Chapter 86

“I see. A fake sword like that wouldn’t function as a sword, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“If you try to cut something, will the sword actually break?”

“It’ll be similar to that.”

Yelena walked a little further with Kaywhin and chattered.

At that moment, a merchant nearby bellowed loudly as if they knew the topic of their conversation.

“Now, now! An opportunity that doesn’t come every day! If you succeed in cutting this log, you will receive a very valuable gift!”

Yelena’s head turned.

Suddenly, she had a flash of memory.

Her brother, Edward, was very terrible at handling swords, both in the past and now.

He was aware of that too, so he never volunteered to use a sword.

Since Yelena usually attended the festivals with her family, she never had a chance to participate in an event like this.

“Kaywhin “

Filled with curiosity, Yelena halted in her spot.

“Let’s try that.”

“Are you talking about cutting logs?”

“Yes.”

Yelena’s eyes sparkled.

Kaywhin nodded calmly. It wasn’t a difficult task.

“Welcome!”

The merchant beamed as he spotted Yelena and Kaywhin approaching him.

“Is this wonderful gentleman going to try?”

The words of “wonderful gentleman” put some strength to Yelena’s shoulders.

“Yes. How much is the participation fee?”

“It just costs this much.”

The merchant pointed at the wooden board with the participation fee written on it.

Yelena released Kaywhin’s hand for a moment, took out a coin, and held it out to the merchant.

“Thank you! Then I’ll bring you a sword right away.”

The merchant who said so turned around.

And as soon as he turned around, his expression changed.

‘Damn it. This looks a bit dangerous…’

After a few years of making a living with this kind of thing, he had a sense of wit.

A proper way to put it was that he had a discerning eye.

‘If I give him a normal sword, he’ll most likely succeed.’

At every festival each year, the merchant would line his own pockets in this manner.

If he handed a normal sword to that participant now, he would instantly lose the valuable prize which was the basis of the business.

‘Should I give him a dull sword? No, that’s a bit…’

The merchant’s hand hastily dug through the boxes.

It hadn’t been long since he held this event.

If the basis was already robbed, he would suffer enormous losses.

‘…I can’t help it.’

Soon, the merchant smiled and appeared again in front of Yelena and Kaywhin.

“My goodness, I’m sorry about this. Since there were so many damaged swords, it took some time to pick this out. Here it is.”

At first glance, the sword that the merchant brought out appeared fine.

The blade and handle were clean, and there was no visible damage. The merchant nervously swallowed as he watched Kaywhin pick the sword.

After a while, when Kaywhin, who held the sword, said nothing, the merchant secretly let out a sigh of relief.

‘I did it.’

The fake smile disappeared, and a genuine smile appeared on his face.

What he handed over to Kaywhin was a fake sword that looked just like it.

It was impossible to find any difference from a real sword by merely looking at it with a naked eye.

However, the moment it was used, the difference would be revealed.

The fake sword was more brittle and weaker than a real sword.

He could guarantee that the moment the man struck the log with that, it would be the sword, not the wood, that would cause problems.

‘Then I can ask for money using the pretext for sword damage.’

The merchant paid attention to Kaywhin’s attire and company.

It was apparent from his clothes that he had money and wouldn’t be concerned about the extra money. Moreover, he would want to save face because he had a woman by his side.

If he exclaimed that the customer was ‘too strong’, and caused the sword to break, they would surely gladly pay the price of the sword.

“After that, I can say that there’s no other sword left intact, and he won’t be able to try again.’

The merchant barely prevented one of the corners of his lips from rising and lowered it.

‘Whoa, as expected, I’m smart.’

Up until now, it wasn’t just luck that he’d been able to empty other people’s pockets.

As the nervousness faded, narcissism filled its place.

While the merchant was drunk on his genius idea of robbery and was lost in thoughts, in the meantime, Yelena reached out to Kaywhin.

“Give it to me. I’ll hold it.”

Kaywhin passed the fruit skewer to her and stood in front of the log, holding the sword.

It was then.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Argh!”

“Everyone, hide!”

“What…”

The merchant, who turned his head at the sudden disturbance, immediately froze.

A massive beast was rushing towards him.

“Li-Lion?”

The lion was as big as a house and was viciously baring its fangs.

It was too late to run away.

‘I’m going to die!’