“Another full carriage of salt, this month? You should really consider just using a flying beast to bring this in instead of your carriage, you know? Especially when the price of salt is so high…”

  “Don’t be foolish. My family has been in the salt business for generations. I know very well that the price can come crashing down at times… Remember when that adventurer group used blast magic and accidentally uncovered an entire flooded cavern made of nothing but rock salt? The market was saturated for months on end! Paying for transport via a flying beast is too costly. I need to save money in case of a crisis”

  “Sure, sure… You do realise that the story you’re talking about happened more than a decade ago, right?”

  “My point still stands. Things happen without warning. I doubt tragedies stop happening just because the last one was a while ago”

  “Well… Anyway, the inspection is over. You can get through–But try not to flirt with Miss Leou Palf again… Or any snow leopard, for that matter”

  “I keep telling you, I didn’t mean to grab her tail, I just saw something flicking from left to right and instinctively got a hold of it! I swear, the motions of fluffy tails are like the swinging of a pendulum… It’s so hypnotising”

  “If you say so… Be careful, though, if that happens again, you’ll get banned from entering the city for at least two months. You make most of your business here, so…”

  “I get it! I get it!”

  The conversation came to a close. The salt merchant steered the rains, making the horses move forward in the city of Randlac–This place was large and rather compact. Although the streets were wide, the structures were all tightly packed together.

  Nonetheless, the bright orange bricks used to build up the architecture, coupled with pinkish roof tiles, made the place most welcoming. All sorts of beastfolks wandered the streets, with the occasional monsterfolks, elves, demons, and humans that could be spotted amongst the crowd.

  The merchant rode slowly through the street, waving and greeting many people on the way there. His family and he himself had been doing regular business in Randlac for more than two centuries by this point. People knew him, and many remembered his father or even his grandfather.

  Eventually, he arrived at a big gate that closed off a large area from the rest of the city. It did not take long for the gates to open for him to get in.

  “Fine day today, isn’t it? I’ve got all the barrels of salt you asked for”

  The merchant brought the carriage to a stop and leapt down to the ground, shaking hands with a red-skinned raccoonfolk. Although not so common, the man was a demonic beastfolk–Indeed, beastfolks did not always have a ‘human’ look. Sometimes, they had a demon one.

  They were rather rare, though.

  “Splendid! I almost ran out since some of the preservation arrays decided to stop working a week ago… I swear, I don’t know how those places that only preserve with mundane means like ice or salt can afford it”

  “Oh, that sounds quite problematic! Did you manage to get someone to fix those?”

  “Nice joke. Fix? They made me buy new ones entirely! I swear, those circle-drawing mages are the biggest crooks of them all, and there are the nobles to compete with!”

  The raccoonfolk sighed, shaking his head from side to side.

  “Tell me some good news, the price of salt hasn’t increased, has it?”

  “It didn’t change at all. The market has been stable for a while, saves quite a few headaches, let me tell you”

  “That’s great to hear!”

  The buyer signed something, and then ended a pouch filled with coins. The merchant only took a short look before placing it in a small compartment under the driver’s seat of his carriage.

  “Want to eat something? I’ll give you a free meal”

  “I would have loved to, but I need to get back home as quickly as possible. My wife’s pregnant belly looks like it's about to burst! We’re having triplets, can you imagine that? We’re supposed to be beastfolks who reproduce like humans… You can imagine that she doesn’t feel very good”

  “Ah… I hope the birth will go well… Triplets are quite something… Don’t you already have…?”

  “Don’t worry, apart from the three newcomers, there is just my daughter. I can handle four kids, and if there is a struggle, there are always the savings I make by using this good old carriage instead of delivering via flying beast! What about your missus? She’s usually here with you… Did she…?”

  “Indeed, we got another daughter! Our eldest had always wanted a little sister, too. Right now, my wife is still lying in bed. She insists on coming back to the restaurant, but I am not letting her before at least two weeks. That woman is addicted to working, I am telling you!”

  The two exchanged some more pleasantries as they unloaded the salt barrels before the merchant took his leave. The gates separating this place from the public street were shut, and only the distant steps and voices of passersby could be heard.

  Everything was quite quiet here, and if anything, the noises were more soothing than anything, considering how quiet they seemed.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  The demonic raccoon-man slapped his palms together.

  “Alright. Let’s get this to storage”

  He didn’t want to hold up the merchant any longer than needed, so he had told him that he would do the rest by himself.

  The man hummed a quiet song as he approached a heavy wooden door, using a key to unlock it. He pushed it open, giving way into a dark, insulated room. This room only had a single, low-powered preservation array. Salt didn’t go stale, so there was only a need to make sure no moisture or anything could get to the salt to maintain a good stock.

  The prices were fair, but salt was nonetheless rather expensive. He would prefer not to have to make such large purchases often.

  As he looked around the dark room to find the lantern suspended from the ceiling, he did not pay attention to what was behind him. Why would he? This was a private, secure property. Not only that, but the city guard were not slouches. They had many guards capable of flight, surveying the city from above throughout both day and night–Though mostly the day.

