As the girl's cheerful voice rang out, followed by the chime of a bell that echoed inside the room, the woman and the girl stared at each other before shifting toward the boy, whose eyes shut tight and he was drenched with sweat. His seizure was gone, but because of the shock, it took time for his physique to awaken.
"Granny, who is that?". The girl pointed her finger toward Jin; her gaze pressed onto him.
"Huff, I don't know. Can you help me carry him?".
The girl's fingers curled together. She promptly gazed toward the granny, kneeling beside the boy, and bent her own knees. She carefully looked at the boy's appearance, who was probably the same age as her.
'Seriously, who in their right mind sleeps in a stranger's shop?'. Her mind was heavy with the swirling confusion that invaded her brain, but the girl exhaled sharply upon looking at Granny's wrinkles on her forehead.
She traced the boy's hand skin; it was smooth, and the girl gulped her saliva. Instantly, her heart rate spiked as she felt the firm and strong muscle from the boy's hand. 'W-Woah, this is a boy's body.'
Unconsciously, her hand squeezed his biceps, and it was strangely addictive to feel it. She got absorbed in her daydream, unaware that the woman whose appearance seemed to change into a grandma slapped her head in exasperation.
"Girl, you are too obvious in your desire". The woman shook sideways and stared at the boy's profile.
"Ouch, I'm sorry, Granny".
'Tch the boy reminds me of someone disturbing', Unbeknown to the woman, her face crumpled as she scowled for recalling something from the past. The woman unconsciously leaked a bit of her murderous desire and caught the boy's skin.
Suddenly, the boy's body jolted, and all the muscles in his body tensed in a trained manner. He bolted up, pushing away the girl who squealed and slammed her butt toward the wooden floor.
"Ouch!?".
The girls who were rubbing her throbbing butt, saw Granny's back before her eyes. Granny's golden eyes flashed in wary, looking toward the boy who put his stance and held a sword.
"What was that?". The girl stood up and shot a glare toward the boy.
"Are you okay, Lucya?". came a soothing voice from Granny, lowering the girl's stress level.
"Mm, I just stumbled for a bit, but!?". The girl turned toward the boy; her brows knitted together in a frown. "What is his problem?".
In his blurry consciousness, Jin heard fleeting whispers ringing in his ears, shaking her dizzy consciousness. His tense muscles brought him to stand, but his thoughts were still scattered across the atmosphere before they bounced back at him, jolting his consciousness awake.
Light started to fill his vacant gaze, and the first thing he captured was the wooden floor with its earthy scent, lined up in an orderly manner to give the building something to step in.
The weight in his hand turned his attention to it, and he saw he was wielding the Katana in his left hand.
'What is happening!?'. Jin lifted his gaze and witnessed two figures of women; one was the one he was familiar with, and the other was a girl.
His Jade eyes flashed, and he saw the faint golden aura on the woman's skin. It was a huge difference from earlier.
As for the girl, she wore a white robe decorated with golden inscription coiling around the chest area. The robe seemed to be made of a high-quality material.
The girl was beautiful; her large blue eyes sucked him into the whirlpool of the sea, sinking deep into the abyss. Straight blonde hair that cascades to her back and is a bit wavy at the end.
She carried within her a touch of grace and elegance. Her aura depicts her background as someone born into a powerful family.
Not only that, but her height was the same as Silvia's, 165 cm. The girl was indeed not to be underestimated.
Jin blinked after seeing the girl's appearance, and his brain suddenly halted. Something vague bravely resurfaced, but he was unable to recall it as a whole. 'That face, where do I see it?'
The blurred image failed to debut, so Jin shook his head sideways to rid himself of the thought. He loosened the tension in his muscles, and the Katana Vanished from his hand.
Both women widened their eyes, seeing the disappearing Katana. Then, the woman also loosened the tension in her body.
Lucya swept her gaze and noticed a bracelet on the boy's wrist. Her lips broke into a grin. "Ho, you have a storage item on you. That's rare."
It's true. A simple storage device with a small capacity, it could contain Items as much as a backpack, which was already pricey for a commoner to buy. The small one could be bought for ten gold coins.
There are three other capacities along with the small. Medium could hold an item or object as much as a cartload, large had the capacity of a house, and colossal had the capacity of a whole mansion.
Jin, unaware of the thoughts of the two, lifted both hands and opened his stiffened lips, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean any harm."
He shot a gaze toward the woman. Her golden eyes stared at him for a couple of seconds before she averted her gaze to the girl.
"It's okay, Lucya. he seemed harmless".
"Okay, thank you for protecting me, Granny." The girl named Lucya nodded meekly, alternating her gaze between Jin and the woman.
