Midnight cloaked the world in eerie silence as Kaito stepped into the Whispering Forest.
Moonlight filtered through twisted branches, casting shadows that moved when they shouldn't. Crickets chirped nervously. Kaito, dressed in his travel cloak with a hidden stun baton tucked inside, didn't look like a merchant—he looked like someone expecting trouble.
He was.
"Come alone," they said. He brought a drone hovering silently above his shoulder anyway. Rules were more like… suggestions.
At precisely 12:00, the air shifted.
A figure stepped out from behind a tree. Then another. And a third. All cloaked in dark green, faces covered by ornate silver masks shaped like birds.
Three masked strangers. One merchant with a magical shopping app.
"What, no tea party?" Kaito asked, hands in his pockets. "I brought snacks."
The center figure tilted their head. "You are Kaito Tanaka?"
"I am," he replied calmly. "You're… the forest cosplay club?"
No laughter. The middle one stepped forward.
"We are the Veilborn. A neutral faction. We traffic in secrets, not politics."
"Sounds like you traffic in drama," Kaito muttered. "What do you want?"
"We want an alliance. Your methods… fascinate us. Technology that mimics magic, yet functions beyond it. You are either a prophet… or a very dangerous man."
Kaito smiled slightly. "Dangerous is just misunderstood brilliance."
The left figure pulled out a small orb and placed it on the ground. A soft hum filled the clearing, and Kaito's drone began twitching.
Anti-surveillance field.
He raised an eyebrow. "Impressive. I'll want one."
"Trade, then. You give us limited access to your wares—we offer you protection, information, and access to black market channels."
"Why me?" Kaito asked, more serious now.
"Because," the center one said, "the Mage Council is watching. The nobility is curious. And some… are preparing to remove you before you 'corrupt the natural order.'"
Kaito sighed. "Why does no one like convenience?"
"It scares them."
There was a pause.
Then he said, "Show me what you've got."
The Veilborn produced a scroll that shimmered with encrypted runes, visible only through an enchanted lens they handed him.
It listed:
Secret courier routes
Hidden supply caches
Access codes to underground auctions
And most importantly: "Mage Council surveillance bypass key."
Kaito whistled. "That's worth more than most kingdoms."
"We know," the masked one replied. "But so is your merchandise."
Kaito pulled a small metal device from his satchel. "Here's my counter-offer."
He clicked it on. The air filled with a quiet, low hum.
"EMP suppressor. Won't kill magic. But it scrambles mana sensors and makes you… invisible."
He tossed it to them. The center figure caught it, inspecting it under the moonlight.
"We accept."
The orb on the ground powered down. Kaito's drone stopped twitching and resumed its patrol.
"We will be in touch," the Veilborn said, melting back into the trees like ghosts.
Kaito stood alone, watching their shadows disappear.
He let out a long breath.
"Well," he muttered, "that wasn't ominous at all."
He turned to leave—then froze.
A fourth figure stood just inside the treeline, leaning casually against a branch. No mask. Just a hood and glowing violet eyes.
"Making friends already?" the stranger said, voice smooth like smoke. "Or just stacking enemies with style?"
Kaito tensed. "Who are you?"
The figure grinned. "A fan. For now. Just wanted to see the man behind the Mart."
And then—just like that—they vanished.
Kaito stared at the empty space for a moment longer, then pulled out his phone.
Order Placed: One enchanted baseball bat.
"Better safe than stabbed."
To be continued…