episode_0009

Since they came to live in our house, Aion’s daily life has been greatly changed.

First of all, he was the one who left the house at least once a day to hunt monsters, but he was worried about the girls who were alone, so he didn’t go out much.

He yawned as if he was tired of the boring routine.

“Hmm…Staying at home is boring.”

In this world, there were no things like smartphones or game consoles, so there wasn’t much to do other than books.

The ingredients that had been tightly packed in the item box were starting to run out.

He was now living alone and had to support two children, so he was wondering what to do. Aion got up from his seat as if a good idea had come to him.

He knocked on their tightly shut door and said:

“Would you like to go to the market?”

***

The three of them set out to see the market together upon Aion’s suggestion.

At first, they were shocked and trembled at Aion’s words.

It seems that they understood the market that Aion spoke of as the market in which they were being sold.

Aion quickly noticed their expressions and quickly fixed them up, allowing them to get out without any trouble.

“You have to hold my hand tightly because it’s dangerous if you fall.”

Aion and the girls, who had gone out to buy necessary items and ingredients, were holding each other’s hands tightly as they moved so as not to be separated.

At Aion’s words, Frey held Aion’s hand tightly and blushed in embarrassment.

Unlike her older sister Dana, Freya was a child who was awkward at expressing her feelings, so rather than approaching her blindly, Aion waited for her until she opened her heart.

“Ah..Okay..!”

Dana, who was next to him, spoke rudely and grabbed Aion’s hand.

To be honest, it took me quite a while to understand Dana’s behavior.

At first, it was difficult to understand what Dana said because she always answered in a ticking tone when talking to Aion.

As I gradually became accustomed to her tone of speech, I began to realize that Dana wasn’t just being wary of me.

Aion, who had lived a life of being ostracized by others since childhood, was finally able to understand when he realized that his speech had become more aggressive.

Aion, who understood Dana, always smiled as he understood her words.

Perhaps because of Aion’s efforts, she began to open the door of her emotions, which had been closed for some time.

In Dana’s case, unlike the timid Freya, she was suspicious and wary of others, so she needed to slowly become close to him over time. So instead of just approaching him, Aion slowly narrowed the distance between himself and her.

“Here it is, cheap! One fish for 1 silver! ”

“A lot of fresh fruits have arrived. Come and take a look!”

“The boss is crazy!! I’m selling all the items I brought today at half price!”

Aion began to look around the market with them.

Maybe because today was a market day, there were people selling things and people buying things mixed together.

Looking at those people, Aion thought that he should never let go of the hands he was holding, so he gently grabbed their hands as if he would never let go of them.

In the market, new and unusual items were being sold openly.

Aion and the others were having their eyes taken by such things.

They were surprised by the sight they were seeing for the first time, but soon they could not hide their smiles as they looked at the market place, which was full of joy for their eyes.

Aion said as he looked at them.

“Since you came out to shop with me, if there’s anything you like, choose one. As long as it’s not too expensive, I’ll give you one as a gift. ”

Aion spoke to them with sparkling eyes, looking at the items arranged in order.

At Aion’s words, Danawa and Fre began to look around the market with smiles that they could not hide.

‘If you look at them like that, you can tell they’re definitely kids.’

Aion thought as he watched them looking around every corner of the market with excitement.

“………!”

While looking around the market, Frega, who had been walking along smoothly, suddenly stopped walking and looked at a market.

It was similar to a darts game where you throw something like a dart and the closer you get to the center, the higher the score you get.

Fred’s eyes sparkled as he looked at a giant teddy bear on display in the merchandise section.

“Do you want that?”

Aion looked at Frey, who was distracted by the teddy bear, and asked.

To Aion’s question, Frere was unable to say anything, but nodded slightly, perhaps gaining courage.

“Okay. Then let’s try it?”

“Welcome, guest!!”

Aion nodded after seeing Freya’s appearance and went forward to play the game.

Aion pointed to the teddy bear on top of the goods and asked the merchant.

“How can I get that doll?”

Aion said, pointing to the teddy bear that had stolen Freya’s heart.

To Aion’s question, the merchant answered with a kind smile.

“Yes, that doll is a special doll made of high-quality cotton. You can only receive it if you put all five feathers in the circle in the center. ”

The merchant spoke to Aion, and Aion smiled at the man’s words.

Until middle school, he had belonged to a darts club and was skilled enough to win prizes in competitions, so Aion thought that this would be as easy as eating cold porridge.

After paying the fee, the merchant handed Aion a container containing five feathers and said:

However, Aion, who received the feather, could immediately see the problem with the feather.

‘I trimmed the ends..’

Except for two or so feathers, the other feathers had tips that were strangely trimmed and could not be seen with the naked eye.

It was virtually impossible to get such a blunt feather into a wooden dartboard.

‘Kekekeke.. I caught another one today..! I’m going to get a big chunk of money today!’

And the merchant who saw Aion like that secretly turned his head and smiled wickedly.

His method was to first give people hope by holding a sharp feather at the end and then, after the third dart, trim the part that gets stuck in the tree so that it is difficult for ordinary people to notice. He was a wicked merchant who would come every day when the market was open and suck people’s money.

He felt good thinking that he had caught another fool today.

The man who had already earned a huge amount of money by luring innocent families several times before they came was delighted.

“Should I throw it like that?”

As soon as Aion caught the feather, he absentmindedly threw the first feather into the hole, and soon the feather he threw drew a perfect parabola and entered the circle exactly.

“Oh, you’re really a good customer! You’re really good~!”

The merchant praised Aion excessively and praised him.

When he had reached the center of the second feather, the merchant smiled wickedly.

‘I’ve already used up all the feathers that would have stuck well on the wooden board…! You’ve fallen into my trap!’

The merchant said as he watched the man easily place the second feather in the circle.

As soon as Aion threw his third feather, it flew at a speed that was clearly different from the previous one, and soon hit an unexpected spot and fell down.

“Oh my… It’s such a shame. You used up so much strength.”

The merchant looked at Aion like that and felt sorry on the outside, but it was hard to hide his joy on the inside, perhaps because he knew that he had no chance of winning.

So the 4th and 5th feathers also ended up not being placed in the center.

The merchant handed Aion a small doll of Freya’s palm with two feathers stuck on it. Aion looked at the doll, approached the merchant without saying anything, paid the money, and picked up the feathers again.

‘Khuhhh..good..good!’

The merchant smiled with satisfaction at Aion’s actions.

People are really simple. They are foolish beings who think they have talent after succeeding a few times and take on reckless challenges.

The merchant knew that the man would not give up easily, as he had already tasted victory twice, and the man spoke while sticking two feathers in the center.

“You’re really giving it to me if I put them all in the circle, right?”

Aion asked the man one last time, and the merchant laughed heartily at the man’s words.

“Of course, of course! The first rule to follow in order to become a merchant is honesty. The second rule is honesty, right? I never lie! ”

The merchant was thinking about how much he could steal from Aion while deceiving him with a smiling face.

As the merchant finished speaking, the third feather he threw landed perfectly in the center.

“Huh…?”

The merchant instinctively felt that something was wrong with Aion’s appearance, but Aion had already thrown the two feathers that remained in his hand at his target.

The feathers he threw all landed in the circle without a single inch of error.