The woman smiled at Red with a fox-like expression. “Worry not, mister Viran. There is a simple solution to this problem.”

She turned around to Elena, her expression becoming stern.

“Girl, go fetch us paper and ink!”

“A-At once, madam!” The woman nodded and ran off.

“And get us another cushion, you oaf!”

The madam shouted after her as if she was chasing away a dog. Then she turned towards Red, putting on a pleasant smile like nothing happened.

“I’m sorry about that, mister Viran. Perhaps these girls need to be trained properly once again.”

As she said that, she sat down across from Red, pouring herself a cup of tea and heating it up with a faint Spiritual Energy from her hand.

“Would you like some tea?” she asked the youth.

“I’m fine.” Red shook his head as he examined the woman.

Despite her elegant appearance, her actions showed her as anything but. In fact, her smile reminded him of the expression of a merchant who was about to rip their customer off for everything they were worth. It put him ill at ease.

The woman took a sip of her tea before putting it down and clapping her hands.

“Ah, I almost forgot! Introductions are in order, aren’t they?” She did a slight bow towards Red. “They call me Madam Marina. However, since I’m sure we will be wonderful friends, you may just call me Marina.”

“Madam Marina, then”

“Uh... Yeah, that’s fine too.”

Before they could continue their conversation, Elena returned to the room carrying the items. She put down the paper and ink on the table before looking around with hesitation.

Marina looked at her with a frown. “What are you standing around for, girl?”

“A-Ah, what should I do with the cushion?”

“You sit on it, you damn fool! Or would you like to remain standing while we talk?”

“Ah, no madam!”

“The paper is also for you to write, so pay attention!”

“Yes, madam!”

Marina looked back at Red with a smile. “So, as I was saying-”

“You want me to describe the materials?” He cut her off.

“That’s correct.” She nodded. “I might not be able to recognize the names, but if you describe the materials to me, then I most certainly will know them if it’s something our store sells.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

“Alright!” Marina clapped her hands before looking down at the list Red gave her. “So this… Apskalla Blue Flower first. We have plenty of blue flowers, but none by the name of Apskalla, so is there anything else you can tell me about it?”

“This one is light blue and has a yellow stamen that-”

“Ah, don’t tell me!” She cut him off. “You’re talking about an Icewind Flower?”

Red sighed. “If I knew, would I bother with this?”

“Oh, I mean, the Icewind Flower is a common ingredient for drawing certain types of elemental sigils. I assume you mean to use it for some kind of ice-aspected talisman, correct?”

The youth frowned. “That sounds about right.”

She waved her hands. “Don’t worry about it too much. When we are done with this, we can bring the materials for you to check.”

The woman looked down at the list again, as her attendant frantically wrote down on her paper by the side.

“So this Dragon’s Tear Pigment…”

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…

“What?! You call it Boulder Heart?! But that’s another thing entirely!”

…

“Haha! Mother Nature’s Bosom? That is a good name!”

…

Over the next half an hour, Red described the items he listed down to the woman. Marina seemed to take delight in learning about these new terms, her laughter echoing through the building at his explanations.

To the youth’s surprise, most of the materials he wanted were available at the store. Some of the refined ingredients, however, were not there.

She looked up at him with an affable smile. “We can provide you with the raw material instead, if you’d like.”

Red shook his head. “If I could refine them myself, I would have put the raw material down.”

There were some things he could refine himself. For instance, he wouldn’t have much of an issue extracting the pigments from the Spiritual Plants he needed to mix with the Spiritual Ink. If he wanted to forge a formation plate, however, he would need a proper forge to work with, and it would take a lot more time and effort on his part.

It just wasn’t feasible if he wanted to get to work as soon as possible.

Marina frowned with a struggling expression. “Well… We could order them for you. They would arrive in a few days.”

“Or I could go look in another store.” Red said.

Lehmann’s Traders was specialized in raw materials, while there were other stores in the capital that would definitely sell some of the refined materials he needed.

“Wait! There’s no need to overreact!” Marina seemed to panic at the prospect. “We can offer you a discount!”

“I’m not worried about the price.” Red shook his head. “I want to get to crafting as soon as possible.”

“Don’t be unreasonable, sir! Most of these refined materials are for formations or runes, while we can provide everything for your talismans. Wouldn’t it be worth it to focus on those talismans first if it means you can get a better price for the rest of the materials?”

