CHAPTER 38: FREE BARREL

"Mr. Adventurer!" Ned said, forcing a nervous smile on his face. But it was obvious for all to see that he was afraid of Wade. "How may we help you?"

Wade tilted his head as he stared at the man. His eyes traveled to the kneeling beekeeper and back to Ned.

"I want to buy honey," he said simply.

"Our honey—" the beekeeper said hurriedly, but was quickly interrupted by Ned.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Adventurer!" He said loudly, with an overly polite smile on his face. "There’s no honey available."

The thugs stepped closer to the beekeeper, in a way that looked casual, but Wade saw it.

He glanced at Bed, then his eyes went to the barrels of honey sitting on the wagon. "What about those ones? Is that not honey?"

"Yes, sir. It is honey." Ned nodded, scrambling for an appropriate answer. "But we just bought it from the beekeeper. It was the last stock, so there’s none left for you."

Wade raised both brows with a chuckle. "Bought it, you say?"

"Yes, sir." Ned nodded.

"Well, I think I need it more than you do." Wade grinned. "So, I’ll buy it off you." He glanced at the beekeeper. "How much did you sell it to them?"

"I didn’t—" the beekeeper began, but was interrupted by Ned again, who stepped forward, his smile strained.

"I’m sorry, but our honey is not for sale." He said.

"Wait." Wade raised a hand and everyone froze. "Didn’t you know it’s impolite to interrupt those who are speaking?" He grinned. "And I wasn’t asking you."

He turned to the beekeeper. "You were saying."

"I didn’t sell the honey to them!" The beekeeper hurriedly said, glancing at Ned. "They stole it from me and were about to take it away without paying. Please, help me, adventurer!"

"Is that true?" Wade’s expression immediately went cold as he turned to Ned.

Ned’s face turned pale in fear, his eyes glancing about as if he was searching for an escape route. "Sorry, I can explain. You see... What happened was..."

"The honey is now mine." Wade said flatly, interrupting the man. He turned to the beekeeper. "How much for the three barrels?"

"1,800 coins." The beekeeper said, a hopeful smile on his face.

Wade froze. ’1,800 coins?!’

He didn’t have that much money! Why was honey so expensive?!

Quickly calculating it, he decided that a single barrel of honey cost 600 coins.

It was as if an ice cold bucket of water had been poured over his head. He wasn’t here to teach people lessons and buy three entire barrels of honey. He just needed a few jars for his honey mead.

"Errr..." he nodded as if everything was okay, "how much is it for a single jar of honey?"

The beekeeper stared at him confused. "12 coins. But if you buy it from a grocer or the apothecary, it’ll be 15 coins."

"I see." Wade nodded. "That means each barrel contains 50 jars of honey."

"Y— Yes." The beekeeper nodded, wondering why he was asking such questions.

Wade thought about it. Quickly calculating it, he realized that retailers make 150 coins on every 50 jars of honey they sold. That was a pretty nice profit margin.

But that was not what he needed. He only needed about half a barrel for his project.

Then something occurred to him. He didn’t need to buy the entire stock of honey to teach the thugs a lesson. So, he smiled.

"I’ll buy half a barrel of honey." He said to the beekeeper. Then, he turned to Ned. "As for the rest of the honey, either pay the man, or return it to him."

Ned stood there for a few seconds, several expressions flickering across his face before he spoke. "I’m sorry, but I can’t do that."

Wade’s smile widened and he stepped forward, balling his hands into fists. "Then I guess I have to teach you guys a lesson."

"I wouldn’t do that if I were you." Ned said, confidence seeping into his voice. "Do you know who sent us here? Are you sure you want to get on their bad side?"

Wade frowned, coming to a stop. That was a good point. What if they were working on the orders of a stronger adventurer? "Who... sent you here?"

Puffing up his chest in vindication, Ned spoke. "Didn’t you know? We were sent here by Viscount Fairchild. This is his business. I’ll advise staying out of it."

"Viscount Fairchild, huh?" Wade nodded. "He doesn’t sound very fair."

He had no idea who the man was, but the title was enough to tell him all he needed to know. Fairchild was a noble, but judging by the fact that he was sending thugs against an ordinary beekeeper, he must not be very influential.

"Free!" The beekeeper suddenly piped up. "I’ll give you an entire barrel of honey for free if you help me get my barrels back!"

And that was all the man needed to say. The profit counter began counting in Wade’s mind.

"Really?" He asked. "For free?"

"Yes." The beekeeper nodded hurriedly. "An entire barrel. For free!"

Wade grinned. "Sounds like a good deal."

"It’s not worth it, adventurer." Ned said immediately. "I’m sure a measly 600 coins is not worth getting on Viscount Fairchild’s bad books."

Wade glanced at Ned. "Then will you give me a free barrel of honey?"

"I’m sorry, but I can’t." Ned answered. "Lord Fairchild needs the honey."

"Is that so?"

As much as he didn’t fancy getting into trouble with what sounded like a minor noble, he needed the honey more. With the honey, he gets to make a profitable deal.

And that would eventually get him a personal dungeon. And that meant more power. So, he was willing to offend the noble if it meant getting stronger.

’One can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs’

He turned to Ned. "Do you know me?"

The thug frowned, confused. "No?"

"So, you don’t know my name, where I’m from, or which guild I’m in?"

Ned shook his head, worry appearing on his face. Was this perhaps, a high ranking adventurer.

Wade nodded in satisfaction. They didn’t know who he was. That meant he could beat them up and take his free barrel of honey, and they might never be able to find him.

And by the time they do, he’ll probably be much stronger.

"I’m sorry, guys." He grinned. "I guess I owe you a beating after all."