Kalman Fleming was a smart man.
Brothers and sisters of the same clan said this, and friends from other races who visited him said this. Even the great magician who rarely met and lived deep in the cave praised his cleverness after hearing the rumors.
Because of this, from the moment he walked out of the Arcane Forest, he firmly believed that he could do something great.
But for the first time when he came to St. Lun Port, such a wide channel, which was different from the trading towns outside the Arcane Forest, he even felt that he had entered another world.
He saw the noisy streets, the strong and cheerful sailors, the hospitable vendors, and the patrols wearing armor and holding weapons with stern expressions...
These people are fundamentally different from their compatriots, not only in appearance but also in their living habits.
"My name is Carl..."
The unfamiliar environment put too much pressure on the originally extroverted Kalman. He was always called eloquent by his tribe and even stuttered a little at first. Before he could say his name clearly, he was rudely interrupted.
"Karl! Maybe you can look for the fleet over there and be a scout on the ship?"
At this time, Pandora Market had not yet been built, the port was just a port, and St. Lun Port was just St. Lun Port. Even the patrolmen were fighting elites voluntarily elected by the townspeople.
At that time, the Kingdom of Cole had just ended a grand war and was in a state of ruins. The newly appointed queen did not have the time to take care of Port St. Lun, which was not affected by the war.
Not only did he figure out his career the first second they met. When people see Kalman's strange appearance, people's first reaction is naturally very unusual.
Some were frightened and quickly retreated; some were slightly shocked, but gradually accepted it; some were highly professional and had smiles on their faces.
Kalman understood and was mentally prepared. After all, he is a half-orc of the rat tribe, with the head of a rat and the appearance of a rat.
Pointed monkey cheeks, gray hairs all over the face, long transparent tentacles - although in order to avoid accidentally touching and causing discomfort, Kalman, who was trying to become a human companion, deliberately cut the rather sensitive tentacles short.
Although most people know that there are orcs, actually seeing them is another matter. Staying back is a good result after getting used to it. This is Kalman's guess.
Kalman actually expected this situation. After all, when he stopped in the town outside the Arcane Forest, some well-meaning people warned him that there might be humans who were unfamiliar with half-orcs outside who were afraid of his appearance.
But in fact, he is not as familiar with and loves combat and investigation as his peers. From birth, he has felt that he should become such a person with a little cleverness.
——Find a good port to promote the direct sales of goods from the Arcane Forest.
It is true that the half-orc's rat characteristics gave him an extraordinary sense of smell, allowing Kalman to obtain all movements in the dark without relying on vision.
But he didn't want to be a Scout.
The abilities and life experience a person receives at birth do not necessarily determine what kind of person he becomes. Because of this, Kalman Fleming, who was affirmed by his tribe, boldly made the most correct decision in his life.
He wants to be a businessman.
Kalman Fleming had a grand dream in his heart, to earn more money so that he and his tribe could live a happier life.
He tried to be a moody businessman, but every time he spoke of his ambitious goals, he would involuntarily lower his head, feeling both embarrassed and proud.
Young people are always full of fighting spirit and believe that sooner or later they will be able to achieve great things. As long as they work hard, they can achieve the results they want.
The future that Kalman Fleming envisioned was extraordinary.
Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers, and his blueprint may be more whimsical than building a Pandora Market, a remote but extremely lively market with frequent flows of people.
The young Kalman Fleming has always regarded merchants as a sacred profession - although he has witnessed tribesmen selling special products being framed by unscrupulous merchants, he insists that it is the people who are at fault, not the profession.
As long as you stick to your true intentions and transport goods to the north and south of the Yangtze River as a merchant, you will be able to gain profits and obtain the wealth that sustains your own life. At the same time, people from all over the world can enjoy the specialties and delicacies of different regions.
He wants to lead the orcs in the Arcane Forest to rise in a very different way from the past, and no longer have to worry about their livelihood.
Kalman even took a vow to do so.
He will use his own eyes, nose and ears to observe the characteristics of each material and confirm the price of each item.
He will use his own feet and arms to walk on the land of the Kingdom of Cole, personally inspect the ins and outs of all goods, and receive people's praise and awards.
He will use his own head to think, calculate every profit, and confirm the method of every transaction.
Kalman has to work hard to make money. Even though he knew that he was an alien not only among the rats, but also among the orcs, and also among the humans.
But this is just right. Only by doing unprecedented things can you become an unprecedented person.
He believes that he can find a path that suits him and successfully find his own path in a land that is different from his hometown.
Many people have dreams, and so does Kalman. He is very sure that his name will go down in history!
…
But his imagination almost came to an abrupt end.
No matter how smart a businessman is, he must start from scratch as an apprentice. Kalman is not stupid. After careful investigation, he certainly knows this.
Even if he had a little capital, no one would blindly trust a boy with no foundation. Kalman Fleming had tried his best to understand the rules of the human race well before setting off.
Reputation is the cornerstone of a businessman.
With his original appearance, he begged his boss to give him a job and temporarily became a laborer, sometimes working as a groom.
