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The hard cobbles were firm underfoot, and the fresh sea air filled her lungs. She gulped down huge mouthfuls of it, savouring its purity.

The road was steep, and ahead was the port. Wooden jetties shot off into the sea, allowing huge sailing vessels to dock. There were sh.i.p.s that towered above the rest, and flew flags that were certainly not that of a Japanese ship.

She stared curiously as she saw the pale-faced foreigners – with their blonde hair – unloading cargo from the sh.i.p.s. They had all sorts of wares. Silk, firearms, steelworks. She found herself wondering how much it would all sell for. Definitely a pretty sum.

Japanese merchants greeted them as they disembarked, getting in with them early, so that they could secure the best prices.

The sea lapped aggressively at the edge of the ship, and at times the water swam over the jetty. It looked terrifying, and she could not understand how they could stand there so calmly, as though it was the safest place in the world.

Small Japanese trading vestals lay next to them. These were sh.i.p.s that clung to the shoreline around Japan, so that they might deliver goods more quickly. If they were to go further out at sea, they would struggle to deal with the might of the ocean.

Stalls were set up along the port area, as Gengyo had hinted there would be. But as of yet, there were not many customers. A man sold some of the produce he had harvested recently, with cabbages and carrots being rather common on the table. Another shouted loudly, offering to repair armour and weapons for a price.

One counter was laden with silks and cloths, as the man claimed to make the finest kimonos and yukatas in all of Japan. Whilst that was a questionable statement, there were still flocks of people gathering around, wanting to have a feel of his material.

Guards patrolled the area regularly, making sure there were no instances of thievery, and if there were, they would crack down on it immediately, and make an example out of the man. If thieves were allowed to run rampant, then the amount of trade done in the port would fall substantially, as merchants looked for other locations to take their business.

She soon spotted the jeweller Gengyo had mentioned. He was a middle-aged man, with oily skin and a stubbly beard, and a belly that had become hefty from overconsumption of alcohol. But the way his face was lit up by a smile whenever he interacted with the buyers helped to hide all those imperfections.

But as soon as they left, that smile would disappear as quickly as it had come, highlighting it’s falsity.

He counted piles of gold coins on top of his counter without a single care for the jealous glances that were shot his way. He had four guards either side of his stall – there was no way anyone could start anything. He appeared to take great delight in the envious glances he got, as he made sure that the pile was entirely visible, and often stopped to look up to make sure everyone was seeing how much he had earned.

It was no wonder that man had chosen him for the target of the robbery – he was clearly a man of sizeable wealth. Amongst the coin that littered his counter, was also some of the finest jewellery she had ever laid eyes upon.

A beautiful emerald encrusted wrist bangle caught her attention most, and she found herself wishing that she could steal it already. But there were others too. A sapphire gemstone hanging from a chain of gold, ruby earrings, ruby necklaces. In fact, a lot of the wares appeared to contain ruby. Perhaps the man had been able to buy a large ruby gemstone cheaply at some point, and manufactured the rest using it.

Whenever a customer came, he would put his coin away, and pretend to be the poorest of men, and take personal offence whenever they offered him a price too low, claiming that he would be unable to feed his poor, sickly wife, or put food on the table for them.

She did not think anyone was fooled by his acting, but still, it forced them into a position where they had to change their offer for fear of appearing callus to all those that had gathered around them.

When lunch came, he cleared the counter away, and had a feast laid out for him. Shrimp littered a plate, alongside a whole lobster, and a small octopus. He marinated the food in sauce, chomping down loudly as he allowed the juices to freely drip down his chin.

No doubt his guards were starving, but they were not allowed to eat. They merely had to watch as their boss satisfied that great hunger of his, and wait until their shift was over, before going home, and buying whatever they could manage with the meagre amount of coin that they had earned.

Isabella, for her part, merely ordered a bowl of pickled vegetables and rice from one of the nearby stalls, and leaned against a wooden beam as she ate it idly, pretending to not be paying the jeweller’s stall any attention, as she attempted to admire the wildlife instead.

She did not receive too many unwanted looks from passersby, as the veil helped to hide her beauty. But if anyone was to take more than a casual glance, they would realize the fineness of her features, which could cause problems. As such, she tried to keep her head down, to avoid any such instances.

