The days passed, each one colder than the last, but the crab did not mind it, for his heart was warm. Warmed by the cozy wool hat that his baker had gifted him, by the sight of his domain developing, and by the joy of all the trading he was doing.

All morning, afternoon, and sometimes even evening, the crustacean worked his trade. And his trade was… trading.

Adventurers would come and go, and he'd sell and buy, trade and barter, wheel and deal. Weapons and armor, potions and magical items, sometimes just junk, others trinkets with peculiar properties straight from his bottomless backpack. Business was thriving, and Balthazar wanted it to keep going that way.

He was doing it not just out of pure love for the craft and coin, but now also because he had a new purpose for all that experience and levels he once cared so little for—the next floor of the dungeon.

Something down there beckoned him. Something deep, both within himself and the dungeon itself. He could not fully understand it, but the feeling was impossible to ignore.

Balthazar needed to go deeper down.

What he would discover, he did not know, but he was dying to find out.

The problem was, something lurked below. Something fast. Something higher level than him. Something with meaty feet.

And that last part really creeped the crustacean out, for some reason.

The crab needed to be ready before exploring the mines. Eager as he was to go deeper, he still knew that he would find no answer if his insides wound up splattered across some cavern wall. He would also need backup at a high enough level to accompany him down below, as he was not one to get his pincers dirty himself if he could help it.

[Slightly Used Flute traded. Experience gained.]

[You have reached level 32]

Finally! The crab thought as he watched the adventurer he had just traded with leave the bazaar.

The merchant knew that the higher his level got, the more experience it would take to level up, but he was still dissatisfied with how long it was taking him to go from just 31 to 32, given how he wanted to reach at least level 40 before daring to enter the Semla Mines again.

"Maybe it has to do with the types of trades I make too," Balthazar considered. "I've done lots of deals the past few days, but they're all mostly small, cheap stuff. Perhaps if I was making bigger deals for higher values I would gain better experience?"

Tutoring had also helped with his experience gaining, although he suspected not by a lot. Druma was still slowly learning how to put letters together to form words. Last time the crab checked, the goblin had managed to make it to the end of the first line of text on the first page of his book without any help. While Balthazar couldn't be certain, he doubted his teaching was contributing with much experience at all.

Tristan, however, was a different case. The crab's partner was growing more and more confident with each passing day, and truly showing his natural ability to close deals. So much so, that the crustacean had to find other ways for the human to keep practicing that didn't involve him staying at the bazaar all day, as he was starting to interfere with Balthazar's own experience grind.

Luckily for both of them, the formerly disgraced man was now finding great success at securing supply deals with the traveling suppliers passing through Ardville, which would ensure an even better stocked bazaar in the future.

Save for the disappointingly slow leveling, things were going well for the crab.

"Alright, 10 points into health," Balthazar muttered to himself as he navigated the system in his eyes. "And, of course, plus 3 to Charisma as usual. Good enough."

[Health: 310/310]

[Charisma: 87]

As he dismissed the level-up prompt, the merchant eyed the clock behind the counter.

"She should be here any minute now," he said with a widening grin.

Business was not the only thing that had been growing recently. A certain construction project behind the bazaar was also finally ready and waiting.

"Madeleine!" Balthazar exclaimed as he heard the entrance bell and turned to see the blonde baker arrive.

"I came as soon as I got your message!" the smiling girl said, hurrying toward the counter as her braid bounced from side to side behind her. "Is it really finished already?"

"Yep!" the excited crab replied while going around the counter to join her. "One morning I passed by the site and John and Mason were still instructing Bouldy on how to properly place the roof, and then after lunch I looked again and the building was done."

"Seriously?!" the baffled young woman said. "Just like that?"

"Oh, yes. I find it best not to question how those old guys always build their stuff only when you're not paying attention. But come on, let's go check on them."

The crab and the baker exited the gazebo through the back and found John and Mason outside the finished kitchen alongside Bouldy, who was carefully dusting off the tips of the roof shingles with a broom between his fingers.

