Seeing the magical attacks intensifying rather than diminishing, and realizing the two pseudo-archmages were genuinely about to kill each other over his shop, Noah sighed with the resignation of someone whose business kept attracting violent misunderstandings.
"This is getting out of hand," he muttered, watching another exchange of devastating spells that sent tremors through the ground. "I need to stop this before they destroy the entire area."
He turned toward Lola with a request he knew might be dangerous. "Would you mind protecting me while I go out there? I don’t think my attributes are quite sufficient for this level of Crossfire."
Lola’s ruby eyes sparkled with delight at his request, her lips curving into a smile that carried layers of meaning beyond simple agreement. "Of course I’ll keep you safe," she purred, her voice dropping in tone. The way her voice flowed was like silk, smooth and buttery.
"I’d hate for anything to happen to such a...kind, handsome boss. You can always count on me to shield you from danger~"
The way she emphasised certain words made Noah’s cheeks warm slightly before he regained power over his emotions.
"Right," he said, clearing his throat. "Let’s go prevent such a gruesome incident. I don’t want my arrival to coincide with the death of an elf. That wouldn’t be a good first impression, am I it?"
Lola nodded a smile on her face. "Of course, you are right...you are always right."
They stepped outside just as both pseudo-archmages were gathering power for what appeared to be their most devastating attacks yet. Elena’s staff blazed with light that nearly blinded Noah; had Lola not shielded him, while Kael’s shadows had coalesced into something that seemed to devour light around him.
The moment Noah and Lola emerged from the shop, both combatants froze mid-casting, their prepared spells dissolving as they felt the appearance of an archmage-level power from the artefact’s entrance.
Despite reading the clear sign that stated Idle Shop, they still believed it to be an artefact.
"A succubus..." Elena breathed, her green eyes widening as she took in Lola’s unmistakable aura and appearance. "And a human?"
Kael’s violet eyes darted between the two unexpected figures, his mind struggling to process what he was witnessing. "How is this possible? Succubi don’t travel with humans, and both certainly don’t have the power or resources to appear in this artefact."
Both pseudo-archmages lowered their weapons slightly, their attention shifting from each other to the far more intriguing mystery of why these two beings had emerged from what they’d assumed was an ancient magical relic.
"Were you..." Elena asked with growing confusion, "Were you inside that?"
"It’s not a relic at all," Kael realised with dawning comprehension. "It’s actually occupied."
Noah stepped forward with a calm look on his face, despite standing between two of the most powerful magical practitioners in the kingdom who had just been trying to obliterate each other. They weren’t the strongest, but they were certainly among the strong.
"Good afternoon," he said with the courtesy of someone accustomed to dealing with volatile customers. "I’m Noah Carter, a human merchant from afar, and this is my humble shop. I couldn’t help but notice you both seemed interested in the building, though perhaps we could discuss your needs without the... explosive negotiations?"
Both pseudo-archmages stared at him in stunned silence, their worldviews struggling to accommodate the reality that they’d been fighting over a humble commercial establishment rather than an ancient source of ultimate power.
The anticlimax was almost suffocating.
"You said what, human?" Kael’s voice carried dangerous incredulity mixed with barely contained aggression. "A humble shop? What kind of humble shop suddenly appears in the middle of our kingdom?"
Despite his aggressive tone, Kael remained visibly cautious as his enhanced senses analysed both Noah and Lola. His pseudo-archmage abilities allowed him to detect the succubus’s true power level, and the readings made his violet eyes narrow with wariness.
She’s an archmage. A true archmage, not pseudo-rank like myself. This situation is far more complex than it appeared.
Elena stepped forward with composure that contrasted sharply with Kael’s hostility. "Of course, we can discuss matters without resorting to violence. It’s simply that these shadow gremlins always resort to fighting first, so we’re forced to protect ourselves and our legitimate interests."
Before Kael could launch into what was clearly going to be an inflammatory response, Noah intervened.
"Alright, easy now. There’s no need to fight over my shop. Why don’t you both enter and see what I have available? You might find something that benefits your respective... pursuits."
The two pseudo-archmages looked at each other for a tense moment, decades of mutual hatred crackling between them like barely contained lightning.
Elena scoffed with dismissive superiority before completely ignoring Kael’s presence and turning toward the shop entrance. "Very well. Let’s see what you have in this interesting establishment."
Her deliberate snub was calculated to provoke maximum irritation while maintaining plausible diplomatic deniability.
Noah smiled with satisfaction at their grudging acceptance before leading the way toward his shop with Lola gracefully following beside him.
Noah wasn’t foolish enough to believe that the entire fight was solely because of the dark elf; things were never that simple. Before taking sides or even having prejudice, Noah wanted to understand both sides.
As they approached the entrance, Noah’s instincts warned him about the potential for continued conflict within his shop.
"You can enter one at a time," he announced with firm politeness. "I don’t want you fighting inside my shop. This is for your own good."
Noah wasn’t afraid that they would damage the items or the shop. Not at all, but he was afraid that he would get angry and kick them out of the shop. Hence, he completely removed the possibility by adding that clause.
Both pseudo-archmages frowned with immediate indignation at the perceived unfairness of his restriction.
"That’s completely unreasonable. Why should I be forced to wait while the other gains advantage through priority access?"
"Agreed," Kael added with rare consensus. "This arrangement favours whoever enters first with information about your inventory and prices."