15: Shopping (Thanks to Lord Chaos for the recommendation)

If only Arthur had accused him, Evil Wolf Earl would never have easily believed it was revenge between brothers.

Even with an injured beast trainer, it would be difficult to convince the Earl, who was as cunning as a wolf and naturally suspicious.

He would think it was just a clumsy frame-up, especially when the matter involved his young son.

Although Arthur had performed well recently, his past absurd behavior made him difficult to trust.

But if Bard was added, the nature of the matter would be completely different.

Bard had served the Evil Wolf Family diligently for over forty years; his loyalty was well-known, and even the Earl trusted him greatly.

The Earl, holding his scepter, paced back and forth on the stone floor of the hall, the scepter tapping out "thump-thump" sounds.

He frowned deeply, digesting the astonishing news he had heard.

After his fifth stride, he suddenly stopped in front of the beast trainer who had collapsed on the ground and, without hesitation, plunged his wooden scepter fiercely into the wound on the trainer's thigh.

"Ah—" The beast trainer let out a piercing scream.

Steward Bump reacted quickly, immediately stepping forward and covering the beast trainer's mouth with his own handkerchief.

"You damned wretch, you pig from the mud pit, how dare you use your dirty hands to kidnap a noble! A descendant of the Evil Wolf Family!" The Earl's face was ashen.

Due to the intense pain, the beast trainer's body convulsed violently, veins bulging on his neck, struggling desperately.

But Bump had clearly handled many similar situations, skillfully holding the man down tightly.

Bard, standing nearby, couldn't bear to watch and silently lowered his head.

Arthur watched it all with a calm expression. In his memory, he had witnessed an even more brutal scene—his Earl father had once whipped a stableman to death for letting his beloved horse die.

In this world, the lives of ordinary people were not as valuable as a noble's pet.

Arthur naturally felt no pity for the beast trainer who had attempted to kidnap him; it was just that this scene brought back many unpleasant memories.

After venting his anger, the Earl instructed Bump, "Call Richard and the stable master Kiran."

Bump nodded, arranged for guards to watch the beast trainer, and hurried away.

Soon, Richard and Kiran arrived in the hall.

Kiran's face immediately turned pale when he saw the groaning beast trainer on the ground. Although Richard feigned composure, everyone could see he was forcing himself to be calm.

The Earl's interrogation was straightforward; after Richard and Kiran heard what had happened, he directly questioned whether they were involved.

"This is slander! How could I possibly harm my own family!" Richard jumped out to retort excitedly, his eyes filled with anger.

Kiran also hastily declared his complete ignorance of the matter and tried his best to express his loyalty.

The Earl impatiently waved his hand, called Arthur aside, and softened his tone: "The Supreme Council's supply ship will arrive soon, and those accompanying personnel cannot be neglected.

"You go attend to your own matters first. Don't worry, I will give you justice."

Arthur nodded; he chose not to argue with his father. In the current situation, obediently listening was the best option.

So, he called Bard and left.

After they left, the Earl approached his second son and questioned, "I'm giving you one last chance. Tell me truthfully, were you involved?"

"No! I would never do such a thing!" Richard's cheek twitched, and his voice was firm.

"He's lying! Lying!" The dying beast trainer suddenly screamed hoarsely; since he was going to die anyway, he didn't mind dragging another person down with him.

The Earl handed the scepter to his son, and Richard looked somewhat bewildered.

"Take it!"

Hearing his father's undeniable command, the bewildered noble young master took the scepter.

"Kill him!" The Earl ordered, pointing at the beast trainer.

"Wh-what?"

The Earl slapped his second son hard and sternly said, "Either he dies, or you die!"

Richard, stunned by the blow, took a deep breath, suppressed his inner fear, and slowly walked towards the beast trainer.

"No, no no."

The beast trainer recoiled in terror, begging tearfully, "There's no need for this, I won't say anything, Earl, I promise, I won't say anything more..."

"I'm sorry." Richard gritted his teeth, swung the scepter, and brought it down on the beast trainer's head.

The first blow, his hands trembled from the fear of killing.

The second blow, blood splattered on his face, making him want to vomit.

