The Story of Becoming a Married Man in Another World

031 That Man is Our Father

“Sigh, this is really troublesome. Such fur is becoming more and more common these days. The price has dropped a lot. What should I do? Should I buy this? It would be a loss.”

The middle-aged peddler sighed repeatedly.

—

—

The woman looked at him helplessly, then back at the items in the carriage. She didn’t look at the giant man behind her. It seemed she couldn’t look at him out of guilt. Up to this point, there was nothing unusual about them compared to any other couple.

In this world, a woman’s position is truly narrow. Especially in small villages like this, it’s worse than in the city. Women often did all the work but had no real power.

This doesn’t mean that there are many husbands who are violent towards their wives, but the overall atmosphere is like that. Men made all the decisions, and women mostly followed them.

However, the middle-aged peddler noticed that the relationship between this couple was a bit different from the usual. The woman felt very sorry towards the man, but she didn’t seem scared or intimidated.

Seeing that the man hadn’t said a word and remained silent since earlier, he might look fine on the outside but could actually be a fool with a very bad head. So, he might have lost his power to the woman, or he might be living under her thumb because he liked her too much.

‘Hmm.’

That might really be the case. The woman looked very thin and shabby, but if you looked closely, her features were quite delicate. If she gained some weight or took care of herself a little, she would become very beautiful.

‘At that level, she might be sold at a good price to a lower noble.’

Peddlers wandering around the outskirts of villages take on all sorts of tasks. The middle-aged peddler had also been asked by a slave trader with connections to nobles to bring any woman with a decent appearance for a good price.

But even if there were many women, it was hard to find a pretty one. Considering the type that nobles enjoyed, the number decreased even more.

For the poor, ignorant commoners struggling to make a living, a woman who worked well and was sturdy was the best. Because of that, women who were only pretty often couldn’t eat well or grow up properly from a young age, making it very hard to recognize their beauty. Unless a woman had exceptionally outstanding beauty, no woman looked pretty if her skin was clinging to her bones.

If you didn’t have a good eye for judging goods, it was very difficult to do this job for a long time.

The middle-aged peddler had a good eye, but recently, the type of women that commoners liked and the type that nobles preferred were going in completely opposite directions.

Even to the middle-aged peddler, who prided himself on having a good eye, it was hard to find a suitable woman.

‘It’s a bit of a pity that she’s already taken.’

But who knows what will happen next year. In villages like this, when life gets tough, they often sell their children or wives.

“Sigh.”

The middle-aged peddler deliberately sighed deeply, pretending to pull the rabbit fur from both sides or check for scratches. It’s good. The fat was meticulously removed, and the fur was smooth and glossy. The density was tight, and there was little shedding. Very good.

‘The more I look at it, the better it seems.’

Thinking that, the middle-aged peddler picked out flaws in the rabbit fur or frowned, gradually chipping away at the woman’s confidence during the conversation.

It seemed she didn’t know the difference between summer fur and winter fur, and as he pointed out flaws in the fur, her voice grew smaller. She didn’t seem very stupid, but she seemed to have a gentle and docile personality.

‘It’s really a pity.’

The type of woman the slave trader wanted was exactly like this. Golden hair, white skin, not too stupid but with a gentle personality, a slender body that looked like it would blow away in the wind. It’s really a pity.

The middle-aged peddler kept glancing at the giant man while talking to the woman. But it seemed there was no need to do that anymore. The giant man just silently watched the woman.

“Alright, everyone’s situation is tough these days, and we’ll keep seeing each other, so it’s a bit hard for me to be too harsh.”

The middle-aged peddler took out the cheaper items from the ones the woman wanted, leaving out the valuable ones.

When he subtly signaled to his son, the third son, who had been watching the situation from the side, quickly rummaged through the items in the corner. He took out several old, less valuable items and placed them in front of the woman, saying,

“Still, it’s a bit harsh to go strictly by the price, Father. How about giving her a bit more?”

“Sigh, you really. How can you do business properly like that? We’re not digging dirt to do business, and you’re too kind-hearted.”

Having followed the peddler for a long time, the son had become quite useful. The middle-aged peddler sighed and smiled as if he couldn’t help it.

—

—

“We might be at a bit of a loss, but it seems like there’s a child involved. Ah, let’s just take the loss. Sigh, we really shouldn’t be doing this, but, well, there’s no other choice.”

“….”

