“It’s not my fault trouble is coming my way,” Percy murmured, but that didn’t help with Melissa’s deadly glare. If anything, Melissa looked like she considered killing him on the spot. That was…not good.

Percy hurriedly walked around the wooden counter and tried ignoring Melissa as he headed for the eveewood door. He channeled mana into the runic enchantment and deactivated [Alarm] before turning to the remaining customers.

“I apologize. That was a test to see if everything was working fine,” He said quickly.

“The reports reached the Estate. In the seven hells, Percy! Why would you use my father’s name so often?! Are you tired of living?” Melissa hissed.

Percy flinched and forced a smile through his discomfort.

“I didn’t think much about it. Once I said I know the Reeze Duke and his daughter, most problems were solved right away,” Percy tried putting on a defense, “It was the best way to avoid more problems.”

Melissa cursed quietly, but Percy didn’t understand what she said. Maybe that was for the best.

“First, we received a report from the Guild about the Duke’s ‘friend’ having been in an altercation with an Adventurer, and then there is the city guard’s report about the Golden Koi’s shady business and that they swear on their duty that they interrogated everyone thoroughly. What did you do to scare everyone this much?!”

Percy’s smile ceased, and he tilted his head.

“I never said I’m your father’s friend. As for the city guards…Well, I had to intimidate them a little because the Golden Koi orchestrated something. I don’t know what their exact plan had been, but three city guards, bribed by Golden Koi, were present. The bribed guards exposed these idiotic Normie ruffians after I did something.”

“I think you mean ‘crushing someone’s skull’ with ‘something.’” Melissa rumbled, to which Percy didn’t respond.

A heavy sigh escaped Melissa’s lips, and her shoulders slumped down, “Can you imagine how much I had to work to fix your mess while I was supposed to be fully focused on the Imperial training? Father told me I am responsible for taking care of this mess because we traveled together. He said we’re friends and that I, as your friend, am responsible for the trouble you’ve caused.”

She spit the last words out like venom and acted like the word ‘friends’ was cursed or poisoned.

“Heh.” Percy rubbed his head.

He wasn’t sure if he could call Melissa a friend, but his time with her and the Glacia Knights was certainly one of the bigger turning points in his life. He wouldn’t be here if he had never met Lady Reeze and her escort.

Melissa noticed the eyes lingering on her and saw recognition in the faces of two older Adventurers. The shock in their eyes was everything she had to see to tell that they recognized her.

“Can we talk somewhere else?” She asked.

Percy nodded and turned to the storage room, only to switch to the staircase.

“We’re going upstairs for a few minutes,” He told Louis, who could only nod. Louis blushed when Melissa’s attention averted to him. She glanced at the Demi, who quickly pulled his clothes to look decent before Melissa.

They walked upstairs a moment later while the Demis took care of the shop.

“I read about the Demis. The brother would probably have been punished if you didn’t use my father’s name.”

Percy didn’t respond to that but knew Melissa was right.

“Do you want to drink something, or is there something else I can–...”

“Stop that nonsense. We might be on friendly terms, and I cannot beat you black and blue for behaving like an elephant in a glass house before I know whether you are a noble or not, but that doesn’t mean I want to stay here longer than necessary.”

Percy raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

“Father wants to meet with you in the Estate in a week,” Melissa said.

“Why?”

Melissa glared at him for speaking bluntly like that.

“Lady Reeze, I sincerely apologize for my lack of etiquette and proper manners, but my question remains the same. Why?”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Is it related to the Imperial training? Erik and Tarlek said something about the crown searching for more talented Egos. But I don’t want to become an Imperial right now. This shop is perfect for me. I can earn a fortune all while my Ego is progressing quickly. This is the perfect place for my growth!

“No, this has nothing to do with the Imperial training,” Melissa murmured, almost like she could read his thoughts, “Erik and Tarlek must have told you about it a few days ago, but no. You haven’t been invited to the Imperial training, and you probably won’t. That has nothing to do with a lack of talent or anything like that. No. Father wants you to come to the Estate because of something related to your background. Father said he finally found some clues.”

Melissa’s frustration dispersed, just like the iciness in her voice, “He wants you to meet someone.”

***

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Percy didn’t even know at what time Melissa left or how long he had been sitting on the chair before Sabrina came to check on him. The young Demi was worried about him and cried ugly. Snot poured down her nose, and the noises she made while crying, trying to shake Percy awake, weren’t human either. She sounded like a cat in unbearable pain.

