Surviving As An Obsessive Servant

The entrance process to the black market was quite strict.Guild members waiting in front of the massive cruise ship where the trade was taking place meticulously checked the identification badges, seals, and belongings of the merchants in line.Because of that, it took a long time.‘…There’s nothing to do.’I stood in the waiting line, feeling awkward.Evo was nowhere to be seen, probably caught up in a conversation about his self-recovery or some other business. It seemed like he had some last-minute tasks to wrap up.In the end, since I had nothing else to do, I decided to at least take a look at the massive ship in front of me.But even that was difficult.The intense sunlight typical of a port city stung my eyes, making it hard to see properly.I squinted under the shade of my hand, taking in a rough view, and before I knew it, it was finally our turn to enter.Once inside, things were relatively free, with no particular restrictions.I wandered around, taking in the sights alongside Evo.‘…So this is what it’s like.’As someone who grew up in a family with a long history in trade, I prided myself on having seen my fair share of markets. But now, I felt like a total country bumpkin.I couldn’t take my eyes off everything around me.The place was filled with exotic trinkets of unknown purpose and the pelts of animals I had never seen before. As Evo had mentioned, these were rare items, difficult to find in Terua.The merchants from various nations had their goods displayed on luxurious carpets or ornate tables, which was also fascinating.Dressed in finely stitched, expensive clothing that set them apart from commoners, they held their heads high. Even when nobles approached to inspect their wares, they showed no sign of intimidation.At any other time, I would have taken my time exploring, but my goal now was herbs.Ignoring everything else, I made my way straight to the section where herbs and medicines were sold.And once there, I couldn’t help but be amazed.Since herbs are sensitive to temperature and humidity, I had been concerned about how they would be transported and stored. But here, they were displayed in glass cases I had never seen before.Cool air seemed to gently flow out from within them.Seeing my astonishment, Evo informed me of the price of the glass cases.Spreading his arms shoulder-width apart, he explained, “For a case about this size, it’s 100 million gold.”“…You’re joking, right?”“The price has actually dropped recently.”“…”I had expected such a high-end storage unit to be expensive, but hearing the actual price still left me stunned.Then… just how much were the herbs inside those cases worth?As I struggled to close my gaping mouth, Evo chuckled.“Why are you worrying about pointless things? I brought you here, so whatever you need, I’ll cover it.”“No, no. I can’t let you do that.”I had carefully brought along a certificate worth one billion gold that I had worked hard to save up, so I figured I could afford to buy at least some herbs.Even if I couldn’t buy one of those glass cases.But Evo seemed to find my reaction strange.“Both the wealthy young master and the duke don’t seem particularly interested in a speedy recovery, so I keep wondering… Do you really need to spend your own money and go this far? Am I just worrying for no reason, Lobel?”“Yes. It’s unnecessary.”“…Haha.”I chuckled as I watched Evo’s handsome face crease in a frown.“If I take these herbs back to Denkart, the young master will likely hire another pharmacist or invest in developing a new medicine. After all, the other knights are also showing signs of poisoning.”Even if the young master refused at first, he wasn’t the type to stubbornly reject something beneficial. With enough effort, he would surely respond accordingly.Evo must have understood my determination because he walked in silence for a while before muttering in discontent.“…It would be nice if he took care of things himself before you had to step in.”“The young master has always been like that.”For a moment, I recalled the face of a stubborn boy who refused to take his medicine.Some things never changed. He still neglected his health and refused to take care of himself.After walking for a while, Evo quietly mentioned that the merchant group up ahead cultivated poisonous herbs grown in the territories of barbarian tribes.It seemed he had already scouted the place in advance.Following his advice, I approached the foreign merchants, whose tanned skin was particularly striking, to purchase some herbs.I wanted to buy a total of thirty different herbs… but the prices were absolutely outrageous.“…30 billion gold for thirty types of herbs? And they’re just in tiny cloth pouches?”The merchant didn’t even bother responding. He didn’t even make eye contact.From the start, he had looked me up and down and treated me dismissively.Seeing my attire, he must have assumed I was Evo’s servant.Instead, he turned to Evo and asked, “Will you buy them or not?”“No way, no way. Let’s look around some more.”Horrified by the absurd price, I stopped Evo from making the purchase and suggested we check out other options first.

