“Paper and a pen.”
“Huh?”
“I said, bring me paper and a pen.”
“Ah!”
Mark quickly grabbed the paper and pen from beside the counter and handed them over. Ceres took them, scribbled something in a flash, then strode toward the mercenary lying on the ground.
Smack!
Ceres slapped the paper onto the unconscious mercenary’s forehead.
What is that?
What does it say?
Uh...?
The mercenaries who had been edging closer to see the paper froze, then quickly backed away.
One by one, they lowered the weapons they were gripping before setting them aside.
[From now on, anyone who causes trouble in this shop will be banned for one week. Anyone who joined the fight instead of stopping it will be banned for one week as well.]
They dropped the guy without hesitation.
“Ahem.”
The mercenary who had been fighting him quietly set his weapon down and slipped back toward his table. He picked up his half-eaten stew and moved to another seat, acting like he had nothing to do with the man on the floor.
Oi, don’t even try it.
Does he have no shame? Right, of course he doesn’t. B*stard.
He’s hiding his sword! Put it back in his hand!
The others shot him a sharp and accusing look.
But—
Who is she?
One by one, their gazes turned back to Ceres. A stranger had appeared out of nowhere and taken control of the situation. They all wanted to know who she was.
“Ah, this is...”
Reading the mood, Mark finally stepped forward. He glanced at Ceres, then carefully spoke.
“She’s the owner.”
.
.
.
Chapter 5: Mana Stone
“You decided not to sell the shop?”
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Mm.”
“Why?”
After checking on the shop on Delasi First Street, Ceres decided to postpone selling it for now.
Antonian, who had been bracing himself and trying to accept that they would’ve to let it go, was completely caught off guard by her decision.
“They listened better than I expected.”
“...What?”
Her answer only made things more confusing. Listened well? Who was she talking about?
“The mercenaries.”
“The mercenaries?”
A haven for mercenaries, a place to rest, their one and only comfort food spot.
Ceres had gone in fully aware of the shop’s reputation, but the moment she stepped inside, she couldn’t hide her disbelief.
The place was, quite literally, a disaster. Looking at it made her seriously question whether it was worth keeping at all.
But...
In that chaos, there was a certain order to it.
Even in the middle of the fight, the mercenaries made sure nothing was thrown toward Mark, the cook and only employee, who was trembling in fear.
Above all, not a single one of them protested the ban. They all put their weapons down right away. That alone made them seem at least somewhat manageable.
“So I decided not to sell it.”
“Ah...”
At the news that the shop wouldn’t be sold, Antonian’s face lit up. He knew better than anyone how hard their late parents had worked to keep it running.
“The problem is the house.”
“The house?”
“You know how all of Aunt’s people left, right?”
When Agne was imprisoned, all the servants she had brought with her left as well. They weren’t particularly competent, but losing that many people at once still left a gap the rest couldn’t fill.
It wasn’t being maintained properly to begin with.
The estate was in such disrepair that it felt like it might turn into a ruin at any moment.
“Then what about bringing Colin back?”
“Colin?”
Who is that?
“He was the butler who served this family since Grandfather’s time.”
“A butler?”
“Yeah. Aunt framed him with a ridiculous accusation and threw him out.”
“Wouldn’t it be better not to do that, Lady Ceres?”
“It would be best not to borrow money like that...”
“A recuperation house? You should look into it more carefully first...”
It was only natural that Agne saw him as a thorn in her side, given how he opposed her at every turn. Once Agne had Ceres under her control, the first thing she did was drive Colin out.
“You’re saying I embezzled funds?”
“The evidence is right here, isn’t it?”
“...Haa.”
It was a baseless accusation, but Colin seemed too tired by Agne’s constant harassment to argue.
He left quietly, and even then, he was said to be deeply worried about Ceres being controlled by her aunt.
He went as far as to say that the true master of the Drow estate was none other than the young lady, and told her to take care of her health. His actions infuriated Agne to the very end.
It wasn’t a bad idea. Still, would someone who had been framed and driven out unfairly want to come back?
“Well, we can think about that later.”
Right now, what mattered most was money. Even if they brought in a butler, they would need to be able to pay him.
I should at least try selling that.
After a brief moment of thought, Ceres turned to Antonian with a question.
“Is there a magic shop nearby?”
“A magic shop?”
Despite Antonian’s confusion, Ceres didn’t bother explaining further.
***
“Welcome—”
Rons, who ran the magic shop, greeted the customer with a smile as the door opened, then paused mid-greeting.
What is this?
A young woman in extremely shabby clothes had walked in. This was a magic shop dealing in expensive items and materials, so most customers were at least well-presented.
Even newly awakened mages affiliated with the Magic Tower earned tens of times more than ordinary people.
She has some elegance though?
Her clothes might have been worn, but her features were striking enough to draw attention. There was also something distinctly different about the way she carried herself.
“Welcome. Is there something you’re looking for?”
Rons spoke carefully, still trying to guess who she might be. The woman, who had been quietly looking around the shop, finally turned her attention to him.
“I heard you also purchase magic materials here.”
“Ah, purchasing?”
Rons’s eyes swept over her from head to toe. He didn’t know what she brought, but he wasn’t expecting much.
Tsk.
People like this came in often. They would bring in stones they had stumbled across, something with a strange color or unusual shape, and ask if it might be a mana stone.
The woman in front of him looked no different. Someone with no money who was trying to sell whatever they could to scrape together a few coins.
“Let’s see what you brought.”
The politeness gradually faded from his tone and manner. He had already decided she wasn’t worth his time.
Tap.
The woman set a small box down in front of him.
“What is this?”
“A mana stone.”
“...A mana stone?”
Looking at the rather luxurious box, Rons scoffed quietly. It seemed she truly believed what she had found was a mana stone. The box alone suggested she had convinced herself of it.
Nine times out of ten, it’s just a random pebble from the roadside...
Click.
“......”
Rons opened the box without much thought, but his eyes immediately wavered.
As soon as he saw the small blue stone inside, he gulped without realizing it. Even at a glance, the magic it carried was overwhelming.
This was the real thing!
Like the seasoned merchant he was, Rons quickly composed himself and put on a bright smile.
“It is indeed a mana stone.”
At his confirmation, Ceres nodded slightly. She knew little about magic or mana stones, but there was no way something Kainel had given her would be fake. She never doubted it for a second.
“Hmm.”
Rons turned the stone over in his hands, watching the blue light swirl within it, then paused to consider the price.
“I’ll offer you 200 gold.”
“200 gold?”
“For a mana stone of this size, 200 gold is by no means a bad price.”
“Hmm...”
If she remembered correctly, an ordinary knight earned about 200 gold a month. That meant this single stone was worth about the monthly expenses of a middle-class household.
That’s not a bad price.
For something no bigger than a fingernail, the price seemed reasonable. There didn’t seem to be another magic shop nearby either, so perhaps she should just sell it.
“Well, I could be generous and add another 30 gold.”
When she remained silent, deep in thought, the shopkeeper watched her reaction and quickly added,
“...Make it 50 more?”