[Traveling] Merchant Crab (Book 2): A LitRPG Adventure by H0st

Author:H0st [H0st]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: AETHON
Published: 2026-02-18T00:00:00+00:00

FIFTY-FOUR

SKITTERING THROUGH THE NIGHT

The bandit lord’s eyes shifted from dreamy to angry in a flash as he smacked both hands on the desk and leaned forward toward the crab.

“You won’t ruin her plans,” he growled. “I won’t allow it, ya hear me?!”

“Who in the world is this ‘her’ you are talking about?” Olivia said.

Onion Jake’s manic gaze darted to her.

“That’s none of your business! You already asked too much! I’m not supposed to talk about her. You two need to get out of here before I change my mind!”

“But we were just—” Balthazar started.

“Out!” the thug yelled, standing up and pointing toward the door.

The crustacean frowned. Something was wrong. His dialogue skill had failed before, but it had never been blocked. Whatever that even meant.

What could have caused that? This guy doesn’t look like the type to have some kind of psychic skills.

Looking at his erratic attitude and crazy eyes, the crab knew something was off with whom he was sure to be an otherwise delightful bandit chief with a wonderful personality.

Maybe it was all the onion affecting his mind.

Leading the intruders out and back to the hall, the man yelled to his crew, “Let them go, but if you so much as catch a whiff of them skulking about anywhere near our turf again, teach them a proper lesson!”

Next thing they knew, the woman and the crab were back outside, under the night sky, as the heavy door slammed shut on their faces.

“And if I so much as catch another whiff of that onion stench, I’ll probably barf,” said Olivia, making a disgusted face.

“Why does that guy smell so much of fried onions anyway?” Balthazar asked.

“Do you really need to ask?!”

The crab shrugged.

“Either way, there was definitely something wrong with him. Did you notice what happened when he was about to tell me who this mystery person pulling the strings was?”

“Yeah,” the young woman said. “Very odd. At least now we know there’s someone else orchestrating this whole thing.”

Balthazar looked around. “We should probably not hang around here for too long.”

They walked back to the main street, with its lit lanterns and braziers, but not a soul in sight.

“Any idea who he could have been talking about?” the crab asked.

“Not really,” the mayor’s niece responded. “One thing I’m certain of, though. The Onion Crew are the ones stealing all the mangoes, but whatever they are doing with them, it’s not in their hideout. That place is not big enough to store them, and most of it was just the improvised tavern we saw.”

The merchant nodded as they continued up the sidewalk. “True, but then where do you think they’re taking the stolen cargo?”

“Again, no idea,” said Olivia. “It could be anywhere. Marquessa is a big place.”

“I know where they’re taking the mangoes,” a little girl’s voice exclaimed from between them, startling the human and the crab.

Suze had suddenly reappeared alongside the two of them, holding a large rolled-up piece of parchment behind her back and sporting a cheeky smile on her face.

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