*****

Evo tried to stop me and offered to buy the herbs, but I had no intention of letting that happen.After stepping away from the stall, he looked at me with a troubled expression and tried to convince me.“Lobel. That merchant’s herbs are the most reliable and effective ones you can get. Since we came all this way, we should buy them.”“You said they’re more than a thousand times the local price…”They weren’t holding me at knifepoint, but it was practically daylight robbery.Even considering the transportation, storage, and labor costs, 3 billion gold might be reasonable—but 30 billion? That was absurd.“Let’s just buy them. I’ll pay for them.”“…I would love to, but I have no way of repaying you.”Even saving up 1 billion had been a miracle, and 30 billion? Not even selling my soul would be enough.It left a bitter taste in my mouth.I had wanted to cover the cost of the young master’s medicine myself… It was hard to even keep a smile on my face through the guilt.“In that case, just have your master reimburse the cost once we return. If he refuses, I’ll cover it myself—”“Oh, what’s that medicine over there?”“…Don’t change the subject. That amount of money might be life-changing for you, but it’s nothing to Denkart’s finances. Are you even listening to me?”“…Yes.”I had failed to change the subject and could only give an awkward smile as I listened to him.But as I did, a genuine question popped into my head.“Uh, can I take a quick look at the medicines at the stall next to this one?”“Let’s go.”Evo turned in the direction I had pointed, as if he hadn’t just been nagging me a moment ago.It was a stall nearby.It seemed to specialize in selling newly developed medicines, with numerous vials neatly displayed in transparent glass cases on the tables.The reason this had caught my eye was that several of the medicines here hadn’t even been developed at this point in the original novel.Flipping through the parchment descriptions, I confirmed my suspicion.‘…This is the tuberculosis medicine that the crown prince ordered to be developed much later in the story.’It wasn’t just the young master’s growth that had changed from the original timeline.This medicine, now being sold at this well-known merchant group, was a type of tuberculosis treatment. In the novel, it had only been developed after the crown prince ascended to the throne.At that time, a severe tuberculosis outbreak had caused countless deaths. It was only after the crown prince ordered his officials to develop a cure that the disease could be treated.The young master had seen the prince in a different light back then, sympathizing with his pain.But now… it seemed that tragedy wouldn’t happen.A proper treatment had already been developed and released by a reputable merchant group.‘And the price is far more reasonable than those scam-like herbs from earlier.’It seemed like a company doing genuinely good work.As I carefully examined the well-organized table, I also noticed an eye supplement that the young master had recently given me.‘If only they had his medicine here too… Sigh.’Feeling a bit regretful, I put down the parchment.As I continued looking at the neatly bottled medicines, Evo, who had been observing from a distance, suddenly stood right next to me.When I looked up, I saw him smiling. He was still handsome as ever, but there was something subtly different about his expression.‘…He must have noticed the same thing I did.’Right behind us, hiding behind a pillar, was the young master.No matter how much he pulled his robe over himself from head to toe, his elegant physique and tall stature were impossible to conceal.There weren’t many people with that kind of build. It was impossible for someone with a keen eye like ours to miss.What I didn’t understand was how he had gotten here. As far as I knew, Denkart’s merchant group still hadn’t been granted access to the black market.However, neither of us said a word about it.Acting natural, we pretended to browse another stall and gradually increased our distance from the pillar.Once our backs were fully turned, we whispered almost simultaneously.“…You were being watched by the young master.”“Sigh… He must’ve come because he was worried about me.”“…..?”“……?”Our bewildered gazes met in midair.We stared at each other, each silently asking, ‘Did you seriously just say that?’Especially from my perspective, it was completely absurd.Our angelic young master? Watching me? There was no way. That wasn’t a word that suited him at all.“Watching? What are you talking about? The young master would never do such a thing.”I kept my voice down, mindful of his presence behind us, but I couldn’t help the accusatory tone in my question.Evo, on the other hand, responded with an exasperated scoff.“If hiding like that isn’t watching, then what is?”“Why are you so negative? It’s not watching—it’s concern. He clearly came to check on me because he was worried, but he doesn’t want to step out and make me feel pressured.”“…Lobel. Do you even hear yourself right now?”As I walked alongside the dumbfounded Evo, I mentally replayed the image of the young master.Even though the weather was clear, we were in the middle of the ocean, and the wind was sharp and chilly.At least his robe seemed to be made of thick fabric, which was a relief.But that wasn’t the real issue.Leaning in close to Evo, I gestured toward a random stall on the left and whispered.“Under no circumstances can we let him know we’ve noticed him.”Seeing him like that, I couldn’t help but recall the past.He had often tried to hide from me in similar ways back then.The only difference was that instead of a blanket, he was now using a robe. And, of course, the location.But ultimately, the meaning was the same—he didn’t want me to see through him.He was still as bad at being honest as ever. And honestly? It was ridiculously cute.At any rate, I kept my senses sharp, making sure not to give anything away, while firmly warning Evo.“We have to be really careful. If he realizes we’ve noticed, he’ll get all sulky. He’s always been like that whenever I caught him playing pranks.”