Chapter 289: Strange Attraction!
While strolling through the old district, Luis’s steps suddenly came to a halt.
His gaze had been drawn toward a small handicrafts shop standing quietly by the roadside.
The shop itself wasn’t particularly eye-catching, and the handcrafted ornaments displayed outside were no different from those sold in countless other places. However, among them was a necklace that immediately caught his attention.
At first glance, it looked quite ordinary.
Yet the brown stone inlaid at its center gave Luis a strange feeling that he couldn’t quite describe. It wasn’t releasing any noticeable mana fluctuations, nor did it possess anything unusual under his perception, but something about it instinctively attracted him.
Jack silently noticed his young master’s change in expression without asking any questions.
Luis turned and walked into the shop.
Inside, an middle-aged man was seated behind a worktable covered with carving tools and unfinished handicrafts. Sitting opposite him was a little girl, carefully following his instructions while carving a small wooden ornament with obvious nervousness.
"Meena, you’re still too rigid," the old man said patiently. "Relax a little. Your hands are too tense."
"S-Sorry, Uncle Judy. I... I won’t make the same mistake again."
The old man let out a sigh before glancing toward the back entrance.
"Where’s that brat Minas? Why didn’t he come today?"
Meena lowered her head.
"U-Uncle Judy... Brother said he had something important to do. Please don’t scold him later."
"That brat..."
Judy clicked his tongue, looking somewhat annoyed.
Luis happened to hear the conversation after entering the shop, but he didn’t pay much attention to it. Seeing that neither the old man nor the little girl had noticed his arrival, he lightly cleared his throat.
"Ahem."
The sound immediately drew both of their attention.
"Oh!"
Judy quickly turned around before revealing a polite smile.
"A customer. Welcome, sir."
Luis looked at the elderly man for a brief moment.
His face showed obvious signs of exhaustion, while the rough calluses looked like hands that had spent decades carving and polishing countless objects.
Luis quietly suppressed the strange feeling in his heart before speaking.
"May I have a look at the necklace displayed outside? I’m interested in buying it."
"Oh?"
Judy’s eyes brightened slightly.
"Which one, sir? I’ll bring it over right away."
Luis pointed toward the display outside.
"The one in the third row. The necklace with the brown stone in the center."
"That one..."
Judy paused for a moment.
Even Meena couldn’t help glancing at Luis with a hint of surprise.
Luis slightly narrowed his eyes.
"What’s wrong? Is it not for sale?"
"Of course it’s for sale."
Judy chuckled as he walked toward the display.
"It’s just that this necklace was one of my earliest handcrafted pieces. It’s been sitting there for well over a decade."
He carefully picked it up before bringing it back.
"And you’re the first customer who’s ever shown any interest in buying it."
Luis rolled his eyes and complained. "Don’t tell that to your other customers. They’ll leave without buying anything."
Judy laughed cheekily. "Since you haven’t left, that only proves you have a good eye."
Jack, who had been standing quietly behind Luis the entire time, gave Judy a long look.
He didn’t understand what had attracted his young master’s attention.
Luis rarely stopped to chat with strangers, much less joke around with them. Although he couldn’t sense anything special about the shopkeeper, he remained quietly alert, observing both Judy and the surroundings.
Meanwhile, the moment the necklace was placed before him, the smile on Luis’s face gradually disappeared.
’So my feeling wasn’t wrong...’
His gaze settled on the brown stone.
’The necklace itself is ordinary. It’s this stone that’s unusual.’
He gently picked up the necklace before looking at Judy.
"I’ll take it."
"Thank you, sir."
Judy smiled like a businessman before calmly saying,
"That will be One Million Alars."
The shop suddenly became quiet.
Meena’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Judy with her mouth slightly open.
She had never seen her uncle ask such an outrageous price before.
Was he so shameless?
Jack’s expression immediately darkened.
"Listen, you—"
Before he could continue, Luis interrupted him.
"I’ll buy it."
Jack looked at him in surprise.
"Young Master, this man is obviously trying to profit from us. You shouldn’t—"
Luis simply shook his head.
"Don’t worry. It’s worth it."
Without another word, he activated his mana bracelet and transferred the requested amount.
After confirming the payment, Judy’s smile became noticeably brighter.
"Pleasure doing business with you, sir."
Luis nodded before asking another question.
"Do you happen to have another stone similar to the one used in this necklace?"
Judy looked at him deeply, before slowly shaking his head.
"No."
"This is the only one."
"I see."
Luis didn’t ask any further questions.
After putting away the necklace, he turned around and walked out of the shop.
Jack remained standing there for another brief moment, giving Judy one last thoughtful look. Although he still couldn’t understand why Luis had willingly spent a million Alars on such an ordinary-looking necklace, he didn’t question the decision.
Instead, he quietly followed after his young master as they left the shop together.
---
After they left, Judy acted as though nothing happened. He casually swiped away the payment notification, picked up another unfinished carving from the workbench, and turned his attention back to Meena.
"Now, where were we?" he asked before tapping lightly on the piece of wood in front of her. "See? I told you my craftsmanship is very valuable. As long as you learn it properly, you’ll be rich one day too."
Meena lowered her eyes to the carving in her hands.
She wanted to tell him that the only reason he had earned so much today was because he had shamelessly quoted an unbelievably high price. Even she had been startled when she heard him ask for a million Alars.
However...
When she recalled that rich customer agreeing to buy it without even trying to bargain, the words reaching her lips quietly slipped back down her throat.
Maybe...
Uncle Judy wasn’t being shameless after all.
Or perhaps...
That customer really felt that necklace had been worth that much.
Unable to figure it out, she simply nodded obediently.
"I’ll work hard."
"Haha, good girl."
Judy laughed heartily, clearly pleased with her answer. Then he thought of something and his expression darkened.
"If only that brat Minas were half as diligent as you, I’d have a lot fewer headaches every day."
Meena could only smile awkwardly.
Although Uncle Judy complained about her brother almost every day, she knew he never truly disliked him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered to teach them under her mother’s request.
