Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 69

“Did you foresee something like this happening, and that’s why you insisted on coming no matter what?” Dwight stood with his arms crossed. The road was still muddy from last night’s rain. Many people avoiding carriages squeezed onto the unpaved roadside, which greatly pressured the Duke, who wasn’t accustomed to crowds.

He didn’t know what had gotten into him to actually come here—though he knew Rabbit Head just wanted to use his carriage and knights. The other’s incessant chatter really made his head spin. The Duke felt immediate regret the second he agreed, but it was already too late.

“What do you mean?” the rabbit-headed shopkeeper asked with a politely inquiring expression.

The Duke stared at something in his hand.

It was a small, white half-face mask made of thin silver sheets. It wasn’t the finest craftsmanship and was unadorned with jewels, except for a red outline around the eyes.

“I just think its design is quite nice.” Charlie handed it to him. “The weather is really nice today. Wearing a cloak would be a waste. And look, everyone is wearing masks.”

In fact, that was an exaggeration. They were standing at the entrance of an outdoor market, which featured a carefully constructed large straw archway decorated with flowers and vegetables. There were already two or three small stalls on either side of the arch, selling things like masks, hoods, and bonnets—all themed around rabbits.

However, not many here wore such items. It was about half and half.

“An outstanding appearance is a gift from heaven, but given the circumstances, it’s best we keep a low profile. Look, I’ve even bought one for Hasting.” The rabbit-headed shopkeeper then produced another item. It wasn’t a mask, but a hat decorated with two long ears.

Dwight glared at the hat for a while, then reached for the mask.

The crudely made mask was hard to accept, but the hat with ears was even more ridiculous.

Charlie wasn’t lying. Indeed, many people at the scene were wearing rabbit-related decorations, and a mask that obscured his face was actually quite suitable for him.

Although he felt it was foolish to wear such decorations outside of a costume ball, he didn’t want to relive the elf riots, which was one of the reasons he had been avoiding going out.

Seeing the Duke actually put on the mask, Hasting was internally thunderstruck. Although his face remained expressionless, his slightly reclining posture honestly reflected his resistance to the rabbit-eared hat.

The rabbit-headed shopkeeper, apparently oblivious to his deep resentment, cheerfully stuffed the hat at him. “There, that’s better—perfectly blending in.”

Although the weather was still quite cool, the frequent rains left the air feeling sticky and thick, making it uncomfortable to wear a hooded cloak due to poor ventilation.

Hasting had no need to conceal his face, and since even the Duke had accepted it… the young knight resignedly jammed the hat on his head without much fuss.

Of course, they didn’t plan to buy any farm tools or seeds. If there were rare elven crop seeds, it might be worth a look, but the market’s arch was like a ready-made menu, and the seeds sold inside were likely reflected in the “samples” on display above. Most people entering this arch were middle-aged or elderly farmers, a demographic not often seen wearing rabbit decorations.

The first market was a large open square that was already crowded with various stalls early before the sun was fully up. Stall owners had tried every trick to make their spots more visible. Some had bright cloth tents; others had makeshift scarecrows of shovels and pitchforks, creating a lively atmosphere from a distance.

The second market was located directly behind the square in a spacious, three-story stone building that looked like a small monastery or school.

The building’s entrance also featured a decorative arch made of wood, shaped like a square, with many genuinely pullable small drawers.

A flamboyantly dressed, attention-seeking individual stood under the arch, handing out flyers, his tone overly enthusiastic.

This market saw significantly more people wearing rabbit decorations. Even Charlie’s rabbit head became less conspicuous here, attracting at most a few extra glances from people curious about the craftsmanship of his headgear.

Charlie and Hasting each took a flier (the Duke didn’t even glance at the clown) and looked them over as they walked.

Dwight didn’t believe that such a folk market could have anything of value. He acknowledged that the size of the market was unusual, but not enough to pique his interest. However, the colors of the flier in Charlie’s hand did catch his attention.

It was a two-color flier, one side bright yellow and the other deep purple. In Pennigra, dyes were mostly made from minerals, and purple was rare.

Here, it was used to dye a handout flier, which could be considered a rare local product.

But as rare as it was, it wasn’t worth the Duke’s time to trade, so he only gave it a brief look before turning away.

The content of the flier, however, intrigued Charlie. The three-story building was naturally divided into sections: the first floor housed large, cumbersome equipment and miscellaneous items; the second floor featured handicrafts; and the third floor was the spice market.

The purple-dyed back of the flier also listed some promotions: shoppers could receive price tags from vendors, and based on these tags, they could exchange for gifts at the gate upon returning—the gifts were inside the wooden arch, with each small drawer containing something. The more you spent, the higher and more valuable the gift you could obtain.

The flier described some of the gifts in an exaggerated tone, such as a rare, deadly porcupine quill or powder made from a giant deep-sea pearl.

Many residents from nearby towns gathered on the first floor, which was frequented by people of all ages. Most sellers were carpenters, and many buyers were young couples planning to furnish their homes.

The three of them avoided this crowd and headed to the second floor, the rabbit-headed shopkeeper’s main destination.

