Azure Harbor's morning bells had not yet rung, but the small shop on Stone Street was already open.
The bronze bell above the door chimed softly as a man stepped inside. He wore a dark-blue coat and worn-out shoes—one look was enough to see he didn't have much money.
"Shopkeeper," he said while wiping his boots on the threshold, "do you have Green Snake Grass today?"
Behind the counter, the young shopkeeper lifted his head and offered a polite smile.
"Of course we do, sir. You've come to the right place."
The man laughed loudly. "Hard to believe your shop opened only two years ago—your medicine quality beats half the Harbor's older stores."
The young man chuckled softly. "We try to survive, and as you know, surviving requires quality."
His eyes drifted briefly over the dirt on the man's boots and the faint bite marks on his wrist.
"You're hunting in the inner swamps again?"
The hunter looked at him with surprise. "Eh? How did you—?"
The shopkeeper tapped his finger lightly on the counter.
"Green Snake Grass isn't cheap. You wouldn't buy it regularly unless you were dealing with Swamp Serpents."
The man rubbed his head. "That's… exactly right."
Without saying more, the shopkeeper reached up and took something long and wrapped from the shelf. A faint, almost amused smile touched his lips as he set it on the counter and pulled the cloth away.
A slender spear lay underneath, with an iron-grey shaft, a sharpened silver tip, and a narrow groove running along the blade's edge.
"This is our shop's newly crafted Serpent-Hunting Spear."
"A… spear?"
"It's light," the youth explained, lifting it with one hand. "Fast, and perfect for shallow-water coils. Let me show you."
He stepped outside, and the hunter followed without hesitation.
After a short demonstration, the hunter's eyes brightened.
"How many do you have?!"
"Five."
"I'll take all of them!"
The exchange was straightforward, and both sides were satisfied.
When the hunter finally left with five spears strapped across his back, the shop door swung shut again.
Only then did the young man lean lightly on the counter as the breeze from the Western Coast drifted through the open window.
This young man was Atem.
Nine years had passed since that day in Pearlroot Temple.
After the incident, the head priest visited him personally and told him to keep the bronze pendant. He said it was an apology for what had happened, though he never explained more than that.
From then on, Atem could finally step outside and live like any other child.
But peace never lasted long.
When he was eleven, everything changed.
Athena, Thia, and Elon—who had become his closest companions—were chosen by the Jade Stream Sect and taken away as Outer Disciples.
And Asha… for some reason her letters stopped without explanation. Even the promise about her family being moved to the city never happened.
By sixteen, the quiet valley life no longer felt tolerable. Atem wanted to roam the world. Most children here relied on themselves by the age of fifteen, and he felt he was ready.
After a long discussion, he finally convinced Lira and Marek that it was time for him to step into the world on his own.
He didn't have many options. He needed a place not too far from home—close enough to return if anything went wrong, but large enough to offer opportunity.
Azure Harbor became the obvious choice.
It was the nearest major harbor city—busy enough for opportunity but not as ruthless as the larger ports. And as the family of a Jade Stream disciple, they managed to secure a shop at a reasonable price.
And that's how Twin Shores Shop came to be. It first started as a small place selling herbs and medicine made by Lira or simple weapons crafted by Marek, but as time passed, his dependence on them faded as well.
Atem had been running the shop for two years now.
"Life's a funny old thing, isn't it? Seriously, who'd have guessed that someone like me, who used to be a dentist and an archaeologist, would end up running a shop? You never really know where life's going to take you, right?"
He paused, thinking about the profits he made today, and chuckled. "Hmm… for better or worse, it's definitely more profitable."
He straightened and brushed a bit of dust from the counter, then opened the ledger and recorded the sale.
The shop had been doing well lately. It was hunting season, and many hunters were coming from all around to the harbor city.
Atem had learned to keep his shelves ready long before the season began.
He tied the final bundle of Green Snake Grass and set it aside—then turned toward the counter.
A new customer.
It was a man, well-dressed and unnervingly tidy—clean coat, spotless boots, and a thin metal badge fastened at his waist. Just from his attire, it was clear he was neither a hunter nor a villager.
The man stepped inside. His eyes moved across the shelves in a strange way, as if he were searching for something.
Atem placed the bundle down and smiled at him.
"Good morning, sir. What can I help you with?"
The man regarded him for a moment and nodded politely.
"I've heard this shop is reliable. Good tools, effective medicine, and fair prices."
Atem waited; by now he knew that people who began with compliments usually wanted something else.
The man looked over the jars, the wrapped tools, and finally the remaining spears resting in their stand.
"You sell more than herbs, I see," he observed.
"We supply whatever the Tide-Line needs," Atem replied calmly. "As long as it is within reason."
The man let out a quiet nod, as if confirming something to himself.
"Your name is Atem, yes?"
"That's correct."
"I am here on behalf of the Harbor Authority. We are conducting a review of independent businesses in this district. There have been adjustments to the regulations surrounding medicinal sales."