"...Eh? Huh?"

The sudden sales pitch caught Mamoru off guard; with a quick glance to both his left and his right, he ascertained that the 'young master' being referred to was, in fact, him. That alone made his situation feel somewhat awkward, but before he could say anything of  his own, the merchant who had caught him earlier continued on, leaving him no chance to respond on his own without being rude.

And it seemed they were drawing a crowd. What [i]great[/i] timing that was.

Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, Mamoru turned around and calmly shook his head, a slight smile on his face as he began to counter with his own words.

"While under most circumstances I would be pleased to browse your wares, the logical side of me is saying that carrying anything extra while attempting to handle a request runs a risk of me breaking it under pressure. I also cannot simply hide a gift at home, for those who it would be intended for would find it, and the impact would be lost. It is regrettable, but I must decline your offer. Maybe another one of the patrons here would like to browse in my stead...?"

Of course, the fact of the matter was that the money he had was to be used on essentials, anyhow. His mother's insistence on teaching him all that stuff about the city ended up coming in handy, after all. Maybe his speech would entice others to look those goods over instead. Two birds with one stone, right?

With that (hopefully) out of the way, Mamoru bowed his head and turned his attention back to the board of requests. While the usual things like herb gathering and log retrieval were there (as expected), the young swordsman could not help but think that none of the other jobs were doable without considerable risk because of the bears he had been bemoaning just moments ago.

[i]"...Well. I don't believe I have a choice any more. Did everyone else just decide to take the easy job in town today or something?"[/i] he thought to himself as he took the notice off the board. [i]"You'd think that more people would prioritize the safety of the town over their own, but what do I know?"[/i]