On the vacant land beside the town.
Ino glanced around and then walked toward the bakery.
Of course, if he were an adult, he would have gone straight to the tavern to get the basic information here.
But although he had suddenly shot up to about 1.6 meters tall this year, his youthful face still betrayed his true age.
In a place crowded with mixed people, it wasn't a wise choice for a half-grown kid to venture into a tavern.
Meanwhile.
On the other side of town.
The bakery owner, Penn, was also busily engaged in his day's work.
First, he poured rough wheat flour, mixed with sand grains, into an old, yellowed wooden basin. Then, he scooped some murky water from a bucket in the corner and added it in.
Finally, he began mechanically kneading the dough.
Although working, Penn's eyes were not idle. He kept observing the passing merchant caravans and unfamiliar travelers.
Today, he noticed something new early in the day: a stranger had arrived in town.
Of course, many strangers came here daily, but what caught his attention today was the age and attire of this stranger, and the beautiful accordion on his back.
The gray robe didn't look special at first glance, but Penn knew that such finely woven fabric wasn't something an average person could afford.
Even the wealthiest person here, the tavern owner Mrs. Sophia, only owned one dress made of such fine woven fabric.
And she only wore this dress during the annual harvest festival, showing how much she treasured it.
"Time to make some money again!" Penn thought secretly.
To have achieved owning his bakery before the age of twenty, he relied on his shrewd mind and keen observation.
He knew very well that honestly selling bread would only keep him from starving. To make money and open a bakery in the city, he had to cater to these well-dressed wealthy people.
Seeing his target walking towards him, Penn's mind worked quickly, recalling various events from recent times.
After all, the only things valuable to these wealthy people coming to the poorly conditioned merchant town were various news and fresh stories.
...
Ino slowly walked towards the bakery.
The small shop had only a twenty-something young man busy working. Interestingly, Ino saw a shrewdness in this young man's eyes, similar to Flint's.
This was good. Shrewd and profit-driven people were often more straightforward than those with honeyed words and daggers behind their backs.
"Excuse me! Sorry to bother you," Ino said slowly as he walked up to the young man. "How much for your bread? They look very tempting!"
For their first interaction, he had to lie through his teeth to compliment these black loaves, which had pitted surfaces and even some unidentified hair mixed in.
"Hey! Sir, they are worthless, and I don't think you can stomach them," Penn spread his hands, his expression somewhat odd. He dared to swear by the Harvest Goddess that if this young man could eat a bite of the bread, he would give up his entire year's income next year.
"If you're really hungry, I suggest you go to the tavern across the street. Mrs. Sophia's roast beef is famous in the merchant town."
"Really? It's my first time here, and I've heard this place is interesting! I am a traveling bard," Ino said, seizing the opportunity after hearing the location name.
"A bard, huh?" Penn felt a bit disappointed. In his impression, these people usually weren't wealthy. But he quickly realized he could profit in another way and immediately said, "Do you want to hear the story of Merchant Town? Then you can tell others later. But it costs two copper coins per story!"
"Sure! Start your story then!"
Inor pulled out two copper coins from his pocket and placed them on the bread table. Although he had spent all of Old John's gold coins, he still had some silver and copper coins left.
...
Half an hour later.
After spending 12 copper coins, Ino had a fair understanding of the place.
First, this was a vast world with endless lands, countless cities, and kingdoms—a world full of stories.
Elves in the forests, devils in the wilderness, witches in ruined towers, mermaids by the sea, and many more tales abound.
After leaving the bakery, Ino walked straight to the space where the carriages were parked.
In such a vast world, if he didn't encounter a happening story, it might take a long time to leave, sometimes living for a month or even half a year was common.
Given this, he planned to resume his old profession to keep himself busy and also to expand his pocket. After all, the few silver coins left probably couldn't cover a few days' rent at the tavern.
On the vacant land where carriages were parked.
Under the curious gazes of many merchants, Ino slowly pulled his accordion.
This was a means to attract customers. Bards had various tricks, some drew pictures on the ground, some beat bamboo clappers, and some performed tricks.
The purpose was the same: to attract attention.
Only by attracting enough attention could he earn profits from the upcoming story. Otherwise, if only one or two people listened and left, it would be a huge loss.
A few minutes later, after finishing a piece, Ino looked at the roughly twenty people gathered around and slowly began:
"In the distant Misty Mountains, there lies a hidden kingdom among the mountains. In the capital of this kingdom, countless treasures are piled up, with endless gold and gems. This immense wealth eventually attracted the attention of a dragon..."
He opened with a thematic statement, followed by a flashback to keep more people listening.
"The dragon's name was Smaug. He seized the dwarves' wealth. Brave Prince Thorin gathered many dwarf warriors, and together they embarked on a great journey to kill the dragon and reclaim their homeland."
As time passed, the story gradually unfolded, and more people gathered around.
When the dwarves entered the Lonely Mountain and were about to face the demon, Ino stopped, stood up, and slowly bowed to the surrounding people, then spread a square piece of linen on the ground.
The well-traveled merchants understood what this meant. Those who wanted to listen generously threw a few copper coins onto the linen; those who wanted to leave did so quietly, all in an orderly manner.
"Clink! Clink clink!"
Clear and pleasant sounds rang out, and suddenly a shiny gold coin appeared on the linen. Inor looked up in surprise.
The one who paid was a mature-looking young man with thick glasses. Perhaps seeing Inor's puzzled look, the young man spoke:
"I really like your story, but I feel you've left out a lot, so I paid in hopes you could tell me the full story in private someday. I want to buy it and record it in my storybook."
"Oh, by the way! My name is Wilhelm Green! I'm an adventurer and novelist."