8 – A Building

An orange cat greeted Alan and his friends as soon as they arrived at the front of the house. That animal meows and can walk in the air even though it doesn't have wings.

When Celia was about to touch it, the cat moved away, but it didn't show any fierce gestures.

"I didn't expect that there would be guests in a place like this." Someone's voice came from inside the building. "Wait a minute, please."

Alan checked the nameplate above the door.

[Elaine's shop]

After a while, the door opened, and a tall, white-haired woman stepped out. She was wearing a shiny gray dress that accentuated her beautiful curves. "Welcome…. Oh my god!"

She widened her eyes at Brunch, who stood behind Celia and Alan.

"Ah, she won't hurt us. I promise you," Alan said while Celia rubbed the wyvern's neck to reassure the white-haired woman.

"You guys should be completely burned…. Wyverns are very aggressive towards humans." The lady comes forward. "Ah, my name is Elaine…. Did you guys really manage to tame this creature? Really? Not that it never happens, but it's very rare."

"To be more precise, she became our friend," Celia explained. "Alan saved her, and she's been one of us ever since."

"Well, I'd like to invite you in, but unfortunately, she can't come." Elaine was still looking at the beast. "She won't be able to get in through the door."

From the start, Alan kept observing this beautiful woman. He could conclude that she was not a player. Yes, her movements were very human-like, but the knowledge about wyverns that she conveyed already proved that she had lived here 'long.'

***

Elaine treats Celia and Alan with cookies and lemonade. The white-haired women also gave them plenty of water to rehydrate their bodies and fill their leather jugs. She was okay with it as long as they told her about how they got Brunch and why they were in the area.

Celia continued to eat the cookies while looking around while Alan explained everything. It was a shop that sold various things. All kinds of items are neatly lined up on the shelves, from bottles filled with colorful liquids to human-shaped plant roots.

"Video games? Virtual reality? Stranded from another world?" Elaine smoked her long tobacco pipe. She had just heard Alan talk about why he and Celia were there. "All of that even sounds fantastic and absurd to me, even though I've seen a lot of things in hundreds of years of my life."

Alan didn't expect Elaine's last words, but the young man refrained from asking. He didn't want to offend the shop owner.

Elaine stroked her cat, which was curled up in her lap. "If your story is true, I think you guys should hide it from the others. You're lucky, you told me instead of some nasty people. I'm not going to do anything to you."

"Is this information dangerous?" Celia cleaned the crumbs around her mouth.

The white-haired woman shrugged. "People in this world are very passionate about the idea of another realm. Maybe it's because they want to flee from here. Life in the sky isn't that comfortable, after all. Everything was destroyed, and lots of monsters from below came up… Ah, I was talking about unnecessary things. Sorry."

"So, there are people who want us to take them to another world?" Alan made a conclusion. "But we don't even know how we ended up here."

"They'll probably think you guys can be used as a catalyst or something." Elaine continued. "Anyway, no matter how small the possibility is for them to get to another world, they will try it, whatever it takes, even if they have to use immoral means."

"That's so messed up." Celia hissed.

"I see." Alan rubbed the nape of his neck, which felt like it was hit by a cold breeze. "I'll be more careful from now on."

He regretted being too hasty. He had hoped that by conveying this topic, Elaine would come up with an alternative way for them to return to their original world, maybe with a spell, ritual, or something.

It might sound stupid, but Alan used to feel it was worth a try.

"Let's move on to another topic," Alan spoke again. "First of all, I want to ask you. You are a merchant, right, lady…."

"Just call me Elaine, please." The shop owner smoked his pipe again. "Yes, this place is a shop that sells all kinds of goods, especially ingredients for making potions and types of equipment. But my job is more than just looking after the shop. Occasionally I venture out to look for items. That's why you guys found my shop in this remote place."

"Hey, do you need my berserker potion?" Celia asked. "We don't need it."

The shop owner shook her head with a smile. "It's a potion with bad effects on the mind and body that can last a long time. I don't need it. Sorry."

"Aah... I didn't know that."

Alan slightly leaned forward. "Do you have any work for us, then? Like finding some materials?"

Since Elaine liked looking for items on her own, the chances that she would need help were slim. But there's no harm in trying.

Sometimes, NPCs in fantasy games give quests.

Elaine chuckled. "Well, you're in luck today. I really need some giant spider webs. You can find them up north, not far from here."

Alan flashed a smile. "How much do you need?"

"As much as you can get." The shop owner shrugged. "I'll lend you a special knife to cut those things and some special gloves to deal with those webs. Don't worry. I'm sure you can carry out this mission well. Your lack of experience doesn't matter. The spider monster isn't that hard to beat."

Alan exchanged glances with Celia, then resumed. "For the payment, we prefer the goods."

"We can talk about that later." Elaine got up from the chair and put her cat on the small bed. "I really hope you guys complete this mission well… Because I couldn't do that myself."

"May I know why?" Celia asked.

"Because... Spiders." The shop owner gulped.

Celia was silent for a few seconds before finally responding. "Understandable."

Alan guessed that Elaine was terrified of spiders, no matter how small they were.