187 - The Persistent Merchant
"Ah! There you are! I finally found you! It's you, you! That cute young lady with the black hair over there!"
They say bad premonitions have a way of coming true, and here was proof. No sooner had I received a piece of advice I would rather not have heard than I encountered the very suspicious merchant that advice had warned me about. As far as I was concerned, I had no business with merchants, so although I could hear him, I ignored him and kept walking. Elke and the others, who had heard Mirshe's warning alongside me, felt the same. Only Nils, the honest one, looked back and forth between the merchant and me, confused. Being an honest person, he probably could not bring himself to ignore someone who was clearly calling out to him, knowing full well they were being addressed.
"Wait, young lady!"
The merchant cut around in front of me, forcing me to stop. If he had grabbed my shoulder, Kalisa would have judged it as an attack on me and removed him, but the merchant seemed aware of that and acted accordingly. He was carefully avoiding crossing the line that would warrant reporting him to the Black Knights.
...In other words, he was used to this kind of nuisance behavior.
My judgment that staying uninvolved was for the best remained unshakable. He was an obstacle, but since he kept his distance just enough that he could not be caught, I simply treated him as an obstruction and went around him.
"You are not wearing that cute ribbon today, are you? Uncle here would love to get a better look at that lace ribbon..."
...Ignore, ignore. Do not engage with him.
As I slipped past the self-proclaimed merchant, he fell into step beside me. He regaled me with tales of his struggles, how he had been searching for me for days, how hard it had been to find me, how he had asked around but the city residents were tight-lipped. But from my perspective, it was nothing more than a stalker confessing his crimes, announcing that he had been diligently pursuing me. Perhaps he was trying to win my sympathy with his tales of hardship, but it was having entirely the opposite effect.
When I had grown thoroughly exasperated, Kalisa cut in between the man and me. Kalisa, too, could not lay hands on the merchant since he maintained that delicate distance, but if he so much as accidentally touched Kalisa, I was fully prepared to scream "molestor!" without hesitation. And the merchant, who seemed well accustomed to this kind of nuisance, must have seen right through both my and Kalisa's intentions. He circled around to my other side.
"Meeting again like this must be fate! Let Uncle treat you, and we can chat a little."
...First you say you searched for me for days, and then claim we met again because of fate? That is a stretch.
It was the result of persistent searching, not fate by any stretch of the imagination.
"So how about it? Have you warmed up to the idea of selling Uncle that ribbon?"
"I told you I will not sell it, mashira! You are being persistent, deshu!"
His relentless pestering made me blurt out an answer, and I immediately realized my mistake. This was the same as a common scam tactic. If you give even a little ground and respond, they learn that persistent harassment gets a reaction. And then you end up being dragged into their endless pursuit.
"I will give you two silver coins! Twice what I offered last time, you know? My, my, you are quite the businesswoman, young lady."
The self-proclaimed merchant gave an oily, unpleasant smile and immediately started price negotiations. This was exactly why I had thought ignoring him was best. I cursed myself for being tricked into answering by his sheer persistence.
"That ribbon for two silver coins? That is practically giving it away!"
The one who cut in loudly between the merchant and me, in an exaggerated voice, was Petrona. Petrona, who had an interest in fashion, understood the ribbon's value.
"You do not seem to have much of an eye for things. No offense, but are you really a merchant?"
If he claimed to be a merchant, he should have a business license, Elke said, now cutting in between Petrona and the merchant. That reminded me that the two of them were daughters of prominent merchant families. I could not tell whether this self-proclaimed merchant was genuine, but they probably had ways to determine that, through certain methods or merchant-specific protocols.
Pressed by the two merchant daughters, the merchant reluctantly pulled out a wooden plaque. It seemed like such a plaque could be easily abused by carving off and rewriting the contents, but if the surface was indented, it would be easy to spot a forgery. Rather than checking the contents, Elke and Petrona ran their fingers over the surface of the wooden plaque he offered, confirming whether it was genuine.
"...It seems he really is a merchant, at least nominally."
"A traveling merchant from the Saenard Kingdom."
Returning the wooden plaque to the merchant, the two of them looked at me. They had confirmed he was an actual merchant, but I had no business with this man who called himself a merchant.