“I’m fine…” Percy said when Louis came to check on him as well.

Or am I not fine?

Only one thing reverberated through his mind when he heard Melissa’s last words.

The Reeze Duke found someone who knows me. They…found someone from my family.

Percy gave his best to put aside the confusion that had plagued him all this while. He knew he wanted to meet his family but was unsure what to expect. What if the meeting with his family would destroy his childhood? What if ugly things about the person he held dearly in his heart came to light?

Percy was not sure if he could handle this.

Therefore, he did the only thing that distracted him successfully. He jumped back into work and pushed his worries aside. Maybe the problems with his mysterious background would be no more in a week if he didn’t think about it.

Percy held tightly onto that thought even though nothing would obviously change.

***

The following days were a blur of constant work. Percy couldn’t remember when he slept or if he did sleep in the first place, but he was far from tired. He wouldn’t be thinking about the upcoming meeting if he had been tired…right?

Only snippets of the events in the last few days were etched on his mind. He remembered the crook-nosed elderly woman, who’d sold him her potions before entering the Dragon Lair shop and that she sold him her stash of more than two hundred potions for a nice price. Percy might have been absentminded for a while, but he recalled asking the elderly woman if she was willing to sell him her goods more often. The elderly woman was curious why he was so interested in her goods but quickly noticed that Percy wasn’t paying much attention to her.

The elderly woman returned to his shop daily to check the potion shelves, which would have alarmed Percy if he had been focused on work. But that wasn’t the case. The elderly woman recognized her products sold in the Dragon Lair but noticed that something about them had changed. The viscous liquid within the potion wasn’t deadly pale anymore. The potions had been neatly placed in the shelves where their vibrant content reflected the rays of sunlight shimmering through the windows in the most impressive way.

The elderly woman asked Percy a few questions, but he couldn’t recall the questions or what he had answered. But he could remember Bert coming to his shop twice that week. First, he hugged Percy tightly, thanking him over and over again for enchanting the forging hammer. He handed Percy a big batch of iron armaments, which had been created in the days Bert had been experimenting with the [Echo] enchantment. It wasn’t easy to control but given his incredible experience with iron, Bert cut the production time for iron goods in half.

Bert also requested to hire some kids who lived near his smithy. Their parents weren’t well-off, and they struggled to cover all living expenses. That was not a logical reason for Percy to hire them, but the youngsters would help Bert organize everything, purchase materials, inspect the fire, and make sure it was at perfect temperature at all times while Bert focused solely on the forging process.

That was enough reason for Percy to agree to hire three youngsters. One of them was interested in becoming Bert’s apprentice, but it wasn’t like Bert completed his blacksmith license yet. According to the constitution, Bert wasn’t a full-fledged blacksmith yet. Of course, that was nonsense. Still, he couldn’t take in any students while he was still an apprentice.

The second time Bert arrived, he brought a bunch of silvron armaments. He stopped experimenting with iron and switched to using [Echo] on silvron as well. It was a little bit more difficult, but Bert made it work. The quality of his work didn’t improve by much but he was getting faster. That was great, and it would have excited Percy if he hadn’t been busy thinking about the following day.

It had been six days since Melissa arrived, and it was already late. The shop was close, and Percy didn’t have anything to distract him.

He was going crazy.

What is going to happen tomorrow? Who will I meet? Is my family dead, and it is only an acquaintance of my family who wants to see me? Or will everything be for naught, and the Duke was mistaken? He is not perfect and might make a mistake as well. Am I supposed to be happy and excited or confused and worried?

Percy’s thoughts didn’t let him rest. They forced him to stay awake and devise hundreds of possibilities for the following day.

But what exactly was he expecting from tomorrow?

What would happen?

Percy didn’t know, and he would rather stop thinking about it.

Thus, Percy chose to do something he hadn’t done in the last few weeks.

He returned to the royal forest, where his mind was cleansed of all worries.

“Some kind of plants with properties that calm the mind must be nearby,” Percy mumbled as something else, but the thoughts of the following day attracted his mind, “That’s interesting.

He summoned the Gnoll Warrior and the Blueflame Hawk in the forest and climbed up a tree, glad that his mind was finally void of any doubts above the ground.

“This is so much better,” He snickered, “Why didn’t I return earlier?”