(Flynn's POV)
Stepping into the shop, I was first met with the strong smell of what seemed to be herbs and different types of potions.
The store contained small racks which were arranged in an orderly fashion to present the many herbs and potions that was being sold. Each rack was labelled with a tag above them to indicate the names of the herbs or potions and their effects.
'Endurance potions, healing potions, pain relieving herbs, love potions… Wait love potions?' I thought as I perused through the list of things that were present on the rack.
Aiden was also doing the same, although in another corner of the shop.
After slowly looking through what was available, I turned a bit around the corner to see a beautiful orange-haired girl who had her hair tied up in a ponytail with some strands sticking out in front of her face. She was propping her head with one hand as she dozed off.
She sat at the counter and was dozing off even though customers were in her shop. She had delicate looking features and a steampunk-like google atop her head. I walked towards her and tapped gently on the counter to wake her up.
-Tak tak!
Flynn's tactic seemed to have worked as the young lady jolted out of her slumber to look at the individual who was interfering with her nap but what she saw made her blink her eyes a few times and even wipe it with her hands to ensure that she was not hallucinating.
In front of her was a boy, around the age of fourteen, who seemed to have stepped out of a fairytale picture book. Silver hair with a light shade of green and aquamarine green eyes that seemed to reflect fresh leaves blossoming at the beginning of spring, coupled with a ridiculously handsome face.
"Are you awake or perhaps do you believe you're in dream?" I asked as I watched her stare and blink her orange irises. They seemed to have a certain shade of dark blue that encroached on the edges of her orange irises, giving her eyes a unique but beautiful feel to them.
She kept blinking her eyes for a few seconds before she eventually recovered from her trance.
"Sorry for that sir. I apologize for the terrible customer service. What can I help you with?" the young lady replied quickly after realizing what she had done.
"Sir? I'm literally your age" I responded to her with squinted eyes.
"But you must be a noble right? I haven't ever seen anyone like you around these parts so I assumed you're were not from here. Also, your clothes look far too expensive for you to be a commoner. That's why I addressed you formally" she responded back.
What she said does make a lot of sense but I absolutely do not feel comfortable to have a girl my age addressing me so formally. I may be older than her mentally and other nobles my age may feel like this was normal but it just felt super weird to me so I immediately asked for her to address me as Flynn.
"Forget the formalities. I'm just here as a customer. Please call me Flynn".
"If that is what you wish for then I shall address you as Flynn" the young lady responded with a bit of surprise in her voice before she continued.
"It's odd seeing a noble who doesn't demand respect from a commoner. Truly surprising. Also, the name's Ivelia. Nice to meet you"
"Well now it isn't so odd anymore, is it Ivelia?" I replied.
I then took a brief pause before continuing.
"Nice shop you've got here. How long have you been running it for?" I asked after responding to her comment.
"Actually it isn't mine. It's my dad's, well, was my dad's. Also, five years give or take" Ivelia said as she began to reminisce about the past, her expressions varying and changing as they reflected old pleasures and hurts. She then immediately shook her head, her face returning to it's business-like state.
"So sorry about that. I was getting sidetracked. So what do you need Flynn?" Ivelia asked again after recomposing herself.
"It's alright. I woul-"
As I was about to ask her about the potions, especially that love potion because it was really bugging me how something so dangerous was being sold so easily, I heard Aiden's voice as he came out from the corner he was in and walked towards us.
"Why is this labelled free but experimental?" Aiden asked as he moved towards us while holding a transparent vial containing a light blue liquid.
Ivelia was once again shocked as another stupendously handsome teen just popped out of nowhere. In contrast to the boy presently before her, he had jet black hair with deep green emerald eyes.
"Ivelia? Ivelia to earth?" Flynn snapped Ivelia out of her state as she once again seemed to be stuck in a trance.
'Is this going to happen every time we meet someone new?' Flynn mused to himself.
"Oh that. It's a healing potion with an efficacy rate of 95%" Ivelia responded after shaking off her trance and replied as if she had said the most casual thing in the world before she continued.
