He watched the dragon warily as he finished his explanation.
The anger was still there, but the obvious sign of triumph was visible as well. Pydes was pacing around the front of the store as he hissed and growled at things Arthur couldn’t see.
As he waited for Pydes to finish speaking, he gave furtive glances toward his surroundings.
A part of him wondered if the entire world froze during these meetings or if it was an effect localized to this city. His imagination thought of people in some other apocalyptic hellhole frozen in time. Great battles taking place over food now stilled, ready to be resumed only when the goddess willed it.
Arthur shuddered at the thought of the goddess having that much power. Though, in other ways, he supposed it was a comforting thought. To know he had that much power on his side, in theory at least.
“I wonder what else she can do?”
Pydes’ head snapping towards him was the only sign he got that he’d spoken out loud.
“Don’t ask. How many demons have you seen?”
“I’ve seen four in total. Three different types,” Arthur answered truthfully. “An imp, a lanky one without a face, and one that was a rectangle with mouths on either side.”
“Hmm.” Pydes said nothing else as he moved back to his growls and grunts.
With a sigh, he went back to daydreaming as he listened to the clicking of claws against asphalt. If not for the fact he didn’t think Pydes would appreciate him leaving, he might have taken the break to grab Nyssa for moral support.
However, if this turned bad, she would be safer downstairs.
“Alright.”
Arthur blinked and turned towards the dragon, who was staring at him.
“I’ve informed the head office of your excursion. Do you want the good news or the bad news?”
“Good news?” Arthur asked with little enthusiasm, as at no point in his life had someone asking that question led him to a good outcome.
With the way Pydes had been acting, he half expected to get sent on a crusade. Or maybe a scouting mission? Either option wasn’t something he was interested in dealing with.
“You’re getting special treatment. Here.”
“That’s… a lot.” Arthur said, unsure how else to react.
Never in anything he heard, read, or seen about upper management giving out store upgrades like this did it ever stem from anything good. Though he was interested in the word advanced. Did that mean she’d given him an upgraded version?
Whatever these demons were, they must be worse than he ever thought.
“Yes. That’s also the bad news. I hope you’ve been collecting radiation crystals because your power needs are going up. Would you like to install all of this now?”
“Sure?” Arthur said, unsure of what else to say.
Golden light enveloped his store as he took a step away from the door and turned around, mouth agape at what he saw.
Above the door sat a new object that looked like a cyberpunk scanner. A neon-green brick that stuck out on a metallic pole. It shone a soft green light onto the ground, which he could easily imagine turning red if anyone tried to steal from him.
“The rest is inside,” Pydes said, his voice smug. “Go on.”
The light felt pleasantly warm as he walked through it and entered the store. In a corner above the counter was a boxy, neon-green security camera that swiveled. A small red light blinking on and off in a rapid four-beat rhythm that made him think of a heartbeat.
Attached underneath was a box that he figured was probably the alarm. When he looked at it, he got another prompt.
For the moment, he selected no, then made his way into the back office. There, he saw a computer sitting on the previously empty desk. The screen was large and reminded him of a Mac. Next to the desk sat the case, made of lime green plastic.
He sat on the chair he’d dragged inside and hit the button to turn the machine on. It came to life without a sound.
As soon as the screen came to life, he could see the shop floor in perfect color. The frozen forms of Jemima and George remained in the center of the room where he’d left them.
He grabbed the wireless mouse and slid it across the desk before clicking. In seconds, the image split into four smaller screens, each showing him a different area. From here, he could see The Roof, The Basement, The Store, and The Break Room.
Using the scroll wheel, he zoomed in and out of the sink. Arthur frowned, unsure how he was seeing this. Not remembering seeing a camera on his walk through the area to the office.
Another click got him back to a full-screen image of the shop floor. A few shifts of the mouse allowed him to see out the door into the street. Pydes grinned at him.
He didn’t bother turning the computer off as he moved outside once more. This time he checked, and as he suspected, couldn’t find any physical camera. It made him wonder if the one behind the counter was for show.
A few stores back home had done that, he knew. Placed a few fakes near the real ones to deter people and save money. Though he supposed it didn’t matter.
“Are you happy with your upgrades?” Pydes asked.
Arthur nodded. “Yeah, actually. These are great. How come I didn’t start with these?”
“You earn your way in the world. Plus, Mother didn’t want you to. Most worlds have made do with the basics for far longer than you have. Now, I believe our business is done. Unless you need something else?”
“Actually yes. What’s a shopkeeper’s bag? I kept meaning to ask, but then I forgot.”
“Oh, that?” Pydes shrugged. “Gastho can take you to get one if you remember to ask. The first ones are free, if that helps. Anything else?”
“What does it do?”
Pydes shook his head. “Anything else?”
“Why does she want the demons, or is it only their leader? Can the camera see invisible creatures? Are they going to be a problem? Do you have any advice to combat them? Why am I here? What’s the point of all this? Can I have more help?”
The words came out in a rush, and Pydes’ face was passive the entire time. With a shrug, he sighed.
“She wants the leader. Yes. Probably. Yes, get more allies and better security, or learn to fight yourself if you have to. Because she wanted someone to be. To make her money. If you can find it.”
“That’s not helpful.”
