“That would be difficult. There are quite a few people waiting. As you can see, our store’s vegetables are quite popular.”

Stella felt uneasy about Ian’s gaze. His smile, as if he knew everything and did everything leisurely, made Stella uncomfortable.

“Then I guess I have to hurry early tomorrow.”

After saying that, Ian turned around without any lingering feelings. Then, as if he remembered something, he turned back and placed what was in his arms on the counter. It was a beret suitable for young boys.
“Lady, I thought you might need this. Oh, this is a small token of appreciation for the excellent deal we had last time. Please take it without any hesitation.”

Ian smiled slyly and then disappeared as if he had suddenly appeared.

Darun, watching him move away, picked up the hat on the counter and extended it to Stella.

“It looks like a nice hat?”

“Do I have a reason to accept that?”

Stella didn’t readily take the hat, as unfounded kindness always demanded a significant return.

Of course, the hat Darun was currently wearing was too big, often blocking his view. However, she didn’t want to wear a hat given by someone she barely knew.

“Still, it was a gift. Isn’t it okay?”

Darun accepted the gift left by Ian because he really liked him. It seemed like a gift offered with the desire for smoother transactions with them. Since Princess Stella was cross-dressing, the item seemed even more necessary.

“I don’t need it, so you can wear it.”

Stella didn’t want to touch anything uncomfortable. Darun, who enjoyed wearing hats, quickly put it on his head. The beret left by Ian was something Darun could be greedy for. However,

“This hat is too small for me. It doesn’t fit.”

Trying to put it on his head in various ways, Darun, sounding disappointed, took off the hat and put it back on the counter.

“If it was the right size, it would probably suit me.”
Even though the hat was absurdly small, Darun couldn’t let go of his attachment and repeatedly put it on and took it off several times.

​

​

“Ian Blake?”

On the way back after finishing the business, Stella stopped by the Moonlight Guild and asked about Ian.

“How do you know that person?”

Cucurus widened his eyes and asked.

“He’s the one who bought a bunch of carrots at once from Darun. And he paid a very generous price. He said he bought them three times more expensive than usual.”

“Oh, I see. But did he make any mistakes?”

Cucurus, who rarely elevated others unless necessary, referred to Ian as ‘that person.’

“No, nothing like that. It just seemed strange because he kept trying to buy vegetables at a high price.”

“Ian Blake is the top boss of the Red Bat Upper Class. He’s a great person.”

Cucurus suddenly started praising. Stella couldn’t hide her surprise. Even though he was wearing a friendly smile, Cucurus was a person who almost had no trust in humanity.

Stella, who had been on the Giant Turtle, became closest to Cucurus last. However, once you became friends, he was a person who would give everything.

“Why?”
“He is from a commoner background but went through a lot of hardships to acquire the current position of the Red Bat Upper Class. In the process, he saw a lot of blood, but he never touched anyone weaker than himself. If he buys vegetables at a high price, it’s because there is plenty of places to sell them at an even higher price. No one can match his business acumen. Young people still line up to visit him as disciples to learn from him and become the Red Bat Upper Class. If such a person is interested in the princess’s vegetables, it definitely seems profitable. Won’t he become the Upper Class soon at this rate?”

Cucurus laughed with a chuckle as he asked the question, but strangely, Stella’s heart began to race.

‘Upper Class? Red Bat Upper Class……’

While she chewed on a single word lingering at the tip of her tongue, Cucurus’s praise for Ian continued.

He was said to have scolded the thugs who harassed the weak old man, and to annually support orphans with a considerable amount of money, and so on. Endless tales about him, picked up from who knows where, were constantly brought up.

It was the first time Cucurus had shown such favor towards a specific person in his description.

Although it had only been about a month since she got to know him, it was a well-known fact among those inside the ship that he was a person who was stingy with praise.

Even after hearing Cucurus’s story, Stella didn’t show any particular reaction.
I understand that he is not someone to be unconditionally wary of, but that doesn’t mean he was someone I could trust. Above all, his gaze, looking at me, sent shivers down my spine.

After sitting for a while, Stella stood up, took out a silver coin from her pocket, clenched it in her hand, and made a request.

“Can you find out if this silver coin can be exchanged for money?”

“It looks like a very old silver coin. Where did you get it?”

Having been a pirate for a long time and involved in upper-class affairs, Cucurus had seen countless gold and silver coins from various countries, but this silver coin, with its unique appearance, was something he saw for the first time.

“I got it as a gift from a friend. They gave it to me after I helped them a bit.”

“Looking at it, it seems like it could be quite valuable.”

The sound was welcoming as she listened. Cucurus meticulously examined the front and back of the silver coin as if he were an expert.

“Really?”

“Yes. There are no discolorations or flaws for such an old coin, so there might be quite a few people willing to buy it.”

Stella felt a step closer to the hope of finding Rudina, and she was ecstatic. Once she exchanged the silver coin for money, she planned to ask Cucurus to help her find Rudina.

Thinking that she might be able to find Rudina much sooner than she had expected, she became even more eager to see Rudina.