Brotherly Bluff: Ice Cream Memories
The atmosphere inside the shop didn’t seem peaceful. At its epicenter was a white-haired young man, wearing stylish black glasses, black pants, and a white shirt. He seemed to be of the same height as Theo and was in a heated exchange with the store manager.
"Look, I've told you," the white-haired man said casually, "My student is on the way. As soon as she arrives, you'll be paid in full. I just need to step outside and greet her. Is it too much to ask for a little trust?"
The manager's face turned a shade redder as he replied in an annoyed voice, “You humans always have a way with words – empty promises and cunning tricks.”
The young man responded with a bit of humor, "Funny, I often think the same about you elves. But let me clear one thing – I'm not a human."
The elven manager looked enraged with such a blatant insult towards their elven race. "So you think you can just waltz into our land and mock us?” He turned his head slightly and shouted, “Guards! Seize him!”
Elven guards began to advance, weapons drawn, ready to subdue the seemingly trouble-making visitor.
As they closed in, the white-haired man let out a lively chuckle, "Really? Drawing weapons in a grocery store? If I hadn't made a promise to my student not to cause trouble here, our earlier conversation wouldn't have been so...polite. But it looks like I might have to break that promise."
But just as the situation looked like it was about to escalate, the young man's gaze shifted to the entrance and landed on the huge figure that seemed to be a human. A hint of surprise enveloped his face as he murmured inwardly, ‘How did I not sense his presence? Ah... He has no mana…’
Theo, maintaining his calm demeanor despite the unfolding drama, simply locked eyes with the white-haired man.
A grin unfurled on the young man's face as he approached Theo, “Hey, my little brother has arrived! Now he'll pay the bill on my behalf.”
The audacity of the white-haired man left Theo momentarily stunned, surpassing even Lilith's shamelessness. Before he could reply, the manager inquired, “So you're here to settle his bills?”
“No, I don’t know this man,” Theo responded in an unconcerned voice.
Feigning hurt, the white-haired man protested, “Oh, brother, have you forgotten? When you were younger, I’d carry you around the city, treat you to ice creams. Don’t those memories mean anything to you?”
After hearing Theo’s response, the guards started to move again and the young man sighed, thinking his tricks wouldn't work and the air around him started to change from that of humor to chilliness, causing elven manager and guards to take a step back unconsciously.
“Wait…” however, Theo’s sudden voice brought that icy change back to normal again, drawing all attention in the shop to him.
He looked between the mysterious white-haired man and the terrified store manager, asked for clarification. “What did he exactly do?”
The store manager huffed, “He ate an enchanted fruit worth 100 gold coins without even paying!”
The young man laughed off the accusation. "I forgot my wallet, Okay? And that fruit? It was cheap as dirt. I never thought elves were such misers.”
This rude remark made a vein throb on the manager’s forehead, clearly irritated by how the young man was belittling his race. However, recalling the intimidating aura the man had radiated just moments earlier, he decided not to make the same mistake again.
White-haired man then turned to Theo, "Brother, could you lend me some money?"
Theo responded flatly, "I don't have any."
The manager's eyes narrowed at Theo suspiciously, thinking this huge figure was here to just fool them just like the rude man.
Seeing the doubtful gaze of store manager, that he might also get in trouble because of this shameless person he just met, Theo decided to defuse the situation, he took out two of his enchanted vegetables from the golden vault and placed them on the counter. "Can you tell me for how much they would sell for?"
The manager took it from the counter and held it close to his eyes, inspecting them carefully. After some seconds, he said with a hint of greed in his eyes, "10 silver coins for the enchanted tomatoes and 30 silver coins for the enchanted potatoes per kilogram."
For him, this young boy seemed to be unaware of the real price and since he was only a human and in an elven city, the manager had some sly plans.
“Hold on a minute!” The white-haired man, seeing through the manager's attempt to scam, intervened, "These are top-quality veggies. Even back where I'm from, they'd fetch a higher price. You can't just con my brother like that. Its a day robbery."
"When did I agree to become your brother?" Theo retorted in response to the man’s claim. However, he noticed the manager's nervousness and the faint, bitter smile that appeared on his face.
The white-haired man continued, "Pay the right price, or I'll complain to the Roseheart Royal family that you tried to swindle my younger brother."
