Silence lingered in the Silver Manor courtyard. White porcelain fragments glittered across the polished stone floor under the morning sun like scattered jewels.
Arceus lowered the pistol slowly. A thin ribbon of smoke drifted lazily from the barrel.
Behind him, the gathered maids burst into enthusiastic applause.
"Young Master Arceus, that was incredible!"
"You hit it perfectly!"
"I knew you could do it!"
Arceus smiled faintly and lowered the weapon. Footsteps echoed behind him as Wester Silver descended the marble staircase at an unhurried pace, his wife walking beside him. Neither spoke at first. They simply studied the strange silver pistol in Arceus's hand.
"So…" Wester finally said, "you've mastered this new artifact you bought."
"I wouldn't say mastered," Arceus replied honestly. "I've only started getting used to it. And this is not exactly an artifact, Father. It's a weapon called a firearm."
His father extended his hand. "Give it..."
Arceus nodded and passed the pistol over.
Wester examined it carefully. No Ether crystal. No magic inscriptions. No glowing formations. Just cold, well-crafted metal.
"The craftsmanship is good. I can say that."
Following the movements he'd observed earlier, he opened the chamber, inserted the last bullet, closed it, and raised the weapon. The servants instinctively took several steps back.
A new porcelain vase sat seven meters away.
Bang!
The shot echoed across the estate. The vase remained untouched. Instead, the bullet slammed into a nearby tree trunk, sending a small cloud of bark exploding into the air.
Silence.
Wester stared at the pistol for several long seconds before lowering it. "It seems this weapon was something between a bow and a hand catapult, but it was doing it on its own without needing much effort to shoot this metallic thing instead of an arrow or a stone."
Arceus accepted it back with a small smile. "You can say that, Father.
"What do you call it?" Wester glanced at the shattered vases scattered around the courtyard.
"According to the store owner, it is called a Pistol. It's not an Ether Weapon, Father."
Wester's brows furrowed. "And the one who sold it to you?"
"It's a young woman who runs a shop called Nexus, located in the Carlo district. That's all I know."
Wester fell quiet. The answer only deepened the mystery. No workshop. No forge. No explanation. Just a young woman selling weapons that defied common sense. Strangely, that store is in the outer district and not even in the Inner district.
Arceus opened the chamber again. Empty. He reached instinctively for the wooden case before remembering there were no bullets left.
"Already?" He let out a soft laugh. "I'll need more."
For some reason, the calm face of the shopkeeper surfaced in his mind again—long dark hair, clear scarlet eyes, and that steady, unchanging smile. Beautiful. Confident. She had presented an impossible weapon like it was the most ordinary thing in the world.
"Looks like I'll be seeing that interesting shopkeeper again."
The words slipped out before he could catch them.
One of the maids blinked. "Young Master?"
Arceus coughed lightly. "I meant… interesting shop."
The maids exchanged knowing glances. Another couldn't resist teasing, "Are you returning because you've run out of bullets… or because of the shopkeeper?"
Arceus looked at her for a moment. "Bullets, of course."
The maids smiled knowingly.
He sighed. "Mostly."
Soft laughter rippled through the courtyard. Even Lady Silver covered her mouth with her sleeve to hide her smile.
Arceus shook his head helplessly and returned the pistol to its case. "Prepare the carriage."
"Yes, Young Master."
As the servants hurried off, one particularly bold maid suddenly pulled out her instant camera. "Just one picture, please!"
Arceus blinked. "You never give up, do you?"
"Never!"
He smiled and rested the pistol casually against his shoulder, one hand slipping into his pocket. The flash went off.
The maid handed him the developed photo. Arceus studied it quietly—the morning light, the faint smoke curling from the barrel.
"That wasn't intentional." He tilted the photo. "Though if I wore a long coat and a brimmed hat… it might look even better."
The maids nodded enthusiastically. "It definitely would!"
"You'd look incredibly handsome!"
Arceus laughed and slipped the photograph into his storage ring. "Let's go."
Soon, the luxurious carriage rolled out of Silver Manor, heading straight for Nexus.
---
Meanwhile, inside Nexus Weapon Store…
Three hours had passed. Not a single customer had walked through the door.
The shop was spotless. Rows of pistols rested neatly on the shelves. The silence felt almost heavy.
Kiara rested her chin on one hand, staring at the empty entrance. "No customers…"
She wasn't discouraged. Building a business took time. Instead, she opened the manufacturing interface and began creating bullets one after another.
