Chapter 210: The Wandering Merchant (3)
Milayna had just returned home to get some rest after a long day, but before she could even settle in, she received word: her turn in the line had finally come. With a mixture of excitement and exhaustion, she hurried outside, making her way back toward the city plaza where the Wandering Merchant waited.
To her astonishment, Ketal was still there, standing at the edge of the crowd, watching the Merchant’s transactions with undiminished fascination, looking exactly as he had when she’d left earlier.
“Ketal, have you been here this whole time?” she asked him, surprised.
When Milayna had left, Ketal had said he’d stick around to watch for a while. She assumed he’d grow bored after an hour or two and leave. But here he was, still present as night approached. Ketal greeted her with his trademark grin.
“It was too interesting. I couldn’t tear myself away.”
“Oh... I see.” Milayna wasn’t sure how to respond to his enthusiasm.
Ketal gave a knowing look. “You’re here now, so it must mean it’s almost our turn, right?”
She nodded, smiling back despite her fatigue. “Yes. Let’s get ready to line up. Maximus, you should come as well.”
“Thank you,” Maximus replied with his usual composure.
At the front of the massive queue, Milayna’s employees, who were exhausted but dutiful, had held her place all day. As she approached, one of them greeted her.
“This way, Lady Milayna.”
“You’ve all done well. I’ll see that each of you gets a week’s vacation, with a handsome bonus to boot,” Milayna promised, and the staff, though tired, broke into grateful smiles before finally taking their leave.