A Man's Heart Is Hard to Understand

"All right."

So, we headed over to the shop.

A long wall stretched out before us.

The wall was high, and it was obvious at a glance that security was tight. Over it, I could just make out the spires of the castle where we'd been staying.

The Kingdom's mages belonged to a guild, and the magic items—magical implements, in other words—were sold there.

We were inside that building.

We walked along the wall and stopped in front of the gate. Armed guards stood on either side, but—maybe because we were just two kids—they let us through without stopping us.

Following the path, we came to a spacious entrance hall. A massive chandelier blazed beneath the high, open ceiling.

The faint scent of what seemed to be expensive wood.

The shopkeeper only glanced at us and said nothing...