Chapter 115:

Chapter 115: Chapter 115:

Chapter 115:

The woman might be honest enough, but he had no reason to assume that every other merchant who learned about the transaction would react in the same way, and he preferred to avoid attracting attention to himself when his current circumstances already required him to remain cautious.

Nevertheless, he could not simply refuse her request after she had agreed to his price, so he reached for his pouch and secretly transferred several blades of Moonlight Grass from his sub-space before taking them out and placing them on the counter.

"There," he said, keeping his tone completely unchanged.

The woman looked down at the growing pile of herbs and felt her eyes widen slightly, because although she had expected him to possess a few more specimens, she had not expected him to produce so many at once.

’That’s a lot, and every single blade looks just as pure as the first one.’

She carefully examined the herbs one after another, checking their colour and overall condition to make sure that none of them had been damaged during collection, but the more she inspected them, the more pleased she became with the transaction.

Even though she had initially suspected that Osborne might have collected the herbs from somewhere questionable, she could not deny that he had brought her an excellent opportunity to make a profit, and she had no intention of allowing her curiosity to interfere with her business.

"Good. Please let me count them so I can ascertain your pay," she said, gathering the herbs together before beginning to count each blade.

Osborne nodded and stepped back from the counter, allowing the woman enough space to complete the transaction while he waited patiently for her to finish.

He had no reason to rush her, especially since the herbs were already in her possession, and he would rather let her count them properly than create a disagreement over the number of specimens he had sold.

The woman counted every single blade carefully, occasionally pausing to examine one that appeared slightly larger than the others before continuing with the rest, and once she was satisfied that she had the correct number, she gathered the Moonlight Grass and carried it into the back of the shop.

Osborne remained where he was, listening to the faint sounds coming from the other side of the room while occasionally glancing toward the entrance, because although he did not expect trouble, he had no intention of allowing himself to become careless simply because he was standing inside a merchant’s shop.

After a short while, the woman returned with a small pouch in her hand, which she placed on the counter before pushing it toward him.

"Thank you for your business," she said with a polite smile, her earlier suspicion having faded now that the transaction was nearly complete.

Osborne picked up the pouch and weighed it in his hand, finding it heavier than he had expected, before opening it slightly to inspect the contents.

Several gold and silver coins rested inside, and after briefly checking the amount, he felt satisfied that the woman had paid him according to the agreed price.

Although he could probably have earned more by finding a merchant willing to pay a higher price for the herbs, he was not interested in wasting too much time negotiating over every silver coin, especially when the main purpose of the trip had been to collect the Moonlight Grass rather than spend the entire day selling it.

He closed the pouch and stored it inside his sub-space, ensuring that it would not be lost or stolen while he travelled, before giving the woman a small nod.

"Pleasure doing business with you," he replied before turning around and leaving the shop.

The woman watched his retreating figure for a moment, still wondering where he had managed to find such a large quantity of high-quality Moonlight Grass, but she eventually returned her attention to her counter, deciding that she could investigate the matter later if the opportunity presented itself.

Meanwhile, Osborne had already moved on to his next destination, because he had no intention of returning to Nicholas’s farm just yet.

After leaving the first shop, he walked along the street until he found another merchant who dealt with herbs and medicinal plants, then entered the establishment and repeated the same process he had used earlier.

He brought out a blade of Moonlight Grass, allowed the merchant to inspect it, and offered to sell a fixed amount at five silver each, refusing to provide unnecessary information about where he had collected the herbs.

The second merchant was initially surprised by the quality of the specimen, but after examining it carefully and confirming that it was genuine Moonlight Grass, he agreed to purchase a small batch without asking too many questions.

Osborne accepted the payment and left the shop, storing the coins in his sub-space before moving on to another merchant.

He continued this process for some time, visiting several shops throughout the town and selling a reasonable amount of Moonlight Grass at each location, making sure that no single merchant received enough herbs to immediately question why someone of questionable features like himself possessed such an unusual supply.

Although he could have sold everything to the first merchant and returned home much earlier, Osborne had decided back in the forest that distributing the herbs among several shops would be the safer option, because selling an unusually large quantity of rare plants to one person could attract the wrong kind of attention.

He did not know whether the merchants would discuss their purchases with one another, but there was no reason to make it easy for anyone to connect the transactions, especially when he could accomplish the same goal by spending a little more time visiting different establishments.

Furthermore, the Moonlight Grass clearing was far too valuable for him to reveal its location carelessly, because if word spread that someone had discovered an entire field of the rare herb, other adventurers and merchants might attempt to locate it for themselves.