“About time they show up. Was already wondering what kept them so long.”

Severin himself could only make out a dark splodge in the sky, but apparently this wasn’t the case for the person next to him. It wasn’t the first time that an adventurer had proven to have superior eyesight, but Severin was still impressed all the same. However, even if he couldn’t identify them himself, just the identity of the speaker next to him gave him a good idea who exactly was headed his was right now.

Certainly not the prospect [Employee] he was waiting for. Severin also didn’t think that Krey would say those words if it was Andreas and his raid group. That only left one other possibility.

It had to be the one group of people he wanted to see the least.

No matter if it was bandits, rogue adventurers, or a certain breed of young masters, Severin wasn’t afraid of any of them. Not when he knew that the System, at least in that regard, had his back. An impregnable seeming barrier and a blacklist functionality were sufficient to keep him from physical harm as long as he didn’t leave the store’s premises. It also helped that he had already purchased the whole surface of the mountaintop, because if the experience with Simon was anything to go by, then it had to be assumed that future troublemakers could simply be booted off the mountain itself. No, if he hadn’t misinterpreted Krey’s words, the really scary guys were the ones approaching right now. The ones with real power and with influence that might very well surpass that of Markus and his family; at least if he were to believe the stories and rumors.

Soon, as the approaching dot slowly grew bigger and bigger, and assumed an emerald green color, Severin could confirm the newcomers’ identity himself.

‘So it really is them.’

The only reason he wasn’t more nervous was that, so far, he had only heard positive things about the Society. ‘Though for an organization of that size, that in itself was already quite suspicious,’ Severin thought.

When the ship finally reached its destination, a person awkwardly emerged from the interior of the ship and jumped from its deck onto the mountaintop. From there, the silhouette didn’t immediately start moving. Instead, Severin thought that the person seemed to gasp for air, though he couldn’t be totally sure at this distance. It was similarly impossible for him to make out any discernable features other than maybe the person’s figure, which seemed to be more in line with his own than that of most adventurers he had met so far.

The person in the distance suddenly straightened up and started to wave with both hand over their head and ever so slowly began to move towards the buildings on the mountain.

Severin was taken aback, and so was Krey, but after a short moment of hesitation, the latter excused himself and started to run towards the newcomer in order to meet them.

Severin, on the other hand, didn’t budge. Neither did Emily.

They decided to wait in front of the store and as the [Shopkeeper] tried to sort his thoughts.

He thought the whole display was almost comical. And while he didn’t know what he had expected, this certainly was not it. This was the Society’s supposed answer to the report of a magic store selling consumable miracles?

Krey reached the person in no time and quickly offered a crisp salute, which immediately got waved away and the two people continued to move towards Severin.

Slowly.

Very slowly.

If Severin didn’t see their legs moving, he might’ve actually thought they were simply standing in place. He became more and more irritated.

The distance that took Krey about half a minute to close now took the pair close to five minutes.

…

“Nice place you got there! You must be Severin!” The chubby woman said with a pleasant smile. As if she was oblivious to the bizarre sight she had offered.

“Right. Thanks.” Severin didn’t know what else to say. Seeing the wrinkles in the woman’s uniform, more doubts appeared in his mind. He turned his head and looked at Krey standing next to her, slightly behind her. His uniform, in comparison, was pristine.

He tried to make eye contact with the man, but it was as if Krey had turned back into the person he was when he had first arrived. Severin understood. Krey was on duty, and this wasn’t just a strange joke.

Severin felt helpless but decided to just go along.

“And you must be Emily. I have heard much about you.”

“You did?”

“Of course! I heard you’re an excellent salesperson.”

The girl’s cheeks immediately flushed. No one knew whether she felt flattered or if it was embarrassment and shame that overcame her when thinking back to her sales pitch back then. “I try my best!”

“Hoho, then I’ll be depending on you. I’m Magda, by the way, but you can call me Mag.”

“Okay… Mag.”

The pleasant smile appeared on the woman’s face again as she winked at Severin.

“I was really looking forward to this, you know? I’ve already seen some of your handiwork. Those potions… incredible. And just now our dear Krey had informed me you have got even more new products since then. Mind showing me around yourself?”

Severin had no reason to refuse her, led the group inside, and earnestly presented his wares. For each item he pointed out, the woman handed over some gold coins to Emily and immediately consumed said item. And each time, she would follow up with a compliment.

..

“And lastly, these here are the Item Combinator and Purifier.” Severin introduced.

“Oho! I… ah! Sorry. I didn’t realize there was already another customer in here.”

“Don’t worry about me, child. Please. Have a try.”

The two women looked at each other and for a short moment, Magda’s smile seemed to be frozen.

“Haha. Maybe later. Please continue,” she said and turned around. “I think I’m more interested in something to eat right now. If it’s no hassle, that is.”

“No problem at all, though our menu is still rather limited. And making new bread might take a while, so I…”

“I have to admit, for now I’m most interested in that one dish called ‘pizza’. I’m not too much of a salad person myself, you know?” she said with a light-hearted chuckle.

‘Right. Of course, he had already told her everything.’

Severin excused himself and disappeared into the kitchen to begin his work, but only after instructing Emily to keep an eye on the woman and to notify him if need be.

Because of that, he wasn’t at all surprised to see Krey and Magda crouching next to one of the dummies inside the training grounds.

Not two seconds later she suddenly stood up, turned around, and began waving again towards Severin. She didn’t seem the least bit surprised to see him standing there and immediately begun her way back towards Severin in and the outdoor seating area. She was definitely walking faster than before.

‘Either she is really hungry, or after catching up with Krey…’

“Already done?!” Magda asked while searching for something.

Severin answered by summoning a plate on top on one of the many tables.

“Ah, so that’s how it is. Hmm, and the smell.

Please,” she pointed at the chair opposite the one she was claiming for herself.

…

“How amazing.” She repeated herself once again as she chewed on her last bite. “Krey really didn’t promise too much. And the buff…,” she swallowed, “quite impressive!

But I think we now have other things to discuss.”