Chapter 06-Crossing Path Again

Lixon woke up early the next day. He was too tired yesterday that he never bothered to check his room. Instead, he sat up to observed it more closely. It was very spacious for one person. At the center, there was a chandelier with different colored candles as its light. Then, on the right side of his bed was a big window covered by a black curtain.

Near the window was a medium-size study table. Beside it was a candelabra with aqua color candles still burning. Lixon also noticed a purple robe with magical patterns on its chest hung near his bathroom. He stood from his bed to prepare himself.

----

Lixon walked downstairs wearing the purple robe that he saw in his room. But when he reached the store area, it was empty.

"Where did they go?" He murmured.

Meow.

He looked down and found the gray cat at his feet.

"Master is waiting for you. He said that he needed to discuss some things with you first. He is in the kitchen." The gray cat informed him.

"Okay. Thank you."

"Sure."

Then the cat turned around to lead him.

"Ahm, Excuse me," he stopped the animal.

"What?" The gray cat turned its head.

"How should I address you? You don't want me to call you gray cat, right?" Lixon asked.

"My name is Thedios, and the white cat that you also met yesterday is called Aerious, my twin brother." The gray cat answered, "Let me remind you of this; we don't like humans. Got it?"

Then he continued his walk towards the kitchen.

"I see. So, you are beast people."

The gray cat was startled then turned his head again.

"How did you know that?"

Lixon smiled lightly and replied, "Intelligent humans can easily deduce that."

"Hmph!" The cat called Thedios snorted.

They reached the kitchen area and found Damien sitting at the center chair. He gestured Lixon to sat on the empty seat on his right side while Thedios jumped on the table to joined his brother. On the table was their breakfast set: fried bacon, toasted bread, and a glass of milk.

"How was your sleep?" Damien asked casually.

"It's good," Lixon responded.

The owner let him ate his breakfast first. Then the young man noticed Damien lightly tapping the table. Lixon finished his breakfast and stared at the owner, waiting for his words.

"Truth be told, your origin was very suspicious." He spoke matter of factly.

Lixon continued to listen.

"But I don't care about that. My intuition had never failed me; as I mentioned yesterday, you're good if you passed my test. And also, I will not pry into your secrets. Everyone had their own as long as it will not harm my business."

Then Damien continued.

"You will be paid one gold a week. Your food and your shelter will be free of charge." He explained, then raised his brows when he noticed that Lixon was listening quietly, "Aren't you going to ask me any questions?"

"No."

"You are not going to ask me why I am paying you much?" He queried.

Lixon smiled lightly. As far as he remembered, the minimum wage of the ordinary worker in the Udeville empire was one silver a week. One gold was equivalent to a hundred silver. He could live in luxury if he stayed in this store for at least five years. So he was not surprised why Damien was asking him about this.

"Because this is not a normal store." He calmly replied.

"Hooo?"

"You have unique requirements, and...."

"And?"

"I almost died yesterday by doing a simple errand. I think one gold a week is considered just compensation." He gently smiled while emphasizing the last two words.

Damien lightly coughed then immediately changed the topic.

"Most of our clients are VVIPs. I'm not saying that we cannot offend them. But as much as possible, I don't want any headaches."

"Okay. I can assure you; I am not a trouble-maker."

After hearing his response, the young man noticed the owner looking at him intently.

"Of course, yesterday was an exception." Lixon caught his meaning immediately, "There is also a difference between others causing trouble and me causing trouble."

Damien shrugged.

"I don't mind. And just a reminder, this store not only caters to humans. As I mentioned before, we sell talismans, magic potions, and other out-of-this-world items, so don't be surprised. I will teach you their grades, their descriptions, and many more. Sometimes I went out on a trip, so I might leave you here to take care of my business."

Lixon agreed.

"Guess that's all I can say for now. You will learn other things as you work in my store. Ah, one more thing. If you want to quit, let me know right away, I won't stop you. Are we good?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, then let's get back to business."

They returned to the receiving area to start the day.

But one hour passed, then another two hours passed, no customers showed up in their store. Damien stayed at the counter, and the other two cats yawned then slumped on the floor. Lixon, on the other hand, remained seated on the sofa while reading their store's lists of unique products.

Then they heard the light pushed on the door and the gentle sound of the wind chime. The young man stood from his seat and greeted their first client.

"Wel—"

Lixon paused when he saw the two visitors. But the same goes with the man who looked like a bodyguard. Both of them were wearing ordinary clothes, but it still showed the excellent quality of the materials. The first man was around twenty years old, wore an all-black outfit, and carried a sword in his right hand. He has short curly blonde hair, brown eyes, and was handsome,

The second person had an ugly mask covering his face. It was a wrinkled face of a monster. Its eyes were showing happiness, but its lips were curving down. He was wearing light blue long-sleeves, black trousers, and boots.

'What a unique taste.'Lixon commented.

"Welcome to our store, gentlemen." But he was a professional, and he needed to do his job correctly.

The blonde man was, of course, the captain of Luton's knight, Davis. He doesn't have to think hard to guess who the second person was, even if he changed his hair color and wore an ugly mask.

Davis looked at him with a cold gaze that Lixon almost shuddered. But he ignored him and smiled gently.

"Please have a seat."

The person with a mask took his seat while Davis remained standing. Damien then approached them and took his seat across the masked man. Lixon also remained standing behind the store owner. Then two cups floated from the storage cabinet, and invisible hands poured each one of them a tea. But the two visitors did not react as if it was usual scenery to them.

"It's been a while, sir," Damien spoke first.

"Yes, it has been a while, sir Damien." The masked man spoke in a smiling voice, but his tone did not hide its indifference. "The last time I came here, you were still alone, and now you have an assistant."

The masked man rested his right hand on the cheek of his mask while observing the young man behind the owner.

"Then, let me introduce my assistant. Lixon Rayver." His boss introduced him after lightly sipping his tea.

"Please to meet you. My name is Gavinus Udeville."

Both Damien and Davis were surprised when the prince revealed his identity casually.

Lixon lightly bent his back to show his respect, "Greetings, your highness."

"And this is Davis, the captain of my troop." He followed by introducing his companion.

"I already knew him," Davis answered with some indifference.

"Oh?"

"He was the person that we encountered in the Dead Forest yesterday."

"Ah! You mean that person who almost pissed you off?"

The three of them kept their silence, and the store owner lightly looked at him with a questioning gaze. Lixon slowly nodded to confirm.

"Oh, my apologies," The prince broke the awkward silence, "I'm just surprised by this rare coincidence. Are you sure you are not purposely bumping to us?"

The last question had slight humor, but Lixon knew that the tone of Gavinus had a threat included.

'If you mess with me, I can kill you right here and then.' If he was writing his book and knowing this person's personality, Lixon might write this sentence.

"It's a coincidence." He responded while smiling gently and looking straight to the eyes behind the mask.

When the prince saw his response, he lightly chuckled and casually waved his hand.

"There is much coincidence in this world. But, of course, I believed you."

After this conversation, Lixon felt the tension slowly fading.

"I need the usual top-grade potions." Gavinus returned to his business.

"Sure, I already prepared them. Please get those wooden boxes from behind the counter." Damien turned his head lightly and spoke to Lixon.

The young man took two medium-size boxes and handed them to Davis. Damien received a pouch and lightly bowed towards the two.

"Until then."

Davis and Gavinus turned to leave when the door of the store opened again. Two visitors entered; one was a middle-aged man wearing a brown robe, and the other was an older man wearing a tiger-patterned robe.

"It is an honor to have the head guardian of Alvon to visit my humble store." Damien welcomed them.