Chapter 41: Final Farewell. Alissa lifted her head, tears still streaming, but determination flickering in her amber eyes. "If you don’t find us... We will find you!" That fierce look. She means every word. The day crawled forward with agonising slowness. Elara arrived first, her usual radiant smile faltering when she noticed the atmosphere. "Why does everyone look like someone died?" How to explain without explaining? "My shop relocates tomorrow. I won’t be here anymore." The princess went very still. Her amber eyes darted between Noah and his employees, processing his words. "Relocates where?" "Somewhere else." Elara’s composure cracked slightly before she regained if. "For how long?" "Not sure." "I see." "In that case, I’ll take all your remaining iced tea. Every bottle." ..Really? No i’m going to miss our training sessions together or anything like that. Oh well, she is a princess, after all. The twelve bottles that lined his shelf disappeared instantly, granting him 120 golden coins and 120 shop points. "Don’t look at me like that. If this is goodbye, I’m not leaving anything behind. Can I also get the bread?" Noah shook his head. "There is a customer who always buys the bread for me. I think she will want it. I can’t let you take everything, princess. Sorry." Valeria’s arrival an hour later triggered the same reaction—one look at the atmosphere, and one explanation about relocation. "All the bread. Every loaf." The twelve loaves were sold for a total of 36 golden coins. "Good." Her green eyes held some protectiveness over the bread. "Can’t let healing bread like this vanish into whatever place you’re heading toward." After both sales, his shop points skyrocketed to 960 points, which made him frustrated. Had he made a bigger deal with the princess, he would have made the cut. With his stocks completely gone, Noah simply waited for the time to arrive. Unfortunately for him, he would be teleported before he could make enough to get a thousand. Before she left, Valeria reiterated the same line as Elara. "When you return—and you will return—we’ll be waiting." ... [Warning: Teleportation commences in 10 minutes. Please prepare for relocation.] Noah’s stomach twisted into knots. ’Ten minutes. That’s all we have left.’ Alissa sat beside Kip on the floor, both clinging to each other like shipwreck survivors. Grix organised cleaning supplies, desperate for some kind of distraction. ’They’re all staying until the end. Even when knowing that it’ll hurt them more.’ Five minutes crawled by in agonising silence. Every tick felt like a hammer blow against his chest. [System Warning: 5 minutes remaining.] "It’s time." Noah’s voice cracked despite his efforts. "You need to go." Alissa’s ears drooped as she rose slowly. Her amber eyes glistened with unshed tears, but determination flickered beneath the grief. "We’ll find you," she whispered. Kip nodded frantically, small hands clenched into fists. "Wherever you go, we’ll follow." Even Grix straightened his hunched shoulders. "Grix will remember Master Noah always." Don’t cry. Don’t you dare cry in front of them. They filed out slowly, each backwards glance feeling like a dagger between Noah’s ribs. The door chimed one final time as Grix disappeared into the alleyway. Noah was alone. [Teleportation in progress...] The world dissolved. Outside the abandoned alleyway, three figures huddled together in shared misery. Valeria had arrived moments before the deadline. "Nothing happened." She raised an eyebrow, checking her pocket watch. "I thought his whole shop would vanish. Turns out he’s pulling a prank on us." As she opened the door, the sign ’Idle store’ above the door vanished. The door swung open. Nothing. Empty room. Completely empty with nothing inside. No counter. No shelves. No trace that Noah had ever existed in this space. Just bare stone walls and dust motes dancing in fading sunlight. "He... actually... vanished." Her words hung in the air like smoke from an extinguished candle. Alissa’s composure finally shattered. Tears streamed down her furry cheeks as Noah’s absence struck home. Kip buried his face against his sister’s shoulder, his small body shaking with silent sobs. Grix stared at the empty space, his face creased with confusion and loss. He didn’t cry like the other two. He had also lost his master a few days prior, and now he once again lost another one. "Master Noah really gone," he whispered. Valeria’s hand dropped from the doorframe. Even her composure cracked slightly at the sight of absolute emptiness where warmth and friendship had flourished. ’He wasn’t lying. Whatever he was, wherever he came from... it was real.’ The Silver Wolf captain cleared her throat roughly. "Come on. Let’s get you three settled somewhere safe." ’The least I can do is honour his last request.’ They walked away from the empty alley, leaving behind only memories. Noah’s surroundings snapped back to awareness with suddenness. ’Please be a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Please be somewhere I can build a mansion and hoard gold in peace.’ His eyes opened to chaos through the window. Hundreds of creatures milled through what could only be described as a bustling plaza. But these weren’t human shoppers—they were demons. Actual, honest-to-god demons with horns, tails, and skin ranging from deep red to dark purple. This is not a wasteland. This is very much not a wasteland. A massive demon with ram’s horns noticed his shop first. The creature’s eyes widened to dinner-plate proportions. "There is a shop here? I never knew that!!" he bellowed in a loud voice. The demon closed in on his window, only to lock eyes with Noah. "...shit." "HUMAN SPECIES ALERT!" ’Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.’ Within seconds, Noah’s humble shop was surrounded by curious demons pressing their faces against his two windows. Dozens of eyes—some glowing, some multi-colored, all intensely focused on him—created a kaleidoscope of demons attention. I wanted isolation. I got the exact opposite. A particularly enterprising demon began rattling his door handle. ’Human. They know I’m human. In demon territory. This is fine. Everything is fine.’ More demons joined the crowd. Soon, his shop was surrounded by demons. Noah gulped before consoling himself. Remember, Noah. You’re immortal inside the shop. Immortal. They can’t actually kill you here.