While walking toward Alexandra, I'm staring intently at Stephanie's neck. Knowing her for years, it's easy to tell because it's one of her quirks in communication that she inherited from her mother which is practically the same. The two of them are great when it comes to digressing and taking control of the conversation. It was Master Irene who jokingly told me all about that, but perhaps there may be something true about all of it since Stephanie's mother was the only person Master Irene seem to have trouble talking with. However, in this case, Stephanie...
Her hair was pony-tailed which gave me a clear view of the back of her neck and her ears, and they were beet-red, embarrassed by the fact that she let her mouth run wildly without taking into consideration that Erik was behind us. I slowly put my hand on the back of her neck and squeezed it gently.
"Kyiiieh! Stop that!"
"Damn it, this mouth was the one responsible." I pinched Stephanie's mouth.
"Mmmmh?!?"
As I was about to pinch her nose, Stephanie opens her mouth and bites my finger.
"Ouch..."
"Don't touch my nose!"
"But you did let me bite it before," I whispered to her ears seductively.
Stephanie threw a glaring look at me. As soon, we return our gaze back to Alexandra. We were greeted by her smug face. "Stephy~"
"Shut up!" Stephanie shouted flusteredly.
"I love teasing you~♥ Isn't that right, Mr. Claude~?" Alexandra cutely said.
I nod in agreement. "Indeed. It's a blessing in the sky when Stephanie makes this adorable faces."
"Ho-ho~"
"Okay, okay! Shut up! Give it to me, Alexandra!" Stephanie interrupted the conversation between Alexandra and me, as a way to save her from getting embarrassed more.
The mood significantly became livelier afterward. Erik on the side was chuckling which is honestly rare. I haven't seen him laughing at any conversation non-combat related. Furthermore, I haven't seen Stephanie lowering her guard around other people which is the first I've ever seen when we're in public which means she's comfortable enough that she can even let her guard down in this place. I've known her as a person who's considerate with her words.
"Alexandra's cheery personality reminds you of Ms. Sheep, am I right? I guess, tsun-tsun Stephanie strikes again. I thought you hate Ms. Sheep? Oh, you~" I poked Stephanie's cheeks and whispered once again.
In response to my teasing, Stephanie opens her mouth and was about to bite my finger once again, but the difference is, I was able to pull it out before she could even graze my skin with her teeth. Then she pounced on me.
"Puuh—!"
As a countermeasure for Stephanie's anger rising, I welcomed Stephanie's anger to calm her down while also wrapping my arms around her, locking her into my arms. She's tightening her arms around me.
"Stephanie?!" Alexandra said out of surprise.
"It's fine, Ms. Alexandra. She's just venting out her anger. Damn, "
"Are you sure?! Look at your face! You're pale!"
"I-I'm fine. I'm tough! Koff!" The reason for it was that Stephanie is tightening her arms around my abdomen to hide her flustered face.
I casually walk up to the counter, picking up a pouch. "W-What's this? Koff! Why is this—Koff! Small?"
Erik and Alexandra looked at me weirdly. Since no one's willing to tell me, I opened the pouch to see bottles of potions, herbs, and some odd-looking circular objects. I understood that they're essential, yet why among them there's also a pack of powders mixed in? What are they for? I quickly glanced at Stephanie and poked the top of her head. Stephanie gradually loosed her arms around me. Then I return my gaze back to Alexandra who was looking at both Stephanie and me dumbfoundedly.
"I haven't seen Stephanie acting like that in any man before, most of them got shunned by her. And on top of that, you're quite... Strange too..."
"Really? That's good to hear. So anyhow, what are these powders?"
"... You're a terrible person to talk with. Those are crushed herbs of Leriscae, a type of spice herb that can be found in the northern province of Loecea."
I ignored her first statement about me and further questioned her. "What for?"
"It's actually a known herb for its smell since it can imitate any smell that our brains want to smell. This is used to lure beasts. It's great for traps, although quite expensive too."
"How much?"
"17 points per pack."
"Wait, so... One, two... 34 points in total? That's expensive... And then, adding the other stuff, it would cost around least 50 then?" Erik exclaimed.
"76 in total actually."
"That's too much!" Erik was taken back.
Obviously, Erik would react that way since he's saving a lot since he's on a tight budget, the same goes with Lars, that's why students are recently always in town to find any job that gives decent pay. But most of them are here to buy necessities for dungeons.
"Of course, but the return will be massive. Beast mana cores sell substantially around here. Unlike normal mana stones, those mana cores are more potent and denser than mana ores that can be found outside. Technically, it will be a win-win for you and as well for me since you'll also gain profit, consider it as an investment. However, there's a downside to it, once the beast is killed there's a chance that the mana core dies along with it, as to why you also need luck while hunting them."
"Dead mana cores? Can you explain it?"
"Ah, don't worry about those. They're just rare occasions. I'm pretty sure Stephanie would explain it to you guys, but she doesn't seem to be in the mood right now..." Alexandra's gaze was at Stephanie's back, she shook her head while smiling.
