The story starts the day after Lifa's exam entry. It will continue for a week. The relatives and family members waited nervously at the end of the first day, hoping to see the young girls who were deemed not ready to leave. Grandma Mia was waiting too, but no one had exited.

After another hour of waiting, Jeffrey, the teacher of dark magic, appeared above the walls of the witch's school and shouted, "Congratulations! All the young girls are ACCEPTED! THEY ARE ALL ACCEPTED!"

The people started cheering and clapping. Grandma Mia was relieved to hear those words. She closed her eyes and murmured, "Be brave, Lifa."

At the same time, near the Gold Tavern, there was the Yoka shop where Dam worked. Although it was a dangerous place, full of thieves, it was a very successful shop.

Business was brisk at the Yoka shop, where most adventurers bought and sold equipment, potions, and magic scrolls to protect themselves. The owner, Yoka, was sleeping as usual, surrounded by many empty goblets. The room reeked, giving a clear impression of Yoka's habits: a lazy merchant who slept all day and, when he wasn't dreaming, he was drinking.

Dam was facing the shelves of various potions, wiping the glasses clean of any dust or dirt to make them shine for the customers. He then started cleaning the counter as three adventurers entered the shop.

It was Murdo, a green-haired adventurer and dual sword wielder, accompanied by his two friends.

One was an archer with a dark, intricately carved bow, clearly expensive from its magical etchings. Despite her young age with blond short hair and blue eyes, the way she spoke to Murdo and her expressions, and clearly the expensive armour she was wearing suggested she was of noble birth or at least from a wealthy trading family.

The other was an old man in a black robe, carrying a white sword—a telltale sign of a rare and deadly magic swordsman. All of them were regulars at the shop.

Dam greeted them, "Hello, my adventurer friends, and welcome. Anything I can help you with today?"

Murdo looked at Dam and answered while glancing at the shelves, "Healing potions, a lot of them. We were attacked yesterday and it nearly went bad."

Dam walked to the shelves and started grabbing the healing potions. He asked curiously, "Goblins?"

"No, much worse," Murdo replied. "Goblin wizards. I've never seen those kind before, and they can talk—like, really talk!"

Dam put the potions on the counter and said, "The most common name for them is 'shamans.' They can imitate our language and even cry out loud to lure adventurers into thinking they're humans in need of help."

The archer, Safle, nodded. "If I hadn't shot it, that monster could have burned us alive."

Murdo paid Dam and then said, "I could have said that your life is easier, but this place isn't the safest either."

Dam smiled. "Keep coming for whatever you need, and that's enough protection."

Then, Hog, the old man in black robes, asked, "I haven't lived in this city for long, but why aren't there any guards in these parts?"

A small, mocking smile crossed Dam's face as he answered, "There aren't any nobles or rich families to protect, so why bother?"

Hog nodded, recalling that those parts of the city were just for the poor folks. Murdo then held the potions and divided them among his friends and himself. He then faced Dam and said, "Thank you, Dam. Be safe, brother."

Dam offered a small nod. "And you too. Be safe, all of you."

After Murdo and his friends left the shop, it was already getting darker. Dam looked at the sky and said, "Time to close up. I need to be home before night."

Dam then walked to the second floor where Yoka was sleeping and spilled a goblet of water on him. Yoka startled awake, shouting, "Snow! Ice! River!"

Dam put the goblet down and said, "It's almost night. I need to leave, and you need to close the shop and keep drinking or whatever."

Yoka nodded as he struggled to get up. He had a strong build and looked like he could handle himself in a fight, but all that sleep and drinking had affected his appearance—and especially his smell.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Dam noticed something was off about Yoka. He was usually drunk, but this time he had slept much more than usual. Dam helped Yoka to his feet and asked, "You slept a lot. Are you sick?"

Yoka waved his hand dismissively while looking at the ground. He said, "I... just remembered someone, but whatever, you need to leave."

Dam nodded as he hurried down the stairs to the first floor and headed for the door just as someone opened it. He began to say, "Sorry, we..."

Three guards entered the shop. One of them looked at Dam and asked, "Are you the owner?"

Dam shook his head. "No, that's Yoka. I'm just an employee, and we have to close as the sun is setting."

The second guard, a big guy with a spear on his back, pushed Dam back. In a deep voice, he said, "Stay where you are! We're searching this place for any illegal pills, the ones that have spread quickly in this city."

Yoka reached the first floor and looked at the guards and Dam. He then asked, "Dam? What's happening here?"

The third guard, a slightly older man, looked at Yoka with a disgusted expression, likely due to the smell. He said, "We will be searching this shop. There's a new kind of pill that forces the body to create magic for a time. The witches experimented on it and decided it is dangerous after prolonged use."

Dam nodded. "I understand, but I need to leave before night. This place is in a bad part of the city."

The big guard, the one who had pushed Dam, shoved him a second time, but this time with more force, causing Dam's back to hit the counter. The guard shouted, "STAY STILL! YOU MIGHT BE HIDING SOMETHING!"

Meanwhile, at home, Grandma Mia was sitting in her chair, looking at the food on the table. She glanced at Dam's untouched meal and murmured to herself, "Where is my son?"

After another hour, Grandma Mia got up and left the house, deciding to search for her son as she couldn't stay calm. Her eyes were red as she remembered an old friend, a good pal—Loen, her husband—who smiled at her and said, "Are you alright, dear?"

At Yoka's shop, the guards had already left after their search. Dam looked at the chaos they had left behind and sighed, feeling angry.

