The Little Girl Who Uses Sorcery!

Chapter 47: 047. The Little Girl Who Uses Sorcery!

"What a bustling street, with goods for sale everywhere, but it's truly chaotic too."

Mercer walked down the street, and along the way, he witnessed no less than five brawls.

Not only that, but from further away, in areas he hadn't explored yet, he could faintly hear the sound of gunshots.

Through his Observation Haki, he sensed the dissipation of several life forces.

Mercer looked at a fruit stand about ten meters away and walked over. There were quite a variety of fruits.

Seeing Mercer approach, the stall owner waved him away with disdain, "Go on, go on. I don't give handouts here. Go beg somewhere else. I saw you from afar, looking around the whole way."

Mercer froze, bewildered, and looked himself over. No, my clothes aren't ragged, he thought.

"What are you looking at? I've seen plenty of unwanted brats like you. Don't think I won't recognize you just because you're wearing clean clothes. Get lost!"

The owner cursed again, "If you want to scam me, you should find an adult to follow. How many times do you think you can pull this trick on me?

I've been tricked before, so hurry up and leave. This isn't a charity."

Mercer silently took a five-hundred Belly coin with a small dragon imprint from his pocket and said calmly:

"How much can I buy? I want apples."

The owner's expression stiffened, then he pouted and held out his hand, taking the coin. "Apples, five hundred Belly per jin."

The owner picked out several apples, put them in a bag, and handed them over. Mercer took the bag and weighed it, raising an eyebrow.

"Your scale is off, it's clearly heavier, by two liang."

When the owner heard the first half of the sentence, his lips curled up, and he was about to curse. But upon hearing the second half, he fell silent for a moment, then his face turned fierce:

"Hurry up and get lost, stop with the nonsense. My scale is accurate, I don't need your chatter."

Mercer looked at the fruit owner, who was actually quite kind-hearted, and smiled. He took out a bright red apple from the bag and wiped it on his clothes.

Crunch!

He took a bite. It was crisp, sweet, and incredibly delicious. Mercer said with his mouth full, smiling:

"Actually, you mistook me. I just arrived on this island today. I snuck off the ship to explore on my own."

"Can you tell me why you thought I was a beggar?"

Seeing Mercer's demeanor, and looking closer, Mercer's hands were smooth, not rough, and he didn't smell bad. The owner started to believe him.

But then, his face soured, and his mouth twitched:

"So, you have money?"

Mercer smiled and nodded, "Of course. So, are you going to rob me? I've been wandering around here for a while, and people's gazes here aren't very good."

The owner's expression turned cold. "Since you know the gazes aren't good, why aren't you hurrying back? This port city is controlled by the Ishu Family, and their commerce is very prosperous."

A flicker of light flashed in Mercer's eyes, and he looked at the owner in surprise:

"Can you elaborate?"

As he spoke, he took another five-hundred coin from his pocket. With a "ding," the coin spun in the air and was flicked back into his embrace.

The owner hesitated, but seeing the Belly, he said:

"The Ishu Family's commerce is very prosperous, their business is huge. For outsiders like you who are alone..."

He stopped here, as if he was concerned about something, and his expression became agitated. "Hurry up and leave, don't disturb my business anymore."

Saying that, he threw the coin in his hand back. Mercer nimbly caught it, the coin rolled through his fingers a few times, and then was flicked back to the owner.

Mercer smiled and waved his hand, "I appreciate your good intentions. Bye-bye, kind-hearted, foul-mouthed boss."

Although he only spoke half of what he meant, Mercer understood. It was likely about human trafficking of outsiders.

Mercer turned and left, ignoring the owner's flushed face. He ate an apple, glanced at the five remaining apples in the bag, and the corner of his mouth turned up slightly:

"It seems not everyone here is indifferent. That's right, judging everyone with one stick would be unfair."

Mercer continued to wander the street. People came and went, and he walked slowly through the crowd. Suddenly, his eyes caught something interesting.

Not far away, a boy of about fifteen or sixteen brushed past an adult man. Mercer clearly saw a wicked little hand reach into the man's pocket and skillfully pull out a wallet.

