The Duchess kept an eye on the shopkeeper as soon as he stepped into the Fae forest.
She knew there was no need for her to worry, but she still wanted to do her best to make her guest comfortable.
As for his ability to find rare treasures? He did that not even ten minutes in.
There were many replicas of the World Tree's Fruit in the market, but the shopkeeper somehow managed to find the genuine product at first glance, and the Duchess felt a little greedy.
Even she wanted to grab the fruit and offered to help the shopkeeper for half the fruit's price.
But she was lucky that she never got the chance to do that because the shopkeeper shocked her with his offer to the Fae shopkeeper.
He gave her something never seen before—medicine for Yellow Curse…
'What an amazing man. I suddenly feel glad I did not worsen my terms with him for the sake of momentary greed.'
The Duchess felt calm after thinking about the disaster she had avoided.
But her amazement did not end there. The more she watched the shopkeeper deal with the Fae, the more she felt like she had underestimated the shopkeeper too much.
He was… just too good at his work.
Not only had he seen through the ploy to exploit himself, but he had also navigated the situation to somehow get out of the Fae shopkeeper's trap.
"Duchess, we should get going now."
The shopkeeper told her, and the Duchess nodded.
"Shall we head deeper now? I am sure you would want to see some more special stuff."
The Duchess told the shopkeeper, and he agreed.
But despite them heading deeper, nothing seemed to be turning the shopkeeper's eyes.
He truly was a higher being who picked the best and did not get swayed by mediocre stuff around him.
'Shopkeeper, I will never doubt you ever again.'
The Duchess vowed as she followed the shopkeeper.
______
'Fuck—! Don't look around. Do not let the shiny stuff get to you and show how eager you are to look around. Ugh, but maybe just one glance won't hurt… no, don't be a fool. That is how temptation starts.'
I reminded myself as I walked through the market.
I kept my head straight so that all the shiny stuff around me wouldn't cause me to look around.
"Shopkeeper, are you not interested in any of this stuff?"
The Duchess asked me, and I felt compelled to answer her.
But I could not tell her that the reason I was not looking around was because I was worried about my finances.
"I will stop when I feel something attracting my attention. You should look around as well, Duchess. Maybe you will be able to find something that you like."
I told her in a vague way to stop paying attention to me, and she took it literally.
"You are right, shopkeeper. I should look around as well… ah—! Oh my—! Is that…? Give me a second, shopkeeper. I will be back in a second."
The Duchess told me, and I heard a sudden ding noise coming from my pocket.
[Ding! You have earned 5 faith points]
As expected, I had gained some faith points for helping the Duchess, and I waited for her to return.
Her expression was rosy when the Duchess came back, and she looked happy to have gotten her hands on whatever it was she wanted to buy.
"I am beyond grateful toward you, shopkeeper. Had it not been for your warning, I would have missed that important item I came here to buy. Once again, you have become my benefactor. Please, allow me to repay this favor. Please, follow me."
The Duchess told me, and I wanted to tell her that this was all a coincidence.
But one look at the Duchess's face told me that she was not going to listen to a word I said to her.
So I had no choice but to follow her.
The Duchess took me to the center of the Fae market where a lot of people were gathered.
But unlike the crowd from before, the people here were not Fae, but other species.
I suddenly felt like I was in a dream as I took in people with goat ears and even dog ears walking around.
And somehow, this sight in front of me was still less shocking than some of the anime conventions I had seen in my past life… mostly because no one was half-naked.
In fact, most people seemed to be hiding their features as much as they could.
"Shopkeeper, you should hide your face as well. Knowledge is power in this world, and the more people know about you, the more they can use against you. That includes your appearance as well… not that someone like you needs to worry about it."
The Duchess told me, and I wanted to ask her more.
Why would she say that to me? Did she know what I was… or was it because I was so ordinary that there was no need for me to hide?
Whatever the case was, I did not want to stand out.
So I pulled my hood over my face.
The Duchess did not seem to do the same as she walked toward the people.
Her regal appearance caused people to part, and some almost bowed to her as they discussed the presence of the 'Fae queen's bloodline.'
Suddenly, I knew why the Duchess did not bother covering herself up.
"Duchess, what brings you here? You did not make an appointment with us."
The Fae sitting in front of the huge shop frowned as he looked at the Duchess before he asked her.
"Is Madam Shelly inside? I have a special person for her to take a look at. How soon can you arrange this meeting for me?"
The Duchess asked, and the receptionist looked behind her and toward the long line that had formed behind the Duchess.
He frowned before he faced the Duchess.
"I am afraid that it will take some time. As you can see, there are a lot of people who want to ask Madam Shelly questions as well. I cannot just give you the pass. You would have to wait—"
The receptionist tried to speak when the line behind the Duchess suddenly started to disappear.
"Huh—! I need to do something."
"I-I also need to go."
The people in the line disappeared until only the Duchess and I remained.
The receptionist looked pained to see this, but he sighed and swallowed his next words.
"Looks like there is no other customer now besides me. So, can you adjust me and my guest in your schedule now?"
The Duchess asked, not even surprised at what happened.
She reminded me too much of the people who were used to getting their way.
Even the receptionist could not make any excuse and had to let her in.
Sigh
"Just one minute. Let me go and inform Madam Shelly that we have guests. I am sure she would welcome you without much delay."
The man told us before he knocked at the door and disappeared inside.
And then we waited for him to come back… for a whole 15 minutes.