The manager coughed before replying, “Ah, I was mistaken earlier. These are of a higher quality than the ones I usually buy. For the enchanted tomatoes, I'll offer 30 silver coins per kg, and for the enchanted potatoes, 90 silver coins per kg.”
Seeing Theo still silent, the white-haired man spoke, "Though it's still a low price, you can accept this offer.”
Theo responded, "Alright…" But as he scanned the store, he realized that there might not be enough space.
Turning to the store manager, he asked, “Where can I unload all these enchanted veggies? This space doesn't seem enough.”
The store manager, a bit taken aback by his response, replied, "Follow me." He led Theo to a back door, which opened up to reveal a gigantic warehouse. The white-haired man followed closely behind.
Inside the enormous warehouse, they could see many sacks of crops neatly arranged to one side. Yet, despite the stored goods, there was still so much space left that one could easily set up a basketball court and play a game.
Theo began to unload all the remaining enchanted vegetables he had, approximately 30,300 shadowshade potatoes and around 382,000 nightshade tomatoes, showed by numbers in his Golden Vault.
As each number decreased, the corresponding vegetables began to materialize in heaps on the warehouse floor, transforming the barren space into a sea of darker colors. Both the store manager and the white-haired man were stunned, their eyes widened in disbelief as the floor was then flooded with all these enchanted veggies.
The manager hurried over to the spot where Theo had unleashed this avalanche of produce and exclaimed, "We have an important customer here! What would you like, sir?"
Observing the manager's sudden change in behavior, Theo asked, "Please weigh them immediately and settle my payment. Also, what seeds do you have available?"
The manager listed, "We have Mushroom, Mint, Beans, Carrots, Lettuce, Violet Berries, Verdantleaf Tea, and Beets. These are the primary crops grown in this region."
Theo thought for a moment and then instructed, "I'll need enough seeds for one acre for each of these. Subtract the amount from my payment."
"Certainly, sir..." The manager nodded and commanded his staff to commence the weighing process. Shortly, ten workers emerged from a back-room, began boxing up the enchanted vegetables, and placed them on a nearby scale.
Seeing the huge quantity of veggies and knowing that the current speed was too slow, the manager quickly made a hand signal, and one of the staff left outside. But soon more staff began to pour into the warehouse to assist with the weighing and tallying.
The white-haired man watched the proceedings with an amused expression, though he seemed surprised as well.
While the tally was ongoing, the white-haired man proudly began to blabber on about his life's adventures to the manager and Theo, who both showed an expressions of clear disinterest.
After about forty-five minutes, the tally was complete. The manager had noted that there were a total of 76,400 kilograms of tomatoes and 7,500 kilograms of potatoes. After some calculations based on the rates, the enchanted tomatoes came to a sum of 2,292,000 silver coins at 30 silver coins per kilogram, and the enchanted potatoes amounted to 675,000 silver coins at 90 silver coins per kilogram.
The manager then handed a gleaming blue gem ring to Theo with a broad smile, “This contains 29,670 gold coins. I've also added the seeds that you requested for which you don’t have to pay. And, please accept this spatial ring as a token of our gratitude for choosing us for your business. We hope you'll consider us again in the future.”
Theo accepted the gifts nonchalantly, but internally, he was joyous. ‘The monthly fund the royal family provides my barony is only around 1000 gold, yet I made 29,670 just by selling these leftover veggies.’ He was stunned but kept his astonishment hidden.
The manager added as an afterthought, “We've also settled your older brother’s account.”
"He's not my brother," Theo clarified with a sigh as he turned to leave.
The white-haired man attempted to lighten the mood, "Oh, he's just a bit mad at me, acting like he doesn't recognize me," He then trailed Theo out of the the shop.
As Theo descended the steps from the shop, searching for an inn, he became aware of someone walking in step beside him. Before he could inquire, the familiar voice chirped, “Knew you wouldn’t just abandon me, Brother!”
“I'm not your brother…” Theo replied with a hint of annoyance, halting in his tracks.
Choosing to hear only what he wanted, the white-haired man continued, “It might be unusual for a younger brother to give pocket money to an older one, but I don’t mind. Oh, I just remembered something. Hang on a second; I need to check on my student.”
