Reya and Madiv ran out of the tavern and into the street, where Reya nearly tripped over her own feet in surprise. Anna had asked for help in the smithy, but it hadn’t quite registered completely in her mind. She’d been expecting four or five adventurers. Maybe ten, if Arwin’s pitch had been really effective.

She hadn’t been expecting a fully-fledged crowd. Rodrick had somehow managed to gather everyone at the end of the street and was keeping them from spilling out and overwhelming everyone, but the grumbling roar of conversation made it clear the adventurers weren’t keen on waiting longer.

How did I not hear them when we were inside the tavern? Does Lillia’s darkness also block out sound or something?

She didn’t have any time to waste wondering. Together with Madiv, she ran into the smithy.

“Whoa,” Reya breathed, skidding to a stop. Arwin had been busy. Eight suits of armor forged from Wyrm scales hung from the walls. Helms, greaves, chestpieces, and gauntlets. Her eyes caught on the last of the lot. It looked like Arwin had figured out how to make another piece of armor. In addition to them, several suits of Brightsteel armor from his previous forging efforts hung at the back of the Infernal Armory. The clang of metal echoed from the back room of the smithy, marking Arwin’s continued work behind them.

“Arwin has been busy,” Madiv observed, running a hand along a piece of armor. “This is high quality. I do not know what an appropriate price for something like this is.”

“I have no idea either. I’ve never sold something like this,” Reya said, just relieved that the armor wasn’t magical as well. If it was, she was pretty sure they’d all get torn to bits on the spot by a swarm of ravenous adventurers. “We’ll have to play it by ear. His normal suits of armor — without gauntlets — sold for around one hundred and twenty gold. Maybe we start these at three hundred? Actually, I don’t know. We might be able to go higher.”

Rodrick stuck his head through the door of the smithy. “You two almost ready? If I keep asking people to wait, they’re going to start getting pissed.”

Reya tugged at her hair and glanced around nervously. This was a lot faster than she’d been expecting. Selling to one or two people was easy, but there was a literal horde outside their doors.

I don’t know what price to set. What if I sell them for too little? Why isn’t Arwin here too? Wait, he’s still working. We have to account for that. Maybe we need to raise the price because of the limited number of sets. Five hundred? What if that’s too expensive and everyone leaves? I —

“We are prepared,” Madiv said, adjusting his jacket and blowing out a short breath. His features flattened for a moment before a small smile pulled at his lips and his stance changed. Even though the only thing that had been adjusted was his posture, it almost seemed as if he’d transformed.

There was an almost regal air about Madiv, as if he were the servant to some king. He crossed his arms behind his back and pressed the heels of his feet together, standing at attention.

Why is he more composed than me? I’m the one that’s supposed to be the teacher! I need to set an example.

Reya forced herself to relax and went to pull her hood up.

There are too many people here. I can’t let them figure out who I am.

“What are you doing?” Madiv asked. “You said that facial expressions are vital to making a sale. Nobody will be able to see you seducing them if you cover your appearance.”

“I’m not — oh, forget it.” Reya blew out a breath of her own. Madiv was right. Nobody would try to do anything when they were inside the smithy, and her face couldn’t stay hidden forever.

Besides, the majority of her enemies weren’t adventures. This wasn’t the right crowd for them. Reya shook herself off and flashed Rodrick a grin.

“Okay. I’m ready. You can send them in. We’ll handle things from here.”

Rodrick gave her a sharp nod and pulled his head out of the smithy. She could still hear the muted conversations coming up from the crowd outside them. Something about their quiet street having this many people on it sent shivers down her back. It felt… strange.

Fortunately, she didn’t have long to worry about that. The door to the smithy only remained shut for a few seconds before it swung open once more and a burly adventurer stepped inside.

A young woman followed behind him. Both of them were clad in metal armor and bore swords at their sides. They had guild insignias on their chestplates depicting a flying bird of some sort.

Behind them came even more adventurers. Men and women spilled into the smithy and showed no signs of stopping. Reya suppressed a curse and pushed through the crowd, squeezing her way over to the door and poking her head outside.

No time to panic. Have to act. We can’t sell shit if nobody can hear or see anything.

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“Make a line!” She screamed over the crowd. “We’ll let you into the Infernal Armory in order! Nobody’s going to get to see anything if there’s a damn horde of you in the building. Wait your turn or get lost!”

To her complete surprise, that worked. The adventurers trying to shove through the doors paused and gave her some more room. Reya blew out a short huff and pulled back into the Infernal Armory, not letting her shock show on her face.

There were about a dozen adventurers already inside the smithy, and all of them were staring at her expectantly. Reya cleared her throat as the back of her neck reddened.

“Uh… feel free to look around. This is all the stock we’ve got at the moment, but Ifrit is currently working to make more.”

“Please refrain from spending an undue amount of time in the building,” Madiv added, lowering his upper body in a formal bow before lifting his gaze once more, a cold smile pulling across his lips. “If you do, I will be forced to eviscerate you.”

No! Too much, Madiv! Pull it back!

