"I'll take them all, please wrap them up for me!"
With a wave of his hand, Grin grandly bought out all the tree cakes in the display window.
Ding-aling—
The wind chime on the shop door jingled as a small figure rushed inside.
The little one's crisp shout was full of energy as she practically lunged at Grin's feet.
"Stop! Stop right there!"
Grin suddenly felt a weight on his calf, as if he'd been entangled by a warm ball of marshmallow.
Looking down, he saw a tiny tot barely over 1.3 meters tall clinging tightly to his leg.
Her caramel-colored short curly hair was as fluffy as a pom-pom, and the two prominent cat ears on her head were twitching slightly.
"Please, Big Brother, don't buy so many. Can you leave one for Mimi?"
The little one looked up with her round face, her amber eyes sparkling. She leaned her nose against Grin's trouser leg and sniffed, her eyes suddenly lighting up:
"Eh? Big Brother smells so good! It's the scent of a super powerful magical beast! Sniff, sniff!"
"Whose brat is this? Good grief!"
Grin quickly shook his leg, trying to shake off this clingy little tail.
But no matter how he shook, the little one stuck to him like glue, giggling instead:
"Haha! Mimi is on a swing!"
Her carefree appearance exuded a sense of airheaded cuteness.
"Mimi, you mustn't just pounce on people like that."
A gentle voice sounded from behind. Grin turned around to see a young woman in a pure white dress walking slowly toward them.
Her light purple curly hair was loosely tied back, a light veil draped over her shoulders, and the small pink dress hat on her head made her look even more charming and elegant—it was Anastasia Hoshin, one of the Royal Selection candidates.
Seeing this woman, Grin immediately became alert.
This was a merchant guild tycoon famous for never acting without a profit motive.
Appearing here for no reason, she was most likely here to fish for information.
"I'm so sorry, my child has caused you trouble."
Anastasia smiled slightly, her violet eyes filled with just the right amount of apology.
"I remember you're Mr. Grimm Andersen, right? Lady Emilia's knight. What a coincidence."
Under Anna's guidance, the four of them found an empty table and sat down.
Rem sat next to Grin, quietly holding a cup of black tea, her fingertips gently rubbing the rim of the cup as she stole occasional glances at Grin's face.
Mimi stared longingly at the cake box next to Grin, drool practically dripping from the corner of her mouth.
Grin couldn't stand it any longer. He picked out the largest piece and handed it over. "Take this and eat it over there. Don't get drool on me."
"Yay! Big Brother, you're such a good person! Arigato!"
Mimi cheered, took the cake, and began devouring it ravenously.
With one bite, a third of the bowl-sized tree cake was gone. Her staggering appetite made Grin click his tongue in secret amazement.
In just a few bites, the cake was gone.
Mimi licked the cream off the corner of her mouth and reached out her small hand to Grin again, her cheeks bulging. "Chomp chomp... Mimi wants more!"
Grin looked on in shock, cautiously picking up another piece to hand over, fearing his hand might get bitten if he moved too slowly.
After being fed three pieces in a row, Mimi finally settled down contentedly, sitting obediently as Anastasia wiped the cream crumbs off her face.
"What breed of pig are you?" Grin couldn't help but retort.
Hearing this, Mimi immediately got upset, raising her short arms in protest. "Mimi isn't a pig! Mimi is a Cat Clan Beastman! A super powerful one!"
Grin understood.
Individual combat power among Cat Clan Beastmen varies greatly; most are average, but a few gifted powerhouses are always born.
For example, this little one in front of him was not only skilled in Earth Magic but could also release powerful Resonance Waves through her roars.
However, these cats' defenses were too weak, making them highly dependent on the Divine Protection of Damage Sharing to ensure they wouldn't be killed in one hit on the battlefield.
"Alright, Mimi, be quiet now." Anastasia pushed a glass of warm milk in front of her, successfully plugging her little mouth.
After settling Mimi, she turned her gaze toward Grin and spoke with a beaming smile:
"Green-kun, leaving your master behind to go on a date at a cake shop with a maid... won't Lady Emilia be unhappy?"
Grin chuckled, seeing right through her intentions.
"If you're trying to find out Emilia's whereabouts, you might as well try your luck at the Karsten Ducal Mansion."
Anastasia pouted with feigned grievance, her tone tinged with a bit of coquettishness.
"Green-kun, you really know how to break a girl's heart. Do I really look like such a goal-oriented person?"
"The president of the Hoshin Merchant Guild, who lives by 'time is money,' wouldn't come to chat with me for no reason, would she?"
Grin looked back calmly, his gaze sharp enough to see through one's heart.
Their eyes met, and invisible sparks seemed to fly in the air as both tried to glimpse the other's next move.
"Sigh, I really can't hide anything from you." Anastasia sighed and shook her head helplessly. "As expected of the person called the 'Sword of Words' by Sage Council. I originally wanted to establish a friendly relationship with you first."
She picked up her teacup and took a sip before slowly getting to the point. "The merchant Otto... he's one of yours, right?"
"In a way," Grin replied flatly.
"I want to purchase all the requiem grass he has. As for the price, I definitely won't disappoint you."
Anastasia extended her slender fingertip, dipped it in some tea, and wrote a string of numbers on the smooth tabletop—6000.
"With this amount, do we have a deal?"
Grin frowned slightly.
Although the sell-out of High-Grade Healing Potions on the market had caused the price of requiem grass, one of its ingredients, to increase more than tenfold.
But even by the most generous estimates, their stock was only worth five thousand gold coins.
Why would this shrewd woman be willing to pay a premium?
"There's plenty of that stuff in the capital's high-grade fodder. You could just buy it from the fodder merchants."
"That won't work." Anastasia shook her head, a hint of helplessness flashing in her violet eyes.
"Screening requiem grass out of a massive amount of weeds is a monumental task. I still can't figure out how you did it."
She had already sent people to investigate that fodder.
The requiem grass was mixed in unintentionally by farmers during harvest, and the content in each grass block was inconsistent.
Trying to pick them out of compressed haystacks was practically a pipe dream.
Grin was shaken. He hadn't expected this to be a unique technological monopoly.
After all, not everyone could command the big black rats of the capital.
Seeing Grin fall silent, Anastasia also felt uncertain, worried that Grin might guess her true purpose.
To create a diversion, Anastasia took a beautifully packaged potion from her handbag and pushed it toward Grin, attempting to sweeten the deal.
"If you're not satisfied with this price, I can also give you a portion of the finished healing potions once they're made. Our guild's pharmaceutical process is top-notch; why don't you take a look at this sample?"
Grin picked up the potion and examined it closely. The liquid inside was clear and bright; it was indeed a top-quality product.
"So, Anna, you're planning to make a killing by reselling potions?"
Grin looked at her with a half-smile and casually slipped the potion, worth several gold coins, into his pocket.
"Of course." Anastasia didn't shy away, a shrewd smile curling her lips. "After all, this kind of highly profitable business is a first for me in my life."
"Haha." Grin laughed heartily, his tone full of banter. "Do you think I'm a fool like Mimi?"