"So, what has been bothering you?"
I asked the girl just as she took the first sip of her tea. She looked startled before she brought the cup down and gave me a blank look.
"Well, one of my… underlings… made a mistake and caused a dangerous beast to be unleashed in the world. As we are secretive people, we don't like to cause too much disturbance. But still, we feel like correcting her mistake. What should we do?"
The young girl asked, and I had to stop and think about her words.
Actually, I felt too focused on what she was talking about, but I tried to break down her words into a simpler meaning.
"Hmm, has that monster harmed someone?"
I asked, and Emma looked unbothered.
"Well, a few people… I think. We don't keep track of that thing. Truthfully, it's not even about people, but hiding our own faults. What do you think we should do so that we can take care of our mess and people don't suspect us?"
Emma asked, and I felt like the answer was obvious.
If you wanted to do something but did not want credit, then you just needed to make it seem like someone else did it.
"Hmm, if that's the case, then why not pin the credit on the police? Or better yet, lead the police to the culprit and let them take care of it? That way, the case would be off your hand, right?"
I told Emma, and her face turned into an ugly frown.
For a minute, I was sure she was going to throw her hot tea at my face and make a run for it. I even braced myself for the impact and began to recall various anti-burn creams I could use instead.
But the burn never came, and Emma seemed lost in thought.
"Hmm, so you think I should get the police to help…? No, I am sure the shopkeeper would give me better advice… unless… Ah, how did I not think of this before—! I can always use the police to get my first work done. That makes so much more sense."
Emma looked like she had just had a stroke of inspiration, and I immediately felt the need to tell her that this was not what I meant.
But one look at her face told me that she was not going to listen to a thing I said.
It was… just better to not ask her any more questions and let her do what she wanted to.
"I should go and prepare for what I need to get done. And I also need a plan to make sure the police do not find out… anyway, shopkeeper, I am thankful for all your help."
Emma told me as she jumped down from the sofa and all but ran to the door. She opened it just as more and more people entered the bookshop.
I had no time to stop her, and I did not want to stop her either.
[Ding! You have earned 10 faith points.]
The message came almost instantly, and I sighed in relief.
"So that was the right decision to make after all. Should I try to find anything else to buy with these? I am sure something will catch my attention."
I told myself as I went to the counter. A few people had picked out books to read, and they wanted to buy them.
"-anyway, there was another attack last night—"
"-those poor officers. They say that only the leader survived, but that was because he took a separate way home—"
"-wasn't one of the officers newly married? His poor wife is left all alone now."
As I made my way to the counter, I heard the people gossiping about something. The context clues told me that it was regarding the serial killer and likely the officers that came to my shop last night.
I quickly processed the transactions for my customers, and they all looked relieved to get their books. However, one of the last customers was an old lady who loved to gossip.
As soon as she neared me, I knew I would be forced to hear her gossip for a long time.
"Shopkeeper, it's nice to see that you are alright. Anyway, did you hear what happened to the officers that came to raid your shop? They are all dead. You better be careful or you might become next."
The old lady told me in a hushed voice as she looked around my shop. She was always like that—looking for something to make her next scoop of gossip.
'Ugh, people like her are so much trouble. I need to get her out before she decides to ask for tea and starts talking my ears out.'
So, following my own advice, I quickly helped the gossiping lady out, and she left with an annoyed look on her face.
________
"Hmm, I am disappointed that the shopkeeper did not take my side, but I guess having this shop be a neutral ground is a much better option than to make it an enemy."
Emma Jones's body went back to her mature self as soon as she got away from the shop. The annoyance she was feeling slowly faded away, and understanding took its place.
As much as she wanted the shopkeeper to not help others, she knew that she could not bind him to her using magic. He was just too powerful for her.
But as long as he kept helping her out, she had no problem either.
"Hmm, I never thought I would see a day the police would come in handy. But I guess having them clean up our mess is not that bad. That way, even Reeze Spencer won't be able to interfere in my plans."
There was a lot that Emma needed to plan, and she quickly got to work.
The first thing she needed to do was to make sure the police were on the right track. And to do that, she decided to send them a gift.
Next morning, before the sun even rose in the sky, the police department found a small box in front of their doorsteps, and they all carefully looked at it.
No one wanted to be the one to open it, lest it turned out to be a curse from a witch. So the one who stepped forward was General Henry.
He was one of the strongest and also immune to most spells due to his internal magic.
"General, please be careful. We do not know what could be in this box—"
His secretary told him, but the general was already done opening the box by then.
Inside the box was a small piece of cloth and nothing else. The general brought the cloth up to his nose to take a sniff.
"General, don't—"
His secretary tried to stop him, but it was already too late.
"This smells like our latest case victim's scent, but also something else. I think… we might be able to find the culprit if we follow this scent. However, who could have sent us this as a gift?"
The general asked, but there was only one person who came to mind—a certain mysterious shopkeeper who always helped him out when he needed it the most.
'I see. So the shopkeeper must have done this to help me out.'
__________
Please give me Power Stones if you can. It helps a lot.