Of course, Tori’s real intention was to see if anyone would buy rat poison, so she and her mother went around asking people at the market. It was perfectly normal.

Blackwater Town’s market was full of people from different villages, as well as people who’d come from other towns. All in all, Tori thought she had a decent chance of selling some.

But she got turned down several times.

People didn’t seem interested in listening to the two women at all. Not until they ran into the man standing before them. Just going by his looks, he seemed like a pretty honest fellow.

He said, “I can tell at a glance you’re scammers. If you want to cheat people, go somewhere else. Don’t ruin our town’s reputation. People will see you and think Blackwater Town is full of crooks.”

That made Tori mad.

Besides, she figured that if she tried selling it normally, she probably wouldn’t make any sales. So she started putting on a performance. That’s what advertising is, after all—the cheapest ads are the ones people create on their own. And a public argument like this is the best way to catch people’s attention.

As long as you got the tone right, it could work really well. Besides, she and her mother were a young woman in her twenties and an eight-year-old child—about as vulnerable as you could get. Especially in this world, people were quick to feel sorry for them. And so the scene from a moment ago played out.

“We live in Lusaka Village, but the rats chewed up so many of our red peppers. Mom and I spent half a month making this poison. We were going to use it ourselves, but the village chief said that if we were able, we should do something to help everyone. So we decided to sell some of it and at least help people cut their losses… But then, then you called us scammers!”

The girl wept openly, while her mother held her and wore a pained expression. That was enough to sway public opinion—especially since the girl had just proved that her rat poison really worked.

The only thing that didn’t quite fit was that the girl’s mother hadn’t said a word.

But children were allowed to speak their minds. Her mother was probably trying to swallow her anger, while the child didn’t know any better. People filled in the rest of the details for themselves.

“That’s not gentlemanly at all! You don’t need rat poison, fine, but that doesn’t mean you should call them scammers. If you were in our village, I swear Aunt Lesu next door would kick your butt with her shoe!”

“Oh, Witch above! How can a man have such poor character? He ought to be driven right out of town!”

Unable to take the verbal abuse, the man quickly fled.

Tori didn’t want to hear any of this nonsense.

And what was with that ridiculous tone? Were they even trying to sound angry?

Then she finally heard the words she’d been hoping for all along: “How much is your rat poison? I think our village could use some. I’m Sharid, the chief of Hatras Village.”

The chief of Hatras Village? That village was southeast of Lusaka Village, and it mainly grew moongrass. Tori secretly nudged her mother in the waist.

Her mother finally caught on.

“Hello, Chief Sharid. Are you really planning to buy this rat poison?”

“Of course. I’ve seen what it can do, so there’s no reason not to buy it. And I did recently hear that a rat-control expert had appeared in your village. So it was you two.”

Tori pulled a packet of poison from her cloth bag. “Crush one packet and mix it into your leftovers. By morning, I guarantee every rat in your house will be dead! One packet is only—six copper coins.”

The chief smiled. “Excellent. There are fifty households in our village, so I’ll need fifty packets.”

Tori’s eyes widened. “I happen to have exactly fifty packets left. I don’t have any more if you need extra. That’ll be three silver coins!”

And with that, the deal was done.

Sweet!

Once the three silver coins were in hand, Chief Sharid said, “I imagine the other villages could use something like this too. I can get in touch with them. Then you can bring the poison directly to the other villages and collect the money from them.”

Tori was a little puzzled. “If you do that…”

“Heh. I’ll charge a referral fee. One copper coin per packet.”

“…Deal!”

Sharid gave the eight-year-old girl a long look, then chuckled twice and left with the cloth bag Tori had thrown in for free. It wasn’t easy for an old man to earn a little pocket money.

There were clever people in this world, Tori thought. Three silver coins wasn’t exactly a fortune, anyway. Plenty of people in town carried a dozen or so silver coins on them. After all, you came to the market to buy things. What was the point if you didn’t bring money?

She watched as the crowd gradually dispersed.

Tori grinned. “Mom! Let’s go! We’re having something good to eat in town today!” She didn’t hesitate to spend the money she’d earned on her family. “And let’s pack something up for Dad, too. He can make everyone jealous!”

“Ladies, could you wait a moment?”

Someone suddenly called out to them. Tori tightened her grip on the three silver coins she’d just earned and turned around warily. She saw an old man and a boy of about thirteen or fourteen. The old man was probably the one who’d called to them.

Xilika stepped in front of Tori to shield her. “Can we help you?”

“Not really. I simply feel sorry for what you two went through. I never expected there to be such a vile person in town. I heard you were planning to get something to eat. Would you let me treat you?”

