Cain looked around the shop, inspecting the strange brown wood of the walls. On each corner, a vase of luminescent mushrooms illuminated the whole place with a faint blue glow.
Mei flew around from one pot to the other, looking at the flowers and plants the owner had; Ishtar, on the other hand, sat on Cain's shoulder with Alva at her side. "This place is too cramped, and the blue light can't be good for the plants."
Hearing her words, the owner shrunk like a dried fish, "What should I get? Red light mushrooms?" He asked with a shaking voice.
"Nothing is better than sunlight. Take your shop to the surface as a starting point." She stared at him with a sharp glare.
"No way." He gasped with a sad face, "That's too expensive to do,"
"Then don't as me for a better solution," Ishtar growled. Cain lifted her by the shirt.
"What?" She said, looking at his glowing blue eyes.
"Calm down. You are being too harsh on a single man." Cain replied, looking at the owner, "Don't mind her. She is just salty about the whole thing."
"How can I not mind the words of a fairy? As someone who cares for plants, they are the masters of the craft." The owner replied with a serious face. "Moving to the surface might be hard, but I will do my best."
Cain stared at him, "Don't. If your business failed due to spending too much money on moving, your plants would end up dead anyway." Cain sighed, "Take it slowly, and you shall reach your desired outcome." Cain pointed toward Mei, who darted around like a blind bee.
"Cain! Look at their weird plant. It tried to eat me!" Mei shouted with a smile, leaping inside the mouth of a carnivorous plant and getting out at the last moment.
"That's dangerous!" The owner cried. He won't live if his plants killed a fairy.
Looking at his face, Mei laughed, sitting inside the plant's mouth. "I was joking. You don't have to worry. Plants won't harm us. We speak the same language, after all."
The owner stopped, "Is that so?"
Mei flew out, patting the plant's head with a smile, "To be honest, all of them here are saying you take good care of them. I didn't find a single plant who spoke ill of you." Mei then looked toward Ishtar, "Isn't that right?"
Ishtar sighed, "Yeah, they lack a bit of light, but everything else is amazing. They also understand that getting them sunlight is hard, so they aren't blaming you for it."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtStunned, the owner approached the carnivorous plant, extending his palm to it. CHOM! It bit his hand, "It's bitting me,"
"No many people are attuned to nature as we are. Even though the plants are grateful to you, they cannot understand what you are." Ishtar flew from Cain's shoulder and tapped the plant's head.
"She can't distinguish your hand from the floor. They only feel your hazy existence," she explained.
'Plants don't have eyes or ears. Their senses must be strange.' Cain thought.
"But she is different," Mei pointed toward Jemima in the back, inspecting the small trees with Gracie and Melissa. "The plants can see her."
"That human?" The owner gasped, looking toward Jemima. "Is she loved by the fairies?"
"No, she just like plants a bit too much. Add that she is a worshiper of Chauntea to the mix, and it's golden." Ishtar said while looking at Cain.
"Her religion is non of my business," Cain replied, clearly stating that he didn't intend to force anyone to worship him.
Ishtar flew away, flashing with a golden light as she took a humanoid shape. "That's what we like about you, besides magic." She smiled.
"Is that important?" Cain looked at her as both Mei and Alva transformed.
"In and of itself, it doesn't matter. But it will be significant when you get stronger and hold even more power." Ishtar rested her shoulder on him with a gentle smile.
"Sir Cain, are you a noble?" The owner started to realize, looking around at the maids and the strange clothes Cain wore. There was no way a regular person looked like that.
"A noble is underestimating him," Ishtar stared at the owner, thinking of one of Cain's titles that would make sense for the owner. "This man is the husband of the world tree herald," She pointed with her finger toward Cain.
"Herald of the world tree? The high elf queen?" The owner's face paled, "The elvish high king, how could it be?" He stared at Cain's ears. They were human.
"Sylph doesn't care, as long as he is strong and the world tree accepts him," Ishtar said while finding a chair to sit on. She put one leg at the other.
The owner started shaking like a newborn goat, "And you are?" He started smelling something.
Alva approached Ishtar, "She's Titania, the fairy queen."
The owner took a few steps back, but Cain stopped him, "Relax, there is nothing important about that. I wanted to buy some plates for my maids, so please show them the best you have."
The owner nodded harder than his neck could handle, cracking it. "I, Valdamor, shall do my best." He then rushed away to start presenting his plants.
Cain approached Ishtar and helped her stand, "You shouldn't have told him."
"You didn't stop me. And this makes everything easier for us." She smiled.
"This will bring a lot of unwanted attention." Cain glared at her, "But fine, I will fix it later."
After Jemima picked all the plants she liked, Cain sent her back. "This is all. How much is it?" He looked at the owner.
"Nothing. I wouldn't dare charge the high king and the fairy queen a penny." The owner said with a smile.
"Ok, I will count to three. If you don't state your price, I will blow the place. One, Two..." Cain started counter, and Valdamor panicked, "One gold coin, seventeen silver, and three coppers." He stated the price as Cain smiled, paying him twice the price, "Here, three gold coins,"
Valdamor looked at his hand and then at Cain's face, "But sir..."
At that moment, Cain pointed his finger toward Valdamor's forehead, "Stay safe," FLASH! Cain immediately erased their visit from his memory.
When Valdamor came to his senses, he couldn't remember a thing, only that he made a good deal with a wealthy merchant. Not knowing that a god had visited his shop.
"Cain!" As they walked in the street, they heard a voice call from behind. It was Lily with Kayden.
"Lily, how are you doing?" Gracie approached her with a smile. "I've never been better, we found this grill to the east, and it was amazing." the two started talking while Kayden approached Cain.
"You look skinnier than before. Are you eating well?" Kayden asked with a worried face.
"Me? You're the one who got more muscles," Cain smiled, punching Kayden's shoulder.
[Kayden-chan, he is far stronger than the last time.]
Cain looked up with a smile, "Kali-chan? Is that you?"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm[Kay!] Suprised at him calling her, she gasped. [You can hear me?]
"You can hear her?"
"We're both gods, after all. It would be strange if I couldn't hear her voice." Cain smiled, "You can always come to my domain. You can even bring Amaterasu and Selune."
[Really, Cain-chan? Can I play?]
"Within reason, Amaterasu should know better, right?"
"What are you two talking about?" Kayden stared at Cain with his eyes darting around.
"I told her she could come to my Demon web domain to play whenever she wants. It also means you can meet her." Cain explained, and he heard Kali gasp as she realized that.
[I can play with Kayden-chan.]
"Of course."
[I will ask Amaterasu immediately...] Kali ran away as fast as she could.
Kayden looked at Cain, "Play with her? What does she mean?"
"As a goddess of destruction. I can expect she will fight you." Cain replied with a large grin. "She is Ashura's daughter, after all. Treating her as a little girl is a grave mistake."
"She doesn't have the same might as her father." Kayden stared at Cain.
"I bet she has even more." Cain smiled, "Like her father, rage fuels her powers."
Kayden shook his head, "I will do my best not to hurt her anyway."
"You better do. Ashura is dead, but I'm betting my money he will emerge from the grave if someone laid his hands on his daughter." Cain smiled.
"Cain, should we go meet the others?" Gracie asked with a smile, approaching them with Lily at her side.
Cain looked up at Lily's face. "You're magic has grown stronger."
"I can't use magic, you know?" Lily replied, scratching her head with a giggle.
"No, the magic flowing in your veins is getting stronger." Cain looked at her, "You're an oni, a demon known for unparalleled raw strength." He smiled.
"She is strong. I can confirm that." Kayden said from the back.