A Villainess Should Be Strong

"Good day.. Is there anybody here?" Estelle looked around the store, which carried a very mystical and comforting feeling. It was hard to describe, but it was like the store itself was magical. She entered the store and stood in front of the table. Like in the inn, there was no one guarding the place.

It made Estelle think that this was the culture in Vaitral, to only show up once a customer has arrived. She called out multiple times, and her voice finally summoned a sleepy creature from the back area. She wore loose sleeping wear as she yawned and walked towards the table before putting her hands on top of it.

Her height was short. She had a childlike physique. She climbed up a tall chair to be able to rise above the counter. Her appearance was very beautiful and appealing. Her hair was a ghastly white color, and her captivating doll eyes had long eyelashes strewn over them, fluttering with her every blink. The shopkeeper blinked multiple times before she hummed while looking at Estelle.

She gestured as if to tell Estelle to spit whatever her purpose on coming here was. Estelle gulped a mouthful of saliva before she spoke up. Some of her apprehension on visiting Vaitral still remained even after meeting Alyssa, who was kind to a newcomer like her.

"My name is Eirlys. I was sent here by Alyssa.. Are you connected with her? She told me that you should sell what I am looking for." Estelle introduced herself and questioned.

The other party nodded slowly, thinking as they broke into a smile. "Alyssa, huh? Which Alyssa? Alyssa from the inn? Since you are an outsider, it should be that Alyssa, right?" she questioned with a smirk, earning a nod from Estelle who confirmed her words.

"And? What do you need from my store?"

"Someone to guide me. I heard that this store serves odd jobs as well. I will be touring Vaitral as a whole, so I need someone who can guide me around this area. If possible, this person should be able to accompany me for months, and is aware of other areas in this country as well. Of course, I will pay a hefty sum for the service and provide accommodations. Is that possible?" Estelle voiced out her needs.

The shopkeeper stretched her body, letting out a sound of pleasure as she yawned once more, making Estelle quite sleepy as well just by looking at the girl.

"Hmm.. Your desires are quite specific, and the criteria.. is pretty harsh, I must say. To say that it's impossible would be too far of a stretch. I do know someone that fulfills your criteria, but he's a very.. eccentric guy. A bit troublesome, if I have to add. Whether or not he accepts your offer will depend entirely on him, so I could organize a meeting between you two, and you guys could talk it out. How does that sound?" The shopkeeper said. "You know that in Vaitral, no one really does that type of job, right? Here, even by living to the utmost freedom, you will still be able to live a plentiful life without much troubles. For outsiders, this could be weird, but Vaitral is actually quite the utopia if you think about it,"

"...Perfect. I will take up your offer. I am free all the time. My work starts when I can finally get my guide. Until then, please contact me by all means through the inn. If I left the place to sightsee, then you can just leave a message for me and I will reach you as soon as I am back," Estelle replied, agreeing to the woman's offer. She took in her words, that implied that Vaitral was a great place. And she agreed with that sentiment so far.

"Is there anything else I can help you with? I would be glad to provide other services.. To name a few, curses, information gathering, slave buying, cooking, and all that..." The shopkeeper watched as a frown began to form over Estelle's face over some of the things she had mentioned.

She broke into laughter. "I'm so sorry, your expression just seemed to be quite.. colorful. Fret not, we're not that uncivilized. Even though I do provide those types of services from time to time, I don't accept every order. I choose them selectively, and I will be the primary judge to whether or not they are suitable for me to pick,"

Estelle scratched the side of her head. "Can I know more about the guide candidate? I want to get basic information about him," Estelle asked.

"Here. His name will be Theo. He came from Eneiryn as a contracted slave, but he was released when he was.. five years old, I suppose? His master died, so he is now working indirectly under me. He is quite young, but very knowledgeable about Vaitral's matters. He also has a lot of travel experience, so he will definitely be perfect for a long journey. He could also do basic support tasks like gathering materials, dissecting, et cetera, so he is quite well sought for people who came to Vaitral to work like you. He doesn't take all jobs, however, so you might have to negotiate a bit with him. Especially considering that your travel will be a long one. I don't think he will be very fond of that. If he refuses you hard, then you can just come back here and I will suggest you another person. However, in terms of competency, he is indeed the best," She casually advertised.

"...Theo, hm? Please arrange a meeting schedule for me to meet him anytime," Estelle memorized the name inside her head.

"Thank you for your patronage, kind customer. I also forgot to introduce myself, but I am Tertia. I named the shop after myself. Please come back again if you have other inquiries, I would be glad to serve such an interesting person like you. Take care on your way back home, traveller," Tertia revealed her name, waving lightly as Estelle nodded and turned around to leave after hearing the woman's speech.

Estelle left the store, but Tertia's eyes never left the door where she came out from. A complex smirk was formed on her face as she sighed. Her slender hand stretched out to pick up a golden bell that was placed on the table.

"How foolish and naive. To think that.. the girl has finally came to this place. I suppose it's time. Right.. Heine?" Tertia giggled as she shook the bell, creating a loud ringing chime that was melodious and pleasant to hear. "Haa, something interesting finally popped up after so many years.. What a great thing to celebrate for!" she pulled out a wine bottle from below here table, took out the cork and chugged it down fast.

Outside the store, Estelle was walking down the street after leaving Tertia and was prepared to sightsee around the area.

She saw a red haired boy be surrounded by a group of large men who were all shouting words that she perceived as curses and insults. Those strong phrases were hurled against the boy, but he did not retaliate and just let them do whatever they want.

Then, from verbal abuse, things started to escalate as time went on. One of the men stretched his hand towards the boy, wanting to land a powerful fist on him.

Seeing this, Estelle couldn't sit still and shouted loudly to gain their attention. "You bastards, what on Earth are you trying to do?!" Estelle screamed. The humanoid dragonkins' heads turned towards her way, making dissatisfied expressions as they scanned Estelle up from head to toe.

"Mind your own business if you don't want to get hurt, little kid! Ahahahahh!" He spoke lines that were typical of a cheap villain, aggravating Estelle even more.

"Come here. I thought that in Vaitral, strength mattered the most? If so, then if I beat you all at the same time, promise to leave the boy alone. Your act of ganging up on him is by no means a respectable thing," Estelle stated her comments, opposing the group as she created a light spear that she was prepared to fight with.

At first, the group of people were quite hesitant because of how confident Estelle was behaving, but in the end, they still accepted the duel confrontation.

"Come, I will beat you all down to the ground so that you know not to harm a child like that no more," Estelle coldly spoke. Although she was not that saintly, she had a softer spot for little children. Not in an illegal or problematic way, but because she believes that those children deserved to be spared of violence of harmful acts.

Most children who were put in those situations were not at all bad in their true heart, but their situational conditions forced them to be cornered to such a vulnerable place, which made Estelle quite enraged when she thought about it.