Other world —★★★
"How did you know about this?" he asked, his voice low but steady.
Lysandra didn’t answer right away. She simply smiled, resting her chin lightly against her gloved knuckles. There was no smugness in her expression—only quiet curiosity, as if she were speaking not as a politician, but as soone who enjoyed putting puzzles together.
"I just assud," she said at last, her tone gentle, almost conversational. "You ca to Ginip from a faraway country—a place so distant no one here knows its na. But when you arrived, you didn’t bring a wagon. No rchant tag from any known guild. No guards. No retinue. And yet... a few days later, you began selling foreign goods. Soap, tal tools, spices, coils that give off scented smoke. Strange papers with even stranger markings. Your little shop carries items no one here has ever seen."
She leaned back against the cushioned seat and crossed one leg over the other. "And sohow, you restock without shipnts. No guards reported a caravan arriving for you. It’s not difficult to do the math."
Kael looked out the window for a mont, eyes narrowing slightly. The dirt road ahead was quiet, trees bowing in the breeze on either side like silent witnesses.
"So... you think I have so kind of magical storage?" he asked slowly.
Lysandra gave a short nod. "It makes sense. A storage artifact. One that lets you carry large amounts of goods in a small space. Am I wrong?"
Kael didn’t answer imdiately. He didn’t panic either. Instead, he studied her expression. Calm. Inquisitive. Not threatening. There was no greed in her tone, no trace of manipulation. Just... interest.
"I’ve never seen you use mana," she went on. "Or heard of you casting a spell. So if you do have such a thing, it’s likely not a spell-based ability. That ans artifact. Possibly a rare one—likely bound to you."
Kael folded his arms. "You’ve thought this through."
"I’m the mayor," she said with a wry smile. "It’s my job to think things through."
He chuckled softly at that, but there was still tension in his shoulders.
"Don’t worry," she added after a mont. "I’m not planning to report you. Or steal from you. I know what sothing like that is worth."
She looked out the window.
"If soone like you—young, alone, no noble house to back you—were known to possess such an item... Well, every thieves’ guild within a hundred leagues would co hunting. rcenaries. Black-market brokers. Even corrupt nobles."
"You seem awfully calm about this."
"I’m thirty-two," Lysandra said, tapping her fingers gently against her thigh. "I’ve seen good people ruined by the wrong attention. And I’ve also seen what a clever person can do if they got support"
There was a pause. The carriage hit a small bump in the road. The wood creaked, but neither of them moved.
"You haven’t hurt anyone," she continued. "You’ve brought prosperity to Ginip. Jobs. Sanitation. Products that everyone started whispering about. If it takes a rare artifact or so foreign knowledge to do that—so be it. I’d rather keep you safe than hand you over to vultures."
Kael relaxed slightly at that. It was strange. He had been prepared for suspicion. Paranoia. Threats. Not... this kind of pragmatic kindness.
"...Thank you," he said finally. "For your understanding."
Lysandra nodded. "So things are better left unsaid. Secrets are part of life, especially for people who co from... far away."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, the sound of the wheels against the dirt road filling the space between them.
Then she asked, almost casually, "So... how big is it?"
Kael blinked. "What?"
"Your storage space. Just curious."
He laughed despite himself, shaking his head. "That’s one of the secrets I’m keeping."
She grinned. "Fair enough."
Another silence. More comfortable this ti.
Lysandra spoke again. "You’re different, Kael. You’re not just selling products. You’re changing things. You hired the poor. You treated them with dignity."
She paused, then added with a slight smile, "Even that feast you gave them—do you know how many nobles would’ve called that a waste of coin?"
Kael smiled. "It wasn’t for them."
"No," she said. "It was for you. For what you’re building."
Kael fell quiet again, feeling the truth of her words settle over him like a gentle weight.
He wasn’t a hero. He wasn’t even trying to beco a legend. He was a rchant here. He was here to make money. Just money — because it’s everything
"...If the nobles ever find out what you’re doing," she said after a while, "so of them will want to own you. Or ruin you. Or recruit you."
"Let them try," Kael said quietly.
Lysandra gave him a look. "Brave. Or foolish."
"Both," he said, smiling.
The carriage ca near Ginip’s eastern gate. The guards on duty saluted as they passed.
It was nearly night.
Lysandra leaned slightly forward. "I won’t ask more. But just know—if you ever need help... truly need it... co to first. Not the council. ."
Kael looked at her. "Why?"
"Because I’d rather see you succeed than fall to the people who pretend to be allies but serve only themselves."
He nodded slowly. "Alright. I’ll rember that."
She reached over and tapped the edge of his hand with two fingers. "Good. Just don’t do anything stupid. Or flashy. Or—gods forbid—heroic."
Kael grinned. "No promises."
The carriage stopped in front of his shop.
Kael stepped down, stretching his legs.
Lysandra leaned out the window slightly. "Rest. You did good today."
"Thank you, Mayor."
"Call Lysandra. At least when we’re not in public."
Kael gave a slight bow. "Then good night, Lysandra."
She smiled.
The driver gave a light whistle, and the carriage pulled away, vanishing into the narrow streets of Ginip.
So much had changed.
And yet... it felt like the real journey was only beginning.
He exhaled, then opened the shop door.
♦♦♦
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