Yoka then held a goblet of whatever he was drinking and said to Dam, "I'll clean up. You go back to your house."

Dam was surprised by this. He looked at Yoka and said, "You're going to clean the place? That's unusual."

Yoka nodded. "Just go, I... need to close this shop."

Dam nodded and headed outside, leaving Yoka alone. He still looked distant as he closed up. After that, he went to his room on the second floor, started collecting empty goblets, and threw them into a trash basket near the entrance.

After that, he started tidying the thrown scrolls, potions placed in the wrong spots, and shelves that had been moved. Behind the counter, the guards had searched everywhere.

At the same time, it was night, and Grandma Mia was still searching for Dam. She was shivering, fearing the worst.

She turned right to face a drunken man with a big goblet of drink in his hand. He looked at Mia and said while drinking, "Lady, you can't be in this place at night! It's dangerous!"

Mia nodded. "I am looking for my son. He works at Yoka's shop and he didn't return."

The drunk man looked at Mia, then he remembered his little daughters. He sighed, unable to help but imagine his daughters being missed. He looked at Mia and said, "I don't wish it on any parent."

Suddenly, drunken man drank the whole goblet in one go. Mia was shocked. Then he slapped himself and said, "Let's go to the shop!"

Mia was a little nervous, but she nodded and walked beside him, not letting her guard down as she didn't trust this man. However, in this part of the city at night, he could be useful.

At the same time, Dam was running, knowing well that Mia was probably looking for him. He said to himself, "This is the most well-known road to reach the shop. Grandma Mia should be on this way!"

As he turned left, Dam stopped as he saw blood everywhere on the ground and the walls. Onlookers were surrounding someone. He walked closer to the commotion and gently shoved people away until he saw Grandma Mia covered in blood and being arrested by two guards. Near her was a dead man with a throat slit and blood everywhere.

It was the drunken man who had accompanied Grandma Mia. She was being dragged by the guards in silence, her face facing the ground in shock. Dam then walked to Grandma Mia. His heart was pounding in his chest as he spoke: "Grandma? Granma? What happened? What did he do to you?"

Grandma Mia didn't respond immediately, her eyes distant and haunted, as if she were reliving a nightmare.

One guard pushed Dam, shouting, "Son! She killed someone! Back off!"

Dam, startled, exclaimed, "She is my Grandma! She couldn't do something like that! Please, let her go!"

Two other guards grabbed Dam and dragged him away from Grandma Mia, who was escorted to a prisoner carriage heading toward the prison.

Dam looked at Mia, who kept her gaze fixed on the ground. He covered his face with his hands, breathing heavily, on the brink of losing his mind.

After an hour, Yoka finished cleaning and scratched his back, the sounds of bones cracking echoing softly. He muttered to himself, "Now, let's go..."

From the window on the first floor, he saw Safle, the archer, running. It was dark, but the street lights helped reveal her face. Yoka wondered to himself, "Why is that girl running?"

He opened his shop's entrance door and shouted, "Girl! Who is chasing you!?"

Safle was still running as she saw Yoka, thinking to herself, "CURSE YOU! He saw me!"

Safle didn't reply as she kept running. Yoka then looked at the way she had come from and waited, but no one came. He muttered to himself, "No one is chasing her? Maybe she's just drunk."

At the prison, the guards placed Grandma Mia alone in a small cell. She was silent as she sat down, still looking at the ground, shocked and covered in that man's blood.

This chamber was used for people awaiting trial. On the other side of the room, there were six women prisoners. One of them was a black-haired girl with a scar on her eye, appearing dangerous with numerous scars on her arms. She kept looking at Grandma Mia.

One of the other prisoners, a short girl with blue eyes and blonde hair, asked the girl staring at Grandma Mia, "She looks old, Jane."

Jane nodded, continuing to watch Mia. "Yes, what could this lady have done?"

The blonde girl, Kunvy, replied, "Nothing crazy by the looks, but there is a lot of blood on her clothes."

Jane then looked at the guard, who was reading a book, and asked, "Roy? What did that woman do?"

The guard, Roy, looked at Jane and answered, "She killed a man, blood was everywhere, it was messy."

Jane kept looking at Mia, who remained frozen, showing no expressions, no tears, just empty eyes.

Inside Mia's mind, she was in a small village. She was young and very beautiful, wearing a green long dress as she sat under a tree near the lake. She was reading a book when she heard a whistle.

She looked behind her to find a young man hugging her. She smiled, "You didn't scare me, I'm used to this."

The man, Leon, smiled as he kissed her left cheek and asked, "Are you alright? You didn't miss me, did you?"

Mia smiled as she responded, "Every day, I work as a doctor, and a lot of people die, so I can't help but remember you and pray for your safety."

Leon smiled, "So why did you stop?" he asked as he looked at her face. "Why did you leave that job?"

When Leon looked at Mia, she was old and covered in blood, tears dropping, avoiding his gaze.

In the other cell, Jane noticed the tears, as did Kunvy, who continued to watch Mia, who dropped more tears as she covered her face.

Leon smiled as he looked at Mia, saying while dropping tears, "You shouldn't cover your face, you're beautiful, always were, why hiding from me?"

Mia started wailing and hiccuping, the sound clear in the room as the other prisoners and Roy noticed Mia crying.

Mia looked at Leon and answered, "Because... I couldn't... save you, my good old pal... I didn't save you, I... couldn't... you deserved to live... I shouldn't have survived."

Leon dropped more tears. He looked at Mia, who forced herself to say, "It was hard without you."