Chapter 550. Harpy vs. Young Mistress.

Cecile muttered. "It doesn't really work if they don't want to reveal things or are stubborn, right?"

Yasenia smiled coldly. "Well, if the customer is shameless, there are other methods to make them spit whatever they want to rob."

After the woman lashed out one more time at the patient harpy, the harpy's demeanor changed, becoming denser.

The azure-feathered harpy's smile disappeared and whispered in a tone only they and high-level cultivators could hear. "Miss. I'm telling you. I know you've robbed something. I'm giving you a chance not to lose face. Will you take it?"

"And what proof do you have? I'm telling you, if you don't want this little shop to stop existing, you'll let me go!"

The harpy sneered. "Woman, do you think you can rob our Matriarch's shop? I'll give you one last chance before you lose much more than whatever you robbed. Please put it on the counter. I don't care if you don't pay for it and leave, but I want the items back."

The harpy saw the woman about to open her mouth again while maintaining a haughty expression and warned. "Think well before you answer."

The woman with reptile traits humped. "I'm the daughter of a baron from the [Holy Beast Empire]! I haven't come here from so far away to be incriminated in something I haven't done. If you dare touch me, see if you can live. My father is in this city, and your clan will suffer if you do something to me!"

Hanna frowned. "Matriarch, should we intervene? Things are escalating out of control."

Yasenia answered indifferently. "Will you be here each time this happens?"

Hanna stopped speaking.

Yasenia spoke coldly. "If she can't deal with this situation appropriately, then she can leave my clan today."

Hanna flinched as Yasenia turned her face to look at her with cold golden reptilian eyes. "I give you harpies preferential treatment, but you are not immune to punishment, Hanna."

Hanna realized her blunder and didn't ask anymore, looking from the sides. 'Girl, you better deal with this efficiently.'

After the woman spoke, the harpy laughed and answered. "Using your status on us? You should first look if you are qualified!"

The woman sneered. "Unless you are from another Empire, I want to see what kind of face you have to say that."

"Then, listen closely. Our clan is in a strong alliance with five of the Nine sects. We have deep connections with the top races of the thirty-three clans. And our Matriarch has faced seven Epoch Core Cultivators alone and come out unscathed. Is this enough face for you?"

Yasenia blinked twice, confused. 'When have I faced those cultivators? One of them is enough to spank me like a child!'

The harpy saw the woman's face change and asked coldly. "Now, my patience is gone, so you have five seconds to take out the item before I send you back to your daddy with fewer limbs than you have now!"

Cecile hummed. "She has character."

Yasenia pondered. "A bit too aggressive."

Hanna chuckled. "To tell you the truth, she is my niece. She is usually gentle and refined until you piss her off. Then you have quite an explosive woman that can bite whoever enrages her."

Tatyana said lazily. "She needs to control her temper. Explosive temper is a one-trip way to dying young."

Hanna nodded. "Don't worry. She is usually very mindful. That's why we placed her as the shopkeeper here. I guess she has evaluated that this woman is a bit cowardly, so using strength is the best."

Tatyana hummed. "She is gambling. Although, this time, she hit the mark."

As the Death Empress said, the daughter of the Baron felt that she didn't have the advantage.

Although a Baron Title sounded good in name, thousands of barons resided in the Empire. The woman had seen that this shop had powerful items, even if the shop was tiny. This was a problem since it meant that these people had bargaining chips.

She was not a stupid woman, even if she did something stupid. Although pampered, as the daughter of a noble, she had been educated in politics quite a lot.

However, the item she took was too expensive for the money she had right now, and she also realized that people were eyeing it. It would most likely be gone if she left to get the money and return to buy it.

The woman wanted to bet on this one fact. 'They should not dare follow their words, right? They are just trying to intimidate me…'

But as if reading her mind, the harpy smiled maliciously. "You should be thinking we don't dare hurt you, right? Let me tell you that we have miraculous pills that can regrow limbs. So not only would I slice your leg off, but I would also send your father a notice about those pills."

"As a noble, you should understand how precious and rare limb-regrowing medicine is. Now, the countdown starts."

"Five…"

The woman felt a chill on her leg, but she felt that it was just a bravado.

"Four…"

If it weren't a bravado, they would've cut her leg straight away without these small shenanigans.

"Three…"

The woman saw a sword sharp enough to reflect light on the edge appear on the harpy's hand and shuddered. 'That sword can cut me.'

