Undercurrents Stirring

“Ah!”

“What the hell!”

The carriage charged straight ahead, paying no heed to the pedestrians on the street.

As it passed between Serea and the two street performers, Serea exchanged a brief glance with them.

Noticing Serea’s gaze, the two showed a flash of surprise on their faces. Once the carriage had driven past, Serea looked away from them.

She smiled and nodded slightly.

The two seemed to greet Serea, and Serea responded with a slight nod of her own.

After exchanging a look, and seeing that the carriage had left, the two street performers began to gather up the copper and silver coins from their tray.

Done, they bowed to the onlooking crowd and left the scene.

As they departed, Serea paid them no further attention, instead leading Lola and the others into the commercial district.

Meanwhile, the two street performers turned left and right through some alleyways until they entered a secluded tavern.

The tavern’s door was shut, but they did not knock—instead, they simply pushed it open and went in.

The tavern was empty. After locking the door behind them, the man and woman wandered casually into a small room.

“It’s confirmed. That person just came back to Jones City. I’d say she’ll show up at home today.”

“Mm. But just to be sure, let’s go check again in a bit.”

“Alright.”

The pair conversed, and just as Serea had sensed, they were not merely street performers.

“But there’s another problem—did you notice those people in cloaks earlier?”

“Yeah, I saw them. One of them seemed to notice something too.”

“Could they be others sent by the princess?”

The man speculated, but at this, his companion shook her head.

“Unlikely. If the princess had sent anyone, she definitely would have informed us in advance.”

“Then if they’re not the princess’s people, how did that person spot us?”

“I don’t know. It might’ve just been our imagination.”

“Let’s hope that’s all it is…”

Though the man sounded anxious, after a moment, a faint murderous aura emanated from him.

“Either way, the mission from Her Highness must be completed. Alert the others and get ready to act.”

“Understood.”

“For Her Highness!”

“For Ailera!”

With that, the woman left, and the man was alone in the room.

He glanced at the ticking clock on the wall, his mind clearly troubled.

“Let’s hope it’s just my imagination.”

…

Meanwhile, Serea and her group had arrived at the commercial street.

All around, people were selling goods—vendors and merchants lined both sides of the road, calling out their wares and forming a unique local scene.

Looking at the familiar sights, Serea couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.

“I never expected to see such a scene here.”

But before Serea could reminisce further, Lola stepped forward.

“My queen, I’ve looked into it—there’s a merchant group nearby that sells magic crystals, called ‘Xiyun Merchant Group’. Shall we check it out first?”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Led by Lola, Serea and the others walked for about ten minutes and arrived at a three-story Western-style shop.

The décor was lavish—marble floors, carved crystal everywhere—it was clear at first glance… this place was expensive!

However, Serea still had plenty of gold coins in her spatial ring, so price was the least of her worries.

“Welcome! May I ask what you wish to purchase?”

As soon as they entered, a receptionist approached—a young woman with chestnut hair in a side ponytail, dressed in a white shirt, black vest, skirt, and stockings—her appearance and bearing alone made it obvious… this shop was indeed expensive!

“We want to buy magic crystals.”

“Magic crystals!”

Serea’s request startled the receptionist. She shot a nervous glance at the other staff, who were all busy, then quickly broke into a delighted smile.

“Please, come to the second floor. We’ll discuss things in a private suite.”

“Alright.”

With looks of envy from her colleagues, the receptionist led the four of them upstairs to a VIP room.

Once inside, Serea didn’t stand on ceremony—she went straight to the leather sofa and sat down. The receptionist proceeded to serve them tea and snacks.

“So formal?”

Momentarily overwhelmed by such treatment, Serea felt a bit flattered.

“Well, Your Majesty… cough, cough, magic crystals are extremely valuable and expensive, so these measures are for everyone’s protection.”

“I see.”

Serea muttered, and the receptionist sat down as well.

“Let me introduce myself—my name is Linda, I’m a staff member at Xiyun Merchant Group. May I have the honor of your names, dear guests?”

“Just use my name, Yun.”

For confidentiality, Serea gave the name she had used in her previous life.

“Very good, miss Yun. And you’re wishing to purchase magic crystals, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Might I ask your specific requirements?”

“Of course.”

With that, Serea let Lola take over.

Lola and Linda then plunged into a discussion full of technical terms: magic attributes, storage capacity, crystal quality, and so on.

After about ten minutes of conversation, linda had written down all their requirements.

“Are these all the requirements?”

“Yes, just these. Honestly, I didn’t expect Miss Linda to be so knowledgeable.”

Hearing Lola’s praise, linda blushed shyly.

“Heh, I’ve only picked up some relevant knowledge.”

“That’s impressive as it is.”

By now, Serea didn’t have much else to do; up till now, the purchase had gone smoothly.

“I believe I understand your needs, and thank you for choosing Xiyun Merchant Group. For convenience, please pay in advance—your total comes to 1,500 gold coins.”

Serea had been prepared, but still jumped a little when she saw the bill, which included a third-tier, water-attributed magic crystal.

Thankfully, she had brought her dowry with her; otherwise, things would be awkward today.

She tossed over three hefty bags, each containing five hundred gold coins, looking quite generous.

“Very good, I’ll have the front count them. If all’s in order, you’ll have your goods within half an hour. Please, bear with us.”

With that, linda struggled to lift the heavy bags of coins—it was no small feat.

“Wait, it takes half an hour to get the goods?”

“Yes, magic crystals are so valuable that we keep them in storage. I’ll need to collect them for you.”

“Well… alright, we’ll wait.”

“Thank you—please sit tight. I’ll be right back.”

With that, linda tottered out with the heavy bags. Serea leaned back on the sofa, looking a bit agitated.

According to the report from Little Black, it was almost closing time for Yeton City’s gates. If they stayed too late, they probably wouldn’t be able to leave until tomorrow.

(To be continued…)

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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