"You want what?" Kyle asked in a disbelieving voice, not knowing whether he should run out of the shop right now or stay behind.
The offer made by the inscriber was just too suspicious and weird to hear. Yet, he decided to wait and hear her out.
"To put it simply, my husband, and I have a unique interest. If we're curious about someone, we are willing to give them discounts in exchange for hearing their story, getting to know a secret of theirs, or something similar to that.
It might sound weird to you, but we think it's interesting to hear the story of other people. Even more so, if it's someone mysterious!"
While the offer sounded both appealing and highly lucrative, and exactly what Kyle and Selene needed, was it really worth it to reveal his secrets? Would they even believe the truth if he were to reveal it?
According to their statement, the discount they offered varied a lot. This means precious information is more valuable.
Nevertheless, what was more important? Being able to retain his secrets or getting his hands on the expensive equipment?
While Kyle was debating with himself, suddenly, Selene stepped forward after seeing how reluctant and contemplative Kyle was.
"If I tell my entire story instead of him...what kind of discount would that bring??"
Her eyes were gleaming faintly as she asked the question and waited for an answer.
Despite being afraid, given away by the fact that her legs were trembling, she tried her best to sound confident.
When Mell and Gard Jar saw this, they couldn't help but look at each other before Gard nodded his head with a gentle smile.
"First, how about you introduce yourself, and state who you and your...comrade are. After that, we'll decide!"
Kyle, who had noticed Selene's behavior, gently pulled her beside him before patting her head.
"You don't need to do that. Just try to relax for now….and control your trembling legs... If your voice sounds confident, but your body shakes like a leaf that sways even when the slightest breeze passes by, nobody will take you seriously."
Selene threw him a helpless look as she stared at him, not knowing what to do.
Kyle continued to pat her head, in an effort to stop her legs from trembling as he averted his focus on the married couple that was smiling at them.
They were definitely different from the other villagers he had met so far, but Kyle liked this change.
"Let me introduce ourselves first before anything else. My name is Kyle Lrae and the little, trembling girl next to me is Selene. How do I address sir and madame?"
He decided to be courteous instead of being impolite and direct for now, thinking that it might be improper to address them with 'you' or nothing at all while talking to the married couple.
"My name is Mell Jar and as you have already figured out, I'm a Rank-1 inscriber. Next to me, is my lovely husband, Gard Jar, and he is also Rank-1, but a blacksmith!"
Kyle bowed his head a little in acknowledgment and Selene quickly followed suit.
Thanks to Kyle caressing her head, she had been able to calm down and he was finally able to retract his hand.
"I won't tell you my entire story, but I will answer your questions to the best of my ability. If my information is valuable or interesting enough, I request you to give us a large discount!"
The last sentence was more to tease the married couple that was looking at him and Selene amusingly.
Kyle didn't think that they were in a dire need of wealth or resources.
This could be one reason for them to be interested in hearing the stories of strangers instead of asking for money.
Also, he believed that something must have caused them to move to a small village like Alsa.
However, now was not the time to ask questions, but to answer them.
Selene was about to say something but Kyle indicated that he would take it further from here. This fact didn't sit well with her so she retorted,
"I want to help you too! You're the only reason why I still want to live!"
This surprised Kyle because he didn't expect Selene to vehemently disagree with him when she had been shivering just a moment ago.
However, what truly shocked him was her reason to do so.
It made no sense to him, and both Mell and Gard looked at Selene with a newfound curiosity.
Initially, they had assumed Selene to be Kyle's slave, based on her bunny ears and frail body, but that was evidently not the case.
Selene noticed that Kyle wasn't paying heed to her words, thus she took his hands in hers with all the confidence she could muster and spoke,
"We might have not known each other for a long time, but you saved me, and made me want to live once again. Moreover, you accepted me, when I was at my worst! While everyone else was using me, laughing at me for being a cripple, a cursed and abandoned Lohar since birth, you extended a helping hand towards me without demanding anything in return!
Even if you don't like it, I'll follow you everywhere, and if need be, I can even sacrifice my life to protect you!"
Kyle was not even aware of when exactly goosebumps sprang up all over his body as he listened to Selene and her last few words seemed to knock him out. For a few seconds, he simply stared at the young Lohar with a wide-open mouth.
Only when he heard a gasp that had escaped Mell's lips did he quickly turn away from Selene as he mumbled, "Why do I feel so embarrassed right now??"
Yet, contrary to Kyle, who felt weird and uncomfortable upon hearing Selene's words, Mell and Gard were shocked about the odd pair, wondering what Kyle had done for Selene.
It was a touching story, and without meaning to, Selene had shared the most important facts of her past and present!
Hearing Selene unexpectedly blurting out reaffirmed the fact that their idea to give discounts in exchange for information and one's story was ingenious.
With every story that the couple heard, Mell realized that her decision to move to the Alsa village had been right and she was touched by Selene's sincere words.
Despite being a man who was said to have a heart of steel, Gard mirrored his wife's emotions which caused him to say,
"Little girl...you can take a look at the weapon shop later! I see that you have a small, self-made dagger. Let's exchange that with a proper weapon."
Selene, who was still holding Kyle's hand while staring at him with her bright, shining eyes, suddenly noticed what she was doing upon hearing Gard's voice.
Her cheeks turned red and she let go of her master's hand. She was about to apologize when she saw him smiling at her.
"Alright, just follow me!" Kyle said in the hopes of distracting her, as he recalled Selene's words which caused him to add in a serious tone,
"But, I won't allow you to sacrifice your life to protect me!"
Kyle would be lying if he were to say that he was not touched by her words.
However, at the same time, he was not sure how to feel because it was as if Selene had sold her past and present emotions to the married couple in exchange for a discount.
Fortunately, she looked fine, and as long as she didn't mind sharing details of her past without letting any pain or mental issues affect her, it was fine by him.
In return for sharing a part of her life experience, she even obtained permission to choose a weapon forged by a Rank-1 blacksmith.
This was great, and Kyle patted her head before he diverted his attention back to the married couple.
Though they appeared to be sweet, he had trouble believing that they didn't use the information provided by customers for personal gains. His rational mind was busy trying to figure out their real intention and if what Selene had shared with them would cause issues for themselves in the future.
Based on his past life experiences, Kyle knew that almost every race was self-centered, greedy, and mostly unbothered by the consequences their actions could bring forth.
There were exceptions, quite a lot of them, but since he had reincarnated, Kyle knew that he couldn't blindly trust people and had to be cautious.
They were not in a civilized society that was governed by rules, laws, and a system of justice in place to protect the weak anymore!
With that in mind, he carefully asked,
"Is there something that Mr. and Mrs. Jar find interesting about me?"
Mell, who had been looking at Selene hiding from everybody else after realizing what she had done, averted her gaze to Kyle as she asked him a simple question.
"Who are you?"