Aiden turned his head to look. The person entering was an ordinary-looking female customer.
Their eyes met, and then, like the fleeting awkwardness of an accidental glance between strangers, the other person quickly looked away.
"Welcome to 'Illusory Moon'. Is there any jewelry you'd like to purchase?" Melissa greeted the incoming customer in a commonplace tone, basically devoid of enthusiasm.
Aiden turned his gaze back, realizing that in the brief moment he had looked at the customer, Melissa had already put away the wine bottle and glasses.
"I'll just look around myself," the customer replied.
"Alright," Melissa immediately shifted her attention away from the customer, letting her browse the jewelry at the counter on her own.
Aiden looked at Melissa and conveyed his thoughts: "Not going to play the shopkeeper?"
He was already getting used to communicating with Melissa telepathically. It was convenient not having to speak aloud, and there was no worry of being overheard.
"She's not here to buy jewelry anyway," Melissa replied nonchalantly.
Aiden didn't think much of it at the time. Since Melissa could read intentions, she could naturally easily tell if someone had the desire to buy. For customers who were genuinely just browsing and wouldn't purchase anything, there was no need to approach and recommend items, saving the shopkeeper effort and sparing the customer sales pressure.
"Speaking of which, why did you open a jewelry store?" Aiden asked.
Although they were conversing, outwardly neither he nor Melissa made a sound. To appear natural, he also began browsing the jewelry in the counter like a customer.
"Just killing time on a whim. For a Dominator, the most terrifying thing is boredom," Melissa replied.
"Alright... Then can you answer my previous question?" Aiden steered the conversation back on track.
"No. If I reveal everything, the game loses its meaning," Melissa once again gave almost the exact same answer as Mephilia. "Just as I set trials for that man, I must also set some 'trials' for you. Even if 'we' favor you somewhat, there has to be a limit."
Truly identical ways of thinking— Aiden felt the difficulty.
"I completed the task you set. Shouldn't you give some reward?" He tried to bargain.
"Part of the reward is in your stomach, part is in mine, and you can take most of the rest back with you."
"Just that bottle of wine!?" Aiden was taken aback.
"No need to be so surprised. How much do you think that bottle costs?" Melissa replied calmly. "Besides, you obtained the Unique Authority and gained fame; you should have profited quite enough. See, now girls are even coming here admiringly, just to catch a glimpse of you."
Aiden paused for a moment at Melissa's words, then reacted.
Just now, his attention had been focused on Melissa, not paying much heed elsewhere. Once he retracted his focus, his peripheral vision clearly caught the gaze directed from his side—the female customer who had just entered seemed to be casually browsing the jewelry but kept glancing over towards them.
Aiden was certain this wasn't some narcissistic delusion. The previous Aiden was, after all, an ace of the Inquisition; he still retained that level of judgment.
Moreover, since Melissa said so, it was practically one hundred percent certain.
Aiden unhesitatingly shifted his gaze directly towards the female customer, staring fixedly at her.
She was clearly caught off guard but managed to maintain a calm expression, though the lines of her face tightened slightly.
That was enough for Aiden. His experience told him this woman's reaction was very similar to those inmates caught secretly causing trouble or hiding contraband during a surprise inspection.
"Excuse me, miss..." he began to address her, simultaneously formulating an interrogation plan in his mind.
However, the next instant, completely unexpectedly even to himself, the woman turned and bolted towards the shop door—her movements so swift, it was as if she had just snatched jewelry from the shop and was making a run for it.
Aiden truly hadn't expected her to not even bother with a pretense. For a moment, he didn't react fast enough to block her with his cane.
The female customer was quite agile, rushing outside in the blink of an eye, seemingly heading towards the main avenue.
Aiden immediately gave chase, but just as he rushed out the door, he collided head-on with someone.
"Ah!!" The elderly man he bumped into cried out. Fortunately, Aiden managed to steady him in time.
"My apologies, sir!" Aiden said, about to continue the pursuit, but by then, the female customer was long gone.
Aiden quickly ran out of the alley entrance, looking left and right, but couldn't find his target anymore.
"Young man, watch where you're going!!" A lecturing protest followed him from behind.
Aiden turned his head and saw the elderly gentleman from before pointing at him with dissatisfaction. He could only take off his hat and offer an apologetic smile.
Even with body modification, changing appearance so quickly is impossible, and this old man's clothes were completely different from the woman's.
The old man grumbled indignantly and walked deeper into the alley. Aiden could only return to the "Illusory Moon" jewelry store empty-handed.
"Lost her, huh," Melissa smiled at Aiden. "Looks like you're still green."
"Who exactly was that person just now?" Aiden immediately asked.
"Who knows? Thanks to you, I could only read the 'purpose' of observing you, not all her thoughts," Melissa spread her hands with feigned regret. "Otherwise, perhaps I could have immediately known which faction she belonged to."
"Her purpose was just observation?" Aiden asked.
"At least I didn't read any particularly obvious hostility," Melissa replied.
Aiden realized he had been followed. Perhaps someone had been tailing him since he left the prison. The carriage that hastily pulled over after he got out this morning might have belonged to the tracker.
No hostility means they weren't trying to harm him—at least not today.
"This shop of yours, does this count as being exposed?" Aiden asked.
"Aside from your visit early this morning, is there anything else suspicious? And even if it is discovered, you don't need to worry about it."
"True," Aiden nodded. After all, the shop owner was a bona fide Dominator.
"I imagine at your current level, you should be able to handle ordinary-level factions yourself. Take your reward back with you today," Melissa clearly wasn't too concerned about the female customer from earlier, taking out the wine bottle again.
"If I had known this was my reward, I wouldn't have opened it," Aiden suddenly felt a bit regretful. "At least I could have sold it."
"That won't do. I wanted to taste it too," Melissa grinned.
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