That was despite old The [Shopkeeper] Before


    Only difference in this case being that with young Nel around, opening the kitchen and the adjoining inn for business was currently all but impossible, anyway; if at this moment they decided to open the doors, Severin was convinced the boy might actually become System’s first victim of its dreaded Soulerasure punishment. A fear his mother obviously shared and the cause of many headaches all around.


    “Give everyone some time to familiarize themselves with their new powers, and I’m certain everything will pan out just fine.


    That Milly seems to have a good head on her shoulders and I’m sure Bandur will also do his best to get the brat settled. He might be a bit grumpy now, but he’ll get over it; he’s no idiot either. He knows that going forward, they’ll have to work closely with each other.


    Anyway, the main store is one thing, but the inn… couldn’t open it either way. Not just because I think that me might want to prepare something special for the grand opening, but because it would be futile before our reinforcements arrive.”


    “Well, speaking of the devil,” Severin cut Mylana short.


    “The what?”


    “… I’m saying they are here.”


    “How- Ah, I see.”


    The arrangement of eight white dots moving one behind the other made for a very peculiar formation that wasn’t only eye-catching when looking at it from a bird-eye’s-view, but also immediately identified them as non-adventurers; at this point, they didn’t even need to double-check the names to know that the dot at the front would be reading the name Everheart.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ““Hm,” Mylana agreed. “But that’s entirely on you. Maybe next time you put some more thought into your expansion plans. It’s no wonder and well-deserved that Bandur is mad with you, you know?”


    “Well,-” Severin wanted to make up some flimsy excuse. But Mylana didn’t let him.


    “Nothing we can do about it for now,” she continued, ignoring Severin’s sour expression. “At least you remembered to create some more apartments. And that community room you talked about, yes?


    So just give them the rest of the day off and let them settle.


    Unfortunate that this means we’ll have to remain closed for the rest of the day, but so be it. Unless you have a better idea?


    In the meantime, see that you prepare for tomorrow’s opening of the inn.


    Just don’t make stuff like this a habit. Even you can’t get away wi-”


    “I get it. I get it! So please, can we just go?” Severin couldn’t take it anymore.


    “Please. I’m not stopping you,” Mylana conceded. With crossed arms and a wry smile on her face, she pointedly stepped to the side and made way.


    <<It seems some of our reinforcements have arrived. However, I have decided we’ll do the introductions later, either today or tomorrow. That means we’ll stay closed for the remainder of the day. So use that time to familiarize yourselves for a smooth opening tomorrow.


    More importantly than that, don’t forget that these people are all just regular folk.


    I hope you get where I’m going with this, yeah?>>


    Then, without waiting for any acknowledgements, he broadcasted a similar message using the transmitter crystal lodged in his ear. After all, Milly, the arguably most important person to receive this warning, didn’t have the same System capabilities as her son, and Severin still didn’t count on the latter to forward the message himself.


    He reached the door out of the main store, opened it, and-


    Bang, Severin slammed the door shut.


    ““The real question is, how did you not? You checked the map just a minute ago.”


    “Yeah, but…” he grumbled.


    “But what?” Mylana teased.


    “Nothing! Let’s just wait for them here! We can use the underground passage to lead them to their apartments.”


    Fortunately, Severin didn''t have to endure her mockery for long.


    As quickly as the congestion in front of the store allowed, the expected guests arrived in front of the store’s closed doors.


    Just before the knuckles of the person leading the group could connect with the door-a gesture that would have been entirely in vain anyway, given the protective magic covering all the Emporium’s properties- it opened from the inside.


    “Please, come inside,” Severin hurriedly invited.


    ““...Reigh?!” he finished.


    ““Sir Severin.” Both returned the greeting. Everheart then continued, “On the way to our agreed appointment, I bumped into an old acquaintance. I hope you don’t mind.”


    “And I must admit. All that I have seen and heard so far has quite exceeded my expectations. I assumed the rumors in the capital were just the same exaggerations as usual. But in this case, it seems they don''t do the reality of it any justice.”


    <<Huh? It’s all first come first serve. And of course, the ability to defend your claim.


    It’s no-man''s-land after all. Anyone presumptuous enough to try to officially regulate the process would get into a lot of trouble with basically everyone. Maybe even provoke a full-blown military conflict, depending on who it is. Why are you asking? Where is this suddenly coming from?>>


    <<Haha, I just thought that things are finally falling into place. So it might be time to finally move on. Just go grab a nice spot of land down there to establish a new portal. And then get going.>>