"So, the payment?" Alexandra showed her palm to us. "Also, if you guys can't pay, there's also another way of payment. You guys can hunt me some—"
"Don't ever try to bring that up!"
Speak of the devil, Stephanie finally lets go of my body after collecting her composure. She's back to usual, but her face still had hints of redness. She coughed a few times before speaking. "We will discuss it tomorrow with Adelle. So for now, get out of the shop."
"What, why?" I said.
Stephanie was pushing Erik and me towards the main door of the store. "For negotiations and I need to talk to her privately, so wait there, okay?! It will take time, so stroll around the town or anything because it's your fault in the first place."
"How come it became my fault again?!" I exclaimed.
Stephanie's eyes wander around, thinking of an excuse.
"I don't know!" After saying that, Stephanie slammed the door in our faces. Erik and I stand in front of the store, dumbfounded.
"So what are we going to do now? Do we wait?"
"She said, we can look around. Do you want to? Because I want to do that."
"I mean, yeah, it's not like we're going to do something else. I haven't really explored the town yet. Furthermore, it looks like Stephanie will be taking her time." I looked behind me.
I don't know what kind of 'negotiation' is Stephanie talking about, but to me, it's more like she's about to wage war against Alexandra who loves teasing her, and so Stephanie will wage war against her because of it. I can't help but smile because I haven't seen Stephanie acting that way toward anyone. Looks like her stay in the academy became fruitful.
Erik and I went for a stroll in the bustling street then as time passes, we gradually got into the silent part of the town.
"Hey, Erik, how many points do you still have?"
"Around 30ish, I think. That's also the reason why I needed to enter a dungeon."
"You said, you're bored?"
"That's a part of it. And also, I don't think I can afford those items earlier. Can you tell her that I'm not buying one?"
"Oh, don't worry about it, I will cover it for you. It's not like I'm entering the dungeon for points."
"Really?! You're paying it for me?!"
"Yeah."
"Thank you!" Erik stopped and bowed his entire upper body.
"Whoa, whoa, there's no need to do that in the middle of the street."
Erik laughs and scratches his neck. "I can only do that for now, but after the dungeon, I will repay all of it."
"No need."
"Why?"
"Well, I have plenty enough."
"Is that so? You're quite lucky to have them. They all seem lovely and kind. So anyway, cheer up."
"What are you talking about?"
"Earlier. I can't help but sympathize with you because you're great a person that genuinely cares about every person in your life. Your expression earlier reminded me of my father when my mother threatened him with divorce. But luckily enough, he didn't give up and persuaded her. Also, I deeply apologize for eavesdropping."
"Uh... No... You don't need to apologize. Sometimes, she can't control her mouth." It feels weird to get complimented by someone...
"I see. Thank you then."
"Where's our first stop?"
"I would like to visit a blacksmith workshop."
"Alexandra sells weapons, though?"
"It's way cheaper."
"Now that I think about it, it does. There should be one around here."
For a few minutes, we're walking mindlessly, finding our way back to the merchant shop. However, we're not progressing as we're just circling in places. We even entered the alleyways, but what greeted us were just dead-ends. I stopped walking and looked at Erik next to me.
"I went here once or twice, so I'm still not familiar with the streets. We've been circling around mindlessly for minutes... Yet, no signs of any shop. So... Where are we...?"
"Shouldn't I suppose to be saying that? I'm just following you." Erik remarked.
"Ah yeah... I'm done. I'm so clueless... I didn't expect the place to be so complicated to navigate. There are no signs or so whatever. Let's ask someone. Uh, excuse me!"
However, when we tried to talk to someone, they avoided us. Now, because of that, it became problematic because we're in the part of town where the street was empty. Instead of getting discouraged, I got pissed off.
"Fine! If they don't want to talk then I'll find it myself! Let's go!" I said to Erik before jumping on one of the roofs of the building. I waited for Erik because he was taking a while climbing.
"Are you seriously pissed off by that?" Erik asked, as soon he reached the top.
"Not really. I'm just frustrated because... Yeah, I guess so. We should've asked Alexandra or Stephanie earlier."
"Indeed" Erik just simply nods at me.
"Now... Where were we?"
I went here to get a better view of the town and find our way back. I jump on a few buildings to get a closer look, but at this point, I'm still lost. Behind me, Erik was following me by jumping on a few obstacles. It looks like he's preserving mana, so because of that, I slowed down and kept the pace so that Erik can follow me without having a hard time. Afterward, we continued navigating through roofs until we noticed a noise coming from below, our curiosity led to it.
"What's that?"
Once we got there, smoke bellowed from the large flue next to us then we heard the clank of steel and the groan of an old man underneath the roof where we were standing. The familiar smell of the burning wood from the flue convinced me that we were standing in a blacksmith workshop. I can sense mana fluctuation behind the door.
"Oh, yes! We finally found one!" I screamed in exhilaration.