my own. I will call you if I need your help with anything."
The show owner looked even more nervous than before but he kept quiet. All the while, he kept an eye on Keith to ensure he was still there.
Keith was not sure if the shop owner thought of him as a wonder or a thief. Both were likely options to happen.
\'Nothing in here looks like it is worth wearing. My skin would feel irritated if I wear this inferior quality material.\'
Keith touched a few fabrics that looked to be of good quality, but his hand felt irritated with each touch. He could tell that nothing in her suited his tastes in here. It was disappointing for him but expected.
The shop owner watched Keith look around with a nervous expression. He wanted this big fish to shop at his shop and spend a lot of money. It would cover his expenses for a month if he was able to swindle this man.
"M-Master, what is wrong? I assure you that you will not find better goods anywhere else on the market. Please select what you need from here."
The merchant sweated bullets as he presented the best of his shop in front of Keith. But Keith was not convinced if he should buy something from here or not.
Nothing appealed to him.
"T-Tell you what. Why don\'t I throw in something useful for you into the mix of your products? If you buy two of our best pair of clothes, I will gift you this lucky stone as compensation."
The shop owner tried to appear confident as he held a black stone in front of Keith. It looked like a piece of coal that had no value. It was something that could be found nearby if you moved a little further into the mountain.
The shopkeeper held his breath as Keith examined the stone. It was something that was worthless to him.
But for Keith, it was a different matter. The small stone of black tart he had been handed was a piece of coal. It was something that usually accompanied diamonds.
"This small piece of stone, do you know where I can find more of them? If you tell me then I will buy everything in here."
Keith offered as he brought his check out of his back pocket.
He would have to spend a small fortune but the result would end up giving him much more money than he was spending.
"H-Huh? This worthless, I mean, this valuable piece of stone? Of course, I know where you can find more of them. I will even tell you when you buy all my clothes. Let me give you a discount."
The shopkeeper was beyond elated to sell all his goods. He was even getting rid of the black rock his son had picked up while playing.
Keith signed the cheque, not even trying to bargain as he noticed that rip-off price he was being offered. He offered to pay for it with a happy smile on his face.
"I will bring my son to show you the way. I am sure you will not regret patterning up with me."
The shopkeeper could not wait to go home and tell his family how he had ripped off an ignorant person into buying everything in his shop. But before that, the shopkeeper would go out and exchange all his money.
\'I am sure I can rip this man off even more if I play my cards right. I will need to build a friendship with him soon.\'
The shopkeeper thought to himself. Meanwhile, Keith was busy looking around and it was by chance he noticed the silhouette outside the shop.
The female looked shabby with torn off clothes and a face that had seen better days. She was someone that looked to be on the verge of death and had an ugly face. But in reality, the shabby female was one of the heroines of this world - Amelia.
Keith had managed to find her so soon.