At some point, on the busiest street in Orario, a certain shop had suddenly appeared.
It had no lavish decorations, no signboard whatsoever, and there were not even any tables or chairs inside. It was completely, utterly empty.
Whenever people passed by, they felt puzzled. After all, the "Opening Soon" sign hanging at the entrance had been there for months, yet no one had ever seen anyone come here.
Rent on this street wasn't cheap. Who would lease a place and just leave it unused? Even if they wanted to occupy the space, this was going too far.
Day after day passed, and the existence of this shop gradually faded from attention, becoming little more than a peculiar roadside curiosity.
But this morning, while the nearby stores opened as usual, they suddenly discovered that this shop...
Had opened?
"Holy crap, am I seeing this right? This place actually opened?"
"Who is it? Who's running this shop?"
In an instant, quite a few passersby gathered at the entrance, intending to see what was going on.
But the person who stepped out of the shop left them completely dumbfounded.
"You're... the Saintess of Scales?"
"No way? Isn't she from the Astraea Familia?"
"There's no mistake. White clothes, black eyepatch—it's definitely her!"
The one who came out was the captain of the Astraea Familia.
The Saintess of Scales, Elise.
"I didn't expect so many people to show up just as I arrived at the shop... Thank you all so much!"
Elise could sense the number of people gathered outside, so she bowed politely toward them.
"I secured this storefront quite some time ago, but due to special circumstances, I wasn't able to come before. Now I'll be doing business here alongside everyone else in Orario. I look forward to your continued support!"
After hearing Elise's words, the crowd nodded repeatedly.
"I never expected you to be the one opening a shop here."
"Haha, how can you say we're the ones supporting you? It's thanks to the efforts of your justice faction that we can do business peacefully!"
"It should be you taking care of us. And since you're opening a shop here, this area is bound to become even safer, right?"
Many people in Orario had received Elise's help before. More or less, they all had some connection with her.
"But speaking of which, what kind of business are you planning to run here?"
"If I remember correctly, the Astraea Familia is registered with the Guild as an exploration-type Familia, right? Is this really okay?"
The townsfolk had always had a favorable impression of Elise. Her title of Saintess was not something she had earned without reason.
Young and beautiful, powerful, kind to others, and frequently helping those in need—she had even become the dream lover of many among Orario's younger generation.
"It's no problem. Even if I'm running a shop, I'll still make time to explore the Dungeon."
"As for what I'm selling..." Elise deliberately left them hanging.
"I believe everyone already knows that I recently leveled up, right? The Guild did release my updated information, but it wasn't complete."
"In truth, when I leveled up, I unexpectedly obtained the development ability Mystery. I've been researching it during this time, and hard work pays off—I've finally achieved results!"
Elise's words left everyone present utterly shocked.
She had obtained the development ability Mystery?
"What? Something like that actually happened?"
"Does that mean, little Elise, you can craft things like grimoires or special items now?"
The news that Elise had acquired Mystery had not been disclosed to the Guild. After all, an adventurer's abilities were personal information. Unless they revealed it themselves, no one had the right to know.
And Elise had chosen this very moment to publicly announce that she possessed the development ability Mystery.
"I can't make grimoires just yet, but I've managed to tinker together some useful items... The price might be a bit high, though. I hope everyone can understand."
Elise offered a small apologetic smile. After all, creating Stigmata was indeed rather troublesome. Charging some money for them wasn't unreasonable.
"Haha, if it's something made by little Elise, then this old man will definitely show his support no matter what!"
"Exactly! But I'm still really curious—what is it, exactly?"
The crowd buzzed with discussion, voices rising and falling. That was only to be expected. The development ability Mystery was simply too rare.
In all of Orario, the number of people who possessed it could probably be counted on one hand. And now there was one more—Elise...
"Show us already! We're all dying to see what you've made!"
"Then I won't keep everyone in suspense any longer. Please take a look!"
Elise took out a transparent glass container from behind her. It looked like the kind of clear vessel used in laboratories, though much thicker.
Of course, that wasn't the point. How could a mere container be Elise's creation?
Everyone widened their eyes and carefully examined the object inside. It seemed to be an exquisitely designed pattern.
"This is my latest creation—Stigmata!"
Taking advantage of the large crowd, Elise explained the effects of Stigmata to them. The reaction she received was enormous.
"What? It can actually enhance an adventurer's ability values? She can even create something like that?"
"Pay attention. It's not exactly enhancing ability values—it's more like adding extra attributes. After all, the increase won't be reflected in the Falna..."
"In other words, equipping it makes you stronger, but you can't tell from the Falna on your back."
"You can't see it on your back, but you can see it from the front! If you equip a Stigmata, this emblem will appear on your chest!"
People began discussing the concept of "Stigmata," while Elise nodded inwardly. This was exactly the effect she wanted.
At first, everyone would hesitate to buy due to uncertainty. But as time passed and word spread, the fame of Stigmata would only grow. Eventually, someone would purchase one just to give it a try.
Moreover, Elise had an excellent reputation in Orario, especially among the younger crowd. There were no shortage of admirers and suitors who would come to show their support.
For now, however, Elise was only selling standard Stigmata. She had no intention of putting the special-effect variants on the market just yet.
Even so, it would be difficult for her to handle everything alone, so she had found an assistant.
"This is Lyra from our Familia. If anyone is interested, you can contact Lyra to purchase Stigmata!"
As Elise's voice fell, a pink-haired prum stepped out from inside the shop. However, the mischievous smile on her face made quite a few people uneasy.
Cunning Mouse Lyra was already rather well known in Orario. In the future, she might become even more famous.