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Hearing the challenge in my tone, the boy was not ruffled in the slightest. He maintained the bright and confident smile, as though he really was capable of handing anything I wanted to me—all for the sake of music.

"It all depends on what you want to achieve," he said. "Ask for any favor. I'll give it to you as long as it doesn't hurt my bottom line."

Angel's strings...well, indeed. It was a legendary item. Few would be trained on how to handle it properly, and few could truly bring out its beauty. Mistress Marian had given it to me, but more than anything, my reluctance on agreeing was mainly hinged on the fact that I knew it was wasted on my current level of skills. Since this guy was powerful, if what he claimed to be was true, then what would happen if I messed up big time? There was no way to know how he would react.

Also...I was still very suspicious. It was easy to covet things like this. I just didn't expect someone would know what it was from a glance.

"You will regret it," I said with a sigh, then turned back to the drink. I wished Mistress Veronika would come back soon. "You should know how tricky angel's strings are to play. If they end up in the wrong hands, they become anything but."

"I guess that's my gamble," he said with a laugh. "Look, I'm always in this restaurant, so if you happen to change your mind, just tell the manager you're looking for me. I'm Kaiser." He held out a hand.

I did not want to brush up in animosity, so after suspiciously staring at the extended limb, I reluctantly took his hand and shook it. "Alright."

"You won't tell me your name?"

"You'll hear it when I decide to play for you," I said. Which meant he would never know.

"Well, okay...it's not like I can't find out. There shouldn't be many as unique-looking as you do."

He waved and left.

I watched his retreating back, wondering about his identity. He was always in this restaurant, he said, which would either make him the owner, a friend or a relative of the owner, or otherwise just someone who really loved the place. Of all those options, the last one was the least likely.

I knew complicated people when I saw them. They had a certain...flavor to them, I would suppose. I got killed in my last life getting involved with such people. I had ignored my instincts and I paid the price.

Not again in this life.

I sighed and went back to focusing on my drink. I honestly didn't like dealing with these kinds of difficult people. And this guy, obviously with how he spoke, would be the very difficult kind. Eren and Maun were already a lot to handle, and this new guy seemed to have a rather challenging personality too. He might look cordial, but here was a sharpness in his eyes—not necessarily the good kind too.

Whatever. I didn't plan on approaching this person. I would probably never go here again either.

When Mistress Veronika came back to her seat, she noticed something was a little off. She placed the napkin on her lap and carefully lifted the ice cold class to take a sip of her watermelon sugar. "Did something happen?" she asked. The ice clinked at the sway of her wrist.

"Yes, but it doesn't matter."

She raised a brow. "Alright. If you say so."

After having our refreshments, we made our way into the street where Mistress Veronika's building was situated. It was in the business street, which was a very good location with high traffic. In fact, it was a tad bit better than the location I previously selected.

"What made you acquire a property here?" I asked as we walked.

"Actually...it was to help someone," she said. "I'm not sure about what happened to the property now. I remember leaving it to them to maintain, though. It's not like I can run it at all."

"Oh. Then wouldn't it be rude to drop in so suddenly?" I asked, concerned.

"No worries. We can still buy that place you scouted out, anyway. I'll use this as an excuse to check in. I've also forgotten some things since it's been so long. If it wasn't for the address, I would never be able to find it myself."

It didn't take long for us to arrive before the storefront. Contrary to expectations, the storefront wasn't actually empty. It was a small place with a narrow door. Although there was glass at the front, the inside looked cramped and antiquated.

"Ah, I remember now," Mistress Veronika said. "They told me they'll hold on to the property for me. I can keep the deed while they reluctantly continue running the business. They'll also set aside some money, but I refused."

"Was it bad?"

"Not really. It's just that the father incurred some gambling debts. I happen to know them and I hung out here a lot whenever the ships would dock at the harbor...later on, when I became a disciple at the Temple, I would go here frequently too."

"What's inside, anyway? It looks like an antique shop?"

"They have a lot of interesting things..." Veronika said. "Some you won't even know what for. It was why I frequented them when I was with Papi."

"Cool. I wanna see."

As I pondered over Mistress Veronika's words, we entered the shop. There was a chime fixed at the door, which clinked upon our entry. A smell wafted under my nose as we came in—aged wood, slightly stale yet weirdly comforting. Like a grandma, I guess. It reminded me of summer days in my past life. When I was a kid, I would walk out to the front porch and find my grandfather dozing off on his rocking chair. The wind would bring the scent of old summer leaves being burned in a pile while another relative boiled rice over an open fire.