Square and barely tall enough for a stone golem to duck inside, the building stood a few steps away from the bazaar and much smaller than it, with its exterior made of mostly gray bricks and a slanted roof.

"It's… it's perfect," Madeleine whispered as she stared at the small building with eyes like open skies.

Balthazar swelled with joy. "Wait until you see the inside!"

"Ah, there she is!" John said as he noticed them. "We were just giving it a few finishing touches while waiting for you. Come closer. Let us give you a quick tour, young miss."

The crab and the baker joined the carpenter and the stonemason as they approached the front door of the small building.

"The walls are entirely stone, as you can see," Mason started explaining. "I worked all the cutting, but our tall friend over here personally picked each one of the boulders used to make the bricks. Something about knowing the right rocks for the job, I think? I'm not sure, I just took his word for it, seeing as they're all technically family."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Friend," the golem standing over them said with a content smile.

"Thank you, Bouldy," Madeleine said, looking up and returning the smile.

"The roof was a different story, though," said John. "These rocks wouldn't do for the shingles, so we had to go up to Ardville and import them. That threw a bit of a snag into our plans at first."

Balthazar started frantically waving his pincers around and mouthing muted words to the carpenter from behind the baker.

"But thankfully your crabby patron over here offered to pay for the order right away and all ended well for your kitchen's roof."

The eight-legged merchant let out a quiet groan as he dropped his claws to the ground.

"Really?" said Madeleine with a grin of pretend surprise. "Our merchant crab, offering to pay for something?" She turned to Balthazar. "I might have to start using less butter in my recipes, because I think it's making your heart soft!"

Balthazar rolled his eyestalks and waved dismissively at her. "Oh, shush. Let's just go inside, alright?"

They started walking toward the front door while Mason offered more details.

"So that's mostly it for the outside. John made this fine wooden door you see here, while I put some of my grandfather's teachings to work in order to craft you some double-layered panes of tempered glass for the windows. These things should be able to withstand the heat from your ovens inside against the cold from the outside without shattering too easily."

As they entered the square building, they found it was split into two areas, the first about a third of the space, while the other two thirds were behind a long counter made of polished stone. The first area, which was clearly a reception and hang out room, had floors of fine wood that was smooth and coated with a thin layer that made it slightly shiny.

"A special fire resistant finish," John explained as he noticed the young woman eyeing the floor. "It's a little secret trick an old alchemist friend of mine has—mixing fire resistance potions with wood varnish in just the right way before applying it. It should help with the heat and fire from the kitchen. After all, I would hate to see this beauty of a wooden floor covered in scorch marks."

"Ooooh, neat!" Madeleine said, looking down at the floorboards with genuine wonder.

"The counter is all stone, of course," said Mason. "That way you can place as much weight and at whatever temperatures you want without worry."

"Let's check the kitchen!" the excited crab exclaimed, skittering past the counter.

As they followed him into the baking area, John crossed his arms with a chuckle.

"Why don't you take it from here and present the rest?" the old craftsman said. "I can tell you want to."

Balthazar cleared his throat and propped himself up.

"As you can see here," he started, directing Madeleine's attention to one of the walls with his pincers, "this side of the kitchen is meant for storage of all your baking tools and ingredients. John expertly crafted a dozen of these cupboards and drawers that should keep everything safe and organized for you."

"So much room!" the girl said as she opened one of the empty cupboards and looked inside.

"Over by the corner there," Balthazar continued, "Mason carved a stone chest meant for perishables and other things that spoil fast, to keep them cool and away from the heat of the ovens and summer, once that comes around."

"Nice thinking!" the baker commented with an approving nod.

"If you look inside, you will see there are already a few bowls of whipped cream from the dungeon fountain. I had Bouldy and Druma go in there and bring some in case you wanted to do something with it right away. That stuff doesn't keep well once out of the fountain, so I will arrange for them to go in there daily to collect fresh cream for you."

Madeleine continued nodding along as she attentively listened to the crab.

"The chocolate is still a bit of a work in progress, though," he added. "But hopefully soon we will have a proper source of it to supply your kitchen with!"

Balthazar crossed to the other side of the kitchen and stood in front of the most elaborate part of the entire room.

