“You’ve got a good eye there, son,” the old man said from a chair behind the counter. “Just got this in yesterday. Real rare stuff I can tell you. It takes your strength straight from E-rank to D-rank like magic!”

  “Hey, Mr. Jefferson,” Robert said and offered a wave as he stepped in behind Eik, having let his boss walk through the door first.

  “Robbie! Two visits in a row! To what do I owe the pleasure? Did you figure something out about that little problem you talked about then?”

  “Kind of,” Robert answered with a side eye on Eik. “This is my boss, D ranker Eik Magnasen, and those potions,” he said and pointed at the display. “were made by him. Stolen from his own storage as well the storages of some of his customers.”

  Mr. Jefferson stiffened and his jaw tensed. His eyes flitted between the two men in his store, eventually settling on Eik whose gaze never faltered. The older man swallowed visibly and looked like he’d love to leg it out through whatever back room he had behind him.

  Was this how Rock Fist Bart had felt, touring stores in search of something to get offended by. He must have enjoyed his status immensely, but to Eik… That expression of fear painted on Mr. Jefferson’s face put something in his stomach that make him feel nauseated.

  “I- I… I swear, Mr. Magnasen. I swear I did not steal from you! Please, you don’t understand! I was lead to believe it came directly from you! I purchased the potions in good faith! You have to believe me, please!” the frightened man stammered and flew to his feet, but his knees buckled under him and he had to catch himself on the corner of the counter. “Please!”

  “Mr. Jefferson, calm down! Mr. Jefferson, listen, Mr. Magnasen did not come here to exact some manner of primitive revenge for the theft. He just wants to know what’s going on so he can mitigate his losses in the future, isn’t that right, Mr. Magnasen?” the young man asked.

  Eik nodded. “Robbie here has already vouched for your innocence in the matter. I’m just looking for information about the crime. I’m not looking to do anything to you. In fact, I don’t even mind if you sell the stock you’ve already got,” he said and held up a finger. “so long as you promise to credit me for the original creation and distribution.”

  “Oh, thank you, thank you!” the older man said, offering several small bows, voice still quivering slightly. “I will make sure to do that, sir!”

  Mr. Jefferson glared at Robert with his head still halfway down in a bow and hissed in what he was probably hoping was a whisper. “Why wouldn’t you tell me that I was selling your boss’ product? What if he had killed me?”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Jefferson,” Robert said sheepishly. “I didn’t want rumors to spread before Mr. Magnasen had had a chance to confirm my suspicions with his own eyes. And Mr. Magnasen is not the type of person to do something like that, isn’t that right, Mr. Magnasen?”

  Again, Eik nodded, looking exceptionally boss-like. They hadn't talked about doing it like this, but Robert had kind of just started talking and Eik was fine with that. “Yes, that’s right.”

  “That’s… good,” Mr. Jefferson said, eyes darting between them.

  “So what can you tell me about this strange, hooded figure selling my stuff in the back alleys?” Eik asked.

  “Not much, to be honest. It’s definitely a man. A real shady character if I have to say so myself. Wouldn’t have a drink with him, that’s for sure.”

  “Yet you trusted him enough to buy the potions from him… You didn’t suspect that he might have been fleecing you for everything but your socks and sandals?”

  “Well, I mean, the wares had already been verified by other merchants I know so I kind of just took the chance to make some extra cash, y’know. It’s not like I was the first to be approached by him either. Plenty of rumors about him by the time he came to me. As a matter of fact, I think most of the guys did doubt his claims so they didn’t take the goods.”

  “And he was fine with being refused?” Eik asked.

  “All my colleagues are still fine and healthy, so I suppose so, yeah.”

  “Do you happen to know the names of your colleagues who decided to buy?” Eik asked, then added. “Oh, and actually, if you could tell me who refused as well, that would be great.”

  “Yes, yes, certainly!” the frantically relieved man sputtered and went to fish out a wrinkled piece of paper already filled with various scribbles. He tore off a corner and jotted down a list of names divided into buyers and those who declined the offer. He handed it over to Eik who out it in his pocket.

  “I appreciate this, Mr. Jefferson. I’m going to talk to some of them myself, but next time you see them, I would be grateful if you’d tell them what I’ve told you. I will have no complaint if any of you sell what stock you have of my potions. You can even take the full profit yourselves. Just make sure that my name is mentioned up front.”

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  “Mr. Magnasen, sir, I couldn’t possibly thank you enough for your kindness. And once again, I apologize for my involvement — however unintentional it may have been — in your misfortune,” the older man said.

  Once they were back outside, Robert settled into Eik’s tempo. “Is it okay to not ask him anymore?”

  “I think it’s fine. I want to hear the story from more people anyway.”

  They spent the next couple of hours visiting with a number of different merchant who had stalls, stands, and store around the central market. The vibes and interior of the stores varied greatly, both in apparent opulence and cleanliness.

