After starting with a playful joke, the two got down to serious business preparations.

Darren was taken aback by the sudden acquisition of a shop, but he felt a great sense of relief knowing that the princess no longer had to stand uneasily at a street stall.

What reassured Darren even more was the presence of Kukus.

Just by being there, Kukus was enough of a deterrent to others, ensuring they wouldn’t have to deal with incidents like the last one in the market.

“Little brother! From now on, call me big brother. I’ve told everyone in the market, so it’ll be easier that way.”

“Yes, thank you, big brother.”

When Darren obediently called him big brother, Kukus affectionately ruffled his hair and laughed heartily.

Darren was much taller than Kukus, so he had to bend down quickly when Kukus reached out, but Kukus, despite his intimidating appearance, was warm and attentive to Darren, who acted with tact.

Stella felt proud watching the two get along so well. Meeting Kukus again was a great fortune for her, and being in the market with Darren was an even greater blessing.

“Now I can come out and do business even in bad weather,” Stella said happily as she looked around the modest shop, which had a proper roof and walls.

It wasn’t a fancy shop, and it didn’t even have a proper door, but Princess Stella was as delighted as if she had acquired a grand mansion.

Everyone at Verdura Castle knew that Princess Stella, despite her noble status, genuinely appreciated simple things.

But seeing it firsthand still left Darren with mixed feelings. It seemed both heartwarming and a bit sad.

What was certain was that the more time he spent with Princess Stella, the more he sincerely wished for her well-being.

“But the path through the forest is rough. You shouldn’t come out on rainy or harsh days,” Darren said, still looking worried.

“Okay, I won’t,” Stella replied, knowing that Darren was genuinely concerned for her, so she didn’t insist further.

Since they hadn’t brought much, organizing the spinach on the display was quickly done.

Kukus somehow procured strings to bundle the spinach, and Darren diligently made bundles. His skill at tying them neatly was impressive.

But soon, that effort became unnecessary.

The spinach sold out quickly, even before they could tie it up. People who had enjoyed the delicious carrots last time somehow heard the news, came to the shop, tasted the spinach, and bought it in bulk.

Most of them were restaurant owners from the nearby area. Anticipating that the price of spinach would rise the next day, they tried to buy as much as possible.

“Sell just a little more.”

“Oh, stop being so greedy. We need to buy some too.”

“I only bought a little.”

“That’s plenty. There’s not much left now.”

Watching people clamor to buy the spinach she had grown made Stella feel like the richest person in the world. It wasn’t just because of the coins jingling into her pocket.

The friendly voices calling out to her, the compliments about how tasty the spinach was, the jokes and laughter exchanged—all of it was delightful.

There was nothing she disliked.

“Why is such a pretty young lady wearing that? I have some clothes my daughter doesn’t wear anymore. Shall I bring them for you?”

Among the customers buying spinach, one noticed Stella wearing Darren’s clothes and offered to bring some clothes for her.

Amidst the bustling crowd, Stella’s morning passed with happy shouts.

Ian appeared just as the business was wrapping up.

“Oh dear, it’s all sold out already.”

Ian, as on the first day he appeared before them, was impeccably dressed. He didn’t look like someone who came to a market to buy vegetables. He seemed more suited to a lavish mansion than a humble marketplace.

“You’ve even set up such a wonderful shop,” Ian said, looking at Darren, then smiled and tipped his hat to Stella standing inside the shop. Unlike before, his more formal greeting made Stella narrow her eyes.

“Were you perhaps here to buy spinach?” Darren recalled Ian buying all the carrots last time and asked. Darren had a favorable memory of the transaction with Ian.

It was great to sell a large quantity at once, and he liked that Ian paid a much better price than others.

“But it seems I’m too late,” Ian said, squinting as if disappointed, and Darren waved his hand to stop him.

“I’ll bring more tomorrow. Would you like to buy then?”

“Can I make a reservation?”

Instead of answering Ian’s question, Darren turned to look at Stella, who was standing inside. Stella, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, slowly approached and answered.

“That would be difficult. There are quite a few people waiting. As you can see, our shop’s vegetables are very popular.”

Stella felt uneasy about Ian’s knowing gaze. His relaxed smile, as if he knew everything, also made her uncomfortable.

“Then I’ll just have to hurry tomorrow.”

Ian turned away abruptly, as if he had no regrets, but then he returned, as if recalling something, and placed an item from his pocket onto the stall. It was a beret, the kind typically worn by young boys.

