"Hello, Markus..." Anon spoke with a smile as he looked at the old man.
"Hmm...? Who are you gentlemen and how do you know my name ?" Markus asked with a Confused expression.
'Ah, Fuck... I forgot that I was in disguise.' Anon thought immediately.
"Umm... Mr. Anon told us about you. He said you sell best cigars in all seven kingdoms." Mike immediately spoke up and settled his doubt.
"Oh, You are Sir Anon's friends ? Please have a seat gentlemen... I will bring some wine for you guys." Markus spoke as he immediately went in.
"Master, Why do you always buy your cigars form this old man ?" Mike asked.
"Because he makes good Cigars, gives me 10% discount and serves me wine even without knowing who I really am." Anon spoke with a smile.
"But, Master-"
"Here you go gentlemen... Here is your delicious wine. Please have a sip..." Markus spoke as he gave the wine to Anon and Mike.
"Thanks..." Both Anon and Mike spoke at the same time.
"So, Mr..." Markus spoke as he looked at Anon.
"Oh, I am Jack." Anon spoke with a smile.
"Haha... Mr. Jack. Please tell me... What would you like to buy from my shop ? Antiques, Cigars or Maybe old wine." Markus asked with a smile.
"Well, I would like to buy Some Cigars..." Anon spoke.
"Okay and how many packs of cigar do you want sir ?" Markus asked.
"I want 69 crates of your best cigars..." Anon spoke.
"Hahaha... Mr. Anon told you to say that didn't he ? He always places the same order with the same exact words. I always tried to convince him to buy 70 full crates but he never did and I guess you would be the same, right ?" Markus asked with a smile.
"Yes... Only 69 crates of cigar." Anon spoke.
"As you say, Sir... I will prepare your order and until then please wait in this room and enjoy your wine." Markus spoke with a smile as he went to the other room.
"Master, I can recommend you more shops that will treat you even better and give you a bigger discount." Mike spoke up.
"No, Mike... I like his cigars because he makes them with a secret ingredient." Anon spoke.
"What's the secret ingredient master ?" Mike asked.
"Dragon's bone powder..." Anon spoke with a smile.
"What the- !? That powder is really expensive master and it is said that if a small fraction of that thing is added to a dish it becomes really tasty but to use it in cigars... That's an innovative idea." Mike spoke.
"Yeah... Once I smoke them, it gets me to calm down and think clearly." Anon replied with a smile.
"Okay, gentlemen... Your order is ready. That would be 12 jades and 23 golds with the 10% discount included." Markus spoke with a smile as he gave the bill to Anon.
'12 jades for 69 crates... That's 100 times more than what a normal cigar costs.' Mike thought as he continued to drink his wine.
"Thank you, Markus... Here is your tip and the money. Keep the change..." Anon spoke as he gave 13 jades to Markus.
"Haha... You are very similar to Mr. Anon. Giving tip and all... Only Mr. Anon does that." Markus spoke with a smile.
"He really is... Isn't he ?" Mike spoke in a very low voice.
"So, Where should I load the stuff Mr. Jack ?" Markus asked with a smile.
"Yeah... I will load it in my inventory." Anon spoke with a smile.
"Wait, You have a storage space like Mr. Anon ?" Markus asked with a suspicious expression.
'Master he definitely found out about you...' Mike spoke as he used the skill Psychopathic Connection.
'Did he ?' Anon asked with a smile.
"Don't tell me... You are Mr. Anon's brother..." Markus spoke with a smile and profound expression.
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"Oh, you got me... Markus. Your eyes are really sharp." Anon spoke with a smile.
"Well, Well... What can I say ? I am really special you know." Markus spoke with a proud smile.
"Well, here Is your first time shopping gift... Mr. Jack. A 100 year old wine bottle. Please enjoy." Markus spoke as he gave the bottle to Anon.
"Oh, thank you..." Anon took the wine bottle and placed it inside his inventory.
After this he placed all the crates of cigar into his inventory and took out the empty crates.
"I will be waiting to do business with you again, Mr. Jack and say hi to Mr. Anon for me." Markus spoke as Anon exited his shop.
"I will..." Anon spoke with a smile as he exited the shop.
He then summoned a cigar placed it in-between his lips and lit it up with his middle finger.
"Master... Where to next ?" Mike asked.
"To the dwarf kingdom..." Anon spoke as he saw a group of wagons standing in front of a big bread factory.
"Hmm...?" Anon suddenly noticed a sigil sign on the wagons and immediately understood that these wagons were also going to the dwarf kingdom.
