Chapter 39 39: The Back Of The Mountain [Pt1]

Amelia felt much better after letting out her emotions, but her heart ached at what had just happened. She had just gotten Keith involved in something he did not need to get involved in.

And now they were being threatened by the boss of the gladiator ring to keep their mouth quiet.

"Once again, I want to apologize for dragging you into this mess with me. I had no idea this would happen."

Amelia apologized, now with a calmer voice and a heartfelt expression. But Keith just waved her concerns off with a wave of his hand.

"Don't worry. I have a plan and my companions will help us out as well. Let's head to town and forget about our troubles for now."

Amelia agreed to go along with Keith's wishes due to her feeling of guilt. She owed him too much and she also needed to find a way to repay him.

'Keith is such a good person. I wonder what his real identity is. He must not be a normal man if he carried around so much money on him.'

The more she saw of Keith, the more she was impressed by him and his bravery. Her crush was getting bigger and bigger as well.

At this rate, she was afraid of falling in love with him.

They both walked through the town and toward the side Amelia had picked Keith up from. It was the shabbier part of this town and Amelia wondered what Keith needed from here.

They entered the fabric shop that was known to be shady by the town people and even they avoided it. But Keith looked at home in that shabby atmosphere.

"Welcome back, master. I was waiting for you to swing by for some time now. I was almost afraid you would not shop up when you did not come yesterday."

The shady shopkeeper rubbed his hands together as he watched Keith enter his shop. Then he looked at Amelia and his smile faltered. He seemed to have recognized her in an instant.

"Sorry, I came a day late. I meant to send you a message but something came up. Do you mind leading us to the mountain back now?"

Keith asked the shopkeeper. The smile on that shopkeeper's face got a little bit wider as he took in Keith's interest.

"Well, I can bring my son right now but my son is busy earning money. You know we need to earn our keep as well, right?"

The shopkeeper rubbed his hand together in glee. He was asking for more money with an indirect action.

He had already cashed in his check yesterday and was surprised to see that it was a legit cheque that gave him money.

But that had not been enough. It caused the shopkeeper to become greedier and he wanted to exploit this clueless man even more.

"You! You are shameless! You are asking for even more money from Keith when he overpaid you enough. Don't you dare think I cannot see that gold chain in your neck? There is no way you can buy that from your regular salary."

Amelia did not like Keith being scammed. It hurt her to see Keith being exploited by such a shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper looked nervous when he was pressed by Amelia's hard looks. But he kept his composure as he watched Amelia and Keith move around.

He was sure that Keith needed him and that gave him the confidence to take his stand.

The door to the shop opened as this commotion was going on and two females entered. They seemed wealthy as well and Amelia watched the shopkeeper eying them in greed.

One of the ladies, the elder, more mature one noticed Keith and recognition flashed in her eyes. She suddenly opened her mouth and pointed toward Keith.

"Grand-"

The younger one jabbed the elder one hard, causing the elder blond to lose her wind and stop talking. Amelia was surprised to see such a free interaction taking place in front of her, especially since the younger one looked like a slave.

On the other than, Keith looked like he was nursing a small headache as soon as he noticed these new additions.

........

"Grand-"

Keith almost panicked as soon as Shimi opened her mouth. She was going to blow his cover and cause all his plans to flatline.

Thankfully, Clair did her work in time and managed to quieten Shimi before she could cause any unnecessary damage.

"*Young Master*, are you alright? We were looking for you since you did not return to your room last night. Is there something wrong here?"

Clair quickly questioned, stomping Shimi's mouth every time she opened it. She continued it until it looked like Clair took the hint.

Recognition flashed in Shimi's eyes at the stressed-out *young master* and she clasped her hand together.

"Ah, y-yes, Gran-I mean, young master, we were waiting for you last night but you never came back. Did you get in some kind of trouble? Do you need our help?"

Shimi questioned as she eyes the shopkeeper. She looked at the shopkeeper, wanting to end his life with her eyes. The shopkeeper gulped in nervousness, not wanting any trouble heading his way.

Keith sighed and decided to interfere before Shimi scared this man away.

"Alright, this is enough. You both, step back a little. Shimi, I am not in trouble. This gentleman was going to show me something I asked him to. Am I a right, young gentleman?"

Keith spoke softly and slowly, not giving the shopowner any time to refute his words or demand something else.

The shopkeeper looked even more nervous now, his face breaking out in a sweat.

He was sure that he could take a naive young master like Keith and a gladiator-bound person like Amelia if he played right. But now that two more retailers had been added to the mix, he was unsure.

"Y-Young master is right. Why I was just about to call my son and he was going to take you to the back mountains."

The shopkeeper was sweating bullets as he headed toward the back room. He soon returned with a small child and pushed him toward the group.

"En, do you remember what I told you about yesterday? Are you ready to help out?"

The shopkeeper asked his son but he looked even more nervous than before. Something was wrong here.

"Yes, I remember. So this is the dumb young master you want me to scam? Don't worry, I will do as you asked me to"

The shopkeeper sweated bullets and covered his son's mouth before he could say any more. He had gone red in the face and was avoiding everyone's eyes.

"N-No, this is not what I said to you. I asked you to help this gentleman out, right?"

The shopkeeper stressed out the last part but the kid did not get the clue.

"No, you said to screw-"

"Well, now I am telling you to help them out. This is the final and you need to follow my words, alright."

The shopkeeper looked at the four people in front of him and he feared for his life. His son was screwing over his life majorly and his son did not even know it.

Thankfully, his son was a dumb child and agreed with his request. He did not even question why his father had suddenly changed his mind.

"Alright, I will take them to my playing spot. But they will have to play with me once we are there. Otherwise, I am not doing it."

The kid demanded and his father looked pissed. Keith could see the elder's desire to raise his hand but controlling himself hard.

Before anything could happen, Keith decided to interfere and raised his hand.

"Alright, I get it. We will play with you once we reach the mountain back. Now, will you lead me to your playing field?"

Keith asked and the kid looked conflicted. But he nodded nonetheless and signaled for Keith to follow him.

"Let's go, slowpoke. I will only take you if you can keep up with me. But don't underestimate me. I was the fasted kid there is in this village. You might get lost if you don't pay attention."

The shopkeeper was red in the face, likely embarrassed to see his son acting like this. But he had no power any longer.

The party of four plus the kid left for the mountain back and this shopkeeper lamented his bad luck.

If only those retainers had not arrived when they did, the shopkeeper would have been so much richer than before.

But what use was lamenting about his luck?

He was busy cursing himself when the door to his shop opened again and he looked up to greet the guest.

"Hello, what can I get for you?"

The shopkeeper asked with a sullen look on his face. He needed to focus on selling things now.