Theo released a resigned sigh, thinking, ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if this lunatic teacher has another lunatic as his student...’
Suddenly, the white-haired man, as if propelled by an unseen force, shot up into the sky, hovering approximately forty meters above the ground. Theo's eyes flickered with surprise, not having expected such a feat from this shameless man.
Around them, some of the elven passersby stopped in their tracks, their gazes locked onto the figure floating above. Murmurs spread quickly among them as they were amazed. It was clear from the expressions on their faces that such a display was not a common occurrence in this elven town.
“There they are,” The white-haired man shouted with a bright face and turned to glance down to where Theo had been, but when he looked, there was no one there. The space was empty, and the boy was already gone, leaving a hint of disappointment to cloud over the his bright expression.
'Again, I couldn’t sense when he slipped past my senses…' he whispered to himself. Like a shooting star, he moved towards the approaching figures he'd been waiting for.
Upon landing in front of two stunning elven sisters, they halted their approach.
“Greetings, Master Rowan. We apologize for being late,” the younger one said remorsefully.
“You weren’t just late, you were incredibly late; Both of you kept me waiting long enough to almost land me in trouble. But a 'brother' of mine came to my rescue,” Rowan replied.
“You have a brother, Teacher?” the older sister asked with intrigued eyes.
“He helped me today from causing trouble and not to break a promise. For that, he is my brother for life,” Rowan explained.
The older sister, recalling a prior event, added with a gritted teeth, “I also had a run-in with an annoying human today. He's fortunate to have left with his life.”
“Aerin,” Rowan chided, “You must manage your disdain for humans. Not all of them are the same. And given that both of you will be joining a human academy next year, you best prepare. You'll be meeting many of them in the Phoenixwing Academy.”
“Master Rowan,” the younger sister said, “It's fortunate you're not human. Otherwise, my sister might have missed out on training under such a formidable teacher.”
Rowan sighed and spoke, "She needs to understand that It's the heart and actions that define a being, not their race."
With those final words, Rowan gestured for the sisters to follow him. The trio began to make their way, leaving the bustling streets behind.
Brotherly Bluff: Ice Cream Memories
The atmosphere inside the shop didn’t seem peaceful. At its epicenter was a white-haired young man, wearing stylish black glasses, black pants, and a white shirt. He seemed to be of the same height as Theo and was in a heated exchange with the store manager.
"Look, I've told you," the white-haired man said casually, "My student is on the way. As soon as she arrives, you'll be paid in full. I just need to step outside and greet her. Is it too much to ask for a little trust?"
The manager's face turned a shade redder as he replied in an annoyed voice, “You humans always have a way with words – empty promises and cunning tricks.”
The young man responded with a bit of humor, "Funny, I often think the same about you elves. But let me clear one thing – I'm not a human."
The elven manager looked enraged with such a blatant insult towards their elven race. "So you think you can just waltz into our land and mock us?” He turned his head slightly and shouted, “Guards! Seize him!”
Elven guards began to advance, weapons drawn, ready to subdue the seemingly trouble-making visitor.
As they closed in, the white-haired man let out a lively chuckle, "Really? Drawing weapons in a grocery store? If I hadn't made a promise to my student not to cause trouble here, our earlier conversation wouldn't have been so...polite. But it looks like I might have to break that promise."
But just as the situation looked like it was about to escalate, the young man's gaze shifted to the entrance and landed on the huge figure that seemed to be a human. A hint of surprise enveloped his face as he murmured inwardly, ‘How did I not sense his presence? Ah... He has no mana…’
Theo, maintaining his calm demeanor despite the unfolding drama, simply locked eyes with the white-haired man.
A grin unfurled on the young man's face as he approached Theo, “Hey, my little brother has arrived! Now he'll pay the bill on my behalf.”
The audacity of the white-haired man left Theo momentarily stunned, surpassing even Lilith's shamelessness. Before he could reply, the manager inquired, “So you're here to settle his bills?”
“No, I don’t know this man,” Theo responded in an unconcerned voice.
Feigning hurt, the white-haired man protested, “Oh, brother, have you forgotten? When you were younger, I’d carry you around the city, treat you to ice creams. Don’t those memories mean anything to you?”
