Chapter 25: Grand Opening.
Adam’s POV
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Dara and I crouched behind the stall that Dix was hurriedly building for me, using it as a makeshift shield. I was positioned strategically, covering Dara as she changed her clothes.
“Adam…” Dara called out hesitantly.
I turned to look, and my breath caught for a moment. She stood there, fully dressed in a maid outfit that suited her far too well. The black and white ensemble hugged her figure, the frills adding an air of elegance that contrasted starkly with her usual stern demeanor.
Dara, however, was less than thrilled. She looked down, her cheeks blazing red as she clenched her teeth in a mix of embarrassment and frustration. “Why… why did I agree to wear this?” she muttered, clutching the hem of the dress like it was her lifeline.
“To be honest, I think it really suits you,” I said, rubbing my chin as I admired her outfit. “You look pretty cute—almost like that dress was made just for you.”
“Wha—?” Dara’s mouth fell open in shock, her golden eyes wide as saucers. Then, as if snapping out of a trance, she shook her head furiously. “S-Saying pretty words doesn’t help!” she shouted, her voice rising in indignation.
From behind the half-finished stall, Dix popped his head out. “Hey, stop flirting with my sister!” he yelled, pointing a finger at me accusingly. Then his eyes widened as he caught a full view of Dara. “W-Wait! What are you making my sister wear?!”
“It’s for business!” I shot back defensively.
“Can we please just drop this and get back to work!?” Dara screamed, her face now completely red as she clutched the edges of the frilly skirt.
How did we even end up here?
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It had started earlier that morning.
I woke up to a pleasant surprise: Nove reported a slight increase in my stats.
* Strength (STR): +1
* Metalweaving Mastery (MW): +1
New totals:
* Strength (STR): 8 (+5 - 5 = 0)
* Metalweaving Mastery (MW): 9 (+4)
I couldn’t believe it. My Metalweaving stat had finally surpassed my Strength. Of course, that was mostly thanks to the chaos rune node, which reduced my Strength by a solid 5 points.
With stats fresh on my mind, I remembered I still needed glass to make potion bottles. I decided to ask Dara for help, and she brought me to the organization’s warehouse. It was there that I found what I needed—plenty of glass for crafting bottles.
As Nove handled the bottle creation, something caught my eye: a pristine maid dress hanging among the storage racks. Why was this here? I didn’t know, but I grabbed it anyway, an idea already forming in my mind.
As I was mulling over how to convince Dara to wear the maid dress to boost sales, I heard a familiar voice echo down the hallway.
“Adam!”
I turned to see Dix sprinting toward me, his tone sharp and uncharacteristically serious.
“Dix?” I blinked in surprise. “I thought you went to that other kingdom for espionage.” I tilted my head, confused, but then something clicked. Dix’s usual carefree, aloof demeanor was completely absent. His golden eyes were narrowed like a predator’s, and his face was twisted with unmistakable fury.
Oh no.
“Oh shi—” I muttered, spinning around to run. But before I could take a single step, Dix lunged at me. His hands grabbed the cuffs of my shirt, and we both tumbled to the ground in a heap. Dara, who was standing nearby, could only watch in wide-eyed shock as the chaos unfolded.
“Adam!” Dix shouted again, his grip on my shirt tightening as he loomed over me.
“Hey there, pookie! Missing me already?” I quipped, trying to defuse the situation with humor.
Dix’s glare intensified. “What is this I hear about you courting my sister?!”
Ohhh. It’s about that.
I glanced over at Dara, who looked utterly mortified, her mouth hanging open in shock.
“Wait! It was an accident!” I shouted, scrambling for damage control.
“HOW DO YOU COURT SOMEONE’S SISTER BY ACCIDENT?!” Dix roared, his voice echoing through the hallway.
Before I could respond, Dara stepped in, her voice cutting through the tension. “Brother! Stop this already!” she yelled, dragging him off me with a surprising amount of strength for someone her size.
After a chaotic few minutes and a lot of explaining, Dix finally calmed down—though not without grumbling. Apparently, rumors of the “incident” had spread like wildfire, and he wasn’t thrilled about it. Begrudgingly, he agreed to help me set up my stall, though I had a sneaking suspicion his real motive was to keep an eye on me whenever Dara was around.
And that brings us to the current situation: Dara fuming because Dix had abandoned his mission to rush back here, Dix still glaring daggers at me over the misunderstanding, and me, the innocent victim caught in the middle of it all.
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One other thing I noticed during the whole ordeal was that Dix didn’t use his usual cat-like language even once. It seems these guys slip in and out of “cat mode” depending on their mood. When they’re stressed or angry, they drop it entirely, but once they’re relaxed, the playful cat mannerisms return.
We had made our way to the bustling public market area, where Dix was busy helping me build a small stall. It was standard fare, similar to the other vendor setups around us. Meanwhile, I was helping Dara get prepped for her role as the customer magnet—her presence alone would draw people in. Dix was proving to be a useful addition, not only with building the stall but also by scouting out competitors and gathering valuable market information.
Soon, Dix called us over. “It’s done!” he announced, stepping back proudly.
Dara and I walked over to inspect his work. The stall stood there, a simple wooden structure that looked suspiciously like a lemonade stand.
“Huh… I kind of expected it to be… a bit more,” I said, raising an eyebrow.
“It would’ve been a waste of my NEP to make it fancy,” Dix retorted, crossing his arms. “I already used up a quarter of my NEP just to make this.”
“I see,” I replied, nodding in mock seriousness.
Deciding to add my own touch, I walked up to the stall and used Metalweaving. With some spare wood, I crafted a small board to go on top of the stand. Then, using the carving technique, I inscribed a simple but charming design: a cute cat face on the right side and potion bottles on the left.