Charlie thrived in such a bustling environment. If not for the Duke’s watchful eye, he could have disappeared within ten seconds. Dwight, having no shopping goals, had to quickly follow the enthusiastic Rabbit Head.

On the contrary, it was even harder for Hasting to follow the Duke. For some reason, after reaching this floor, more people noticed him. Just a dozen steps in, several girls and boys (?) deliberately brushed against him or threw flirtatious glances, and some even directly stopped him to say hello.

Hasting, annoyed, took advantage of the Knight Commander’s absence to abandon his usual decorum. He wore a stern expression and ignored everyone as he hurried to catch up with the Duke, whose back was all that remained in sight. At times like these, he greatly admired his captain, who alone managed to maintain composure and stay close to the Duke without fail.

When Charlie finally stopped to carefully examine a stall selling handmade harmonicas, Hasting breathed a sigh of relief—at the risk of losing them, he was just about to really lose sight of them.

The Duke, showing only his chin under the mask, was quite eye-catching, but his aura of unapproachability was so strong, and he never made eye contact with anyone, so he wasn’t bothered much.

The rabbit-headed shopkeeper finished paying and looked back to see Hasting looking disheveled, which made him blink.

“What’s wrong?” He considerately stopped moving forward to give the young man a chance to catch his breath.

Once they stopped, things got even more troublesome. A bold brunette girl directly blocked their path, inviting Hasting to taste the jam she brought to trade today.

“No, thank you,” Hasting kept saying, trying to move past her towards the Duke, but then another girl approached.

Though smiling, the young knight was nearly at his breaking point—he would have preferred these to be enemies, as dealing with them would have been much less troublesome with a punch each!

“Alright, alright.” Having enjoyed the spectacle enough, the rabbit-headed shopkeeper gently pushed the shoulders of the two girls aside and swiftly took off the hat from Hasting’s head.

Strangely enough, this action was more effective than anything Hasting could have said. The girls stared at them for a while and then stormed off, huffing.

“What’s this about?” The Duke, who had been watching from a distance, finally spoke. If he hadn’t understood before, Charlie’s actions now would have made even a fool sense something was amiss.

Trying to suppress his laughter, the rabbit-headed shopkeeper straightened Hasting’s clothes and casually stuffed the hat into the cloak’s hood.

“I’m not quite sure myself.” Charlie feigned ignorance. “I just made an educated guess… Oh dear, don’t get agitated.”

Dwight placed his hand on his cane—a rare occurrence, but every time it indicated that the Duke was tempted to handle things personally.

“I’m as new here as you are and truly don’t understand the customs.” The rabbit-head shopkeeper, seeing Hasting’s distressed state, finally felt a bit guilty and raised his hands. “Both of you, do you know what ‘March Rabbit’ means?”

The Duke’s eyebrows furrowed under his mask, while the Brandenburg knight looked confused.

“March is the mating season for rabbits,” Charlie explained with a smile. “I only realized it after coming here. The reason this market is called the March Rabbit Market might not only be because it’s the first large-scale trade of the spring, but it might also imply a venue for young people to meet for romance.”

By the heavens, this time the shopkeeper was telling the truth.

When he bought these items at the entrance of the first market, his intention was indeed to hide the Duke’s face, and for Hasting, he simply thought the young man, always so stern, would look cute in the hat—after all, if the Duke wore one, this young knight would surely comply.

Only along the way did he vaguely realize that the rabbit decorations might have another meaning.

In fact, all three of them were observant of their surroundings, but while the Duke and Hasting watched for suspicious activities, Charlie’s observations were more touristic. Hence, he noticed that most wearing rabbit decorations were young men and women, with a few middle-aged people, which combined with the name ‘March Rabbit’, suggested that wearing decorations meant one was single and approachable.

He hadn’t anticipated that, unlike Shivers and Shiloh, who were like fish in water among women, Hasting would be so honest and helpless when surrounded by enthusiastic girls, prompting him to intervene.

As for why he and the Duke weren’t subjected to such awkward situations, it was purely because of the girls judging by appearances.

The rabbit-head shopkeeper, whose face was hardly visible and who had a combative demeanor, and the Duke, who covered half his face and ignored everyone, weren’t as appealing as the handsome Hasting.

Hasting, suffering undeserved misfortune, remained silent, thinking to himself that the Knight Commander was a lair. This rabbit-headed shopkeeper was definitely not a good man.

Although the goods on this floor were varied, truly exquisite items were rare, and magically effective items were even scarcer and very expensive, almost only serving as promotional displays, likely to remain unsold until the end of the gathering.

Based on his observations of the rabbit-headed shopkeeper, Dwight expected him to hunt for quirky, peculiar, and surprising gadgets. However, after a complete round, the purchases he made weren’t special—just things like whistles and small spray bottles packed into a bag.

It was Hasting who found something worthwhile. He purchased finely ground toxic lizard bone powder and a small jar of unusually colored animal fat for weapon maintenance at a blacksmith’s stall.

Although it was unclear from which animal the fat was derived, everything at the modestly sized stall, such as pots and knives, was of good quality.

The rabbit-headed shopkeeper initially wanted to buy some fat too but quickly realized that he no longer needed to maintain Columbus, so he refrained.

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