After the boy and the adult man passed each other, another boy passed by the boy who had stolen the wallet, and the pickpocket quickly handed the wallet to that boy.

"A gang?"

Mercer found it amusing, so he followed the boy who ultimately received the wallet, trailing him from a distance through streets and alleys.

During this time, he watched the boy buy a large bag of baguettes from an old bakery and shield them with his oversized clothes.

Half an hour later, in a gradually remote and dilapidated building complex, Mercer saw the boy finally slip into a partially collapsed, somewhat hidden courtyard.

Mercer's breathing became steady. He entered the Unity of Heaven and Man state, adjusting his breathing frequency to synchronize with his surroundings.

He approached.

He heard faint, noisy voices.

"Brother Will, you're back. How was it? Any gains? Yay~ More baguettes to eat."

"You're amazing, Will."

"Will, where's Moni? Didn't he come back with you?"

"He's still out scouting for outsiders. You all need to behave yourselves for the next few days. There's been a lot of infighting among the outsider gangs lately, so be careful. Alright, go boil some water. We'll have boiled bread porridge later."

"Oh, right, Will. What about that little girl you met before? Did she agree to join us?"

"Uh, she, she still refused. That brat thinks she's so great because she can use Sorcery and doesn't want to join us. I even offered to make her the boss, but she still refused and said some really mocking things."

"She's really detestable, that monster kid. You even gave her food before."

"Tell me about it."

"Will, what do you think? Should we sell information about her to those people at the Ishu Merchant Guild? Maybe we can get a bounty. She's an outsider, not one of us locals."

"Shut up, Aban. Don't ever say that again. We might be thieves, but we don't do dirty, backstabbing things like that. If any of you dare to do it, don't blame me for turning my back on you."

Mercer listened to the conversation from outside the wall, feeling a mix of curiosity and surprise. He was curious about the girl they mentioned who could use Sorcery, and surprised by the resolve of the young man named Will.

With that thought, Mercer walked to the entrance and ducked inside. As soon as he entered the yard, he saw five young people – the oldest being Will, who had taken his wallet, and four others, two boys and two girls, all younger, around twelve or thirteen years old.

Upon seeing Mercer, all five froze. At that moment, the young man called Will stepped forward, frowning, and asked, "Kid, who are you? How did you get here?"

A slightly older boy with a bowl-cut hairstyle spoke fiercely, "Kid, speak up, or I'll beat you!"

"Brother Aban, don't scare him. Let me handle it."

A little girl with purple hair stepped forward and looked at Mercer with a smile, saying, "Little brother, what's your name? I'm Jada. Can you tell us how you got here?"

Mercer ignored her and looked at Will with interest. "Can you tell me? Where is that little girl who can use Sorcery? I'm a bit curious."

Jada looked unhappy, puffing out her cheeks. Seeing this, Aban's eyes flashed with anger. "Kid, Jada's talking to you! Are you deaf?"

As he spoke, he lunged forward, his right hand reaching for Mercer's head.

At that moment, an arm shot out and grabbed Aban's right hand. Aban glared at him angrily. "Will, what do you mean by this?"

Mercer took a step back, watching the scene with amusement. An internal conflict?

Will released Aban's arm and said expressionlessly, "I don't remember teaching you that, Aban. Bullying the weak is forbidden for us."

Seeing Will's anger, Aban looked a little guilty and turned his face away. "Alright, alright, I know I was wrong. Don't look at me with those terrifying eyes, Will. I'm sorry."

Seeing this, Will's expression softened slightly as he turned his gaze back to Mercer. "Can you tell me?"

Mercer smiled and looked Will up and down, noting his capable demeanor. "I saw it. I saw the whole process of you two stealing earlier, and then I followed. I've told you, now what about you? Where is that Sorcery girl from just now?"

Will's brow furrowed. "Can you tell me why you're looking for her? And who are you?"

"Hey!" Mercer grinned and suddenly stepped forward, kicking Will in the stomach.

"Huh?" Will was startled by Mercer's sudden move. He felt how fast it was and clenched his right fist, throwing a punch with all his might.

Bang!

A dull thud echoed.

Will was sent staggering backward by Mercer's kick.

