Ryan's hand reached for the envelope before he had a second to even think about it. His entire form shook with anticipation as he tore free the letter hidden within.

"What's that?" Leo asked.

Ryan's mind was too gone to even bother replying to Leo, the letter in his hand capturing the entirety of his mental capacity.

He unfolded the parchment paper, equal parts in anticipation and fear of what he would discover.

He took his time analyzing the text scribbled on the paper, the noise around him muted by the weight of the words before him:

Ryan, we are happy to inform you that we have new information on the recipe for the jenkals meat. We will be expecting you in two days' time at our regular spot.

Yours hammeredly,

Uro.

Ryan almost let out a sigh before he caught himself. Surely this was nothing more than a coded message in case the letter was intercepted, but still, there was no mention of the ring whatsoever. Judging by the way the dwarf had dominated and destroyed the jenkal roast during their last interaction, Ryan could tell that the dwarf loved the roast.

The uncertainty was frustrating, and yet Ryan knew that he was simply overthinking things. It had to be about the ring, and soon enough he'd have the secrets of Sarinth to himself.

"Ryan... Ryan!" Leo said as he shook the lost-in-thought form of his friend.

Ryan blinked twice as he tried to regain his composure.

"You good?" Leo asked.

Ryan let out a smile at the question. Was he good? Nah, he was better than good—he was great, and it had been a long time since he'd felt so good. Although it'd be best not to get too ahead of himself, considering the last two times they'd called him for a meeting, per se.

"Pfft, I thought your lady friend had broken up with you the way you were acting," Leo said.

Ryan burst out laughing at the words. Break up over a letter? That would be terrible if Ryan was honest with himself, but it would definitely be ridiculous considering the proximity of their location. It wouldn't be too hard to meet up and break up... Ah, what was Ryan even thinking? It wasn't like the pair were even dating.

"Break up?" Ryan asked once he finally caught his breath. "Nope, it was just... well, this."

Ryan handed over the letter to Leo to peruse. He didn't really believe the contents mattered so much that he should hide it from his friend. Besides, this was Leo, the man who had just helped him save the shop. It wouldn't be good to begin to distrust him over a small matter like that, and it wasn't as though he'd be able to read much into it—after all, it was all in code.

Leo grasped the letter eagerly as he went through the contents hastily.

"Really... That's what's got you going through the moods?" Leo asked.

Ryan couldn't help but smile at the absurdity of the situation. Without context, there'd be no way for him to explain the various phases of reading expressions he went through.

"Yeah, I do love jenkal," Ryan said, still daydreaming.

"Weird," Leo said as he turned to face the still engaged form of Carl. "Two ales, please!"

The bartender barely nodded in their direction before resuming his conversation. Ryan chuckled and Leo snorted at the response, or lack thereof.

"I guess we should find a place to sit. That ale is probably going to be a while," Leo said as he made his way to the back of the room, handing over the letter to Ryan.

As they sat at one of the few empty tables in the tavern, Ryan couldn't help but feel relieved and relaxed. Today had gone vastly better than he'd imagined. Not only had he managed to save his shop from the immediate threat of being confiscated, he'd also managed to pay the entirety of the tax without putting himself at their department.

"What a ride that we've had so far," Leo said solemnly.

Ryan didn't know the exact memory that had prompted Leo to say that, but inwardly he had to agree—they'd both come so far... together. Even when they were apart.

"We can always say that the matron trained us well; she got us ready for the real world," Ryan said as he reminisced about the past.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Obviously, the matron couldn't go to extreme lengths to get them ready for life, but she'd done her best, and for Ryan, her best was certainly enough.

"She certainly did," Leo said. "Have you dropped back there to see how they're faring?"

"No."

The reason was very easy to decode: Ryan hadn't made something of himself even after all this time. What exactly was he supposed to tell or show the woman who'd spent part of her time raising him? What exactly would he use to prove that he was better off than where he'd started?

"Oh," Leo responded.

The pair let the conversation die in silence—comfortable silence, if Ryan was honest. They'd known each other for so long that they didn't really need words to pass the time. Ryan was lost in his thoughts, and by the looks of it, Leo was too.

The thud of two tankards hitting their table was all it took to snap both men back to the present, the retreating figure of Carl already going to attend to another patron.

"To victory!" Leo said as he reached for his tankard and raised it to the air.

"To victory!" Ryan said as he bumped tankards with Leo, the pair taking swigs immediately after. The trademark grimace associated with downing Carl's concoction spread across their faces.

"Next time we celebrate, you're taking me to the Siren's Call," Ryan said mid-swig. "If I wasn't acquainted with this... brew, I would've thought that you were trying to poison me."

