"Let me go, you demons—! I will bite your hand and make you pay for it… darn it. The water hurts. Master, please make these demons let me go—!"

Fenrir complained as another bucket of water was thrown over his head by Nyx and Erebus. The kids were in charge of taking care of the puppy and making sure it was clean enough to go around.

Of course, Fenrir had a lot to say about it. He howled and yelled to be let go, but it was all of no use.

In the end, the puppy was forced to bear with the kids until he was super clean.

I enjoyed his misery from the inside of my shop where I attended customers. They had finally gone back to the usual number, but the tension had not fully faded.

Soon after I opened my shop, Miss Ann Shirley decided to drop by. Her face had a smile that looked sinister. She immediately headed for me, ignoring the small line. People protested, but when they noticed that she had nothing in her hand, they allowed her to pass.

"Shopkeeper, do you have some time? I have fantastic news for you… oops, looks like you are busy, but worry not. I can wait for you to be finished."

Miss Shirley told me as she dragged a stool near me to sit down on.

It must have been uncomfortable for her to sit down at a stool, but she showed no signs of complaints.

If anything, she looked too happy while sitting down and waiting for me to be finished.

Luna made her way down from the upper floor, but as soon as she saw Miss Shirley, she turned around to leave. She likely felt uncomfortable in her presence. Not that I blamed her or anything.

Miss Shirley's energy was too much for most people.

"Oh…! So Luna and Leo are living with you after all. I heard some people talking about how Leo was injured and you took them in. Looks like I can cut this out of my bingo card."

The female made an understanding sound, but I ignored her and decided to ask her what she was doing here.

"Miss Shirley, is there any particular reason you came to see me today?"

I kept my voice neutral, and the female blinked before she let out a gasp.

"Oh yeah—! I completely forgot what I was here for. But now I remember. I heard that a 'noble' from 'the high district' got caught for drugs… and kidnapping. But mostly drugs. And my sources told me that you were involved with it. Can you tell me more about it?"

She asked with an interested look on her face.

I suddenly felt caught, wondering whether I should open my mouth or not. But Shirley's interested expression told me that if I showed even a little hint of interest, then she would try to milk it even more.

It would be better for me to feign ignorance and let her talk.

"Oh really? Did something like that happen? I had no idea."

I could tell that even Shirley could tell that I was bullshitting. Her eyes rolled as she kept an eye on me. But thankfully, she did not point anything out and just hummed.

"I see. So you know nothing about it? I got it. Anyway, nothing much has changed in the town. Those who are after the Grooves' treasure are still trying to break in here, but no one seems to have any idea about it."

Miss Shirley sighed as she placed a hand on her cheek to give me a look. She likely thought that I would tell her more.

But I was not that naive and just kept smiling.

Finally, she decided to leave after giving me one last look. I watched her leave, my heart thundering in my chest, and I took a deep breath to calm myself down.

"I will take my leave now, shopkeeper. There are so many more rumors for me to catch. Oh, I forgot to tell you. The road to the south of the Groove is closed. Make sure you do not travel that side if you ever need to leave."

Miss Shirley warned before she left.

Once again, her parting words made my heart beat faster and sweat accumulate.

'Does she know? What does she know—!'

I questioned myself as I looked at her leaving back. Luna also came down minutes later, and her eyes looked worried.

"Shopkeeper, that woman—"

"Don't worry about it. She will not tell anyone anything… hopefully. Let's just focus on ourselves for now. How is Leo doing?"

I asked Luna, and she finally looked relieved.

"Leo is fine now. He is in a condition to travel. Do you think we should… head back to the Groove? Is that truly the right choice for us to make?"

The female asked in a low voice. I could tell that she was reluctant to head back for some reason.

But as much as I wanted to tell her to do what she wanted, that would not be the right thing to do.

"I know that the emotional toll this will put on you is massive, but I don't think you have another choice. Also, don't worry. I am coming with you. I can act as your emotional support."

As soon as these words were out of my mouth, I wanted to hit myself. There was no need for me to make such a promise to Luna.

Especially when I had no way to keep it with her.

But Luna's relieved look was something that made me feel better.

"I-I see. That's good… I think. Anyway, I will go and prepare for the trip now. There is a lot that needs to get done."

The female told me as she returned to what she had been doing before—taking care of her brother.

My routine was rather normal as well, and nothing out of the ordinary. Things were returning to how they used to be.

Two days after, it was time for us to leave for the Groove.

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