Seeing this, the remaining four in the yard were shocked. Aban, the boy named Aban, reacted the fastest. He quickly grabbed a brick from the ground and threw it at Mercer.

A flicker of surprise flashed in Mercer's eyes as he precisely extended his right hand to catch the brick. He then stepped forward, appearing in front of Aban, and raised his right hand, smashing the brick down on him.

Bang! A dull thud sounded as the brick shattered into three pieces on Aban's forehead. Mercer let go of the brick and watched as Aban's eyes rolled back, blood trickling from his forehead as he lay on the ground.

Mercer looked at him and pouted, "You're trying to pull a sneak attack on me? You've got some nerve."

He then looked at Will, who was now on guard, and smiled. "Can you tell me? If you tell me, I'll give you an opportunity, a great chance to live well in this world."

Will's face stiffened, then he gritted his teeth. "You tell me first why you're looking for her. If you intend to harm her, then I absolutely won't tell you."

Mercer laughed, looking at Will with a strange expression. "No, it's fine if you don't tell me. If you don't, I have them. After I take you down, I'll threaten them with you, and they'll tell me."

As he spoke, Mercer gestured with his chin towards the remaining frightened boy and two girls. Will's face darkened instantly.

Mercer felt like he sounded a bit too villainous, but it was also quite amusing. He just watched Will with a cheerful expression.

Reluctantly, he said, "In a derelict house west of this ruin, near the forest, she's there.

I've told you what I know, and I have no money, so can you let us go now?"

Hearing this, Mercer chuckled. This guy had good character, knew when to yield, wasn't stubborn, and was quite talented. He really hadn't misjudged him.

"Thanks!" Mercer turned to leave, but after two steps, he turned back to Will. "That opportunity I mentioned is by the port west of here. There's a warship from Marine Headquarters docked there. You can go there and give my name, Mercer. Say Mercer sent you, and they'll take you in.

Whether you go or not is up to you.

Bye-bye~, good luck, my not-so-bad thieves."

Mercer turned and slipped out of the place.

"It's really desolate, huh? A rundown old town?"

Mercer walked through the abandoned streets, a stark contrast to the bustling streets not far away. Weeds grew everywhere here.

Before long, Mercer arrived at the ruins near the forest, filled with collapsed, abandoned single-story houses.

Mercer jumped onto a two-meter-high ruin and surveyed his surroundings. He released his Observation Haki and quickly detected a presence.

It wasn't strong.

But it was clearly not that of a small animal.

Mercer looked in that direction and walked over. Two minutes later, he stepped into the forest. Amidst the sparse trees, brightly colored flowers grew everywhere.

They exuded a peculiar, vigorous life force.

Walking through the flowers, a few minutes later, Mercer heard a somewhat cheerful voice from the flower patch ahead:

"La la la~ la la la~ The flowers smell so good, hmm, poor little me~, Pepe is so pitiful."

"Well, there's nothing to be pitiful about. One day, good things will happen. Keep going~, Pepe-chan!"

The childish voice giggled as she spoke words of encouragement, though it was unclear who she was talking to. It sounded a bit like she was entertaining herself. Mercer walked closer.

What met his eyes was a small, pink twin-tailed figure, looking down at something in front of her. Mercer asked with some curiosity:

"Who are you? Are you talking to yourself?"

Mercer clearly saw the small figure tremble, and then she collapsed.

Immediately after, something astonishing happened to Mercer. A spirit-like entity emerged from her body.

The spirit had the exact same clothes as the figure on the ground. Judging by her appearance, she looked like a little girl around seven or eight years old, floating above the grass and flowers.

The spirit girl then put one hand on her hip, pointed at Mercer with the other, tilted her head, and asked in confusion:

"Who are you? Are you looking for me?"

"Mm, I heard there was a strange little girl here who uses Sorcery, so I was curious and came to find you. It's you, right?"

Tilting her head, the spirit girl's eyes darted around. She suddenly pushed her right hand towards Mercer.

At that moment, A transparent white spirit, resembling a daruma doll, shot out from the spirit girl's palm and rushed straight towards Mercer.

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PS: One jin equals 500 grams, two liang equals 100 grams.