"We tried selling it before but everyone thought we were trying to scam their money off their hands so now we're going to sell it for free then get a feedback from whoever decides to take it off our hands"
It should be noted that the highest and purest healing potion quality presently in this world had an efficacy rate of 90% so even though Ivelia was saying all these things casually, it was actually a very big deal, even if what she was saying turned out to be a bluff as the difference between 90% and 91% was as wide as heaven and earth, enough that limbs could be reattached if it was a fresh injury and the severed limb was still intact. It would also greatly increase the speed of healing and recuperation time of the user when used.
"Those are some big claims Ivelia" Aiden said as he stared at the young orange-haired lady in front of him.
"Believe me if you will. Doubt me if you will. It doesn't really matter either way. The only way to know is if you test it right?" Ivelia said as she returned Aiden's gaze.
Although both Aiden and I knew that she was telling the truth, we still had to play the part of people in doubt.
'That being said though, isn't it a bit too early for the efficacy rate to already be this high at this point in the novel' I inwardly thought to myself.
As I pondered over what the cause could be, the door of the shop swung violently wide open as a young male teen with messy orange hair who looked exactly just like Ivelia bolted through the door and began to talk excitedly.
"You wouldn't believe what I found Ivelia! We should be able to further increase the efficacy with this particular plant".
-Sigh...
"Ivar, how many times have I told you to gently open that door whenever you're coming in. At this rate, we'll need to ask the carpenter and locksmith to fix the door again next month. That's definitely coming out of your paycheck this time" Ivelia replied with a sigh while lightly scolding the young teen who came into the shop.
"Ehhh?! That's not fair sis" Ivar pouted as he responded back.
Their back and forth continued for a while before Ivar finally noticed the two boys standing at the counter staring with amused smiles on their faces as they watched both he and his sister throw banters at each other.
Ivar got temporarily stunned at the view of two ridiculously handsome guys smiling and Ivelia had to shout his name to snap him out of it.
'I hope to god that this doesn't become a recurring theme' Flynn thought to himself.
After snapping him out of the trance that he was in, Ivar carefully scrutinized our faces with a careful expression on his face before asking us what we needed, and just like Ivelia, we, well specifically Aiden this time around, asked him to address us informally.
"So, back to your claim Ivelia" Aiden said as he continued.
"You're sure that the efficacy rate is indeed higher than the usual ones?"
"Positive!" Ivelia responded while Ivar chimed in and also supported her claim.
"We had it appraised using an appraisal ring so it's totally accurate" Ivar said while puffing his chest out.
Appraisal rings were hardly ever wrong but they were also very expensive for normal people to get, so, for them to be this sure, they were probably right.
'I wonder where they got an appraisal ring from though…' I inwardly thought as I stared at the sight of Ivar puffing his chest out.
"So how much are you willing to sell this for?" Aiden asked Ivelia as she gave him a confused look.
"I already said that you don't need to pay for it. No one's going to buy it anyway so just take it and give us your feedback"
"We insist!" Aiden and I both responded in unison.
-Sigh...
"Fine. Pay me whatever amount you believe it's worth" Ivelia said after releasing a long sigh.
"Low-grade healing potions are about 50AR, mid-grade healing potions are around 250AR while high-grades are 500AR. Then we should pay 1000AR for this. What do think Aiden?"
"Sure. I think the pricing's perfect Flynn"
Ivelia and Ivar just opened their mouth agape at the pricing the two brothers seemed to settle on without knowing exactly what to make of it. The currency in this world was measured in Arceum (AR). It was similar to the pricing of Dollars ($) in the real world. Before they even had a chance to refuse the money, Flynn placed the amount on the counter and turned around to leave along with Aiden.
"We'll come back next week if your potion is as you say it is" I said as we proceeded to leave the shop while waving my hands.
After getting back into the vehicle, Aiden started the car and begun the drive back home. As we coasted along the highway back into the bustling city, I could see the sun slowly beginning to descend below the horizon, painting the sky with a breathtaking orange hue.
'I feel like I'm forgetting something…'
"Ah! I haven't bought my combat art. We got completely sidetracked…"