Following Bennett out of the stables, Elijah felt the cool breeze welcome him and whisk away the smell of strange animals. He half-expected to see Coleman marching towards him with that all-too-familiar look of disapproval, but it seemed like the team leader was already indisposed.

Elijah couldn’t help but smirk at his luck as he watched Coleman and the new village head, Donnu, engage with a few unfamiliar faces. Meanwhile, men and women bustled around them carrying grain, furs, and other goods and loading them into empty horse-drawn carts. These weren't the rickety wagons that the villagers of Twinesward had been using; these were heavier, sturdier, and clearly built for hauling substantial loads.

As Elijah and Bennett neared the mass of people, they finally got a better look at one of the newcomers – a portly fellow with a sheen of sweat on his brow. The man was dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief before nervously bringing his hands close to his chest.

"M-My apologies," the rotund man spoke in a quivering voice. "I understand you're used to speaking with Master Simol, b-but unfortunately, he is indisposed."

Almost immediately, Elijah's interest was piqued by the man's cadence and nerves. Without being consciously aware of it, Elijah could feel the man's frazzled nerves brush against the recesses of his mind. It felt like a combination of anxiety and fear, reminiscent of a herbivore realizing a wolf was staring it down.

And as he observed, Elijah spotted the source of that anxiety. The portly man kept flicking his eyes towards Coleman, who was glaring dead at him. The intensity of Coleman's stare was the catalyst for the waves of unease that Elijah was sensing.

But this was all compounded when Donnu responded, "Ya, but the master's always been givin' us a whole gold fer everythin'. I hear silver, and I ain't feelin' like I be gettin' what's fair." He said with a troubled look.

The portly man spoke up immediately, not letting Donnu continue. His words came out in a rush, "O-oh, but it's the same v-value, Mr. Donnu! W-we're just paying in silver!"

Coleman suddenly interjected, his voice sharp and authoritative. "Hold on, how much silver are we talking about?"

Startled by Coleman's sudden question, the fat merchant yelped and jumped. "O-oh! It's enough!" he said nervously, avoiding looking directly at Coleman.

Elijah could feel the man's anxiety spike, the sensation washing over him in waves. It was almost overwhelming, and he had to concentrate to keep his own composure.

“How much is enough...?" Coleman asked in a dangerous tone as his eyes bore a hole into the side of the merchant's head.

Caught by the weight of Coleman's challenge, the merchant began to squirm both physically and verbally. His words came out in a nervous rush, peppered with stammers and half-formed excuses. "W-well, you see, good sir," he began, wringing his hands, "the market's been quite volatile lately. Exchange rates, you understand. Very complicated business, really. And with the recent... ah... disturbances in trade routes, we've had to make certain adjustments."

Not a single word left Coleman's mouth as he just narrowed his eyes at the man. He was clearly not buying a single word, but the merchant pressed on with his voice taking a wheedling tone.

"I assure you, we're offering a very fair rate! More than fair, considering the circumstances the Imperials are putting us in! “ The merchant spoke in rapid order, looking back to Donnu, hoping to overrule this newcomer. “Master Simol would agree if he were here! It's all about maintaining good relations, you see. We value our partnerships, especially in these trying times."

The merchant's eyes remained fixated on Donnu, searching for any sign of acceptance. But it appeared the new village head simply just turned to Coleman for guidance. "W-Where is Mr. Sofan? I’m sure he will be more agreeable!” The slimy merchant said, wiping his brow again. “We have an understanding, and he knows our rates–"

Crossing his arms, Coleman decided to turn the screws on the man a little bit as he spoke in a cold and matter-of-fact tone. "Sofan? He's dead." He nodded toward Donnu. "This is the new village head."

The merchant seemed to freeze at that, his mouth flapping like a fish out of water. "D-d-d-d-dead? What do you mean d-dead? What happened?"