The middle-aged peddler grinned as he grabbed the bundle of rabbit fur and golden hair.

At that moment, the silent giant stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.

‘Gasp! Wh-what is this.’

He had only lightly grabbed it, but he couldn’t move. It wasn’t just that. It hurt immensely. It felt like his bones were going to break.

It hurt so much that he couldn’t even scream, and the middle-aged peddler’s face turned pale.

The giant looked into his eyes. He wasn’t glaring. He was just looking. But it was terrifying. This guy, he seemed calm but was quietly angry.

Moreover, he wasn’t a fool. He might be much smarter than he seemed. There was intelligence in the man’s face as he quietly looked into his eyes.

Why hadn’t he noticed? Maybe he was mistaken because of the rough face and large build. Among big guys, there are many who are just strong fools, so he had carelessly overlooked it. He had thought there couldn’t be a smart guy in such a remote village.

His son asked why he was doing that, but he couldn’t even turn his head. The middle-aged peddler, sweating profusely, lowered his gaze like a mouse in front of a cat.

*

Lizzy’s grip tightened, crumpling the rabbit fur in her hand. She quickly opened her hand, worried that the fur might get damaged, but she couldn’t ease her disappointed heart. Every time she heard the peddler’s words, her shoulders drooped a little more, and her body shrank.

She thought she could buy at least some of the things she wanted, even if not all. But it seemed that wasn’t the case. Listening to the peddler, it seemed like prices had gone up a lot.

The peddler said it was because of the war. Salt, clothes, shoes, iron pots, everything had become expensive, and selling rabbit fur and hair wouldn’t even get her half of what she wanted.

There was no choice. At least the young man next to her was giving her a bit more stuff, which was something to be thankful for.

“….”

Lizzy reluctantly handed the rabbit fur to the peddler.

But just as the peddler was about to take the rabbit fur, Joo-hwan stepped forward and stopped him.

‘Joo-hwan?’

When she looked up, Joo-hwan was smiling at her.

“Lizzy, this peddler won’t do. His eyes are lying. ## Go to the village. One peddler is expensive because they don’t compete. Multiple peddlers are better. They compete, and the prices are cheaper.”

“Oh.”

Such words. Lizzy looked at the peddler in confusion. But for some reason, the peddler was holding his wrist and groaning, half-sitting on the ground.

It was the spot Joo-hwan had lightly grabbed earlier. Was it an injured or sore hand? If so, she felt a bit sorry.

No, that wasn’t it. To openly say she didn’t trust the peddler, what if the peddlers got angry? Lizzy’s heart pounded.

But the peddler seemed too pained to react, and the other peddler seemed too confused, asking what was going on, to hear Joo-hwan’s words.

“….”

What should she do? What if they demanded medical expenses from them? They might blame it on Joo-hwan’s touch. She suddenly felt worried.

‘We don’t have any money.’

—

—

Even rabbit fur doesn’t fetch much money, what should we do?

“Riji.”

Juhwan called her. When Riji looked up, Juhwan reassuringly took her hand and gently tapped the back of it.

Ah, that’s right. This person uses healing magic. She felt a bit relieved. Even if the merchant complains that he got hurt because of them, it’s okay.

Only then did Riji recall what Juhwan had said earlier.

‘Maybe Juhwan intended to buy goods from another store from the beginning, not from this peddler….’

Before coming down to the village, Juhwan had asked various questions. Whether there were other places with stores, if only one peddler came, if he had ever been to another village before.

The peddler who brought Riji here was different from the current merchant. The size of the cart and the number of goods sold were also fewer.

That peddler had stopped by another village before arriving at this one with Riji. According to her memory, it was a distance that could be covered within a day. There were regular carts and several stores there.

There were parts that didn’t get conveyed properly due to language barriers, but Riji told Juhwan as much as she remembered.

She also conveyed that it wasn’t easy to go to that village. The meaning must have been clear, but could Juhwan really be thinking of going there? Because there are several stores and it’s cheaper?

Riji, flustered, tried to recall the way to that village.

“But Juhwan, it’s far. You can’t go and come back in a day.”

Unfamiliar people might get lost on the way. Sometimes beasts appear, and rarely, there are reports of monsters. If there are many goods, carrying them all would be difficult.

Honestly, she wasn’t confident she could find the way there. What if they got lost and wandered around….

But Juhwan calmly patted her head.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here, Riji.”

“….”

