This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 8

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 8

I was about to put the conch shells I brought back into the bucket and snap at him about the ridiculous price.

Just then, a middle-aged ajumma came over and spoke to the street vendor.

“Ben, give me 3 kilos of conch shells.”

So the street vendor ajusshi’s name was Ben.

And the ajumma naturally took out three silver coins from her wallet and handed them to Ben.

3 silver.

“….”

Ben glanced at me nervously and coughed awkwardly as he took the money.

Yeah, he feels guilty too, doesn’t he?

I glared at Ben with all my might.

Ben was avoiding looking my way while putting conch shells into the scale basket when—

“Oh my, these conch shells over here look really good? Can’t you pack these instead?”

What the ajumma pointed to were the conch shells I had brought. One of Ben’s eyebrows twitched.

“Oh, they’re all the same. They just look that way because I sprayed seawater on them.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“I see. But the conch shells I bought last time, two of them had gone bad.”

“Oh no! I’m so sorry. It’s been warm lately so that happens sometimes. I’ll add four more for the ones you couldn’t eat and as an apology.”

Ben put conch shells into the scale basket more quickly.

“And since you’re a regular customer, I specially added one big one. You can see the weight, right?”

The ajumma who checked the weight smiled with satisfaction.

“Hohoho, well, seafood can be like that. That’s why I only come here, you know? But it’ll be troublesome if that keeps happening. Pay attention, okay?”

“Oh, of course. I carefully checked their condition before packing them.”

The ajumma nodded at Ben’s smooth promise, put the conch shells in her basket, and left.

“Ugh, of all times.”

Ben muttered as if he was in trouble. I didn’t miss the timing and picked up my bucket of conch shells.

“Goodbye.”

“Wait!”

Ben hurriedly stopped me.

“20 copper per kilo. I’ll specially double it for you.”

“No thanks. I changed my mind.”

I narrowed my eyes and glared at Ben.

“These were caught this morning so they’re completely fresh, you know? You can clearly see they’re high quality. But 20 copper makes sense?”

“If you catch them right away, they’re fresh. But I can catch and sell those kinds too.”

“Yes, if you don’t drink at night and go directly into the sea to catch them yourself. If you don’t drink, you’ll wake up early so you could catch them in the morning too.”

“Ugh! Morning is one thing, but catching conch shells at night, and going directly into the sea? How dangerous is that. Is it worth risking your life just to catch some conch shells?”

Now I could see he was quite cowardly.

Diving at night is more dangerous than during the day, but it’s not impossible if you don’t go too deep.

Ben looked at the conch shells we brought and smacked his lips.

“Then how much do you want?”

“70 copper.”

“Ah, even if you sell to a proper store, they’ll give you 60 copper at best. And that’s only for bulk orders of 100 kilos or more.”

“Then I’ll sell them myself. They’d sell well at around 90 copper.”

“Huh, yourself? Who would buy at 90 copper?”

“You sell them for 1 silver, ajusshi.”

“Hey, I can sell them like that because I’m a local. No one will buy from a girl they’ve never seen before.”

“The product is good and it’s cheaper than what you sell, so why wouldn’t anyone buy? They’d line up.”

“Why would they line up? I’m telling you they won’t buy.”

“Then I’ll pay 10 copper per kilo for stall rent. Watch this.”

Before Ben could respond, I shouted loudly toward the street.

“Starting now, special sale for the first four customers only! Fresh king conch shells caught this morning for 90 copper per kilo! Limit 2 kilos per person! Only accepting four customers!”

The results came quickly, and Ben’s eyes went wide.

It only took exactly 5 minutes to sell all 8 kilos, so it was natural.

Ben, who had 80 copper in stall rent in his hands after just 5 minutes, stammered and finally managed to speak.

“If you’re going to hang around here selling, how are you going to look after the child?”

“Didn’t you see me selling just now? I sell quickly. And my little brother is very smart. He does well on his own. He reads well too. He knows currency units well too.”

I actually don’t know how much Baron knows. But since he was born a noble, he must have studied reading and writing no matter how young he is.

