Esme and Jihan start their search for the souvenir shop together. They are both relaxed but are still vigilant for gazes of other people. Thankfully, there are other people on vacation, so they do not stand out from the rest.
They are now in the same street that Jihan felt being watched. The odd thing about the street is that there is no sign that stated its name. It feels as if they want this street to become forgotten by the people. There are no streetlamps situated in this street or alley to deter the people from wandering off inside of it.
"This is the street that you are talking about." Esme asked Jihan.
"Yup. It is odd even if it is daylight. It feels more like a dark alley than an actual street." Jihan answered.
"Should that stall be something like an invisible store or something like that?" Esme asked as she knows Jihan is more knowledgeable about supernatural stuff.
"That could also be the case, but the supernatural powers must always have a loophole or else it would be too powerful. If we a re dealing with an illusion type spell that makes it seem like everything is normal, then we just need to spot something abnormal." Jihan replied.
"By something abnormal like a letter being upside down?" Esme asked as she noticed that one of the closed stalls in the alley has a letter in reverse.
The letter that is reversed is the letter Y in the shop with the word EYE in it. It is actually not noticeable as it is only an inch big, but Esme managed to notice it as she passed by the closed stall.
"Eye of Truth." Jihan read the English name of the store.
"Well, I managed to find the abnormal thing so what do we do now? Do we say a magic word that will undo the spell and make everyone see the real state of the street? Or do we need to find a hermit seating somewhere in this street to ask for assistance." Esme excitedly asked.
"This is not the movies but real life. Whoever wrote those fantasy films have not experienced the difficulty of what they call magic. You could say that magic or the mystic arts is something like an art form. In order to handle magic or mystic arts, you must have at least talent and knowledge of it." Jihan answered.
"In English please." Esme stated.
"In other words, it takes years to study magic, and it is not created by saying magic words or pointing wands." Jihan stated as he released his chi to see if there is a weakness in the illusion.
The wave of chi that Jihan released somewhat affected the illusion cast on the shop in front of them as it changed its façade for a brief moment.
"The door is actually the window, and the door is actually a wall. Standard illusion magic being cast. Well, if they used top notch magic then why do business in the first place." Jihan stated as he suddenly walked towards the window.
"Wait! You will crash into the window!" Esme warned but she saw Jihan's figure disappearing after moving forward.
Jihan's head suddenly appeared on the window while Esme is still trying to process the shock she felt. Her immensely scientific mind is now trying to make sense of what she just witnessed. She might have told herself to believe in Jihan but deep down she has yet to fully believe.
"What are you waiting for? Come inside as other people might be on to us." Jihan stated as he grabbed Esme's hand and pulled her inside.
A sound of a door clicking and locking in place is heard upon Esme's entrance to the shop. The inverted letter Y in the shop sign also disappeared and became normal once more. The ones observing the two immediately disappeared in order to report what happened.
====
"Where are we?" Esme asked.
"From the looks of it, we are inside a trinket shop. We are in the right place." Jihan stated.
"What makes you so sure that we are in the right place?" Esme asked.
Jihan pointed at the large Eye of Horus painting on the wall. The two started to wander off inside the shop as they waited for the store owner or a clerk. The inside of the shop could be called a trinket shop because it has things like scarab keychains or other small trinkets.
A scream is then heard by Jihan and he knew it came from Esme. The frightened lady immediately rushed to Jihan's side, but the latter did not sense any hostile intent. Jihan thought that Esme just got frightened by a creepy looking design or something.
"Welcome visitors…Fancy any of my trinkets?" An old man with a creepy look stated. The odd thing about the old man is he may look wrinkly and old but the clothes he is wearing is very luxurious.
"A ghost! Go and exterminate it." Esme shouted as she ran behind Jihan.
"That is very rude young lady. You might be beautiful, but your mouth does not match that of your face." The old man stated as he went in the stall.
"He is not a ghost. He is alive. Esme, please calm down. We seek the truth." Jihan stated as he kept up his guard.
Jihan could see that the old man is not someone normal because of the aura the latter is exuding. The old man's aura is the same as that of his grandfather that is in the realm of a demigod.