She felt a bit uneasy. But when Juhwan smiled at her, she somehow felt it would be okay. If they could get even a little more goods, maybe it would be better to follow Juhwan’s suggestion.

As she nodded slightly, the middle-aged peddler, who had been groaning in pain until a moment ago, urgently spoke up.

“Wait, wait. You’re not really thinking of going to another village to sell, are you? Don’t you know the whole country is in turmoil because of the war these days! If you wander around with such goods….”

The peddler, clutching his wrist in pain, glanced at Juhwan. Then, forcing a smile, he spoke to Riji.

“Alright, I’ll take a bit of a loss. I’ll give you a little more salt with the goods I promised, and yes, you wanted that big water container earlier, right? I’ll give you that too.”

“Really?”

Riji’s eyes widened. Salt and a water container, that seemed good.

“Then.”

As Riji opened her mouth to speak, Juhwan gently pulled her hand again.

“Riji, no.”

“Juhwan.”

Riji felt a bit anxious. What if the peddler got upset because of Juhwan and refused to make the deal? She glanced at the peddler, who forced a smile again.

—

—

“Your husband seems confident in his strength. But now, due to the aftermath of the war, the number of bandits has increased tremendously. When people who find it hard to make a living run away from the territory, that’s all they can do.”

The peddler’s gaze turned to the rabbit fur. Then it moved to the neatly tied hair. The peddler sighed, grabbed his wrist, and approached closer.

“It’s not right to just watch a young person die because they don’t know the world well. Alright, let’s give him a set of men’s clothes. You know the clothes are very expensive, right? Please talk to your husband.”

The peddler glanced at Juhwan. But Juhwan remained unmoved. He seemed to have no intention of selling anything to this peddler.

The peddler decided to offer a little more goods.

By then, Lizzy could tell. This peddler was lying. She didn’t know much, but it seemed that this rabbit fur and hair were worth quite a bit.

The rabbit fur that was Lizzy’s ransom was a poor item even to her untrained eyes.

There were patches where the fur had fallen out, and it had no luster. The inside of the fur was moldy.

It was completely different from what Lizzy had now.

Maybe even the same rabbit fur could vary greatly in price depending on the quality.

In the end, the peddler, half crying, offered an enormous amount of goods. It seemed to be several times more than what Lizzy had initially thought.

The peddler grumbled about being caught by a bunch of robbers and thieves while Juhwan wasn’t listening.

The old peddler, holding the rabbit fur, went to the front of the cart and spoke to a young man who seemed to be his son.

“Do you understand? The hardest customer to deal with is not a picky one, nor a smart one. It’s someone who has no intention of bargaining at all. The one who never compromises if it doesn’t meet their standards is the toughest. Well, you need to have a gap to poke through.”

“….”

Juhwan called the peddler, having found something bad. It was already the fourth time. The peddler ran over with a stern face. Seeing the item Juhwan handed over, he laughed awkwardly and replaced it with something else.

Maybe to the peddler, Juhwan was a bolt from the blue. Lizzy smiled slightly, watching Juhwan inspect the goods.

After that, they exchanged the rabbit meat, cut into small pieces, for items like oats, pickled vegetables, straw shoes, and bundles of straw that the villagers were selling. They could exchange it for a decent amount.

As the villagers murmured and watched, Juhwan began to stack the goods neatly on his back. Small items went into a large wooden barrel.

After tying it tightly with a rope to prevent it from collapsing, Juhwan stood up with the load on his back, and the whole village marveled. Some children clapped their hands.

Lizzy knew Juhwan was strong. But she didn’t know he was this strong. She stared blankly at Juhwan, who was carrying a load piled high like a mountain, and only came to her senses when he reached out his hand.

Dorothy was boasting among the other children. She held her head high and kept saying, “That’s my dad, that’s my dad.”

Dorothy, what if your neck gets stuck and your face doesn’t come down?

Lizzy couldn’t help but laugh.

The way back home was a bit tiring but happy.

Dorothy seemed quite tired too. The closer they got to home, the slower her steps became.

Lizzy tried to carry her, but Juhwan put the child inside his clothes and held her.

Really, no matter how strong he is, is this even possible? Juhwan put the child inside his clothes and supported her with one arm. Bent over with the load on his back, is this really possible? Is this man really human?

Dorothy fell asleep as soon as she got inside Juhwan’s clothes.

Is it okay to be this happy? She felt a bit scared.

—

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