...Was not the Saenard Kingdom that country of the kidnappers from Lagarette?
No matter how I looked at it, there was no reason to get involved with this merchant. On the contrary, it only gave me reasons not to. I told him again that I had no intention of selling the ribbon, and took my leave of the merchant. From my side, I had refused him any number of times, but the merchant still followed after me.
...Really, so persistent!
With the merchant ignoring my attempts to brush him off and calling out to me again and again, only Kalisa was left to cut in and block him. Nils was never one to be forceful, and Elke and the others, after checking the wooden plaque, seemed to have something in mind and stayed quiet. Perhaps they had a better idea than wasting energy by physically intervening.
I sought help by dashing into the temporary Black Knights post set up for the festival security, and it seemed the merchant could not follow me in there. According to the Black Knights' report, he was prowling around the vicinity of the post, but he could not enter.
"As you would expect from a traveling merchant, he is persistent about anything that looks sellable."
"For all that, his pricing is way too lax."
Elke and Petrona said, lifting the tent fabric to peek outside. As daughters of merchant families, they had sharp eyes for evaluating goods.
"I am sorry, everyone. You came all the way to the festival, and I dragged you into being followed by some weirdo."
"It is not your fault, Tina-chan."
"That is right. It is all because of that persistent merchant."
While we were being harassed by his stalking, he had not made any decisive moves, so even if we reported him to the Black Knights, there was not much they could do. With no other choice, we took shelter in the Black Knights' tent for a while, eating the plate-grilled food I had bought as souvenirs and chatting away.
...I am really glad I bought a little extra.
As we were passing the time chatting in the tent, a Black Knight sent word to the Fortress Lord's Residence. Apparently, I would be escorted back. I had thought Bart might come to pick me up, but for some reason, it was Alf who came.
"Oh? Alf-san came to pick me up, n deshu ka?"
"I am better at this sort of thing than Leonardo."
When Alf replied that Leonardo would resort to physical force, Elke and Petrona looked puzzled, but Nils seemed to understand the meaning. He gave a wry, uncertain smile.
"You are going back to the residence now, Tina, right?"
"Yes, deshu. I have looked around the festival enough already, mashira."
But I confessed my fear that the man calling himself a suspicious merchant might follow me all the way to the residence. It would be easy to use the Black Knights to forcibly remove him, but for now, he was merely a nuisance and had not done anything warranting forced expulsion. If the Black Knights removed an ordinary person who had done nothing wrong, it would damage their reputation.
...Really, that stalker was definitely used to this. He was keeping to that boundary where we could not have him removed.
It was frustrating how easy it would be to just get rid of him. But I also understood that whoever struck first would lose. In a sense, it was a battle of endurance.
I ended up heading back with Alf, and we parted ways with Nils and the others here. Since the merchant's target was my ribbon, separating myself from the others would keep them from being bothered.
"...Well then, shall we head back?"
"Yes."
As I waved goodbye to Nils and the others as they walked away, Alf prompted me. I was concerned about the merchant, but just as expected, he did not chase after the other children. He stood at a spot just barely visible from where we were, watching us.
"Are you going to have the Black Knights detain him again?"
"No, today I would like him to follow us, by all means."
"Huh?"
I had assumed he would use the Black Knights to stop him, but apparently today was different. He did not seem inclined to shake off the merchant following us, and Alf's pace was relaxed. However, I could tell that Alf's gentle smile was slightly different from usual, with a scheming look to it, so I followed him without worry. If Alf said it was fine, then surely it was fine.
"...Huh? Alf-san, the residence is the other way, deshu yo."
We came to the fork leading to the Fortress Lord's Residence and the fortress. Alf, who had been walking straight toward the residence up until this point, changed direction. Since the city center, the fortress, and the Fortress Lord's Residence were all in the same direction, perhaps Alf's destination had been the fortress all along.
"It is fine. Since we are here, let us have him follow us to the fortress."
...Huh? The fortress? That merchant was going to follow us to the fortress?
I felt like I vaguely understood what Alf was trying to do, and though I still had a few questions, I silently followed him. Usually I would smile and charm my way through the main gate, but today I deliberately made an anxious expression as I passed through. To the Black Knights who knew me, this would make me look like a child feeling uneasy because she was being followed by a suspicious merchant, while to the merchant, I would look like a child feeling uneasy about being taken to the unfamiliar Black Knights post. Either way, it was a visual effect that cost me nothing.
