CHAPTER 12: MARKETPLACE

"More options has opened up for me."

Before hunting the HarpoonHead, Ray wanted to hunt enough to level up to level 5 or 6 and become sufficiently strong before returning to the town. But now, his plan has changed as the HarpoonHead’s corpse was a treasure trove.

He couldn’t abandon it and continue hunting. He had to return to the town and sell it before doing anything else.

In the town, there was a street called Beast Trader’s Lane, where many shops were set up that purchased the entire corpses of demonic beasts.

The moon and the stars still decorated the cloudless night sky, the sun had yet to rise, but this part of the town was already bustling with activity, with people from all walks of life buying and selling stuff.

"It’s like a city that never sleeps."

Roy who appeared there carrying a demonic corpse, looking all disheveled and injured, involuntary attracted glances that were purposely ignored, as he took in the view of his surroundings silently.

The building were nice and tall, surrounded by trees and flower pots, the roads were paved with cobblestone, and golden lanterns hung from ornate black-iron hooks, their warm light casting soft halos over shop signs etched with all kinds of intricate carvings from claw marks and beast silhouettes to the painting of mythical creatures.

Beasts driven carriages drove past as families, friends, and lovers chuckled and laughed, walking together. Even the beggars had other beggars to accompany them.

Seeing this, Ray felt like a lone lantern, burning on a street no one walks, he had no one, in this world, he was all alone. The thought made him incredibly sad, but a man has to move on, and move on, he did.

"It truly deserves to be called the richest area in town." Ray hadn’t seen such tall, well decorated buildings and such clean streets full of life in any other part of the town.

"Lets finish what I came here to do." With the corpse of the Mutated HarpoonHead in hand, Ray chose a random store and stepped inside.

"Welcome to Fang and Fang. How can I help you?"

The store he had randomly chosen turned out to be Fang & Fang, a business started by the Beast Hall in the early days of the New Age.

Fang & Fang dealt in everything related to demonic creatures and beast tamers, and their network was so vast that even remote villages had heard of their name. After all, using their authority and connections, in a mere hundred years the Beast Hall had managed to open a branch of Fang & Fang in every part of the kingdom. It was one of the top three businesses in the kingdom!

This particular branch of Fang & Fang was managed by a young woman with excellent looks.

She had a mix of Asian and European features.

The day was starting slow, but her interest was aroused as she caught sight of something interesting. Thus, she personally approached Ray with a pleasant smile plastered on her face, acting like an attendant even though she didn’t need to, her curiosity getting the best of her like it always does.

"So beautiful." Ray praised at the sight of her.

With an oval face, fair skin, ocean-blue eyes that twinkled under the light of the chandelier hanging overhead, she looked as enchanting as the star-laden sky he had seen while hunting in the wilderness at night.

Her lips were red, her teeth were pearly white, and her hair fell down to the waist like a waterfall.

She was dressed in a high-collared silk dress with a slit running up her thigh, exposing her long slender legs, and her sense of fashion perfectly accentuated her womanly curves, making her look all the more charming.

Compared to her, Ray thought he looked pretty unsightly.

He felt self-conscious as she smelled faintly of jasmine while he reeked of sweat and blood.

The fight with the HarpoonHead had left him looking worse than a beggar, cuts and dirt marring his face like ugly scars, and his clothes were torn in places. However, there was nothing to worry about—All his injuries were superficial, nothing serious, and once he sold what he came to sell he would have the money to buy clothes and enjoy a warm bath.

She smiled with her eyes, and Ray’s heart skipped a beat for the second time. "Thank you for the praise."

Ray’s eyes widened. "Did I say my thoughts out loud?"

"You did." She bobbed her head up and down, looking cute like a hamster.

Upon hearing her words, Ray couldn’t stop his embarrassment from showing on his face as he hadn’t meant to let her hear his real thoughts.

"How pleasant." She was pleased, seeing him blushing like an innocent child.

Usually, men would stare at her lecherously or cat call her shamelessly until she would take offense and deal with them like the trash they were, showing them the wrath a pure blooded noble of the Leon Kingdom could bring down at the height of their anger, but Ray’s gaze carried not a hint of lust as he looked at her, only pure admiration. Such innocence was really hard to come across in this day and age where children matured early.

"Can I have the honour of knowing your name?" Ray was curious, so he asked in a manner befitting a gentleman.

"It’s Selena," she replied.

"Your beauty is like the moon on a cloudless night. Soft, luminous, and impossible to look away from. The name Selena suits you well."

The first time Ray had seen her, he was reminded of a star-laden sky, so these were his real thoughts.

’He...’ Selena had never been praised in such a well articulated manner before, but she liked it. ’He is well spoken. Even some nobles I know speak more crudly than him.’