I Just Traded in the Forest of Monsters, but the World Changed - Chapter 35

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 35
“…….”
A moment passed before his eyes snapped wide, disbelief written across his face.
“That person over there……, surely not.”
The nobleman beside him turned to follow his gaze.
In the middle of the Clearing stood a man, arms crossed, standing quietly.
“Wait, hold on.”
The instant he recognized the man’s face, his body went rigid.
“Duke Valer……?”
The nobility behind him, who had been questioning the situation moments before, one by one turned their eyes forward.
And they all wore the same expression.
“Why is the Duke here?”
“Could it be that we…….”
His words trailed off.
The atmosphere of complaint from mere moments ago vanished as if it had been a lie.
A peculiar, oppressive silence settled over the Clearing.
Cassian regarded them calmly from where he stood.
His gaze remained unmoved.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
“I believe I should be the one asking questions.”
It was only a brief sentence.
Yet the moment those words fell, several of the nobles visibly flinched.
One particularly brave nobleman stepped forward and spoke.
“Duke, were you here all along?”
Cassian regarded the nobleman with an expressionless face.
“Do you have any idea how long we’ve been searching for you?”
Emboldened by that nobleman’s boldness, the others chimed in.
“Indeed!”
“If you knew of such a place, surely you ought to have shared it with us?”
Cassian let out a hollow laugh as if the very notion was absurd.
“Share, you say.”
“Of course, among the nobility…….”
“Enough. Your nonsense is tiresome.”
Cassian’s expression grew steadily colder, though the first nobleman who had stepped forward remained oblivious.
“Naturally, a place like this should be managed and used by us…….”
The nobleman never finished his words.
Cassian had drawn his sword and placed it against the man’s throat.
“I said it was nonsense. Your life means nothing to you, does it?”
“I, no…….”
Se Hee, who had been watching this scene unfold, stood frozen with arms still crossed.
‘What on earth is happening.’
The speed at which the blade met his neck had been invisible to the eye.
Erasmus, by contrast, regarded Cassian with perfect composure.
“Heh heh……. A true duke indeed.”
Se Hee, letting that remark pass, glanced toward the knights.
None of them, Rowen included, showed surprise.
They stood as if this were the most natural thing in the world.
‘Does he always act like this.’
Se Hee’s eyes moved between Cassian, who held the blade to the nobleman’s throat, and the ashen-faced man before them.
Her instinct as a merchant stirred first.
‘If that nobleman gets thrown out right now, I lose a customer.’
Of course, entering the forest without permission had been wrong.
But if he drove them out like this with a sword, there was no telling how the rumors would spread.
Se Hee stepped forward.
“Duke.”
Cassian’s gaze shifted to Se Hee.
“Why don’t you put it away for now.”
“Since they’ve come as guests, I’ll handle it.”
Se Hee positioned herself naturally between Cassian and the nobles.
Cassian regarded Se Hee for a moment.
“…….”
A brief silence fell.
“Very well.”
He slid the blade slowly back into its sheath.
A ripple of murmuring passed through the gathered nobility.
‘What did that woman just say.’
‘Is the Duke backing down because of her?’
All eyes turned toward Se Hee.
She was a woman none of them had seen before.
Not nobility, not a knight, and certainly not a servant.
A chair beneath a parasol, and a black wolf pressed close at her feet.
Her identity was utterly impossible to discern.
While the nobility exchanged cautious glances and held their tongues.
“Hey!”
One man stepped forward.
He was in his forties, perhaps.
His frame had run slightly to fat, and his hair gleamed with oil.
His clothes looked expensive, though there was something ungainly about them.
“I’m Balton, Baron of the Bern Family.”
He spoke in the typical manner of nobility.
“Are you in charge here?”
“Yes.”
Balton made a slow circuit of the Clearing.
His mouth twisted downward.
“What is this? Just a chair?”
He tapped the chair’s leg with the tip of his shoe.
“Doesn’t a man of my standing deserve a private room at least?”
Se Hee watched Balton without speaking.
“Do you know how far I’ve come?”
This time he thrust a finger directly under her nose.
“The Bern Family has mobilized. I didn’t just wander here.”
Balton thrust his belly forward and looked Se Hee up and down with an appraising gaze.
“You must have something special. Hand it over, now.”
‘What is he talking about.’
Se Hee regarded Balton for a moment.
‘Bern or Berber or whatever—’
Truthfully, she couldn’t have cared less.
“I apologize.”
Se Hee opened her mouth with perfect composure.
“But our shop has rules.”
Balton raised an eyebrow in reply.
His expression said: Try me.
“Rules?”
“Yes.”