"Indeed, outsiders cannot enter the fortress."
If anything, if he took even one step inside, it would be the perfect reason to capture him as an intruder.
"And since it connects to the back gate of the Fortress Lord's Residence, Tina can return home without being seen by any suspicious individuals."
Circling all the way around the building to the back might have given away our plan, so we went inside the building first. We could have killed some time, but instead we simply passed through the building and headed straight home.
We explained the situation to the gatekeeper and used the back gate. It was a somewhat odd route home, coming through the back gate, but we managed to shake off the suspicious merchant and return safely.
"Thank you for your help."
I thanked Alf for escorting me and handed him the plate-grilled food I had bought as a souvenir. I had bought it thinking he might stop by tonight, but if I could give it to him now, it would be fine to do so.
"I am home."
"Welcome back, Tina."
When I parted from Alf and entered the residence, Leonardo was in the entrance hall. I had thought he would be working at this hour, but since he was here to greet me, the report about me being followed by a suspicious person had probably already reached him. Considering that Alf had come to pick me up, perhaps Leonardo had originally intended to come for me himself. Out of consideration for those around me, Alf, who could smoothly extract me without ruining the festive mood, probably stopped Leonardo.
"...I had a scary experience outside."
"I heard."
"As for me, I know you are a somewhat unreliable brother, Leonyaldo-san, but I would like to hug you tight and feel safe... however..."
I consulted him about whether it was proper for a ten-year-old lady to cling to her guardian and hug him, and before I could finish speaking, I was swept up in his arms. In Lagarette, he would not hug me unless I asked, but it seemed he had grown a little as a brother.
"When you have had a scary experience and feel uneasy, you do not need to worry about being a lady or being ten years old. You were scared, Tina."
He patted my head, saying he was glad I was safe, so I wrapped my arms around Leonardo's neck without hesitation. Leonardo might have his shortcomings as a brother, but he was someone I could truly feel safe with when he held me. He was the family I should rely on.
After a good hug had calmed me down, I pulled away, and Leonardo picked me up. I was calmed down enough that I did not need another hug, but I decided to stay in his arms a little longer. I gave him the plate-grilled food I had bought and reported what had happened in the city. That I had run into that merchant who had pestered me before, and that he had followed me again today.
"What a troublesome merchant."
"He probably will not be able to do business in the city of Grenore anymore, though."
"Hm?"
He wanted me to sell him the lace ribbon. I declined. If he had backed off there, it would have been over. But that merchant did not do that. Not only did he not give up, he followed me, and his behavior was seen by other business rivals, Elke and Petrona. Those two were daughters of major merchant families. If word spread from them, shops connected to their families would avoid dealing with that merchant. And my face was known throughout the city from the Recollection Festival. No shopkeeper in the city would want to get involved with a traveling merchant who had followed the Fortress Lord's little sister and troubled the Black Knights.
"...Well, that is the merchant's own fault for misjudging when to back down. I have no obligation to help him."
When I told him about Elke and Petrona's behavior, Leonardo laughed with a somewhat troubled expression. Being unable to do business in the city would be more than a misfortune, but it was a problem entirely of the merchant's own making. There was no need for Leonardo to intercede with the city's shopkeepers on his behalf.
...But if this kind of trouble was going to come my way, I would have to only wear the ribbon inside the residence.
It was cute, and I liked it. But if wearing it in a good mood meant bringing this kind of trouble, I should probably avoid wearing it in the city. If I did wear it, it should only be when Leonardo was with me, or on really special occasions like my birthday.
"Speaking of which, are you holding the Memorial Service again this year?"
Last year it was held on the night of the Harvest Festival. Would the Memorial Service be held at night again this year?
I had not heard any talk about it, so I asked about tonight's schedule myself. Depending on Leonardo's answer, I might need to take a nap now.
"We do not have any rites planned like last year, but it seems the people who returned from the frontier villages will each be visiting graves."
He asked if I wanted to visit graves too, and I thought about it for a moment. I had already made my peace with my parents' deaths, including the graves in Mey Village where they were buried. Going to say goodbye multiple times felt strange.