"Let's go with them..." Anon spoke with a smile.
"Master, these wagons are third party wagons... They go from the forest routes in order to avoid Royal Tax.
The Royal wagons are that way..." Mike spoke.
"Mike... What's the fun in going through the safe way ? Reaching your destination is no fun, it's all about the way you travel through and travelling through a safe route is boring as fuck.
We will go from the Forest route, Maybe I make some female friends in the way. I mean having sex in a wagon will be a new experience." Anon spoke with a smile as he immediately started walking towards the wagons.
"Master can be really carefree sometimes... Haha." Mike spoke with a smile as he immediately followed Anon.
Inside the factory...
"Okay... That's too low for what you give to the regular transporters, Mister." A human girl with muscular body spoke with a serious expression.
"I mean you aren't paying Royal Tax.... So, that should be more than enough right ?"
*Knock-Knock*
"Ummm... Excuse me ? Am I interrupting something ?" Anon asked as he knocked on the door.
"Inside the factory, seven people are standing in front of the factory owner.
In the front, a girl with a muscular body build is standing, and her face has a big burn mark on its left side.
"Mr. Keel... I am not going to repeat myself. You promised me 7 gold for this transport, and now you are only giving me 3 gold? What should I make of that?" She asked with an angry expression.
"Look... I know I promised you that... but why would I give it to you if you aren't even taking a guarantee of my goods to reach their location? If I can get assured that my goods will reach their location, then I will give you 6 gold, and if something happens to my goods, you will give me a full refund," Keel spoke with a smile.
"You fucking... But, this is still too low for such a long transport route. I have 5 drivers and 7 crew members to feed... How do you think I am going to pay them?" The girl asked with an irritated expression.
"Hey, hey... You aren't going to pay the Royal Tax, are you?"
"What do you mean?"
"If you aren't going to pay the Royal tax, then you can easily distribute this money between you guys. Now, don't waste my time and go..."
"But-"
"I will give you 3 golds..." Suddenly, Anon's voice rang from behind.
Everyone immediately turned around and noticed a guy with blonde hair and black eyes standing on the factory's entrance gate.
"Who are you?" The girl asked with a confused expression.
"I am just a traveler looking for a wagon. I heard that you guys are also going to the Dwarf kingdom... Will you drop me there? I will give you the missing amount of money that he promised you. How about it?" Anon asked with a smile.
"Sir, you should use the Royal wagon-" A mercenary started speaking but before he could've completed his sentence, the girl mercenary immediately punched him in the stomach and stopped him from speaking anything further.
"Hahaha... Why not, Sir? We will take you to the dwarf kingdom without any problems." She spoke with a smile.
"Leader... What are you doing?" The other mercenary asked in a low voice, with a confused expression.
"Can't you see it? The money is coming to us, and you stupids are trying to send it away." She spoke with an angry expression immediately.
"I-I see..."
"So, is it possible and I have a friend with me as well...?" Anon asked with a smile.
"Why not? We will leave in about 30 minutes... Please have a seat until then. I am Kira, and I will be your host during this journey.
This is my crew. I have 3 girls and 4 guys with 5 wagon drivers. You can ask for any help on the way from any of them. Please enjoy the trip... Thank you." Kira spoke as she left immediately after this to load the stuff into her wagon.
"Hello, I am Lisa. I hope you enjoy our ride..." A girl with blue eyes and blue hair walked up to Anon.
"Oh, hello... I am Ano- I mean Jack. My name is Jack." Anon spoke with a smile.
"Hmm... What a coincidence, my small brother has the same name as you." Lisa spoke with a smile.
"Hahah... What a funny coincidence. Now, will you stop flirting with him and help me?" Kira shouted from a distance.
"Y-Yes, Ma'am..." Lisa spoke with a scared expression as she immediately started walking towards Kira.
"Kid... Do you know how to fight?" Another girl with black hair and brown eyes walked up to Anon.
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"I mean... I know it theoretically." Anon replied with a neutral expression.
"Haha... Kid, you should know that we will cross through a very dangerous forest, and there will be beasts and bandits... Hehehe." She spoke with an evil smile as she tried to scare Anon with her words.
"O-Oh my god... There will be bandits?!" Anon played along and acted as if he is already afraid.
"Hhaha... How fast this kid fell for my prank. Don't worry, we will take care of you, and even if something comes our way, we will just fight it off.
So be chill and enjoy the ride. One more thing, it's about to snow down heavily... So, take a thick coat with you.