“I thought the lady might need this. Ah, consider it a small token of appreciation for our excellent transaction last time. Please accept it without any obligation.”

Ian gave a slight smile and disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared.

Darren watched him walk away, then picked up the hat from the stall and handed it to Stella.

“It looks like a nice hat, doesn’t it?”

“Why would I have any reason to accept that?”

Stella hesitated to touch the hat Ian had left behind, knowing that favors without reason often came with a hefty price.

Of course, the hat she was currently wearing, which belonged to Darren, was too big and kept obstructing her view, but she didn’t want to wear a hat given by someone she barely knew.

“Still, since it was given as a gift, wouldn’t it be okay?”

Darren liked Ian quite a bit, so he received the gift Ian left behind positively.

It seemed like a simple gesture to smooth future dealings with them. Besides, since Princess Stella was dressed as a man, it seemed like a particularly useful item.

“I don’t need it, so you can wear it.”

Stella didn’t want to touch anything that felt unsettling. Darren looked at the beret Ian had left and casually placed it on his head. As someone who enjoyed wearing hats, it was a tempting item for Darren. However…

“This hat is too small for me. It doesn’t fit.”

Darren tried to fit it on his head in various ways, but eventually, he spoke in a disappointed voice and put the hat back on the stall.

“If only it were the right size, I think it would suit me.”

Even as he looked at the ridiculously small hat, Darren couldn’t quite let it go, repeatedly trying it on and taking it off.

* * *

“Ian Blake?”

On the way back after wrapping up their business, Stella stopped by the Moonlight Guild to inquire about Ian.

“How do you know him?” Kukus asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

“He’s the one who bought all the carrots from Darren at once. And he paid a very generous price, three times what we usually get.”

“Ah, I see. Did he make some kind of mistake?”

Kukus rarely addressed others with respect, so for him to refer to Ian as ‘that gentleman’ was surprising.

“No, it’s just that he keeps trying to buy vegetables at high prices, so it feels a bit strange.”

“Ian Blake is the head of the Red Bat Trading Company. He’s quite an impressive person.”

Kukus immediately began with praise, which left Stella astonished. Even with his friendly smile, Kukus was someone who had little trust in people by nature.

He was also the last person Stella became close to on the Giant Tiger. However, once he became attached, he was incredibly loyal, willing to give everything.

“Why is that?”

“He came from a common background and went through a lot of hardship to acquire the Red Bat Trading Company. Although he shed a lot of blood in the process, he never picked on anyone weaker than himself. If he’s buying vegetables at a high price, it’s because he has plenty of places to sell them for even more. There’s no one who can match his business acumen. Even now, young people line up every morning asking to be taken in as apprentices at the Red Bat Trading Company. For someone like him to show interest in the princess’s vegetables, it must be quite lucrative. You might become the head of a trading company yourself soon!”

Though Kukus laughed heartily as he asked, Stella’s heart raced for some reason.

‘Head of a trading company? A trading company head…’

While the word lingered on her tongue, Kukus continued to share more praise about Ian.

He had heard stories about Ian helping an elderly person who was being harassed by thugs and donating large sums of money to orphans every year, though it was unclear where he had heard these stories.

It was the first time Kukus had spoken so favorably about someone.

Even though she had only known him for about a month, everyone on the ship knew that Kukus was not one to give praise lightly.

Even after listening to Kukus’s stories, Stella did not show much reaction.

She understood that Ian wasn’t someone to be blindly wary of, but that didn’t mean she could fully trust him either. Most of all, his smooth, knowing gaze was unsettling.

After sitting for a while, Stella stood up, took a silver coin from her pocket, and handed it to Kukus with a request.

“Could you find out if this silver coin can be exchanged for money?”

“It looks like a really old silver coin. Where did you get it?”

Having spent years in piracy and trading, Kukus had seen countless coins from various countries, but this was the first time he had seen one like this.

“A friend gave it to me as a gift for helping out.”

“It seems quite valuable just by looking at it.”

Kukus examined the front and back of the coin meticulously, as if he were an expert.

“Really?”

“Yes. Despite its age, there’s no discoloration, and it’s free of any blemishes, so I imagine many would be interested in buying it.”

Feeling like she was one step closer to finding Rudina, Stella was overjoyed. Once she exchanged the coin for money, she planned to ask Kukus to help find Rudina.

Thinking she might find Rudina much sooner than expected made Stella long to see her even more.