Chapter 411: A Selfless Merchant (2/2)

'Humans are an integrative being of many things,' Arthur thought to himself as people began taking notice of them. 'If one thing is lost, the system fails to work together.'

”My house is at the far end,” the merchant beside him pointed to the distance, and the shadow kept pulling them. More and more people looked their way and at his shadow, which looked like a humanoid entity of darkness.

Arthur smiled as he imagined what these people would do if they saw Ruki. As he remembered her, he wondered when they would reunite but wasn't too worried about her. The Queen of Shadows seemed to be out there in this world, and it might be the reason that Ruki couldn't come here.

The same two souls in the same realm would be disastrous to the harmony, or it might have no effect. As such random thoughts filled his mind, the cart stopped at the house the merchant's house.

”You live here?” Arthur looked at the house with confusion. He knew that some people had it rough, but the fact that most of the ceiling and walls were gone made him angry. How could anyone live in this place?

”Yes, yes,” the merchant bobbed his head. ”I'm sorry for bringing you to such a place. I will look for...”

”What happens when it rains?” Arthur asked as he stood up and jumped out of the cart. The merchant followed after him, scrambling behind him.

”We have a room that doesn't have any holes, so we just wait for it to end.”

”Aren't you a merchant?”

”I am,” he kept his head low. ”But because of the war, the prices of goods have risen. I had to suffer the loss because no one in the village could pay the new prices.”

”You are suffering a loss every time?” Arthur turned to him with shock. As he looked at the simple man nodding, he wondered how selfless one could be.

”Otherwise, everyone else would starve,” the man scratched his head. ”These people are my family; I can't possibly profit from them.”

”What's your name?” Arthur nodded and asked.

”Regal, My Lord.”

”You are a good man,” Arthur sighed as he waved his hand. The cart was filled with all sorts of grilled meat, vegetables, spongy bread, and pots of soup. ”Distribute these among the village people.”

”Thank you, Merciful One!”

Arthur paused at the new nickname. Emotional people seemed to be quite creative in choosing names, at least better than he was. Regal went on to show him a place to sit inside the house, and he got to meet with his family.

”Please, have your fill,” Arthur brought out more dishes for the hungry family, and their eyes sparkled with life. Finally, he laid back in his chair to rest as the rest of them ate.

”Mister,” one of the kids who had a missing tooth walked up to him, carrying a plate of soup. ”You look hungry...”

Arthur opened his eyes with a smile. However, his smile disappeared when he saw that the kid had a wooden leg. The kid grew uneasy when Arthur looked at his leg, and it made Arthur apologetic.

”Thank you,” he took the plate from the kid as he began to eat as well. Regal and his family were too busy eating to talk, so it was a quiet atmosphere.

”Alright, I'm full!” Regal stood up from his spot and hurried to go outside. ”I'll be back after I distribute the food!”

”Wai...” Arthur wanted to call him back, but the man slammed the door shut. The rest of the family seemed to be busy eating, so they didn't notice that Arthur was suddenly left alone with them.

'Is this guy too trusting or simply an idiot?' Arthur sighed as he couldn't believe this man would leave his family with a stranger. 'Maybe he thought that if I wanted to harm them, I would have done so already.'