The discovery of his new employee’s identity should have affected Xiao a little more than what he was currently feeling. However, he could not feel it in himself to actually feel anything more than an annoyance.

Since it had been established that their source of magic was the same, it had, unfortunately, led to some other observations which he wisely chose to neglect right now. He needed to keep his sanity or he would really do something stupid and invite danger.

Like, diverge the identity of his employee to the people. He should really not do it. There was no telling why that creature had chosen this time and place to show itself, but now that it has, he needed to be cautious.

However, what he could give it credit was for the flawless display of being human he was portraying. Kei had been working in the shop for more than 2 hours now. The first shift had even fallen on a weekday, but the crowd was steady. Even Era was having trouble keeping up. However, that could be more because of her aura and less because of her being able to keep up with the crowd.

“Manager, can I get a new copy of items on the front shelf? The one with local incense?” Era called out from the front. Since there had been a study crowd, her aura was much more masked which made her more approachable in the context. It was much more evident in her moving around.

“I’ll take another box out. Kei, help me bring it out from the back” Xiao called out to the boy who was helping a couple of people on the other side. At the call, the child looked up at him and gave him a beaming smile. The air around was relaxing and he could feel it in the people’s aura around him.

For such a dangerous person, Kei had a way with magic to make himself seem defenceless. However, he would be a fool to leave the child unsupervised in his shop. Even more so when there was no guarantee of what that child was capable of or wanted from him.

“I’m coming” with the callback, the child moved toward him. His height made it really easy to track him. A few people glanced toward the youth as he moved toward the back of the building. But nobody actually stepped out to draw his attention. Might as well be for the best.

When Kei had crossed a decent amount of distance toward him, Xiao decided it was time that he himself moved. The faster this was done, the faster he could move on to other duties of his.

He led the seemingly fifteen years old boy toward the backside of the shop. However, this time before they crossed the employee room and entered the room adjacent to it. The door was metallic to touch and nothing like the ordinary door of the shop. Strange symbols were carved on the door of the wall which made it stand out from the plain wall of the surrounding.

“A sealed door? I was surprised when some of the artefacts at the front selection turned out to be cursed objects, but to actually keep a stock of them knowingly? My, what would the sectrilute say if they knew that the current wish granter has such interests” Xiao decided not to pay any attention to the sharp tongue of the child.

It was not like what the child was saying was anything wrong. Most people frowned at the practice of selling anything supernatural to the common side and there were only a few places where one could actively seek them out without any problem. Their shop was not on the list of those legal places, but there was no one who was going to point it out.

Not when this was essentially free real estate for certain individuals to get more unorthodox items in this world without an active wish. So, although it was an open secret no one was going to complain or take any action.

“Well, we’re a wish-granting shop after all. It’s all part of our appeal. At most, it will just help the buyer get what they want with a little price of course” Xiao said to diffuse the situation but by the amused look on the child’s face Xiao knew that there was no secret there.

When he said a little price, he meant that it could range from a penny to the loss of a fortune. These cursed objects were unpredictable and not often reliable. That’s the appeal of a wish, they always got you what you need - even if the price is often steep.

“Well of course. I won’t expect anything else from such the fine establishment which has managed to survive up till now” Xiao did not miss the heavy emphasis but decided to ignore it for the time being.

While they were talking, Xiao had actually managed to unseal the door. Since it was all but a formality in their shop, opening the door didn’t require a grand manoeuvre. It was attuned to the aura of the world tree and would only open for him. Well, maybe his new worker would be able to open it too - if his speculation was correct - but there was no need to test the waters right now. That was an open secret between them and it was better if they remain at those grounds for now.

And also, Xiao was certain that this room had nothing of interest to Kei. The items here were rare, but they were neither one of a kind nor amazing enough to warrant such an undercover identity.

The room itself was dark and cool. A necessity to keep most of the seals intact. The more sensitive objects were kept inside chests and chambers. The room inside was much bigger than it could be fathomed from outside.

“A split dimension for storage. So, what did you want us to grab from here?” Xiao was not even surprised that Kei knew what this place was. This was not something that ordinary people learned in their education. Higher sects, organisations and clans did teach their people about such places though.

“Ah, grab the one market retail. The green one is for the common shop, red is for the main business. Take the green one on the left for now, I’ll take out the other green box” Xiao explained as he picked up the box nearer to him. The one in his hand was about 600X600 while the child had picked up the 750X750 one.

Once their boxes were secured in their hand, the pair moved out of the room. As soon as they took a few steps away from the room, the door locked itself. The metallic face with symbols was once again obstructing the balance of the plain background.

“How often do you restock on the main shelf? Weren’t you doing it in the morning too?” Kei asked out with amusement in his voice and Xiao almost stumbled at it. However, he soon steadied himself and checked inside his box - nothing broken at least.

“We’re a business establishment and a popular one. Besides, most of these boxes do not have more than 6 items. Any more than that and they get irritated” the higher the grade of a magic item, the more of a personality it had. With enough magic, some even gained spirituality and ascended to get a personality and soul.

Those were some of the rarest materials one could find. There had been many wishes in the past for those and those were some of the easier wishes to fulfil. Well, mostly. There had been some which had turned troublesome but still tolerable.

