Chapter 48: Ch 48: It’s not easy to scam a Grand Master

"I think the kids hate me now. I should have told Iris to go easy on them since her training is hard. But the look Seraphina gave me was so disappointing...Do you think she hates me now?"

Kael asked Lyra as he took her out. He had her on a leash that the Demon Queen kept trying to tug against.

It was clear that she did not like her current condition, but Lyra was also willing to listen to him for the most part.

He had noticed her ears perked up whenever he talked, even when she pretended not to listen.

There were two reasons behind him complaining to the Demon Queen.

First, he wanted someone to listen to him, but that someone neither judged him nor replied to him. And that someone he had chosen was the cursed Demon Queen.

And the second reason was connected to the first. It was to make the Demon Queen put her guard down.

The more normal, everyday conversations they had, the quicker Kael would be able to make Lyra get used to him.

Starting with small talk to get to know each other was a tactic he used with his patients all the time. It often helped them relax and consider him a friend. Currently, this was the effect he was going for.

"So, what do you think I should do? Should I bring something back for the kids to enjoy? What about you? Do you want some supplies?"

Kael had the money to spend, so he decided to buy some small things like hand cream for the kids and Iris before he decided to let Lyra pick what she wanted.

She immediately tugged him toward the magic shop where all kinds of items were sold.

He could easily read her intentions behind going to such a place. She wanted to find something that could help her with her curse. Unfortunately, her curse could not be broken with ordinary items.

Still, Kael allowed her to tug him toward the store, and they entered the mysterious shop.

"Dear customers, how may I help you? Do you want a love potion? Something to revive your dead lover? Or maybe to change your life around? You can find everything here."

The old man behind the counter spoke in a mysterious voice. But it took Kael only a few seconds to notice that something was odd.

He could sense the aura of magic around the old man, cloaking his body in a way that was not natural. It could only be the result of a spell...no, an artefact that helped conceal one’s identity.

Once Kael had figured out that much, it did not take him long to understand what was going on around this shop either.

’I see. So this is a scam and not a genuine magic shop. But for it to have operated for so long means it must have connections very high up. It would be best if I did not get involved here.’

"I am sorry, but I only came here because my puppy wanted to visit. Since I am not looking to buy anything, I would like to take my leave now."

Kael tugged at Lyra to tell her that it was time to leave. She must have noticed the scam as well by now because she showed no interest in the magic tools.

Instead, she started heading out as well.

Kael turned around and reached for the door handle. But he instantly felt the shop owner trying to use magic on him.

He was not the only one who felt that attempt because Lyra instantly started growling at the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper was sharp and instantly noticed that he had messed up. So he quickly tried to rectify the situation.

"Sir, it seems like the magical items in this shop have startled your...dog and caused it to trigger a security mechanism, locking us all in. It will take some time for me to disable it. Why don’t you look around in the meantime? I am sure you can find something that catches your eye."

The shopkeeper assured Kael in the same mysterious voice. But it was clear that he was panicking on the inside because his secret had been exposed.

Usually, Kael did not bother dealing with such pests, but this one was getting on his nerves. Even Lyra was getting irritated, which made Kael want to deal with this situation quickly.

"Are you sure you cannot get the lock down faster?"

He asked the shopkeeper, who shook his head.

"I am sorry, but I am going as fast as I can. But please, do continue to look around-"

Kael snapped his fingers, and the door unlocked itself.

The shopkeeper could only watch in muted horror as Kael headed toward the door with Lyra.

"Looks like both this shop and its owner are frauds who cannot even unlock a simple lock. Next time, get an actual wizard to play the role. It would be better than pretending to be an old and wise mage."

Kael spoke before he tugged Lyra away from the shop.

__________

The shopkeeper paled even further as he watched Kael leave. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

He had no idea who his customer was, but he knew that he had somehow messed up.

No one was supposed to know that this shop was fake. But now that someone had found out, it would be a disaster if word got out.

"I-I need to call my boss and explain to him what happened. I-I am sure we can take that man out somehow."

Even if the person who entered the shop knew magic, there was no need to panic. The owner of this shop was a noble who had ties to all the important people. Surely he could silence the customer somehow.

The owner did not pick up the call for five whole minutes, and each minute made the shopkeeper more and more worried.

Finally, the call connected, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"This better be important because I-"

"Sir, we’ve been found out. There was a customer who saw through my disguise. W-What should we do now?"

The owner went quiet on the other end before letting out a sigh.

"Are you sure you are not mistaken?"

"N-No. I can send you the recording from the shop, and you can check for yourself."

The shopkeeper assured him, and the owner told him to do that.

The owner watched the recording for a moment before letting out another sigh.

"Ugh, I feel like I have seen this person before, but I cannot recall where. Anyway, I will take care of this situation. But do make sure to tell me if you see this person again. It would make our task of tracking him down easier."

The shopkeeper let out a sigh of relief once he heard those words.

Now he was sure that his former customer would soon be dead.