"Two…"

The woman was confident in her body, which had been tempered since her youth with many medicines since she was the first child in the generation of her household. But that sword would probably cut through her bone like a knife through butter.

"One…"

The aura around the harpy burst outward, showing her peak Spiritual King Body Realm cultivation level, equivalent to Mental Nourishing Realm.

For a shopkeeper, it was a very high cultivation base.

"Ze-"

"Stop!"

The lizard woman was sweating profusely as she involuntarily shouted. Her gut senses told her that the harpy dared to cut her leg.

The harpy snorted and approached, extending her hand. "Give it to me."

The woman reluctantly summoned a low-level Earth-Ranked Alchemy Cauldron. It was beautifully adorned with images of desserts and lakes.

Yasenia saw that cauldron and her face darkened. 'Andrea made that.'

The people who were spectating sighed in amazement. 'Such a beautiful treasure.'

The harpy was prepared to see a heaven-ranked item, but this surprised her.

She frowned, not understanding. "Miss, this is just a low-level Earth-rank treasure."

The harpy got thoughtful and asked. "Miss, you should have the capital to buy this if your father is a Baron from one of the Three Empires, right?"

The woman wanted to leave right away to escape embarrassment, but she didn't expect this question.

She turned around, angered while thinking the harpy was making fun of her.

However, when she turned around, ready to shout, she saw the harpy's honestly confused face.

She relaxed her bearing and sighed, feeling embarrassed. "Yes, it's not an expensive item. But I don't have enough money right now, and other people are aiming for it. So, I wanted to take it with me first…"

The harpy blinked and smiled. "Miss, we have a policy of reserving treasures for five percent of their price. Moreover, this fee you have to pay it weekly. Do you want to reserve it? If you buy it before the week goes by, you won't even have to pay the first five percent."

The woman thought that she was about to be scorned and kicked out of the shop, but the harpy's friendly response surprised her.

After hearing her, she was impressed one more time. "Really? That's a very nice service."

The harpy laughed. "I wouldn't lie after everything we said to each other, right? Remember that I was about to cut your leg off~."

The woman paled, remembering how close of a call it had been, but embarrassment gushed around her body right after, and she deeply blushed. "I-I did not know."

The harpy approached and grabbed her hand amicably, guiding her to the counter. "Miss, please read the posters on the counters. There may be many services you are missing otherwise. You must have probably not taken the paper being distributed at the entrance, right? We also sell more in-depth guides for only a low-level Parus. Very cheap."

The woman looked at it and took out a low-level Parus. "Um, thanks. Sorry for being like I was."

The harpy smiled gently, regaining her elegant and refined demeanor. "Although we are harsh on those clients who misbehave, our Matriarch always tell us that we need to treat the customer nicely as long as they treat us back. If there are misunderstandings, we also should be forgiving. You were not stealing out of pure malice since you would've paid for it if you had the money on you."

The harpy looked around coldly and spoke. "However, if the intentions are malicious, losing a limb is the least we will do. There have already been deaths, so I recommend being polite with the staff and respecting the rules and prices we set up. We are proud of being fair in pricing for what we offer."

The woman blushed again, feeling like she had behaved like a child, and nodded.

The harpy was also forgiving because she noticed the reptile woman was very young.

The younger girl apologized honestly. "Sorry. The items in this shop are so pretty. I feared others taking it."

The harpy nodded and went through the procedures. Her four assistants had been processing the other customers' orders in the meantime, so the shop was not delayed besides those people who stopped to watch the fun.

Yasenia blinked and smiled. "Very good. Tatyana, remember to reward her. Hanna, please give her a bit more training. She has the potential to become an outstanding merchant. Right now, she is a bit rash, though. Regardless, if that is a path she wants to take, then she has my support."

Tatyana nodded, and Hanna smiled softly. "Thank you, Matriarch."

Yasenia and the other three finally entered the shop, and it became quiet after Yasenia stopped hiding her aura and stepped out of the multitude.

The tall and tempting dragoness was like a phoenix among chickens, radiating a beauty that left many dazed.

The harpy was startled and then smiled widely. "Matriarch!"

The woman who almost stole looked in the direction the harpy looked and froze. Her young heart accelerated as her eyes landed on the most beautiful person she had ever seen.

Yasenia looked at the harpy and smiled gently, making her visage even more attractive. "Everything has been handled accordingly. Don't be so tense."

The harpy smiled gleefully and shouted. "Yes!"

