CHAPTER 180: ANOTHER SALE DOWN THE DRAIN

Near evening, Demi was going to town on various fresh ingredients, chopping and dicing with serious intent.

Beast blood and bug guts splattered everywhere, turning the kitchen into one hell of a messy battlefield.

"Demi! Why won’t you let Master handle this?"

Pergina couldn’t stand watching anymore.

"No way!"

Demi shot back stubbornly. She’d be damned if she was gonna hand over cooking duties to anyone else! Not even her master!

"Good grief..."

Pergina let out a long sigh, clearly at her wit’s end.

Just then,

"Knock knock!"

Someone rapped on the door.

"A customer?"

She frowned. "Demi, didn’t you put up the ’closed today’ sign?"

"I sure did."

Demi wanted zero distractions while prepping ingredients.

Pergina trudged over and cracked open the door.

"Excuse me, is this Pergina’s Alchemical Treasures?"

Standing there was some guy wearing an alchemical mask. Just looking at his threads, you could tell he had serious coin.

Normally, this kind of loaded customer was exactly what she prayed for—selling a few ’treasures’ would be a piece of cake.

But right now, thanks to her apprentice’s cooking spree, the whole shop reeked of various ingredients. Plus her apprentice’s scheming meant she had to give this guy the boot.

"That’s right, this is the place. But sir, I’m real sorry—we’re closed today. If you don’t mind swinging by another time, that’d be great."

While saying this, Pergina was silently begging: please come back, for the love of all that’s holy!

’No psionic response. This chick’s gotta be just shop help.’

Behind his mask, Carlos sized up the woman with zero intention of backing down.

"Tell whoever’s in charge that Carlos Valois came here specifically to see the owner."

"What the hell?!"

Pergina gawked at the masked man and practically shouted:

"You’re that 15-year-old Carlos Valois!"

That came out kinda weird—why throw in the age like that?

"That’s me, alright."

Carlos nodded.

"Shh!"

He held up a finger, basically saying keep it down before you cause a damn scene.

"Hold on a sec!"

Then...

"SLAM!"

Pergina slammed the door right in his face.

"She’s giving me the cold shoulder?"

Carlos stared at the door that had just shut him out, totally baffled.

Right away, muffled yelling came from inside:

’Why the hell is Young Master Carlos here NOW?!’

’We’re so screwed!’

That voice rang a bell.

Then came the sound of pots and pans getting tossed around like crazy. A moment later,

The door creaked back open.

"Young Master Carlos, what an honor!"

Demi appeared, slightly out of breath with a light sheen of sweat on her forehead, and gave Carlos a graceful curtsy.

"Miss Demi, sorry for barging in."

Carlos’s eye twitched a bit.

"No way! Not at all!"

Demi shook her head like her life depended on it, her gorgeous eyes locked onto Carlos’s mask, automatically picturing that perfect face underneath.

She couldn’t help but get lost in her daydream.

"Seems like I caught you at a bad time. You cooking something?"

The gal in front of him was sporting an apron covered in bloodstains, and her flushed face had white, black, and pink flour smeared all over it.

It looked... well...

Carlos couldn’t figure out what the hell she was making.

"Yes yes yes yes..."

Demi nodded like a bobblehead.

How did Young Master Carlos know she was cooking? Was this some kind of mind-reading magic?

She’d completely spaced on actually inviting Carlos inside.

’This apprentice of mine...’

Watching this trainwreck, Pergina was beyond words. The kid met him once and already lost her marbles.

Who knew what kind of disaster she’d cause during dinner.

"Young Master Carlos, please come on in."

Pergina tapped her apprentice’s shoulder from behind, basically telling her to get out of the way.

"Right, right! Young Master Carlos, please come in!"

Demi snapped back to reality and quickly stepped aside to wave him in.

"..."

Carlos looked at the narrow, dimly lit hallway where a blood-splattered woman was beckoning him forward, and for a second felt like he’d stepped into some twisted fairy tale.

Pergina caught Carlos’s weird look and finally realized her apprentice had come out looking like something out of a horror story.

She felt ready to throw in the towel.

"Demi, you’ve been busting your ass all day. Go clean up first. You can’t meet guests looking like you just wrestled with a dragon."

"???"

Demi stared at her master like she’d lost her mind.

Her first thought: What’s your deal? Master, you’re actually trying to get rid of me!

Pergina was speechless, shooting her looks that screamed: the apron! Your face!

Demi glanced down and touched her face.

Her cheeks went bright red.

"Whoosh!"

She vanished without a trace!

"Damn, she’s fast!"

That speed caught Carlos off guard. Wasn’t she supposed to be some kind of Arcane Practitioner?

Also, the way Demi treated this woman was mad respectful. Could she be more than just hired help?

"Young Master Carlos, come on in."

"Alright."

Carlos followed Pergina inside.

First thing he saw were several rows of counters loaded with alchemical gear. Nothing too fancy—just your everyday alchemical tools and jewelry, all looking pretty run-of-the-mill.

’These must be the alchemical master’s decoy stuff, right? Going by every story ever told, these hermit masters love hiding some priceless treasure mixed in with a bunch of junk.’

Carlos couldn’t help but give everything a good once-over.

Well... he was way off base. This wasn’t junk disguised as decent stuff—it was crap disguised as junk.

"Young Master Carlos got his eye on something?"

When Carlos started checking out the alchemical tools on the counter, Pergina’s merchant instincts kicked into high gear.

She immediately swooped in to make her pitch:

"Honestly, these are all treasures that various alchemical masters have trusted me to sell—you won’t find anything like ’em in all of Rock Sand City."

Pergina pointed at a bunch of golden, glowing bracelets, anklets, rings, and necklaces, talking up a storm:

"Take this baby here—Master Slock’s masterpiece, crafted with 108 different techniques, a carefully made necklace with magical cooling effects!"

"And this beauty over here..."

"..."

Carlos just stood there.

Did he look like some kind of sucker?

Cooling effects? Made with glow stone—wearing it would definitely keep you cool, alright...

"Master!"

Demi showed up again.

In just a few minutes, she’d thrown on some formal wear.

Her hair still had water droplets, her face all dewy—had she actually taken a full bath?

’Master?’

Carlos looked in shock at the woman next to him who’d been pushing her wares so hard.

No psionic response whatsoever, eyes showing classic small-time merchant greed, and once she got going she wouldn’t shut up—hell-bent on unloading all her ’junk’ on him.

This was the alchemical master who created Gauwo’s Eye?

Demi shot her master a look that could melt steel.

At a time like this, there was no point keeping up the act!

"Alright, alright, Master gets it."

Pergina reluctantly dropped her sales pitch, unable to deal with her apprentice’s puppy-dog eyes.

Damn it, another sale down the drain!

That fortune teller was completely full of it, claiming her luck with money would shoot through the roof soon, but she couldn’t close a single deal!