Unlike Simon, Edward already had a sneaking suspicion about what was going on. Even if he refrained from voicing these thoughts. That, however, didn’t mean he wasn’t curious.

Therefore, unlike most orders issued by Simon, this one was actually one Edward was happy to receive. He complied without objections, and soon, a sturdy man could be seen approaching ‘Severin’s Emporium’ and the crowd gathered in front of it.

Some of the adventurers shot Edwards openly hostile glances. Just being associated with Simon was enough for them to look down on him and regard him only with disgust. He was used to this by now and the fact that it was only some angry stares and nothing more made this one of the better results Ed could’ve hoped for.

Part of that was because seeing Edward being able to enter the store’s premises, without the magic barrier showing itself these people still had to consider him a customer approved by Severin himself. At least for now.

Others who realized that Ed was doing the best he could do to reign in Simon and his outrageous behavior as much as possible looked at him in a more favorable light.

Most, however, simply chose to ignore him.

The four uniformed people cared even less. They still discussed and marveled at their newly received goods and wouldn’t bother with the man. If anything, they might even be grateful to him for being one of the people responsible for leading them towards this place; No matter the initial motivations behind the visit.

Edward didn’t directly bother any of the people, though he sneaked some glances at the items in their hands and tried to listen in on their ongoing discussions. Given their volume, that wasn’t too hard a task, and his suspicions were soon confirmed.

“Damn, how can that be? To think that imbecile would be brazen enough to make up such claims and involve the Adventurer’s Society. But he seemed genuine when he gobbled down all these potions. Even when he applied the weapon enchants… He shouldn’t have such acting skills. Otherwise, I would’ve never allowed him to make such a move. Fuck. Why didn’t I try them myself first?” The stout man was blaming himself for his carelessness and kept mumbling.

“Guess I should get him out of here as soon as possible.” He paused for a moment. “Then again…”

Seeing that no one was paying him too much attention, much less trying to stop him, Edward confidently stepped into the open store.

Krey was standing in the far-left corner of the room in front of a strange-looking machine. He was in the midst of explaining something to the four subordinates that had just entered the store as well. With a quick glance, Ed could tell that Andreas, the girl, as well as Severin himself, all seemed to be in perfectly fine condition, with no sign of being hurt. If anything, the excitement emanating from the Society’s delegation hinted at Simon being the one to be hurt quite soon instead.

Ed didn’t pay them any more attention. He was more focused on the [Shopkeeper]. If the latter was dissatisfied with his presence, there was nothing he could do about it. To Ed’s surprise, the man didn’t involve himself with the customers and instead directly stared at him with a slight frown on his face.

Edward’s heart skipped a beat. His thoughts began to race. Should he take initiative and apologize for Simon’s behavior? He decided against it. Sure, the man frowned at him, but even last time he wasn’t the one to suddenly be teleported out of the store, even allowing him to buy some items instead. He felt they had some sort of tacit understanding with each other.

Ed grabbed a single item and walked towards the counter.

“That’s one hundred.” Severin lazily declared the item’s price. The next moment, the corresponding amount of gold coins changed ownership.

“That goddamn idiot! Now he’s done it. If they don’t skin him alive, then Master Senheim will, when he learns of this.” By now, Ed had already steeled his heart and pretty much expected the elixir to work. Because of that, even though the effect was still shocking to him, his first reaction was to lament Simon’s stupidity and narrow-mindedness.

Ingar, who by now had calmed himself down, was standing nearby. He had already gone through the instructions concerning the combinator and had made way for the newcomers. Hearing Edward’s monolog his face turned dark, and he was just about to scold the man. This was interrupted, however, by a sudden exclamation.

“Ah! I just remembered something. Does anyone of you have consumables from somewhere else on you? Damn, never mind. No one with any charges left, anyway.” It was Andreas who had to think back to Severin, stating that the machine would work with items from other places as well. But since then, he didn’t have the opportunity to actually shop somewhere else, even if he wanted to. The Society’s members, on the other hand, surely would have some other items on them.

“Why? What’s up? I still have some antidotes on me,” Krey said. With a short sentence, Andreas explained the situation, regret in his voice. “Maybe tomorrow then, if you’re willing to part with the item.”

“What combinator? What charges? Can I help?” Edward was glad for the opportunity to escape Ingar’s fury. At the same time, he was curious about the happenings in the corner. So why not try to get involved, and, while at it, try to make good with the people present.

“Good timing!”

Soon Edward was pushed towards the magical combination device, with only receiving a perfunctory explanation. Nobody wanted him to back out once he learned about having only a limited number of activations each day.

A bright red jelly-potion and a bottle full of antidote were inserted into the machine.

A number appeared on its floating display located next to the coin slot.

Gasp

“What’s going on? Severin? The price…why is it so cheap? Didn’t you say there is an extra fee when using items which were not bought inside the store?!”

Hearing these words and looking at the combinator himself, Severin was momentarily stunned as well. That didn’t match with the System’s personality, did it? But a moment later came the explanation. Without needing to prompt the System, which traditionally would just ignore him anyway, a notification appeared in Severin’s view.

Edward’s indignant interjection asking about ‘extra fees’ was simply ignored.

In the eyes of his customers, Severin’s expression suddenly became sickeningly smug. For once, he liked the System’s response; Even if it resulted in lesser earnings.

“That fee is dependent on the item’s quality.”