Yasenia approached and felt the young woman's gaze. When she looked over, the blushing mess of a woman stuttered.

"S-Senior, your smile is very pretty."

Yasenia patted her head and allowed her scent to be caught by the young girl. "Thank you. But please don't do something like that again, okay? It would make me sad if I had to go against a pretty girl like you."

The woman nodded like a chicken pecking seeds while her heart and body heated up. 'Her hand is so soft and nice~. She smells so good. Oh, father. I'm in love.'

Sadly, her love would never realize. This was the punishment Yasenia gave her.

A Heartbreak.

Yasenia asked her dearest with a kiss. "Tatyana, go on and enter the back to reinforce the formation."

Tatyana nodded and went to the back of the room, where the core of the formations protecting the whole building lay.

Meanwhile, the young girl felt her recently heated heart shatter into pieces.

***************************************

Author: Wow, you are ruthless, Yasenia.

Yasenia: She dared to rob one of the items made by Andrea? Heh, she would've died if I weren't so weak to take accountability for the repercussions.

Author: Well…

Andrea: *Hugs dragoness* Don't become angry for something like that, dear.

Yasenia: Sniff, sniff. Darling's hug is so nice~.

Angel: A-Author! Will we see Tatyana working on the formation in detail?

Author: Although your starry eyes and eager face are so cute that I want to hug you in a squish, we won't. The story's pacing is already quite slow to have a scene of Tatyana using formations.

Wilted Eggplant Angel: Oh…

Yasenia: Hey, how about you write it?

Author: A-A little bit, but not much.

Revived eggplant Angel: Really?

Author: J-Just a little bit.

Angel: Yay!

Evelyn: Say… Aren't you too obviously partial to her?

Author: Evelyn, don't judge me when you are squishing her in a hug and nuzzling your face with her.

Author: Anyway… I summon you!

Dante: Yo! I'm here again~.

Kali: Hahaha, hello.

Author: Well, there is no need for introductions. Ask away.

Dante: Three seniors, I've come to beseech your wisdom!

Tatyana: Oh?

Mirrory: Hm?

Valeria: What do you want to know, dear?

Dante: How many types of summons are there? What are the rarest and strongest types?

Mirrory: That's quite a difficult question to answer.

Tatyana: Hm? Aren't plant and undead summons the strongest?

Mirrory: Not in the higher realms. Other summonings can also reach extreme heights. All summons are similar since the potential is not tied to the summon per se but to the summoner.

Valeria: I'm afraid I have to disagree.

Mirrory: ?

Valeria: Plant summons have much more potential than any other summons because of their affinity with life.

Mirrory: Demonic summoners, abyssal summoners, and undead summoners can also summon creatures that can grow, gain sentience, and propagate.

Valeria: But plant summons is strong in all fields. Some plants grow even in volcanoes, the most poisonous swamps, and the deepest of oceans.

Mirrory: It doesn't matter. You are speaking about adaptability, not strength. This child's question is about combat strength.

Tatyana: Undead for the win!

Valeria: Ha? Plant summoning is better!

Tatyana: It's not~.

Valeria: Humph, I don't agree.

Dante: So cute.

Mirrory: Child.

Dante: Yes?

Mirrory: Ignore those two brats.

Dante: Only you can call them brats...

Mirrory: Focus.

Dante: Yes!

Mirrory: There are as many types of summons as there are people. Two plant creatures summoned by different people have different appearances and skills. Moreover, summoning skills can also be tied to other elements other than death and life.

Dante: Like light summons?

Mirrory: Yes.

Mirrory: Yasenia's movement technique, [Heavenly Constellation Steps], the one she is currently studying, will be a good example when she managed to unleash not only the speed but the techniques that come with it.

Dante: I see.... Wait. A movement technique has summoning skills?

Mirrory: *Spoiler* *Spoiler* *Spoiler*

Mirrory: ...

Mirrory: Why can't I say it?

Author: Because, well, it is a spoiler...

Mirrory: Whatever.

Yasenia: Mirrory, you still have to train me in energy control.

Mirrory: Don't worry, there is time. I'll train all of you eventually.

Angel: Hahaha, you are always so relaxed, Mirrory.

Mirrory: Hm? What's the point in waiting a month or a decade? It is basically the same. You are all so busy all the time. You should relax more.

The rest: …

Author: Well, time to bid farewell.

The girls: Goodbye!

Dante: Bye!