His words elicited a guilty chuckle from Leo, the big man probably sharing the same sentiments concerning the ale.

"Sure thing... brother," Leo said.

The night wore on, and the pair continued discussing trivial issues, until they didn't.

---

For the first time in a long time, Ryan woke without a debt or tax hanging over his head, and it felt perfect—or almost perfect, considering what he did wake up with: a hangover. But the good part was that he'd grown accustomed to such things, so it didn't hamper him at all.

His entire being felt electric. He'd beat the game fair and square, and now it was just about time for him to get his affairs in order.

At the moment, he had enough potions down and a couple of T-stones ready. What he didn't have at the moment was gold—or enough gold, to be precise.

Raising his stat screen to check, a chime sounded in his ear:

[Name: Ryan Lionheart

Profession: Merchant

Class: Alchemist (journeyman)

Coin: 1 gold, 840 silvers

Debt: Null]

Ryan smiled at the screen staring at him. Of course, it wasn't ideal, but the "null" staring back at him at the bottom of the screen was more precious than any amount of gold he could have possessed.

He closed his stat screen with a sigh and rolled off his bed—new day, new start after all.

His empty vials were already arranged on his small rickety table and his clothes in one small corner of the room, something that gave Ryan joy.

One move at a time, and he'd certainly made a difference. A positive one.

Slowly but surely, his life was making a right turn and moving in the best possible direction. He didn't know anyone other than him that deserved such a turnaround. He'd worked hard for this, and he'd been lucky enough to deliver on what he was supposed to.

Thankfully, he had done enough to build his foundation in the business world. He'd built his character up, and that was something that couldn't be taken from him, shop or no shop.

Ryan stepped into the bathroom to have his bath, running his hands through his hair and taking it down to pat his face.

"Ow!" Ryan let out a soft yelp as the underside of the emerald ring seemed to impact his face.

It wasn't as harsh as it sounded, but it'd definitely leave a mark on his face, albeit a little one.

"Any day now," Ryan said as he stared at the ring, a smile on his face.

The meeting was surely about the ring, but Ryan wouldn't put too much hope on it. However, third time was said to be the charm, and this would be the third meeting.

No doubt owning something that belonged to the most sought-after and respected merchant in the realm would be enough reason for him to actually celebrate and be content, but Ryan knew innately that he'd be restless until he was finally able to unlock whatever secrets lay within the ring.

With a sigh, Ryan got to prepping for work. He took his bath, dressed up, and headed downstairs to the tavern.

The ever-present form of Carl in the tavern didn't come as a surprise to Ryan. The man's dedication to his craft was always something that Ryan found inspiring and yet so... sad.

Maybe it was just him, but Ryan didn't want to grow old alone in a tavern—or in his case, his shop—having only visiting patrons or regular patrons for company. While it'd seem fun and the smart choice at the beginning, soon enough you'd have nothing but that, and by the time you fully grasp the problem, it'd be too far gone to actually make a difference.

"Hey, Carl!" Ryan said as he finally descended down the staircase.

The bartender turned to face Ryan.

"Well, you look like you're in a jolly good mood," Carl said with a smile. "I suspect that your fairy left you more than just a love letter in that envelope."

Ryan blushed at the statement even though he knew it was severely wide of the mark. The fairy hadn't even penned down a message of her own in the letter; rather, she'd delivered one that was penned down by Uro, which Ryan found to be a little weird at the moment, as he'd actually expected the letter to be written by Cicero or Sasha, if he was being honest.

"I-I'm actually in a splendid mood, and I assure you that it isn't because of what you think," Ryan managed to stutter, eliciting a laugh from the older man.

"Relax, Ryan," Carl said mid-chuckle. "I was just pulling your leg, my boy. So what's got you in such a good mood?"

Ryan already knew that after all, it was Carl's personality to constantly probe and poke at one's weakness, turning it into a comedy performance with every word that he uttered, which had lost him a few customers—not like the bartender cared.

'Too soft to take a joke,' the big man would say.

"I've finally settled up with the traders guild, and I've cleared all my debts," Ryan said with pride seeping through his words.

"Aye, that's fantastic, my boy!" Carl said, genuinely happy for Ryan. "I can tell you for free, boy, there's nothing better than getting out from under the thumb of whoever has you borrowing from them."

Ryan immediately nodded in agreement; there was definitely nothing sweeter than paying back those loans.

"I wholeheartedly agree," Ryan started. "I feel so... liberated, it's like a weight that I didn't know I had on me has suddenly come off."

"Aye, that's how it usually is," Carl said. "So what are you going to do now?"

"Business," Ryan said as he began walking out of the tavern.