Coleman, however, wasn't about to let this swindler off the hook so easily. He pressed on, refusing to allow the subject to change. "That doesn't matter. I want you to tell me how much silver you're actually giving him."

Taking another step closer, Coleman caused the merchant to squeak again. The portly man's eyes darted around frantically, looking for an escape. Suddenly, his gaze landed on the second person everyone seemed to have ignored until now.

Standing with a rather exasperated look on her face was a petite woman with deep red hair tied into braided pigtails. She stood by the cart, watching the drama unfold with an unamused expression.

"A-Auri! A-Auri why are you just s-standing there! Help me!" the merchant pleaded, his voice cracking with desperation.

Elijah, who had been silently observing the exchange, felt a shift in the emotional landscape. The merchant's panic was still palpable, but now, a new presence was in the mix. He turned his attention to the woman, Auri, curious about what role she played in all this.

Auri sighed deeply, her expression a mix of annoyance and resignation. Contrasting the merchant's frantic energy, the redhead gracefully and confidently stepped forward while dusting herself off.

"I apologize for the confusion, Master…” Auri paused for a split second as a wave of disgust coursed through her after saying the word master. “... Master Thuble isn’t quite used to these kinds of deals," she said in a calm and measured tone. "Perhaps I can provide some clarity to the situation."

Shaking her head, Auri stepped forward as Master Thuble slinked away, sighing in relief and wiping away the sweat on his face. The petite woman strode over to Coleman and Donnu at a measured pace and looked up at the men with an air that spoke that she wasn’t to be underestimated.

"We're willing to pay you 76 silver and 98 copper for everything," she stated matter-of-factly.

A few moments of silence passed as Auri didn’t even acknowledge Donnu’s existence and continued to stare directly at Coleman. It was clear that she had thought this freelancer-looking human was the one who was actually in charge and not the chunky blacksmith.

Coleman finally broke the silence as the standoff continued by glancing at the newly minted village head. "Is that a reasonable price?"

Concern clouded Donnu’s features as he did his own arbitrary calculations by comparing it to how much metal he could buy with one gold compared to a silver. But that soon ended when he realized he couldn’t precisely formulate an honest answer because he still didn’t know how much silver went into a singular gold coin.

"I gotta admit… I ain't much of a counter, nor was anyone other than Sofan, really," he said while scratching his cheek. "We usually be trading it for a gold and a small pouch full o' silver, but since the empire been runnin' all over the place, we be havin' to settle for one gold."

With her arms on her hips and an expression that clearly said she had better things to do than deal with peasants, she shook her head and sighed. "One and a half gold, to be exact." The petite redhead answered for them, shooting Donnu a judging look.

"And how much silver is in a gold?" Coleman asked as his eyes narrowed slightly.

A flicker of annoyance crossed Auri’s face as she let out a derisive sigh. "100 silver makes a gold," she replied tersely. She couldn’t quite understand why some bumbling idiot would bother trying to negotiate numbers with an idiot and waste her precious time.

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Coleman eyes narrowing as he processed the information. "So, you're already taking off a third of what you usually pay them by only giving them 1 gold," he began with a scoff. "And now you want to take another fourth on top of that?"

A look of surprise momentarily spread across Auri's face, causing her eyes to widen slightly. She had yet to run into a human freelancer, especially in these parts, who was familiar with numbers, let alone arithmetic. A few were capable, but they were always bumbling around, adding and subtracting on their fingers. This one, however, had just sped through it all in an instant in his own head. It was as if he was formally educated.

Ignoring Auri's look, Coleman instead turned his ire towards the supposed 'Master' Thuble. "You think you can come out here and cheat these people? Take advantage of them just because they're not as good with numbers?" His voice grew into a growl as he addressed the merchant.

Master Thuble began to stammer as his earlier panic returned in full force. "N-no, that's not... we wouldn't... it's just the market conditions..."

But Coleman was having none of it. He started to march aggressively towards the merchant, balling his fist as if he were going to hit him. "Market conditions? Is that what you call gouging honest people trying to make a living?"