Reya shot the vampire a sharp look. He caught it and cleared his throat. But, before he could act, the woman with the bird guild insignia giggled and nudged her compatriot.

“They’re really into the demon thing, aren’t they? This is so cute.”

“They’re definitely dedicated,” the man agreed. “Did you see his teeth?”

The other adventurers all chuckled and muttered to each other, spreading out through the shop and taking a closer look at the armor. Not a single one of them had taken Madiv’s threat seriously. Reya could barely bite back her disbelief.

Holy shit. They all think we’re just pretending.

“How much for this piece, girl?” a large man asked Reya, pointing to a suit of Wyrmscale armor.

Reya opened her mouth to respond, but she didn’t get a chance to answer. Madiv had somehow appeared beside her, his cold eyes burning into those of the Adventurer like hot irons.

“Sir, I will kindly request that you refer to the servants of this establishment with respect. Acceptable names for her are Ma’am or Mistress.”

Giving orders to rowdy warriors was generally a fast track to starting a fight. Reya tensed, but the large adventurer blinked in surprise, then grinned instead of throwing a fit. He dropped into a clumsy bow. By the time he rose, Madiv was gone, having headed over to speak to adventurers on the other side of the room.

“Of course. I didn’t realize you lot were that into it. My apologies, Ma’am. How much for this suit of armor?”

Not once in Reya’s life had she ever been referred to as Ma’am. She dragged her wits back to her and straightened her back. “How much are you willing to pay? We have a limited number of pieces today.”

The large man pursed his lips. “Can I touch anything?”

“You can touch, but if you manage to damage anything, you’re paying whatever I decide to make you pay for it.”

The adventurer let out a grunt of laughter and inclined his head in understanding. He ran his hands along the armor, then rapped on the scales with his knuckles. “Too small for dragon scale… and no way there would be dragons this far out, being sold in a place like this. What is this made out of, Ma’am?”

“Wyrmling scale,” Reya replied. It struck her that she didn’t actually know anything about the properties of Wyrmling scale, but it was too late to rectify that now.

“Wyrmling?” the adventurer rubbed his chin. “That’s an interesting choice. Why?”

“I couldn’t begin to fathom Ifrit’s plans or goals,” Reya said. “You would have to ask him, but he’s currently locked away forging. If you return at a later date, he may be willing to hear out your questions.”

“And what about sabatons? Do I get boots with this as well?”

“Not yet. They’re being developed. We can adjust the sizes of anything you buy to ensure it fits you, though.”

The adventurer nodded slowly. “Three hundred gold for the lot, then?”

“I’d give four hundred,” a woman with the build of a stone wall said from beside him, crossing her muscled arms. She was enormous, but barely had so much as a trace of fat on her entire body.

“As if I’d pay that much. This place is fun, but that’s some real high-end armor pricing. If you want to pay that much, help yourself.” The man looked back to Reya. “Is Ifrit going to be selling more pieces of armor like this in the future?”

“Yes. We obviously don’t have enough to sell to everyone today,” Reya said. With the number of people they had here, she didn’t actually have to sell to the first person she met — she had to sell to the ones with the most money. “It shouldn’t be too long before we have a waitlist. If you’re not completely sold today, you can wait to see what people think before putting your name down.”

“And where will this list be?”

“The Devil’s Den,” Reya replied, making a split-second decision and kicking the work down the line like a true professional. “The tavern down the road. Let the demons working there know of your desires and they’ll handle things.”

“Demons?” the man arched an eyebrow before letting out a chuckle. “I’ll do just that. Thanks for the time, Ma’am.”

He turned and squeezed past the other adventurers, heading for the door. The woman that had spoken up moved to take his place and nodded to the armor.

“This is gonna need some serious modification if it’ll fit me. It’s not meant for someone with some real mass.”

Reya wasn’t sure any armor was meant for the hulking woman. She had Arwin and Rodrick’s muscles put together and then some.

“We can definitely handle that for you,” Reya said, not letting herself stare for too long. “It’ll just take a little time. You might have to return later.”

“Four hundred gold, then, Ma’am?” the woman asked with a wry grin. Out of the corner of Reya’s eye, she saw new adventurers entering the building as others left. Madiv had already managed to sell two pieces of armor.

“Four hundred is acceptable.”

“Good shit,” the woman said as Reya took the pieces of armor off the wall. “Name’s Wanda. When do I come back?”

“Given the amount of people here right now? I’d suggest tomorrow or the day after,” Reya said. “May I suggest the Devil’s Den for a short stay or to grab a meal? I can assure you that you’ll enjoy it. Bring your money when you return and you can pay then.”

“I’ll do that,” Wanda said. She winked. “And I am rather hungry. I suppose I’ll give it a gander. Thanks for the service, Ma’am.”

The massive woman turned and strode out of the room, nearly bowling several adventurers over in the process and ducking to leave the door. Reya had no time to pay her any more attention.

The day had only just gotten started. There was a lot more armor to sell and money to make before she could rest. But, as Reya turned to the next adventurer waiting for her attention, she found a small grin forming on her lips.

This is actually kind of fun.