Her face still flushed with heat from the afternoon sun, Eina entered a two-story item shop constructed of stone.
The billboard above the entrance simply read, "RETAIL."
She had come here to investigate the Soma Familia's wine.
While she had exhausted most of her other leads, the fact that they sold such a remarkably low volume of wine didn't sit right with her.
She didn't expect to crack the case in one go, but she felt there was value in looking into the source directly.
'I haven't been here in ages' she thought.
'I wonder if they have a larger selection now.'
Inside, transparent cases....crafted from materials many times stronger than glass...lined the shop like a bank vault.
Eina stretched her neck to inspect the highest shelves, where a vast array of goods were stored. Round-bottomed flasks filled with bluish liquids were stacked neatly; these were potions.
Green fluids in cylindrical tubes served as antidotes, and elixirs were presented in fancy bottles with intricate designs.
All of them were produced by familias that specialized in trade.
While many shops sold items from only one Familia, this store had secured a prime spot on west main by maintaining a stellar reputation and carrying a diverse inventory.
Eina walked past the section dedicated to adventurer gear and headed straight to a corner marked "GROCERY."
"Yes! Here it is!" Eina softly clapped her hands together when she spotted the Soma familia's label on a shelf lined with various wines.
The container on the shelf was far from appealing; it was nothing more than a standard glass bottle, and the liquid inside was perfectly clear.
For something so highly sought after, it looked remarkably plain.
Yet, among all the varieties of alcohol on the shelf, there was only one bottle of the Soma Familia's wine left.
'Its popularity must be the real deal' Eina mused.
She blinked her emerald eyes as she stared at what was arguably the most boring and thoughtless label in the entire shop.
'It has the same name as its creator… Had the god Soma named it after himself?'
She tilted her head, pondering the question.
She was just about to call over a sales clerk to open the secure display case when her eyes locked onto the price tag.
Ninety thousand Valis.
Bump!
Eina's forehead hit the glass shelf.
"Wha….huh? This is just wine?!" she hissed, her voice rising in disbelief.
"Unbelievable! This costs more than all of Bell's equipment combined!"
Eina rubbed the red spot on her forehead and squinted at the bottle one more time.
The price was equal to, or even higher than, the value of low-grade specialized weapons and armor.
While it wasn't impossible for an average person to purchase a bottle, at that price point, it was highly unlikely.
The value of the contents and the shoddiness of the bottle did not match in the slightest.
'How much money do I have on me? There is no way I brought enough…' Eina thought, panic setting in.
The average pay for a Guild employee was better than what a run-of-the-mill adventurer earned, but it was nowhere near enough to justify walking around with ninety thousand Valis in her purse.
Buying even one bottle would put an immense strain on her personal finances…..especially considering she had purchased a piece of armor as a present for Bell just over a week ago.
Eina stood frozen in front of the wine shelf, an internal debate raging in her mind.
"Huh… Aren't you Eina Tulle?" a voice called out from behind, shattering her concentration.
Eina's body jerked.
The ambient noise seemed to blur away.
Someone had spoken her full name, cutting through the thick morning air with a cadence distinct and jarringly nostalgic.
Eina slowly turned around, her fingers instinctively tightening around the hem of cloths.
Behind her stood a stunningly beautiful and tall female elf.
Her glimmering jade-colored hair was tied into a single ponytail that hung halfway down her back, catching the morning sunlight filtering through window.
Her long, delicate ears stuck up like leaves on a tree, guiding her gorgeous, flowing locks backward.
Even among the inherently beautiful and refined elven race, the woman looked entirely out of place...as though she belonged on a throne made of starlight.
Fitting right in with her timeless elegance, the woman's emerald eyes were the exact same shade as Eina's, if not perhaps a fraction deeper, like polished sea glass reflecting a sunlit ocean.
And yet, as striking as the elf was, she was completely eclipsed by the towering figure standing just behind her.
It was a man with a large, chiseled, muscular frame that easily made the surrounding shoppers look like children.
Adorning his head were a set of thick horns, with one half cleanly broken off, adding a jagged, battle-scarred edge to his imposing silhouette.
Unlike the pale-skinned elf before him, his skin was a dark tone, contrasting sharply with the long, flowing silver hair lazily tied into a loose bun at the nape of his neck.
His eyes were a burning, deep crimson, and the aura he passively exuded was overwhelmingly suffocating, pressing down on the air in the vicinity despite him not exerting a single ounce of effort or hostility.
