Time flies, a month has already passed. The Gray Merchants stayed in the town for two weeks which forced Dylan to also stay. There's just no way, he needs their company to safely cross the road. He didn't want to go alone where the chances of meeting robbers were sky-high. He didn't know their strength so he knew that it was better to be cautious.
The Gray Merchants stayed at the most expensive Inn during their two-week stay. What did they do? Why do they need to stay? Of course, for business. It was their purpose in the first place.
The town was known for mass-producing ordinary daggers and Hebi beans. Hebi beans are the cheapest food that one could find. They had a short maturity time and a high yield. One tree was enough to feed an entire street.
Due to their dirt cheap price, most families that couldn't afford bread or rice buy them. Even homeless people could survive thanks to Hebi beans. Though it was a calorie-rich food, its nutrient profile is garbage. It doesn't have fats or protein, just pure carbohydrates with no minerals or vitamins.
The poor couldn't be picky as long as they can fill their stomachs. Annually, the town could produce 500 hundred pounds. Although their land isn't as fertile as those prosperous cities. Hebi beans are relatively easy to grow even in ordinary soils with weeds.
The Gray Merchants deal business with the town and replenish their supply of oil and meat.
On the other hand, Dylan visited the only black smith in the town and purchased a bronze-quality chainmail, armor, and sword for a total of 456 copper coins. Now, Dylan was a pauper again.
The items he purchased are obviously not comparable to the equipment of the knights that were at least silver quality.
The good news is, the church didn't bother him anymore after Fuji's incident. Dylan didn't know if it was because of the show of his fangs, which made them apprehensive, or because he was currently with the Gray Merchants. Nonetheless, for whatever reason, Dylan was just glad.
He felt that the Sword of Damocles hanging above his head disappeared.
After two weeks of stay, Dylan and the Gray Merchant group set off. They traveled 200 hundred kilometers at a moderate pace in a month. They encountered a lot of bandits, but most didn't dare to attack them.
Of course, there would always be those desperate ones who would do anything to survive. They, who walk a thin thread, fight day by day to feed their family and ease their hunger.
Just like the one now in front of them. The carriage, the eight knights, and Dylan riding the Savage Deer abruptly stopped. Two meters ahead, twelve people, eight adult men, two kids, and two women were currently blocking the path. Each of them had knives.
Dylan began to observe. The twelve people didn't have malicious expressions. They didn't show greed or release killing intent.
Every one of them, without exception, looks thin, almost shriveled. It was to the point that their cheekbones appeared bony and their cheeks sunken.
They wore dirty tattered clothes barely covering the private parts of their body. What really made Dylan sad was each of them wore desperate expressions. Dylan strikes them as people who only want to survive!
'This is it... These people, they are hungry. How long have they not eaten? Although I know that they're just NPCs, why do I feel pity? Why do I feel sad? They're just NPCs.'
Dylan tried to convince himself. Next, he knew that it wouldn't be a beautiful scene. He knew that it was time for him to face the inevitable thing that he most disliked.
'Still, people shouldn't be deprived of the basic right to eat and fill their stomachs.'
As someone who lived on Earth and enjoyed the basic rights of humans. Dylan felt sick to witness people who couldn't even survive due to hunger.
"Move aside or die." One of the knights declared.
As he said this, the other seven knights raised their swords in unison, ready for battle. A strong red aura visibly appeared. Just then, a white circle emerged on the ground, with the carriage as a center, a white mist enveloping every one of the knights; even Dylan was affected.
*DING!*
[The host has been affected by "Aura Infusion Formation". Creatures designated by the owner will receive a temporary boost in strength, balance, and speed by 30%. Temporary boost of mana recovery by 70%.]
As Dylan saw the notification. He let go of his worries. He thought that it was a trap made by the hungry robbers but didn't expect it to be a formation.
'It came from the carriage as the source. Could it be from Lord Evan?'
Dylan began to speculate.
The lord of the Gray Merchants. Evan Bartow was a mysterious man. He rarely gets out of the carriage or talks with the knights. He wore a mask with a turtle design. He has a commanding temperament that only the general of an army would have. Dylan was curious about his employer's identity but he was aware that everyone has their secret.
He doesn't want to know too much for fear of being silenced. Chased by eight level 20 knights? No thanks.
"We just want food. Please, give us bread. Give us your belongings and we will leave. There's no need to fight."
A head adult with pale skin tone, who seems to weigh 45 kg, said weakly.
Then, he kicked a sickly kid whose ribs were exposed due to him likely being underweight to the front. The kid kneeled on the ground. "Sir, have mercy. My mother is bedridden. My father suffered a disease and couldn't work anymore. My little sister and I are hungry. Please have mercy." He begged with a shaky voice.
The knight that Dylan first spoke to, named Aaron, just maintained a neutral expression at the kid's statement and said with an impassioned tone. "You can't talk peace with guns pointed. Is there such a good thing? We will leave what is ours and you convince us to forget it? Weakness is a sin in this world." He turned to the leader of the opposing group, then at the kid, and continued to say:
"Your hunger has nothing to do with us kid."
The other knights didn't add anything and just waited for the signal of their leader.
Dylan, who was watching the spectacle, felt an unknown heaviness in his chest and a sense of disgust. 'How cruel... It seems no matter what world. There are people like this. But, I will likely become like them the longer I stay in this game world.'
"Don't blame us then." The leader of the group only shouted in response and charged madly toward the knights with his knives raised. "Kill!!!"