Elion paused for a while, perhaps thinking. And while his brain was running, he clipped a couple more calamari and popped them into his mouth. I took advantage of the pause to eat as well.

"They're more active at night, and strongest during the New Moon. We avoid going out during this period. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of spaces to accommodate everyone."

"Safe spaces?"

"That's right. There are safe spaces that are secure even during the new moon or at night. We realized they don't really like staying in places rich with life energy. However, most of the places rich with life energy have been barricaded and reserved for the rich and powerful, and they don't allow unaffiliated people to come and take up space among them. As a result, a majority of my people have fallen prey to the En-diers."

"So you left?" I asked.

"That's right," he said.

I made a mental note of this. I could probably scout some places in Erindal in advance that had rich life energy and barricade them in advance so that the greedy people would not set up camp and isolate others. This way, just in case things got out of hand, we could still provide shelters for the unprivileged.

Buying land like this...especially places rich with life energy...well, that should be expensive, right? My store was just a small store right now, not to mention. I could buy one plot of land at most, and that would be putting me in debt.

Aaagggghh.

I had to hurry up and launch the store. With enough marketing and brainwashing, I should be able to establish the store's status very soon. In desperate need of money. In desperate need.

"What about weapons?" I asked.

"We came upon the conclusion before that life relics should thwart them, but it only serves as an instrument to ward them off. They're not really effective in completely stopping them. In fact, at some point, they develop a tolerance for it."

I paused. If this had been animated, there would be many question marks popping all over above my head.

It was just in time that someone came in to serve the plates. I didn't look up and continued talking.

"Tolerance?"

"Oh...well, stronger En-diers tend to be more tolerant of life energy. They theorize that at some point it becomes useless, but they haven't yet seen an En-dier as strong. They're theorizing Kaliya-level."

"Levels?"

"Sorry to interrupt. Is that the same language as the other night?" someone inquired.

I looked up. It was Kaiser who had come to serve the food.

"Thank you. But why are you doing this sort of work? Aren't you busy?" I asked as I pulled my plate over to my side of the table, passing Maun's over to his.

"It happens to be enjoyable serving food to pleasant customers," he said. "Also, my mother told me to treat you well when you come by, so I'm just following her request."

"Thank you for that. Speaking of your mother, I have a couple of things I want to bring to her this weekend. Would it be alright if I come in sometime during the next weekend?"

I remain

"Oh, feel free."

"Thanks. Do you want to join us?"

"No, thank you. Still some other things to get to, but if you're still up for dessert once you're done, I have something special for you."

"Ooh." I clapped excitedly. "I love good desserts."

"Then I'll be back later," he said.

I caught Maun's hands swiftly signing, "I hope he doesn't. So annoying."

"Maun..." I warned.

He pouted and began digging through his plate silently. Meanwhile, I returned my full attention to Elion, who was watching us with a smile.

"Let's eat?"

-*-

I spent the next few days quietly pushing forward for my goals and agendas. First, I took a few days to mix the classic and most beloved scents in my arsenal, diluted them to be more suitable for a certain price point, and then bottled them up to be ready for the shelves. I also made several versions of it that made them suitable for incenses and other methods of dispersion. With the assistance of Elion and the other people he hired, the process was fast and smooth. They also gained some experience and became more efficient the more products we bottled.

I did not have a lot of trouble. In fact, this was all too familiar to me. My mother's business was based around scents, and everything I knew right now was from her teaching and showing me. Even though it had been more than a decade since my last life, the memories remained fresh to me.

Meanwhile, I saved a few luxury versions to be sold to VIP customers. I got a sample of each scent and, as planned, visited Kaiser's mother, Gertrude, with them in hand.

Gertrude, or Mrs. Tru, as she preferred to be called, was not a nobody in social circles. With her husband being the head of the Mercenary Guild, she held a certain degree of influence and connections. Although mercenaries might not seem much when it came to status, they commanded a lot of manpower and skills that were sometimes inaccessible to in-house knights for certain clans. Therefore, as the partner of Sir Pier, she handled relations and basically served as a face for the guild.

She was also a trained warrior herself, so she wasn't someone to be laughed at, either.

My agenda was very simple, and I wasn't trying to hide it either.

I needed her recommendation. Word-of-mouth was a good way to be known. And with a credible figure such as Mrs. Tru, it would help us gain foothold much sooner.

"Evyionne, I'm so glad you came to visit." She was energetic and very bright compared to when I first saw her. Within a few days, it also seemed as though she gained some more flesh in the right places.

She ushered me to take a seat, pouring me a cup of tea.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Tru," I said. "Actually, I came today with a couple of things."

A servant came forward, carrying the box I bore. They had taken it off my hands when I came in earlier, but the person I passed it to nearly keeled over from the weight. I think they would have wanted to check what was inside before passing it on to the lady of the house, but since I was guaranteed by the masters of the house, they respected the privacy and did not pry into the things I brought with me.

A beautifully packaged pastel lavender box was placed before Mrs. Tru, beside the teacups.

"Please do open it," I said.

