The First Legendary Beast Master

Later that night, Tessa and Ophelia returned with Ice Cream and cake. They had gone out to collect sweets and other goods to celebrate the establishment of their group as a proper Guild.

They were now officially, and somewhat permanently, united as a force in a way that anyone who cared to look could see. But more than that, the house belonged to the Guild as a whole. They weren't sharing someone's private residence, or sleeping in a military assigned dorm.

This was their home, and as soon as they could create an official Guild Stone, they should even be able to activate a few more restricted system functions, available only to official Guilds.

They might not be able to have a movie night here in the city of Drodh, but they could still hold a proper party, with good Rum, better snacks, and piles of soft pillows on the floor.

With Tessa's encouragement, Rae placed a large soft rug and masses of pillows around one of the unused rooms on the third floor, then draped the walls with colourful bolts of silk.

There were bookshelves, which were currently empty, but once it was fully stocked, it would be a great spot for quiet relaxation.

For tonight, it would be the site of their house-warming party.

Loros was much more introverted in a large group, when she had been quite eager to tell Karl about her sculpting while they were alone. But Wendy only got more energetic when there were more people around, and Karl got the feeling that she hadn't been allowed to do many interesting things or meet many new people at home.

Her father must have had strong rules for her. Because for the first time in her life, she was getting to try many of the snacks that they had brought back to the house.

But she was still young, and not long after dark, she was beginning to nod off.

The little demon had been unofficially adopted for the evening by Cara, who was happy remaining on the pillows for the night instead of going to a proper bed, the way that Karl did with Dana, who also fell asleep early.

The rest of the group split along fairly predictable lines. Ophelia took Lotus, Thor went to bed with Tessa, and Loros locked herself in one of the second floor rooms mumbling about statues as she fell asleep.

The next morning, Karl was up early and enjoying a few morning moments with Dana before everyone got up, and they had to start the day.

But other than Loros, who was in the workshop at the crack of dawn, carving something, the rest were in no hurry to wake up.

None of the boarders had come back, they had all found full-time employment on the first day after they had a proper reference letter. That would hopefully be good for their future, but it did present a small problem for Karl.

They had hired Davis, the fallen angel, to be their appraiser. But they had not hired anyone to actually work in the shop, clean the floors, greet customers and all the other tasks that would be needed.

Not that the shop was large, but they could use a second person, so that Davis wasn't fully responsible for everything.

The black winged demon came in promptly at nine in the morning, just as everyone was beginning to eat breakfast.

"Come on up to the second floor after you look around. We won't be opening so early. Nobody even knows it's a shop yet." Karl called down to their new employee.

Then he sent Wendy down with breakfast for Loros, who would likely forget to eat if she wasn't reminded.

During their conversations last night, she had mentioned it was a common problem for Obsession Demons. If they weren't so poor that they couldn't afford to do their task continually, they would hyperfixate to the point that they would only eat when they became painfully hungry.

Davis came up with a sheet of paper in his hands and a smile on his face.

"Sir, I have valued the items in the shop, and I must say that some of them are extraordinary. Are you certain that they are all for sale, and not part of the store display?" He asked.

"Which ones struck you as especially valuable?" Karl asked, already having a good idea of the answer.

"The staves for one. Those are worth nearly a thousand gold pieces each, and wouldn't normally go on the market openly. They would be auctioned individually.

But that anti-aging cream."

He paused as the ladies began to laugh.

"It's an accidental windfall. You see, Remi, our Naga Queen Alchemist, was trying to make a new form of healing potion with substitute ingredients. That was the result."

Davis sighed. "Might I make a recommendation? Repackage it in fifty millilitre containers. At that point, my skills would value it at five gold a container. Right now, it's in one litre potion flasks, and that is just excessive.

I know that ladies pay a lot for skincare, but paying more than a new house and domestic staff for a single bottle of it is extreme."

Karl was going to point out that the staff was worth far more than the skin care lotion, but that was a once-in-a-lifetime sort of purchase that could be passed down in the family. Not a regular use consumable.

Remi nodded in understanding and gave him a thumbs up gesture, unsure whether he understood serpent.

Almost everyone on this continent had an active System, and they would get translation functions. So, Remi tried her luck after her next bite of breakfast.

Davis gave her a strange look as the Naga Queen simply placed a fried egg in her mouth and tilted her head back to swallow it, but it was not the worst form of table manners he had seen. Just a species quirk.

{What about my healing potions? Are they fine?} Remi asked.

Davis nodded. "Yes. Not many will need such a high-grade potion, but we are on the more expensive side of town, and some of the more powerful species need at least one such potion as a backup for severe injuries.

The question is how you wish to price them.

The official price is high, but there are numerous Alchemists in town, so the price of Ascended and Commander Rank healing potions has been driven down."

Remi considered it. {How much have they been driven down? As I recall, the guard said we could each get like four gold from the Dungeon every day.}

Davis nodded. "Commander Rank super healing potions sell at two for a gold coin. But Monarch Rank potions of any sort are rarely on the market, and Royal Rank potions are usually custom-made. I see that you do have a number of Commander Rank healing potions and mana recovery potions available, which are the mainstay of an Alchemist's shop anywhere."

Remi smiled. {Yes, I thought so. We can put the really good ones away. Sell the others, and when someone makes a big order or an important someone comes in, we can give the Monarch ones as a gift.}

Davis smiled. That Naga really knew how to bribe an official.

With her in charge of making the potions for the shop, they might not even need to worry about the magical item stock, they would get rich just off the potions.