After hearing the name, everyone smiled.
"I think it's a good name," Moneru said happily.
"I think so too," Mac agreed.
Arim nodded silently.
Then I spoke, smiling yet serious.
"Then it's decided. From today onward, we'll call ourselves—the Falcon Merchants."
Everyone nodded, smiles spreading across their faces.
Meanwhile — Inside the City
In the northern street, Count Ribary de Abik arrived with his guards.
He looked around carefully, then asked in a stern voice,
"What happened last night?"
A guard stepped forward, kneeling with his head lowered.
"Sir, while we were on night patrol, we heard a massive explosion. We rushed to the source, but found no one. Shortly after, another loud sound occurred near the city center. We immediately moved there as well—but again, no one was found."
He swallowed nervously.
"After investigating, we discovered fragments of steel at the scene. However, we couldn't identify what they were."
The Count's eyes narrowed.
"Where are those fragments?"
The guard handed them over.
The Count examined them in silence for a long moment.
Then he spoke coldly.
"Increase the number of guards. Tighten city patrols. Investigate the source of those sounds thoroughly."
The guard captain and soldiers replied loudly,
"Yes, sir!"
On the Horse Cart
Inside the cart, exhaustion finally caught up to everyone.
One by one, they fell asleep.
Only Roberto continued driving.
I stayed awake with him.
Without looking back, Roberto spoke.
"Kid, you should sleep too."
I smiled faintly.
"Don't worry, Grandpa. I don't need much sleep."
After that, I quietly opened the system.
[SYSTEM — INTERFACE OPENED]
Points Available: 316
Inventory: 55 Silver Coins
I decided to convert part of the silver into points.
[SYSTEM — CURRENCY CONVERSION]
Silver Coins Used: 30
Points Gained: 3,000
Total Points:3,316
Seeing the number, I smiled.
This is worth celebrating—the beginning of our merchant journey.
Everyone was asleep, and Roberto was focused on driving.
I opened the shop again.
[SYSTEM — SHOP: FOOD ITEMS]
Beef Package (5 kg ×3)
Cost: 10 Points each → 30 Points
Salt Pouch ×1
Cost: 2 Points
Cracked Pepper ×1
Cost: 3 Points
Sharp Hand Knife ×1
Cost: 5 Points
Bread ×6
Cost: 12 Points
[PURCHASE COMPLETED]
Points Remaining:3,264
Then I remembered water.
[SYSTEM — ADDITIONAL PURCHASE]
Fresh Water (10 L ×2)
Cost: 2.5 Points each → 5 Points
Plastic Cups ×2
Cost: 1 Point each → 2 Points
[PURCHASE COMPLETED]
Points Remaining:3,257
I quickly stored everything inside the item bag.
Exhaustion finally hit me.
I fell asleep.
Midday
Voices woke me up.
Everyone was awake, talking quietly.
Hasami smiled when she noticed me.
"Oh, did we wake you up?"
I rubbed my eyes.
"What time is it?"
"It's already noon," she replied.
I asked Roberto to stop the cart.
Without a word, he did—though he looked tired.
"Rest for a bit," I said.
I took out the items from the bag.
Bread appeared first.
Then water bottles.
Everyone looked relieved.
But when I took out the meat—
Silence.
"What… is that red thing?" someone whispered.
Hasami's hands trembled.
"I-Is that… meat, Loid?"
I smiled.
"Yeah. Our boss is kind. He prepared food for us too."
Everyone stared as if witnessing a miracle.
Arim whispered,
"Is it really meat…?"
Mac swallowed.
"The thing beggars can't eat…"
Hasami said softly,
"I haven't seen this in years."
Even Roberto nodded quietly.
"To eat it," I said, "we need to cook it."
That snapped everyone back to reality.
"Let's do it!" Moneru shouted excitedly.
"Yeah!" everyone replied.
Hasami took charge.
"We need fire and something to cook with. Roberto, let's use the sticks from the cart. We'll find stones."
Everyone moved quickly.
After several tries, we managed to start a fire.
The meat took longer to cook than I expected.
Everyone watched it silently.
That's what happens when people who've never had meat before see it, I thought.
Still… it smells good.
When it was finally ready, we ate together.
Mac and Moneru cried as they ate.
"It's delicious…!"
Everyone ate with emotion, savoring every bite.
Afterward, we fed the horse, let it rest, and resumed our journey.
Mac asked,
"When will we reach Hainston?"
Roberto answered calmly,
"It'll take some time."
"How long?" Moneru asked.
"About a month. Maybe more."
Everyone froze.
"A month… on a cart?!"
I smiled.
"Can't we stop somewhere? We have money now."
"Yes," Roberto replied.
"After three or four days, we'll reach a village. We can rest there."
The cart rolled forward once more.
Toward Hainston.