“So, these are for section 3?” Now that they had arrived at the front section, it was time to sort out the boxes. Out of the corner of his eye, he could spot Era at the cash counter. The rush in the shop had subsequently lessened while they had been in the back. And even if she seemed uncomfortable with the people in front of her, Era was still maintaining her calm.

He should help her for now. “Yes. Mine is for section 1, can you handle it too? I’ll go help Era” well, he really should not make Kei do more things since his motivates were not clear. But if he was going to act as a good worker, for now, he will take all the advantage he can get.

“Can’t you give me more of a discount?” The tone of the customer in front of the girl was a little acidic which caused him to frown. People could get so worked up over these things and he could see the girl getting more and more uncomfortable. Her aura was fluctuating too. He could tell by the shifting movement of the people behind the payer.

“Our discount offer period is not up for now sir. I’m sorry but you either pay in full or you go back empty-handed” Xiao decided to speak up as he moved toward the counter. Their shop didn’t have a dressing code to tell between employee and buyer, but by his movement and words, everyone could draw the conclusion that he was the owner or someone high up.

He could spy a cursed box in the person’s hand. Mostly these items didn’t attract humans, but when they did, they generally affected them in some way. More than likely this person’s temper was a direct result of the box. However, if the person decided to buy the box in the end, he could not stop him.

They were after all a business.

“Fine, I’ll pay in full for this box” looked like someone will have a big anger management issue after this. The box really was gripping that person deeply which will cause some issues.

After that, there were not really any major issues for the rest of the shift. These cases were rare and generally not too explosive. Mostly there was not even any notice when a human purchased these boxes.

And soon it was the time for closing of the shop. Era left as soon as the time for the shift ended. The girl really had an uncomfortable first day. She received a new recommendation from his brother and as such - a really short time worker. From one of the alliance families in a more remote place - she really was an odd child.

However, now that she had left for home, it was just him and Kei. The boy was just standing at the counter which he had taken over in the last half hour of the shift and looked content to stay there.

“Aren’t you going to leave too? I can’t account for you being here if Noah drops by” Xiao called out to him but chose to maintain the distance. Kei had displayed no indicative behaviour throughout the day when in the main shop but there was no telling what he was after.

“Well, I can go back but then you won’t be able to keep an eye out on me. Are you sure you want that?” the kid had noticed that. Well, not that he had not expedited the child not to notice. He had after all called for his help in the back when there was no need for two pairs of hands.

“So, you’re suggesting that I lie to my brother about you being here?” Xiao tested out.

“Well, I won't stop you if you wish to reveal my existence” Kei replied back calmly but that was a caution and warning. After their earlier talk, he knew the consequences were not something he could account for right now.

“We’ll need an excuse though” Now that most of the things were either out in the open or understood by both parties, he was sure that they could reach a conclusion. At least for their own sake.

“Doesn’t your shop offer accommodation for your workers. I’m sure I confirmed it somewhere before. We can use this excuse - that my guardian is busy and has given the permit for you to be my temporary guardian. Kind of like a babysitter? Teen sitter?” The words were really said casually and with a simple but for the first time when he had met him, Xiao felt alarm bells ring in his senses. It felt like prey that was being stalked even though nothing had happened yet.

“I don’t think we can get Noah with that excuse. But it is true that I want to keep an eye on you for the time being. Do you even have a guardian? Who did we talk to before on the phone?” Xiao voiced out.

“Well, it's ‘not’ not legal. A lot of people deploy it. Well, usually it is with extended family but no one is going to question it much. As for my guardian, well he really does exist - he’s an extension of me as to speak. Your cousin can try to get me all he can but I assure you he will never find anything to pin me down” Kei’s voice had confidence that spoke of beyond his years.

Xiao had no choice but to fold his hand in front of the child. Agitating him would not do the trick. Even if Kei had been nothing but patient the whole day, it had only been one day. Till he knew where they stood with each other, he was not going to take any risk here.

“If both of you are done arguing, can we get to business? I’m here to make a wish” the voice was nasal which drew a surprised reaction from both the present parties. The shop had been closed for some time now so there should be no customers there.

“Oi, I’m a customer here. Down here” the nasal voice called out again. Xiao was willing to bet that the owner of the voice could not be human at all. There was no way a human larynx was able to achieve that pitch naturally.

“A goose” While he was looking around for the source, Kei had actually paid attention to the voice and looked down at the source. Xiao looked in the direction too and there it was a ball of feathers and beak right in front of them.

“Whom are you calling a goose huh? I’m a duck. Clearly a Duck” the feather ball was shaking and trembling - even more so after feeling insulted by Kei’s words. Kei smiled as if finding it all amusing.

In a flash, there was no one at his side and the wings of the feather ball were captured in big hands. Kei had picked up the duck by its wings which caused it to squeak in pain and surprise.

“Kei let it go. Drop him now” Xiao called out in a hurry. The duck was clearly in pain and all his moving would cause damage if he didn’t do anything soon. Hearing him, the hands holding the wings just let the duck go which caused the surprised bird to fall down.

Luckily the fall was not that large and caused no visible injuries. However, the duck, not taking any chances, quickly ducked behind Xiao to get away from the devil in front.

“You can’t treat me like this. I’m a customer here” the duck feeling wronged carried out in a hurt voice. It was only when he paid attention to its words did he realise.

Customers do come in all shapes, sizes and species.