Chapter 5: The Mysterious Little Shop Might Always Have Good Stuff
Leaving the Duke’s mansion, Muen boarded a carriage provided by the mansion and headed to a luxurious goods store where she often frequented.
After ordering the accompanying guards to wait outside the store, Muen quietly slipped away through the back door.
Disguised slightly, Muen navigated through the complex urban area following the route she remembered, until she reached the riverbank where the upper and lower districts met.
Seizing the opportunity of an empty surrounding, she leaped down into a conduit situated by the river.
A faint scent of decay lingered in the air, causing Muen to furrow her brows. She put on her mask, draped herself in a voluminous black cloak large enough to completely conceal her figure, and swiftly traversed the conduit.
“Stop right there.”
At the end of the conduit, a tall figure stood guard.
“Who goes there?”
Muen pondered for a moment. “Just a sewer rat.”
“What are you doing?”
“Hunting for carrion.”
“And your goods?”
Muen raised her hand, showing the tall figure the black token she held, depicting a lifelike rat.
“Hmm, you may enter.”
The tall figure stepped aside, revealing a passage behind him that appeared even narrower.
Muen nodded, putting away the token, and swiftly passed by the tall figure.
In the moment their figures intersected, a faint ray of light poured down from above, and Muen caught a glimpse of a corner of the tall figure’s body.
It resembled a body akin to decaying flesh, with countless maggots wriggling upon it. Just the brief encounter was enough to smell the suffocating stench of decay.
“Ugh, truly befitting of a fantasy world view.”
Suppressing the nausea, Muen dared not linger any longer. With quickened steps, she swiftly departed from the place.
After traversing through the narrow passage, her vision suddenly cleared.
A vast underground space unfolded before Muen’s eyes. The walls of the underground space were adorned with stones emitting a soft glow, illuminating the area. Pedestrians moved to and fro, all cloaked in mysterious black robes.
This was the underground black market located in the lower district of Belrand. It was said that as long as one had the money, they could buy anything here, even “anyone.”
“Fortunately, I still remember how to get here,” Muen couldn’t help but think with a hint of relief.
In the original book, the protagonist was a frequent visitor here, coming every now and then and always managing to find a stroke of luck thanks to their protagonist’s aura.
The treasure trove of heaven-defying treasures, half of which might still be lying quietly on roadside stalls, mistaken for junk.
However, Muen didn’t have any intention of preemptively “snatching” them.
With only the descriptions from the book and his unreliable memory, he found it difficult to discern which treasures were hidden gems covered in dust.
Moreover, he wasn’t certain whether taking away items belonging to the protagonist would have a negative impact on the timeline.
“Sigh, since I’ve already decided to live a peaceful life as a commoner, there’s no need to dwell on these things anymore.”
Muen suppressed those unwarranted thoughts and began scanning the black market.
Normally, something like a sedative wouldn’t require a special trip to the black market. However, the person Muen was planning to sedate next wasn’t an ordinary individual; it was Selicia, the third princess of the empire, also known as the Ice Witch.
Blessed by the Ice and Snow Goddess since birth, she naturally possessed the ability to control extreme cold. Coupled with the rigorous training she received in the royal family, her strength was formidable.
At this stage, even the protagonist was far from being her match, let alone Muen, who hadn’t received any divine blessings and hadn’t practiced much.
“I wouldn’t want the sedative to lose its effect, only to be slapped to death by Selicia before the protagonist arrives,” Muen chuckled self-deprecatingly.
Fortunately, he quickly locked onto his target.
At the end of this street, there was a sinister-looking little shop with a large skull of a ram hanging above its signboard, conspicuously displayed.
Thanks to the huge ram skull, Muen immediately recognized the shop. In the original book, the protagonist had visited this shop many times. The shopkeeper was a mysterious figure who always sold peculiar items.
Surely, they would have sedatives here as well.
Muen pushed open the door of the shop, causing the wind chime hanging on it to jingle.
“Oh, we finally have a visitor today. Please, come in,” the shopkeeper greeted.
The shopkeeper was also cloaked in a voluminous black robe, their voice hoarse, making it difficult to discern their gender.
However, upon seeing Muen, there was a distinct glint of light flickering in the depths of the shopkeeper’s hood, resembling the Big Bad Wolf catching sight of Little Red Riding Hood.
“What would you like to see, sir? Although our shop is small, we have a bit of everything,” the shopkeeper said.
“I would like…”
Muen had initially considered saying he was just browsing, but considering the limited time he had alone, he decided to be straightforward.
“I would like some sedatives, that kind.”
“Oh?”
Although unable to see the shopkeeper’s face, Muen sensed a sudden narrow smile in their tone.
“Sedatives, hmm? I see, I see. Ah, you rich folks just love playing around like this, don’t you? Haha.
Well, I happen to know a few places selling some good slaves. Need a recommendation? It’ll just cost you a little referral fee, and if you mention my name, I can even get you a discount…”
“…None? Then I’ll be on my way.”
“No, no, no! Of course, I have it! I have the best sedatives right here!”
The shopkeeper grabbed Muen’s robe and hastily turned around, bending down to rummage through a pile of bottles and jars.
Due to the angle, Muen could see a tantalizing curve outlined by the shopkeeper’s robe.
“The shopkeeper’s… behind… is quite ample,” Muen mused, rubbing his chin, with a hint of wicked contemplation. “Could it be that the shopkeeper is actually a beauty?”
Unfortunately, this was something he couldn’t confirm.
Since Muen hadn’t finished reading the original book, it’s possible that the shopkeeper’s face was revealed later on, but that wasn’t relevant to him anymore.
Ding ding.
Just as Muen was lost in thought, the wind chime on the door rang again, emitting a clear sound.
A figure cloaked in a black robe entered from outside, nothing particularly novel about it.
However, this time, the figure in the black robe seemed somewhat petite, with a hint of subtle floral fragrance.
It seemed to be another woman.
“Hello, excuse me, do you sell sedatives here?”
“Welcome, of course, we have sedatives… Huh? What did you say?”
“I said, do you sell sedatives here?”
“You want to buy sedatives too?”
“Yes, is there a problem?”
“No, no problem at all.”
The shopkeeper cast a strange glance at Muen beside her and muttered something about how strange things were today, then turned back to rummaging through the shelves.
“She wants to buy sedatives too?” Muen’s gaze casually swept over the black robe beside him.
“Do women have such needs too?”
“Probably planning to cause trouble for someone.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t stop her.”
“Let’s just hope her evil deeds fail.”
“Sigh.”
Muen sighed inwardly. “What am I thinking? What I’m about to do isn’t much different from what she’s doing, is it?”
He had no right to condemn others.
“Oh, found it,” the shopkeeper exclaimed.
Not long after, the shopkeeper excitedly retrieved two delicate little bottles and placed them in front of Muen and the woman in the black robe.
Muen curiously picked up one of the bottles and found it contained a sparkling dark red liquid.
“This color…” Muen’s eyes widened in surprise. “What is this red liquid?”
He couldn’t help but wonder if it was meant to make it harder for others to detect the drug.
why did they changed the he to a she
Maybe MTL is the one to fault. The Editor doesn’t do his job.