After he had finished his lavish lunch, the jeweller’s business only continued to bloom, as foreign men came over and attempted to trade in broken Japanese. He played these people for even more wealth than he had the others, as they were unable to understand what he was saying. Though they did not trade in coin, but rather traded in goods.

He put all that he had traded within a box below his counter, which he would take home with him later.

The guards were immensely bored, and sweat coated their foreheads. They were not saved from the heat of the midday sun as their employer was. There was a cloth dr.a.p.ed over the back of the stall, but they were not allowed anywhere near it.

She had barely seen them move all day, and whenever one did, to scratch or something similar, they would be shot a vicious glance by the storekeeper, warning them not to do it again.

Isabella found herself wondering why they would put up with such treatment. Surely it would be more worthwhile to simply rob the man for all he had? They were in a position where such a thing would be possible, and it was not as though they owed him anything.

But why didn’t they?

’Fear, perhaps.’

She reasoned with herself. They were frightened of the consequences their actions would bring. And perhaps they would feel guilty. But the storekeeper did not seem to feel any guilt, even though he was subtly robbing almost every he interacted with.

They were well-muscled too, as their sleeveless kimonos showed off their arms. Surely they could find a better job than standing guard for that puny pug-like man. Why not simply join the war with Imagawa? Wouldn’t that be more exciting?

But then, she supposed, everyone had different circ.u.mstances. Perhaps they somehow owed the man debt, or something along those lines. That seemed quite likely with that narcissistic nature the storeowner seemed to have.

Even as they began to pack up for the evening - with the merchant carefully wrapping each of his wares in cloth, before sliding them into a large leather satchel – they were not yet allowed to move.

It was only when he handed one of them the heavy satchel to carry, that their guard duty seemed to end. The man’s broad shoulders instantly shot downwards upon receiving the bag, giving a good idea of how much it weighed.

Another two men lifted up the wooden chest from below the stall, and carried it behind the rest.

They walked back up the steep, cobbled street, and Isabella followed, doing her best to keep and eye on them as they walked through the crowd.

The chest was clearly rather heavy, as she saw the two men – who could definitely not be called small – trembling, struggling to keep it upright. But they knew from experience that if they were to lower it to the floor for a chance at resting, then they would wish they hadn’t.

They went further through the streets, passed all the tightly nit houses, and travelled further towards an area that had not yet been claimed entirely from nature, with trees and grass still in sight.

Behind a collection of trees, along a small dirt track, and over a short bridge was the merchant’s house. It was a huge structure, taking up far more space than it needed to, as everything was on the same level as the single storied house.

Clearly, the paintwork had been recently done, as the white was of the purest colour, and the black was of the deepest shade. She only wondered why there were three sets of doors by the entrance rather than one. But the rest... The rest was certainly flawless.

No one had looked back to see her yet, but she was well aware that she would be spotted soon. Perhaps she could hide in the long grass that surrounded the structure – but that was most unnecessary. In fact, it would prove counterproductive.

He opened his sliding door, not paying any attention to the two guards the stood at the entrance, and he went inside, the three men that carried his goods followed after him.

She approached, as though it was the most natural thing in the world, swaggering as she went. She loosened up the top of her kimono slightly, so that her goods could be better seen.

He turned around, suspicious upon hearing her approach.

"Who are you?"

He asked warily.

"I’m a gift."

She said sweetly, closing the distance between the two of them.

"A gift?"

He repeated, as her perfume drifted into his nose, and his suspicion lessened.

"A gift from master Noya, he owes you a debt, I am told."

"Ho... Is that right."

His mouth curled up lecherously. Many people owed him debts, and he had long since forgotten the majority of their names.

He turned around, and lead the way, the guardsmen following behind. They walked along the wooden floor straight for a few minutes, before turning right, and then going inside the first room on the left.

By its size, and the western bed that adorned the centre, it seemed it was the merchant’s bedroom. The guardsmen followed in afterwards, and placed the goods down in a corner of the room.

They soon left, leaving the two of them alone.

"Now... this debt..."

But she was already ahead of him. She had found out all that she had needed to know – all that was left was her escape.

She removed the kimono from her shoulders, but stopped it from falling from her chest. And then, she reached into her bosom and retrieved a pouch of coin.

She tossed it to him, before turning to leave.

"Debt repaid."

It was a measly 10 gold, but it was enough. He had been able to feast his eyes, and whilst he had expected more, he would never turn gold away, and so she was able to leave freely under the watchful gazes of the guards.