"And finally, the crown jewel of this kitchen—the ovens!" the merchant proudly declared, extending both claws to the three stone structures.

Three hearths covered most of the western side of the building. The one in the middle was much larger than the other two, but all of them appeared to be made of carved out boulders. Each of the domed ovens, with their rounded backs that vaguely resembled the carapace of a certain type of animal, had a large opening at their front with an iron hatch that opened to the side. Above them were three separate chimneys leading up and out of the roof, while below they were mounted on top of square bases built of perfectly shaped bricks that Mason had painstakingly crafted over several days of work.

A hollow opening inside the base of each oven housed piles of firewood that Druma had already brought in the previous day, to ensure the hearths were fueled and ready to start working whenever the baker of the house wished.

Madeleine walked around the middle hearth, running her hand gently over the stone surface as her eyes wandered, wide with wonder. An idle, childlike smile lingered on her lips as she examined both the outside and the inside of the oven with great care, until she finally turned to the crab again.

"It's perfect," she said with an expression of pure glee. "I've never even dreamed of ever baking in a kitchen this wonderful. Words cannot express how much I love it and how much I cannot wait to use it for the first time. Seriously, you guys, from the bottom of my heart, I am so grateful for this place—it's simply perfect."

The young woman stepped forward and gave the carpenter, the mason, and then the crab a tight hug each before stepping back and bringing her hands together against her chest. She spun around, taking in the room one more time before letting out an adorable squeal of glee.

"This is so awesome!" she said in a slightly higher pitch while clapping her hands together in excitement.

"Well," the flustered crab started, still recomposing himself from the unexpected embrace from his friend. "I had one last thing planned for your new kitchen's inauguration, but unfortunately it seems Blue is once again—"

Just as Balthazar mentioned her, a loud stomp announced the drake's landing outside, and after a second, the azure creature strolled inside with wings folded and head held high.

"Oh, nice of you to show up, at least," said the merchant, placing the backs of his pincers against the sides of his shell disapprovingly. "Seriously, where have you been spending most of the day lately? I never see you at your cushion anymore and—Alright, just going to ignore me then."

Blue walked past the crab with a proud expression, heading toward the ovens. As she passed Madeleine, the drake bowed her head slightly at the girl in acknowledgement.

"Hello, beautiful," the baker said with a smile and a wave. "Balthazar, I'm not sure that I get it, what is Blue supposed to—Oh!"

Without warning, the drake unleashed a stream of azure fire into the opening below the middle oven, setting the firewood inside ablaze with a roar.

Madeleine jumped in place and gasped as blue light reflected off her green eyes. "So pretty…"

"Heh, she really wanted to be the one to light those ovens for the first time," Balthazar said with a chuckle.

"Well then!" the baker said with a grin while rolling up her sleeves. "If the ovens are hot, that means it's time to bake!"

The crab grinned too and stepped back, ready to let the girl do her magic while he enjoyed the show.

Except a discreet sound came from nearby, pulling Balthazar's attention away.

"Psst!"

As the merchant looked around trying to pinpoint the source of the calling, he saw a skull and a hat poking up outside one of the windows.

"Tom?" he said, cocking an eyestalk. "Why are you trying to hide? Everyone here knows about you already, you're safe."

The merchant skeleton stepped through the door hesitantly, tipping his hat awkwardly at everyone before quickly scurrying to the crab's side.

"John?" Mason said to his friend without taking his eyes off the undead. "Is that a skeleton that just walked into the kitchen we built?"

The carpenter chuckled quietly. "Right. I should have probably told you about some of Balthazar's other peculiar friends. Let's go outside and I'll catch you up."

Putting an arm over his friend's shoulder, the elder craftsman led the baffled stonecutter outside while Tom gave a single, uncomfortable wave.

"This is very unlike you, being outside during daytime," Balthazar said. "Did something happen inside the dungeon?"

"Well… Yes, sort of," the skeleton said, rubbing the back of his neck bone. "We ran into a little unexpected problem, and we're not really sure what to do with him."

The crab frowned.

"What do you mean, him?"

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