25. The Mysterious Scythe
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Eventually, Faith and Ronan began walking down the stairs. Ronan's eyes met mine, as Sophia and Justine were attending to my fresh injuries. This included the bruises that came from the tug-of-war.

Faith rubbed her chin as she looked at me. "I don't remember causing those bruises. Did something happen while we were upstairs?" Faith asked.

I looked at her with a blank expression. "It's straightforward. These 2 Idiots are around me so they—," I said.

As Sophia pulled both sides of my cheeks, she complained.

"Oh? Is that how you treat your newest party member? Do you know how hard it was to convince my mother to let me join you? Despite being a B rank sorcerer, they had me doing nothing but diplomatic drivel! While my brother gets to go on grand adventures, I sit here and negotiate with old people! But those days are finally over!" Sophia shouted passionately.

"Stopsh Pullin' my Cheeksh! You were a lot cuter when we firstch met," I said.

Sophia thought for a few moments before letting go of my cheeks.

"Since you called me cute, I guess I can forgive you. That reminds me, Owen. Do you still think I have a nice rack? I think they're still growing, but I'm not sure," Sophia said.

"Oi! What are you trying to pull?" Justine said annoyed.

"Oh? I'm just asking him a question. Do you have a problem with it?" Sophia teased.

"I'll tell you the same thing that I told Leena! Owen belongs to me!" Justine said.

"Is this true, Owen?" Sophia asked.

"To an extent, we're in the beginning stages of dating," I said.

"If that's the case, I can freely declare my interest in this strange hero! Put me on the list of candidates!" Sophia said happily.

"Application denied!" Justine said.

"Your opinion in this matter is irrelevant! Begone, pervert! Don't let your lewd ways contaminate Owen!" Sophia teased.

"Wha—! I'm not lewd! If anything, Owen is the lewdest person in this room!" Justine said.

"Ouch?" I joked.

Justine let out an enormous sigh as she sat on the shop's floor.

"Why did you join our team, anyway? Aren't your options limitless? You're the daughter of the mayor," Justine said.

"Most of my days were spent as Fayhelm's envoy, so I'm only a B rank mage. Ross and Wilhelm are busy with FSF operations, so they need a group of people to protect me. That's why Faith will serve as my bodyguard when I'm not with you guys," Sophia said.

"Does that mean that Faith can't leave the city?" I asked.

"Yes. We were discussing the finishing details before Faith ran out of Mother's office. When we chased after Faith, we found her with you. That's when I had the genius idea of leveraging your 'Anomaly' status to join your team!" Sophia said proudly.

"So...you're using me to become an adventurer? I hate to break it to you, but I'm not a hero. I'm a Merchant Hero," I said confidently.

"That's why this works out so well! Mayor Ross taught me and my brother the joys of being a Merchant. It's a satisfying profession, but maybe it's in the blood?" Sophia said.

I grabbed Sophia's hands while having a fiery passion in my eyes. "Yes, my beautiful companion! You are one of the chosen few who see the value in this profession! Together, we shall build the greatest store from the ground up! We shall use the concepts of economics, commerce, and every finance fundamental to succeed! We may face competition from established brands, but fear not! While we may be one of the youngest Merchants in the city, we won't let that stop us!" I said passionately.

"You sound just like my Father," Sophia joked.

"A splitting image of his personality," Justine said.

"Anyway, I found some old ledgers that belonged to Mayor Ross. Can you teach me how to properly read it? It had a magic inscription on it," I said.

"Oh. You mean the 'Encryption Inscription'? I can help with that. Are you sure you should move around though?" Sophia asked.

"It's fine! We'll be coming back upstairs after we get them. They're on a shelf in the cellar," I said confidently.

As Sophia shrugged, she followed me as we went to retrieve the ledgers. Meanwhile, Justine was facepalming.

"—Sigh—"Jeez. I didn't even get to go on a date with Owen before Sophia showed up," Justine said.

"Indeed," Ronan said.

"I can't tell if he's being sarcastic about the Merchant stuff but...at least he has the spirit. Though, I have to wonder if it's being misplaced...," Justine questioned.

--------

Meanwhile, Sophia and I were picking books off the shelf. Things were going well until we were about to leave. As I walked up the steps, Sophia dropped the ledgers on the floor. She was dumbfounded.

"Are you okay, Sophia? What's wrong?" I asked concerned.

"My eyes are deceiving me!" Sophia said.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

As Sophia walked towards the Scythe, I noticed that it was reacting to her movements. I wondered what would happen if we touched it, but Sophia stopped before she was close enough to do so.

"These telepathic voices! They have to be...Princess Carnessa! It all makes sense now!" Sophia said thoughtfully.

"Wait, slow down! What are you talking about? We stumbled upon it when we were cleaning the store," I said.

As Sophia ran towards me, she firmly grabbed my shoulders. She looked me straight in the eyes as her face was inches from my own. In fact, she was so close that I could see the gloss on her lips.

"Did you ever wonder why Demon Lord Ogis captured and tortured Mayor Ross? Why Wilhelm, despite being a half-demon, broke Ross out of Ogis's prison and escaped? Why Ross retired months after Demon Lord Ogis slaughtered his party?" Sophia asked.

"What are you trying to say?" I said.

"Sealed within that scythe for decades is none other than Princess Carnessa," Sophia said.

"Carnessa?" I asked.

"Would you believe me if I said it was Lord Ogis' only daughter?" Sophia said.

"You're joking, right?" I said.

"............."

"Oh shit."

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