Abyssal Chronicles

Chapter 492 - 493: Noya’s Secret Bookstore [2/2]

Noya’s Illustration has been posted in Chapter 01 Characters.

With this, we finished Golden Ticket and Power Stones Bonuses

And Hehe~ the story will get kinda serious from now on :3, Pierre and the others will reach the empire very soon~ ah, and by the way I posted Pierre’s IMG in chapter 01

--

"Welcome, Miss Yu"

With Noya’s cheerful greeting, a stunning young woman with black hair slowly walks into the bookstore.

This young woman with flowing black hair and striking blue eyes (which are actually disguised) is none other than our Yumo. She’s not dressed in her usual formal attire, since she’s out shopping in the outer area of Anvika. Instead, she’s dressed more casually.

Her outfit mainly consists of a blue and white top with black edging, perfectly tailored to be petite and delicate. The scoop neck shows off Yumo’s beautiful and appealing collarbone. Light blue shorts reveal her pale, long legs, and a pair of simple white shoes complete the look.

After careful grooming by her maids, her black hair is fluffed and pinned up. A delicate butterfly earring dangles from her right earlobe. She’s also wearing light makeup, with a touch of pale pink lip gloss, and her curly eyelashes sparkle. Her blue eyes sometimes give off a bewitching charm.

All in all, she’s ditched her usual elegant attire for something more youthful, which is more practical for a day out.

--

"Hmm?"

Faced with Noya’s greeting, Yumo slightly frowns, looking a bit puzzled.

"How do you know... my name?"

"Oh, that’s an easy guess," says Noya, putting a finger to her lips with a grin.

"Your clothes have the Black Rose family emblem on them, and I’m not blind. Plus, with your black hair and blue eyes, you’re stunning and dressed in high-end clothes designed by Sadar, a top designer from the Sadik Empire. So, it’s pretty obvious who you are. Of course, forgive me if I’m wrong."

"..."

Yumo finds this explanation acceptable, although she silently criticizes the designer Sadar. She had asked him for something more understated, but it seems he couldn’t resist going all out.

"You got it right."

"Great," Noya smiles.

She gracefully floats out from behind the counter and greets Yumo with a curtsy.

"Let me formally welcome you, Miss Yu. As you can see, I’m the owner of this place. You can call me Noya."

"Noya, huh..."

Yumo mutters the name and watches Noya carefully, a bit on guard.

Today, Yumo came to the outskirts of Anvika for two reasons: to buy gifts for her kids and to find some teaching supplies. Some of these supplies are hard to find, which is why she ended up on this less-traveled street.

After all, ...

Before coming here, a few shopkeepers had told Yumo that she might find a special bookstore in this area, where she could buy the rare materials she needed. At first, Yumo was skeptical. She didn’t think a small bookstore like this would have what she was looking for. She only decided to check it out because it was on her way back to Luminous. However, once inside, she realized she had underestimated the place.

The outside might look unassuming, but the inside is a whole different world. Clearly, this isn’t your average bookstore.

And, besides the bookstore itself, this shopkeeper named ’Noya’ is also not someone to overlook.

-"An eighth-level Mage?"-

Yumo whispers to herself, genuinely surprised.

Even though her own power is limited by ’deceptive veil,’ her strong intuition still picks up on the intense energy within Noya. It’s close to that of a high-stage eighth-level mage.

’Could there really be such a powerful person in a bookstore this obscure?’

’Wow, this place is full of surprises’

However, in the midst of her musings, a flash of disdain crosses her eyes, a deep-rooted aversion coming from the depths of her soul.

"This aura..."

After tuning in for a moment, Yumo is certain. The shopkeeper has an aura she deeply dislikes. It’s somewhat similar to Holy Magic but more intense. Although it’s intense, it’s not as strong as the divine power surrounding Mengxi when she activates her ’miracle.’

It’s like it’s a force between Holy Magic and divine power.

’Is she connected to the church? Or maybe she used to be?’ Yumo wonders.

Yumo was lost in thought until Noya’s voice snaps her back to reality.

"Miss Yu, how may I assist you?"

"Huh?"

Realizing she had zoned out, Yumo gives an apologetic look.

"Ah, sorry, I was a bit distracted."

"No worries, Miss Yu. So, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I went to a few magic material shops before this and couldn’t find what I was looking for. They all said you have a wide variety of stuff, so I thought I’d check it out."

"Ah, I see. I do have a good range of materials. What do you need?"

"I need Thunder Kirin horns, Ghostly Mandrake grass, Pure Ice Dew, and Regilok white stone powder."

"Alright, no problem. We have all of those."

"All of them?"

Yumo was shocked. These are super rare items, and she was just trying her luck. She would’ve been happy with just one or two.

But they have them all in stock? Yumo was pretty surprised and felt more certain about her previous impression.

’This fox lady... must be some kind of hidden expert in human society?’

"So, how much do you need?" Noya asks with a smile.

"This much. Also, if you have anything else on this list, give those to me as well."

Saying so, Yumo hands over a list to Noya.

Taking the list, Noya puts on a pair of glasses and starts reading it carefully, like a professional businesswoman. A smile spreads across her face—a smile of excitement that one has when they’ve landed a big order.

"We have all of these. I’ll get them ready for you, Miss Yu."

Noya hands the list to her adorable daughter.

"Reina, go get these ready for Miss Yu. Pick the best quality for all materials; we can’t disappoint our big customer."

"Understood, Mom."

After watching her daughter go into the storage room, Noya sashays over to Yumo.

"Miss Yu, these items won’t come cheap, you know."

"I know," Yumo says, not really caring.

But in reality, ...

Yumo doesn’t really get the concept of ’stone coins’ a special currency used all over the continent. She’s never had to deal with money herself; Sebastian, her caretaker, handles all her expenses. So she has no idea how much things generally cost.

From this perspective, Yumo is pretty much a sheltered rich young lady.

But one thing she’s sure about: her family, the Black Rose family, is loaded.

They own countless mines, have a strong business network, and get a lot of taxes. Plus, they often get rare items from trading with dragons and elves, which they then sell for big bucks. So they’re one of the richest families around.

According to Sebastian, with the pocket money she gets, she could buy tons of these materials. And that’s not even mentioning the ’purple gold card’ she has, loaded with ’origin stone coins’.

If she can’t afford this stuff, then Noya is probably trying to rip her off. In that case, she wouldn’t mind teaching her a lesson.

"Get everything ready; I can afford it."

"Of course, you’re a Black Rose. Why would you worry about a little money? Ah, I asked a silly question. My apologies."

"No problem."

"But since you’re buying so much, let me throw in some freebies."

"Freebies?"

"Yep."

With a flirty smile, Noya reaches into her chest and pulls out a beautifully wrapped book, handing it to Yumo.

Looking at the book, Yumo’s a bit puzzled.

"What’s this?"

"The first book is a trendy novel among young noble ladies, called ’Blue Rose’s Blood.’ It’s a taboo story about a slave girl and her mistress."

"Isn’t this, um, a bit mature?"

"Oh, it’s fine to read once in a while, good for personal growth. Considering you might like to put theory into practice, the second book is an action guide. You can refer to it after you finish the novel."

"Excuse me?!"