'What!?'. Jin's brows twitched as he heard the word granny escape the girl's mouth. He glared at the woman who gestured by placing her finger on the lips. 'As I thought, she was using an illusion'.
"Enough with the boy, Lucya; what is your purpose for coming here?".
"Mm!? Ah, right." With a flick of her finger, a thick book manifested before the girl as it settled on her hand: "Granny, I already finished reading this grimoire. Give me another collection of Advanced spells?"
"That was three days ago, and you said you remembered all of it?". The woman's wide eyes stared at the girl, who nodded by thumping her average chest.
"Yeah, sometimes I was amazed by my own talents". Lucya's finger touched her forehead and posed in a grandiose manner.
"Hmph, brat". While clicking her tongue, the woman advances further toward the room, seeking the appropriate grimoire for the girl to study next.
Jin and the girl stood apart in a rather ambiguous atmosphere as the elder went off somewhere. Jin casually stood up, but the girl's expression was stiff because she was still portrayed in her pose.
"Uhum, It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Lucya Ei. No, Lucya is fine". Lucya faked a cough and walked toward Jin with an extended hand.
With a gentle squeeze, Jin caught the girl's soft and fragile hand and said, "My name is Jin. The pleasure is mine".
Both separated, but Lucya's heart tightened upon feeling the boy's hand. It was no longer a palm but a ragged surface of a stone that had been hardened for years, a testament to his hard effort.
'He's quite good'. As someone who stood at the top and was blessed with a great talent, Lucya strived to be better than yesterday, so she put much effort into reading the grimoire and deepened her knowledge about magic spells.
She didn't want to be recognized as someone who could do anything because of her great talent. But she wanted to be someone who conquered her talent, carving her own path to the summit by sheer will and effort.
So, as someone who believes in her own heart, Lucya truly respected the boy's effort and possibly wanted to get acquainted with him, 'Jin, huh? I will remember his name'.
"Nice to meet you, Jin. I hope we can get along from now on".
"Yeah, likewise".
The two exchanges nod and start to open a conversation.
"So, Jin, what is your purpose for going to this shop?".
Jin scratched his cheeks, his throat parched as he gulped his saliva, "Um, what kind of shop is this anyway?".
"Eh, you don't know? This place was…".
Lucya starts to guide Jin through the shop. She categorizes the items, ranks them and divides them based on their value.
"First is this grimoire."
She took a thick book from one of the selves, its grey cover made of leather carved with an intricate text that said, Intermediate Elemental magic: Wind.
Grimoire was a collection of magic spells created, studied and improved over the years by numerous people who excelled at mastering the Elemental magic.
It was like a magic spell catalog, complete with vivid descriptions of imagination and instructions for practicing it.
As she placed the grimoire back, she took Jin's to other shelves and took a parchment tied by a string.
"There is also this, a scroll".
"Scroll? What is that?".
"A scroll is some kind of pre-installed magic spell".
"I see, so this was a one-time used item?".
"Hm, Jin, have you understood the principle behind it?".
Jin glanced at Lucya, her eyes widened. "Yeah, that's easy to imagine".
"Hee," Lucya's lips broke into a pleasant smile, for this was the first time someone around her age could she talk casually with. "Then I will explain the full rank of the scroll."
"Thank you, I'm in your capable hands".
"Hehe, leave it to me".
After that, Lucya started explaining the rank of the spell installed in the parchment, from the lowest to the strongest.
First, a lower rank scroll contained a magic spell based on Apprentice or beginner level.
Second, the Intermediate scroll contained a spell based on the Intermediate and advanced levels of mastery of magic.
Third, an advanced scroll that contained a spell from a mastery of Master level of magic.
All the scrolls were for one-time use only, and the price was pretty much draining one's own wallet. Because the low-rank scroll even cost five gold coins to be bought.
"So, did you get it?" Lucya turned to Jin, who calmly walked through the girl's explanation with a closed mouth.
"Yeah, thank you for the explanation".
"No problem". Her lips loosened into a brilliant smile, for this one the first time she had so much fun discussing magic with someone.
"Lucya, here is the grimoire I recommended".
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the woman stood behind them with silent steps. Her presence was thin enough for Jin to slip from his grasp.
Lucya's body flinched and turned toward the woman with a wry smile, "Ahaha, as usual, you like to scare someone. Thank you, Granny". She turned toward Jin and waved her hand, "Then I will take my leave, for I have something to prepare for the night".
Without waiting for the replies from the two, Lucya dashed outside using her swift feet, leaving only a clattering bell that reminded the two people who stayed behind.
"Then, I think it was about time you explained, Granny?". Jin crossed his arms and turned toward the woman.
The woman calmly accepted the boy's gaze head-on and said, "Before that, what sort of relationship do you have with Athena?".
"...A-Athena!?". Jin's vision faded out.