Ruby walked toward the counter where a witch with short hair and a beige company uniform greeted her with a smile.
"Good afternoon, ma’am. Are you looking for an ectoplasmic tablet or a full computer system?"
"I want to see both," Ruby replied calmly. "I’ll buy one laptop today, and later I’ll return to set up computers for my workspace."
"Of course. Please follow me."
As the staff led them to a display area, Ruby glanced at the tablets. The screen resolution wasn’t as high as the ones she used back then, and the internal memory specs were a bit less too. But it wasn’t bad. Not bad at all.
She could work with this.
She could start again.
Karl leaned in. "Wife, do you really know how to use these things?"
Ruby smiled faintly, her voice confident. "More than you think."
Milo turned to her. "Is it for our company?"
"For that," she nodded. "And maybe... for something else."
Soon, a tall witch walked over to them from the other end of the shop. She was dressed in a light gray uniform that looked neat and pressed, with a soft badge pinned to her chest that read "Sarah." Her long black hair was tied in a low braid, and her green eyes were sharp but not unfriendly. There was a quiet grace in how she moved.
"Welcome," she said with a calm smile, her gaze landing on Ruby first. "Are you looking for a specific model of ectoplasmic tablet?"
"Yes," Ruby nodded. "I’m looking for a high-end one. Something with strong graphics."
Sarah raised her brows slightly, as if surprised, and gave Ruby a second glance. "High-end graphics?"
The witch didn’t question her further. Instead, she gave a small nod and gestured to a nearby sleek white table where a few top-range laptops were placed, each labeled with their features. As Ruby walked with her, Karl trailed behind lazily, glued to phone.
"These are our top models currently in stock," Sarah explained, brushing her fingers along the edges of the screens. "Good processors, decent cooling systems, and strong for rendering visuals."
Ruby leaned in, narrowing her eyes a little. The shape and design were nice, but the specs... weren’t quite what she had in mind. Not terrible but not exciting either. Her fingers tapped the corner of one keyboard lightly, thoughtfully.
Sarah noticed her frown. "May I ask what you’re planning to use it for?" she asked, her voice still professional but tinged with curiosity.
Ruby didn’t hesitate. "To make games."
That word made Karl choke on air.
He immediately closed the fat fish game app he was playing, swiping furiously as if caught committing a crime. His phone screen had still shown a large Golden fish swallowing coins in a game called "Fat Fish Frenzy."
"Games?" he repeated with wide eyes, peeking over Ruby’s shoulder.
Milo, who had been quietly standing beside them and examining a laptop stand with mild interest, gave Karl a slow side glance, unimpressed.
Ruby didn’t react to Karl’s expression. She just nodded. "Yeah."
Sarah blinked and then smiled again—this time with more genuine interest. "That’s amazing. Not many come in here for that. Most just ask for something to watch sould streams shows or attend long-distance meetings."
"Oh..." Ruby muttered under her breath as her eyes landed on a sleek black laptop sitting quietly on the corner, almost as if it was waiting for her.
It wasn’t flashy like the others. No glowing buttons, no overly decorated corners—just clean edges, a matte finish, and a soft silver glow where the brand name was etched:
The moment she saw the graphics card listed under the specs—RTX GhostWeave 8x—her heart skipped. This was something new. She hadn’t seen this one earlier. And compared to others she had checked, this one had stronger core memory, smoother rendering capacity, and something called "Dreamframe Booster"—a feature meant for animators and game developers.
Ruby’s fingers brushed across the keyboard, light as a feather.
Behind her, Karl was trying to look casual but was very obviously leaning sideways to see the screen too.
"What’s RTX?" he asked, chewing gum like it was his job.
Milo answered, "I don’t know."
Sarah walked over again and saw Ruby focused on the Soul S’ 2050. "Ah, that one just came in last week. Very few people ask for that model—it’s designed more for digital creators, not regular folks."
"Perfect," Ruby said, still staring at the screen like she’d found an old friend.
"Great choice," Sarah said with a bright smile, clearly pleased. That model was the most expensive one in the store and rarely chosen because of its price and specialized specs.
Ruby didn’t even blink. "I want this one," she said confidently, her voice calm but firm. She touched the corner of the laptop again as if to confirm her choice.
"Of course, ma’am," Sarah nodded, her green eyes sparkling. "This one’s our display piece, though. But we’ll get a fresh unit from our storage room. It might take a few minutes to prepare it for packaging and safety checks. Would you like to test this one in the meantime?"
Ruby glanced at the screen and keyboard again, then shook her head. "No, it’s alright. If it’s the same specs, I’ll wait. Meanwhile... I want to check your computers."
"Absolutely," Sarah replied smoothly, then turned slightly and gestured to the other end of the shop. She gave a subtle signal—a raised hand and two fingers to a young witch with a cropped blue haircut who was organizing some display screens on the side. The girl immediately gave a cheerful thumbs up and disappeared behind a curtain leading to the back room, presumably to get Ruby’s laptop ready.
"Come this way, please," Sarah said politely and led Ruby down a glass-tiled aisle, past shiny tables with all sorts of accessories like protectors, ecto-chargers, and sleek wireless scroll pads.
As they entered the quieter part of the store, the lighting grew softer. Here, the computers were laid out more carefully—each one displayed like an artwork, with a small glowing panel below showing specs. Most were bulky compared to Earth desktops, but Ruby could tell the material was different.
—To be continued...🪄