When Wenammy exited the changing room, Pearl and Anika went in, hiding behind their backs what they wanted to try. Pearl threw a kiss at the wondering pair outside and entered with Anika. Wenammy lowered her voice and asked:
“What they are up to? Pearl was smiling way too much.”
“They are going to try some underwear. What about you? You want to check that section as well?”
Wenammy looked to where Alex was pointing and vigorously shook her head:
“No, not really! I already had a lot of trouble with this dress! I don’t want to see myself in one of those! Some of them don’t have enough fabric to cover anything!”
Alex smiled and checked on Sara that was on the other side of the store, looking at dresses and talking with a smiling Kagu-tsuchi.
When Pearl and Anika finally came out, they went straight to the saleswoman and gave her the underwear they choose and Wenammy’s new dress. Pearl pointed to Alex and said to the saleswoman:
“Hide this in a bag so that he doesn’t see, and he will pay everything, together with the clothes of those two children… That… where are they… I lost them but they are here somewhere.”
The woman nodded with a big smile because all that would be a great sale for her. She quickly put the underwear in a closed cotton bag, and the rest of the clothes went inside a bigger bag, that she happily delivered to Pearl while Alex was paying.
They finally left the store and Sara walked ahead, holding hands with a smiling Kagu-tsuchi. Alex was walking right after them, with Anika on his right arm, and Pearl was at the back, holding hands with a frowning Wenammy that was still mad for being forced to use such a dirty dress. As they were following Sara to the warehouse, Alex overheard Pearl talking with Wenammy, trying to make the frowning Fairy to forgive her for what happened in the changing room.
When they arrived at the front door of Alex’s warehouse, Wenammy was smiling again, and Pearl winked to Alex, announcing that she succeeded.
In front of the warehouse, two guards were standing, and they immediately stood up straight and made a slight bow to Alex, opening the door for him.
Inside, Anika blinked at the crowd that was carrying pushcarts or big bags. There was a big balcony at the right side of the door, where a smiling woman greeted them:
“Welcome to Earl Alex’s warehouse! How may I help you?”
When she recognized Alex, she gasped:
“Sir… I wasn’t expecting you… Do you need anything? You want to talk with the manager?”
“There’s no need, don’t worry with me. I just came for a visit and to show the warehouse to these beautiful ladies.”
The woman vigorously nodded:
“Very well, Sir, but don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything! And the two children, they are going to accompany you or should I call someone to take them to the children’s place?”
Alex looked at the happy duo and asked:
“What do you say, Sara, you want to take Kagu with you to play? Or you want to come with us?”
“I often come here with my parents, Sir, and if Kagu doesn’t mind, I could take him to play with me in the children’s room!”
Kagu-tsuchi was looking around, amazed with the movement and said:
“Sara… I want to check this place. I never came here, maybe you can show me around and act as my guide!”
“I can do that, I know this place very well and I know all the staff! Come with me, there is a lady over there that bakes cookies in her home and she always gives me some! Oh, you don’t mind if we wander for a while, right, Sir?”
Alex nodded with a smile:
“Have fun, but don’t take too long, because I want to return to my Castle before nightfall.”
Sara pulled Kagu-tsuchi and they ran between the busy crowd. Alex walked with the three women from balcony to balcony, looking at the several products on display. Anika gasped at the sight of crates full of shampoo containers, and another with skin products.
Pearl stopped in front of a balcony of the fruits section, smiling at the sight of crates upon crates behind the balcony, with a smiling Elfian helping his customers. He noticed her and asked with a smile:
“Hello, fellow comrade! How may I help you today?”
“I don’t need anything, thanks, I was just admiring the fruits. You work here for how long?”
“Since this warehouse opened, three years ago.”
Pearl faced Alex that approached the balcony, making the Elfian seller gasp and she asked:
“You opened this warehouse three years ago? How did you manage all this? Because you were so young at that time!”
Alex made a slight bow to the seller and explained:
“It didn’t start this big. It was only a building that my father purchased, and when I started to make big money, I bought the other two buildings next to it. My father wanted to make a tavern when he bought the first building, but my idea was better.”
Alex glanced at the fruits in display in the crates on top of the balcony and said:
“We already have grapes for sale? Nice, I like this fruit, it’s so sweet!”
The Elfian seller quickly nodded:
“Yes, Sir, the grapes arrived two days ago. The harvest came a bit soon this year, but perhaps you know that better than me because you are probably the reason why the harvest got bigger.”
Alex nodded while looking around to check if there was someone near that could hear them:
“Yes, I sent a few messages to Viscount Finley regarding the new greenhouses. The grapes that come from there have all the means to grow faster than on a normal field. How did the customers react to grapes at their disposal, three months earlier than usual?”
“They went nuts, Sir! These crates are my third batch today, they keep on disappearing! You should go visit the tea house and try the grape cake, it’s really something! My wife bakes them, and she said to me that there is always a crowd in there, and she doesn’t have a moment’s rest, since she opens the doors in the morning, until she closes at night! There are even customers asking her to be open after dinner so that they can go there.”
Alex smiled and answered:
“Please tell her not to overwork herself, if the cakes are that good, people will still come during the day, there is no need to open at night if she doesn’t want to.”
