We're being followed.
Ever since we left the inn, [Radar] has been going on and off constantly. When the first alert happened, there was just one person following, and as soon as I looked around, the alert stopped, almost as if they had gone out of range.
Then after a while, it increased to eight. Again I could not see them. I did not want to confront these stalkers directly, so my previously made plans had to be abandoned.
I wanted to find a place to purchase some daily necessities used in this world, which I could use instead of buying stuff from Earth. It is so that someone doesn't find out about my skill and make me seem normal.
I then wanted to find a place to sell and make something out of the threads given to me by Kumo.
And finally, sell some of the monster materials, which I tried to store in an old bag I borrowed from the inn owner.
But of course, there was too much, so instead, I wanted to pretend that it was some small magic bag and fake taking out items from there. This would've helped me disguise my skill for now so that people do not suspect me of having other skills.
Instead, I headed straight to the Mercenary Guild with Celia. She had been quiet this whole time and followed me.
I went straight to the Guild since it was swarming with armed people, and it would be foolish for them to fight there.
As I opened the door, the smell of alcohol punched me in the face. Celia herself was doing even worse than me. Maybe I should've not bought her here.
For some reason, I felt like it was much safer in a bar full of drunks than outside with multiple stalkers who I could detect but not see.
As I walked towards the reception area, people began to stare at me as they stopped drinking. Most likely because of Celia, who was by my side shaking. And most of them felt like death stares.
I also spotted Baktuis, who looked away as soon as he saw me. Half of his face was bandaged up, which made me feel kind of bad, but he did try to hit me first, so my actions were justified.
I made my way to one of the counters where I could sell monster materials. I had many monster horns, shells from what looked like a giant ant, and bits of fur. I didn't mind if they did not sell for much.
Oops, Celia looks like she's about to faint; I guess I need to hurry up.
"Hello, how may I help you today?" greeted the man standing behind the counter.
I was looking forward to seeing Noella, but she was busy with another customer who was trying to flirt with her. Just like what she did to me, the man was given the cold shoulders.
"I would like to sell some monster materials."
"Sure, please place them all on the counter."
"All of them?"
"Yes, all of them."
I listened to his advice and began piling parts after parts. I had made sure that it was what he wanted me to do. So I complied, but halfway through, he told me to stop. I guess Kumo eats a lot.
The man then quickly rushes to the back and brings out three more employees who begin to sort out the first pile of monster materials. The whole Guild goes utterly silent as they watch them go through everything. To be honest, I think I might have overdone it.
"Wait, this is the skull of a Hammer Ant Queen!" suddenly shouts one of the employees.
"""ooOOooh!"""
"And this is the fur of a Raider Wolf!" shouts another.
"""ooOOooh!"""
I might have overdone it slightly as I watched and listened to the employees announce something whilst the crowd was amazed. I decided not to bring out the rest. So much for not standing out.
After they finally finished going through everything, they compiled a list of items and their prices. The most valuable thing on the list was the exoskeleton of a giant ant worth five gold coins, whilst the smaller ones were one gold coin each.
I made sixty-seven gold coins in total, which they gave me in a large pouch. I quickly left the Guild with Celia, who could barely stand up.
There were still people following us, so we quickly headed to a nearby restaurant, where many people were there.
We were taken to a table and given menus to look at. However, Celia stood behind me the whole time.
"Errr, Celia?"
"Yes, Master?"
"Why are you not sitting down?"
"Slaves are not permitted to sit or eat at the same table as their Master."
"Just like what I said yesterday, I don't care about those rules." (The previous chapter was slightly changed, but the modification does not affect anything.)
I realised that it would be a problem changing the ideas inside Celia's head since she was brought up as a slave. I wanted her to become a free person eventually and have freedom. For now, there was only one way to do this.
"Celia, as your Master, I order you to eat with me from now on."
"Yes, Master," she says as she sits down.
I ordered for both of us because Celia couldn't read. As I had some money, I ordered several of the most expensive and best-sounding dishes. Considering, Celia was still small, I ordered something from the kid's section.
Whilst we waited for the food to come, I discussed with Celia of our plans. But she would not voice out any of her thoughts; it was as if I was speaking to a wall, who could only nod.
Eventually, I had to give up after our food arrived. It was going to take some time and effort to change her.
I looked at my delicious looking meal. I had no idea what type of meat this was, but its sweet aroma was almost addictive. I used [Apprasial] to see what it was.
[Charge Boar Meat(Poisoned)]
The first thing that caught my attention was that it had been poisoned. I quickly looked up at Celia, who had already taken a bite out of her food. I could see that her face had begun to go pale, and sweat was forming.
She had been poisoned.