Lastly, resting low behind him, a thick tail covered in heavy black scales swayed lazily back and forth, matching the casual, contrasting black-and-white clothing he wore.
Realizing that she had been staring a bit too wide-eyed, Eina's body suddenly snapped to attention.
Her spine straightened, and her breath hitched in her throat.
"Ahem... Greetings, Lady Riveria! Sir Draco!" Eina blurted out, a heavy hint of nervousness tightening her tone.
She couldn't help it.
She hadn't exactly presented herself in the best, most dignified light during her very first meeting with Draco.
And now, adding Riveria…..high royalty of the elven race and a pillar of the mighty Loki Familia…..into the mix?
It was a recipe for a minor panic attack.
The tall elf regarded her with a soft, melancholic warmth.
"So it is you… It's been a long time," Riveria spoke, her voice carrying a melodic cadence.
"You have become very beautiful in my absence. I almost didn't recognize you."
While it didn't quite stretch into a full smile, the edges of Riveria's lips softened and curved upward just a fraction.
"I am honored, my lady," Eina replied instantly, dropping her gaze slightly out of ingrained habit.
"To receive such high praise, I will hold your words dear….."
"You two know each other?" Draco suddenly cut in, his deep, resonant voice rumbling with mild amusement.
He leaned his heavy frame down slightly over Riveria, looking between the two women with genuine surprise.
Draco knew that Riveria kept a remarkably small circle of friends.
She wasn't exactly known to casually interact with people outside the Loki Familia, let alone a half-elven desk clerk from the Guild.
Riveria nodded slowly in reply, her expression morphing into a slight, disapproving frown as she fixed her emerald gaze squarely on Eina.
"Stop talking like that," Riveria scolded gently, crossing her arms.
"This isn't the elven homeland. You were not born in the forests in the first place. You have no reason to hold me in such high regard."
"Even so, I mustn't forget to be humble and show the utmost respect to royalty such as yourself," Eina insisted, her stubborn streak flashing in her eyes.
"Mother always told me…."
"Sigh. So even that Aina would force this rigid nonsense upon her daughter…" Riveria muttered, shaking her head.
A wave of bittersweet melancholy washed over her features.
"It is truly regrettable. She escaped the homeland alongside me, only to end up teaching her child this."
Aina, Eina's mother, had once been Riveria's personal chamberlain back in their youth, serving closely by the royal's side before abandoning the suffocating expectations of the elven forests for the freedom of the outside world.
Recalling those fond memories stirred up a well of deep nostalgia.
'Ooooh, so that's the connection. I completely forgot about that,' Draco mused internally, mentally connecting the dots.
With so many powerful personalities, factions, and daily crises constantly swirling around him in Orario, it wasn't at all strange that he would momentarily misplace or completely forget a backstory detail or two.
Eina watched quietly as Riveria let out a long, wistful sigh before refocusing her attention entirely on the younger half-elf.
"It is prudent to carry a baseline amount of respect for your elders, Eina, but any more than that is needless," Riveria said firmly.
"I find it tiresome to be placed upon that particular pedestal. If you truly say that you want to respect and honor me, then you must comprehend what my heart actually desires: to be treated as a person, not an icon."
"M-my lady…" Eina muttered, her hands clutching her chest tightly as she wrestled with internal conflict.
"Come now, don't be too hard on the girl," Draco chimed in smoothly, a wide, roguish grin spreading across his handsome face.
He could see how tightly wound Eina was getting and decided to intervene.
"It's not easy to instantly drop habits one grew up with. Hell, I for one still absentmindedly stroke my tail when I'm stressed, and I'm a grown man."
To punctuate his joke, the heavy, scaled tail behind him gave an exaggerated, nervous flick.
The two women blinked at him, completely caught off guard.
For a brief, suspended moment, the heavy tension evaporated entirely, replaced by a sudden, shared chuckle at the silliness of his remark.
The laughter, brief though it was, succeeded in easing Eina up…..if only a little.
The undeniable fact remained: Eina had been born and raised in a free city with its doors wide open to any and all races, far from the rigid caste systems of the woods.
Her practical knowledge of elven royalty was theoretically limited, but the gravity of the high elf standing before her made her elven blood and upbringing instinctively demand reverence.
Still, Riveria's words had struck a chord.
"Sigh… I am not asking you to break the system or forget who I am," Riveria said, her tone softening further to help bridge the gap.
"Only… don't go overboard with the bowing."
"U-understood," Eina replied, swallowing hard.
