"I-I see… that is good to hear."

The station master told me, but I could still sense some kind of nervousness when he spoke.

He was also shuffling from one foot to another, which made me feel as if there was something he wanted to talk about but did not want to bring up first.

My instincts told me that this was a good time to try and earn some faith points. So I decided to capitalize on the situation.

"Hmm, is there something you want to talk to me about, station master? Something that is troubling you, perhaps?"

I asked, and the station master looked startled. His eyes went wide with shock before he blinked and hid his emotions.

There was a huge chance that I was making a mistake here, but I decided to take a gamble anyway.

And it paid off as the station master sighed before he welcomed me.

"There is… something that I am worried about, and I would like for you to hear me out. But the station is far too… crowded with people of individual interests for me to do that. How about I come visit you at your shop?"

The shopkeeper told me, and I had no reason to refuse.

"Of course. My doors will always be open for you. I would also recommend you use the claw machine. Who knows, you might get even more help from it. I will leave it working for you for another hour."

I told the man casually and promoted my business at the same time.

The station master looked thankful to hear me say this, but truthfully, this was just a ploy to get more faith points in a short time.

After all, a few interested people were already looking our way, and I had a feeling they would want to try out the claw machine as well.

"I should take my leave now. I hope to see you soon, station master."

I told the man before I left the clearing. The station master was left behind, staring at the machine I left behind with a weird look on his face.

And that was the last I saw of him.

I quickly entered my shop and prepared premium tea leaves and snacks to serve the station master.

This time, I made sure to be as careful as I was with the duchess. My visitor was an important business partner, after all.

It did not take long for the station master to come and visit me.

'Time to get another faithful customer. Man, this world really lacks the concept of mental health, huh-! I could make a killer living here at this rate.'

I told myself as I opened the door and welcomed the man in.

________

"Station master, are you sure using this machine is… safe? Most people who use it lose their minds and join the cult. We cannot afford to lose you as well."

A worker told the station master as soon as Cyrus left the scene. He looked skeptical of the machine, and truthfully, he was not the only one.

Even the station master was suspicious of the machine at first, but he had observed it for a few days now and found that the machine itself was not the problem here…

Or rather, it did not seem to be.

There was no aura of curse or enchantment on the person that used this machine, and no amount of detection magic worked either.

So the only way to confirm whether the people that fell under its influence were cursed or not was to use the machine itself and find out.

And what better test subject existed than he himself? So taking a deep breath, the station master approached the machine.

[Please enter faith points]

The machine asked for something he did not know, and he simply put his hand where his handprint matched the system screen. The screen lit up, and he felt a little weaker.

But then, the machine gave him a capsule, and he opened it.

[The thing you are searching for is in your cupboard's third drawer in the hidden compartment.]

That simple message sent jolts through the station master.

He had told no one that he was searching for something, but the system seemed to have found out about it.

And not only that, but it seemed to be guiding him as well.

'No way-! How is this possible? I never told anyone else… the shopkeeper, did he know? He told me to use this machine…'

The more the station master thought about it, the more things made sense to him. Now he understood why people were beginning to worship this thing.

It was because it had the power to solve their worries and provide solutions. It had… some weird kind of ancient magic inside it.

And the shopkeeper seemed to know about it as well.

"How fascinating. No wonder General Henry and the Duchess told me not to worry about or get on that shopkeeper's bad side. He's… too powerful, and angering him could cause a lot of trouble for us."

To the station master, the shopkeeper suddenly looked like a god that was in the human world to try and check it out. It made the shopkeeper shiver in anticipation of what was to come next.

"Master, are you alright? Shit-! Are you under a curse as well? W-What do we do…?"

Around him, the others panicked as they wondered what to do. A few of them even planned to storm the bookstore and drag the shopkeeper out.

That snapped the station master out of his daze, and he gave them all a glare.

"Don't touch the shopkeeper. He's… special, and we should not cause him trouble. For now, wrap up the situation here and keep working. I have somewhere I need to visit."

The station master's sudden visit plans made everyone surprised. They had not expected him to suddenly take off like this.

But there was little the workers could do about it. Their station master's authority was just too much.

The sun had started to go down when the station master made his way to the prestigious bookshop and opened the door.

The shopkeeper welcomed him in, almost as if he knew when the station master would arrive, and he welcomed him in.

"Welcome, station master. I have brewed some tea for you. Would you care to have some?"

The station master asked as he extended the cup toward the station master.

"Please, have some tea and refreshments. That would… help you take your mind off whatever is bothering you."

The shopkeeper was a patient man, and despite all the atrocities the station master had committed against him, he remained quiet and peaceful.

It made the station master even more sure that this person in front of him was not an ordinary being.

So as soon as he took the first sip, he put the cup down and gave the shopkeeper a neutral look that masked his excitement.

"Shopkeeper… no, Master, I would like your help to get stronger. Is there anything you can help me with? I no longer want to just be a station master. I want to rise in the rankings. Please, tell me what I can do."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.