As the beast trainer's pleas grew weaker and weaker, Richard gradually became numb. Finally, Bump stepped forward and held the scepter.

Richard came to his senses as if from a dream, looking at the beast trainer whose brains had been splattered by his blows, and his stomach churned.

The Earl walked to his son's side, placed a hand on his shoulder, "Now, you are a man. And a man must take responsibility for his actions!"

Before he finished speaking, a heavy punch landed squarely on Richard's face. The punch was powerful enough to knock Richard to the ground.

"Do you take me for a fool?" The Earl roared, "Do you think I can't tell you're lying? You damned piece of trash, you actually laid hands on your own brother.

"The wolf pack is invincible because of its unity! Do you know what Arthur's status is now? He is the Baron of Qingfeng Valley! If he fails to take office, the entire Evil Wolf Family will be destroyed!"

The Earl grew angrier as he spoke, giving his son two more kicks, "Do you know what disappoints me the most? It's that you, this idiot, left a witness!

"You're truly stupid, you are simply a disgrace to the Evil Wolf Family."

Looking at his son curled up on the ground, the Earl was filled with disgust, "Perhaps military life will make you smarter and stronger.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow you will pack up and go to the border. I will arrange a small team for you, and until you atone for your sins, you will guard the border for the family."

"No, father! No!" Richard desperately crawled towards his father, "Don't banish me to the border, don't..."

But the Earl obviously had no intention of listening to him anymore.

-----------------

Arthur told Bard to wait at the dock while he took Airo to the "Iron Fist Brothers" weapon and armor shop.

Airo, who followed Arthur into the shop, asked curiously, "What are we doing here?"

"You need armor and weapons. Pick what suits you; consider it payment for saving my life," Arthur explained.

"Hehe, I didn't save you for these things. I saved you because you can take me back to Qingfeng Valley."

"I know. But in case something similar happens again, I'd prefer you have a handy weapon."

Seeing Arthur's firm attitude, Airo said no more and began to carefully select items in the shop.

The shop owner, Rom Ironfist, enthusiastically greeted them. He was tall and thin and looked very shrewd.

"Allow me to introduce, Miss. We have the best weapons and armor in the city here. Feel free to choose; I guarantee every piece is a masterpiece."

Airo casually picked up an ornate dagger, glanced at the owner, and said, "I'll choose myself."

"Of course, of course, please help yourself."

Rom then turned to Arthur, his face full of flattery, "Ah~ Lord Arthur, what a rare guest.

"I see the sword at your waist; I can tell it's a fine piece. Since you have a weapon, you must be here to choose suitable armor, right?"

Arthur smiled at the enthusiastic owner, "No, I'm just accompanying this lady to shop. If I need equipment, I'll commission a blacksmith to make it."

Rom was not discouraged by Arthur's words at all and continued to promote: "Recently, there has been continuous warfare on the border, and I heard that the allied forces' results are not good.

"The orcs have also plundered many merchant caravans, and many supplies are becoming scarce. I imagine the blacksmiths employed by the castle don't have much raw material left, and besides, they are busy forging front-line military equipment day and night, so they probably can't attend to other things, right?"

"Don't waste your time on me." Arthur emphasized again, "I'm just here to accompany this lady for shopping."

Rom nodded knowingly: "Understood, understood. Then I wish you happy shopping!"

After he left, Airo leaned closer to Arthur and whispered, "Are you sure we should choose equipment here?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Everything here is flashy but impractical, and the truly usable items are outrageously expensive."

"Go ahead and choose, I can get you an internal price."

"Are you sure? The equipment I want isn't cheap."

Arthur nodded, indicating for her to choose freely.

-----------------

In the end, Airo chose a set of leather armor, a pair of cowhide boots, a dagger, and a hand crossbow. Arthur felt it wasn't enough and added leather gloves, a shirt, a cloak, and other daily necessities.

Rom, fearing Arthur would change his mind, quickly calculated the total—fifteen gold coins.

Upon hearing the price, Airo's expression changed. She said in a low voice, "Fifteen gold coins? Are you joking? These things aren't worth that much money!"

"Ah~ Miss, I'm afraid you're mistaken." Rom's smile remained unchanged, "Our shop has always had this price, honest with young and old alike; we rely on sincere business. If you don't believe me, you can go and ask around."