"Good," Riveria gave a satisfied nod.
Despite the concession, Eina wasn't entirely sure how to feel.
Even her eyebrows weren't sitting quite straight on her face.
She felt remarkably like a child who had just lost a logical argument to an adult, and she tried her absolute best to keep that slightly bruised pride hidden beneath a polite facade.
Rather than dwell on the awkward clash of etiquette, she decided to focus on the warmth of their unexpected reunion.
When she was a child, Eina had met Riveria many times during her visits to Aina's household. However, the sweeping currents of time and circumstance meant they hadn't laid eyes on each other even once since Eina was a little girl.
Eina had, of course, kept a careful eye on Riveria's legendary exploits as soon as she joined the Guild as an advisor, reading the operational reports whenever they crossed her desk.
Due to their radically different schedules, staggering job responsibilities, and the gulf between an elite adventurer and a desk-bound Guild employee, there simply hadn't been a natural opportunity to cross paths.
Not that the possibility hadn't existed, but neither of them had actively mustered the effort to seek the other out.
"I'm glad to see that you are well," Riveria said, her tone shifting to a genuine, warm compliment.
"To think you would grow up to work for the Guild, of all places… It suits you well."
Unfortunately, Eina's perpetually anxious brain immediately managed to misinterpret the sentiment.
"Please forgive me! I meant to contact you sooner, but….." Eina stammered, instantly launching into an apology.
"Pay it no mind," Riveria interrupted, gently waving a pale, slender hand to dismiss the notion. "I've spent the vast majority of my days buried in the dungeon ever since arriving in this city. There has simply been no time for social calls. Even if we had tried, our schedules would have delayed a meeting over and over, no doubt."
Draco leaned against a nearby showcase, simply watching the delightful interaction unfold.
He found it rather amusing how drastically different Eina's demeanor was right now compared to her shifts at the Guild.
Over the counter, she acted more like Rose...strict, stoic, impossibly professional, and ready to lecture reckless adventurers.
Here, she was a flustered young woman caught entirely off-balance by her past.
Sensing that they were communicating on completely different wavelengths and that her anxiety was threatening to take the wheel again, Eina cleared her throat and decided to aggressively change the subject.
"Ahem! Forgive me for prying, but… if you don't mind me asking, why are Lady Riveria and Draco here together?"
Eina gestured vaguely to the surrounding.
This was the mundane grocery and produce section of the shop, entirely separate from the specialized adventurer item section.
To see two of Orario's powerhouses...belonging to entirely different, often competing familia factions....strolling side-by-side was perplexing.
Hearing the pointed question, a sharp, wicked grin broke across Draco's face.
He clearly couldn't pass up the opportunity to stir the pot.
"Oh, I was wondering when you were finally going to ask that! Get this…" Draco started, leaning in conspiratorially.
He lowered his voice just enough to draw the attention of nearby shoppers.
"I was out peacefully grocery shopping for my own familia when I randomly ran into Riveria-chan along west main. Then, out of nowhere, she passionately invited me out for breakfast… and before we even realized what was happening, we found ourselves wandering through this shop together, fully enjoying our romantic little date."
Draco even went so far as to lightly scratch his cheek, masterfully feigning a bashful, embarrassed blush.
"D-d-d-date?!" Eina stammered, her voice pitching upward in disbelief.
Her head was spinning so fast she felt dizzy.
The entire concept sounded impossibly outrageous.
Riveria?
On a date?
Riveria instantly shot Draco a glare so piercing it could have frozen molten iron.
She let out a long, long-suffering sigh, pressing two fingers to the bridge of her nose as she tried to figure out how to salvage Eina's rapidly fracturing sanity.
While Draco's absurd story was technically built upon some sliver of truth…..she had indeed invited him to a quiet corner cafe for a quick breakfast meeting…..it was entirely professional! She had simply been curious about the chaotic anomalies that had occurred deeper in the dungeon after she and Ais had parted ways with him.
However, trying to explain that reality to Eina in the middle of a crowded public space was too troublesome, especially since it inevitably brushed up against confidential dungeon intelligence and an upcoming strategic council meeting later in the afternoon.
"Sigh… Don't listen to a single word of his nonsense," Riveria finally managed, her voice tight with suppressed exasperation as she tried to calm a pale-faced Eina down.
"We simply happened to have errands to run at the exact same merchant storefronts this morning, so we walked here together. It is purely a coincidence." Riveria argued, but Eina was completely out of it.