She untied the delicate ribbons and lifted the lid. Each perfume bottle was nestled in a fitted red velvet mold.

"My word...What are these?"

The bottles were commissioned from a glassblower and fitted with a balloon pump as in from my world's Victorian iterations. I felt it was such a classic shape, and there was some elegance to it that I wanted customers to take note of each time they picked it up from their vanity.

And for an extra bang, I incorporated some pearlescent pigments into the perfume itself so that it looked like a love potion. This glittery pigment was actually new in this world, and it had never been done before. I had experimented with it several times in my previous life while helping my mother out, and I'd also done it several times in experiments in this world, so the results for me were as expected.

The pearlescent dust was made from ground up pearls. Lovarda was a seaside country, and it had an abundance of sea treasures that were normally much more expensive in other places. Going directly to the source, I was able to cut down much of the middleman fee and even secure some 'ugly' pearls that weren't sellable due to their appearance. It was a win-win situation for the fishermen, divers, and myself, and I was able to buy bulks of these things on discount.

Unlike the aesthetics of my previous world where irregularly shaped pearls were treasured, it wasn't a trend yet here. Maybe at some point in time. But right now, I could take advantage of this gap in the market in order to make some profit.

"These are beautiful, Evyionne. What are these?" she asked, lifting the pink bottle to the air.

The pink perfume had silver shifting glitters inside. And it moved so silkily with each tip of the wrist.

"I brought these over because our shop was opening," I said, clearing my throat. "This is a part of the luxury treasure line Four Seasons. The pink one is spring, called Magnolias in Bloom. The orange one is summer, called Pumpkin Spice. The red one is autumn, Maple Syrup. And this blue one is Snow Pear Blossoms."

"Magnolias?"

"Yes, they're perfumes..." I said. "Please let me demonstrate and lend me your wrists too."

She handed the bottle over to me and extended both her hands, wrists facing the ceiling.

I gave her a spritz and the scent of magnolias carried and complimented by sweet notes of lotus, musk, and gardenia all floated in the air. It wasn't an overwhelming entry and had a delicate demeanor.

She closed her eyes to enjoy the experience. "Heavenly. Like I just took my morning walk in the garden springs down that beautiful greenhouse in Erldeen." She took a deep breath and finally sighed. "I've always thought perfumes were dropped and rolled on the wrists before being applied elsewhere..."

"Well...I felt this would be a better way of dispensing the scent. It is also as long lasting as any other perfume, I reassure you. It can last from twelve hours to a whole day. Maybe even the next one if you don't take a bath."

"What a good way to hide one's neglect." She chuckled.

"Yes...um...well, I would really appreciate it if you would come down on our opening day within a couple of days. Also, if possible..." I placed an invitation on the table. "It's called the River End, and we're at the center near Deshau's bakery."

She chuckled. "I can see right through you. No worries. I will tell my friends about it. Now, tell me about these other perfumes."

I sighed in relief and enthusiastically pointed to the others included in the box.

-*-

The shop's opening day wasn't the only thing I had to take part in the week after.

Around a few days after my trip to Kaiser's home, I went with Maun to the house that the mistresses were currently occupying. We were going to have a celebration dinner.

Eren had been enrolled to Dragoon Academy, as we originally intended. It wasn't much of a surprise, but she successfully passed the assessment—exceeded it, even. Unfortunately, the girl had big doubts about herself considering her previous failure of entering the doors of the Temple.

Even with this success, she still had a bad case of imposter's syndrome.

Eren had never been the type to have confidence. I've already known her to be quite weak-willed save for the occasional passionate outbursts. I suspected it must be due to the lack of affirmation and the surroundings she had to deal with growing up. I mean...having somewhere around a hundred siblings should give her massive self-esteem issues. Not to mention all those horrible...stepmothers. Not just one, a couple of tens.

I was a bit more reassured considering Kaiser would be her senior in the Academy. She wouldn't have to deal with a lot of trouble with someone guiding her and helping shield her.

Kaiser shouldn't be a nobody with his father's status. Not to mention he was also the heir to the guild.

"Eren, you must remember to look for Kaiser once you settle in there, okay?"

"No worries, Evy," she replied after swallowing her food.

Most of the dishes on the table were Eren's favorites, but half of the whole thing was actually strawberry desserts. I reckon we'd be having a little more of it, if not as much as the entrées. Then again, this was Eren. And most of those desserts would be going to her stomach.

"What about where you're staying?"

"I still plan on staying here," she said. "I really can't risk staying in the dorms. I can't imagine how quickly they'll discover I'm a girl. Anyway...it's not like it's illegal to be serving as a house helper for some families around. That's the reason the mistresses, and I made up to cover for me."

"Okay. Okay." I nodded, feeling a bit more relieved. "Then will you becoming to the store's opening?"

"Already? When?"

"It's in a couple of days. I've been running around all over the place. Hopefully, I can rest somehow after the launch."

"No worries, we'll certainly be there to help you," Mistress Kora told me.

"I'll definitely be there to support you, Evy!" Eren replied.

Maun was nodding where he sat.