*Create.*
*Create.*
*Create.*
Soft notifications chimed steadily in her mind as her inventory slowly filled. Pistols might sell once. But bullets? Bullets would sell forever. A firearm without ammunition was just an expensive decoration. If she wanted repeat customers, ammunition would be her foundation.
She had bigger plans than simply running a weapon shop. She intended to build an empire.
"Big Sister," Zion's calm voice interrupted her thoughts. "Customers."
The holographic screen vanished instantly.
Kiara looked up. A familiar figure stepped through the doorway—Arceus Silver, this time accompanied by two cheerful maids.
A faint smile touched her lips.
*Right on schedule.*
"Welcome to Nexus," she said smoothly. "What can I help you with today?"
Arceus glanced around the shop, noticing there were even more pistols on display than yesterday. His curiosity deepened.
Behind him, the two maids whispered excitedly.
"That assistant is incredibly handsome."
"But not as handsome as our Young Master."
"I wonder if he's married."
"Maybe he's her husband."
"But it looked like she caught the eye of our Young Master."
"Young Master will be so disappointed."
"Won't Young Miss be the one who will be disappointed?"
"Hush."
Arceus smiled. "You two gossip too much."
The maids only giggled.
He stepped up to the counter. "I've come to purchase ammunition."
"Of course." Kiara's smile was professional and warm. "How many rounds?"
Arceus thought for a moment. "Ten…" He paused. "No. Twenty." Another pause. "Actually… make it fifty."
Even Kiara nearly lost her composure for a second. Fifty rounds? That was enough to supply an ordinary adventurer for months.
Internally, she was smiling. Outwardly, she remained perfectly calm. "Twenty silver per bullet. Fifty rounds will be ten gold."
The two maids inhaled sharply. Ten gold coins was more than three weeks of their combined wages.
"And…" Arceus continued, "I'll take two more pistols."
Kiara's heartbeat quickened. "Each pistol is five gold. Your total comes to twenty gold."
Without hesitation or bargaining, Arceus placed twenty glittering gold coins on the counter. "I'll take them."
"Zion," Kiara said. "Two pistols."
"Yes, Big Sister."
While Zion retrieved the weapons, Kiara carefully packed fifty bullets into a sturdy wooden box. System notifications rang out immediately.
[Single-Shot Pistol sold.]
[Single-Shot Pistol sold.]
[Fifty Bullets sold.]
Watching nearly eighteen gold disappear from her balance still stung, but profit was profit.
She closed the lid and slid the boxes across the counter. "Thank you for your patronage."
As Zion handed over the packages, Arceus hesitated. "Miss… we never properly introduced ourselves yesterday. I'm Arceus of House Silver."
"Kiara," she replied simply.
"Means Shining and Beautiful..." he nodded with a smile. "A befitting name for your appearance. Anyway, I'll be taking my leave."
She offered a polite smile. "Thank you. I hope to see you again."
"I believe you will," he said with a small grin.
Before leaving, Arceus looked down at the plain wooden boxes. "If I may offer one suggestion… the weapon is extraordinary. So is its price. Perhaps one day the packaging should reflect that."
Kiara smiled. "This is merely my most basic product. When something truly worthy appears… I'll consider it."
Arceus chuckled. "I look forward to that day."
---
After the carriage disappeared down the alley, Kiara reopened the system panel.
"Only seventy-four gold remaining… until the System Store unlocks."
Her eyes lingered on the number. Not much longer.
Half an hour later, inside a private study at Silver Manor, a hidden guard knelt before Wester Silver.
"My Lord."
"Report."
"The Young Master purchased two additional pistols… and fifty rounds of what they call bullets. They also had more than twenty identical pistols on display."
Wester slowly intertwined his fingers. "More than twenty…"
He repeated the number quietly. "So they can mass-produce these bullets and pistols."
The guard lowered his head. "We found no workshop. No blacksmith. No delivery wagons. No suppliers. No smoke from any furnaces."
The room fell silent.
Wester rose from his chair and walked to the window. He had expected to find at least one thread to pull. Instead… there was nothing.
No evidence. No production. No explanation.
It was as though those impossible weapons simply appeared out of thin air.
His gaze drifted to the strange bullet resting on his desk. He picked it up, turning it slowly between his fingers.
"This metal… is neither iron nor steel."
His eyes narrowed.
"Continue investigating. There has to be a workshop. If it doesn't exist anywhere in the Imperial City or the Empire, then she must be getting them from someone..."