After hearing Theo’s response, the guards started to move again and the young man sighed, thinking his tricks wouldn't work and the air around him started to change from that of humor to chilliness, causing elven manager and guards to take a step back unconsciously.
“Wait…” however, Theo’s sudden voice brought that icy change back to normal again, drawing all attention in the shop to him.
He looked between the mysterious white-haired man and the terrified store manager, asked for clarification. “What did he exactly do?”
The store manager huffed, “He ate an enchanted fruit worth 100 gold coins without even paying!”
The young man laughed off the accusation. "I forgot my wallet, Okay? And that fruit? It was cheap as dirt. I never thought elves were such misers.”
This rude remark made a vein throb on the manager’s forehead, clearly irritated by how the young man was belittling his race. However, recalling the intimidating aura the man had radiated just moments earlier, he decided not to make the same mistake again.
White-haired man then turned to Theo, "Brother, could you lend me some money?"
Theo responded flatly, "I don't have any."
The manager's eyes narrowed at Theo suspiciously, thinking this huge figure was here to just fool them just like the rude man.
Seeing the doubtful gaze of store manager, that he might also get in trouble because of this shameless person he just met, Theo decided to defuse the situation, he took out two of his enchanted vegetables from the golden vault and placed them on the counter. "Can you tell me for how much they would sell for?"
The manager took it from the counter and held it close to his eyes, inspecting them carefully. After some seconds, he said with a hint of greed in his eyes, "10 silver coins for the enchanted tomatoes and 30 silver coins for the enchanted potatoes per kilogram."
For him, this young boy seemed to be unaware of the real price and since he was only a human and in an elven city, the manager had some sly plans.
“Hold on a minute!” The white-haired man, seeing through the manager's attempt to scam, intervened, "These are top-quality veggies. Even back where I'm from, they'd fetch a higher price. You can't just con my brother like that. Its a day robbery."
"When did I agree to become your brother?" Theo retorted in response to the man’s claim. However, he noticed the manager's nervousness and the faint, bitter smile that appeared on his face.
The white-haired man continued, "Pay the right price, or I'll complain to the Roseheart Royal family that you tried to swindle my younger brother."
The manager coughed before replying, “Ah, I was mistaken earlier. These are of a higher quality than the ones I usually buy. For the enchanted tomatoes, I'll offer 30 silver coins per kg, and for the enchanted potatoes, 90 silver coins per kg.”
Seeing Theo still silent, the white-haired man spoke, "Though it's still a low price, you can accept this offer.”
Theo responded, "Alright…" But as he scanned the store, he realized that there might not be enough space.
Turning to the store manager, he asked, “Where can I unload all these enchanted veggies? This space doesn't seem enough.”
The store manager, a bit taken aback by his response, replied, "Follow me." He led Theo to a back door, which opened up to reveal a gigantic warehouse. The white-haired man followed closely behind.
Inside the enormous warehouse, they could see many sacks of crops neatly arranged to one side. Yet, despite the stored goods, there was still so much space left that one could easily set up a basketball court and play a game.
Theo began to unload all the remaining enchanted vegetables he had, approximately 30,300 shadowshade potatoes and around 382,000 nightshade tomatoes, showed by numbers in his Golden Vault.
As each number decreased, the corresponding vegetables began to materialize in heaps on the warehouse floor, transforming the barren space into a sea of darker colors. Both the store manager and the white-haired man were stunned, their eyes widened in disbelief as the floor was then flooded with all these enchanted veggies.
The manager hurried over to the spot where Theo had unleashed this avalanche of produce and exclaimed, "We have an important customer here! What would you like, sir?"
Observing the manager's sudden change in behavior, Theo asked, "Please weigh them immediately and settle my payment. Also, what seeds do you have available?"
The manager listed, "We have Mushroom, Mint, Beans, Carrots, Lettuce, Violet Berries, Verdantleaf Tea, and Beets. These are the primary crops grown in this region."
Theo thought for a moment and then instructed, "I'll need enough seeds for one acre for each of these. Subtract the amount from my payment."
"Certainly, sir..." The manager nodded and commanded his staff to commence the weighing process. Shortly, ten workers emerged from a back-room, began boxing up the enchanted vegetables, and placed them on a nearby scale.
