Phainon felt victory was firmly in his grasp.
The Yellow-Purple Little Fish was beckoning to him.
After all, a store's opening was generally its peak.
Once the opening buzz faded, sales would only decline.
Even at its grand opening, Aya's Amphoreus Weaving Workshop had sold a mere fraction of what he had.
He wanted to see what other tricks Aya had up her sleeve.
As for Aya conceding just like that...
Phainon laughed.
He wasn't that naive.
Aya was the leader of the Chrysos Heirs!
Most importantly, Kitty was still in his store.
She snacked on dried fish now and then, basked in the sun, and showed no sign of urgency whatsoever.
That made things rather intriguing.
Phainon couldn't work out what they were up to at all.
Still, he would meet every change by holding steady.
A little kitty's schemes had nowhere to hide before the blazing sun.
The second day arrived.
Under Phainon's watchful eye...
Business at the Amphoreus Weaving Workshop improved a little.
The line to enter grew a little longer.
There were also a few more actual buyers carrying shopping bags.
Phainon raised an eyebrow.
"Interesting. Just what I'd expect from Aya!"
"But it's still not enough."
He was now pouring all his efforts into selling his clothes.
Sales were still rising.
He worked from morning until night and still couldn't keep up.
Whatever Aya was plotting, it was all petty trickery before overwhelming sales.
As the saying went, sheer strength could overcome ten clever techniques!
The third day arrived.
The line at the Amphoreus Weaving Workshop grew longer still, nearly matching its opening day.
Phainon thought:
It's just a dying flame's last flare.
It won't last a week!
Give it a few days, and it'll be back to square one.
*But Aya, you really are