Levy looked a bit displeased when the two boys returned later than expected.
"I thought you two just ran off. Why are you so late? What on earth have you been doing?"
The two brothers couldn't help but be late since they had met Rockefeller and other market vendors to renegotiate in between.
Andrew spoke up for Joshua who was still panting from the rush.
"Well, you see, we accidentally ran into a pack of wild dogs on our way. We're really sorry."
"What? You ran into wild dogs?"
Surprised, Levain relaxed his stern face and gave the boys a worried look.
"Are you hurt? Even if they're wild dogs, it can be dangerous if they form a pack."
"We're fine. We had rocks ready to throw at them if need be. Besides, the wild dogs around here tend to avoid people. We were just being cautious, that's all."
Andrew pointed proudly at the ingredients as he spoke.
"After all, we weren't the ones who went shopping alone, right? That's why we paid extra attention. Everything in here is safe."
The children in the village, who would normally chase after wild dogs with wooden sticks, were fearless against the wild animals.
But Levy, who didn't know this, still watched the two boys with worried eyes.
"It's a relief you didn't get hurt. Wild dogs can be dangerous if provoked. It was good that you were cautious, there's no harm in that."
"I just hope we're not too late."
"That's for you two to work harder tomorrow. Don't worry too much about that."
A bit later, Levain opened the bundle of food ingredients that the two boys had brought, panting.
He needed to verify the contents.
'What's going on?'
He had a strange feeling.
Somehow, the amount of food ingredients looked slightly less than usual.
'Is something off...? It seems like the amount is less than before. Is it just a feeling?'
He took out the ingredients one by one and counted them, and it was clear that there were fewer than usual.
"Hey, why are there less ingredients than usual? You two didn't mess with this, did you?"
If Joshua had initially thought of stealing a few ingredients as a young child, he might have made a mistake by now.
However, since they had deceived Levy in a completely different way, Andrew was able to step forward without hesitation, keeping a poker face.
"What do you mean? Is there a problem?"
"The amount of these ingredients seems to be a bit less than usual. We've been ordering the ingredients every day, so why is there less today compared to yesterday? It feels like they're missing a few."
"There's no way."
Joshua also stepped forward.
"We didn't touch any of that, I swear!"
"Then why are there fewer ingredients than usual? The money I gave you was the same, but the number of ingredients has decreased a bit."
Andrew asked bluntly.
"Is it like that for everything? We searched for fresh ingredients and bought from multiple vendors."
The amount of food ingredients had indeed decreased, but not all were affected.
Although the amount of some ingredients had unknowingly diminished, not all of them were like that. Some had the same amount as before, and some were noticeably less.
“But still, some ingredients seem to be lacking. You guys know that I warned you, right? Never cheat us.”
“No, we didn’t!”
“Absolutely not!”
Andrew, who had been wagging his hand, started to pretend to examine the ingredients that he himself had brought.
“Oh, why is this like this? They really gave us a little less, didn't they? We sometimes go to the market and do the shopping. Just like you said, sir, they indeed gave us a little bit less.”
“Are you guys trying to fool me somewhere? Do you want to get in big trouble with me?”
“No! We really brought what the market vendors gave us. We can swear to the heavens.”
“Are you telling me to believe you now?”
“Yes! We're telling the truth!”
As Levy crossed his arms and snorted, Andrew stepped up to calm him down.
“We're really innocent. We really brought exactly what the market vendors gave us, okay?”
“Of course, you can't prove it, right?”
“Of course we can prove it!”
Levy was slightly embarrassed by the unexpected words.
“What? You can prove it?”
“Yes! Of course, we can! We are innocent.”
Andrew continued.
“When I looked at it, we told the market vendors that we needed the freshest and best ingredients to be taken to the mercenary camp. From what I've seen, they don't usually give so little for that amount of money. If anything, the countryside vendors would be more generous.”
Joshua, who had been watching, stepped in to help.
“Could it be that the market vendors purposely gave us less because they know that the mercenary uncles have a lot of money? We only asked for the freshest ingredients.”
“That seems to be the case.”
"Ah... Rockefeller hyung said that the mercenary uncles have a lot of money, but is this because of that?"
Levy watched the children in wide-eyed astonishment.
‘I'm not sure. It feels like a lie and not a lie.’
“Then let's do this. Tomorrow, I will attach one of my fellow mercenaries to you, and then you guys buy the exact same things for the same amount of money. If what you guys are saying is true, then the market vendors were playing tricks on us.”
At those words, Andrew and Joshua could silently breathe a sigh of relief.
The results would be the same anyway.
The next day.
Levy couldn’t believe the results in front of him.
“Almost the same? Then are you saying that the vendors in that market played tricks on us? Is that it?”
“Hey, are you sure you properly followed them?”
When Levy asked the fellow mercenary who had followed the children, he silently nodded.
It seemed that the market vendors really had played tricks on them, just as the children had said.
“See? We didn't cheat!”
“We're only guilty of bringing exactly what we bought from the market! We're truly innocent!”
As Andrew and Joshua confidently fired back, Levy couldn't say anything more.
“Ah... those damn vendors dare to trick us? Just because we make some money?”
Apparently, there were rumors in the market that the mercenaries were making a lot of money.
Add to that the fact that the errands were being run by kids rather than grown adults, and it began to make sense why the cunning market vendors would take advantage of them.
“…I'm really sorry. I doubted you guys.”
At Levy’s words, Andrew and Joshua could simultaneously breathe a sigh of relief.
“It's okay. Such things can happen, right?”
“Yes! We're fine! So, from now on, do we just keep bringing them like this?”
Trust was the lifeblood of transactions.
Since that trust was maintained, Levain saw no reason to break off dealings with the two children.
“Of course. I'm counting on you in the future.”