The youth frowned. “You want me to accommodate to you? Who is the costumer here?”

“Uh… We can give you a fifteen percent discount over all these materials!”

Red remained silent.

Marina gritted her teeth. “Twenty percent!”

“… Thirty percent.” Red said.

“Bah! Why don’t you just rob me with you sword already! Twenty-five is the lowest I can go!”

“Fine.” The youth nodded.

Even though he made a big deal out of the matter, it really wouldn’t be an issue for him to focus on drawing talismans for a few days.

At the end of their meeting, they came to an agreement about the price. It cost Red about fifteen Spirit Stones to buy everything he needed, including a proper brush to draw the sigils.

This was a very large transaction for the store, considering the wide smile on Marina’s face. The gaze with which she looked at Red seemed to change too, which made him feel more than a little uncomfortable.

“We can get you the items you need immediately, Master Viran!” she said. “Where would you like us to send them?”

“The manor I’m staying at should be fine.”

“Right, and may I know in which street that is?”

Red was at a sudden loss for words.

“Hm… Do you know where Emer lives?”

“Huh?” The woman seemed confused. “Who’s Emer?”

“Cassemir then?”

“I’m not familiar with either of them.”

“Right.” Red frowned. “Can you have someone follow me there, then?”

“You don’t know…?” She seemed surprised for a second before her usual smile returned. “Oh, of course! I forgot you only just arrive at our city!”

Marina looked over at Elena.

“Elena, accompany Master Viran to his manor!”

“M-Madam?!” The attendant blushed.

“What are you getting red for?! I’m not asking you to sleep with him, I only want you to get his address!” She then looked over at Red with a frown. “Of course, that can also be negotiated if he wants to.”

“R-Right!” Elena bowed towards Red. “Then please, take good care of me, sir!”

The youth looked between the two of them with some confusion. He couldn’t help but feel like he got involved with another strange fellow.

…

Red indeed led the woman back to his manor. When they got to the door, Elena looked at him with a flustered expression.

“Are you done?” he asked.

“H-Huh?”

“Have you gotten the address?”

Red couldn’t see any plaques in the street, but he assumed there was a way to know its name somehow.

“A-Ah, yes, sir!” She nodded. “We will send your materials over immediately!”

“Good.” He nodded. “Then why are you still here?”

“A-Ah, no, I mean… I will be going, then!”

Elena turned around and ran off.

Red didn’t pay her a second glance as he entered the manor.

Aurelia’s laughter reached his ears. “Truly free of desires like a proper cultivator!”

The youth ignored her comments and walked up the stairs.

The imp, who heard his arrival, followed behind him with an eager expression. “Ah, Master! Did you do it?”

“Yes.” Red said without turning around.

“Then when will you open the store?”

“When it’s repaired.”

“R-Repaired? But I thought-”

“Don’t worry about it. Just call me in my office once they arrive with the materials.”

Red then entered the office before the imp could respond.

…

Less than an hour later, a carriage carrying his crafting materials arrived. The attendants from the store personally carried the boxes of precious spiritual items inside, setting them down in the living room at Red’s behest.

One of these attendants also carried a message from Marina, saying that the order for the rest of the materials had already been placed with some workshops and they would arrive in two days. To the youth’s, her employees also handed over a communication talisman to him, which would directly connect him to the Lehmann’s Madam if he ever needed something else.

Red, who thought this was rather convenient, was more than happy to accept it.

Soon enough, he was left alone in the manor again, as an emotionless middle-aged maid and an imp stared at him as if waiting for his orders.

“Uh, master.” Emer looked at him with some hesitation. “We don’t really have a storage for these boxes…”

“Why would we need to? I’ll use them all soon enough, anyway.”

“A-Are you going to work here?” The imp seemed surprised.

Red frowned. “Why not? Is that a problem?”

“B-By no means, master! I only mean to say we don’t have a workshop either!”

“Of course we do.” Red looked around the fancy living room. “All we need to do is to move a few things.”

“M-Master? You don’t mean to…”

That day, the elegant living room of the merchant brothers was turned into a rough and chaotic workshop that would serve as the beginning of the legacy of a new Arcane Scripture Master.