The Village Chief replied with a smile.
"Liza… I heard a merchant group came to our village while I was away. Now that I've returned, I wanted to meet them."
He looked like an old man — slightly fat, with a white beard and mustache, wearing simple village clothes.
Then he looked at us.
"Are these people the merchants?"
Roberto stepped forward with a gentle but serious tone.
"Greetings, Chief. Sorry we couldn't visit you earlier as you weren't around. I am Roberto Van Falcon. Behind me are my family and members of our merchant group. We are called the Falcon Merchants."
We all introduced ourselves and greeted them properly.
The Village Chief smiled.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Roberto. I am Hanson Dryl. Since we are about the same age, you may call me Hanson… or even Hans."
He gestured behind him.
"And this is the local merchant of our village, Carl Brian. And his guard, Logue."
We greeted them as well.
Brian was an overweight middle-aged man with a thick mustache and an arrogant expression.
Logue, on the other hand, was strong and fit, also middle-aged, with a scar across his face.
Miss Liza looked apologetic.
"Oh my… I'm making you all stand outside. Please come in."
She opened the inn door and we all went inside.
Marlin smiled softly.
"Grandma, I'll be leaving now."
Miss Liza replied, "Leave after having lunch."
But Marlin shook her head. "Some other time," and left.
As we moved inside, I quietly told Hasami to take everyone upstairs.
Without causing any commotion, she led them up.
Miss Liza seated the Village Chief and Carl at the dining table.
Logue stood behind them silently.
On the opposite side, Roberto sat down, and I sat beside him.
Miss Liza served two glasses of water.
"Sorry I couldn't serve you anything better."
The Village Chief waved his hand.
"It's fine, fine."
"Please sit. I will prepare dinner," she said.
"No, you don't have to—"
But she had already hurried into the kitchen.
The Village Chief looked at Roberto.
"Mr. Roberto, I assume you are not facing any problems in our village?"
I stayed silent, letting Roberto handle it.
Roberto smiled politely.
"Mr. Dryl, we are not. The villagers are kind and helpful."
He continued,
"There are not many villages as peaceful as Mahna. You are a capable chief."
The chief smiled.
"You flatter me… Well, I saw the hand tools you sold. They were good. As for the crop products, we haven't used them yet… but I believe they will be useful."
Then Carl suddenly spoke, his tone serious.
"But you have done it illegally. You did not get permission from the Village Chief."
I thought to myself,
They're showing their true colors now. I expected this when I saw them.
Roberto remained calm.
"Do we need permission? No one informed us. We even asked Mr. Martin Guor."
The Village Chief's expression turned serious.
"For the safety of the village and its people, we recently made a new rule. That is why some may not know."
Roberto paused briefly, then smiled.
"Chief, since we unknowingly broke a village rule, we apologize. We would formally like to request permission to conduct business in Mahna."
The Chief nodded slightly.
"Since you did not know, I will forgive you."
"Thank you, Chi—"
"But," the Chief interrupted, smiling faintly, " your products must go through an inspection."
Roberto's tone sharpened.
"Inspection?"
"Yes," the Chief replied calmly. "To ensure you are not carrying anything dangerous, fake, or harmful."
Roberto's voice became serious.
"I apologize if I sound rude, but such an inspection is illegal under Canvas law. Only kingdom knights or officials can issue inspections to merchants, and that too requires proper warrant."
Carl laughed lightly.
"You have a point. But if you wish to do business here, you must follow our village rules. Otherwise, you are not eligible to operate here."
Roberto's face turned expressionless.
"So you are saying that village rules hold superiority over kingdom law?"
The Chief's expression hardened.
"You are talking uselessly. Without inspection, you cannot do business here… nor can you stay."
Roberto was about to reply.
I leaned forward and spoke calmly.
"We will discuss this with the other members of our group and decide. We need some time."
Carl looked at me with a pleased smile.
"Kid, you're smart. You understand quickly."
The Chief nodded.
"I will give you until morning. Decide wisely. Otherwise, you must leave Mahna."
He stood up.
"We'll take our leave now, Mr. Roberto. See you tomorrow."
They left with satisfied smiles.
Roberto remained seated, expressionless — but I could see the anger beneath.
After they left, Roberto spoke quietly.
"It seems they don't want us doing business here."
I leaned back in my chair, relaxed.
"Well… at least they didn't ask to see our merchant permit documents."
Roberto looked at me seriously.
"What should we do now?"
At that moment, Miss Liza returned from the kitchen, smiling.
"Dinner is ready, everyone!"
Then she noticed the empty seats.
"Where did they go?"