Alan had done business with the shop owner a few times. Gradually, they grew familiar.

"This is Emma, a werewolf," Alan said, leading Emma by the hand to the owner. He shared her identity but kept quiet about her being his fiancée. That was private—no need to shout it from the rooftops.

"Emma, this is Uncle Kuze, the shop owner. The bird on his head is Kuro." After introducing Emma to Kuze, Alan told her Kuze’s name.

"Hello, little Emma. Call me Uncle Kuze or just Uncle. Don’t worry—I adore little animals," Kuze greeted her with a warm smile.

Emma’s delicate face scrunched in displeasure. "Emma isn’t a little animal! I’m a werewolf! Uncle, if you call me that again, Emma will hit you!"

With that, she ducked behind Alan, peeking out with just her small head and twitching beast ears.

Alan chuckled, patting her head. Then he turned to Kuze. "Boss, I need ten mana pens. Durable ones. No fakes."

The shop was named "True & False Mana Artifacts." Naturally, fakes were part of the stock. Magicians or mercenaries with poor eyesight who bought them could only blame themselves. Complaining was pointless—the door sign read clearly: "Beware, the visually impaired! Buying fakes proves you’re blind."

Still, the boss had limits. Even fakes weren’t useless. For example, the enchanted weapons upstairs—if mercenaries got fakes, they’d just lose the magic mid-battle.

Rumor had it once, a mercenary bought such a weapon for a duel. When he activated his greatsword’s magic, only a tiny flame sparked from the tip. Then his opponent pinned him down and beat him senseless.

"Mana pens? What for? Writing novels?" Kuze scratched his fluffy black hair, curious.

"Hmm, Kuze, what breed is that blue bird on your head? A blue-feathered bird? A blue gull?"

Alan was fascinated by the little blue bird perched on Kuze’s head. It had no mana, so it wasn’t a magical beast. Non-magical beasts shouldn’t be too smart, yet this bird had remarkable intelligence—almost rivaling some mages’ familiars.

"Little Alan, Kuro isn’t a bird. He’s my son," Kuze said, gently stroking Kuro with a smile.

Chirp!

As if responding, Kuro chirped from his perch. His bird eyes even showed genuine contentment.

Was he really content being called a son?

"Ten mana pens cost ten gold coins. But for a regular, I’ll give a discount—eight coins." Kuze waved toward the shelf. Ten faintly glowing pens flew into his hands. As owner, he knew exactly where everything was.

Alan took the pens, inspecting each carefully. Only after confirming they were genuine did he hand over eight gold coins. Familiarity didn’t stop Kuze from selling fakes—he loved tricking regulars when his mischievous streak kicked in.

"Kuze, has your son never... you know, pooped on your hair?" Alan grinned, watching Kuro after putting the pens away.

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

Kuro chirped furiously at Alan, his eyes flashing with anger. Alan gave a dry laugh and bolted out the door with Emma. You don’t mess with a furious bird, especially one with an unfathomable father. One slap from Kuze might be scarier than Sia’s divine power.

"Alright, son, you scared little Alan away. Stop flapping. But seriously—could you finish your business before sleeping? I don’t want bird droppings on my face every morning, okay?"

Kuro glanced at Kuze, then flew back to perch on his head. Was that something he could control? He was just a bird—why set the bar so high?

......

After leaving Kuze’s shop, Alan strolled with Emma awhile, then returned to the Cloud Peak Guild.

The moment he stepped inside, Alan froze at the murderous aura filling the hall. His head throbbed when he saw its source: Haina and Bacas Medi, radiating killing intent unchecked. He had no idea what happened while he was gone.

Besides them, Eli Gao and Dass crouched in a corner, trembling under the women’s glare.

"Ahem... cough... um... I’m back. What happened while I was away?"

Emma clung to Alan’s sleeve, trembling. The killing intent terrified her.

"Hmph! Alan, where will you have this woman sleep tonight?" Haina snorted coldly, glaring at him.

"Naturally, I’ll sleep next to Alan’s room. Blue-haired woman, don’t forget—I’m his fiancée. Even if I sleep with him, it’s none of your business."

Medi sat at the bar, her slender hand holding a wine glass. She narrowed her eyes at Haina. This woman was annoying—trying to steal her man. Exactly the shameless homewrecker her master had warned about.

"Medi, don’t say that. We have a pure relationship. We only met last night. That contract? Don’t take it too seriously, okay?" Alan pleaded. Then he turned to Haina. "Haina, let Medi stay in the empty room upstairs for now. Once she cools down and clarifies things, she’ll leave on her own. That should be fine, right?"

Haina stayed silent, just staring coldly at Alan. She knew his character well. A man who wrote adult books at ten and used magic to peek at girls bathing—would he really reject a beautiful girl throwing herself at him?

Though Haina disliked Medi, she had to admit she was a rare beauty. A girl like her would be the center of attention even in the royal capital.

Most importantly, Medi had an alluring figure and captivating aura. If Haina were a man, she might not resist such a girl. So, she opposed Medi staying here.