Hamridge Camp II

After leaving the tent, Carolyn hastily made her way to the forest on the left of the camp. She made sure to stay in sight of the crowd so that she could call for help if necessary but only showed her back. She didn't make any loud noises either, only quietly dabbing her eyes so that the tears didn't ruin her makeup. Her fear had been replaced by gratitude and relief, so it didn't take long for her to recompose herself.

Once the tears stopped, Carolyn reviewed the situation mentally and figured out the cause behind her uncomfortable experience.

'That must have been, lust.'

She understood it on a conceptual level, but she hadn't ever had it directed at her before. She was used to being watched with affection and adoration, but this was the first time anyone had ever... desired her in that sense. While she was old enough to marry, Carolyn still saw herself as barely an adult, so she hadn't imagined that anyone would look at her like that, but now she was forced to believe it.

"First, I'll need a cloak, and a mask might be for the best when I'm travelling. As for my hair... I'll leave it for now."

Her mother had taught her that a woman's hair was special, so she was reluctant to cut it. She also didn't like the idea of having to spend more than planned, but the ones that had leered at her hadn't even intended on carrying out their desires, so she didn't want to risk the chance of ending up in a similar situation with more courageous folk.

Merchants were plentiful in the camp, so as long as she knew what to look for, it wasn't hard to find a clothes merchant selling used cloaks with another merchant selling masks nearby. As she encountered a few more uncomfortable gazes on her way there, Carolyn went to the smiling cloak merchant first. The merchant stood inside a stall with cloaks and other clothing items hung up around him.

"Pardon me. How much for a cloak?"

"Ah yes, you can have one for two silvers."

For better context, the Alterna Kingdom's currency came in two forms: promissory notes and coinage. Bartering was still a common method of trade within villages; however, even villagers would use money when buying goods from merchants. Promissory notes were mainly used in developed cities near the capital and were the mainstream form of currency for large transactions, but most of the population used coinage.

The Alterna Kingdom coinage, also known as Alterna Coins, had three denominations, which were bronze, silver, and gold. 1 bronze coin was the lowest possible amount of money that could be used in trade, and 100 bronze coins were equivalent to 1 silver coin. Similarly, 100 silver coins were equivalent to 1 gold coin.

Based on her studies, two silvers seemed above the market price for a used cloak despite the good quality of the fabric, but she wasn't sure, and she wanted to block those lecherous gazes as soon as possible, so Carolyn reached for a small bag of money she had set aside in her pants pocket and prepared to take out two silvers, but with an even brighter smile, the cloak merchant provided further details.

"Actually, the price that I mentioned was for children's cloaks. An adult's cloak cost three silvers."

Even without being certain about the market price, Carolyn knew that he was trying to rip her off.

'I must have looked too eager to pay. Should I...? No, I can't afford to waste money at this stage. At the very least, I'm not in danger for the time being.'

Carolyn took a deep breath to restrain her impatience and faced the greedy merchant confidently.

"Is that so? I suppose I'll have to look elsewhere then."

Right as Carolyn turned her head away as if looking for a different merchant, the cloak merchant tried to stop her.

"Wait, dear customer! That was just a little joke of mine. If you want it, then the cloak's yours for two silvers."

"Two silvers?"

"Ugh. One silver and twenty bronze."

"Hmm..."

"One silver! You won't find any cheaper than that."

This was slightly lower than what Carolyn knew the market price to be, so after studying the merchant's expression to verify his sincerity, she decided to take it.

"Well, I guess it would be a bother to look for someone else. I'll take that black one."

"Y-Yes."

Carolyn paid for the black cloak that was hung inside the merchant's stall and then put it on. She had to wear her bag over it, but the cloak covered her body and went down to her ankles. It also came with a hood, but she left it lowered for the time being. Perhaps having witnessed her confrontation against the cloak merchant, the mask merchant didn't try any tricks and sold her two plain white masks at a bargain price of 8 bronze. There was no point in wearing a mask inside the camp, so she put it inside her bag and then looked for a merchant to rent a tent from.

Fortunately, due to the high demand and wide space required for their goods, it wasn't hard to find the merchant she was looking for. They set up their business inside a tent not much smaller than the red tent where she received her travel pass. A few standard-size tents were opened inside the store tent, and customers were allowed to examine them. Carolyn also noticed scary-looking men serving as guards to ensure that no one tried anything funny.

"You there, missy. Are you looking to get a tent for the night?"

As she looked at the inside of the tent, the tent merchant approached her with an eager smile. He was an older man with narrow eyes and a well-groomed moustache. Her earlier experience taught her to be vigilant of that smile, so she subtly raised her guard.

"Yes. How much does it cost to rent a tent for one night?"

"The standard price is one silver, but I'll need an additional deposit of one silver just in case anything happens to the product. Worry not; I'll be here for the rest of the month so you can collect what remains of your deposit once you return the tent."

Based on the quality of tents on display, Carolyn judged that the market price was about 5 silvers, so the deposit was almost half the price of the tents. Still, Hanson was generous enough to provide these details in advance so Carolyn wasn't surprised by the price. Nevertheless, she made a show of reluctance in case the merchant had 'forgotten' the real price.

"...Fine. It's two silvers, correct?"

"That's right! Do you see any you like?"

"I'll take the green one."

"Great decision! For the extra price of twenty bronze, I can also have someone set it up for you."

"I can handle it by myself."

"Very well, I'll have it packaged for you. Please come this way."

The merchant brought her to a table where she signed a rental form with her name and fingerprint. Literacy rates were irregular across territories, so he also provided the option of leaving the writing to the merchant and adding her fingerprint, but she opted not to. After signing the form, she paid the deposit, and the merchant had the tent folded and handed to her.

"Feel free to return if you wish to extend the rental period or make a purchase."

"I will if necessary."

Once she had the tent, Carolyn left the store in search of a place to open it.