"Now now. You can do all the thinking you want later. Right now, we shall have a talk, Madeleine." Hmm… I feel like I'm supposed to be threatened by that sentence right now. Maybe the events that happened before are supposed to add to the dread. I could fake it, but I'm way too distracted by the pot of boiling soup in that drawer. 

"Would you like a bowl?" asked the soup elf, grabbing a bowl out of a different drawer. Is this a soup kitchen? "I regret to inform you it is not. There are no nearby souls for me to be charitable with and give my soup, except for my dear Speedy."

"Couldn't you get her to deliver soup? She has Super Speed, you could do a worldwide business."

"I have explored such an idea before. Unfortunately, Speedy ended up drinking most of the soup on her deliveries."

Zoomed in Speedy, "I didn't drink them! Your containers are flimsy, and so was the bag!"

"Maybe if you were more carefu-"

"I keep telling you, most things break when being moved at that speed due to… to… what was it called again? Friction, I'm pretty sure."

"What about your clothes?"

"Uh…" And off she went.

"As you can ascertain, it was a bust."

"A shame. Speaking of breaking, wouldn't we have broken when she was running with us?"

"Most likely."

"..."

"..."

We sat silently in the room for the next minute. The soup elf just stood there with her eyes closed and her mouth stuck in a slight grin. I turned to Mel and saw she was rubbing her head with one hand and blocking her mouth with her other. I get the feeling she doesn't want to be here.

"Back to the focus of our conversation, the reason why you two are in my estate."

"That would be good to know. By the way, do you need a maid?"

"I actually do. Although Speedy is adequate as a cleaner and errand girl, she is severely lacking in the cooking compartment."

"I can't coo-"

"That was a lie. You merely felt like not cooking. I have seen your grades."

"Tch. I thought I disposed of those."

"You did. You will understand in a few moments. Now, any additional inquiries, or can I continue onto the main topic?"

"I've got nothing else to say. How bout you, Mel?"

"..."

"I think Mel wants to say so- URK! What was that for?!"

"Shush."

"Fiiine."

"Settled down? Great. Time to set the dramatic mood!" She pushed a button on her desk, and suddenly curtains draped down the grand windows, blocking all light. A pair of candles lit up with magical blue flames on the desk, and the entire room became covered in countless magic circles. "Added privacy. We may speak about whatever we want here."

"Ooh… really adds to the tense atmosphere. Do you think something bad will happen, Mel?"

"..."

"Still giving the silent treatment?"

"Haa…" Mel stopped covering her mouth and sighed. "It's too late now. Those magic circles stop escaping.'

"Oh."

"That is indeed correct."

"So, what do you want, Merida?"

"You know her, Mel?"

"She knows me very well. Rich used to bring his apprentices to me all the time."

"It's part of a background test. If what she sees matches what you said, you pass. Rich trusts every word this woman says."

"That he does."

"Wait… background test? How did you pass with Side Character?"

"I don't know."

"I let her pass." 

"Wait, what?"

"I thought it'd be interesting. I've had my eye on you since. That led to me discovering Madeleine too. Your history… so rich for being short compared to most."

"Hehe… you flatter me."

"Which is why you two are here. I invite you two to stay at my premises and fully support your adventure. I shall offer funds, equipment, transport, and shelter. I may even let you invite those you meet on your adventures into my mansion. There is so much space, I am troubled on how to fill it."

"What's the catch? There's always a catch." Spoken like a true merchant, Mel!

"Continue being entertaining."

"That's it?"

"That is indeed it. I have all I require and all I desire. All I merely acquire nowadays are things that catch my eye and trust me, my eye catches a lot."

"Hmm… let's hash out the details."

---

The talks continued between Mel and Merida for an hour or so. In the meantime, I explored the room, taking random books off the shelves. Turns out there's a town where the houses are made solely out of snail shells due to a previous disaster where snails flooded the nearby noble's castle and the residential district. Also, the magic circles are just for show. I could walk out normally. I went ahead and made tea for the two and tried finding Speedy. Every time I saw her, she'd run away, though. Hmm… I wonder how I'll get her to warm up to me?

"Hey Mad, we're done."

"Oh, goody! I understood what you guys were saying, but it was boring. Very boring."

"Did you actually understand?"

"Yes. Studying merchant jargon is part of the Maid School curriculum. Merchants have the wealth, and with their work ethic, they tend to hire maids. To offer the maximum amount of helpful service, maids are taught in mathematics, economics, and other subjects that would allow us to assist a merchant."

"Huh. Are you secretly more useful than you seem?"

"Well… I am a maid."

"That's true... doesn't feel like it, but it is. Anyways, want to hear the deal we made?"

"Yes, I do! As much as I love merchant stuff, I much prefer our adventure. You, me, and the living head in my bag."

"Your what? You know what? Going to ignore that. So Merida basically gave us access to her vault. We can borrow whatever we want. With the help of her Sacred Power, she will tell us the locations of Sacred Power holders and have Speedy drop us off nearby. We can bring them back if we want, by the way. Simply put, we streamlined the process."

"Huh… that is extremely convenient. Luck has sided with Madeleine!"

"Why did you say that?"

"One of my former bosses said it a lot."

"Chloe Darrow, correct?"

"Yeah, that one. Wait, when did you get here?!" Right behind me was Merida, holding a bowl of soup. She really likes soup. As the maid in this household, I guess I'll have to diversify her palate.

"There is one last thing to be done."

"What?"

"Look into my eyes."

"Gladly." 

All Seeing Eye You can see everything. Side Note: All is laid bare before the all seeing eye.

Laid bare? How lewd.

---

Character profile: Merida Sicht.

Sacred power: All Seeing Eye.

Worldwide net worth ranking: #3, behind Scorzar the Eternal Hoarder and Rich Ardrago.

Description: The elf obsessed with soup. The bookshelves on the west wall are random gift books given to her over her life and the east wall is filled with soup recipes from all over the world, from world-renowned chefs to stay at home wives she visited for a night. Her wealth comes from three sources: The treasures she constantly finds on her estate and sells, the hush money she is given by nearly every country, and Speedy's seventy two side jobs. She hopes Madeleine brings a bunch of people to her home for fun. She is an avid board gamer.

Chapter namesake: Honest Eyes by Black Tide.