Dix looked at me skeptically. “Why go through all that effort? Isn’t that a waste of NEP?”
“It’s called marketing, Dix,” I replied, smirking as I worked. “We need to leave a good impression.”
I’d noticed some other stalls doing similar things, but most didn’t bother. If I wanted my stall to stand out, this was essential.
Once the board was in place, I carefully arranged my wares. On one side of the stall, I placed three potion bottles—one swirling with red liquid, another with blue, and the last with green. On the other side, I displayed three core nodes, each resting on a small pillow I’d crafted from fur.
When I stepped back to admire the setup, I noticed Dix and Dara staring at me, their expressions a mix of shock and disbelief.
“You… You’re an alchemist?!” Dix nearly shouted, pointing at me as if I’d just revealed I could fly.
I responded with a cheeky grin. “Yep.”
It wasn’t like I’d been hiding it, but their reactions were priceless. Dara still looked like she couldn’t decide whether to be impressed or annoyed, while Dix seemed genuinely flabbergasted.
The only lingering concern I had was security. What if a passerby decided to sneak a potion or core node into their inventory while I wasn’t paying attention? But, as Nove had explained to me earlier, this was impossible. Thanks to the same encryption system that protected crafted items, no one could add my items to their inventory unless they cracked the encryption. And cracking it? That would take far more effort and skill than a casual thief could muster.
“And we’re finally open for business,” I declared dramatically, leaning back in my chair behind the stall. I clasped my hands together in front of my face like an evil mastermind, a sinister grin spreading across my lips.
Dix and Dara exchanged a confused glance, clearly not on the same wavelength. I quickly waved them over and briefed them on the plan.
“All the core nodes are priced at 50 silver aurens each for today’s grand opening sale. The potions, which are usually priced much higher, will go for 30 silver aurens each,” I explained, my voice brimming with confidence.
Both of them immediately looked skeptical.
“Wait,” Dix interjected, his tail flicking in disbelief. “Isn’t that extremely cheap, nya? No, scratch that—this is basically giving them away, nya! You’re not going to make any profit from this, are you?”
“That’s the point,” I replied, smirking. “It’s part of the plan.”
The truth was, even if I sold everything for half those prices, I’d still be making a profit since my material costs were essentially nonexistent. The low prices were designed to attract customers, create demand, and spread word of my stall. In other words, I was playing the long game.
I laid out my inventory: 10 potions of each type—health, NEP, and stamina—and 3 core nodes of each stat focus—INT, STR, and END. This was where my team would play a critical role, especially Dara, who was my ace in the hole.
I handed Dara a tall wooden signboard, freshly crafted with Metalweaving. On it, I’d carved simple but eye-catching images: a potion bottle and a core node, each with its respective price clearly written beside it.
“Okay, Dara,” I said, leaning toward her with the utmost seriousness. “You’re the only one I can trust with this. Please, walk around the market, act as cute and charming as possible, tell everyone about our one-day-only deal and limited inventory, and bring them back here.”
Dara’s initial embarrassment faded as she straightened up, her expression shifting into a more focused one. Once she realized this was a mission, her hesitation melted away. She nodded sharply, ready to take on the task.
I turned to Dix next. “As for you, Dix, I need you to scout the area. Look for any competition, gather intel, and keep an eye on Dara while she’s working. If anyone causes trouble, you know what to do.”
Dix gave me a mock salute. “Nya, you got it.”
I watched Dara and Dix leave with surprising enthusiasm. The moment I framed this as a mission, all their nerves seemed to vanish. These siblings really were two peas in the same pod—utterly unpredictable but reliable when it counted.
Oh, and I wasn’t planning on making them work for free. I promised them each 20% of the revenue we’d earn once we wrapped up. Of course, I hoped to sell my entire stock, but realistically, I knew that was a long shot. Regardless, the only thing left to do now… was wait.
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Minutes passed.
Nothing.
Not a single customer wandered by, though that wasn’t entirely unexpected. The day was just starting, so I wasn’t too worried yet.
To pass the time, I started practicing my Metalweaving. With some spare materials—mostly stones and wood—I began crafting random items. I could’ve made practical things like weapons or armor, but let’s face it: I had nerd priorities.
Naturally, I decided to make anime figurines.
And since Batman had made my life significantly harder in this world, I decided to immortalize him first.
…
I know batman is not an anime, shut up, I know what I’m doing.
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Time ticked by.
I was nearly finished sculpting Batman’s lower body when I felt a strange rumbling. I paused, my hands hovering over the figure, and tilted my head.
That’s odd.
The rumbling grew louder, and a faint tremor rippled through the ground. Something was definitely off. Instinctively, I stashed the half-finished figurine into my inventory and scanned the area.
“What in the world…?” I muttered.
And then I saw it. Dara was sprinting toward me at full speed, the signboard balanced over her shoulders. Behind her, a literal horde of people was stampeding in my direction.
Their destination? My stall.
WAITWAITWAITWAITWAIT!
Before I could process what was happening, Dara skidded to a stop in front of me, stars practically shining in her eyes. “Adam! I got lots of customers Nya~!” she exclaimed, her voice brimming with excitement.
“That…” I began, glancing over her shoulder at the sea of humanity closing in. “You definitely did.”
The crowd surged around the stall, their voices overlapping as they clamored for my wares.
“Hey, are you really selling an Intellect-type Core Node for 50 silver aurens?!”
“Do you actually have stamina potions? Those are impossible to find anywhere!”
More and more questions bombarded me from all sides, their words merging into a chaotic din. I blinked, trying to process the situation.
Okay, so I wanted attention, but this… this is a bit much.
I smirked at the end.
Looks like we’re going to clean our inventory today bois.