I don't want you to die from cold..." She spoke with a smile and then left.
"Oh, okay..."
Outside the factory...
"Leader... The snowfall is going to be heavy this time. I don't think it will be safe to transport right now.... If a wheel got stuck in the snow, we will become dinner for the beasts." A wagon driver spoke as he walked up to Kira.
"Darren... If we did this last run, then all of us can spend the next month of winter with our families without any care of money. Do you want me to cancel it and see your kids starving for food?" Kira asked.
"N-No, Ma'am," he replied.
"Good... Now go and lock the carts. We will leave in 5 minutes..." Kira ordered.
"Yes, Ma'am."
Inside the factory...
"So, where are you boys from?" A dwarf with a long beard asked with a smile.
"Me? I am Master-" Before Mike could've completed his sentence, Anon kicked him slightly in the leg.
"I-I mean... I am from the north side village," Mike immediately changed his sentence.
"What about you?" He asked Anon.
"I am from this very continent, sir," Anon replied with a smile.
"Why do you guys want to go to the dwarf kingdom?" Kira asked as she entered the room.
"Well, I have some trades that I want to make there..." Anon replied with a smile.
"Be careful, kid... The dwarfs are really angry at this time because our kingdom canceled the alcohol traders contract with them," Kira spoke with a serious expression.
"Don't worry, Ma'am. Just get me to the kingdom, and I will handle it," Anon spoke with a smile.
"Well, it's your choice... I can't say anything in this. Come... The wagons are loaded and ready to go," Kira spoke with a smile.
"Okay..."
Both Anon and Mike stood up from their chairs and followed Kira out to the wagons.
"You can sit in any of these last three wagons. The ten in the front are filled with bread and stuff... So, I can't let you sit in them," Kira spoke as she pointed towards the last wagons.
"I am going to sit in the last wagon..." Mike spoke with a determined expression because he knew he had to watch the back of his master.
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"What about you?" Kira asked with a smile as she turned to look at Anon.
"What wagon are you going to be sitting in?" Anon asked with a smile.
"Kid, don't try that... I am already over with this thing. Now, go and sit inside the second last wagon," Kira spoke with a smile as she moved forward and sat on the driver's seat of the first wagon.
She grabbed the leash and got ready to move forward.
"Looks like a snowfall is going to happen..." Suddenly Anon's voice came from the back.
"Hmm...?"
Anon came up to Kira and sat beside her on the driver's seat of the wagon.
"What are you doing?" Kira asked.
"Nothing... I don't like to sit back. I thought, I would rather enjoy the view with you here," Anon spoke with a smile.
"Haa... You are a stupid kid. If you think you will impress with that, then you are just making a fool of yourself," Kira spoke with a smile as she whipped the leash and the horses started moving.
As soon as the first wagon started moving, the other 12 followed behind.
"I thought he will come and sit with me..." Lisa spoke with a sad expression.
"Don't worry... Not everyone likes a whore," a man around 23 spoke from the other wagon.
"You fucking asshole... I will kill you."
"Hahahaha...."
"Hehehe...."
"Hahahahaha..."
Ten minutes later, all 13 wagons left the Royal Capital...
"So, may I ask how long have you been doing this for?" Anon asked with a smile.
"Why should I tell you this?" Kira asked.
"Don't be rude... A cute girl like you shouldn't be that rude," Anon spoke with a smile.
"Okay, stop that... Just stop that. I will tell you... 12 years. You happy?" Kira asked with an Irritated expression.
"Yeah... Can I ask one more question?" Anon asked with a sincere voice.
"No..."
"You are very cute... Do you-"
"Fine... Ask. Why did I agree to even give you a ride?"
"For the money..." Anon spoke with a smile.
"Yeah... Thanks for reminding me. I was just saying it metaphorically, idiot," Kira replied.
"Oh, I am sorry... Don't have a sense for that kind of thing. Anyways... That mark on your face... What happened?" Anon asked.
"I am not going to answer that... Ask something else," Kira replied.
"It looks cut-"
"Fine... I will tell you. What a headache..."
"Will you shut up if I tell you what happened to my face?" Kira asked with a serious expression.
"Yes," Anon replied with a smile.
"Fine... Just let me take the next turn, and I will tell you," Kira replied.
"Okay..."
As the wagons reached in front of the tax post, two royal guards stopped them...
"Stop at once," the guards shouted.
"Hello, Mark... How are the kids?" Kira asked as she hopped down from the wagon.
"My kids are good... Who is this kid? Your new boyfriend?" Mark asked with a smile.
