Chapter 96: A Taste of Corruption

The sisters jumped down from the cart and handled the guard. They told him about their jobs in the city and the people they knew to prove they weren't shady individuals.

Then, they introduced Adam using the earlier forged story to paint him as a teenager aspiring to become a knight.

However, the guard frowned at him. A vicious smile splitting his lips, he approached and knocked on his breastplate.

"What nice armor for a kid. It's not enchanted metal, but it's lighter. The fabric's design underneath is of decent quality, too." The guard gave him a meaningful glance. "I believe it'll fit someone more experienced much better, don't you think so?"

He rolled his eyes at the guard's shenanigans yet did his best to sound pitiful.

"I-'m sorry, sir guard, but I can't give you my armor. I spent every single dime I earned to buy it. Worst, I have no clothes and would have to walk around the city naked." He fished a stone from his pocket and shoved it into the man's hand. "I found it by luck. I'm not sure about its value, but it shines and is beautiful. You can have it instead."

The guard clicked his tongue at the wimpy kid, then opened his hand to see what trash he had dared to give him.

However, his eyes enlarged when he saw a big amethyst glinting a purple hue. The indecent size alone almost caused him to faint.

Simultaneously, Adam's shadow extended to touch the man's before returning to its original size.

A split second later, the guard recovered and swiftly hid the stone in his pouch. Then, he gestured to the open gates as the first stars shone in the darkening sky.

"Alright, brave people. I checked your cart and identities and ensured you paid the entrance fees. Welcome to Foliaris."

Adam lowered his head in respect, hiding his emotions and twitching brows.

"Thank you so much, good sir!"

However, inside, he cursed the corrupted man with all his heart.

'That's how you work? An amethyst is enough to bypass any security measure?' His face darkened. 'I can never let that happen in my territory. I'll set exemplary punishments for anyone accepting bribery!'

Eyes narrowed, he pulled the unchecked cart inside without looking back, as a clueless kid would have. Yet, his mind churned with new strategies.

"When I return with my army," he muttered, his voice barely a whisper, "I'll teach you the price of bribery."

Without dwelling on the matter further and focusing on the present task, he crossed the city streets under the sisters' guidance.

Like any city, the further from the center the habitations stood, the more run-down they looked. The citizens entering and exiting them looked the same: poor, malnourished, and unkempt.

He noticed gangs of hoodlums leaning against the alleys' walls, each of them eying his cart and the sisters. The greedy and lustful expressions stamped on their faces caused his eyes to burn in disgust.

Yet, he shook his head and continued, passing by more decent buildings and the first few shops. A moment later, he emerged on a broad plaza.

The air, filled with the mixed odour of spices, cheese, meat, and fish, struck his nose first. Then, the sight of merchants waving their goods in the air and screaming prices to attract customers.

He gazed at the sinuous arrangement of stands sneaking in every direction to form a chaotic yet amusing maze with a smile.

Litia tapped on his shoulder from behind and pointed west.

"There is a slaughterhouse there. They won't offer you the best prices, but they'll definitely buy all your meat at once since they can keep it fresh." She leaned forward, whispering into his ears. "The thugs from earlier are following us. We'd better hurry and take refuge in an inn to spend the night."

He scoffed at the thugs' foolish idea and raised his thumb to reassure the trembling sisters.

"We'll do as you said. If they try despite my armor's deterrence..." His voice lingered for a second as he pushed the car west. "I wouldn't mind clearing the city of a few bastards."

A moment later, he reached a broad open building. The scent of blood and guts stuck in the air, causing his nose to scrunch in disgust as he entered.

On the sides, he saw men cleaning bloodied blades after a day of hard work. A few others smiled behind their stands and showed assortments of meat to interested customers. Further behind, the noise of farm animals echoed innocently, the poor creatures unaware that they had escaped death today but wouldn't tomorrow.

Without paying them any attention, he followed Litia's directions and arrived before a wide office.

Two men stood guard by the door, their eyes narrowing on him intimidatingly and their hands gripping the long swords dangling over their metallic greaves.

However, Litia lept down the cart and spoke with them, explaining why they came here and that she wanted to see the slaughterhouse's manager.

After the brief conversation, one of the men nodded and entered the office, only to return with a smiling middle-aged man a few seconds later.

Observing him, he saw white sprinkling his brown hair and bushy beard. His eyes trailed down, noticing the fine brown shirt he wore and the belly bursting out of his dark pants as the man moved to him.

"What a wonderful surprise this late! Is what my guard said true? Do you really have several hundred kilos of edible meat to sell?"

The man chuckled and outstretched his hand, a rapacious glint flashing in his eyes.

"Forgive my manners. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Albert, this humble slaughterhouse's manager."

Adam's lips curled into a fake smile as he shook Albert's soft hand.

"It's true. You can check the goods to ensure they didn't spoil on the way."

But inwardly, he rolled his eyes.

'I know you'll rip me off. So cut the niceties, give me my money, and return to spend your days in that shit hole.' Sёarch* The Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The worst thing? Exposing the man's intention wouldn't help. On the contrary, it would give him an additional reason to lower the prices.

Therefore, he gritted his teeth and accepted the loss in silence.

Meanwhile, the man nodded, delighted that Adam understood the situation.

They engaged in small talk for a few minutes while the guards checked and weighed the box's content until they finally reached the negotiation phase.

Albert tucked his fingers around his chin, a pensive grumble escaping his lips as his eyes flashed with greed.

"You have around 800 kilos of meat. The quality isn't extraordinary, but at least it's not rotting." The corner of his lips rose into a sinister smirk. "I can give you two gold coins, and that's only because you have a good face."

The three sisters sighed in unison, frustrated by Albert's ridiculous offer. Two gold coins? When magic creatures' meat was lumped in the mix? They were worth at least fifteen, if not more.

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However, Adam raised his hand to stop them from interfering and gazed at the man dead in the eyes.

"I won't make things difficult for you, Albert. Give me three gold coins, and we have a deal."

Albert's smile broadened as he fished three shining coins from his pouch.

"You're a smart one, right? You know you have no choice but to sell it. Not bad, youngling."

He handed him the coins and turned to the guards to give them his commands.

Meanwhile, Adam shrugged, took the money and left without a word.

Albert's words were correct. He could only scrap an additional gold coin in this situation and knew that any more would have worsened the man's mood. Then? He would have lowered the price, saying it would rot anyway.

'Seems like honesty is rare in this place...' A grin stretched his lips as he pulled the cart to the closest inn. 'A shame I won't forget your face once I claim the city for myself.'