“That’s basic. 100 copper is 1 silver, 100 silver is 1 gold.”

Quick-witted Baron immediately responded to play along, and seemed pleased with the praise as he giggled.

Ben looked at Baron, then scratched his head and grumbled.

“Well, he does look smart. Ah, I didn’t expect this from you, miss, but you’re quite capable.”

I didn’t say anything, but Baron puffed out his chest with a proud expression.

‘Pfft, why is everything he does so cute?’

They say your own child is only cute to you, but Baron was objectively cute.

Even Ben, who had been grumbling, couldn’t help but chuckle when he looked at Baron.

“Alright. If the conch shells are like today’s, I’ll give you 70 copper. But don’t go anywhere else, only come here. I’ll give you good prices for other things too.”

If I really wanted to set up my own stall, there would be many things to worry about like stall rent, territorial disputes with existing merchants, time constraints, etc. Considering all that, that purchase price wasn’t bad for me.

“Okay. I’ll come again next time.”

As we were leaving after saying goodbye, Baron tightly held my hand and called me.

“Nuna.”

“Yeah?”

Baron’s eyes were sparkling brightly.

“You’re really capable.”

I felt good seeing his admiring gaze.

“It’s nothing much.”

I gently patted Baron’s head and picked up the bucket properly.

Now, let’s go shopping!

* * *

I went around with Baron and bought various items.

Hygiene products like soap and toothbrushes, a net scoop with sturdy mesh and a floating basket, rope and round glass bottles, etc.

And that night, after Baron and I had dinner with seafood, we set up a trap to catch flash fireflies on the white sand beach near our house.

But no matter how I thought about it, something seemed strange.

It was definitely for catching fireflies, but this trap made with glass bottles and baskets had a similar structure to the bamboo cage trap I used to catch sparrows on Earth.

I was hiding behind a makeshift fence, quietly holding the string connected to the basket, when I asked Baron.

“Will this really work?”

Baron smiled softly.

“Yeah. Trust me. You remember what to do after catching it, right?”

“Yeah.”

Give it a name, keep it in the glass bottle for about two days, then release it, and it will follow the person who named it and obey well.

‘Is there really such an insect in the world? No, it follows the person who trapped it? Is it because this is a romance fantasy world with magical beasts?’

As I was tilting my head in confusion, one side became bright. It was a flash firefly.

Light as bright as LED fishing boat lights spread brilliantly in all directions.

‘Wow, with that much light!’

It seemed like I could see everything underwater even at night.

As I waited hopefully that we could catch it, the flash firefly wandered around the basket and then slipped right into the glass bottle.

“Now!”

At Baron’s signal, I quickly pulled the rope.

The basket toppled over, covering the glass bottle. Baron, clutching the cork stopper in his hand, ran over with quick steps, swiftly lifted the basket, and twisted the cork to seal the mouth of the glass bottle.

“Nuna! Here!”

The moment Baron held up the glass bottle, the light was so blinding that I couldn’t open my eyes properly.

The luminosity of the flash firefly was truly tremendous.

“Wow, wowww! Amazing! What do I do!”

An exclamation burst out of me without realizing it!

As I received the glass bottle containing the flash firefly from Baron, my feet started bouncing on their own.

“Let’s give it a name first. Nuna, you name it.”

At Baron’s words, I took the glass bottle and said a name.

“From now on, your name is ‘Search.'”

I couldn’t believe it and found myself giggling.

To obtain LED-level lighting in this world!

“Nuna, are you happy?”

I immediately pulled Baron into a tight hug and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Yes! Baron! It’s all thanks to you! Thank you so much!”

Baron’s eyes widened as he gently touched his fingertips to the cheek I had kissed.

His face turned red and his eyes shook greatly, looking shocked, and only then did I realize my mistake.

I had made an error. No matter how much Baron seemed like a little brother, he wasn’t actually my real brother.

“Oh, sorry. Were you surprised? For kissing you without permission.”

When I apologized, Baron hurriedly shook his head.

“N-no, I liked it…”

“Huh?”

Baron, who had been looking toward the Sea, soon bit his lip slightly, then looked up with determination as if he had resolved something.

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