Yuna was somehow grateful that she still remembered the lines from the novel.
Thank goodness—at least the thing she remembered was correct and still held true. With a grateful heart, Yuna stopped, and Austin stopped as well.
Yuna nudged Austin, who had been staying quiet the whole time, and Austin, who had been enjoying Yuna's close proximity, finally reacted to her nudge. It seemed the old man was saying something to him, and Yuna had stopped because of that.
He did not believe in such things and felt that fate and destiny were ridiculous. However, looking at Yuna's expectant eyes, Austin helplessly addressed the old man. "Are you referring to me?"
"Yes… hmmm…" The old man squinted his eyes at Austin, caressed his beard, and pointed out two scrolls. He looked like a charlatan with such gestures. "It seems you practice the sword. If so, choose one from these two scrolls. Because it is destiny that led you here to me, I will give it to you for free."
Austin looked down at the two dirty and old scrolls. His lips twitched, and he simply chose the scroll on the left without much care. Anyway, the one on the left somehow attracted him more; it was relatively cleaner.
Yuna looked down at the scroll Austin chose. The novel did not mention whether Austin chose left or right, so she could only wait for him to choose and then choose the other one after he was done.
"Austin, choose the right one instead," Yuna commanded hurriedly.
Austin barely hesitated before shifting his hand and pointing at the one on the right.
"That can't do, that can't do. The one on your left is already your destined one." The old man waved his hand in denial. He picked up the scroll on the left and shoved it into Austin's hands.
'Psst… destiny my ass!'
Yuna's past anger flared up, and she said disapprovingly, "You didn't say we can't change our choice. If the one on the left is his destiny, then I'll let him defy destiny. We want the one on the right!"
"No. This is his destiny." The old man was adamant.
The old man usually did not pay attention to those who had no destiny with him, but the young girl's strong defiance finally made him look at her properly.
Once he got a clear look at the girl, the old man's eyebrows jumped.
"…What a peculiar destiny… If it's her… maybe she can." He mumbled incomprehensibly.
Yuna, who was being stared at by the old man, felt as if he was not looking at her, but at something through her. It gave her a very strange feeling.
'Damn! These mystical actors…' Yuna had always had an extreme dislike for this kind of character in novels. Always with their half-assed phrases and secrets of heaven—it annoyed her to no end.
'The secrets of heaven cannot be spilled,' 'You will understand when the time comes'—all that frustrating nonsense made Yuna want to slap their annoying mysterious expressions.
After a short while, the old man's expression settled and reverted back to that of a scammer. He raised his eyes and said provocatively, "You can take this scroll too…"
He stretched it out, and Yuna's eyes brightened, but his next words quickly darkened her face.
"…But you have to pay me eleven gold coins."
One gold coin could feed a family of six for roughly six months.
This was outright scamming—extorting the hard-earned money of the poor!
Yuna even had the urge to scramble the old man's things in anger, but she restrained herself. One should not vent anger on objects. Years of her mother teaching her to respect objects stopped her from bashing the old man's stall.
If she had known, she would have secretly asked Austin what he would choose and vetoed it beforehand, letting him choose the other one instead of waiting for him to actually choose.
Her brain wasn't braining earlier—damn it!
"Are you taking us for fools? This is daylight robbery," Yuna quibbled, although she clearly knew the true value of the scroll.
Still… money was money, and scrolls were scrolls.
The old man also knew it was not a price a poor townsperson could afford, or even if they could, they would not dare to spend such a ridiculous amount on a mere tattered old scroll.
The old man spread his hands and said, "I'm just stating a price. You don't have to buy it."
"…Yuna, it's okay. It's just a worn-out useless scroll. Let's go," Austin placated her with a smile in his eyes. At times like this, she resembled a child, matching her age, and she looked incredibly endearing.
'If it's just a useless scroll, would I fret this much?! Silly son, this daddy is trying to obtain something good for you!'
Yuna hated iron for not becoming steel and even had the urge to slap Austin's amiable face as he coaxed her like a child.
Placating a child, my ass. This daddy is not leaving until she gets the scroll!
Isn't it just spending some money? Opportunities don't come every day.
Yuna was adamant about witnessing the splitting sword technique and changing Austin's rotten destiny filled with thorns. Fuck—if she couldn't even do that, then her being a reader would be in vain! A reader transmigrated into a novel to help the poor main character. If she couldn't even help him, she would be ashamed to call herself a fanatic reader.
…Albeit Austin's novel wasn't her favorite.
Money comes and goes. Opportunities come only once.
With a cold face, Yuna counted the gold coins and threw them at the old man.
She bent down and tightly held the scroll before the old man could change his mind. "Take your shitty coins, old shit."
"Yuna!" Austin didn't expect her to actually fork out eleven gold coins just for an old dusty scroll. Even the old man didn't expect it.
Austin tried to snatch the scroll back and return it. He didn't understand why Yuna was so easily provoked by the old man. Normally, she was quite mature and level-headed, not someone who took others' words to heart.
