Chae blinked slowly, staring at Tiyun as if completely unable to process the words that had just left his mouth. Gradually, her incredulous gaze shifted to Annie, looking at the blue-haired foreigner as if she were completely insane. "Why?" she asked, her voice flat with disbelief. Annie simply hummed, tilting her head. "Why what? You can't just expect me to know the answer to a question you haven't actually asked," she replied, her lips curving into a deliberate, mocking smirk that made it obvious she knew exactly what the shopkeeper meant and was just being difficult on purpose.
Chae clicked her tongue sharply and crossed her arms under her chest. "You know exactly what I am asking. Why are you after Ambrose? And why in the world did you hire these two to help you do it?" she demanded. Tiyun let out a weary sigh, stepping forward. "Lady Chae, you do not have to—" Chae instantly raised a hand, cutting him off without ever breaking her intense stare on Annie, who responded with a theatrical, playful roll of her blue eyes.
"Fine~ If you really want to know, I just want to break Joshua," Annie admitted, leaning forward slightly over the counter. "And these two know how to use chi, just like he does. I need their help fighting his disciples and understanding exactly how chi works. As for why I picked them specifically?" She gave a nonchalant shrug. "They were the most well-known hunters people talked about when I asked around. It is really that simple."
Chae took a slow step backward, pressing a hand over her eyes and shaking her head in utter dismay. "Why did you two take this job?" she muttered bleakly. The two men exchanged a guilty look. "I mean... you saw the coin, Lady Chae. It's a lot, and she has even more on her," Zamin tried to explain defensively. "Besides, we wouldn't have been able to pay off the massive debt we owed you if it wasn't for the coin she just gave us." Chae let out another heavy sigh, massaging her temples. "I guess that is true, but ugh... this is a remarkably stupid thing to do," she scolded, glaring at the hunters. "You two of all people should know that you cannot possibly fight Ambrose."
"We will not be fighting Joshua Ambrose," Tiyun stated firmly. Chae paused, giving them a deeply confused look. "Oh, yeah, they won't be helping me fight the man himself," Annie chimed in cheerfully, pressing a hand to her own chest. "I will be doing that entirely by myself."
"What? Have you completely lost your mind, girl? You think you can fight him alone?" Chae gaped. Without waiting for an answer, she spun around and snatched a delicate, gem-inlaid necklace from a nearby display. Clutching the artifact tightly in her fist, she squeezed her eyes shut in deep concentration. A moment later, her dark eyes snapped open, locking onto Annie with profound shock. "You don't even have a single drop of chi or mana! How do you expect to do anything against him?" she cried out. Annie's playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a chilling, entirely humorless smile. "It's what I was made for," she replied. Her tone was casual, mimicking her usual cadence, but it carried a dark, heavy weight that made the statement feel unnervingly literal.
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the shop following Annie's chilling declaration. The three locals simply stared at the blue-haired foreigner for a long moment, completely at a loss for words.
Finally, Chae tore her intense gaze away, turning her dark eyes back to the two hunters. "So, there is absolutely no talking you two out of doing this, is there?" she asked, her tone flat and resigned.
Tiyun slowly shook his head. "We already took the job, Lady Chae," he stated firmly.
The shopkeeper let out a loud, frustrated "Ugh!" before sharply spinning around on her heel. She immediately began pulling items off the shelves, aggressively binding and packing gear together with practiced, furious speed.
"Fine, fine! I guess you are really doing this!" she snapped, tossing a heavy, fully stocked survivalist backpack onto the wooden counter with enough force to make both hardened hunters visibly flinch. "Stubborn little brats, just making this poor old woman worried to death!" she grumbled bitterly, slamming a second, identical pack onto the counter before whirling around to assemble a third.
"And you, Annie," Chae continued, not bothering to look back as her hands moved in a blur. "If you truly think you can do this? You are completely insane, but clearly devoted to it. So who am I to talk?" She slammed the third pack onto the counter with a heavy thud.
Turning her back to them once more, Chae reached beneath her desk and retrieved a deceptively small, embroidered silk pouch. To the hunters' utter bewilderment, she began aggressively stuffing a massive pile of oddly shaped trinkets, glowing talismans, and heavy mystical artifacts into the bag—objects that physically should not have been able to fit inside such a tiny space.
"By the Emperor, Lady Chae!" Zamin suddenly cried out in sheer panic, waving his hands wildly. "Are you trying to put us right back into your debt again?! We do not want, need, or can even afford all of that, even with the new coin she gave us!"
Tiyun nodded in frantic agreement, both men looking at the magical inventory in absolute horror.
"These aren't for you!" Chae snapped fiercely. She pulled the strings of the enchanted pouch tight, grabbed a sturdy leather belt from a nearby hook, and swiftly strapped it around her own waist, securing the pouch firmly to her hip. "These are for me," she announced, finally turning around to face them with a fiery determination blazing in her eyes. "Because I am coming with you!"
"What?" Tiyun choked out breathlessly.
The two men stood frozen in complete confusion, while Annie watched the scene unfold with deep curiosity.
"You heard me perfectly right. I am coming with you," Chae declared, planting her hands on her hips. "Because you three are apparently traveling a very long way just to commit suicide! So, while you two might have been absolute parasites for most of my life, I am coming with you to make sure you don't actually die!" she finished with an indignant huff.
Annie let out a delighted chuckle. "Well, I certainly don't have an issue with that. The more, the merrier," she agreed easily.
The two men whipped their heads toward her, looking utterly betrayed. "But—" Zamin started, unable to even formulate a proper sentence.
"No buts!" Chae commanded, marching right past them toward the shop's exit. "Come on, put the packs on! We are going!"
Annie gave the stunned hunters a casual shrug, effortlessly hoisting her own pack onto her shoulders before happily strolling out the door right behind the shopkeeper. The two women had clearly made their choice, and the two seasoned hunters suddenly found they had absolutely no say in the matter, forced to just shut up and go along with it.