Yune, Jack, and Mary all jumped down into one of the dark alleys with the prize in hand. They looked around to see if there was anybody nearby, but there was no one. Nobody was following them, either. Then, they transformed back into their normal forms.

Mary tossed the coin over to Yune and asked, "You still have a shopkeep, I presume?"

"A shopkeep?" Yune wondered and then she remembered, "Yeah, the shopkeep should still be around."

"I remember the shopkeep, but usually he comes to us. We had to chant something, but it's a blur to me," Jack said. Yune also didn't remember how to find the shopkeep.

Mary smiled with confidence and said, "Luckily for us, I know how to get him. One of us has to say 'Shopkeep. Shopkeep.' And then say something ridiculous. Then, he should just appear out of thin air."

"I don't appear out of thin air. It's more like getting dragged out of my bedroom," a man said from behind the three girls.

They all jumped up in surprise and looked behind them.

It was a hunched man wearing a gas mask and a trench coat. This time he also wore a sleep mask with eyelashes drawn on them along with some pajamas underneath his coat with pink dinosaurs scrawled all over them.

"Alright. Now, I remember you!" Jack and Yune exclaimed.

Mary sarcastically said, "Oh, I'm so glad this guy is still around. I wonder how this merchant looks as he seems to be the same guy I knew long ago."

"Long ago? How long?" Yune asked.

"Oh. Nevermind."

"Oh, now I get it. You're not from around this time. You must be older than you look with how you act," Yune continued.

"I'm not old," Mary said annoyed.

"It would explain a lot," Jack commented as she noticed that even though Mary was more active, she also didn't really know much about current mannerisms and objects.

"Hey. I'm just you're average middle schooler. Nothing strange about it."

The shopkeep went into his coat and pulled out a cup of warm tea. "Did you three just call me over to talk about this grandma's age?"

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Who are you calling grandma!?" Mary yelled.

Yune wanted to change topic. "Actually, I want to exchange this coin," she said while holding out the black coin spewing a thin layer of fog.

The shopkeep grabbed the coin and examined it thoroughly. He brought it right up to his gas mask's eye cover. He then flipped it up into the air and asked, "What do you want for it?"

"What can we get for one coin?" Jack asked.

"One of these coins is still considered a lot to me. You three seem different than any Light Guardian. I can sense much darkness in you all. I wonder if you three will drop coins upon your deaths," the shopkeep threatened.

The three began to take a step back and were about to transform for a fight.

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Don't go. I don't care what you are. As long as you can get me these black coins, we won't have any problems."

The three girls relaxed themselves and he asked, "So, what do you three want? What are you looking for? Anything and almost everything is possible."

The three eyed each other and wondered what to get. They huddled up while the shopkeep just waited patiently. They all began to quietly talk amongst themselves.

"We're going to need money if we are to survive," Jack said, "And we didn't see that owl show up during dinner or when that Night Demon showed up."

"That's a good point, Jacqueline," Mary said, "If something happens, that money would be helpful."

Yune nodded. "Alright. Let's see how much money we can get for that one coin."

The three broke their huddle formation. Yune walked to the front and before she opened her mouth, the shopkeep said, "I can give 1000 dollars to each of you. Don't act surprised. It's not like you three were very quiet."

Mary nodded and asked, "And 1000 dollars for each of us. 3000 dollars... is that a lot? Sounds like a lot."

Jack said, "Really? That's a lot for one of these coins. I don't remember ever getting this kind of deal."

"I can lower it."

"No, that's alright." And Jack shut her mouth.

Yune asked, "My memories aren't as clear, but that does seem like a lot of money for one coin."

"Well, call it a gift," The shopkeep said while putting the coin into his coat and taking out stacks of cash. He began to count them and hand them out to the three girls. "My number one policy is to have happy - and recurrent - customers. And to have customers come back from the dead to call me is a happy surprise."

"You remember each of us?" Mary asked surprised.

"Yep. Can't call myself a good salesman if I can't remember faces and the names that go along with it, Mary."

"I always thought you were a strange one," Yune said.

The shopkeep was finished handing out the money and said a farewell, "Goodbye, you three 'Light' Guardians. Pleasure doing business."

And with a gust of wind, he just blanked out of existence.

"Well, at least we know that the shopkeep isn't picky about his customers," Jack said.

"Yeah, but if we are to get anything else, we can either get a job or hunt more Night Demons," Yune commented.

"Job!? That sounds like hard work! And those are the two words I don't like," Mary complained.

"By the way, Mary. So, how old are you? Are you like our senior?" Yune asked.

"I'm not old - damn it!" Mary yelled and she began to walk away. And the other two followed.

And the three girls walked back to their crooked house from the outside, but a nice cozy home in the inside. And each one prepared for tomorrow.