The Market and the Treasure Chest Monster

The market in Ragunna is located by the waterway and opens at six o'clock. Dania dragged Sigelica downstairs at 6:10.

"Go early and try everything."

"Is this how you use tasting samples?"

That's how I use it.

The market was very long, with stalls one after another. Dania ate her way from one end of the street to the other, having one conch pastry and one fried fish ball. When she reached the third stall, the stall owner was already stuffing food into her hands.

"Little girl, try some of my honey-preserved lemons."

What is this?

"It's meant to be steeped in water and drunk. It helps to relieve chest tightness."

Dania tasted it, her eyes lit up, and she bought two cans. Zhou Yu paid the bill calmly behind her.

"Is it delicious?" Zhou Yu asked.

"Sweet and sour," Dania thought for a moment, "Like basking in the sun after a good meal."

The stall owner heard this, laughed out loud, and stuffed another one into her arms.

Sigelica didn't eat. She stood in front of the grocery store, staring at the price tag.

"Three pancakes, one Shell Credit." She pulled out her notebook. "Coffee beans, half a pound, two Shell Credit. You couldn't even get this for half the price in Honami."

"So what?"

"So, in the salary increase negotiation, I need to add three points." She wrote them down in her notebook on the spot, emphasizing them. "Poor purchasing power is tantamount to a disguised salary reduction."

After finishing writing, she thought for a moment and added another line: Overtime pay, calculated based on purchasing power parity.

Zhou Yu didn't stop him. The digital watch in his canvas bag had been ticking non-stop since he entered the market, popping up every now and then. "Detected Echo, detected Echo, detected Echo." He tightened the bag and pressed the watch to the bottom.

"Once it gets here, it just becomes an alarm clock."

The bean shop is located at the west entrance of the market; its sign reads "Sold Out Today."

Sigelica stopped at the door.

Sold out again.

"Those who can read the signs, come in." Someone inside spoke up. The owner straightened up from behind the counter and pulled a small paper packet from the back of the shelf. "Only half a pound left. Reserve it for those in the know. Those outside, just ask for the cheapest one when you come in."

Why should we be experts?

"You stared at the sign for five seconds before going in," the owner said, pushing the package towards us. "For the cheaper options, you only need to be inside for three seconds."

Sigelica's hands were steady when she paid, and she was quick when she put away the paper package.

"How are we going to explain this to Chisaki's mother when we get back?" Zhou Yu asked.

"Tell the truth," Sigelica said, tucking the paper package into the innermost part of her bag, "That's all she wants—this half-pound. If we can't find it, I'll stay here until it's available."

"Ambitious."

At the alley entrance stood an old man repairing his stall, with a Chop Chop lying at his feet, handing him his tools. Dania squatted down and watched for a long time.

"Can I see its nameplate?"

The old man turned the Chop Chop's neck around. The bronze plaque was polished to a shine, with a string of numbers on it.

"Looking at the name is useless," the old man said. " In Echo Ragunna, people recognize tags, not names. If the tag is there, even if someone gets lost, they can be found."

Dania read the string of numbers aloud twice and memorized it.

The incident occurred in the alley on the way back.

Dania saw an old trunk at the alley entrance. It was made of wood with brass corners, and the lid was half-open, letting in a little light. She went closer and reached out to lift the lid.

The box bit her hand.

"Ah!"

She shook it twice, but couldn't shake it off. It didn't hurt; it just bit her. The whole alley was quiet for a moment, and then groups of Chop Chop poked their heads out from the walls, windowsills, and eaves, jumping and spinning around in unison, making a commotion. One of them, with a brass tag around its neck, squeezed to the front and jumped the highest.

"Don't draw your knife!" Dania shouted, freeing her other hand. "It's not using force! It's just biting!"

Sigelica's gun was halfway out when she pushed it back.

Zhou Yu walked over, squatted down, and looked at the box at eye level.

"Article 9 of the Market Stall Management Regulations," he said, "If a business operates under the guise of a performance and frightens customers, they must apologize. The apology should be based on their most valuable possessions."

The lid of the box froze for a moment.

