"Um… Miss Syr, don't you need to go help out?"
With a sandwich in hand, Isis suddenly didn't know whether he should keep eating or not.
Syr rested her chin in both hands, elbows on the counter, silver-white hair spilling over her shoulders. The way she looked at him was almost like she was admiring something.
"There's no need. Go on and eat, Isis, or it'll get cold. I warmed up this milk for you especially, you know. Drink it while it's still nice and warm."
Still smiling, Syr lightly shook her head.
Isis could only nod helplessly. If she wanted to watch, then fine—he wasn't going to lose a piece of himself over it.
Syr leisurely polished glasses, clearly much freer than the other staff members bustling around.
"Miss Syr."
Remembering the other reason he had come here, Isis called out after swallowing a bite of bread.
"Hm?"
Syr paused her hands.
"I've got some Dungeon materials I want to sell—pharmaceutical ones. Do you know where would be the best place to do that?"
Syr set the glass down and tapped a finger lightly against her lips as she thought.
"For pharmaceutical materials… the Dian Cecht Familia, probably."
"They're the biggest supplier of potions in Orario, and their purchase prices are the fairest on the entire West Main."
"You could go somewhere else, of course, but if you compare the final numbers, they're still the best deal."
Isis nodded in understanding, just about to thank her—
Only to see Syr casually get up, walk to the counter, and pull out a short pen and a napkin from below it.
"If you leave here and head east, then turn right at the second intersection, you'll see a white building with a staff-and-serpent emblem hanging outside."
"There's also a flowerbed at the entrance that smells strongly of herbs. If you catch that scent, you'll know you're in the right place."
As she spoke, she sketched out a simple map on the napkin. The arrows were marked with almost excessive care, and she even drew a tiny symbol to indicate Dian Cecht's shop.
"I do know how to recognize a road, Miss Syr."
Seeing this, Isis couldn't help letting out a helpless laugh.
Though, to be fair, her directions really were incredibly clear. One glance and he could probably remember the whole thing.
"But it's your first time going, so of course I need to explain it properly."
Syr blinked, still smiling that same bright smile.
"Mmm… if the shop weren't busy today, I'd almost want to go with you myself."
She muttered that last part with a hint of disappointment.
"That won't be necessary. The map you drew is already detailed enough. Honestly, I could probably find it with my eyes closed."
"Thanks."
Slipping Syr's hand-drawn "map" into his pocket, Isis smiled in gratitude.
"You're lying. Nobody walks with their eyes closed."
"I can, though. Adventurers have perception, after all."
"You're still lying."
"Half lying, half true."
At that final answer, Syr laughed and lightly flicked him on the forehead.
"Then I'm off, Miss Syr. See you later."
After placing the meal payment on the table, Isis bit into the last piece of his sandwich and got up to leave.
"Be careful on the road. Safe travels."
Syr stood and watched him all the way to the door, one hand resting on the counter's edge, making no immediate move to return to work.
At that very moment, Anya's head suddenly popped halfway out of the kitchen window. Both cat ears were standing straight up, and her face wore the unmistakable expression of someone who had seen everything.
"Syr, your tail's about to stick straight up, nya."
"I don't have a tail."
Her answer came so quickly it was almost a reflex.
"But if you did, it'd definitely be sticking up, nya."
Anya withdrew back into the kitchen just as quickly as she had appeared, because Syr had already picked up a rag from the counter and taken up a throwing stance.
In the end, the rag never flew.
Syr simply set it back down and wiped a section of the counter that didn't actually need wiping.
Then she lifted her eyes and looked toward the door.
The curve of her lips was faint, but different from the smile she wore while greeting customers.
"Isis… he's only getting deeper and deeper, isn't he? That soul of his…"
She murmured softly to herself.
…
Following Syr's map for a short while, Isis soon arrived at the Dian Cecht Familia's shop.
Behind the counter stood a human girl, and the moment he saw her, he almost lost focus.
With only a single glance, the phrase exquisite doll sprang straight into his mind.