This was exactly what I remembered upon coming in. And it made me feel somewhat nostalgic.

The shop was quiet, but an old woman rounded from the corner to greet us with a smile. She was polite, with a genial-looking face.

"Ida, you don't remember me?" Mistress Veronika softly intoned.

The woman's eyes widened. She stepped forward with tears in her eyes and gave Mistress Veronika a hug.

After being introduced to the woman as the new owner of the place, I left the two to their own devices and looked around. I wasn't one to hoard eccentric trinkets as I had always been the more practical, I-don't-have-money-for-this kind of gal. And even now, with wealth in my hands, I couldn't bring myself to change the sentiment. So while I was curious about these things...I didn't understand their purpose, or why people still bought them at all.

"How are you these days?" Mistress Veronika softly opened.

"Ah...well, both my sons have their own families now. They're not interested in running the place, you see. I'm also getting old, but I've gotten used to this life so I can't bear to stop working."

"How old are you this year?"

"Eighty-six."

Curious, I glanced over. She didn't really look eighty-six, to be honest. More mid-fifties at most. Then again, people here had twice longer a lifespan than my previous world, so I had to start getting used to that fact.

"It just so happens my little niece intends to open a shop to sell her perfumes. She's sold them before, but she wants to try to do it for real this time."

"Really?" the old woman looked over to where I stood warmly. "If that is the case...then I think I can rest at ease and step back."

"How about you stay and manage the place?" my mistress offered. "Evy is studying in the Temple right now. She won't be able to manage this place twenty-four-seven. You're experienced, and I know the girl would only want to make her perfumes." My mistress pulled out a small vial from her pocket. "This is my favorite of Evy's work. Try it?"

Ida leaned forward and breathed in the scent. There was surprise. "Indeed...wonderful. I felt like I experienced a change of season."

"Evy's works are deeply tied to memories," she said. "I think they are soulful and unique. In Venerya, anything she makes is sold for no less than a couple of thousand...of course, if you refuse, she's already looked at a shop she intends to buy. It'll be okay if you want to continue like this."

Ida glanced at me, full of curiosity. "Well, if it's like this, maybe it's time to change business. I'll support you the whole way. Besides, I'm a little too old...Doing this for so many years, I am very tired."

My mistress smiled. "Then we'll come back later on with some supplies. If you can find someone to help or if there's anyone you can recommend who can work on renovations..."

"Just tell me what to do," she said. "I'll be here."

"Thank you. Come on, Evy."

"Nice to meet you," I whispered politely, lightly bowing at the woman as we left. "Thank you for accommodating us."

Once we had departed the shop, all that was left was to find a supply store. I already had one in mind, so all I had to do was to decide which scents I was going to make and order the oils related to it.  I'd already straightened out these details, so settling the orders were swift, and easy. While there, I also took the chance to see if I could find new profiles which I could use for future projects. There were one or two, so I pulled out a bottle to test out how to use it.

I was very joyful about this trip. I couldn't wait to get started.

Running around the whole day made me tired. Mistress Veronika and I planned to meet up with the others by dinner time—to eat in a good restaurant for some change of pace as well as to celebrate.

However, I had forgotten just why we had parted earlier—so to see Eren all dressed up as a boy...and quite convincingly at that, I couldn't help but gape.

The plum red hair was cropped so that the curls bounced around her head. She wore fitting boy clothes that framed her nicely, calling attention to places that distracted the eyes from details that might otherwise be too revealing of her actual gender.

Then there was Maun. Maun with short and fresh hair! Maun with new clothes! Cute! Cute! Aside from the slender frame, now marked with some strength and muscles, I realized he had grown tall and more handsome than before.

"Look at my work! How is it?" Mistress Kora proudly asked.

I silently gave him two thumbs up.

He then brushed back a stray green hair, lightly pushing at the bags underneath his eyes. "Oh, and I'm feeling like dressing up tomorrow. It's been so long. I need my glam too." He pouted. I haven't felt beautiful in a while."

"We should be getting our IDs by tomorrow. We'll find a better place to stay in. Preferably somewhere near the Temple and the Dragoon Academy. We have to bring Eren in within the month so she could start preparing for her entry into the academy," Veronika said.

Eren's lips quivered nervously. "I-I will work hard."

"Straighten up, boy." Kora slapped her back. "Now, I'm very hungry. You got the money, didn't you? Did you get some for the food too?" His eyes were wide and pleading.

I laughed, but my stomach was growling just as much.

"No worries. It's all here," my other mistress replied.

"Ahhhhhh finally. Let's go. Let's go and eaaattt," he said in a singsong voice.