Then he worked extra hard, carried goods for others, and exchanged market information with fear.
But once he finished his hard work and was about to turn around to leave, the half-orc's keen hearing allowed him to detect a secret message.
"That damn rat is always following me. I don't even know what he wants."
The carriage slowly stopped at the pier, and several burly people jumped out of the carriage carrying heavy wooden boxes. Businessmen waiting at the pier gathered around in twos and threes, engaging in their usual small talk.
These people had just smiled at him and asked him to rest early, but little did they know that their words behind the scenes were all picked up by Kalman's keen hearing.
——Six months have passed, and they still only think his name is Karl, because Kalman has not taken the initiative to correct this matter.
While getting along with people, Kalman quickly understood one thing:
You don't have to say things that may cause discomfort. Maybe you can wait until trust is established.
Kalman can quickly apologize when their conversation suddenly turns ugly. He can detect that his companions are in a bad mood and find ways to make jokes to please them, but he does not dare to question their occasional inappropriate jokes.
He only believes that if he does his best, he will be rewarded one day.
Day after day, it will always be like this.
But this moment was different.
Most businessmen are happy to operate superficially. Kalman has never heard such direct complaints. The voice is not high, but Kalman seems to hear the muffled sound of his heart being beaten.
He found that his throat was dry and his heart was bitter, and he even wanted to leave here - but his body was as stiff as a stone, and he could only listen to their subsequent words.
Standing there, motionless.
"I guess when he was moving things just now, he must have been thinking about how to steal that box."
"But he can't do it! Who dares to disturb Tai Sui? Such a thin orc will be of little use even on the ship!"
"Nonsense! He doesn't even know what's inside, so how could he take the risk to steal it?"
"Instead of being so entangled, we should let the inspector catch him earlier - ask him where he comes from and what he wants to do when he sneaks into the crowd."
"The road is too long. It's not worth our trouble. It won't even cause any trouble!"
The group of people talked a lot, and finally turned into laughter. Even though the sound was far away, Kalman still heard it all.
Sharp hearing is a talent of the race, perhaps the same as the appearance they are born with.
Kalman clenched his fists nervously, and his fingertips turned white. He even felt that his breathing slowed down, and his chest seemed to be blocked by a lack of oxygen, causing his lungs to ache.
It's just a joke, Kalman reminded himself.
When these businessmen were chatting together in the tavern, they would occasionally belittle other colleagues who had made a lot of money, just out of jealousy and to have fun and relieve the pressure of working for a long time.
He might even be drunk, after all, he saw one of them secretly drinking a glass of wine half a day ago.
...but what's there to be jealous of a little boy who has been running errands and doing odd jobs for half a year?
This confusion continued into the night.
Back on the simple bed, Kalman tried to calm down with such a voice lingering in his mind.
He knew that among his compatriots there were thieves, thieves, and scum that were despised by the human race.
But this is clearly not the case for me.
Kalman doesn't know how to describe this evening.
He wanted to use sleep to wash away this depression, so he tossed and turned until late at night before falling asleep.
The rat man opened his eyes and saw a piece of roasted meat beside him.
A smile appeared on the corner of the mouse's mouth, and he immediately ate the barbecue, licking the oil stains on his fingers and beard, and surrounding him were piles of bones left over from yesterday.
So delicious!
He kept eating, and kept eating, until someone broke in and a huge crowd crowded at the door, with angry and fair expressions, pointing to their noses and telling him:
"You are a thief."
Kalman finally woke up and realized that it was still early in the morning. This was a bizarre dream.
A nightmare without any logic.
He dreamed that he had become a thief.
Some people say that dreams are harbingers of reality. To the hard-working Kalman Fleming, this was, of course, nonsense.
But Kalman also understands that illogical dreams can also have meaning. He knows full well that the person he is in the dream may be exactly who he is in the eyes of others.
With a different appearance, excessive greed, and the appearance of a born thief, he is destined to have no credibility as a businessman, is destined to be the object of eternal ridicule in jokes, and is destined to be an errand boy who is not trusted, rather than an honest collaborator.
It's hard not to be frustrated by Kalman.
He suffered from insomnia all night, and the next day he walked blindly through the pier to the dock with tired eyes.
——The dark circles under his eyes were covered under the fluff. He was afraid of losing the contacts he had managed, so he still forced himself to greet passers-by. Others were used to it and could not see his pale face under the fluff.
At this moment, a man in gray robes was sitting at the counter drinking tea. This man had a goatee, deep-set eye sockets, and wrinkles that made him look a little older.
He looked up and saw Kalman and greeted him warmly:
"Hi!"
Kalman heard the sound and walked over, forced himself to cheer up, and responded with a still polite manner.
"Hello, I'm a groom from Port Saint-Ron. Do you need any help from me?"
He is accustomed to obeying the words of all races in order to gain a little favor from them.
At the same time, Kalman doesn't miss any opportunity to make extra money, because he can only start a business if he has capital.
But for some reason, this man's voice sounded familiar to his keen sense of hearing.
"Fleming boy—I haven't seen you for half a year. Have you forgotten me?"
