Chapter 34: The Shopkeeper’s Baffling Morning and a Carriage Ride to the Lord’s Manor

A bright, sunny morning dawned, and with the light it brought, the entirety of Kana City slowly began to stir.

While Xiluo’er ate breakfast, listening to Eve and Rona chat, far to the north of Kana City, a grizzled general store owner with a short, stubbled beard was also beginning his day.

However, as the slightly plump shopkeeper hummed a tune and approached the store he had run for half his life, he discovered something rather unpleasant.

His shop’s lock had been forced open.

‘Oh no, has my shop been robbed?’

The good mood he had woken with instantly vanished. The shopkeeper rushed into his store.

Though he had braced himself for the worst, upon entering, the shopkeeper frowned in bewilderment.

After all, nothing in the shop seemed to have changed.

Having run the store for half a lifetime, the shopkeeper was intimately familiar with its layout and contents. Everything before him appeared exactly as it had when he locked up the previous night.

No valuable goods were missing, and as for smaller items like hairpins, elastic bands, or pens, their numbers were impossible to count at a glance.

But those things weren’t valuable. Would anyone truly bother stealing such trifles?

After scanning the interior several times, the shopkeeper quickly opened his cash register, where he kept his savings.

Not a single coin was missing. In fact, why were there a few extra coins beneath a cup on the counter?

He remembered clearly that there had definitely been no such coins on the counter before he closed the shop yesterday.

Frowning, the shopkeeper picked up the coins, turning them over and over for a long time, yet he couldn’t make sense of it.

The extra coins on the counter amounted to very little—enough only for a piece of candy or a single hair tie.

This was truly bizarre. What kind of thief would leisurely pry open someone’s shop lock in the middle of the night, steal nothing, and then simply leave a few coins on the counter before departing?

After a moment of hesitation, the shopkeeper decided not to report the incident to the City Guard.

Firstly, nothing was missing, making a report an unnecessary fuss. Secondly, the whole affair was so utterly inexplicable that even if he reported it, the City Guard would likely be unable to investigate.

‘Never mind,’ he thought. ‘I’ll just assume someone was bored and playing a prank on me.’

The shopkeeper thought no further. He tossed the coins into the register and began his day.

****

For Xiluo’er, a beautiful day had ended before it even began.

The reason, she realized, was that she was currently sitting in a carriage with Eve.

Xiluo’er wasn’t sure if this was the same carriage that had run her over, but at this moment, she truly wished she weren’t here.

She wished she weren’t here because this carriage was headed straight for the Lord’s Manor.

Rona had mentioned yesterday that the Lord wished to discuss a quest with Eve, which in itself wasn’t an issue. Xiluo’er vaguely recalled accepting quests from the Lord during her time playing the game.

The real problem was, why did Eve insist on bringing her along today? Xiluo’er had initially planned to continue her investigations in the black market.

‘Is she trying to keep me by her side to monitor my actions?’

Xiluo’er naturally dared not refuse, so she could only sit obediently in the carriage, her knees hugged to her chest.

Or, to be precise, she was nestled in Eve’s lap.