As the team leader confronted the merchant, Elijah was suddenly hit by an overwhelming wave of intense fear rolling off the fat man. For some reason, the sensation was so powerful this time that it was almost tangible. Elijah couldn't make out any words but could feel the merchant's desperation. It was nearly as if he was reaching out for the woman’s help, even as he physically yelped and curled into a ball, facing away from Coleman.

The sensations were so profoundly strange to Elijah that he couldn’t help but stare and gawk at the man. However, all the sensations he was starting to feel started to evaporate, and in its place was a feeling of extreme nausea and fatigue. Trying not to double over and yack on his shoes, Elijah grit his teeth and furrowed his brows as he fought that sensation.

At the same time, Elijah’s muscles grew heavy, and his vision began to blur. It felt like he had to nearly fight tooth and nail to keep some semblance of composure and not just drop to the ground and vomit all over himself.

But after a few minutes, the nausea went as fast as it came. The fatigue still lingered, but Elijah found a modicum of equilibrium as he felt these new sensations fade away in their entirety. But before they completely vanished, he felt a sharp spike of... respect? Admiration? The feeling wasn't his own and seemed to be directed towards Coleman.

Elijah's eyes floated over to the source of this new emotional current, realizing it was coming from the redhead before it completely disappeared. As he focused on her, he noticed something he had completely ignored as he tried to figure out what in the hell was wrong with him – her long and droopy ears. They were just like that one girl Yana had 'claimed' as a servant, Yzael.

After finally collecting himself, Elijah elbowed Bennett, "Hey uh... who's the girl with the big ass ears again?" He whispered, trying to maintain his cool, calm, and composed demeanor.

Bennett looked at him as if he was insane. "What? What do you mean by big ears? The hell are you on about?" He glanced around, seeing only humans and a few elves. "Which one? There's like five around us," he said, furrowing his brow.

Elijah stared at Bennett as if he was profoundly stupid. "No, not the fuckin' regular elves. I mean the one with the super long droopy ears, you shithead." He nodded his head towards Auri.

It was Bennett's turn to stare at Elijah as if he was profoundly stupid. "What the fuck are you talking about?" he responded quietly as he looked between Elijah and the petite woman. "She has regular-ass human ears. Are you high?"

An insane sense of dumbfoundedness was evident on Elijah’s face as he pinched the bridge of his nose. The insanity of the day was most likely getting to him, and he was in no shape or form to deal with any more bullshit today. "Just… Just the redhead," he said, flustered and annoyed. "Just tell me who the fucking redhead is, Ok? Christ on a stick… ."

Bennett, still looking at Elijah with concern, finally relented. "That's Auri, I think. She's apparently a merchant apprentice of fatty over there.” Bennett gestured towards the large, rotund merchant being verbally assaulted by Coleman. “They’re a part of a merchant guild or something.”

“But seriously, man, are you okay?” Bennett gave Elijah the side eye as he looked him up and down. "You're acting weird as hell," he said in a judging tone.

Elijah waved off Bennett's worry. "I'm good," he insisted. "Probably just ate something funky or whatever."

A snort left Bennett’s mouth as he shook his head. “Told you not to eat that weird pepper thing.”

Offense colored Elijah’s face as his head recoiled, and gave Bennett a look that said he was having none of this. “Bitch,” He retorted with a furrowed brow and looked Bennett up and down as if he was sizing him up. “Your ho ass ate it too. I don’t wanna hear that shit from you.”

“Ya, but I don’t look like I’m about to shit my pants.” Bennett wore a haughty look.

Clicking his tongue, Elijah shook his head and walked away from the infuriating man. He walked toward Coleman as he grilled the merchant, ending up near Auri and Kwon. By now, the effects of whatever he had been feeling had entirely dissipated, and all three of them watched as Coleman interrogated his victim for information about the inflated prices.

