The Supermarket System

Chapter 54: 54. Same ancestors

The young man named Farel, who had initially looked so confident, was completely taken aback. He hadn’t expected Kaileon to reject him outright, especially since they’d only just met.

The other suitors also looked very surprised, because as far as they knew, Farel was highly competent in business. Moreover, Viscount Zhamit’s business was so successful that it had expanded all the way to the empire.

Farel laughed, thinking Kai was joking.

"Hey, don’t mess with me."

Kai shook his head slowly, smiling calmly.

"No, I’m rejecting you—next!"

SMACK!

Farel slammed his fist hard on the table, then grabbed Kaileon by the collar, glaring at him with a look of rage.

"Don’t mess with me!"

With a single jerk, Kai shook Farel’s hand off his shirt. Kai’s expression remained calm; he wasn’t afraid or intimidated in the least.

"I’m not messing around. I can detect your lies, and honesty is the most important thing I’ll consider when deciding whether to accept someone. If you don’t know yet, Duke Arslan is currently trying to revitalize this city and boost Arslan’s economy, and you just lied about learning from your parents. Here’s the deal: how about I test you with one simple question?"

Farel calmed down after realizing Kai was giving him a chance. He was extremely confident in his abilities. Even his parents always praised him for his intelligence.

Kaileon said he didn’t learn business from his parents? Nonsense!

Farel always followed his parents whenever they did business, so Farel wasn’t lying. Kaileon just wanted to test him.

"All right, get ready to be impressed by my intelligence, Kaileon. Go ahead and ask me anything," said Farel, sitting back down calmly.

Kai nodded, then asked a very simple question.

"If you had only one large gold coin, how would you do to get more gold coins than that?"

Farel laughed at the question, as if it were ridiculous.

"That’s an easy question—I’d just ask my dad or my mom, and problem solved."

Now it was Kaileon’s turn to laugh at Farel’s answer, leaving Farel confused because he didn’t know what he’d done wrong.

Feeling humiliated because Kai and the people behind him were laughing at him, Farel’s emotions flared up again. But before Farel could do anything, Kai immediately called out to someone Farel knew very well.

"Well then, what about Fano? You’re the son of Viscount Zhamit too, right? I heard you weren’t recognized as a child because your status is the same as mine."

Another young man stepped out of the crowd; he looked very different from the somewhat chubby Farel.

Fano.

The name itself reflected that this young man wasn’t valued by his family. Usually, nobles are given rather complex names. Like Kaileon, Justine, Farelino, Nicholas, Hendry, and others.

Meanwhile, commoners have simpler names—some with meaning, some without.

For example, girls are usually given flower names, like Daisy, Rose, Lily... or names that have no specific meaning but sound beautiful, like Woni or Keyla.

The same goes for boys; "Fano" itself is a name without any meaning. Yet, he is the son of a nobleman.

Of course, the name itself is an insult and a symbol of his own family’s disapproval.

In fact, there is no last name following "Fano." That single word is his entire name.

Even so, when applying to become an employee at Kaileon, one must clearly state one’s background. Besides, Keith had worked hard to inform Kaileon about all the noble children who had arrived.

Since Kaileon had to do what it was supposed to do—that is, give priority to nobles—Fano remained in the noble ranks. Even though his own family didn’t acknowledge him.

"Ugh, you’re comparing me to him? He can’t even read and write any better than I can—there’s no way he—"

Kai raised his hand, signaling Farel to stop talking, while continuing to stare intently at Fano.

Fano, for his part, looked back at Kai with a gaze just as serious. Kai recognized that look, because he and Fano were in similar situations.

He wanted to prove himself—to show that he was better and more reliable. It was as if he were staking his life on getting this job.

"Do you still remember the question I asked him? If so, then please answer that question," said Kai.

Fano nodded confidently, then began to speak.

"If I had one gold coin, I’d probably head to a city like Verdez, which allows the poor to sell freely in the city. I’d buy fruits or whatever else to resell, depending on the current trends around the city."

