Over the course of just a breath’s time, Krey’s expression reflected all kinds of emotions. Most prominent, the curious look as to what Emily was holding in her hands, the following excitement, and back to what was likely supposed to be a cool and composed look.

“And this is…?” Krey pointed with his hand and asked, trying hard to act inconspicuous. Severin wasn’t fooled. In fact, he was confident that he could pinpoint the exact moment where realization had dawned on Krey.

“It’s called pizza!” the girl exclaimed.

Knowing that the other had already figured what was going on anyway, Severin had no intentions to play dumb. In fact, while, as so often before, Severin had originally played with the thought of keeping the pizza hidden for a while longer, he had finally decided not to do so.

Otherwise, he would probably be more than just slightly annoyed with Emily for answering these kinds of questions without a care in the world and without considering their implications. For a moment, he even half expected the System to reprimand her, which, of course, didn’t happen.

In the end, his reasoning was that with the newly implemented ordering system, the resulting extra work would still be something he could handle. Though he might have to delegate more responsibilities to Emily. Handling the store on her own, even for slightly longer periods of time, should be fine. Especially since customer traffic was very much predictable at this time. And in the worst case, she could always just call him.

Another deciding factor, as always, was the potential money, and thereby experience, he would miss out on if he decided to wait for a new assistant. In his mind, limiting everyone’s number of orders, for the time being, would be a good compromise.

He couldn’t just shut down part of his operations and wait for some person he knew absolutely nothing about to show up. Who then had to be willing to accept Severin’s terms and let themselves be bound to him and some other mysterious force. Not everyone was as desperate as Emily.

What made Severin slightly more reluctant than maybe was appropriate, however, was the fact that any extra time he had to spend in the kitchen would mean less time for him to experiment with his alchemy equipment and ingredients. The promised reward for his latest quest was very tempting to him.

Severin weighed all these aspects once more, before he finally decided to enlighten Krey and told him about the buff’s effects.

“So it is like this.” Krey nodded in understanding and, while saying he was disappointed would go too far, it was evident that he had hoped for something different. For casters this was pretty much a worse version of the previous two dishes, just that it was combined into a single one. For non-casters, who might still profit from action speed but not cast speed, it was even worse than that. So why buy this one in the first place?

“Do the effects stack?” This was the only explanation Krey could think of.

‘No clue!’ was what Severin wanted to say, but hearing the doubt in Krey’s voice, he had a good idea what the other was thinking.

> Severin prompted Emily. The girl didn’t quite get what the big deal was, but obliged.

Krey quickly identified the crucial point of the matter.

‘This…!”

“Psshht!” Severin immediately tried to hush Krey and looked around with a panicked look on his face. He might have decided not to hide this new dish from his customers, but that didn’t mean he wanted to deal with them at this moment, either. He already noticed some movements amongst the adventurers. Miriam and Timothy weren’t the only ones headed for the training grounds. The various smaller groups seemed to disperse slowly but surely. Krey quickly caught on and lowered his voice. Luckily, it was still loud and chaotic enough to drown his sudden exclamation and to avoid drawing any unwanted attention. For the most part, at least.

A more attentive observer may have long noticed that during all this time, from a certain group of people, every now and then a glance was shot at Severin. But when this very group now started to approach him, even Severin couldn’t miss it. He immediately knew it was too late.

He couldn’t be sure about Markus, but Mylana and her former mentee definitely noticed something.

While Krey got carried away and the trio was approaching, Severin only wanted to scream at Emily, “Eat faster!”

‘What are you doing? Normally, you devour anything within just seconds. But now you have to take your time? Really?’

As if able to read his thoughts, Emily suddenly looked up at him with an innocent face. “Maybe a bit less salt next time,” she suggested honestly.

“Thanks for reminding me. I will keep that in mind!” No one noticed the slight venom in his voice.

Severin had no choice but to force a stiff smile on his face to welcome the three people, but before he even got the chance to start off with the usual pleasantries, an surprisingly agile Mylana, much to Severin’s displeasure, stopped Emily from finishing her last bite of food.

At least Krey was more than willing to reiterate everything he had just learned about that strange new food in Severin’s stead once he was given the latter’s go-ahead.

Though Severin was slightly annoyed by all of this, more because of the timing than anything else, he tried his best not to let it show. He didn’t dare disrespect any of these bigshots who either represented a powerful faction or who could probably kill him with all but a single thought. Maybe even both.

What surprised Severin most during the discussion were the reactions of the newcomers; or, more precisely, that of Markus. All three basically confirmed Krey’s earlier words, with Mylana even going so far as to predict some ‘big changes’ - whatever that meant. But it was the young man’s sudden hesitation that stood out to the [Shopkeeper]. While everyone else was talking animatedly, Markus suddenly became silent and left the impression that he was contemplating a serious matter. Not just for a short moment either, making it all the more impactful to Severin, when the young man suddenly turned to face him with a determined look on his face.

