Is the man from the Curiosity Shop the same person as the man from the Trading Post?

First, when the Curiosity Shop opens at night, the Trading Post is attended by a part‐time employee. If you (Link) wear the Stone Mask to make yourself invisible, you can sneak up and hear the employee saying, “We don't get many customers, so why does the boss have so much money?”^[1] This clearly implies that the Trading Post owner (“the boss”) is getting money elsewhere, naturally from the Curiosity Shop.

Second, we must consider Kafei, an adult in the game who gets turned into a child. He’s in hiding; but, he did reveal himself to the man from the Curiosity Shop. Only the Curiosity Shop owner, then, should know that he’s now a child. If you ask the Trading Post owner if he knows where Kafei is, he first shouts, “Kafei!” but then, not wanting to give himself away, says, “No, I don't know any such kid. I kid you not!”^[2] Wait! How does the Trading Post owner know Kafei’s a “kid”? Only the Curiosity Shop owner knows that.

Third—and most important—if an official source says that the man from the Curiosity Shop and the man from the Trading Post are one and the same, then obviously, they are one and the same. The Official Nintendo Player's Guide states: “Buy supplies at the 24-hour Trading Post. The manager looks just like the man at the Curiosity Shop, and it's no coincidence - they're the same person!”^[3] This is an explicit statement from an official source that they are, in fact, “the same person!”

For these reasons, it is my conviction that the man from the Curiosity Shop and the man from the Trading Post are, in reality, one and the same. Thank you! I now turn the debate over to Con.

^[1] http://tinyurl.com/hx8xwnv

^[2] http://tinyurl.com/zeu78ek

^[3] http://tinyurl.com/hunea7a