Kai began to take an interest in what Fano was saying, but he quickly cut the young man off before he could say more. After all, an idea like that shouldn’t be given away for free. Especially since there were likely many scheming people there.

"All right, that’s enough, Fano. I’ll take you on."

Hearing that, Farel’s anger flared up again, but Kai already had protection with him that would prevent someone like Farel from daring to rage any further.

Standing behind Kaileon were several elite knights from the Duke’s military forces. They were knights who genuinely admired Kaileon and were willing to work with him as his bodyguards.

Whether he liked it or not, Farel backed off and left, hurling insults as he went. It was no surprise, since Farel was notorious for being two-faced. He could be very polite and appear dignified, but he could also be a nobleman without any manners.

Kai smiled broadly again, looking at everyone who had applied for a job with him.

"I’ll ask the same question of the others, so don’t worry. I hire people based on ability, so whether you’re the child of a noble or a poor farmer, if you have the skills, I’ll accept you. I’m not messing around," said Kaileon.

Hearing that, some of the job applicants quietly backed away. Only those confident in their abilities remained.

However, that was actually for the best. Kai needed people who were confident in their abilities, without lying or harboring ill intent.

Even so, Kai’s job wasn’t easy. Especially since there were quite a few noble children like Farel.

Some of them were extremely confident in their abilities. There was even one who actually possessed those abilities, but it turned out he had ulterior motives.

Not just one or two, but five people.

Because the loud beep emitted by the lie detector could only be heard by Kai and Keith.

Kai announced that all five had been accepted, but in reality, Kai and Keith had already flagged them.

Out of the more than fifty people who came, only about ten were accepted by Kai.

Kai asked those who were accepted to come to the pavilion the next day.

It truly took Kai a full day to interview more than fifty applicants.

He didn’t finish until the afternoon, and he felt completely drained.

"Kaileon! Since you’re tired, try this."

Kai, who had been planning to sit back and relax on the balcony, sipping a refreshing drink while gazing at the beautiful sunset, had to sit up straight and turn to Angeline, who had come over carrying a small bowl.

"What did you bring, princess Angeline?" Kai asked.

"Peoni taught me—she said you taught her. We made sorbet with bananas and blueberries. It’s really delicious—try it!"

Kai happily accepted the sorbet Angeline had made.

"Actually, just seeing your sweet smile makes my tiredness disappear, Angeline!" Kai said.

Hearing this, Angeline blushed and felt her heart flutter strangely.

"Wh-what are you saying? How could my silly smile make your tiredness go away? You’re the one with healing magic, not me..."

Hearing Angeline’s innocent words, Kai laughed even harder.

"Hahaha, you’re so funny, Angel—I mean, Princess Angeline..."

"Just call me by my name; that makes me happier. Besides, I might not be recognized as a princess anymore."

Kai fell silent upon hearing that, choosing instead to eat the cold, smooth banana and blueberry sorbet.

Uncomfortable with the awkward atmosphere, Kai finally spoke up again.

"Can I just call you Angel?"

"Is that like a nickname? I’d love that! In that case, I’ll call you Kai..."

"Angel..."

"Kai."

They both chuckled afterward, because for some reason, they felt really silly.

"Oh, by the way, Kai, I just found out that your mom is half-fairy, and I think we were really meant to meet. You know that fairies and elves share the same ancestors, right?"

Kai furrowed his brow. "Oh, really? I don’t know anything about fairies—to be honest, my mom died when I was very, very young. After that, no other fairy descendants were found. Keith didn’t find any books about fairies either. Neither did Jean—he doesn’t have any books about fairies, but he knows there should be books about them."

Hearing this, Angeline smiled happily, then said, "In that case, it seems I can help you! We just need to ask my uncle—I mean, King Eleflare—to help us find books about fairies in the Eleflare royal library. I think they’re all there."

For some reason, Kai felt happy upon hearing this. It was as if he were getting closer to his own origins.

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