“I probably can’t stay for much longer, and it is just like the others have already said. Your shop being located in such a,” he paused for a moment as he tried to think of an appropriate euphemism, “remote location, is rather impractical. The matter regarding your upcoming dish’s durability certainly helps, but even then it’s difficult. Add to that the additional restrictions such as maximum carrying capacities or daily activation limits and it becomes pretty unfeasible to go on any longer missions if one intends to rely on your products throughout their journey. Much less trying to build a lasting stockpile. Because of of those reasons, I would like to make a deal with you. I would like you to relocate your store to Hanvia. Please consider”

Severin was very much aware of the validity of Markus’ points. Andreas and his group needed to spend multiple days just to stockpile enough consumables to be finally feel prepared enough to tackle the Harrowing Plains dungeon. And that one was still relatively close; still within the bounds of the Golden Mountains, not in some faraway lands.

Considering Krey’s previous words about the potency, or maybe rather the rarity of the effects provided by his latest dish, it wasn’t hard for Severin to figure out Markus’ motivations. It seemed as if just the presence of him and his wares would be enough to bolster Malcos’ capital’s defense. Not to speak of the fact that it might make it more difficult for their potential enemies to have access to his wares. Severin felt almost flattered to be regarded this highly, but he couldn’t help feeling a certain bitterness dwell up in him.

‘It’s not like I have much of a choice in that matter. You think I stay here in the middle of nowhere because I like the view so much? Or because of the customer throughput?’

At the same time, he realized this wasn’t the first time he had been approached like this. Back then, the situation might have been slightly different, but it still reminded him of his meeting with Simon.

‘Not the first time, and probably not the last, either.’ Thinking about this, he felt slightly troubled, but when the image of a purplish bubble appeared in his mind, he immediately felt some relief.

Misunderstanding Severin’s reaction, or rather the lack thereof, Markus felt encouraged to keep going. He continued to sweeten the deal.

“Let me assure you, money is not an issue. You will be compensated for your troubles; and quite generously so, if I might say so myself. And I won’t ask for any kind of exclusivity clause either! Simply moving your store to a… more favorable location within the city walls is all I ask of you. The quality of the property won’t be an issue either. Both its location as well as its size will…”

“Sorry. I can’t.” Severin’s voice was resolute as he raised his hands in front of him and cut Markus right off. He couldn’t take it anymore. If he could, he would take Markus up on his offer in a heartbeat. But since that wasn’t an option, listening to the enticing offers became unbearable to him. It wasn’t even the promised money, but the prospect of civilization that tempted him.

“Don’t worry. Whatever it is, I’m sure we can figure things out. Be it…”

“There really isn’t anything. Sorry.” Severin was getting a headache.

Realizing that the other party didn’t seem to have any intentions of even just considering his offer, Markus didn’t know how to handle this situation. Though it wasn’t the first time he had to conduct negotiations, he was never really interested in anything that smelled of politics. He had always preferred leading his troops into battle and leave the talking to others. Only because he realized the benefits provided by Severin and his products would be such a great boon to the prosperity of his homeland, his duty demanded him to do his everything to persuade Severin into joining him. No one had expected things of such scope when Samuel had initially contacted them; not even the [Berserker] himself.

Markus felt the pressure was too much. It was as if his passives were of no use on top of this mountain.

If at least Severin had made some kind of counteroffer, there would be something to work with. But there was nothing. Feeling driven into a corner, Markus couldn’t help it anymore. “Please reconsider. I guarantee that all promises will be honored. While I may not look the part, I hold quite a bit of sway in Malcos. I probably shouldn’t reveal this, but in fact I am the …”

A huge hand grabbing him by the shoulder interrupted him. “It’s no use. He already knows,” Samuel said while shaking his head.

‘And you do look the part!’

Probing looks were shot at both Severin and Emily; the latter had given it away back then, but now seemed rather oblivious to the whole situation.

In reality, the girl wasn’t as clueless as she appeared to be. She had simply realized that she really might get punished by the System if she said anything inappropriate right now. Until Severin asked her to, she would do her damnedest to not say anything.

Seeing that Markus was momentarily at a loss for words, Severin felt it was up to him to say something and lighten the mood.

Moved, maybe by Markus’s sincerity, maybe because he felt appreciated, or maybe simply because he felt like it, Severin answered in an uncharacteristically forthcoming fashion, “I can’t go into any more details, but moving really is out of the question. I do have some plans to make the Emporium more accessible in the future, though.”

After all, once he got the inn running, a portal station may very well be his next investment.