Leon didn’t bother asking if they needed his help. After all, when he’d politely offered this morning, Detrius hadn’t exactly been friendly. No point in offering warmth only to have it t with a cold shoulder.
After greeting Detrius, Leon returned to his cabin and stored all the items on him into the chest—especially the remaining pearls. Even after trading eight of them to the traveling rchant Egger, he still had sixteen left.
“Rich indeed,” he muttered.
Tucking the pearls away, Leon couldn’t help but marvel again. Twenty-four pearls in total—based on Egger’s price, that was 84,000G. Not a small sum.
A sha Egger couldn’t take them all. Otherwise, Leon would have gladly “donated” the lot to the treasury to repair the bus to Calico Desert. If he was lucky, he might even make it in ti for the Desert Festival in mid-month.
Leon had never heard of this festival before, but when he’d gotten a calendar from Abigail last ti, it had been marked clearly—three days long, no less. Naturally, he was curious.
Since Egger couldn’t take them all, Leon still had two other outlets: the shipping box and Clint. He took one pearl out and tossed it into the shipping box, planning to see the price there. If the price was good, he’d sell them all that way.
As for the Void Essence he’d exchanged with Egger, Leon wasn’t sure if he should ship it out the sa way. The shipping box was mysterious—he had no idea whether it could reach the City of Elents. If the buyer on the other end didn’t have a market there, he might end up taking a loss on the investnt.
To get the best value for the Void Essence, he needed a rchant with access to the City of Elents.
It wasn’t as if Leon didn’t know such people—Rasmodius and Linus, for example—but neither were real rchants. They could help, but Leon felt embarrassed to ask.
The only true rchant with access was Krobus. But considering the rfolk were targeting his kind, Leon worried the Shadow Person might be killed.
That thought reminded Leon of sothing he’d forgotten—his promise to Krobus. He’d said he’d tell him what the Starfruit tasted like after eating it. And he’d completely forgotten.
“Well, here we go again,” Leon sighed, patting his forehead.
He stepped out of his cabin and headed toward Pelican Town, aiming for the sewer entrance via the manhole cover near the cetery.
Riding back into town, Leon went straight for the cetery. He’d passed by enough tis to rember its location. On the left side of the cetery stood an iron fence enclosing a large manhole cover.
Using the Rusty Key, Leon unlocked the heavy padlock, lifted the manhole cover—which looked heavy but wasn’t—and found a ladder set into the wall.
Climbing down, Leon found Krobus right there by the ladder, gazing up at him.
“So, you got the key to the sewers. Looks like I won’t have to worry about anyone else barging in here with it,” Krobus said, clearly pleased.
“Even if they had the key, most wouldn’t co down without a reason,” Leon replied.
“Yes, but I’ve always worried the dwarves might get their hands on it,” Krobus explained.
“I doubt the dwarves would expect you to live here,” Leon reassured him.
Krobus nodded, then studied Leon.
“You’re back. And I can sense your life force is stronger. You’ve eaten the Starfruit, haven’t you?”
“Yeah. The taste was strange—not fruity at all. More like a recreation of the flavor I miss most from my mories,” Leon said, sharing his impression.
“Is that so? How fascinating. Then you must have awakened a new ability?” Krobus asked eagerly.
“I did. Sothing to do with crop cultivation,” Leon admitted. It wasn’t exactly a life-saving trump card, so he didn’t mind telling him.
“Seems you’re a born farr,” Krobus said with the sa tone Linus had once used. Then he added, “You can eat more than one Starfruit, you know. If you want, I can check the free market for any up for sale and help you buy them.”
“Thanks. But for now, you’d better not go out,” Leon said seriously.
“Why?” Krobus looked puzzled.
“A few days ago, a Shadow Assassin entered the sea, killed a rfolk, and stole the Neptune Greatsword. He fled to Pelican Town but was taken down by , the Adventurer’s Guild, and an elder. Today, I went to the rfolk’s underwater city and learned they’re planning revenge—by buying up a lot of Void Essence in the City of Elents. You understand what that ans, right?”
“I do. Void Essence mostly cos from shadow-aligned creatures like us Shadow People.” Krobus curled up, troubled. “I don’t get it. Why would my people provoke the rfolk? The Elental War is over.”
“Wars end, but hatred doesn’t,” Leon said quietly. “Especially blood debts—only when one side is gone will it truly end.”
He spoke from experience. Even though he’d left Earth, he still resented a certain despicable island nation and regretted that he might never witness its downfall.
“Do you think I should hide sowhere for a while?” Krobus asked, trusting Leon’s judgnt.
“No. You live in the sewers, and the rfolk don’t know that. This is Stardew Valley, under the protection of the Guardian. He won’t let them run wild. And you’re my friend. I have ties with the rfolk too—I won’t let them harm you. Just don’t go to the City of Elents.”
“I see. That’s good.” Krobus visibly relaxed. He believed Leon.
“It’s good to have a friend like you, Leon. Thank you.”
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