Airo was about to speak again, but Arthur interjected, "Rom, how's your brother doing lately?"

"Hmm? Oh, he's very well; his wife just gave birth to a son. He's busy taking care of them right now. Thank you for your concern, esteemed sir."

Arthur leaned forward, lowering his voice, "We both know that your shop relies on pretty decorations, eye-catching signs, and overwhelming publicity to trick outsiders.

"Nine gold coins, that's what I'm willing to pay for this pile of things. You know very well if I'm undercutting the price. Are you selling?"

Rom was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing: "Hahaha, Lord, you're quite a joker!

"Nine gold coins won't even cover my costs. If you think it's expensive, you can try another shop. Our shop's rule is no bargaining."

Arthur shook his finger, "Then eight gold coins."

Rom's smile froze. After confirming Arthur wasn't joking, he asked irritably, "Are you here to cause trouble, sir?"

Seeing the atmosphere grow tense, Airo, who had been silent, stealthily tucked the hand crossbow into her sleeve while the two were confronting each other.

She eyed the guard at the door warily, estimating how confident she was in taking down that big guy if a fight broke out.

"No, I'm just here to do business." Arthur said calmly, "But now I'm wondering what your life is worth."

Rom gestured to the guard at the door, "What does that mean? Are you threatening me?

Even if you're a noble, this is too much!"

"Then is it not too much for you to have an affair with your sister-in-law?" Arthur suddenly dropped a bombshell.

Rom's pupils constricted, and he hastily raised a hand to stop the guard who was approaching.

"I don't understand what you're saying? This is a malicious fabrication, a serious slander, and I will not allow you to humiliate me like this!"

"Oh, really?" Arthur scoffed, "The child's real father is you, not your brother, right?"

"This is a malicious fabrication, a serious slander, I will not allow you to humiliate..."

Arthur suddenly grabbed Rom by the collar and demanded, "What do you intend to do? Hmm? Are you going to challenge me to a duel? Or take me to the municipal court for a confrontation?

"I'm very curious what your brother would do if this became public knowledge?"

Seeing this, the guard rushed over quickly.

Airo quickly raised her hand crossbow and aimed it at him, warning, "Ah ah ah, stay right there, buddy. You don't want an extra arrow in you."

Arthur released Rom, took out the Mother Earth Church emblem, placed it on the counter, and said seriously, "Buddy, I'm not just a noble; I'm also a priest of the Mother Earth.

"I can demand that you and your sister-in-law swear an oath before the temple. I'd like to see if the two of you are truly innocent.

"You know what happens when you lie to the gods. Think about that child who was just born. So cute, so full of vitality, he might very well suffer divine punishment because of your lies."

Arthur's words might not hold water; though there are many gods on the continent of Faerûn, they wouldn't be idle enough to meddle in such affairs, and divine punishment is mostly a tactic used by the Church to deceive believers.

But in this world of ignorant commoners, the Church, representing the gods, held a lofty status. His noble identity commanded respect, and his priestly identity instilled awe, and Rom was clearly intimidated.

His words clearly scared Rom.

"You... what exactly do you want?" He caved.

"I told you, I'm just here to do business. As for other matters, I don't want to meddle."

"Alright, alright, damn it, eight gold coins, deal. Take your things and leave quickly."

"No, seven."

"What? That's impossible, that..."

"Six."

"No, wait. You're extorting me, you're robbing me..."

"Five..."

"Six gold coins, six gold coins, deal. Damn it, go, hurry up and go, I beg you." Rom was almost in tears.

Arthur took out his money pouch, counted out six gold coins, and tossed them onto the counter, "Pack the things."

Rom suppressed his anger and waved a hand at the guard.

The guard, confused, went outside to find porters.

"Lord, are we even now?" Rom asked, still uneasy, "You won't hold this over me forever, will you?"

"We're even." Arthur readily assured him, "Doing business with you was truly 'pleasant'."

Rom cursed this accursed ancestor eighteen generations in his heart.

After leaving the shop, Airo couldn't help but ask curiously, "How did you know that guy was having an affair with his sister-in-law?"

To this, Arthur merely smiled and replied, "Trade secret."