According to Hai En, the shopkeeper was an eccentric mage who didn't want to be disturbed by too many people.
He Xi treated Belt to a simple lunch. After thanking him for his help, he headed off alone toward the area near the clock tower.
"The alley east of the clock tower..."
As he walked, he recalled Rose Town's map. Suddenly, he stopped, his face twisting into an exasperated smile.
Scarlet Waterfall Alley—that was the main alley east of the clock tower, wasn't it?!
Could that shop really be right next to where he lived?
He followed the entrance to Scarlet Waterfall Alley and looked around. Sure enough, he spotted an inconspicuous little path not far away.
At the end of the alley stood an utterly ordinary stone wall. A few old wooden crates and odds and ends were piled by the entrance. Anyone who came this way would naturally assume it was a dead end and turn back.
He turned sideways and squeezed into the narrow path.
The path was dark and damp, its walls covered in slick moss. He walked all the way to the end and stopped in front of the stone wall.
He recalled Hai En's words, focused his mind, and tried to sense the magical fluctuations around him.
At first, everything seemed normal. Only faint elements drifted freely through the air.
But when he concentrated intensely, he indeed caught a faint buzzing somewhere on the wall, like the beating of a mosquito's wings, along with a slight distortion in space.
The sensation was incredibly subtle. Unless he deliberately searched for it, he would surely dismiss it as an illusion.
"This must be the place..."
He extended his index finger toward the core of the magical fluctuation, drew a faint trace of magic from within himself,