Her petite figure—barely even one and a half meters tall—only strengthened that impression.
Soft silver-white hair flowed down to her waist, long dreamlike lashes framed her eyes, and she wore the white medical uniform that marked the Dian Cecht Familia.
Airmid Teasanare.
Even though Isis hadn't been in Orario for long, he still recognized the famed Saint of the Battlefield.
"First time meeting you, customer. Hmm… are you a new member of the Loki Familia?"
The girl greeted him politely, then noticed the familia emblem on his clothes and looked mildly surprised.
"First time meeting you as well. Please take care of me."
Since his familia affiliation had already been recognized, Isis showed no surprise and simply responded with a polite nod.
"I came to sell monster materials—pharmaceutical ones. Blue Papilio wings, Violet Moth powder, and a few miscellaneous items."
He stated his purpose directly.
"Your name?"
"Isis."
"Airmid Teasanare."
"Put the materials on the counter. I'll inspect the quality."
One by one, Isis removed the contents of his bag: bottled Blue Papilio wings, tightly sealed Violet Moth powder, and several carefully wrapped miscellaneous materials in oil paper.
Airmid lifted one of the bottles to the light, unscrewed the cap and smelled it, then poured out a small amount of the Violet Moth powder onto the back of her hand and rubbed it gently between her fingers.
"The quality is very good. They've all been preserved extremely well."
Airmid nodded, the tension in her brows easing slightly.
Seeing that, Isis also let out a quiet breath of relief, and inwardly felt even more grateful toward Alicia.
After all, all the methods for preserving these materials properly had been taught to him by Alicia herself. Now they were finally paying off.
"That's rare."
Airmid set the materials back down on the counter, and her tone carried a trace of genuine approval.
"Most adventurers just shove everything into a backpack all at once. By the time it gets to me, the powder's damp and half the wings are broken."
Picking up a pen, she swiftly wrote a string of numbers onto a blank purchase slip and pushed it toward him.
120,000 valis.
It really was a very fair price.
Before coming here, Isis had already done a bit of asking around. All he could say was that Syr's recommendation had been spot on.
"Deal."
"Nice and straightforward."
Airmid tore off a copy of the receipt and handed it over just as crisply.
"If you get more pharmaceutical materials in the future, bring them straight here. I'll give you a fair price—fairer than any other shop on West Main."
"Thank you."
"No need. It's business. I like dealing with straightforward people."
"Then would you prefer payment in cash valis, or—"
At that, Isis shook his head lightly.
"I'd like to buy one high-grade magic recovery potion."
"Eh? Isis, you should still be Level 1, right? Are you sure you can even make use of one?"
Hearing that he wanted to buy a high-grade magic potion, Airmid blinked in surprise, then asked with some confusion.
It was only natural that she had guessed Isis was Level 1. Before the Loki Familia left on expedition, they had come to the Dian Cecht Familia to purchase medicine, and she had been the one receiving them. So she already knew that every Loki Familia combat member Level 2 and above had gone on the expedition.
That meant any newcomer left behind could only be Level 1.
"Well… I'm repaying a favor."
Isis gave a helpless smile.
Seeing the seriousness in his eyes, Airmid gave a small nod.
Then she turned to the shelves behind the counter, took down a deep blue potion bottle, and set it in front of him. After that, she counted out the remaining 20,000 valis from the total.
"That kind of thing isn't common in Orario."
Airmid's lips curved into a faint smile—not a business smile, but the sort a merchant gave only when they met someone and thought, Now this is a good one.
"There are fewer adventurers who remember to repay favors than there are those who remember to repay money."
"Because a favor weighs more than money."
Carefully, Isis tucked the potion into his pocket, placing it beside the empty bottle Ryuu had given him.
"Then I'll be going, Miss Airmid."
"If you get more materials next time, come again. You'll always be welcome."
Airmid waved lightly.
After Isis walked out the door, she lowered her head and continued writing in her ledger—but the tip of her pen paused on the page for a moment.
"A newcomer from the Loki Familia, hm? He's quite an interesting person."
-------
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