The boy spoke very politely.

“No need. We can pay for our own meal.” Of course they had to refuse an offer like that.

“Madam, there’s no need to refuse so firmly,” said the old man beside the boy. “We may have some business to discuss, such as the rat poison you were selling just now.”

Tori’s eyes lit up, but something still felt off. The boy in front of her had blond hair. And, to be fair, he was pretty handsome. There was something about his bearing, too—and he was dressed so plainly. The old man beside him stood half a step behind…

The third young master?

Tori thought she’d guessed who he was.

Damn, what if this was some rich young thug who’d taken an interest in the mother and daughter and wanted a mother-daughter combo? Maybe he was already plotting something shady, planning to slip some kind of drug into their food. By the time she woke up, she’d already be *******.

Damn it. How had she run into someone like this?

Tori’s mind raced. She wanted to find a reasonable excuse to refuse. She didn’t know if he’d resort to force later, but at least she could buy herself some time.

“Sure.”

Then her own mother answered them.

Tori froze. Xilika gave them a gentle smile. “Wasn’t Tori hoping to earn more money? This is a good opportunity.”

Mom… You—you’re going to get scammed down to your underwear!

That was what happened when you hadn’t been targeted by enough phone scams. But Tori couldn’t really blame her mother. She was just a country girl, and she trusted other people’s kindness too easily.

She’d kept a little rat poison aside. Maybe she could mix it into the food when they ate. This poison probably wasn’t strong enough to kill anyone; at worst, it would cause vomiting and diarrhea. If this rich kid tried to drug them with something else, it might at least help counteract it a little…

There were restaurants in town, even if they all served pretty much the same dishes.

“I didn’t introduce myself earlier.” After ordering, the boy introduced himself to Tori and Xilika. “My name is Ethan. I’m from the neighboring town. This is my uncle Yabu. We’re adventurers, and we came to Blackwater Town to prepare before heading into the forest.”

Not a single word of that was true.

Tori considered this silently.

“So, the reason you want to buy rat poison is…”

“We’ve heard there are quite a few rats living in groups where we’re going. Our target is a rat king that’s practically a monster now. Your rat poison might come in handy.”

Oh, you’re not simple, are you, Third Young Master? Tori judged him silently. Lie after lie, and he didn’t even blush. You’re wasted in this town.

Xilika looked delighted. “Then, Tori, you can make a little more money.”

“Ahem! Mom, I just remembered. I think I only have enough ingredients to supply the nearby villages, and even that’ll keep me busy for a long time. Since Big Brother Ethan’s an adventurer, I’m sure a few rats won’t be a problem for him. There’s no need to buy poison from us specifically.”

Ethan and Yabu both turned their eyes to Tori.

Tori immediately felt the pressure.

Ethan stared at her with an almost amused look. It made her nervous. What if he really was the ruthless kind of protagonist? Had she already earned a death sentence?!

Tori couldn’t help feeling a shiver in her heart.

“Ah, um… If you really need it, Big Brother Ethan, I can look for more ingredients and bring you some. Since you’re treating us to a meal, I’ll charge you five copper coins a packet? No, four will do!”

As she said this, she watched Ethan’s expression.

When she saw no change in his expression, Tori felt a little uneasy.

“So I got a bargain, then? In that case, this meal’s worth it.”

Hearing that, Tori breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like she wasn’t in danger of getting herself killed. Not for now, anyway.

Ethan looked at Xilika. “Your daughter’s really clever, isn’t she? It must take a lot of effort to teach a child that smart. I’ve got several younger siblings, and most of them seem pretty dumb next to her.”

Hearing someone praise her daughter put Xilika in a good mood. “Tori’s always been clever. She gathered all the ingredients for this rat poison herself and worked out the mixture little by little. She only managed to make it after she’d caught all the rats in the village.”

Ethan looked even more surprised.

Everyone enjoyed the meal. In any case, Ethan hadn’t drugged anyone, and neither had Tori.

When they parted, Ethan gave them an address. He said they could deliver the rat poison there once it was ready. He even paid in advance.

He gave Tori four silver coins outright.

That made Tori even more certain of his identity.

He wasn’t worried at all that she’d take the money and never deliver the goods.

“Tori, isn’t it great that you made some money? Why don’t you look very happy?”

“It’s nothing, Mom. I’m just a little tired today, and I ate a lot just now.” Tori patted her stomach. “I’m feeling sleepy.”

Xilika smiled gently. “Then should I carry you?”

“No, no! I can still walk!”

The girl hurried a few steps ahead. “See? I can still run!”