Seeing the huge quantity of veggies and knowing that the current speed was too slow, the manager quickly made a hand signal, and one of the staff left outside. But soon more staff began to pour into the warehouse to assist with the weighing and tallying.
The white-haired man watched the proceedings with an amused expression, though he seemed surprised as well.
While the tally was ongoing, the white-haired man proudly began to blabber on about his life's adventures to the manager and Theo, who both showed an expressions of clear disinterest.
After about forty-five minutes, the tally was complete. The manager had noted that there were a total of 76,400 kilograms of tomatoes and 7,500 kilograms of potatoes. After some calculations based on the rates, the enchanted tomatoes came to a sum of 2,292,000 silver coins at 30 silver coins per kilogram, and the enchanted potatoes amounted to 675,000 silver coins at 90 silver coins per kilogram.
The manager then handed a gleaming blue gem ring to Theo with a broad smile, “This contains 29,670 gold coins. I've also added the seeds that you requested for which you don’t have to pay. And, please accept this spatial ring as a token of our gratitude for choosing us for your business. We hope you'll consider us again in the future.”
Theo accepted the gifts nonchalantly, but internally, he was joyous. ‘The monthly fund the royal family provides my barony is only around 1000 gold, yet I made 29,670 just by selling these leftover veggies.’ He was stunned but kept his astonishment hidden.
The manager added as an afterthought, “We've also settled your older brother’s account.”
"He's not my brother," Theo clarified with a sigh as he turned to leave.
The white-haired man attempted to lighten the mood, "Oh, he's just a bit mad at me, acting like he doesn't recognize me," He then trailed Theo out of the the shop.
As Theo descended the steps from the shop, searching for an inn, he became aware of someone walking in step beside him. Before he could inquire, the familiar voice chirped, “Knew you wouldn’t just abandon me, Brother!”
“I'm not your brother…” Theo replied with a hint of annoyance, halting in his tracks.
Choosing to hear only what he wanted, the white-haired man continued, “It might be unusual for a younger brother to give pocket money to an older one, but I don’t mind. Oh, I just remembered something. Hang on a second; I need to check on my student.”
Theo released a resigned sigh, thinking, ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if this lunatic teacher has another lunatic as his student...’
Suddenly, the white-haired man, as if propelled by an unseen force, shot up into the sky, hovering approximately forty meters above the ground. Theo's eyes flickered with surprise, not having expected such a feat from this shameless man.
Around them, some of the elven passersby stopped in their tracks, their gazes locked onto the figure floating above. Murmurs spread quickly among them as they were amazed. It was clear from the expressions on their faces that such a display was not a common occurrence in this elven town.
“There they are,” The white-haired man shouted with a bright face and turned to glance down to where Theo had been, but when he looked, there was no one there. The space was empty, and the boy was already gone, leaving a hint of disappointment to cloud over the his bright expression.
'Again, I couldn’t sense when he slipped past my senses…' he whispered to himself. Like a shooting star, he moved towards the approaching figures he'd been waiting for.
Upon landing in front of two stunning elven sisters, they halted their approach.
“Greetings, Master Rowan. We apologize for being late,” the younger one said remorsefully.
“You weren’t just late, you were incredibly late; Both of you kept me waiting long enough to almost land me in trouble. But a 'brother' of mine came to my rescue,” Rowan replied.
“You have a brother, Teacher?” the older sister asked with intrigued eyes.
“He helped me today from causing trouble and not to break a promise. For that, he is my brother for life,” Rowan explained.
The older sister, recalling a prior event, added with a gritted teeth, “I also had a run-in with an annoying human today. He's fortunate to have left with his life.”
“Aerin,” Rowan chided, “You must manage your disdain for humans. Not all of them are the same. And given that both of you will be joining a human academy next year, you best prepare. You'll be meeting many of them in the Phoenixwing Academy.”
“Master Rowan,” the younger sister said, “It's fortunate you're not human. Otherwise, my sister might have missed out on training under such a formidable teacher.”
Rowan sighed and spoke, "She needs to understand that It's the heart and actions that define a being, not their race."
With those final words, Rowan gestured for the sisters to follow him. The trio began to make their way, leaving the bustling streets behind.
