Evel blinked. "Aria?"

She blinked back. "Evel too?" She frowned slightly, quickly setting down the books in her hands on a nearby table. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, we need someone to cast [Resistance] on this." His mom explained, holding up the hoe they'd bought minutes ago. "How much would it cost to do that?"

The girl stared at it for a moment, pondering, before she shrugged. "Ninety Silver."

'N-Ninety-!?' Evel winced at the cost. He could buy, like, fifteen wooden knives with that!

Although, it wasn't all that surprising, he supposed. Enchantments were powerful and self-sufficient. A single enchanted iron sword could probably win against several mundane ones.

"Oh? Only ninety?" His mom asked back, looking unconvinced. "Other people would've charged over twice of that."

He winced again. 'T-Twice over!?'

Aria nodded. "Pay for the meal. Also for room."

"The food I cooked and the room I lent wouldn't have made up for that much." His mom said back, her eyes narrowing. "You don't need to reduce the cost by so much."

Aria stared back, frowning slightly. "I want to." She said simply. "Goodwill." She then added.

Evel watched the exchange, and it didn't take much to realize that the two were haggling. One was trying to get the price lower, and the other wanted it higher.

Evel smiled wryly.

"It's fine, Aria. Just give us the real price." He said with a shrug. "Mom doesn't like paying too little for something she thinks important. She won't budge."

He'd gotten sick once, struck by a fever that left him weak and hot. His mom and dad were worried sick, and another villager had come and offered the relatively rare medicine for free. His mom didn't accept it though, pulling out a pouch of silver coins, shoving it into the person's hand before they could even reply.

Aria frowned some more, before she sighed. "...One gold, seventy silver." She finally said. "Not going higher."

His mom smiled. "That's good enough." She said as she pulled out her little money pouch. She reached in and placed the gold and silver coins on the table along with the recently bought hoe. Nodding, Aria pushed the coins aside and grabbed the hoe.

Closing her eyes, she spoke.

"Hold. Remain. Stay durable." She whispered, her voice echoing throughout the small shop. With a breath, she opened her eyes. "[Resistance]."

The magic in the air gathered into the tool, and it shined bright for a moment before it calmed back down. She gave the tool a quick glance before she gave it back. "Done."

"Ah, thank you!" His mom cheerfully said as she took the hoe. She observed the newly enchanted tool, humming as she watched the thin layer of magic dance across the surface. "How much damage can it take before it breaks?"

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Aria titled her head slightly. "How much?" She asked. "...An orc's punch. It should hold that."

Evel blinked. How strong was an orc's punch anyway?

"Mm, that should do." His mom gave the hoe one last glance before she handed it to him. The hoe felt slightly odd in his hands, but he couldn't quite keep a smile off his face.

He just got a new hoe, and it was enchanted as well!

...

Hmm, it did make him wonder, what would happen if he buried the hoe and planted a potato seed over it? Would the enchantment be taken into the potato? Would nothing happen?

Enchantments aren't skills however, so there probably won't be any unique reactions. Still, there wasn't any reason not to try.

Didn't mean he was going to just use the hoe he just got. That'd be a pretty stupid idea. If it did work though, he could always come back to this store to get a new enchanted-

Evel stopped, blinking as the thought passed through his head.

"By the way, Aria," He began. "Why were you in the forest back then? Don't you have this shop to run?"

"Goblin Lord. Lots of goblins to kill. Get Exp to level up. Test out new weapon." She said with a small shrug. "This is my store. Can take vacations."

"Ooh-, wait, how old are you?"

All went quiet for a moment, before Aria fixed him with a long, empty stare. "It's rude to ask." She said evenly, and Evel smiled carefully, quickly dropping the question. His mom giggled in the background.

"Oh, don't be like that." His mom said, her lips still curled in a smile. "You're not old, not yet."

The girl huffed. "Many ask. It gets annoying."

Evel smiled, more amused this time, and his mom failed to hide another laugh.

They spent the rest of the next hour in the store, seated around a table as they shared stories. He spoke of the many new things he'd seen in the kingdom, Aria spent most of the time complaining about a certain guard that always seemed to break his protective charms, and his mom listened quietly, idly sharing her ideas as the day dragged on.

Sadly, time waited for no one, and his mom soon reminded him that he still hadn't bought the seeds he'd been planning to get.

They bid the girl farewell, and went back to the center, heading towards that roundabout decorated by vendors.

----------------------------------------

It was night now. They were back in the inn, his mom was asleep,

And Evel was awake, sitting by the window as he stared at the night sky. Softly, he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Today had been fun, a lot of fun. They'd explored the kingdom, bought a number of things they'd never get back at their village, met Aria, got his hoe enchanted, and ate quite the assortment of tasty foods.

As promised, he'd bought several new seeds to bring back home. He'd gotten some new berry seeds, chili peppers seeds, broccoli seeds, and even this rare one called ginger. He didn't quite manage to cross off the list of seeds he'd made; he wasn't able to buy a few seeds for green vegetables, but it was good enough.

'But...'

He frowned.

He couldn't quite help but feel tired after it all. His bones felt like they'd turned to metal, and his ears felt uncomfortably full.

There were many people. Too many. Their voices stacked over one another, mixing together and it all sounded like some unholy screech to his ears.

He didn't like it. He liked being alone, on his farm, with only his thoughts to fill his time. He wasn't put off by crowds by any means. He didn't like being in a crowded place, but he was fine with it.

It was just-, he just didn't like the noise. His hearing had always been better than most, and it wasn't always a good thing. Loud noises tired his ears, and particularly sharp ones hurt.

He didn't like crowded noises. It reminded him far too much of why he rarely took visits to his village.

Atria was better at night in his opinion. The kingdom was still awake, but it was slower, and softer. People still filled the streets, but the crowd from daylight was gone, and the roads were lit with a gentle orange glow.

He liked it better that way.

But he'd be leaving tomorrow. They'd meet up with mister driver in the early morning and ride the carriage back home. They could stay for longer, but a line of carriages would start piling up by the gates, and he'd rather not go through that again.

Well, he could just visit again.

Not anytime in the near future though. He had his farm and his new seeds to tend to, after all!

With a small smile, he slid the window blinds close and dropped over onto his bed, silently nestling his head onto the pillow as he let his eyes close.

Sleep took him soon after.