  Proximity to the central shopping area seemed to be a pretty reliable indicator for size and quality. However, some stores that had specialized goods and services didn’t fit into that assessment quite as well.

  Eik himself was a good example of an exception to that rule. There was no denying that he liked to complain at times but in truth, he had been doing rather well for himself with his one-man operation back before his own Awakening. The quality and reasonable pricing of his product had earned him many returning customers and more than a few recommendations.

  It had been a nice life. Much different from his current existence.

  Most of the other merchants who had been approached by the hooded thief could tell him no more than what Mr. Jefferson had been able to. Some of them were convinced that the person had been a woman. One even claimed that it had been Eik himself in disguise.

  In the end they walked away having discovered little new information, and certainly nothing that put them in a position to confidently accuse anybody of the crime. Eik was tempted to simply blame the Forest leadership but he couldn’t lay it on them just because he didn’t like them. There were plenty of people in Forest besides the stinky old geezers who would love to get their hands on his potions.

  He needed some kind of proof.

  “I don’t think we’re going to get much more out of the merchants at this point, Eik,” Robert said, only willing to use his boss’ first name when they were alone.

  “Yeah. But we have one last stop before we’re done.”

  “Where?”

  ***

  As all other times Eik had been by for a visit, the door to Elaine Haness’ office was answered by her brother Carl Haness.

  Eik didn’t get back to Earth in time to witness the remaining C-rank selection tests but he’d been told the results after the fact. Carl had indeed lived up to his confidence and passed the test to secure a spot at the Championships. The other C-ranker was someone Eik didn’t know.

  “My potions have begun to appear on the markets,” Eik said once he sat across from Elaine.

  “I just found out as well,” she said with a sober nod. “One of the merchants in my circle was approached by this individual as well. It happened last night and he reported it to me just a couple of hours ago.”

  “And what did he say? Did he recognize the person?”

  “No, unfortunately, he didn’t. My colleague is an E-ranker himself, and judging by the hooded person’s movements, he guessed that he was a high E-ranker as well. He’s careful. I don’t think he’s approached anyone who could try to overpower him and realistically succeed.”

  “Damn,” Eik muttered.

  “We could try baiting the seller to come out but I’m just not sure he would fall for that,” Elaine mused, scratching her chin.

  “If he’s as careful as you’ve said, then he’s probably not that desperate to unload the potions,” Eik agreed. “But, what if we could set up something that he is desperate to get his hands on?”

  “Go on.”

  “If he’s selling the potions to basically anybody who’s willing to buy them, then he’s going to run dry of supply pretty soon. And when he’s dry, he’s going to want a refill, don’t you think? What if we give them a good target to hit?”

  “Do you really think they would go for something that risky?”

  Eik shrugged. “I mean, they have already broken into both your storage, my shop, and even my home. They’ve proven themselves to be some bold sons of bitches.”

  She regarded him with narrowed eyes while Robert and Carl watched from the side, Robert looking immersed while Carl looked like he was thinking about his next meal. “Desperation does make people do stupid things. I don’t know if they’re trying to earn extra money or just put a stick in the wheel of your sprouting business — probably both, if I had to guess — but I think it’s worth a try. And anyone would move their storage location after a blatant robbery like that so it’s not like it would even be particularly suspicious in itself.”

  “Mmh,” Eik hummed and leaned back, arms folded across his chest. “I know it was my suggestion but I really don’t know if it’ll work.”

  “It’s certainly worth a try, I’d say. Especially if we—” Robert interjected only to stop himself in his tracks. “Ah, I- I’m—… Forgive me. I overstepped.” He shut his mouth and stepped back against the wall.

  “Don’t mind that, man. We’re all in this together. What did you want to say?” Eik urged, earning him a look of approval from Elaine.

  “Well,” Robert began hesitantly, stepping back to the center of the room. “I was thinking that, if we want to increase the likelihood of the thief’s return, you should make sure that the merchants selling your stolen potions all know that you don’t intend to make an issue of it. Make it seem like you have more important things to spend your time on. It might embolden him to try your new storage location as well.”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Elaine said with a nod. “Making a public announcement would be a bit too conspicuous, but if you send Robert around to mention it casually, it’ll seem like you’re just trying to make the best of a shitty situation. We’ll definitely going to need to make adjustments to the plan to maximize the odds of success, but this is a good start.”

  “That seems solid,” Eik agreed. “I’m by no means a skilled businessman, so I think I’ll leave that to you and Robert. Just tell me when we’re ready. Give me a few days to build up a potentially disposable supply of potions first, though.”

  “Didn’t you have a pretty successful store back before Awakening?” Carl asked.

  “I did, but that was successful because my product was good, in demand, and fairly priced, not because of any sort of cunning strategies or insightful analyses of the market,” Eik chuckled. “That was never my thing.”

  “Leave it to me, boss!” Robert shouted with sincerity.

  “I always will.”

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  The Green Forest