“Mister, are you going to buy or not? You’ve been standing there for a long time. You’re blocking the way to the other customers.”

Lia glanced to her side. A man wearing a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows stared absentmindedly at the fruits. He looked like someone who wandered there without meaning to.

Despite wearing a peasant’s clothes, the man gave off an aura of someone living comfortably. She would not be surprised if the seller gave him a “special price”. Feeling someone looking at him, he turned to Lia who quickly looked away and focused on her own bag.

“How much are your grapes?” the man asked.

“5 gold for 2kilos.”

Lia whipped her head towards them. She may always buy items on sale but she knew that at most, a kilo of grapes cost 2 silver coins.

“Okay, and give me half-kilo of apples.”

“That’s one silver.”

The man ordered fruits as if ordering at a restaurant and the price continued to increase to a ridiculous price. Lia bit her inner cheek to stop herself from speaking. Another ruckus was the last thing she needed.

“Don’t be distracted,” she muttered under her breath.

“How about the pear?”

“10 copper each,” the seller said without a hint of remorse.

Lia closed her eyes as she took in a breath. This was getting too much.

“Isn’t that a lot? You’re tripling the price,” Lia tried to sound calm. She hated butting in but she hated people like this more. ‘I’ll just get this guy out of this and then we’re done.’

“What, you’re still here?” the seller glared at her direction while shooting a nervous glance at the man.

Lia moved closer to them. The man looked confused yet amusement also reflected in his eyes which darted between her and the seller. She felt a tinge of pity for the man. A rich guy’s first time in a market and he was already being subtly robbed. She glanced at his fruits and hastily computed them.

“10 silver and 50 copper coins all in all,” Lia said, her voice low but clear.

The seller was aghast and raised his voice. “What!? No way! Do you know how much these costs? 4 gold for all of it!”

“20 silver!”

“3 gold!”

“Miss, it’s –” the man tried to interject.

“50!”

“100 silver dammit! That’s final!” the seller roared.

Lia grinned and turned to the man beside her triumphantly. He must have missed the cue as he continued to stare at her. She cocked her eyebrow and tilted her head towards the seller, signaling for him to pay. The man mouthed a silent ‘O’, pulled out his bulging purse and handed the coins. Lia snatched their bags of fruits, grabbing the man’s arm as they walked away from the stall.

She had to drag him away which might have looked funny to the onlookers, a small guy pulling a much taller one. Lia kept one eye over their shoulders. Who knows if someone followed them to retaliate. You would never know when these people would go against you. The two only stopped when they walked a few blocks away. Lia turned and gave the bag to him.

“Here,” she looked up and her smile faltered.