Se Hee glanced briefly at his finger, then met his eyes again.
“We don’t serve difficult customers.”
The Clearing went silent at once.
Balton’s face went rigid at her words.
“Did you—did you just call me difficult?”
“Yes.”
Se Hee’s expression didn’t flicker.
“What—what is this!”
Balton’s face flushed crimson in an instant.
“How dare you speak to me like that! Do you know who I am?”
“Aren’t you Baron Berber, sir?”
“Yes! No—it’s Bern!”
Balton pointed at Se Hee and raised his voice.
“And you—a mere commoner!”
At that, Choco rose and let out a low growl toward Balton.
Se Hee quickly made a restraining gesture, worried that bloodshed might break out.
A murmur rippled through the Nobility standing behind him.
“Disrespect toward the Nobility?”
“And threatening with a wolf, no less…….”
“The way he carries on in front of the Duke—there must be something behind it.”
Erasmus, who had been quietly observing the situation, stepped forward among the Nobility.
“Wasn’t it Balton who started the quarrel in the first place?”
“No, that’s……!”
One of the Nobility made to protest.
Then.
“Balton.”
A low, quiet voice—Cassian’s.
Balton flinched and turned his head.
Cassian glanced toward Se Hee once, then fixed his gaze on Balton.
“That person is someone I cherish. If you treat her carelessly.”
Cassian’s eyes turned cold and sharp.
“I won’t let it pass.”
At those words, Erasmus nodded, his expression weighted with meaning—as if he understood something profound.
‘Someone I cherish?’
The words lingered oddly in Se Hee’s ears.
Balton’s mouth opened and closed.
He seemed to have much he wanted to say, but couldn’t.
His face flushed crimson once more.
“This—this is far from over! You’ll see!”
He stamped his foot and shouted.
“Mark my words! The Bern Family won’t let this stand!”
No one answered.
Cassian didn’t even look at him, and Se Hee simply stood there.
The knights didn’t so much as blink.
Balton, growing more incensed by the atmosphere, gestured sharply toward his attendant.
“You—pack the baggage!”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Let’s go!”
Balton strode away toward the forest without so much as a backward glance.
His attendants scrambled to gather the luggage and follow.
The Clearing remained silent until he disappeared into the trees.
From the forest where Balton had vanished, the sound of branches cracking continued for some time.
It felt as though he were still somewhere in there, huffing indignantly and second-guessing himself.
No one spoke first.
The atmosphere among the Nobility had visibly shifted.
Where they had regarded this place as merely ‘unusual’ before, they now saw it as ‘somewhere you don’t touch lightly.’
Only after his footsteps had faded entirely did Se Hee open her mouth.
“Is anyone else planning to leave?”
The remaining Nobility turned to look at Se Hee in unison.
Se Hee didn’t even glance toward the forest where Balton had vanished.
Now that the trouble had cleared, Choco lay down at Se Hee’s feet and watched the people quietly.
Once Se Hee confirmed the situation was settled, she opened her Inventory and pulled out a line of Yogurt.
Small bottles lined up neatly inside a yellow plastic sleeve.
Under the morning sunlight, the colors gleamed with an oddly radiant beauty.
Every eye snapped toward it at once.
“What is that.”
“There’s something inside the bottles.”
“Looking at that color, is it medicine? Or perhaps a beverage?”
“It looks like something precious.”
Even the merchants narrowed their eyes, studying the Yogurt intently.
Se Hee, gauging their reaction from the corner of her eye, quietly took one Yogurt in hand.
She tore open the plastic and separated one bottle.
Then she drew out a Straw and inserted it into the lid.
Pop—
“Ah.”
Someone let out a short exclamation.
“Is she really just sticking that thin thing straight in?”
“How is that even possible?”
“Is it magic?”
As the crowd’s attention fixed on her, Se Hee smiled.
‘Perfect timing to promote the new product.’
Se Hee brought the yogurt with the straw inserted to her lips.
The tart aroma seeped into her nostrils.
As the cold, smooth yogurt slid down her throat, a delicate sweetness lingered long in her mouth.
“Ah, that’s sweet.”
Among those watching, the merchants were the first to stir.
One nudged his neighbor with an elbow.
“Did you see that?”
“Yeah. Can the color really be like that?”
“Look at that container. I’ve never seen a shape like it before.”
One merchant pulled out parchment and began jotting something down rapidly.
Another merchant’s eyes traced the yogurt bottle in Se Hee’s hand, measuring it visually.
“What matters is what’s inside it.”
“How much do you think she’ll sell it for?”
Whispers spread among the nobility as well.
Then the awaited words reached Se Hee’s ears.
“I want to try some too.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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