The blue ogre returned the sword he had been polishing to its place, the right corner of his lips curling upward into an almost flirtatious smile.

  Resting both elbows on the table and leaning forward, he said appreciatively.

  "I like you, kid. So, what's your order for today?"

  Haruki and Yamka's faces contorted in disgust at the blue ogre's flirtatious manner toward Noroi, giving him looks full of clear judgment.

  Then, at the very same moment, they glanced at each other, exchanging knowing looks without even needing to remove their masks to understand what the other was thinking.

  Haruki leaned slightly toward Yamika, placing his hand near the mouth area of his mask before whispering teasingly.

  "Looks like someone has quite the magnetic charm."

  Yamka pressed her lips tightly together, stifling a laugh that nearly escaped, while Noroi remained oblivious to the gossip swirling behind him, focused instead on inspecting the options displayed in front of him to decide what he wanted to buy.

  Finally, he said in a calm tone.

  "I'll take that…"

  Noroi pointed to a bow resting on one of the shop's wall shelves ,a wooden bow whose edges shimmered with polished, gleaming metal.

  An elegant carving of a wolf adorned its body, blending perfectly with its balanced shape, while its thick black string stretched taut.

  The ogre's eyes fell on the bow Noroi had indicated, and he nodded in clear approval before saying in a rough, admiring tone.

  "You've got excellent taste, kid."

  The ogre turned around, his muscular, gleaming back flexing with every movement, and walked toward the shelf to carefully take down the bow, despite the firmness of his large hands.

  He brought it back to the counter in front of Noroi, then picked up fifteen wooden arrows with sharp iron tips from a nearby table, along with a wooden quiver that had a solid iron base and a sturdy brown leather strap attached to it.

  The ogre returned to Noroi, displaying everything on the table before him. He placed both hands on his hips before saying.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "Your total will be sixteen coins."

  Noroi nodded, then reached back to the bag hanging from his shoulder, pulled out sixteen coins, and handed them to the blue ogre.

  The ogre smiled cheerfully as he counted his coins and said.

  "Pleasure doing business with you."

  Noroi grabbed the bow, then turned to the two who had been standing there from the start, watching what he was doing.

  Yamka approached him with curiosity, running her fingers along the bow.

  "This is really nice. Why did you bring it? Did your toy stop working?"

  "It's not for me,"

  Noroi said, pushing the bow toward Haruki, waiting for the other boy to take it.

  Haruki's eyes widened in shock , he had never held a weapon before, nor had he ever expected Noroi to buy one for him in the first place.

  He slowly reached out, wrapping his fingers around the bow's grip, his eyes sparkling with admiration at how beautiful it looked in his hand.

  "Wow, it's really beautiful,"

  Haruki murmured softly, his voice filled with awe as he traced the elegant golden carving and ran his fingers along the string, feeling its strength.

  He looked back up at Noroi, eyes shining with wonder.

  "Thank you!"

  Noroi turned away without responding to Haruki's thanks, not uttering a single word, and began walking off through the crowded marketplace filled with creatures of all kinds.

  Yamka and Haruki followed closely behind, walking side by side in a straight line, having no idea where Noroi was taking them after everything they had already been through on this journey.

  Yamka's eyes fell on Haruki beside her , he was still staring at the bow in his hands, his joyful expression hidden behind the mask.

  She nudged him with her elbow, making his body jolt sideways from the force, but she managed to get his attention.

  When he looked at her, she said with a faintly mocking tone.

  "Pretty impressed with your weapon, huh?"

  Haruki nodded several times with excitement, hugging the bow to his chest like a child who had just received a new toy on his birthday.

  Following Noroi's lead, they exited the marketplace entirely and returned to the vast Meryl Forest.

  As soon as the market disappeared behind them, the three of them removed their masks at the same time, and the breeze of the setting sun brushed against their sweaty faces.

  Yamka ran her fingers through her orange hair, pushing it back and freeing it from the hood of her leather cloak.

  Haruki quickly sped up his pace to catch up with Noroi, walking beside him and leaning forward until his face was close to Noroi's, the dumb grin never leaving his expression as he asked.

  "So, where are we going?"

  Noroi looked at him with a disgusted expression, then placed his hand on Haruki's forehead and pushed him away, saying in a cold tone.

  "I don't know."

  Haruki gasped dramatically, his hand flying to his mouth in disbelief that the genius of the group had just said he didn't know.

  He placed his hand under his chin, his lips curling into a focused frown as he tried to come up with a solution.

  All the gears in his brain began turning at once in an attempt to find a plan.

  For a moment, he felt like his mind was about to overheat when he couldn't come up with an idea, but before giving up, a light bulb of inspiration lit up above his head.

  Hope returned to his face as his smile widened and he exclaimed excitedly.

  "What if we summon Seraphine?!"