“That’s what I told her, Sir, but my stubborn Cat-kind wife wants to open at least twice a week until the grapes’ season is over.”
Alex lowered his voice and said:
“She will have a lot of work then, because the grape season will last three or four months longer than usual, because of the greenhouses.”
The Elfian seller gasped at that surprising news, and Pearl waved at him and followed Alex. When they were looking to a balcony of vegetables, Pearl asked:
“What is that greenhouse that you talked about? It’s a new method to increase the production?”
“Not really. They are a new type of windowed buildings with cropped and very fertile soil. It’s hotter inside because of the glass windows all around, and the soil is automatically irrigated to a very accurate degree. With all that, the vineyards that make that type of grape are fooled, and they act as if it’s the peak of the season for them to grow. This method can also be used for vegetables. In fact, I think there are some vegetables in here that came from the greenhouses, like the purple tomatoes over there, or the red pumpkins, considering it’s not the season for them, yet.”
Pearl looked to where he was pointing and smiled:
“You are right! It’s too soon for those! That’s so cool! Where did you get that idea, to make those greenhouses?”
Alex put his right index finger over Pearl’s lips:
“Shush, not so loud… It’s a trade secret, I can’t reveal that. Let’s just say I do things according to the necessity of the market, but I am extremely careful not to create something that could change dramatically the lives of the people or the society. I already took a huge risk when I started to pay my workers and farmers. That attack in the Market was probably because of that, there are people jealous of my workers, or how successful I am. I don’t come often to the Capital or go to social reunions because of that, there is always trouble aimed at me.”
“You mean, that was not the first time someone tried to kill you?”
“No, that was… the fourth. Or fifth. I am not sure, because other attempts were stopped before the attackers got near me. Normally, Okami and Shinatobe can sense from afar any evil intent against me, and even without them, I am also very good at detecting criminals. I saw those two following us ever since we stepped out of the carriage, and I was waiting to see what they were up to. I wasn’t counting on little Sara Perry, and that was a nice surprise.”
Pearl smiled and looked to where Sara and Kagu-tsuchi were, happily chatting with an older Dog-kind woman that was waving her fluffy tail:
“Yes, that little girl surprised even me. I could sense her enormous amount of Magic when we met her outside the Chamber of Lords, but I wasn’t expecting she got so good in such a short time.”
Wenammy was hearing them in silence and interrupted:
“I may be wrong, but I think that little girl is half-Fairy. I know she can’t be because her mother is completely Human, but when I am near her, I feel as if I am next to a fellow Fairy. It’s weird, but I can’t get rid of the feeling that she will be three times more powerful than me in just a few years. Her Magic is still raw and moves like the ocean under a storm, but the moment she gets used to keeping it always under control, she will be absurdly powerful. I don’t know how she didn’t inadvertently hurt someone with her Magic, considering that it has a mind of its own.”
Alex asked while staring at Sara Perry:
“Is that normal? The Magic of a person being so uncontrollable?”
“It’s not that her Magic is uncontrollable. It’s more that… it’s so much, that it baffles me how she is able to keep it under control, considering her age. Perhaps she got a scare some time ago, and subconsciously, she makes sure that never happens again. You saw how she was glowing in the Market. Pearl told her to gather her Magic because it was leaking, but it only seemed that way. She was in full control of her Magic, probably because of her strong desire to protect you. She will be a very powerful Mage Summoner one day, and I bet she will be the youngest in the entire World, to achieve that rank. Heck, she already conquered Kagu-tsuchi! I wonder what Okami, Suijin and Shinatobe will say when they meet her.”
Alex made a slight smile and spoke without looking at the serious High Fairy.”
“You know, Wenammy, this is the first time that I heard you talking so much. You should speak what’s in your mind more often, I like the sound of your voice, it sounds like sun rays hitting leaves and grass. It doesn’t exactly sound like that because sun rays don’t make noise, but it’s the image that’s in my mind after hearing you.”
Wenammy turned bright red and spoke:
“Thanks… I will try to speak more… Pearl said something similar, she also complained that I don’t speak much… It’s that… I am not used to be desirable… I like it a lot, but this is all very new to me. I… never could have imagined this when I was living in my parent’s lands…”
Pearl Pearson put her arm on Wenammy’s shoulders:
“We all like you as you are, Wenammy. Your shyness, your cuteness, and even your clumsiness. I think that even Anika is starting to like you a lot, considering that she stopped threatening and punching you like she used to do.”
Wenammy bit her lower lip and said:
“Yeah… I suppose that’s because we all like Alex and… you also like me…”
Pearl made a big smile and faced Alex:
“Isn’t she a cutie? I could eat her right now!”
“Better not, Pearl, there are a lot of children and families around that could be upset. Talking about children, we should call those two and leave, we still need to go back to the Castle and you want to buy that longbow, right? Or you prefer one crossbow from my blacksmith facilities?”
Pearl shrugged:
“I could get used to the crossbow, but I prefer bows. They are lighter and easier to fix if they get damaged. A crossbow is only good for roads or open fields, in a forest, it would be a trouble for me, I couldn’t jump freely from branch to branch with that thing on my back.”