Five days had passed since the incident with the landlord.
Inside his small shop, Noah stood with a deep frown etched across his face. The expression had beco increasingly common, and Alissa's worried glances followed him whenever he moved.
Those five days had fallen into a routine.
Wake up, head to the shop, sell bread and iced tea, train with his employees, return ho.
The routine had beco a sanctuary.
But the sanctuary was about to crumble.
Host: Noah Carter
Age: 28
Shops: 1
Daily Revenue: $1,400
Current Assets: $49,000.23
Shop Points: 720
Attributes: Strength: 4, Vitality: 4, Intelligence: 7, Agility: 3
Skills: Swordsmanship (Level 4), Mana Control (Level 4), Programming (Level 2), Finance (Level 1), Surviving on Ran (Level 3), Cooking (Level 2)
[Host. Today is your final day in this location. Please prepare your farewell appropriately.]
There it is. The hamr is finally about to fall.
In those five days, Noah had accumulated wealth beyond his wildest dreams.
The princess's daily order of four iced teas brought him a steady daily inco of forty golden coins.
Woodrow's consistent purchases and Valeria's also added another nineteen gold coins daily.
Fifty-nine gold coins per day for five days ant 295 gold coins.
Which was $29,500 in additional inco. Combined with his idle revenue of $1,400 daily over five days, his current wealth approached $50,000.
From broke to wealthy in the span of days.
His skills had flourished under his constant practice.
Swordsmanship at Level 4 ant he could hold his own against so competent fighters, but he was still not a novice swordsman. Mana Control at Level 4 brought him incredibly close to actual spellcasting—Elara insisted he was nearly ready for novice magic.
Level 5 should be the threshold for a novice mage.
But none of it mattered now.
His shop points stood at 720.
280 short of the 1000 needed to lock this location. The auto-makers remained stubbornly at Level 1, their progress bars mocking his efforts.
[Auto-IceTea Maker: Progress 40/60]
[Auto-Baker: Progress 26/60]
So close. Yet so far.
Today marked the end of everything he'd built here.
In a few hours, the System would relocate him to so unknown world, leaving behind the relationships that had beco more precious than gold.
Alissa's worried voice finally pierced his brooding. "Sir Noah... is sothing wrong?"
'How do I explain this? How do I tell them I'm disappearing?'
Noah's shoulders sagged. "My shop will disappear from this place tomorrow. Don't co to work from now on. Today is your last day."
His words were like a death sentence to the three employees in front of him.
"Disappear?" Kip's voice cracked with confusion. "What do you an by disappear?"
"I don't know how long it'll be before I co back." Each word felt like pulling teeth.
"The shop... relocates."
The colour drained from Alissa's face. Her ears flattened against her skull as she realised that they would no longer be together.
"You're... leaving us?"
Damn it. The way she said it, it's like I'm abandoning them.
Tears began forming in her amber eyes, droplets that threatened to shatter Noah's composure.
Beside her, Kip's small body trembled with barely contained emotion.
Even Grix seed to deflate like a punctured balloon.
His green skin took on a sickly pallor.
"Master Noah... Grix did sothing wrong?"
'They think it's their fault. Of course they do.'
"No!"
Noah's response ca too quickly, shaking his head.
"None of you did anything wrong. This isn't about you—it's about the shop itself."
Alissa's composure finally cracked. Tears spilt down her furry cheeks as she pressed small hands to her face.
The sight of her crying made a lump form in Noah's throat.
'I've never seen her break down. Not even when she was sick and starving.'
Kip moved closer to his sister, his own eyes glistening as he wrapped thin arms around her shoulders. Their shared grief was a mirror, reflecting each other's pain in an endless loop of loss.
"We... we'll never see you again?" Kip whispered.
Noah walked to them before kneeling to their level, forcing a small smile into his expression.
"Hey, listen to . This isn't goodbye forever."
"I want you to do sothing for while I'm gone." He placed gentle hands on both their shoulders. "Alissa, take Valeria up on her offer. Beco her disciple. It'll be good for you."
Her head shook frantically. "I don't want to train without you. I want to stay here and wait—"
"No waiting." Noah's voice carried gentle firmness. "You have incredible talent. Don't waste it pining for sothing uncertain."
He turned to Kip, whose tears were flowing freely now. "And you—take Elara's offer. Join the Academy. Your magical talent deserves proper developnt."
"But what if you co back and we're not here?"
Kip's logic was heartbreaking in its simplicity.
"Then I will co and find you, where you'll be stronger. Better. Ready for whatever cos next."
Noah's throat constricted around the words.
"That's what I want—for you to grow beyond what you think possible. Kip, you need to grow stronger for your sister, okay? The demons are closing in on the kingdom, and you need to have enough strength."
His gaze shifted to Grix, whose large eyes were fixed on the ceiling.
"As for you, Grix..." Noah scratched the back of his head. What do I tell him? He hasn't shown talent in anything specific.
"Grix should go with Alissa. See if you can help sowhere in Valeria's guild. I'm sure you are an amazing alchemist."
Maybe he'll find his niche there. Maybe they all will.
Grix nodded slowly, though his expression remained hollow. "Grix understands. Will... will Master Noah rember us?"
Master Noah. Even now, he won't drop the title.
"Every day." The promise ca without thought.
"Every single day."
The shop fell silent except for quiet sniffling and the distant sounds of Esta's afternoon bustle. Four beings bound by circumstance and genuine affection, facing separation neither wanted nor could prevent.
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