"I borrowed the proprietress's copy of the regulations last night and read it," Zhou Yu said. "Don't pretend you didn't hear me. I measured this area of yours; it's right on top of the alleyway that's right next to the market's boundary line. Either you pay now, or I'll have Dao Ling come and measure it a second time."

The lid slumped down. The box gurgled and spewed out a small pile of things: three Shell Credit, half a melted candy, and an old badge. The candy wrapper was stuck together, the Shell Credit were polished quite shiny, and the badge was dark and sat at the bottom.

The jeers and jeers from the Echo grew even louder.

"Pick the most valuable one," Zhou Yu said to the box.

The box reluctantly tried to vomit again. Nothing came out; it just shook itself, as if to say so.

Zhou Yu picked up the badge.

Dania had a ring of teeth marks on her hand, but the skin wasn't broken. She waved her other hand at the box.

"Don't do that next time. It's very rude to scare people."

The lid of the box nodded towards her, half-open and half-closed, like a bow.

The late-night food stalls closed early. The three of them took a shortcut back, but halfway down the alley, Dania stopped.

"There are wolves."

Three wolves were crouching at the end of the alley. They were white-furred, thin, and their shoulders reached a person's waist. They were looking down, their noses close to the ground, sniffing inch by inch.

"Frostmane Wolf," Chisa's voice was very calm, "Step back. I'll count to three."

"Wait." Dania tugged at Zhou Yu's sleeve, tilting her head to listen for a moment. "They didn't mean to bite. They were looking for something. They became aggressive because they couldn't find it."

The lead wolf raised its head and exchanged a glance with Dania. It grunted, didn't pounce, turned and took two steps back into the alley, then turned back again and retreated once more.

Chisa didn't count to three before she moved.

Three flashes of light, so fast that the alley lights only flickered for a moment. The three wolves scattered into tiny specks of light, layer upon layer, falling into the cracks between the stone slabs. Before dispersing, the leader took one last look into the depths of the alley.

Dania ran over and crouched down where the light had fallen to look. The cracks in the stone slabs were clean; nothing was left there.

Chisa put the knife away and glanced at the door one last time.

"Wolves live in packs," she said. "A lone wolf is still searching for something; the pack is gone."

Zhou Yu paused for a moment while looking at the schedule.

The alley led to a dead end. At the end stood an old wooden door, locked and covered in dust.

The stone slab under the door crack is a darker color than the rest of the slab.

Zhou Yu squatted down, sniffed it closely, and then tapped the stone slab with his knuckles. Dania listened from the side, then shook her head.

"It's empty underneath. Very small. Like... like a box." She thought for a moment, "No. Like a lot of very small things, crammed together."

Zhou Yu stood up and made a note on the schedule. After finishing, she folded a small corner of the page.

"The wolf looking for something has smelled it," he said. "The smell is coming from under this door. Come back tomorrow during the day with proper paperwork."

"What if no one answers from inside?" Chisa asked.

"That's for tomorrow," Zhou Yu said. "The midnight snack will get cold."

Back on the second floor of Margaret's house, Zhou Yu turned on the light, spread out a handkerchief, and placed the badge on it to wipe it.

The badge is small, made of bronze, and the front is worn down to only half of a laurel wreath pattern.

Turn it over, and the back is much clearer. There is an Order's mark, and below the mark is a line of small characters, the strokes of which are very deep, as if they were carved with force back then.

The Laurel Festival, 41st edition.

"Is it valuable?" Dania leaned over the table to look at it.

"I don't know," Zhou Yu said, "But we'll have to check which year it is."

"There's a calendar at the entrance of the Order," Dania said. "Let's go see it tomorrow."

"Okay," Zhou Yu said, "I also asked about the number you wrote down yesterday."

Dania nodded, then shook her head.

"You can ask for the number," she said, "But it only showed me that way, not to anyone else."

He wrapped the badge in paper, pressed it into the question mark page of the schedule, and blew out the lamp.

In the darkness, the canvas bag remained silent, and the digital watch remained silent.

Only from the depths of the alley, a faint, lingering scent drifted up.