"Nah, he's just a customer. I'm taking him to the Dwarf Kingdom," Mark replied.
"Huh...? Why didn't he use the normal transport wagons then?" Mark asked.
"Shhh... Mark, keep it low. He's new and doesn't know all that. Just shut up..." Kira spoke with a very serious expression and in a low voice.
"Okay... Okay... How much is he paying you?" Mark asked.
"Umm... 50 coppers," Kira lied immediately because she knew that Mark would definitely ask for a commission.
"So, where are my 20 coppers?" Mark asked immediately.
"How about 15?" Kira asked with a smile.
"No... 20 or pay tax," Mark spoke.
"Fine... Here," Kira spoke as she gave 20 coppers to Mark and came back to the wagon.
"Taking money as if he is going to let us go through the Royal Road..." Kira spoke with an irritated expression as she sat down on the driver's seat and whipped the leash.
The wagons started moving again but instead of going straight this time... All the wagons turned towards the forests.
"Oi, Kira, be aware... A group of Black Eye bandit-" Before Mark could complete his sentence, the wagons entered inside the forest, and only Anon heard his full sentence.
"Heh..." A smirk appeared over Anon's face, but he turned back to his normal expression immediately.
"I don't think they heard you, Mark," another guard spoke.
"Who gives a fuck? Here are your 10 coppers... Have fun," Mark spoke as he gave the money to the other guard.
"The snowfall is increasing by the second... I don't think they will be able to sneeze make it through," the other guard spoke as he sneezed.
"Don't care... I want to go home," Mark spoke.
"I don't think anyone will come now since the roads are filled with snow. We should go home."
"Yeah... Let's go to a bar and have some beer with roasted fish."
Both of them spoke and left the duty at once.
Inside the forest...
"Snow is increasing..." Kira spoke as she immediately turned back and took out a thick leather coat from inside the wagon.
"You don't have your coat, kid?" Kira asked as she noticed that Anon was only wearing a shirt with a black coat over it.
"No... My coat is more than enough," Anon replied with a smile.
"Here... Cover yourself with this. You won't feel the cold," Kira spoke as she gave Anon a thick blanket.
"Oh, thank you..." Anon replied with a smile.
"No need, I will take it back once I start to feel the cold," Kira spoke with a serious expression.
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"Oh, okay... So, about the mark?" Anon asked with a smile.
"Why are you so interested in my mark? Don't you have something else to do?" Kira asked with a serious expression.
"I am in the middle of a forest. Snow is falling down heavily, and the sun is also going down. What do you think I can do in this particular environment?" Anon asked.
"You can recount your money... pretty sure you have too much of it on you," Kira spoke with a neutral expression.
"I can't do that," Anon replied with a smile.
"Why?" Kira asked.
"I have too much... If I started counting now, it will take me more than 100 years to count the money, and I will have more until then," Anon replied with a smile.
"You rich ass... What is your business anyway?" Kira asked.
"I supply wood to different kingdoms and create different gadgets. The lamps hanging on these wagons are made by my company," Anon spoke with a smile.
"No doubt why you are so rich..." Kira spoke with a serious expression.
"Now, I answered your question. It's your turn to answer my question," Anon spoke with a smile.
"Ugghhhh... Fine, if you want to know it so bad. I will tell you... 3 years back, I had a boyfriend... A young guy who looked just like you.
He made some stupid promises of living and dying together with me and the fuck up is, I believed him because I was fucking stupid. We had a small house at the north corner of the Royal Capital's 7th ring.
Everything was going great until one night. I was returning back to our house, and suddenly I saw many people running towards our street.
It was a massive fire caused by a monster outbreak... I ran as fast as I could have and reached there, but our house was already on fire.
I rushed into the house and saw my boyfriend unconsciously lying on the floor. I picked him up and started running outside, but a big wooden pillar that was covered in flames fell from above, and I used my face to block it from falling over my boyfriend.
My face burned like hell, and the pain I felt that day was something else... But, what happened after that hurt even more..." Kira spoke as she stopped talking, and tears started gathering up inside her eyes.
"What happened?" Anon asked with a curious expression.
"When he came to his senses... He looked at me and got scared immediately. He said... I look like a fucking monster, and that he will never talk to me ever again.
He broke everything that was in-between us and left me... Even though I sacrificed my face to save him.
That's when I realized that the physical pain was nothing... It was this emotional shit that hurts the most," Kira spoke with an angry expression as she didn't let a tear fall down from her eyes.