In the old capital city of Anspia, there was a small, two-story building located at the very end of the city's middle quarter. The wall was made out of wood and painted in refreshing bright blue color. At the same time, it had large windows, allowing sunlight to freely visit and passerby to see various quality products with glass-clear packages that were aligned properly on shelves. The interior was white, creating a bright and comfortable atmosphere. And, there was a "Herbs & Lotions" sign plastered outside the building.
".... Idiootttttt...."
However, a depressed and weak voice could be heard leaking out from this peaceful store. Peaceful, as no customer had ever set their foot here.
A month had passed since Alfraed returned from an unnamed town, where he met a dragon and a stunning female adventurer, to open his shop.
Between then and today, he also had other colorful encounters with various types of people when searching ingredients for his products. Of course, he never forgot to hand out his name cards to promote this dear shop of his. But, until this very second, those who received his cards never came.
Those people experienced firsthand how effective his products were and showed interest to get their hands on them, especially the adventurers and merchants. So, why hadn't they visited yet? It's depressing to not have anything to do here.
Thankfully, Alfraed found the answer when playing with his card, a minute ago.
It was a simple mistake, a stupid one, yet, fatal. Alfraed did not put the shop's address on the card. When making it, he was too engrossed in the design, or maybe that was the only thing in his mind, and matter about a tiny little, but very important detail, which was the store's location completely slipped out his mind. Furthermore, "here's my card" was his only answer when they asked about his shop's location.
No wonder no one had arrived. They could not find this place.
Aside from that, the location of his store was far from the business area and right beside the lower quarter, an area comprised of decrepit housing units, deteriorated infrastructure, and inhabited by people struggling to even make ends meet. So, passersby never once try to visit due to lack of interest, and most probably, money.
Why did Alfraed choose this place to open the shop? Did he have another intention in mind? Well, it was nothing complicated, the funds he had at that time were only enough to afford this place. That was the only reason.
"Anyway..."
What was done was done. The priority now was how to overcome this situation and acquired plenty of sales. This circumstance may even be a blessing in disguise bestowed upon him by the owner of fate.
Have faith. Be positive. The future surely would be a blast.
"...Tomorrow, maybe I should visit the Association's branch and tell them about my products...? Yeah, let's do that!"
After all, his target market was mainly adventurers.
Alfraed was motivated because he knew what his next step should be. Then, he took one roti bolen, a baked pastry with crust layers filled with cheese and banana, from a plate beside of him, guided it to his mouth, and took a bite.
"Not bad..."
Cooking was one of Alfraed's hobbies, so he intentionally made refreshments every day for his customers to enjoy, which no one had come until today, and ended up eating it himself.
When he thought the food was enjoyable, two pairs of small, round eyes popped out from his window, staring intently at him, or rather to the edibles he had been eating to be more specific.
Ah yes, there were indeed no customers, but, Alfraed actually had regulars who had been coming every day without fail since two weeks ago.
He signaled the two children to come in, and their faces broke into smiles before entering the store. This was not their first time. Thus, they knew where the place to wash their hands was located and afterward were allowed to take the roti bolens.
"Tasty!"
"Thank you, brother Alf!"
They were Emma and Evan, twins. They had coffee-colored hairs and golden eyes, as well as pinch-able cheeks. Furthermore, possessing upright triangular ears and long, fluffy tails like a fox. The two were demi-human, a race with bestial features. Inherently, people from this race had higher physical capability than humans since the day they were born. Fortunately, there was no major discrimination here and they could lead a normal life. But, he heard in other countries their kind were treated harshly and even sold as slaves mainly out of fear for their power.
'Anyway, I can't imagine these two would do anything bad when they grow up...' thought Alfraed.
The twin faces looked incredibly similar, obviously. If not for the fact that Evan was a boy and had different clothing and hairstyle, Alfraed could hardly tell them apart.
"You can take more if you wanted to" encouraged Alfraed.
""Really?!"" their tails moved happily and all of their eyes were sparkling, not even the brightest star in the sky was a match for it.
"Yeah, I don't think a customer will be coming anyway at this hour" answered Alfraed with a bitter-sweet feeling.
"Yes, there's no one here, I like it!" said Emma cheerfully.
Alfraed knew she did not mean it in a bad way. He knew. But, somehow he received considerably mental damage from her innocent comment.
The truth was harsh, and children spoke nothing but the truth.
Foods tasted more delicious if eaten together with people they were close to. The three happily ate together, and Alfraed put the rest in a container so the twin could take it home. Their little tummies were not able to contain any more of it.
Today ended peacefully in the truest sense, or so he thought.
-------
It was in the middle of the night, and the two moons were at their peak when Alfraed heard loud knockings on his lovely door, or banging would be more accurate.
"Who in the world would visit at this hour?!"
"..He..help..." said someone while sobbing, her immature voice was like drowning in water.
Alfraed was about to complain to the person on the door for attempting to damage it. But, refrained from doing so, because he recognized that voice all too well, and decided to slowly open the door.
"Bro-broder Arf!"
The little girl in front of him was bawling, drenching her chubby-red cheeks with endless tears. Her usually bright and cheerful personality was nowhere to be seen. Since a little girl crying in front of an adult man in the middle of the night might create severe misunderstanding and killed him socially, Alfraed invited her to the store. She was Emma and took him a while until he was able to calm her down and told her story.