Ask Away, Your Majesty - Chapter 1
The slender woman’s hair was a beautiful platinum blonde, yet it felt coarse and tangled like a broom. It was pulled back into a long braid, not for show, but to keep her life as unobtrusive as possible. The braids were unevenly done, with stray strands sticking out sporadically.
“Damn you, XX! Those herbalist bastards are a bunch of bloodsuckers! As soon as something starts selling well, they hike up the prices without a second thought!”
Late at night, the woman threw her pen away from recording the prices of the magical ingredients she had received today. Outside the small village near the Astum Castle was the owner of ‘Loftis Potion Shop,’ Lorienne.
Knock, knock.
Upon hearing the knocking from outside, Lorienne hastily adjusted her thick glasses with both hands. Then, she opened the door’s peephole.
“Who is it?”
“Are you the shop owner? I’d like to buy some potions…”
With narrowed eyes, Lorienne slightly tilted her head backward as she spoke to the man standing at the door.
“Step back a bit, please.”
The man took a shaky step back. Despite wearing a velvet jacket of considerable value, the front of his leather shoes was heavily worn and faded. Lorienne hesitated, then opened the door.
“You don’t look too shabby, but you don’t look like you have a lot of status, either,” she thought to herself. “Still, there are some who don’t look wealthy but end up paying handsomely, so it can’t be helped.”
At this late hour, those who came calling were almost always nobles — nobles who wanted to buy magic potions in secret, away from prying eyes. Lorienne’s first indication of a guest’s status was their clothing. Admitting someone with shabby clothing this late at night, only for them to be a robber, had been a frequent and vexing occurrence. However, such ambiguous individuals were less likely to be actual robbers and more likely to be hard-nosed, stingy customers.
“Please have a seat.”
As the man entered and took a seat on a chair by a small table, he openly scanned Lorienne’s appearance. It was a subtly different attitude from the one who had requested the door to be opened from outside.
It seems…his purpose isn’t magical potions after all.
Lorienne left the man seated and walked over to the rows of potions. She moved behind the long counter where she made potions, giving herself some distance from the man who was ogling her.
“So, tell me, what kind of potion do you need?”
“Hmm, word around town is that you’re not from Astum. Your attitude is quite arrogant.”
“Seems like you don’t need my magical potions, do you? The way you speak is different depending on the person…”
Despite facing a man much larger than herself, Lorienne didn’t display a hint of confusion or fear.
“The night is deep, and right now, it’s just you and me here,” the man remarked with a sly smile, hiding a sinister intent.
Having experienced countless similar situations before, Lorienne let out a short sigh. She rested one arm on the counter in front of her and propped her chin up.
“Can you look at the door behind you?”
Lorienne lifted her other idle arm, indicating towards the closed door with a somewhat solemn gesture.
The man sitting at the bar looked back at the door he’d just come through and scratched his head. While it appeared flawless from the outside, the inside of the door was marked with something resembling imprints.
He turned his head back to Lorienne—
Clank.
The sound of metal hitting metal resonated from near Lorienne, and over 200 iron rods rose into the air.
Startled, the man sprang up from his seat.
“I thought the rumor about iron rods chasing after people was just an exaggeration, but it was real!”
“Perhaps you’ve also heard the rumors about how great a mage I am?”