  Guards were also numerous on the streets and roofs. In fact, there were several groups of guards always stationed in the area since there were several shops and the like around… There was no reason to look back.

  Thus, he did not notice as one of the barrels twitched. The cover was slowly being forced open until it was quietly lifted in the air by a clawed hand. The claws stabbed into the wood as a figure covered in salt slowly emerged, putting one, and then both, feet down. Staring directly at the raccoon folk.

  The intruder silently walked over to the man. He only noticed something was off when the light pouring from behind him suddenly darkened. A shadow was cast over his back–He swiftly spun around, but the figure punched him in the throat, only allowing him to let out a gargled shout as he stumbled back in the dark room.

  The silhouette, appearing as nothing more than a shadow given life, lunged at the man, easily overpowering him as he struggled to breathe, putting him into a suffocating chokehold.

  Demonic beastfolk generally inherited many positive traits from both their demonic and feral sides, but the raccoon-man unfortunately did not have much from either side. Especially since he was on the far end when it came to the bestial spectrum, he could only rely on his side as a demon.

  Alas, apart from red skin and slightly better strength than a human… He had nothing to help him. The figure–Their limbs cold against his neck–Was much stronger than he was, not to mention skilled. He was unable to make them let go or even loosen their hold.

  He quickly felt himself passing out, his vision growing darker and darker–As he lost clarity, his attacker finally loosened–But only to swiftly and cleanly snap his neck, killing him nearly instantly.

  ___

  Aah… How satisfying it is to break necks.

  I just sat against the wall with the still-warm corpse of my latest victim, slowly slumping to the side.

  As I had planned to do, I hid inside the merchandise of a carriage going to the city. Or rather, I had Elowen stuff me in my ‘Plush Form’ into a barrel of salt before she resealed it. The merchant had no idea of what had happened, and he just sold the barrel I was in to this guy… Who, if I had listened properly, was the owner of a restaurant.

  Now. What was I going to do? This fellow right here had a wife and two kids. His disappearance wouldn’t go unnoticed for long, and no one would actually believe that he had left–Not only did he seem like a man very happy with his life and family, but he had literally just bought a whole lot of salt, and recently had arrays reinstalled. No one who wanted to run away would do things clearly intended for the future of their current life.

  I needed to get the hell out of here or to hide very well. Since they would be the last thing he had interacted with before vanishing, I couldn’t just hide in a barrel of salt again. Anyone with a brain would at least try to check if the barrels had something off about them.

  After a few moments of thinking, I turned into my ‘Base Form’, devouring the man’s body whole.

  “Girlies. In–Inspect this guy’s res–restaurant for me, will y–you?”

  All six of my ghostly little sisters were summoned, and without hesitation, they dove into the ground or nearby walls, phasing through solid matter.

  Since Annie hadn’t been able to gather momentum, the quickest at moving through objects was Poppy. Leading the cute blonde to be the first to come back.

  “It… Is… A… Big… Restaurant… It… Seems… Closed… At…The… Moment… But… The… Kitchen… Is… Larger… Than… Whole… Of… Harvey’s… Diner…”

  I stroked her hair softly.

  Annie arrived second. Bringing another piece of news, which was the hours at which the restaurant opened.

  “It… Is… Closed… For… The… Day… But… Is… Supposed… To… Open… Tomorrow”

  Mmh… So I might have a whole day and night to spend within the restaurants before having to leave if the wife did not report her husband as missing too quickly.

  I squished Annie’s cheeks, making the girl giggle.

  The third in line was Gigi, who looked very happy.

  “They… Have… Automatons…! Lots… Of… Steel…!”

  Apparently, this was one of those entertainment restaurants, and quite an impressive one. There were automatons who sang songs and performed specifically for adults, and another group who instead were supposed to occupy children… A whole portion of the structure was apparently dedicated to children.

  I caressed the demon girl's face. She leaned into my steel hand like she was a cat.

  Nessa showed up fourth, slowly phasing out of a wall and looking around as though fearing that a stranger might be around.

  “Big… Sis… There… Is… An… Employee…! A… Cleaner…”

  It seemed like I was going to kill someone else today.

  I gave Nessa a hug.

  Elowen was the last to get back, the tomboy bringing news of the presence of at least one other cleaner besides the one Nessa had spotted.

  “Also… There… Is… A… Weird… Thing…”

  The redhead described the same sort of steel tunnel I had encountered during the trial that took place in a foggy forest.

  It would seem that this place has a large vent system going through it. This might be useful

  What’s the point of vents like those?

  Aeration for the most part, but I suppose they could also be used for other purposes, such as carrying hot air to warm the building…

  Huh… Do they need to be that big for that?

  I am pretty sure they don’t, but they might as well be for the purpose of maintaining a certain amount of ambient energy in the air… Let’s go into the restaurant. I should be able to be more detailed in my analysis this way

  Then… Let’s go.