“Tough. You’re in charge now; it’s not all about holding your hand.”
Before Arthur could respond, Pydes leaped into the building. His claws dug in as he climbed up the front of the store. The marks he made in the brick closed up as soon as he’d moved.
“Bastard,” Arthur muttered before he went inside and collapsed in his chair to wait for Pydes to restart time in comfort.
***
He did his best not to chuckle at the confused looks that both Jemima and George threw his way.
Next to him, Nyssa was climbing out of the basement. Her father was already back to work in the mutagen chamber.
“Well?” Arthur asked as he watched Theobold leave to pick up Augustus and hopefully grab some tables. “How can Apocalypse Assortments help you today?”
“I…” Jemima trailed off before she shook her head. “We originally came up to talk about when you thought you could get that moss set up. Then Theobold asked us to guard the store. What happened?”
“The cultists asked for a meeting,” he shrugged, doing his best to sound casual as he continued. “It went badly, but we’re ok.”
George scoffed. “They broke your arm and stabbed Augustus. How is any of that doing okay?”
“No one died.” Arthur smiled. “That’s winning when a demon attacks you. Now, you wanted to discuss the moss? Why? Do you need it soon?”
“No, hang on.” George held up a hand. “A demon attacked you! Is that going to be a problem?”
“We added additional security.” With one hand, he gestured to the camera and the light shining outside.
“A camera?” Jemima sounded skeptical. “That’s your foolproof plan?”
He resisted the urge to frown as Nyssa moved in front of him to get back to the wall, where she hurriedly checked it over. From the way her shoulder relaxed, he guessed nothing was damaged.
“It’s part of it. I need other upgrades, which means money and sales. You know the drill. Anyway, the moss? Also, do you know when Lucy, Billy, and her brother will be up? I wanted to talk to them.”
Jemima looked excited about the news. “Tonight, I think.”
“Great.”
George shook his head and folded his arms. “How worried should we be about the demons?”
“I don’t know,” Arthur said truthfully. “Maybe don’t ignore the idea, but I can’t say they’ll come after you. Keep being careful, and we’ll figure it out.”
He could tell that the answer wasn’t what the man wanted to hear, but he didn’t know what else to say. There was little he could do without knowing the group’s motives. Alyssa and the knights were busy with their own problems.
“Perhaps the explorer? I’ll need to remember to ask Nyssa to see if he’ll chat with me the next time he visits her.” Arthur thought.
“Alright.” George shook his head. “I guess it’s no more of a problem than whatever those slimes are.”
“Slagsouls,” Jemima corrected.
“Sure. Those. Which is why you wanted to put the meat-eating moss down there, right?”
“That or get flashlights,” Arthur said with another shrug. “If I can find some. Maybe some other plants, but I’m going to get a large amount of moss soon. So, I figured that would be easier.”
As he spoke, he reached in and grabbed the moss. As the cube broke, he dropped it, and the ball materialized on the table. It sat there, and he could still see some of the meat sticking out of it.
“How do you plan on making sure the monsters don’t eat them?” George asked as he stepped forward and peered down at the ball.
“Huh. Good question. One second.”
As he spoke, he moved to the box and rummaged around inside. In a few moments, he pulled out a few skulls and other bones, as well as bricks and metal pipes. As he shifted them about, he had a sudden thought.
He grabbed a giant rat skull and turned it over, using a pipe to bat the ball inside. Next, he reached down and grabbed one of the hides piling up on the floor. With some effort, he ripped a piece off. It took him a minute to figure it out, but he tied the skull to the pipe through a corroded hole.
“Wallah!” Arthur said. “Torches.”
Jemima looked at him as though he were an idiot. He could hear Nyssa snickering in the background. George, however, looked intrigued.
“So, what? Do we carry them, or do we place them around and hope the Slagsouls don’t push them over?”
“Both,” Arthur said as he gestured towards the bricks. “Any you want to place, you can weight it down with these. Otherwise, carry it. They are fairly bright when in the dark.”
“How much?” Jemima asked.
“Excellent question,” he thought as he looked at the makeshift item. “Let’s see what the box says.”
With a silent prayer that it wouldn’t turn back into its components, he placed it into the box. After a few seconds, he checked its cube.
Item name: Poor-quality Moss Torch - Uncommon.
Item price: Five Golden Pennies.
“Five Golden Pennies,” he said while putting the cube away.
“Fair,” Jemima said. “How many can you make?”
“Depends on how much moss I can get.” He shrugged. “A fair few, probably.”
George smiled. “Well, I think it looks cool. I’ll grab one later; I’m curious about what’s down there.”
“I’ll note your pre-order,” Arthur said with a laugh.
As he did, he saw the rickshaw pull into view. Augustus wasn’t with it; instead, ropes held two tables strapped to the back. It looked seconds away from falling.
“Where did you get fancy tables?” George asked, stepping away from the counter.
“Demonic donation. That’s the plan for the kids coming in.” With a laugh, Arthur got up and moved around the counter. “Help me bring it in? I’d love to get all this set up before everyone gets here.”
George shrugged and moved up beside him. “Alright. If I can have my first torch for free.”
“Deal,” Arthur said, already moving out to help Theobold unload his burden.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOmVBDA8R3