Yuna forcefully pushed the scroll toward Austin and said threateningly, "If you put it back, I promise I won't care about you anymore."
She was speaking the truth.
She didn't care that Austin didn't understand the value of the scroll and disapproved of her spending money on a "useless" thing. Yuna felt the pain of spending a whole eleven gold coins; her liver felt like it was burning.
She was desperately trying to change the tragic fate of the main character, and all he had to do was follow her along! She might sound domineering, but she was domineering!
If he couldn't follow her, then she wouldn't care about him anymore.
She only had to care about her grandfather, yet she went out of her way time and time again for Austin. She didn't owe him anything.
Yuna complained unreasonably, and she knew it herself. Austin, who didn't know anything, was not at fault. It wasn't like she was forced to care for him—she did everything of her own accord.
Humans, when angry and vexed, like to blame others, and she was no exception.
Humans are emotional creatures, and it's not easy to remain reasonable all the time.
She was not a cool and awesome main character who could stay level-headed and reasonable all the damn time!
Yuna suppressed the urge to cry over spending eleven gold coins.
Austin froze at Yuna's threat. The scroll he planned to return paused mid-air, then he tightly held it. "Yuna… don't say something like that."
Austin's eyes trembled as he stepped forward and grabbed Yuna's hand tightly. His eyes darkened little by little at the thought of Yuna ignoring him.
He cherished her care so much—her pure care. He liked her attention on him so much. What would he do if she stopped caring?
For someone who had never received such selfless care, once they received it, they became obsessed and couldn't let go. They might even go to great lengths to hold onto it, even forcefully.
His mother's care was mostly because he was her son, but Yuna's care had nothing attached to it.
She was someone just for him, someone he desperately wished for every day in his previous life.
The person he wished for—he wouldn't let go.
…It seemed he had truly become addicted and was unwilling to extricate himself anymore. The infatuation he willingly indulged in—he would not let go.
Yuna was unaware of Austin's ever-darkening thoughts. She roughly ruffled his golden hair as if venting her emotions and said, "Be obedient and just do as I say."
If she could read his mind, Yuna would spit and label Austin a "psycho" and "yandere" and decisively distance herself ASAP. Too bad she couldn't—otherwise, she might have avoided the type of person she feared most in real life.
She might simp for psychopaths in novels, but in real life, Yuna wanted to stay one hundred thousand meters away from them.
Red flags were attractive in fantasy. In real life… real life always sucked, and red flags sucked too.
"…Then you won't ignore me?" Austin asked inaudibly.
Yuna, with her sharp hearing, answered lightly, "Yeah…" Just be obedient, son. Daddy is doing this for your own good.
The old man, who watched the push and shove between Yuna and the destined boy, complicatedly picked up the gold coins and said, "You are trying to defy his destiny. Defying destiny used to lead to heavy consequences. Do you know that?"
Even as he said so, the old man had no intention of interfering, just as he always did. Whether young or old, he would never interfere in others' decisions.
Yuna suddenly recalled the pain and near-death experience she had with the dimension stone and shuddered.
Old man! Don't scare me! Don't you know scaring children gets you beaten? QAQ
Trashy novel! No wonder she didn't like it that much!
Taking a deep breath, Yuna looked down at the old man and said solemnly, "Destiny is meant to be defied."
She looked into the distance, pretending to be mysterious even though her heart quivered in fear, and quoted a famous movie line, "I am in control of my destiny, not the heavens."
The old man was stunned by her arrogant words. He chuckled bitterly and said, "…You young people and your hot-blooded fearlessness."
Yuna deflated upon hearing "hot-blooded fearlessness."
She wasn't fearless. If she didn't know the value of the scroll, would she really buy it with her stinginess? She didn't know if it would be strong enough to go against destiny—but they had to try, right?
Aiya… the future was uncertain. Her lazy brain refused to think about it.
In her past life, she was forced to consider her future in everything she did because of her parents' expectations. Now, in this new world, she didn't want to be troubled by future events anymore. All she wanted was to live at her own pace, unrestrained.
Why be entangled in the past? Why desperately grasp the future?
In this new life, Yuna had gained a clear heart.
"Are the other things in your stall for sale?" Yuna asked.
If this mysterious old man had other items, they would surely be good things. She had already defied one destiny; two or three more wouldn't make a difference.
She would do whatever she wanted. Otherwise, what was the point of having another life?
The old man shook his head. "They are not for sale. Each of these items is meant for their destined person."
"It is because you are still young, ignorant, and valiant—but such foolish courage is still commendable." The old man rummaged through his tattered bag and took out a box. "A present for the brave one with peculiar destiny."
The old man muttered something incomprehensible once again and handed Yuna the box. After that, he packed his things into his tattered bag and walked away while whistling, never turning back.
"…"
He looked as if he was afraid Yuna would forcibly snatch his things. Seriously, was she that kind of person?
'What an NPC-like grandpa. I bet you won't have any more scenes after this, hmph!' Yuna derided internally. The main character Austin's encounter with the mysterious old man arc was finally over.
"Let's go back."