Coleman's questioning began to segue into broader market conditions. "Why is this happening? What's making the market so horrible that you feel you have to stoop this low?" he demanded in a threatening voice after cornering his victim.

As the merchant stammered through explanations about supply chain disruptions and Imperial trade restrictions, Elijah, Auri, and Kwon stared blankly at the scene unfolding with the monotony of economic discourse.

Now that Elijah no longer felt like he needed to hurl all over himself, a mischievous glint flashed in his eye as he glanced over at Auri. "Shouldn't you go help your master or something?" he asked, shifting his gaze towards the sweating merchant.

“Huh?” Auri’s voice oozed with offense as she gave Elijah an annoyed side-eye as fiery as her hair. “Master?" she repeated with a snarl playing at her lips.

But then, her eyebrows shot up as the realization washed over her. "Oh, right. My... ‘master,’" she replied as if she had just remembered that was her role. “Yes… right…He is indeed my master.”

Catching the slip, Elijah huffed in amusement as he eyed her up and down. His interest was piqued. Clearly, Auri was using the merchant as cover, and the reality seemed to be that she was the one in charge, not him.

"Well," Elijah said, keeping his tone casual, "aren't you going to step in? Your 'master' seems to be floundering."

Auri huffed in annoyance at her fumble as her eyes narrowed slightly, reassessing the man beside her. "He needs to learn how to handle these situations," she said coolly. "I can't always be there to bail him out."

Elijah's lips curled into a teasing smirk. "Business must be hard without having reliable and competent subordinates, huh?" he said, his tone light but probing. "I mean, if you have to babysit your 'master constantly', it must really cut into your productivity."

Irritation flared with Auri as her unsavory look turned into an outright glare. She remained silent for a minute, debating what to tell him, but she realized there wasn't much she could say to throw them off.

"And you are?" she asked, turning to face Elijah fully. Her voice was calm, but there was an undercurrent of curiosity and wariness. "I've never seen any freelancers like you in these areas before. Most of the freelancers I've encountered can't string more than four sentences together, and here you are, spewing mana everywhere and doing arithmetic in your head." She paused, her gaze intense. "Who are you people?"

For a moment, Elijah froze at the observation about mana. Was Yana doing something strange again? His hand lightly brushed against the pocket where the little fairy was nestled, but he felt that she hadn’t moved an inch. And that was soon confirmed by the feeling her kick around in agitation before settling down.

Moving his hand away from the furious goddess, Elijah elected to turn his focus back onto Auri and fixed her with his usual suave smile. "We're a group of out-of-town specialists," he answered smoothly. "Called in to handle a few delicate situations that are choking up the city's trade."

A hum left the petite redheaded woman’s mouth as she narrowed her eyes. But her scrutiny only lasted as she seemed to buy the explanation and wave her hand dismissively. "Figures," she said with a hint of disdain. "That makes sense. No one in this town has the intelligence or ability to add two numbers together, let alone deal with fractions."

Elijah chuckled, sensing an opportunity to gather more information. "Sounds like you've had your share of frustrations dealing with the locals. I'm guessing that's why you need your... 'master' as a front?"

Auri's eyes narrowed slightly, but there was a glimmer of respect in her gaze. "You're perceptive," she admitted. "Let's just say that it's often advantageous to be underestimated in this line of work. Especially when it comes to Imperials.”

Another round of silence dominated the air besides Coleman's interrogation as Auri fixed Elijah with an intense stare. It was as if her mind was racing, processing all the information she had gathered before opening her mouth. She had to decide whether to just throw it all out there or choose her words carefully.

But Auri never found herself a smooth talker, so she decided to shoot it straight. "And the Imperials is the 'problem' you and your people are here to solve. Isn't that right?" she said, her tone laced with knowing confidence.

It was Elijah's turn to be taken off guard. He opened his mouth to respond, but Auri continued before he could formulate a reply.

"I think our interests align," she interrupted in a low and deliberate tone. "Maybe we can find some common ground and help each other."