CHAPTER 69: CHAPTER 68: LYSANDRA’S OFFER

Other world —★★★

"How did you know about this?" he asked, his voice low but steady.

Lysandra didn’t answer right away. She simply smiled, resting her chin lightly against her gloved knuckles. There was no smugness in her expression—only quiet curiosity, as if she were speaking not as a politician, but as someone who enjoyed putting puzzles together.

"I just assumed," she said at last, her tone gentle, almost conversational. "You came to Ginip from a faraway country—a place so distant no one here knows its name. But when you arrived, you didn’t bring a wagon. No merchant tag from any known guild. No guards. No retinue. And yet... a few days later, you began selling foreign goods. Soap, metal tools, spices, coils that give off scented smoke. Strange papers with even stranger markings. Your little shop carries items no one here has ever seen."

She leaned back against the cushioned seat and crossed one leg over the other. "And somehow, you restock without shipments. No guards reported a caravan arriving for you. It’s not difficult to do the math."

Kael looked out the window for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly. The dirt road ahead was quiet, trees bowing in the breeze on either side like silent witnesses.

"So... you think I have some kind of magical storage?" he asked slowly.

Lysandra gave a short nod. "It makes sense. A storage artifact. One that lets you carry large amounts of goods in a small space. Am I wrong?"

Kael didn’t answer immediately. He didn’t panic either. Instead, he studied her expression. Calm. Inquisitive. Not threatening. There was no greed in her tone, no trace of manipulation. Just... interest.

"I’ve never seen you use mana," she went on. "Or heard of you casting a spell. So if you do have such a thing, it’s likely not a spell-based ability. That means artifact. Possibly a rare one—likely bound to you."

Kael folded his arms. "You’ve thought this through."

"I’m the mayor," she said with a wry smile. "It’s my job to think things through."

He chuckled softly at that, but there was still tension in his shoulders.

"Don’t worry," she added after a moment. "I’m not planning to report you. Or steal from you. I know what something like that is worth."

She looked out the window.

"If someone like you—young, alone, no noble house to back you—were known to possess such an item... Well, every thieves’ guild within a hundred leagues would come hunting. Mercenaries. Black-market brokers. Even corrupt nobles."

"You seem awfully calm about this."

"I’m thirty-two," Lysandra said, tapping her fingers gently against her thigh. "I’ve seen good people ruined by the wrong attention. And I’ve also seen what a clever person can do if they got support"

There was a pause. The carriage hit a small bump in the road. The wood creaked, but neither of them moved.

"You haven’t hurt anyone," she continued. "You’ve brought prosperity to Ginip. Jobs. Sanitation. Products that everyone started whispering about. If it takes a rare artifact or some foreign knowledge to do that—so be it. I’d rather keep you safe than hand you over to vultures."

Kael relaxed slightly at that. It was strange. He had been prepared for suspicion. Paranoia. Threats. Not... this kind of pragmatic kindness.

"...Thank you," he said finally. "For your understanding."

Lysandra nodded. "Some things are better left unsaid. Secrets are part of life, especially for people who come from... far away."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the sound of the wheels against the dirt road filling the space between them.

Then she asked, almost casually, "So... how big is it?"

Kael blinked. "What?"

"Your storage space. Just curious."

He laughed despite himself, shaking his head. "That’s one of the secrets I’m keeping."

She grinned. "Fair enough."

Another silence. More comfortable this time.

Lysandra spoke again. "You’re different, Kael. You’re not just selling products. You’re changing things. You hired the poor. You treated them with dignity."

She paused, then added with a slight smile, "Even that feast you gave them—do you know how many nobles would’ve called that a waste of coin?"

Kael smiled. "It wasn’t for them."

"No," she said. "It was for you. For what you’re building."

Kael fell quiet again, feeling the truth of her words settle over him like a gentle weight.

He wasn’t a hero. He wasn’t even trying to become a legend. He was a merchant here. He was here to make money. Just money — because it’s everything

"...If the nobles ever find out what you’re doing," she said after a while, "some of them will want to own you. Or ruin you. Or recruit you."

"Let them try," Kael said quietly.

Lysandra gave him a look. "Brave. Or foolish."

"Both," he said, smiling.

The carriage came near Ginip’s eastern gate. The guards on duty saluted as they passed.

It was nearly night.

Lysandra leaned slightly forward. "I won’t ask more. But just know—if you ever need help... truly need it... come to me first. Not the council. Me."

Kael looked at her. "Why?"

"Because I’d rather see you succeed than fall to the people who pretend to be allies but serve only themselves."

He nodded slowly. "Alright. I’ll remember that."

She reached over and tapped the edge of his hand with two fingers. "Good. Just don’t do anything stupid. Or flashy. Or—gods forbid—heroic."

Kael grinned. "No promises."

The carriage stopped in front of his shop.

Kael stepped down, stretching his legs.

Lysandra leaned out the window slightly. "Rest. You did good today."

"Thank you, Mayor."

"Call me Lysandra. At least when we’re not in public."

Kael gave a slight bow. "Then good night, Lysandra."

She smiled.

The driver gave a light whistle, and the carriage pulled away, vanishing into the narrow streets of Ginip.

So much had changed.

And yet... it felt like the real journey was only beginning.

He exhaled, then opened the shop door.

♦♦♦

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